My Favorite Photos - November 2022

This month I started a new position with a local museum to do their marketing/PR work. One of my favorite parts of the job is photographing items in the gift shop and the museum's artifacts. Below are Dala horse salt and pepper shakers.

This is a hand-carved tomte and pine tree.

This is one of 150 dolls that were donated to the museum. Each doll has an outfit that represents the clothing typical to a region in Sweden.

When I was taking the photos, my younger daughter was helping me. At the end of the session, I took photos of her. The first one she liked the best. 

These two, though, capture her spirit more - her laugh and mannerisms. 

I took some photos of Cooper on the first day that it snowed in November. This is one of them. He is looking out at the tree and watching the birds.

On the 18th, we celebrated Olivia's anniversary of her adoption day. She found a restaurant near her college that we all enjoyed. Her anniversary is actually on the 17th, but she had a class field trip for her Humanities class that was meeting on the 17th. So, the 18th it was for our annual anniversary dinner.

On the 23rd, Olivia, Sophia, and Nessa (one of Sophia's roommates) came home for Thanksgiving. On the 23rd, we celebrated Nessa's birthday by going to a new arts organization in Wisconsin. She hadn't been to Wisconsin, so that was another bonus "gift." 

The picture above and below were in the gallery.

We continued exploring Osceola, Wisconsin, by going to an antique store. None of us had been there, so it was fun to explore a new place.

For Nessa's birthday, I made lasagna. I made some changes to my mom's recipe - like adding more mushrooms, spices, and fresh mozzarella.

I made a Toll House Chocolate Chip Pie (instead of a birthday cake). Danny (the dog) is hoping the pie is for him. 

On the 24th, we celebrated Thanksgiving. There were 14 people total. We had both a turkey and ham, plus a lot of side dishes. We had three different pies for dessert.

On Thanksgiving, my sister brought slides that my parents took. There were quite a few I had never seen before, so that was nice to see them. My brother, sister, two nephews, and I watched the slides. For some of them, we could share details that the others did not know. 

Below is my sister (on the left) and me (on the right) with my mom and dad. There's a plant to the left in the photo. It's fake. That plant traveled from the house in Minneapolis (pictured below) to the one in Plymouth. They had it for decades.

My sister explained the significance of this photo. For my parents' entire marriage, my mom wanted a real Christmas tree. My dad didn't want one because of the mess that real trees can leave in a home. Well, one year, my parents went out to get a real tree. My mom looks so happy by the tree. Another slide after this one showed my dad using a saw to cut it down. This photo would have been taken after we graduated from high school. New traditions once all the kids leave the home...I know this all too well now that Sophia and Olivia are both at college.

Another photo I never saw was this one of my sister (on the left) and me (on the right) in front of one of our elementary schools. This is the second elementary school I attended in Minneapolis - Hamilton was Kindergarten and first grade, and Loring was second grade. 

Once we moved to Plymouth, I had three more elementary schools: Cedar Island (third and fourth grades), Fair Oaks (fifth grade), and Edgewood (sixth grade). It was insane. There were yearly school border changes because the suburbs were changing and boundaries needed to be changed. 

I loved seeing this photo of (L to R): me holding my brother, my sister, and our dog, Corgi.

My mom used to sew all of our Halloween costumes. This one was my favorite one - a kangaroo. It's not the clearest pictures, so the little joey in my kangaroo pouch isn't as visible as I hoped it would be.

Getting in the holiday spirit, my handmade stocking was made by Grandma Olive (she had made my stocking during the summer of 1966 - either before or shortly after my birth in June. She died in August. So, this was an extra-special stocking). My mom made matching stockings for my sister and brother using the same concept as mine. 

This is a better picture of my stocking. I would have been about four or five years old in this picture.

If this doesn't give kids nightmares, I don't know what would. The Santa that visited us at a friend of my grandma's home wore a mask. I swear that mask doesn't even have openings for the eyes. It would have to, but it sure doesn't look like it.  

Apparently, we are either in shock or fascinated by this masked Santa. Actually, now that I look at the picture, I'm wondering if this was supposed to be St. Nicholas since he is using a cane. 

Fear set into my brother. It's probably St. Nicholas/Santa's lack of eyes in the mask. Apparently, the mask isn't bothering my sister or me. 

This is our first Christmas in our new home in Plymouth in 1974. I'm in the middle with the curlers under my mom's hair bonnet. 

So those are some of the 200+ slides we looked at on Thanksgiving this year. 

On the day after Thanksgiving, Sophia, Nessa, and I went to Feed My Starving Children to pack food. We were at a table with about eight other people. This was a hard-working group of volunteers who ended up packing 26 boxes of food for children in El Salvador. We have packed food on the day after Thanksgiving for three years now and have really enjoyed doing this. It's a meaningful way to share our time and give children who are hungry or starving healthy meals.

After packing food, we went to Momo Sushi - our traditional meal two years in a row now. We had a bento lunch box with a variety of food which we all enjoyed. 

The sunset that night was beautiful. This is the end of the sunset, so the colors are not as vibrant at they were 15-25 minutes earlier that evening.

On November 26th, we celebrated the anniversary of Sophia's adoption day. It's hard to believe that we adopted her 21 years ago. (For Olivia it was 19 years ago on the 17th.)

The World According to Mister Rogers - Book Notes

 Recently I came across two books by Fred Rogers at the library. The first one I read is The World According to Mister Rogers - Important Things to Remember. It's a short book, yet one filled with a lot of wisdom and things to reflect upon. Below are some of my favorite passages from the book. 

- Some days, doing "the best we can" may still fall short of what we would like to be able to do, but life isn't perfect - on any front - and doing what we can with what we have is the most we should expect of ourselves or anyone else. 

- It takes strength to face our sadness and to grieve and to let our grief and our anger flow in tears when they need to. It takes strength to talk about our feelings and to reach out for help and comfort when we need it. 

- Who you are inside is what helps you make and do everything in life. 

- Solitude is different from loneliness, and it doesn't have to be a lonely kind of thing. 

- You rarely have time for everything you want in this life, so you need to make choices. And hopefully, your choices can come from a deep sense of who you are. 

- All life events are formative. All contribute to what we become, year by year, as we go on growing. As my friend the poet Keneth Koch once said, "You aren't just the age you are. You are all the ages you ever have been!"

- I believe it's a fact of life that what we have is less important than what we make out of what we have. The same holds true for families. It's not how many people there are in a family that counts, but rather the feelings among the people who are there. 

- To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now. 

- It always helps to have people we love beside us when we have to do difficult things in life. 

- Mutually caring relationships require kindness and patience, tolerance, optimism, joy in the other's achievements, confidence in oneself, and the ability to give without undue thought of gain. 

- Each one of us contributes in some unique way to the composition of life.

- I believe that infants and babies whose mothers give them loving comfort whenever and however they can are truly the fortunate ones. I think they're more likely to find life's times of trouble manageable, and I think they may also turn out to be the adults most able to pass loving concern along to the generations that follow after them. 

- You bring all you ever were and are to any relationship you have today. 

- Imaging something may be the first step in making it happen, but it takes the real time and real efforts of real people to learn things, make things, turn thoughts into deeds or visions into inventions.

- There is no normal life that is free of pain. It's the very wrestling with our problems that can be the impetus for our growth. 

- As human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has - or ever will have - something inside that is unique to all time. It's our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness and to provide ways of developing its expression.

- Anyone who does anything to help a child is a hero to me. 

- We want to raise our children so that they can take a sense of pleasure in both their own heritage and the diversity of others. 

- When you combine your own intuition with a sensitivity to other people's feelings and moods, you may be close to the origins of valuable human attributes such as generosity, altruism, compassion, sympathy, and empathy. 

- Spend one minute thinking of someone who has made a difference in the person you have become. 

-As you play together in a symphony orchestra, you can appreciate that each musician has something fine to offer. Each one is different though, and you each have a different "song to sing." When you sing together, you make one voice. That's true of all endeavors, not just musical ones. Finding ways to harmonize our uniqueness with the uniqueness of others can be the most fun - and the most rewarding - of all.

- Who in your life has been such a servant to you...who has helped you love the good that grows within you? Let's just take ten seconds to think of some of those people who have loved us and wanted what was best for us in life - those who have encouraged us to become who we are tonight - just ten seconds of silence. 
    No matter where they are - either here or in heaven - imagine how pleased those people must be to know that you thought of them right now. 
     We all have only one life to live on earth. And...we have the choice of encouraging others to demean this life or to cherish it in creative, imaginative ways. 

- If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourselves that you leave at every meeting with another person. 

- Whether we're a preschooler or a young teen, a graduating college senior, or a retired person, we human beings all want to know that we're acceptable, that our being alive somehow makes a difference in the lives of others.

- The real issue in life is not how many blessings we have, but what we do with our blessings. Some people have many blessings and hoard them. Some have few and give everything away. 

- The purpose of life is to listen - to yourself, to your neighbor, to your world and to God and, when the time comes, to respond in as helpful a way as you can find...from within and without. 

- The world needs a sense of worth, and it will achieve it only by its people feeling that they are worthwhile. 

- In The Little Prince there is a phrase, "L'essential est invisible pour les yeux." (What is essential is invisible to the eyes.) The closer we get to know the truth of that sentence, the closer I feel we get to wisdom. 

- I find out more and more every day how important it is for people to share their memories. 

-  Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping. 

Deliberate Acts of Kindness - Book Notes

Recently I read Deliberate Acts of Kindness by Meredith Gould. 

The author examined how service is a spiritual practice. Below are some points from the book that I found interesting: 

Eight Degrees of Tzedakah

1. To give grudgingly, reluctantly, or wit hregret;

2. To give less than one should, but with grace;

3. To give what one should, but only after being asked;

4. To give before one is asked;

5. To give without knowing who will receive it, although the recipient knows the identity of the giver;

6. To give without making known one's identity;

7. To give so that neither giver nor receiver knows the identity of the others;

8. To help another to become self-supporting, by means of a gift, a loan, or by finding employment for the one in need.

"Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead," wrote James in an epistle to members of the early church.

Buddhists...practice generosity, morality, renunciation, patience, truthfulness, determination, loving-kindness, and evenmindedness.

List what you think are totally perfect ways for you to serve, letting reason and logic dictate your choices. 

Ask yourself: "What sort of person would I like to become?"

"Fill yourselves first and then only will you be able to give to others." St. Augustine

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

- LEVEL 1 - Physiological Needs - air, water, food, clothing, shelter, sleep

- LEVEL 2 - Safety and Security Needs - order, stability, certainty, routine, familiarity, protection from fear and disease, physical safety, economic security, freedom from threat

- LEVEL 3 - Social Needs - love, acceptance, belonging, affection

- LEVEL 4 - Esteem Needs - respect and recognition from others, self-respect, a sense of prestige

- LEVEL 5 - Self-Actualization Needs - peak experiences, fulfilling a sense of self and calling, opportunities for learning and creating at higher levels

Grant us ears to hear,
Eyes to see,
Wills to obey,
Hearts to love; 
Then declare what you will, 
Reveal what you will, 
Command what you will,
Demand what you will. 
- Christina Rossetti

While it may seem only logical to serve the homeless if you've been homeless, counsel battered women if you've been one, or to do hospice work if you've watched a loved one die without dignity, you may not be emotionally ready to serve in these ways.

As you behold evidence of tragedy, waste, abuse, and simple ignorance in people's lives get into the habit of asking yourself: What would make a difference? How could I make a difference? 

Combine service work for others with R&R for yourself by looking into volunteer gigs at museums, theaters, concert halls, nature preserves, or community playgrounds. 

"The way you begin to change the world is through service." Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Gig is Right for You If...

- You not only respect but like people in charge - their values, dedication, and human decency.

- You feel immediately at home with other volunteers, sensing they're exactly the kind of folk with whom you want to spend time. 

- You experience a sense of satisfaction despite whatever frustrations and disappointments quickly - or gradually - emerge. 

The Gig is Wrong for You If...

- You feel entirely too overwhelmed by the enormity of what needs to be done. 

- You can't help but notice that everyone is a heck of a lot nicer to those being served than they are to anyone on the volunteer staff. 

- You not only start dreading the prospect of showing up, but you unconsciously - or consciously - act out by arriving late or calling in sick or too busy.

"Charity begins at home." - Terence

Agree to serve on a trial basis. Establish a mutually acceptable period of time to check out the setting, staff, and other volunteers. Committing to at least one month and preferably three will give you - and them - an opportunity to experience the match. 

Do all the good you can,
by all the means you can,
in all the ways you can,
in all the places you can, 
all the times you can, 
to all the people you can, 
as long as you can.
- John Wesley

Start a prayer journal when you begin a new type or place of service. Note what you're being called upon to do and record any thoughts, feelings, and attitudes that emerge as a result. 

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love, 
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy. 
O divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek 
To be consoled, as to console, 
To be understood, as to understand, 
To be loved, as to love, 
For it is in giving that we receive; 
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life. 
- St. Francis of Assisi

"Compassion is the only source of energy that is useful and safe." Thich Nhat Hanh 

Model loving self-care by canceling your appearance and staying home when you have a splitting headache, drippy nose, moist cough, or fever. One of your gifts to the world should not be your germs. Showing up sick is not heroic, it's inconsiderate. 

If you can't seem to arrive on time, something else - like resistance - is going on. Maybe you're in the wrong environment entirely. 

You were led to the perfect place to doing as well as being, and now you're deep into wondering: "Is it still God's grace if I hate it?" What happened? This divinely inspired service gig is not the slightest bit illuminating, it's more heart-hardening than opening, and for sure you are not having fun. Unfortunately, you're also beginning to love watching lots of incredibly stupid TV because it takes your mind off the nonsense that goes on in the name of serving others. You're feeling lousy physically, never fully able to share the dull headache...Welcome to the shadow side of service. 

Every six months, take the time to reassess what you are doing and where.

Boundaries are the limitations you set on what you perceive as insensitive behavior coming from others. The more firm the boundary, the greater your protection.

Establish a healthy separation between private and public worlds by creating a ritual to mark your entrance into and departure from service situations. 

"We must be the change we wish to see in the world." Gandhi

Do not underestimate the stress of being around a lot of noise from people, equipment, traffic, and natural disasters. The best antidote to noise is silence. Make sure you eliminate or at least significantly reduce all aural stimulation as soon as you can. Listen to soothing music on your way home. Once home, turn the phone, television, and other noise off. You need a period of silent "down time" to calm body, soul, and spirit after a tough day of giving. 

My Favorite Photos - August 2022

 August was a time of transition for all of us. It seems like such a long time ago that I saw this sunset.

Same thing with Olivia and I when we visited one of the community gardens she oversaw the designing, planting, and maintenance of a couple years ago. It is filled with native wildflowers, shrubs, and a tree - all of which are doing well. This was a 4-H leadership project she did.

At the beginning of the month, I entered many projects in the county fair. I got a blue ribbon - first place - on a photo I entered.

I wonder if next year's photo might be this one for the "animals at the fair" category.

On the 4th, I arranged for a group of seniors from the Lions Club to go on a pontoon boat ride on the St. Croix River through Let's Go Fishing. We saw lots of eagles - including this one.

Also saw the swing bridge - over a hundred years old - that rotates on a platform so that boats can get through on the river. When a train needs to use the tracks and bridge, the person in the little house on the bridge will move the bridge so the tracks lock in place and the train can cross the bridge. 

Also saw a lot of ospreys. 

The St. Croix Crossing is a bridge linking Minnesota and Wisconsin. 

Underneath is a walkway for maintenance workers so they can safely access the bridge. 

Saw another eagle.

This is a cormorant that is standing on a log or rock in the St. Croix River. 

Aspen, one of our dogs, loves to go under the covering on the couch. The covering is there to protect the sofa from getting dog fur all over it. So much for that purpose.

The prairie onions are in full bloom. The bees love them.

The swallowtails are loving the ironweed that is growing in the west pasture and in the backyard garden.

The monarchs enjoy the swamp milkweed which also is in full bloom.

Seeing monarchs never gets old for me. 

The hibiscus tree is blooming a lot. It likes the hot, humid weather.

Saw this for the first time in Olivia's garden. I think it's a hollyhock.

Saw a monarch caterpillar. This is the first one of the season.

I pulled out a flower holder that belonged to my parents. There are about 10-15 holes in the top that little flowers can be placed in. The body of the turtle is filled with water.

I walked around the yard and pasture and picked some flowers that were in bloom. There are a lot of different types and colors of flowers this year!

My friend, Karen, and I went to a Quilt Shop Hop. Near one of the quilt shops, there was a large hibiscus plant with huge flowers. This is one of them.

I think the ends of the hibiscus look like little trumpets.

Paige, Olivia, and I explored a new hiking path that had a waterfall on it. This is one section of the waterfall.

This is the waterfall...the main part.

On the right side of the photo there is rope. Someone put this rope at the top and bottom of the cliff. It was SO beneficial to have the rope going up and down the cliff. There would have been no way to do it otherwise. As I was descending the cliff, my larger lens fell out of my pocket and tumbled down the hill. Thankfully, it landed just at the edge of the water and wasn't damaged. Olivia put my lens in her backpack on the way back up the cliff.

At the last Tang Soo Do lesson, Olivia tested to see if she could move to the next level. One part of the testing is breaking a board. This is what she is doing in this picture.

Olivia was promoted to the next level in Tang Soo Do.

Towards the end of the month, the monarchs were still making daily appearances at our home. 

The Black-eyed Susans were in full bloom.

The mushrooms had come up - mainly under the trees in the forest. 

This is another mushroom.

The Great Horned Owls made their appearances known a few times during August. This is in late-August. This particular owl didn't seem humored that I could see it and was watching it. 

He (or she) did put on a show for me when s/he scratched his head. Look at those talons!

The Sneezeweed is blooming. 

On the night before Olivia left for college, Aspen came in to spend some time with her. 

On August 24th, we moved Olivia to college. It was a bittersweet experience. 

What I love is that both the girls - Olivia and Sophia - attend the same college!

At the welcome week picnic for freshmen and their parents, we enjoyed some cookies served by Sophia's suitemate, Nessa.

Sophia was working the corn station - dipping the roasted cobs of corn into cilantro butter.

There was a special program on Thursday evening of Welcome Week. The worship team played a couple of songs to open and close out the program.

On Friday, there was another day of programming. We enjoyed lunch in the dining center. Sophia was at the pizza station, topping the pizza with pepperoni.

Nessa was working the sandwich bar and tossing some lettuce there.

Olivia enjoyed a chocolate ice cream cone after dinner.

Back at her dorm, I took a picture of her by her favorite mural - a lion. When she was growing up, she would wear a lion costume the majority of the time. It was as if it made her more powerful and confident.

After doing a Target run, we visited Sophia who was done with her shift. There Sophia and Olivia are on the right hand side of the table.

I've been using up food in the refrigerator. Made an apple pie with a bunch of apples I had on hand. The pie crust is my grandma's recipe.

The monarchs are still migrating the last week of the month. I'll need to plant some more of the rough blazing stars next year. They are a HUGE favorite of the monarchs. 

The monarchs also like the cup plant flowers. There are lots of these bright yellow flowers at the top of the cup plants (which are native plants to Minnesota).

Check this out! There are five monarchs on this plant. This has been a typical sight during August. I've never seen anything like it!

 Aspen is missing both Sophia and Olivia. Here she is outside waiting patiently while I take photos.

Scooby is getting older. I think both his vision and hearing are going. He has tumbled down the last few steps in the house a few time. Other than that, he's doing fine. Scooby is about 15 years old now. He's the oldest dog we have had. The next oldest was 14 years old.

Danny is about 11 years old now. Despite getting up there in years, he is still energetic and full of life.

The ruby-throated hummingbirds are drinking a lot of sugar water as they prepare for the long migration south. I'll miss seeing the hummingbirds during the winter. 

The Pink Honeysuckle is still blooming. I love the unusual flowers on this plant.

I despise the thistle that seems to have overtaken some areas of the pasture and Olivia's garden. I've got to get rid of this stuff before it spreads even more. The goldfinches like this plant for the downy fluff that they use for their nests. They also eat the thistleseeds.

Something I've never seen before are butterflies roosting in the trees at night, primarily the ash tree in the backyard. There are groups of 2-3 butterflies that will sleep or rest next to one another starting at around dusk.

Cooper is listening and watching the pasture to the west. There has been a deer that has been walking through our front yard each morning around 5 a.m. It also spends time in the pasture during the day. We heard some rustling and he immediately became interested in what was out in pasture....perhaps another deer? 

That wraps up August. This is only a fraction of the photos I took. It is so hard for me to narrow down what my favorites one are, mainly because each one brings me joy when I look at...or is attached to a memory which I value.