The Blog: Spellbound by our own imperfect lives...

Genevieve who brought me 10 wild flowers for my garden The man in town for his 50th reunion at GAC who asked lots of questions about St. Peter and who loved his BBQ lunch The customer who said he was late because two lanes of traffic were stopped so a family of ducks could cross the road Old friend, Sharon, who made a Saturday morning splendid with shopping and breakfast and chatter and who, everywhere we went introduced me to her friends The lady at the tea shop who gave us samples of strawberry white tea and shortbread cookies Tom who gave me tickets to the rodeo Darlene in Black Dog Antiques who told me the story of how the crocheted skirt I was buying was commissioned to be made for her in Malta Kim at Encore who is always happy to see customers come through the door The ladies at Salvage Sisters who are friendly and creative The dishwasher at the Nakato who told us he has been washing dishes his whole life Neighbor Jean who brought us garlic soup with Cajun croutons Susie a

I can't seem to get back in the habit of blog writing again. Weeks go by and it becomes harder and harder to get to it. Tomorrow, I am getting back into the exercise habit so maybe the writing habit will follow. Yesterday, we took our annual Memorial Day road trip with Tom and Betty. We head down the road, stop at a cemetery or two, and a beer joint or two. Yesterday was no exception. We headed to New Ulm, found a little tavern called Mowan's where the beer was cold and the pizza was frozen. The woman behind the bar was a character and brought us some left-over poppy seed muffins from the morning breakfast buffet. We stopped at a small family cemetery on Old Highway 5. Many of the graves were from the 1800s and were well-tended. My lilac bush...you can smell it when you walk out the door! Gazing globe purchased at Running's in Canby Strawberry rhubarb pie under construction Hung the flag on Memorial Day Strawberry rhubarb pie

One of my current projects was sorting photographs. I bought a nice re-usable bag for each family and filled it with photos, albums, framed photos, and other memorabilia. I gave them out on Mother's Day. They had fun looking through their things...but the next day, the bags were still here. Frowny face. We had a nice time, though, with a simple meal of pizza from Papa Murphy's and ice cream for dessert and a fruit salad. A no-stress meal. Lovely cards and flowers. And we got a new driveway! Kristi, my Livestrong instructor, lost her husband last Monday. He had been sick with cancer for three years but lived a rich, full life right to the end. I went to the service yesterday, with a plastic tub full of sugar cookies stenciled with a W for Wes. They were a mess to make but cute in the end. Next time, I'll do some research on stenciling cookies. It's got to be on Pinterest, right? The service was lovely and profound and quite non-tradit

Yesterday I sat in the sunshine with my beautiful daughter and watched Elliot play soccer. His mom and dad were a little disappointed that he wasn't more "in the game". I think he was looking at the blue sky and the butterflies. Nothing wrong with that! I have been working really hard on my garden. Every day I can be, I am out there weeding and transplanting and spreading mulch. It's going to be a good garden year. I remembered when I had neighbors who worked hard on their house and yard. They had a pear tree, a trumpet vine, many perennials. It was beautiful. Then they sold the house to a banker who promptly tore out the trumpet vine, cut down the pear tree, and let the flowers go to seed. It broke my heart to see the trumpet vine going down the street in the back of a pick-up. I've seen it happen many times. I know people have different needs and desires but when it comes time to sell our home, I have to find a person who appreciates my garden.

From On Being Monday, April 20, 2015 When the Going Gets Tough... BY KATRINA KENISON ( @KATRINAKENISON ), GUEST CONTRIBUTOR to On Being with Krista Tippett When the going gets tough may I resist my first impulse to wade in, fix, explain, resolve, and restore. May I sit down instead. When the going gets tough may I be quiet. May I steep for a while in stillness. When the going gets tough may I have faith that things are unfolding as they are meant to. May I remember that my life is what it is, not what I ask for. May I find the strength to bear it, the grace to accept it, the faith to embrace it. When the going gets tough may I practice with what I’m given, rather than wish for something else. When the going gets tough may I assume nothing. May I not take it personally. May I opt for trust over doubt, compassion over suspicion, vulnerability over vengeance. When the going gets tough may I open my heart before I open my mouth. When the going gets tough may I be the

This was a draft post from a while back. Not sure what I planned to say about any of this but here it is. Kind of a funny collection of stuff.

I'm loving this spring so much that I haven't taken time to write much here. I think I'll have to get in the habit of posting from my laptop or ipad while I sit on the patio. Ah, well. There are worse things than enjoying spring. This is a mandevilla. A smaller version of the giant ones you usually see. It has bright red flowers and is attractive to hummingbirds. Pansies are thriving! Regis takes a selfie with the 35 mm camera. I'm in the background giving the peace sign. Ha! One of the projects I completed this spring was the photo sorting. Early one morning, I dragged four tubs and three boxes of pictures up from the basement. I sorted them into a tub for me to keep, a tub for kids to go through, and a bag for each kid. Such a good feeling to have that mess cleaned up. It's only May 2, and I have already raked the entire yard, raked the garden, moved plants, started a compost pile, painted my two patio tables, and planted my pa