The Pregnant Lady

My daughter, Tahnee, is expecting her first baby(girl) on Sept 30th. That is my dad's birthday so it would be great it she actually delivered on that day, but it's kind of unlikely. The "nest" is all ready. Tahnee's twin sister, Olivia, visited awhile ago and painted a tree in the nursery.

She struggled with endometriosis so it's awesome that she was able to conceive. Also, she and I went on a trip to Guatemala from Christmas Day 2009 to New Years Day 2010. When I asked her to go along, my intention was to make sure she saw and experienced this part of the world before having children. I know that once children arrive, traveling becomes more difficult. This baby was conceived upon returning, so it all worked out perfectly.

She was home last weekend and probably for the last time before delivery. We had a wonderful time together, and I got to feel baby Flowers move and hiccup. We don't know the name yet (it's a secret), but we know it's not Lily, Daisy, Rose or Violet.

So about a month from today, I'll have another grandchild to love and spoil. Life is good.

Thought for the day: Grandchildren are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation. Lois Wyse

Big Buildup=Big Letdown

My husband and six of his buddies had their annual Lake Winnibigoshish men's gathering this weekend. The buildup for this begins several weeks ahead, and it's quite comical to see how much is imagined ahead of time. I told him they should be careful about building it up so much as it couldn't possibly meet the high standards. They have a sweat bath put on by Brian, have big meals, go fishing, play in the water, play music and who knows what else! I'm glad it's some thing I don't have to witness. Way too much testosterone in one place.

This year a photo of Brian playing his banjo was lifted from Facebook, and t-shirts were made with that image. Also, all the guys had tattoos of the same image. So that was the big deal this year. I also have a tattoo of him brought home for me and a t-shirt.

Now the after talk begins via phone, e-mail and Facebook. The whole experience will be rehashed. It's an interesting process to watch. It seems to me that it mirrors life. We always hope events and people will be more than they are or can be, and thus humans are often disappointed. Perhaps the key is to take life as it comes without expectations. Que Sera, Que Sera

Thought for the day: Life is so constructed that an event does not, cannot, will not meet the expectation. Charlotte Bronte

Finding Balance

My life has been feeling very unbalanced lately. With working more hours at my job, and my husband losing his job, it seems like I haven't been able to get grounded. Today I finally feel like I'm making progress in the right direction.

On Friday evening I spent the night at a B & B in New York Mills, had dinner in Perham and scouted around Battle Lake on Saturday. I was able to catch up with my friend and see parts of Minnesota that in my 51 years had not been visited. We also went to see Eat, Pray, Love which gave me some renewed insight into getting balance in your life. I had read the book but somehow seeing it on the big screen at a time when I was seeking made it more relevant.

My husband is gone on a camping trip so I have a whole day to myself. I woke up at 7:00 a.m. and since then have gotten all my bills up to date, filed a pile of papers that have been sitting there staring at me for weeks, did some much needed weeding in my flower gardens, cleaned up some other clutter, tidied up the spare bedroom and cleaned the bathroom. It's not even noon yet!! Now I plan to have a light lunch and take a nap and enjoy the fresh breezes and the lower humidity. When I get up I'm going to do some more cleaning and start reading a new book.

I already feel the scale tipping in the right direction.

Thought for the day: Happiness is not a matter of intensity, but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony....Thomas Merton

Home Again

A few weeks ago, it was a pleasure to have my daughter, Olivia, home for a couple days. Having her established life in the city, it's a rare time that she gets to come home. She enjoys the quiet and slower paced life here where she can actually hear the birds.

She loves to create so she headed out with a basket to gather flowers and make bouquets. Time was spent lounging with our animals and eating blueberry pancakes. We both wished we lived closer to each other so these times wouldn't be quite so rare. Maybe they wouldn't be so special, though, if we saw each other more regularly. Who knows? All I know is that it's alot of fun to have my daughters around, and it makes me feel good that they like to come home.

Thought for the day: You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it's alright....Maya Angelou

High Summer

Well, we are into August, the so-called dog days of summer. This year has had its share of 90 degree days, high humidity, severe storms and mosquitoes. While I don't like to see the destruction that can be caused, I do enjoy summer storms. I love the cracking of thunder and the downpours of rain. It's a refreshing sight to see our rain barrels being pummeled with rain falling from the eaves. To sit on the front porch watching the storms roll in and smelling the rain is being encased in reality.

Now the sunflowers, phlox, morning glories and hollyhocks are in full bloom. We are regularly eating Schonberg's sweet corn and soon the county fair will be here. The back to school sales are in full swing, and you can almost taste the fall suppers that will follow. Life keeps marching on with no way to stop it.

We have made it through another summer without air conditioning. When people ask how we can do it or look at us with amazement, I think of how for many centuries people survived without it and people around the world in much hotter places then here don't give it a thought. It's just living in the moment and knowing that summer means hot and winter means cold. When it becomes too much, we head over to Lake Burgen for a dip that cools you to the core.

Thought for the day: Deep Summer is when laziness finds respectability...Sam Keen

Precious

Our cat, Precious, died on July 3rd. She had been not well for some time. After a lifetime of being overweight, she became very thin. She spent most of her life by herself in the basement, but the last few weeks of her life was spent close to us. She also wanted to be outside and would follow me around the yard. So it was evident that some thing was amiss. She was known to overeat and had battled diabetes. My husband kept asking if we should bring her in for a last ditch effort, but I knew the signs. It was time to let her go.

Her last days were spent laying on a dog bed we had put in the living room for her; at times she seemed in a dazed stupor. I would hold her as often as possible; taking her out on the porch for some fresh air. Hope, our other cat, abandoned her in the end. She must have smelled death and wanted no part of it.

I had hoped to be there when she finally left, but I was out of town when Brian found her in the basement. So he wrapped her in the material I had picked and buried her along with a note from each of us, a picture of Hope and Precious and a full bowl of cat food. She was given a send off much like an Egyptian queen.

So ends the era of Precious waking me up on the roof in the middle of the night and howling for food at 5:00 a.m. She was a most annoying creature, but I loved her nonetheless.

Thought for the day: You can miss a toothache if you have had it long enough..Kenneth Peterson (my dad)