Sights and Smells of the Past

      How about some blasts from the past? The other day I was on facebook and saw a post from Jeanie Torres, about what smells do you remember from your past and I thought I could blog about sights and smells from the past. Which do you remember?

      The first one that came to my mind was Evening in Paris perfume. My Mom used it and I was one of those kids that got carsick about five minutes after getting in the car so I remember that smell VERY WELL! Not only was Mom was wearing it, and it seemed every hankerchief she pulled out of her purse when I was about to puke smelled like it had been soaked in that stuff! I have an old bottle of it but needless to say i don't sniff it too often!

       Another one I had an adversion to was Petrocarbo salve. Traveling Watkins salesman always had plenty of that to peddle and my Mom and Grandma used it for anything. Another icky one.

       Vicks vaporub was a pleasant one. I liked the smell and I liked the love  that came when it was rubbed on your chest and neck when you were sick. The wool sock pinned around your neck I could have lived without. Combine that with the Vicks sniffing stick that you breathed in and we were good to go, and a cure for what ailed us most of the time. I still use Vicks to this day!

       Tinture of Mertholate was sure to get you screaming in pain if the skinned knee or open skin was a big one. It worked better to paint my sister up like Big Chief Isodine I'd seen on tv. Mom wasn't impressed and chewed me out a bit, while using everything from alcohol to Vasaline to rub it off Kathy's face. But this stuff went on before any bandaid, much to our dismay! Thank God for the invention of triple antibiodic salve huh?

         Resinol, was an ointment with that Mom put on her dermatitis on her forehead and around her nose. It smelled like bacon and she wore it to bed everynight. I hated that smell.

 

      Juneberry trees, were a wonderful sight! They bloom in the spring and berries get ready in July. NO pie is better than Juneberry pie!

         The arroma from lilac bushes is wonderful! When our daughter Shelbey got married they were her reception flowers. The men in the family all went out to the farm and cut lilacs for her the morning of the wedding. They smelled so nice!

 

        Mom loved pussywillows even drying some once and spraying them with fixative. The little furry buds are called catkins.

       Crocus flowers seem to magically appear right after the snow drifts disappear on praire land. We loved to pick crocus flowers and find the prettiest little juice glass Mom had to stuff the furry stems in. We wont mention all the little black bugs that come crawling out from nowhere!

 

      Bleeding hearts, were one of my Mom's favorite flowers. She had some tractor tires, cut in half, painted black and white, and layed up against her little farmhouse. She loved to take us on a tour of her flowers, pointing them all out by name. There were always johnny jump ups, pansys, tiger lillies and bleeding hearts.

 

       Inside the house Mom always had a cactus bowl. She always enjoyed spending time in Arizona, and this was her way of bringing a little bit of Arizona home to North Dakota. She was like I am and loved both places. 

        I'm sure you have some I have forgotton. What sights and smells do you remember from your past?

You Might Be From ND If....

      Have you ever watched the TV show Swamp People, riding along with alligator hunters in Cajun country? They all have a dialect and way of speaking that makes the show so much fun to watch. I am also really taken in with how happy they are just to live a simple life on the swamp, with family and few friends. North Dakota living was a simple, quiet life back when in the fifties and sixties too.

       I am an Arizona resident now, transplanted from North Dakota and there is no where I'd have rather been from. I love the North and I love the South and the East and West for that matter. I don't understand people who have to be all one or the other, and put down people from different parts of the country. I find it particularly humerous that those that have the most negative to say about the Midwest, couldn't fix a flat tire if they had too, or much else for that matter. They would be "city slickers" and viewed by ND natives as in need of some help,( and they'd be the first to help you out). What you know and how you speak is all about what you've been exposed to.  Everywhere you live has good and bad. Some of my favorite memories about North Dakota is the dialects, accents and even more...the euphemisms and metaphors we use in funny ways. Some of my favorite sayings we used and still use at times are:

There's too many Chiefs and not enough Indians ( some would scream racist these days but...) Mom used this one a lot,  to insinuate that theres to many bosses and not enough workers.

A bird in the hand is worth two the the bush

Dark as a sack of black cats

Dumb as a box of rocks

Whatever pulls your plow

Haven't seen her for a "month of Sundays"

He's a tall drink of water

Your barn doors open

Gotta talk to a man about a horse

Uglier than a mud fence

That's as scarce as hens' teeth

Slick as a whistle

I could run circles around her

Poor as a church mouse

Blind as a bat

Slept like a theif in a horsebarn(one I use all the time)

Don't get your shorts in a bind

She has him tied to her apron strings

Read between the lines

Turn the tables on them

Sick as a dog

Slower than molasses in January

Whet my whistle

He's got some "clodhoppers" on

Crazy as a loon

Drinks like a fish

Lies like a rug

Sharp as a tack

Down in the dumps

Quiet as a mouse

Don't go "Shootin' off your mouth"

Cut a rug

Naked as a jay bird

Worthless as tits on a Nun (that ones bad but gotta own it)

Uncomfortable as a whore in church

Snug as a bug in a rug

Kept us in stitches

Sweatin' bullets

Make hay while the sun shines

If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all

         My sister's children all grew up here in Phoenix, so her Grand kids call us on our silly way of speaking. Nyah especially, Heather and Jim's oldest daughter. When she was only two years old,  we went to Bismark for Shelbeys' wedding party and stopped at a gas station along the way. She asked her Grandma Marcy, "What are we doing here?" Marcy said, "Oh we're just stretching our legs". We all burst out laughing when we saw her little hands on the van,  full out stretching like a runner, because she took it literally! Another time she noticed I had a skinned knee and ask, "what happened to your knee Pam"? And I said," Oh, I banged it on something...". She came back with, "no you didn't bang it, you bumped it"!

            A lot of people from here probably think we are swamp people when we start spewing out all our silly sayings, but some are cleaver and colorful. We had a lot of humor in our surroundings. My Dad would come in from doing chores and say, "It's a nice morning this morning, but it were as nice a morning this morning as it was yesterday morning, it would be a really nice morning this morning"!  Or whenever we sat down at the table to eat supper,  my Dad would say, "The one who eats the fastest gets the most"!
           One of my Uncles, Dewey Jarmin, was hilarious and always had a good story. When Clarence and Gordon Alvstad visited, they "kept us all in stitches" around the kitchen table and a pot of coffee. My Dad's cousin Elmer even in his nineties is full of jokes and silly commentary.  I wrote this particular blog entry so I  don't forget a lot of them, and to write them down for the kids. Oh and.... maybe bring a smile to some faces. Add to my list of you think of some, I'd love you to.

Where's The Roundup When You Need It?

Do you ever dwell on the relatively few negative happenings in your life until it dims the shine of all the blessings we all live with every day? I do that.We all have weeds in our garden of flowers in one way or the other. But when you look at the garden, and the weeds are all that's grabbing your attention and overwhelming you... something needs to change!  Many days I dwell on my health problems, such as my arthritis and lower back problems. It's hard not to when everything hurts and every step you take is painful. It really zaps the joy from life. The other day the idea struck me that I need to work on rising above it; see more flowers and downplay the weeds. 

My Mom used to say, that when she opened her eyes in the morning and saw the sun coming through her bedroom window she always, "thanked God for another day". She was such a lover of nature. She loved birds, flowers, beaver dams, animals...any of it. I don't do that. I just plant my stiff feet on the floor, and ooch and ouch my way to the bathroom, muttering to myself how they hurt and how disgusted  I am that I can't take any Advil or anything.

After letting my dogs out, I drink my tea, (my bright spot of every day). This is when I used to take my Advil, three of them, so I could take the edge of my arthritis and do something. Now I have to tackle everything I do with sheer will power and my poor attitude is fanning the flame of self pity.

The other day I was driving out to see Stetson and listening to Laura Story's song, Blessings. I took in the lyrics I'd heard many times before, they come from I Thessalonians 5:16-18. Later that week I heard Pastor Mark say, what ever is bothering you, whether it's something benign like arthritis or something deadly like cancer, is easier to handle if you realize that this body is not the one we're stuck with for eternity. If we believe we have everlasting life, the years we spend in our bodies here are like a blip on the radar scale...because eternity is a long time. I was happy with that news...cuz I got the short end of the stick,  when it came to a body.

So, I have been working on finding things every day that I'm thankful for. Of course there are all the huge obvious things...the ones you have ready when its your turn on Thanksgiving day to say what your thankful for. Things like God, family, friends, health, and the food in front of us.

I decided to look instead for the not so obvious, the hidden blessings, like when you pick a shopping cart and all the wheels work! Getting a good one is a little like the lottery... it's stacked against you! You'd look pretty silly making a test run outside the store, and even if you did, once inside all the wheels would be heading in different directions clacking along from aisle to aisle anyway. I never know if I need to apologize for subjecting oncoming shoppers to the racket of my squealing cart, or the fact that I'm coming down the aisle sideways! So a good cart is a small blessing that makes your day for sure!

I have loved to go to second hand stores for many years! I used to pick a day, even when I lived in Minot, to make the rounds to the area second hand stores whose proceeds benefit people in need. In Minot, the Restore store benefits the mentally ill ( my passion), the Salvation Army (helps the poor) and also has a CEO with a regular wage rather than a six figure one, the Dakota Boys Ranch(helps young troubled boys). They are all fun places to go. Here in Arizona, I like the Goodwill stores. They are clean and in good neighborhoods over here on the East side of town. I really enjoy finding an old treasure. I collect old brooches, and I have a collection of Little Golden books, but i have caught my limit on those... as they are heavy and I had to move them once already. We have some great antique shops here in Arizona too! So Goodwill stores/antique shops are another hidden blessing for me, who likes give myself a day to wander through them, and for whom the proceeds benefit. Another blessing in my life!

My horse is a huge blessing. He has been acting up the last couple months, just being really stubborn and acting crazy. I started getting depressed and really in a funk about how old I am. I feel like an, "old lady with a young horse", and he's too much horse for me. Inside you feel the same age as you always were. The logical thing is to
                             A. Sell him, and either replace him with a deadhead that's got one foot in the grave                   
                             B. Get in better physical shape weight wise myself although the back and  arthritis is still there          
                              C. Get a rocking horse for the living room.

 I actually even showed him to some people who were interested in him. I cried all day. Syd went with to meet the prospective buyers. They wanted him, but Syd (bless her heart), ran up beside me when I was turning him out and said, "Mom your not ready to sell him, and neither am I. I don't like horses that much, but he loves you you can see that... and you love him". I decided shes right...I'm not ready to sell him, my life has a completeness to it with him in it! He's an 1100 lb small blessing, as are our chihuahuas and Bentley the human cat. Nobody is going anywhere at the moment.

I'm happy that Kerry and I have weathered the strong hurricane winds that blew through our marriage the last few years. We have both looked at the rubble around us more than once, and wondered if it was worth rebuilding, because there have always been weak spots even before the storm hit. I've never been able to see myself without him, I've loved him since I was about sixteen. Like the horse problem,  he's alot of donkey for me at times, and I have my less than stellar behavior myself too, so we keep going. Some days we fight like pitbulls and other days it's still pretty entertaining and good to have someone in you're corner and he's always been in my corner when it comes down to it.

We all have weeds in our life don't we? Weeds are resistant, hard to kill, and some of us are pretty good at over fertilizing our weed environment besides. Seems we get rid of one patch of weeds,  and another pops up! Same with problems and trials in our lives. If we look over our flowers and only see the weeds... we are missing alot of beauty. What can we do but work  at it? We must keep on picking weeds before they take over the whole garden. Pluck them from our life one by one, and and in the meantime focus on the flowers because as the song goes, "What if the trials of this life, are mercies in disguise"?

Desiderata

This is one of my favorite poems. I have it on a book mark and read it often. It was written in 1920, the year my Mom was born by Max Ehrmann.

Max Ehrmann was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, on September 16, 1872. His parents were German immigrants. Ehrmann graduated from DePauw University in Greencastle in 1894, after which he studied law and philosophy at Harvard University.

Ehrmann returned to Terre Haute to practice law, following which (early 1900's) he began writing,  obsessively. Max Ehrmann was known as the 'Poet Laureate' of Terre Haute.

Ehrmann wrote many poems, although none became well known until after his death. He died never knowing people eventually loved his poetry. Aside from Desiderata his most famous poem is A Prayer, written in 1906.

Max Ehrmann originally copyrighted Desiderata in 1927 as 'Go Placidly Amid The Noise And Haste'. The copyright number was 962402, dated 3rd January.

Ehrmann included Desiderata in a Christmas message to his friends in 1933, and significantly never added any copyright notice, a factor which featured strongly in legal considerations in the 1970's about Desiderata copyright (more below).

US Army psychiatrist Merill Moore wrote in 1942 to Ehrmann that he used the Desiderata poem in his therapy work, and also wrote to Ehrmann in 1944 suggesting that the poem should be bottled and sold as 'Dr Ehrmann's Magic Soul Medicine'. Communications between Moore and Ehrmann featured strongly in legal considerations in the 1970's about Desidarata copyright (more below).

Max married Bertha three months before his death in 1945. Bertha Scott King Ehrmann was from New York; she graduated from Smith College, wrote, taught, and published a book called The Worth of a Girl. Three months after Max Ehrmann's death, Bertha published four of his books.

Max Ehrmann's widow Bertha published the Desiderata poem with some other of his work in 1948, in a collection titled The Poems Of Max Ehrmann. She re-renewed the Desiderata copyright in 1948 and 1954.

Bertha Ehrmann died in 1962, upon which the copyright ownership passed to her nephew Richmond Wight. Wight later sold the copyright for an undisclosed amount to Crescendo Publishing Company in 1975.  

All this information about the poem came from a site called http://www.businessballs.com/ , I am not claiming it as my own research. I just find it such a tragedy that he never knew what an impact his thoughts had on so many people.

I love the poem its my favorite...and thought I would share with some facts about the man behind it.

You Are What You Eat

 

You are what you eat right? Isn’t that good reason to blame Paula Deen for having type 2 diabetes?  I mean only overweight people get that therefore,   if you get that disease…hey, it’s your own fault!  Besides that, she had it for three years before revealing that she had been diagnosed with it, making her a real villain! She continued to make old fashioned comfort food with butter and cream, and taking people’s money  as if she was,  “poisoning the public” with her high calorie, high fat and high sugar recipes ?  Paula Deen the villain of the day!

In my estimation, this is just one more thing the public needs to mind their own business about. What was she supposed to do?  Should she have walked out of the Drs. office and told the world she had diabetes before she even knew what that meant for her, and how she was going to control her disease? People would have been swarming around; blaming her just, like they are now and she would have no time to even have any thought out answers. I think she handled her news exactly as she should have. Get herself on medication, a carb restricted diet and invested in a treadmill. She is not responsible for the rest of America’s cholesterol numbers, glucose numbers or any other heath issue. It is up to every person to know their own health risks and numbers. Is Paula Deen’s cooking going to stop the obesity problem in this country…hell no!

She has always taken the position of all things in moderation. You can still eat cake and even yummy Paula Deen cake, as long as it’s counted as carbs and calories.  She has said many times she does not eat everything she cooks all day, every day even herself. Stress plays a huge part in diabetes numbers and I believe acquiring diabetes in the first place, as does genetics.

 Thin people have diabetes just like the overweight, thin people die of heart attacks and strokes too believe it or not.  I don’t dispute the fact that being overweight and eating poorly increases the chance that you get one of those but if you are lucky enough to live long enough eventually…. you will get something no matter what you do. When you’re fat however everything is your own fault. It’s still ok to hate fat people in this country and be superior to them. It's the last socially excepted prejudice.  Watch Bridesmaids…funny, funny movie but most of the humor was "fat girl humor", my personal favorite(scarcasm alert).

I am probably biased because I have always been a huge Paula Deen fan and a fat girl. I remember the first day I watched Paula cook something…and found her personality so fun, so next door comfortable, and have always thought she was an absolutely beautiful lady. She has overcome anxiety disorder that " ain't no easy task"!  It seems everything the public builds up... it tears down, so now I guess it’s time to pick on her. Why can’t people just let people be people?  If you don’t like calorie dense Paula Deens cooking don’t buy her cookbooks, it’s that simple. We really don’t need to crucify her!

 Andy Rooney once said, (and this is not a direct quote, but) something like two of the biggest sections in the bookstores are cookbooks… right next to the diet section telling you not to eat.  People make a big deal out of very thing it seems! So, if we are what we eat…I say avoid fruits and nuts, cuz there seems to be an abundance of them already!

 

A Left Over Ham Sandwich And A Blog

          The halls have been decked, I was pretty darn jolly, I wore all my gayest apparel (even ask the kids ha). There's left over ham in the fridge (minus the piece on the sandwich I'm eating), and Christmas is over fa la la la la! If you're like me you have a lot of anticipation about Christmas early on. The day after Thanksgiving, I was decorating my tree and listening to Christmas music. I even downloaded some new songs…loved the new Michael Buble and Shania Twain’s version of White Christmas (oops a little ADD there). But I had a fun month of getting ready for Christmas.

           By the twenty first of December though, I start stressing full throttle. I have practiced this Christmas tradition for many years so I'm really good at it! Am I going to get all done? Do I have the same amount of gifts, value wise and number wise for the people coming to Christmas Eve? I start thinking of what I’m cooking, and whether I have all the ingredients for sure? Ice, oh ya, ice, for the drinks cooler, Cool Whip for the pie…darn I forgot that…and my car, do I have gas in it to go to church? I do, but I have to clean out all the junk out in the far back seat, so people can sit way back there. I can think of more stuff to stress about, than you have time to read!

          The blessed day arrives on the 24^th  when everyone gets here, the food is all in the oven, and we are ready to go to church. This year we went an hour early to church because theres 5000 members at the new Mission we go to; that’s a lot of people already, besides all the extra family they would bring. I knew it would fill up fast and I didn’t want to sit in overflow, so we went that early. I justify to the kids, you stand in line for a concert so it's about time we stand in line for church. They were happy campers about it, everyone just visited and it went by fast. Shortly after I sat down, I started thinking about my scalloped potatoes bubbling over and starting a fire, or smoking up the house, (I am so much like my Mom sometimes, I can’t believe it myself).  I forgot we'd be standing there an hour...so we'd be gone two hours rather than an hour. Other years we've gone for one hour and the potatoes are just getting to the bubbling over stage when we get home. Sitting there, I reason with myself next…. I did put a cookie sheet under them... just in case they bubbled over...they should be fine...don't let that destract you.  


          The service was amazing as I expected, but I won’t lie, I thought about those potatoes twenty or twenty five times at least!  With my car full of talkative, spirit filled kids, we drove home. I was rather quiet consummed with potato thoughts. I crossed the railroad tracks. Secretly, I was glad to see no billowing smoke in the direction of my house…and pulling into the yard the tree was lit and the lights were clear and shining. Whew…doesn’t look smokey in there…and once inside it smelled good, like Christmas Eve should...thank you God! They had bubbled over onto the cookie sheet and looked perfectly brown and delicious!

          I enjoyed every single minute of the two days of Christmas with the kids…the gifts, the games, the prayers the laughter, and the joking.  When everyone went home and the door closed, the door closed on Christmas too in my mind, and you know what?  I’m ready for it. I feel good about how it went, I felt happiness about having the kids go home with new sheets for their beds, and some other things they each needed. I’m thankful God provides for our needs… and some wants as well.

          So now what? I shrink at the idea of New Year’s resolutions. I’m not very good at those; matter of fact admitting I have one to anyone, has proven to be a sure recipe for disaster! I do better if I think small and try and build on that. Last year I started this blog because of some books I got from Kathy, (my sister) and her kids. She sent me a book called and And She Sparkled, knowing I’d had a rough last few years.

         I did a lot of things last year to change some things that I was in control of that were bothering me…I finished my bathroom, I redid the laundry room and the pantry, took more classes, and  moved myself up on the page of people I take care of.  Best of all, I GOT A HORSE AGAIN…and Stetson has brought me back to my authentic, real self I was before marriage and kids. I got my Dad’s saddle oiled and redone at Brays Saddlery in Minot, ND., and what joy I get riding in it, and seeing it daily. Don't read into this that im going back to horse shows and barrell racing I'm not that delusional ... just riding for fun.  

         When I say start small with our goals, I mean start small. We don’t need to set ourselves up to be another Mother Teresa. We weren’t all meant to accomplish all that!  She didn’t have a family of her own. We are called to do what we can, where we can. Maybe we can start by simply redefining what richness is? Some of the richest people in the world are those that invest in family and love.  You can do the most good in the world starting with your own family, and circling out from there. I really believe that. There is a saying that is one of my favorites…I have it on a shirt that goes:

One hundred years from now

It won't matter

What kind of car I drove

What kind of house I lived in

How much money I had in the bank

Or what my clothes looked like

BUT

The world may be a little better

Because, I was important

In the life of a child.

             It’s so true. The real lasting difference is one we can make in childrens lives. How we parent, teach or befriend a child, will affect what kind of parents, teachers and caretakers they will be to the next generation. Of course, I know this is simplified, but I really like it. I also urge you to include yourself on the list, and wish kind things for yourself when you’re working on that radiating circle of love for everyone else.

                I have no big new plans for 2012 other than to keep doing what I am doing.  Living an examined life, not taking  my life or the life of those around me for granted, enjoying new experiences with my family and friends, get more involved at the mission and take time to relax my mind and body (relaxing my mind is almost next to impossible… big task).

             I did not accomplish my weight loss goal again last year, and if I have any regrets in my life it’s that I can’t get that obstacle in my rear view mirror and keep it there!  I’m mad at myself for that, that I let one more year go by being a fat person. I have given so much of my life to that. It’s not about vanity for me, it’s about health.  I have no idea how I’m going to accomplish it again this year,  but when I think of riding my horse and balancing 100 pounds of dog food or something up there I think, oh my gosh, how much better and how much less effort it would take for me to ride if I dumped the dang dog food!  Will that thought be enough to make me do it, I don’t know, I wish I could assure you it would. But, if I  am going to really treat myself like I would other people, I’d say don’t let your past define your future and keep trying, so that’s my plan for me too. I’m going to keep working on Stetson too, he has made so much progress in the last few months and I hope next year I can victoriously claim that he’s  a well broke horse now and take pride in all my work with him, and that I dumped the dog food along the way ha.

                I think it’s time we get ready for a great start to a New Year! I’m planning to pack up the Christmas cds and break out Auld Lang Syne, buy some sparkling cider and wish you all a Happy New Year!

It's All In The Details

   What was your Christmas like as a child? Does it bring up good memories or bad memories? I don't know, aside from a visit to the North Pole, how mine could be topped. My parents went through such elaborate Santa antics, that both of my sisters were devastated when they found out the truth about Santa. I don't know why I wasn't, but I don't even remember how I heard or was told!  
     We always got about eight packages from Mom and Dad, so our real tree was always overflowing with packages and Mom decorated everything and anything. The Saturday before Christmas, the Regis theater in Stanley, would have a free movie and when you came out of the movie Santa would be there, fake beard and all! With a ho, ho, ho he handed all of us kids a brown paper lunch sack with peanuts, chocolate drops and hard candy. I always looked forward to that! Kerry, my husband, was probably at those same Santa days as me but I didn't recognize him for good reason. Kerry had a jacket when he was about six that was reversible. He wore the checked side and got a bag of candy, then went back with the solid blue side and got another bag. He called it his "recognize jacket", because he didn't think Santa would know he was the same boy. Must have worked because I didn't recognize him either(Kerry trying to beat the system at six!).

      My Dad's birthday was the twenty third of December so he would always put Kathy and I up to asking "mummy" if we can all open one package from under the tree. She would always act a little exasperated, but give in to it. He was like a kid himself, very fun loving and she had to be the adult when it came to Christmas! She always did alot of baking cookies and lefse( a Norwegian potato tortilla of sorts, that I still make with my children every year). 
        A day or so before Christmas Eve we exchanged gifts with Thelma and George Olson and Trygve and LaVina Stave. My Dads sister and brother that lived close by. It was so fun taking out the packages they'd packed in a brown paper bag or two, finding our name on a package, and placing it under the tree! We spent holidays when Dad was living with George and Thelma and their family.  
        On Christmas Eve we never went to Church when my Dad was alive. He wasn't a big church goer in the first place, and the roads to Coulee where we were members of Hope Lutheran Church were always full of snow drifts. Short drifts across the road you can make it through with some speed. However long drifts without any tracks where someone else had blazed through, were scary and iffy as to whether you'd make it through.

      We always did a little extra chores Christmas eve night. Dad would have us bundle up and come outside. He always helped us carry a small bucket of whole oats and dump it in a pile by the house. It was of course feed for the reindeer when Santa made his stop. It was always really cold and the snow crunched under your feet like it does up there, in the North. Mom made ham and lutefisk or meatballs and lutefisk( cod fish soaked in lye a Norwegian tradition)and scalloped potatoes. 
       After supper, she cleaned up and we went to bed early, like seven thirty. It was always freezing cold up stairs where we slept.Jack frost was on the all windows, and frosty nail heads all around your room. A "nippy" place to wait for Santa to come to say the least. But bundled up under about six big thick wool quilts and blankets, it wasn't so bad after the initial shock wore off!  We HAD TO SLEEP too, or Santa wouldn't come,(he knows when you are sleeping he knows if you're awake, darn that song)! Being an insomniac by nature was bad enough, but I shared a room with Marcy and she was determined I WAS going to sleep. One Christmas eve, I remember she pinched my arm... hard too, and I wanted to tattle and cry to Mom but she wouldn't let me out of bed. In her defense, I'm sure I tossed,turned and whined for an hour or so before I got pinched! I'm persistant by nature! I don't remember a lot of Christmas's with the big kids but I do remember that one!  
      The tradition on Christmas eve after we finally fell asleep was about midnight, we would awaken to sleigh bells ringing outside(same ones Dad used to take us on sleigh rides over the holidays... we know that now). Mom's yelling up the stairs, "kkkiiiidddds, Santa's been here"! Hearing that, our feet would hit the cold floor and we'd thunder down the same steps that I creep around on these days, because they are narrow, no... beyond narrow, those steps are more like splinters of wood and steep too! 
       Mom sewed all my Dads pajamas. He was short, a little stocky guy, not fat, just stocky and only 5'2.05". The tops of the pajamas always came down to just above his knees. He never wore the bottoms except at Christmas. So he'd usually come out of the bedroom in his nice new bottoms with a washed out top of the same flannel print! Of course we couldn't wait to go out and see if the reindeer ate the oats we left! Dad put his boots(careful not to wear overshoes because those would look like Santas), coat and cap on over his pajamas. We'd go out to check. Sure enough, there were reindeer hoof prints all around the mostly eaten pile of oats! ( took us years to learn that deer hunting season is in Nov. in ND and he'd always save a leg or two for this Christmas ritual). 
       After Santa had been there the tree looked the same, but we each had one package standing against the door in the living room and a stocking bulging with nuts, peanuts and the biggest delicious apple you'd ever seen! The package and the sock had been stored outside because it had to be cold like it just came off Santa's sleigh(details Syd). Our freezing fingers, opening our cold stiff dolls( I almost always got a doll, or a sled) just added to the excitement.        
       Once the thrill of Santa died down a little, Mom would make Cocoa and we'd eat Christmas cookies and calmly take turns opening our packages showing each other everything we got! After having a chance to play a little we'd go to bed at two or three in the morning and wake up to a house filled with the smell of turkey roasting. That was the day relatives were coming! Usually George and Thelmas family, my Dad's sister. After a huge meal, the adults always played Whist and the kids played feather dust or rummy.
      Later after my Dad passed away, Christmas was spent with Grandpa and Grandma Bruhn and Juluis Bruhn and Sonny and Phyllis and the kids, Kathy and I and eventually our husbands and kids. Sometimes Florence and Chester came too, depending on their kids and how they all got together that year. Marcy lived a long ways away so there was only a couple times they came back for a frigid Christmas!
      When my kids were small and the big kids teens even, we had our Christmas at our own house on what ever night Kerry was going to be around for sure. Working on the railroad is a 24 hr seven day a week, on call job. So we had a special supper and opened our gifts on the twenty second or twenty third. Christmas Eve was always celebrated at Mom/ Grandmas then and if Kerry was home he went along, or if he was on the road he didn't go. 
       Our tradition then was to go to church with Kathy and her family in Berthold. Klinton Hanson always sang Oh Holy Night, and we loved it. It was only fourteen miles to Moms farm. Wasn't so far but sometimes the weather was downright perilous, but come hell or high water we were getting there! One time Brendon drove and I had my head out the window the whole way just trying to guide us along the yellow line in a complete whiteout blizzard. I think prayed the whole way. I still get teased about it from the kids. One year we got stuck in a snow drift and Mike had to pull us out!

         Whenever we arrived Mom was cheerful,dressed up in a dress, nylons and a Christmas apron. Table was set beautifully,with her white china with the silver rims on a lace tablecloth.  All the holiday candles lit and the tree dwarfed by all the packages. Leslie and Shannon would be waiting at Grandma's door to grab the younger kids and unbundle them to reveal their new Christmas dress of the year or Brendon's new sweater and pants.
        Mom got an artificial tree soon after Dad wasn't there to put up a real one. She had the same tree with the same multicolored lights the rest of her life. The stuffed Rudolph(we got him when Kathy and I were small) held his stance amongst the packages, waiting for his photo op with the kids. 
         Mom still made that icky Lutefisk for pretty much Sonny and herself, maybe Mike and Kerry ate a little I'm not sure. The rest of us let our German side( we were half Norwegian and half German) take over and turned our noses up at it! I tried it again this year at the Hostfest, a huge Norwegian celebration in Minot, ND and didn't like it any better. Marcy liked hers and all I can say to that is... oofda! 
         We had many, many wonderful Christmas's at the farm with our families together and Mom at her best. When I think of my Mom that's the way I want to remember her. I miss my parents, but its something you just push back most of the time, but Christmas time I always thank God for such good parents. Christmas was made so special due to their effort. All of our families are really close still today, bound by the memories of those wonderful days. I try to make Christmas a wonderful time for my kids too. When I'm messing with some time consuming thing and Syd says why are you doing that just for the day? I say it's all in the details Syd, it's all in the details.   

Merry Christmas not Happy Holidays!

           Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, is that just a technicality or worth fighting for? Is it making a big deal out of nothing, just looking for an axe to grind or something to complain about? Should I be fired up and doing everything I can to protest this idea?  America was founded on Christian principles, by Bible believing people, by the Pilgrims and the Puritans that followed. They created little Bible-based divisions of how they interpreted the Bible. There were Congregationalists, Quakers and Catholics and Protestants but they were all based on Christian principles. But then...what about the Native Americans, what was their belief before the Europeans took over?  

           The religious Pilgrims were followed to New England by the Puritans, who created Bible-based commonwealths. Those commonwealths practiced the same sort of representative government as their church covenants. Those governmental covenants were the foundation for our Constitution. Aside from the Native Americans that were here before us who weren’t Christian, I don’t know what everyone else is complaining about. Everyone who has come here from another country since then knows they are coming into a Christian, English speaking country. It was on every document they signed and was even on our money. 

          Over time people from the Muslim, Hindu and other religions have come here. So many that some feel we need to change our country to fit with them instead of them do the adjusting. We now have to press one for Spanish, two for French, three for English and so on when you call any institution. When you buy a coffee pot, the instruction book looks like a Bible itself, because it’s the same instructions in four languages. I am happy for the diversity, happy for the people who found a better life here, but I don’t know why we have to cater to them. It's like inviting someone into your home, and then they take it over and now I am operating by their rules. Is it me just sounding like an old person not willing to change or do I have a point? Nothing gets me mad faster than calling a call center and no one speaks English enough so you can make your point and you have to repeat everything you say several times!

           I admit however, that I am somewhat apathetic about doing much about it because I don’t know how I really feel when it comes right down to the core of it. Here’s what stops me. Right after the call center non English speaking people, Christians who are constantly self- promoting are next on my list of what bugs me. I don’t want to be that. This Christmas I don’t know how many Facebook posts I have seen about people who packed for the poor, bought things for this organization, worked at this downtown shelter etc! I thought the things you did in Christ’s name were to be kept quiet. You talk about it at church or in your home, and plan for it, but then you do the work it takes and while you’re there, minister to people you can help(they help us as much as we help them) and both people are rewarded. Instead the Christians go home and post on Facebook world what they did for the poor or bought for charity? Seems contradicting to me, I’m sorry.  So, I kind of shrink back about speaking up about the Christmas tree becoming a Holiday tree. I don’t feel good being a shrinking violet either, because even using Xmas is something I would never do even making my own Christmas list for my own use,  because it takes Christ out.

           There’s something I like about changing with the tide too. We have people here of all denominations. Times have changed, diversity is educating and fun, so let them worship who they want and what gives them comfort and I’ll worship my way. Will that work though? Can we be one big loving family of Americans that value each others diversity without trying to change each other? I doubt it. That’s what scares me about this. One group always tries to take over another.

          I’m going down memory lane here, bear with me. When I was a child, life was home, school and Church, and it was all going the same direction. We heard the same values at school that we heard at church. Held Sunday School on Fridays after school in the school,  so as not to have to heat the church building in the frigid winter time. And by the way(my ADD is kicking in) If children don’t get to Sunday school and many don’t these days, where are they learning morals and right and wrong? Parents before you say from us, are you really taking time to do it? Regularly taking time to do it? Some call it guilt what Christian principles teach, but I call it a conscience. You learn that from scripture. If we got in trouble in school it came down to basically what would Jesus do, way before WWJD was popular? What’s the right thing to do? The right thing to do was based on the Bibles teachings.  A lot of kids don’t know anymore it’s become a world of entitlement and material things.  

          I’m reading all the posts and enjoying the pictures about Christ in Christmas on Facebook. I wholeheartedly agree, yet I do nothing. I don’t repost it because I don’t want people judging Christian behavior by me, because I’m lost a lot on my journey. I don’t want to hold myself up as an example because unless you are a really good example, you do more damage to people’s faith than you do good. People think“ they say they are a Christian but then they”….swear like a trooper, listen to Lil Wayne, or cut people out of their lives which I don’t but for example I’m using it... or brag about their Godly life until it’s a turn off rather than something people aspire to be.  If I read about the Pharisees and the description of them in the Bible, I think well I sure don’t want to be a modern day Pharisee! All the Christians I hold up as examples in my mind are, or were, humble people. That’s why I like the Mission I attend so far. It’s founded on Micah 6:8 and I naturally try to act justly, love mercy and  walk humbly, so I’m open to it.  

         Maybe I don’t outwardly stand up for my faith enough. Maybe I should be outraged about the Holiday tree change because I don’t really like it. However, I know that God is in control EVERYTHING and I just want to be left alone to worship my way, and I guess I will let other people do the same, even if it pains me a little and I wonder if it's not a step in the wrong direction. I don’t like the change because I’m old school in alot of ways. As far as inviting all the religions of the world into my home and seeing how that plays out....like my Mom used to say, “We’ll just take it like it comes”. Ditto.

To Cruise Or Not To Cruise



                If I were to go on a cruise ship would I get motion sickness? Would I feel trapped on a ship, with nowhere to get off? There would have been a day in my past, when I struggled with Panic Disorder that,  that idea alone would have kept me from even entertaining the idea of boarding a cruise ship! But along with my three kids and their three friends, we boarded Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas sailing out of the port of Miami, and was soon Bahamas’ bound.

              We flew into Miami the night before the cruise because I didn’t really trust the airplane connections and wanted to be sure we didn’t miss sailing time the next day. It was hard to plan where to stay in Miami ahead of time, because I wasnt sure where the Port was for sure.  I chose the Dolphin Hampton Inn. The room was nice, breakfast good, people nice; however, it took nearly two hours for the shuttle to come and get us from the airport and take us to the hotel! Besides the long wait,  the man only spoke Spanish so there was no way to communicate with him!  By the time we got to the hotel, the only real place to grab something to eat was the hotel grill which ranked right up there with the shuttle service! So we were not so crazy about Dolphin Hampton Inn.

             The next morning, passports in hand we were excited to start the day. The hotel arranged for a different late shuttle service to take us to the Port of Miami. Dropping  us at the curb, porters took our bags. Finally the chance to snap that boarding cruise ship picture of the whole group in the blue shirts, I made us. Some of my travel mates put them on happily, and others muttered but wore them anyway ha.  



The blue shirts...Shelbey took this

          The ships embarking process was smooth and relatively easy. We boarded the ship, dropped our bags in the room on deck ten and went to the Windjammer buffet for lunch. The food was ok… nothing to brag about, and nothing to complain about. Next we went up to the pool deck and listened to the Caribbean house band until we set sail. Was quite the experience setting sail. The scenery, the Caribbean band playing...that part was really fun and beautiful as we cruised past all the skyscrapers and scenery of Miami. Later that first night we went to some of the ships entertainment such as Finish the Lyrics, and watching Sydney and Mike take a salsa dancing class and they did really well! By now however Melissa and Sydney were sick enough to be taking Dramamine. I felt wobbly and off balance but not sick at least.  No one got sick enough to vomit or anything just woozy feeling and off balance.

              The next morning with sunscreen, iPod’s, sunglasses, towels and beach bags taking up as much room as we did (well some of us ha), we boarded  the tender boats and rocked back and forth over the huge waves, to the island of Cococay. The island and all that’s on it, is owned and operated by Royal Caribbean.  It was a bit windy and the sun was intense! We lounged on the chairs, and hammocks while Sydney and Mike snorkeled. I think they thought that was fun, we had bought a cheap fifty nine dollar underwater camera and it was well worth having with us.

Cococay

                After being at Cococay all day, we tendered back and set sail on the high seas at five o’clock for Nassau, the next stop in the morning.  We all showered and dressed up for dinner at the Starlight restaurant. The food there was wonderful! After dinner we went to karaoke where we whooped it up for Shelbey and heard a lot of good singers.  After that the kids formed a family feud team calling themselves Team “Top Shelf” and won the game! We finished the night at the top deck pool dance. They danced the conga line, Macarena, cupid shuffle and more but some of us finished the night when it was still night, and some came in towards morning.  

The Top Shelf Team :)

              The next morning we got off in Nassau, (some of us more frisky than others I might add) Beautiful weather, a little hot and humid but sunny and no wind.  Our excursion with the dolphins on Blue Lagoon Island made lifetime memories for all of us. Everyone enjoyed the boat ride over and the dolphins were amazing. They were so well trained! Sydney and Mike actually did the float out in the water and two dolphins come and propel them through the water. Sydney was trying to figure out how to get propelled through the water and not lose the bottom of her swimming suit. They did though and it was fun to see. Something I won’t forget. We ask the locals if any of the other boats leaving stopped at the Atlantis.  They happily shared  which one to board so we could save time as time was limited.  We walked around the Atlantis and the surrounding shops.

The Incredible Atlantis

       Brendon, Melissa and I were tired so we took a taxi back to the port, while the rest shopped longer and ate pizza at a local shop. After being dropped off by the taxi Brendon, Melissa and I bought some conch fritters which is one of the local Bahamian foods people say to try on all the travel sites I'd read. They were really good and I’m glad we did. They are made from the meat from a conch shell mixed with vegetables and dipped in a batter. After deep frying for several minutes they are served with toothpicks and a pink spicy sauce. They were good, we all liked them.

A Conch Shell



Conch Fritters



                After we all got back to the ship we were tired and hot. We showered and almost all of us took a nap…such a good nap, that we over slept our dinner reservation at the nice restaurant and had to eat at the buffet which was just “ok food” again. Later that night we went to karaoke again,  then a Michael Jackson name that tune activity, a comedy show that was really funny, and ended the night with a dance on the top pool deck again.  

           The next morning we left the ship about nine thirty. They practically throw people of the ship when it docks. They were knocking on our door at nine thirty and we weren't set to leave until ten.  We took our bags to the Intercontinental, where a nice Hispanic man named Luis took our bags for the day. He charged us three dollars per bag to keep them for the day. We then took taxis to South Beach and used some groupons I had purchased for Go Cars. They were the cutest little two seater cars that had GPS systems in them and they navigated where you were going and took us on a narrated tour of South Beach. We saw Ocean Ave, Lincoln Ave, the beach area etc. and walked around South Beach. Later Luis had a driver pick us up with our bags all loaded and take us to the airport. For that reason I would highly recommend staying at the Intercontinental if you ever cruise from Miami. You don’t find honest people like Luis very often. He got us to the airport in plenty of time and we were as happy coming home as we were leaving.

The Go Cars

                Would I cruise again? Well, the sickness wouldn’t hold me back I felt fine after the first day or so. The food that everyone raves about I didn’t find that appealing, and we certainly didn’t overeat. What was appealing about cruising,  is the price to travel all inclusive, the entertainment was great, and the rooms were clean and well kept. What I didn’t like was the all the alcohol drinking. I like to have one drink or two but I don’t like to see people drink to excess and especially my own kids so that part I didn’t like.  I would go on another cruise and I enjoyed it for the most part. I love anything that makes memories with my kids, that’s what life is about for me.

          Here are some cruise tips I have for you if you should choose to go on one.

1.       Bring lots of hand sanitizer. That’s a lot of people from many places and a lot of germs on board.

2.       Bring some cheap lanyards and a hole punch so you can punch your card that you need for everything on the ship and wear it and keep it handy.

3.       I bought some magnetic metal hooks that we put on the door and at the end of the night we hung our lanyards there to head out the next day.

4.       Bring some mini water bottles in your suitcase because they are expensive and ship water sounds less that appealing.

5.       Spend the extra money to have a balcony on your room. If you do feel sick the ability to get fresh air and look out onto the horizon helps a lot. It’s pretty besides.

6.       Be sure you remember sunscreen and a visor ( a hat would be even better but they take room in your suitcase).

7.       Make up a little first aid kit, because if you get a cut or something (which Brendon did) you have some Neosporin and a bandaid. Include some headache and nausea tablets.

8.       A power strip is helpful if you have camera chargers etc. to charge, and you will want your phone ready when you get back.  

9.       A battery operated alarm clock is a must because to use your phone over the seas is a huge expense.

10.   I saw it mentioned that an over the door shoe organizer keeps things tidy and if it were a long cruise maybe I would consider that.

11. Get that water camera I mentioned above. This is the one we used.

http://www.amazon.com/Kodak-C123-Sport-Bundle-Orange/dp/B004YCUQHC/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1320877295&sr=1-3