The Many Faces of Amariah

We have had the privilege of spending time with our great granddaughter this summer. Her growth amazes us and her faces amuse us. So, here is an opportunity for all of you to be amused!

Celebrating Small Towns

In the past weeks we have been to a couple of small town celebrations and it made me ponder what it is that makes some small towns thrive and others ... well others just fade away. I grew up in Kenyon, MN which is a small town that seems to be fading - many empty store fronts and not a lot of "spirit". The school is now combined with a neighboring town, there is only one grocery store and no place to buy a pair of undies - except maybe the second hand store. It's newspaper has been bought out by a conglomerate from Michigan - very little actual local news there anymore. Kenyon celebrates that there are roses planted on its boulevard. There is a parade that is fairly well attended and not a lot of people attend the other scheduled events.


Contrast that to New Prague, Minnesota. My cousin, Cheryl, and her husband, Dick, live near the town and they invited us to "Dozinky". So on a recent Friday night we joined them for cocktails at their home and then proceeded to a friend's home in New Prague. These friends own New Prague Times and Suel Printing. This newspaper is still thriving and reporting the local news for the local people. New Prague has its own school and I didn't see one empty store front on main street. "Dozinky", a Czeck Harvest Festival, has been held for 15 years. We were there for the Friday Cruise Night. 400 vintage and one of a kind vehicles cruised the main drag and the streets were filled with vendors and people enjoying themselves. We sampled jitnice (spicey Czeck sausage) and zelnicky (a cracker made with sauerkraut and caraway seeds) - both very unique and very tasty! The celebration continued on Saturday with a parade, dance performances, polka bands and old time storytelling. Maybe what makes a town "live" is its celebration of its heritage and culture.











Last Saturday, we took a drive to Waseca where there were 20 plus marching bands in competition. Waseca is a little bit bigger town, but still not 10,000. Its school has always had a wonderful music program and the town has always supported the schools. The parade included many of the bands and some added "excitement". It was a beautiful late summer day. The courthouse corner made a good location to view the parade and scoop in the candy. Niece Pam and her children took care of that detail.

The streets were lined with people... and they all stood when the flag bearers marched by.
This lady was part of a group of parade entries that were advertising the local newspaper. She choose to dress in it! Perhaps a healthy newspaper is another thing that keeps a town thriving.
And this white car provided some excitement. It was hauling the grand marshalls of the parade and just as it passed us, its brakes failed... A pair of kids walking with a banner was about a half a block in front of them. We could hear strange sounds and we saw the car getting closer to the kids. Then, in a burst of stupidity, the driver aimed the car toward the crowd! At that same time, a policeman who was standing near us ran to the car, jumped in and shut off the engine. Disaster was averted. It was a very scary few minutes! We were all flabbergasted when the car started again and after a couple of brake checks was allowed to continue in the parade. Thankfully there were no more incidents. I love small towns and parades and celebrations - it is what is truly good about America!

Labor Day Weekend

Whew! Labor Day really came around quickly this year... it seems like we were just finishing Memorial Weekend. We had a fabulous weekend of entertaining. It started on Thursday when Pam, Lizzie and Kate came to visit. Who knew that a four year old could enjoy golf!


Friday we enjoyed a couple of games of golf with the landlords after stocking up on supplies and making a couple of salads and things.


On Saturday, Terry and Janet brought the motorhome out and then headed for the Renaissance Festival with their friends, Dave and Melissa. Mike and I enjoyed the day on the lake - no pictures as the only fish were sheephead and bullhead- yuck! Later, we made shishkabobs for the crew and enjoyed campfire, rootbeer float (Deb, you would love these!) shots and bull... Great way to spend a day!

Sunday was a windy day but a memorable one. Before breakfast, Amariah caught her first fish... (as the look shows, not so sure she loved it)

But with encouragement from Grandpa, she even kissed it!

Bridget, Brian, Grace and Lilly came down for the day and Brian and Tammy came for breakfast, as did Chris and Sara. Omelets in a bag for everyone made it possible for all of us to eat together. (Thanks, Sue, for introducing us to this cooking method.)

Then it was time for Bridget's Brian to hit the water; showed us he could tube and waterski...

And teach his daughter to fish...
And even catch fish!
Lilly spent most of the day napping as 3-month olds will do. Like Amariah a couple of weeks ago, Lilly was out like a light as soon as the boat started moving. I love this picture of Bridget's family.
Grace even got to drive the boat with the help of "Grandpa Mike".

After they went home, Amariah entertained us or rather she let us play with her. This is the Pebbles look that was created with a dog treat...

On Labor Day, the wind was still blowing but it did not deter Freddie's family from a golf outing. After the crowds cleared we enjoyed the 4 hole course as well - the $15 set of clubs we bought is working out good - Dan and Sue, we are almost ready for you!

It was a long weekend for the "boys" so the hammock was strung between the trees and they took turns enjoying the shade.

Thanks to all who visited - it was a wonderful family weekend!

Pioneer Power

A couple of weekends ago, Bob and Corky, Jay, and us started our day with a pancake breakfast at Pioneer Power by Le Center, MN. During the course of the day, I saw many ways in which power is created and used. We bought a piece of cedar board that now lays outside waiting for one of us to decide what we want it to become... a table I think, maybe a plant stand, who knows... I saw more old tractors in one place than I have ever seen collectively in my whole life.

The machine in front of Mike is making shoe laces by intertwining strands of cord - red goes in one direction and white in the other.

This fan is powered by a candle - heat.
People power and a loom combine to make a beautiful rug.

This old steam engine was poised and ready for work.
Gotta love the sign on the hay wagon.
Here a side rake and a hay loader are ready for use in the demonstrations.
This scene could have been in mom's day; my imagination wandered as I watched.

While boys may admire the engines on these tractors, I looked at the tires and remembered how hard my dad worked fixing these things when I was a kid.
Here is the volunteer as he sanded the board (that now sits outside waiting to become something) on a machine powered by steam.

It was an interesting day where I learned a few things and just plain had fun. If you are ever in the area when Pioneer Power is "open", it would be a worthwhile stop.