ELF LAND AT MACY'S

The smell of gingerbread was in the air.

An escaped ent from Tolkien Land.

P.S.

These pictures didn't show up on Linda's blog so I felt compelled to include them here...

Love is a many splendored thing...

Weddings bring back wonderful memories...congratulations to these newlyweds!

Cherished Moments

I will take back to Brazil many special memories with my grandchildren, and thankfully, for people like me who have poor memories, a picture will stamp that memory on my heart.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

This is what I found when I stepped outside...but it didn't last under that strong

November sun.

The new Guthrie Theatre is a must-see!

The Guthrie Theatre is an experience I'm glad I had today! My "favoritist" place of all is the "amber box" that gives one such a warm, buttery, welcoming feeling on depressing, winter Minnesota days! (Hats off to award-winning French architect Jean Nouvel .) I felt a few butterflies in my stomach while walking across the glassed rectangle in the middle of the floor of the amber box giving one a view of the ground several stories below, but I reassured myself that if the glass weren't safe to walk on it wouldn't be there. Period.

The "endless bridge" is my second most favorite place and the design of the windows leading to it unique and intriguing. The walls and ceilings are splashed with scenes from theatrical plays in subdued tones and good taste. I loved it all. It was a wonderful day. Thank you, Michelle!

Put the Guthrie on your "must do" list. You won't be sorry.

Lefse Making Again!

This year I had the fun privilege of making lefse with some special people, namely, my daughter Michelle, my niece Tricia and my friend Marci. We got off to a slow start mainly because when we were almost at Tricia's house (where we were going to make this God-given manna) I remembered that I had forgotten to bring along the lefse grill and all the paraphernalia that accompanies it! There was also the case of Tricia's missing lefse rolling pin and the Tupperware container of sugar that fell on the floor. But when we started rolling, there was no stopping us! We rolled and rolled and rolled some more. (Twenty pounds of potatoes makes a lot of lefse!!)

It tasted sooooo delicious warm from the grill and we even had visitors drop by who sampled our lefse and one of those visitors proclaimed our lefse " The best he'd ever tasted!!!" (And I believe him!)

Yeah for lefse!!!!

TWO SPECIAL BIRTHDAYS!

Happy 4th Birthday, Gabriella on November 9th and to her daddy, Michael on November 10th. You are two of my favorite people. I love you!!!!!

LIFE WITHOUT PAT

My life without Pat began on Oct. 30th with my last glimpse of him walking away on the other side of check-in at the airport. Initially it meant I could decide my own schedule, go where I wanted to go, do what I wanted to do and be my own boss. That all sounded good until I started my new single life. I discovered I didn't like driving myself places, nor making decisions all on my own. I missed his daily love afirmations knowing he was taking care of me. There was no one with whom to share my confidences or snuggle with after lights were turned out. Frankly, when one has been married 40 years, being separated like this feels a little like being handicapped or like driving a car that has only half the pistons operating.

On the other hand, I have my wonderful kids & their spouses to hang out with for a whole month and my favorite thing to do with them is to linger over a meal and talk. That's when I realize how much I miss their humor and insights for they help me see a different slice of life. I am proud of who they are. Then I have three precious grandkids to play with and observe and that makes the sun shine even on gray November days. I'm soaking up precious moments of listening to their special words: Gabriella's hosipal (hospital), Caleb's loloach (milk) and Penelope's "you go me". We play house, doctor, having babies, and read stories.

God did a good thing when he invented families.

LET IT SNOW!

If you hadn't seen snow in four years like me, what would have been your reaction this morning when you looked out your window and saw the white stuff falling out of the sky? My reaction was, " How gorgeous!" I felt like I'd been transported into a fairy wonderland and I stood transfixed as the lazy flakes softly fell to earth. Every itty bitty inch of twig on the trees was covered in snow and it was like I'd stepped inside my personal snow globe. My two grandkids got right out there and played in the white stuff.

Isaiah 1:18 says, "'Come now, and let us reason together,' says the Lord, 'Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow...'" If we have confessed and forsaken our sins, asked Jesus for cleansing, but continue to feel like dirt, we are calling God a liar. I am humbled, but so thankful for the power in His blood to completely cleanse us and for complete forgiveness and I want to emulate his example.

My cute li'l pumpkins!

When Ignorance is NOT Bliss

I tickled, I cajoled, I pushed and shoved and succeeded in jamming my x-d picture card in my new laptop. There it stayed for a couple of days while several of us gathered round to philosophize, exchange ignorances, and talk about "how" to extricate said card from my PC. Then, EUREKA!! During the night I had a revelation: use my tweezer to gently pull said card from its dire straits. When morning dawned, I did just that, and BINGO! the x-d disappeared inside my PC. LITERALLY. There is not a sign nor sound of it. Alas! I blame it all on my husband, who though not present, was responsible for the accident. If he had been here, I wouldn't have been so rash--would not have used the tweezer because my hubby would have stopped me in time. I'm sorry, Pat, for the damages you have done.

My poor PC is in the hospital. Pray for a quick recovery. Ignorance was NOT bliss.

Dunn Brothers Done it right!

Here's a great coffee house for those who value history. Sip a steaming cup of coffee in a charming, homey alcove of the famous Smith Douglas More farmhouse in Eden Prairie with someone you love. We did.

A Grand Lady

Happy 94th Birthday, Mother!

My Space

I fell in love with North Dakota again! When one is away from this land as I have been, that ocean of sky and flat endless prairie without a blip on the screen gripped me anew with a delicious sense of freedom and, ah yes, s-p-a-c-e. I am a leave-the-doors-open kind of person and this land breeds that feeling. And, contrary to popular opinion, there are trees in North Dakota. In fact, my mother owns 40 acres of them and I had the privilege of roaming "in the scary woods". I didn't see any wild beasts and only heard the chatter of a squirrel and the occasional squawk of a bird; however, I saw many deer tracks.

To get to this oasis of wooded fairy land, I had to cross a scary bridge made by two fallen trees. It reminded me of my unfortunate experience as a kid falling off a different "tree bridge" smack into the river. This time, fortunately, I didn't fall in, thanks to my agility and physical prowess.

OUR DAILY BREAD

I am enjoying the book How to Pray When You Don't Know What to Say by Elmer L. Towns. The title caught my attention because I have had many days lately where I didn't know what to say when I prayed. Home assignment (which is the new word for furlough) is always a mix between chaos, stress and pleasure. Imagine squeezing four years of things you haven't been able to do, see, feel, smell, taste and enjoy into four tiny months. I am often torn between the "oughts" and "shoulds" of life; hence the state of mind when I try to pray. I've been scoring high on guilt, but I try to console myself that God understands, knows my heart, and isn't holding a stick over my head. That's where the "daily bread" comes in. Our daily bread isn't just physical bread, but all our needs for each day. We are to trust God to provide not only food for our bodies, but the daily emotional and mental needs as well. Towns says, "God wants us to go to Him, tug on His pocket, and ask Him for the needs on our hearts each day." That helped me a lot. I've given God my Daily Planner because it just got too overwhelming as I hear the clock tick, ticking away to D-Day on October 30th. (P.S. He's doing a bang-up job--just like I knew He would!)

THOSE GOOD OL' TRADING STAMPS

I remember yearning eagerly for the day the S & H stamp book would be filled up. There were so many cool prizes to choose from. And it wasn't just S & H, but the Super Value grocery store stamps and maybe the Red Owl, too. I loved the job of pasting in the stamps and then flipping through the book, admiring each filled page. Ah! Those were the days. And then, just the other day in a shop in Stillwater, I saw an old S & H sign where my hubby and I were devouring homemade pumpkin & apple pie à la mode and coffee for only $3.00 each. What a steal. It was almost like getting a stamp to paste in the S & H stamp book.

GOOD AND PLEASANT

The Psalmist declares in Psalm 133 that it is good and pleasant for brothers to live together in unity. A united family is good, but a united family is doubly good when that family is united "in Christ". We had such a moment tonight at Applebee's, thanks to points from Super America gasoline!

Just a Bit-O-Honey

It's been years since I've been able to eat certain candy bars, so when I come back to the USA, guess what I want to eat? You betcha! I spend time gazing at the candy bar shelf in the store, gathering courage to indulge. And I've been successful. I finally found the one I was most wanting to eat--Bit-O-Honey--way up north at Grand Portage, almost in Canada. There in the Holiday Gas Station I was thrilled to find it (even though they have changed the wrapper without asking my permission.) It tasted delicious! I also found Oh Henry! and I did eat a Nut Goodie that was given to me from my brother's cache. (You see, he can't find Nut Goodies in New York and I can't honestly say how many he bought and ate while in North Dakota!!!!) I am thinking about buying a Butterfinger, maybe an Almond Joy, a Reeses Pieces, but not Hershey's Chocolate Bar (because I have a little piece almost every day...shhh!) I see I have my work cut out for me. Look out, candy bars!!

Which system is better--Brazil's or the USA?

This year I had to renew my Brazilian and my American driver's license. It was an interesting study in cultures. Check this out.

How to renew a driver's license in Brazil (The government has privatized the process.)

1. Go to licensing station to get form for paying at the bank and to find out the other rules.

2. Take form to bank, stand in line and pay for license.

3. Go to photo studio to have picture taken.

4. Take the form and picture back to testing station to make appointment for medical exam.

5. Do medical exam on day scheduled. It consists of several questions and an eye exam with that eye chart we are all familiar with.

6. Go to testing station on Tuesday (a week after I made my first inquiries) to take written test, the only day of the week when it is done.

7. While waiting to be called for testing, I almost miss it because of misinformation.

8. Take test and hope I pass. Results can only be obtained a day or two later by calling up the testing station.

9. I passed! Whew! Now I must call again to find out when the license will be ready. (It was ready and in my hands within a week, but I had to go back to the station to pick it up.)

Cost: $73.00

Expires: June 4, 2013

Restrictions: Corrective lenses

Time required: one week + one week until receive license

This license does not give my address, my eye color, my height nor my weight, nor my sex. It does register my ID number, social security number and the names of my parents.

How to renew a driver's license in Minnesota (run by the state).

1. Go to licensing bureau where I am told I must do the driver's test as well as the written, but am not given the rule book to study. (I ask for it later after observing instructions being given to another.). I do take a form to fill out.

2. Call the Egan Testing Station and leave a message on their system to call me back. (It never happens.)

3. After many weeks, call again and wait to talk to a real person. Now I am told that I do not have to take the driver's test, but only the written and I don't need an appointment.

4. After studying the manual, I feel I must take the plunge and hope for the best.

5. At the Egan Testing Station, I stand in a long line and wait my turn.

6. At the desk, a quick eye exam is executed and I do not need corrective lenses.

7. I am directed to a computer where I take the test quickly and find out my score immediately.

I passed! Whew!

8. I wait in line again until I am called to take my picture right there and right now!

9. I pay for my license and am given a piece of paper as my legal right to drive until the real license comes.

10. I receive my license in the mail almost two months later.

Cost: $24.00

Expires: Oct. 21, 2012

Restrictions: None

This license gives my address, my sex, eye color, height & weight

Time required: 60-90 minutes + two months until receive license

It's your call--which system is better?