My Heritage

First in a Series:

My brother called yesterday with some news. He and my sister are the executors of our parents will. He had news that the estate will be settled next week. With the settlement comes the final step of knowing that our parents farm that they worked so hard on, will stay in our family. The farm is a beautiful piece of land in southeastern Pennsylvania. The house was built before the Revolutionary War.

It was a working farm; my Dad raised Holstein cows, chickens, and hogs and farmed the land for crops.

The farm will stay in our family due to the foresight of three of my brothers. They put their heads together, looked at resources, talked to lawyers, etc. You see, my parents did not believe in doing what so many families have done over the years with their farms. They did not believe in taking steps to “protect” it from a nursing home eventually taking the farm. We tried to tell them that if they wanted the farm to stay in the family, that it likely would be impossible because none of the 6 of us would be able to afford to buy it with the skyrocketing land values in that area!

When I would be home visiting I would bemoan that fact to my Mother, and she would tell me, “well, what will be will be, the farm is for Dad and I to get us through our old age, and if it needs to eventually be sold for nursing care, that’s what will be,” she would then say, “We do not believe that we should depend on the taxpayers to pay to take care of us, when we have an asset, that is just not right”. Well, I always commented that “Yes, Mom, it’s really not right, but everyone else takes steps to protect”… “Well,” she would say, “we are not everyone else, we do what’s right”.

Many times I would cry when I was home, looking at the land and realizing someday it most likely would be owned by “strangers”. I always thought this would be especially hard for our youngest sibling, my sister, who had purchased a piece of the farm from Mom and Dad, right up from the house, along the road, and built their home. I knew my brothers were concerned about losing it too. Mark still lived there, and took over the farming when Dad couldn’t anymore, due to health. All the boys hunted in the woodland. They all cut wood every fall to supplement heating costs at their home, and one of them always expressed interest in living there someday. None of them would be financially able to purchase the farm.

Well, as I said, they did look at the future and did some “legwork”. They worked with my parents on what the lawyers would call “estate” planning. The farm would be subdivided, with the knowledge that none of the land would be sold until Mom and Dad needed the money, then each piece would be sold and that money used, when that money was depleted, another lot would be sold. It was agreed that only a family member would purchase the “pieces” when the time came, if at all possible. Two of the boys eventually would want to buy a lot, and the third brother was definitely interested in buying the lot that the house was on, IF financially he was able. He would be the first to take a mortgage and make the purchase, as he and his wife were interested in living there and making improvements on the house. The wooded land would be the last to be sold.

Our Mother managed the finances for the farm and managed the money. She was always a smart money manager, and made a little go far. She had foresight that none of us would think of and when she told us about it we thought she was very foolish. One time back in the early ‘90’s, she told us that she had been paying a few years on what she called “Nursing Home Insurance”, now it is more commonly called “Long Care Insurance”. She told me what she paid a year, (a lot!) It was quite a struggle for her to come up with that annual premium, but she always managed. We questioned the wisdom of spending so much money for something that might never be used. She told us that it would provide two years worth of nursing home care, for each of them. I guess she really was thinking of protecting the farm, and this was their way of providing 2 years worth of protection, against it having to be sold. Well, she was the smart one after all! Both Mother and Dad needed to enter the nursing home due health reasons. Much as we tried to keep them out, Mother was right in saying “everyone is living longer these days, and so many end up in a home”. Dad was not in the home 2 years, before passing. Mother started private paying, I believe about 6 months before she died, and wow does the money go fast with private pay! We could see down the road that the first piece of land would soon need to be sold.

The last lot to be sold would be the wooded land. Since probably none of us would be able to afford that piece, we all hoped that the money from the other lots would last, before having to sell it. But, if so, we would deal with it at the time and if none of us could afford it, we would offer it to other relatives. If it needed to be sold to strangers, so be it, as our Mother said. We would be doing what they wished, and we would have to accept it.

In the next week, I will blog more about the farm, its past and its future.

I should tell you, that Mom and Dad both knew of the estate planning and approved of it.

We admire our parents that they refused to live out their lives on the taxpayers’ money. They always set a good example for us, and this was another example of the right attitude to have. As I’ve said before, we had wonderful parents who were good role models for their children. Thank you Mom and Dad!

Found: Peace and Tranquility

Well, I told you the other day I was looking for "peace and tranquility" for Wednesday and today when I would be alone at the office. I did get my peace and quiet and tranquility. I also feel peace, because I was able to get caught up on things hanging over my head, from the hectic times. Yesterday, my friend Sally came and helped me with a project that I was behind on. Friends are wonderful, and she said she'd be happy to be on call as a volunteer for when she is needed. It fells good to know that project is up to date, and it was nice to have her company. When I left yesterday, I felt peace and my desk was all cleared off!

Today I was all by myself until noon. My son, Scott, brought us lunch and and we ate together and visited during my lunch hour. I had spent the morning cleaning the office, putting daffodil materials away, organizing relay materials, and trying to get the office looking neater. Scott helped me by lifting heavy things, and helping me to stack some things in a very tall cabinet. Son's are great, it's hard for them to refuse their Mothers. After a nice hour break with him, he went back to his job, and I went back to cleaning. Our tall recycle bin was full by the end of the day and so was the trash basket. Doesn't it feel good to toss things that for some reason pile up. Oh my, when I left at 4:40 I felt so good looking over the "neat" office. I think when the girls come back tomorrow, they will feel the same.

With 8 staff in the office, how long do you think it will stay neat and clean. With a little help from others, maybe until the "heart" of the relay season! Then in Sept. I will be doing the same as I did today!

Tomorrow will be a real good day....AND a bonus... it's FRIDAY!

A Leader in the Making

Our grandson, he is 16 years old and I am thinking about him a lot these days. So many teens today are mixed up and confused and don’t have any idea what they want to do in life, or even who they are. In this past year, I’ve come to realize that our grandson knows exactly who he is and is getting a clearer idea of the path he will be taking in the next few years. I have found him to be a strong teen and I’ve noted over these last few years, a leader. I believe he will become a man destined to make a difference in this world. I want to be the first to step up and say I am very proud of our grandson and proud that he is part of our family and part of the generation coming up and leading our world in the future.

Contrary to what some of my peers may think, I trust that our country is headed in the right direction, based on our grandchildren’s generation!

Tranquility

Tranquility, peace, calmness, that's what I'm looking for these days.

Tomorrow and Thursday, every staff member in my office, with the exception of me, will be at a meeting in Minneapolis. For some reason, we Administrative Support staff were not included. I’m pretty sure that the other support staff in our region feels as I do. I’m thrilled! I'm happy. I will be all alone…peace, tranquility calmness. Since all the region’s staff are in a meeting, I don’t think the phones will be busy, so it should be nice and quiet! I am having a volunteer come in tomorrow from 10 till noon, to help me with a project, but that’s it! I’ll be the “lone ranger”!

I plan to use the time to get caught up on things, to houseclean my desk area, and to clean the office, re-organize, etc. For some reason, the straightening up of the office seems to fall to me, and it’s hard to find time to keep everything neat when the work load is heavy. It’s been a very hectic year, with no spare time.
I have Daffodil materials to “tuck away” and relay materials to get better organized. I came in on a Saturday and worked 4 ½ hours, just to organize and clean in early January, and it did me a world of good. We took on two new staff the first of the year, and we had to find space for them. Our office is becoming increasingly more crowded. It has been a very hectic year, and I am really looking forward to the next two days. If I get done what I want to get done, it’s going to make the rest of the spring seem much calmer for me.

I’ll report on Thursday night how the days go for me. Hopefully I will be feeling peaceful, calm and tranquil!

Great American Health Check

I didn’t go to the Fitness Center yesterday (Sunday), but I walked outside. It was a beautiful, sunny day, a good day to be out and to take a walk. This evening I went to my water aerobic class.

Since I’ve been talking about health lately – here is an article about and a web site to go to on “The Great American Health Check”.

The Great American Health Check
Cancers that can be prevented or detected early by following the American Cancer Society’s testing guidelines account for approximately one-half of all new cancer cases in the U.S. Scientific evidence suggests that about half of the cancer deaths expected in the U.S. will be related to tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and being overweight or obese. The Great American Health Check is an easy, confidential, online health assessment tool available year round at www.cancer.org/healthcheck to raise national awareness of early cancer detection tests and the benefits of following a healthy lifestyle. Users can go on line and answer questions, either for themselves or a loved one. They then receive a personalized cancer action plan that includes early cancer detection tests that they may need, as well as recommendations for healthy lifestyle changes. Cancer information specialists are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at the American Cancer Society’s toll-free call center, 1-800-ACS-2345, to receive mailed information on the Great American Health Check and specific cancer screenings.

GRACE

I’m glad I didn’t miss church this morning. Pastor Michelle had a wonderful message on “The Promise of Grace”. She talked about God’s grace to us. Grace is God’s gift to us. Grace is something given to us, not earned by us. She talked about John Wesley, the founder of our United Methodist Church. She told how everything he tried to do through his works in life, failed until he realized that our faith is through God’s grace, not through what we do. It was then, that his ministry grew in America. I was taught this in my study of the Bible and Sunday School through the years, but it was good to be reminded this morning, that we must trust in

The Lord’s promises and The Lord’s grace.

She quoted Bono of musical group U-2:

“Grace makes beauty out of ugly things.”

Here are some examples of grace from one of Michelle’s poems entitled “33 Names of Grace”. You can see the whole poem, all 33, by clicking on her blog “33 Names of Grace” which I have a link to on the left of this page.

The green of northern lights
The stars reflected in water
A car that always starts
Hot tea with fresh mint and sugar
The fountain pen that works on the first try
The year after your dog has reached her breed’s lifespan
The words that wait until you are ready
A God who waits until you are ready

I’m sure we can all come up with “names of grace”.

We also sang a new song this morning. It’s title is “Grace Alone”. It’s a beautiful tune and the words are so neat, I’m going to write them here. I will give the credits below the words.

Every promise we can make, every prayer and step of faith, every difference we will make is only by his grace.
Every mountain we will climb, every ray of hope we shine, every blessing left behind, is only

by his grace.
Every soul we long to reach, every heart we hope to teach, everywhere we share his peace is only by his grace.
Every loving word we say, every tear we wipe away, every sorrow turned to praise, is only
by his grace.
Refrain: Grace alone which God supplies, strength unknown he will provide. Christ in us our Cornerstone; we will go forth in grace alone.
Words and Music: Scott Wesley Brown and Jeff Nelson
(Eph. 2:8-10) – 1998 Maranatha! Music


May each of you reading this go forth in grace.

Lots of Fruits and Vegetables

It’s been a busy week, didn’t have much time to write in the evenings. I am sure glad that Saturday is finally here!

I wasn’t planning to go to the Fitness Center today. I called my daughter around 1:00 to see how she was doing, and she asked if I went to the center for my exercise today, and I told her no. Gee, did I get an ear full from her on that subject. I told her I was too tired to go, and she said it would “energize me” and that she would call me later in the day to see if I went. I got off the phone, and started thinking that I didn’t feel like doing anything, and I would be tempted to waste the afternoon away. So, I figured, I really should go, since staying home I wouldn’t accomplish anything anyhow. I went there, I used the treadmill and exercised the water aerobic exercises in the swimming pool, then treated myselt to the hot tub. I must say I felt good when I got home. I was tired, and can't say I got much accomplished after getting home, but it was a good kind of tireness, and I felt good that I am continuing to get back on track.

When I went to the grocery store a few evenings ago, I stocked up on a large bag of lettuce, bag of spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. Also, I bought a large container of strawberries and grapes, and bananas. I’ve been eating a lot of salads, fruits and vegetables this week, and less of the sweets. Sometimes in the past, I’ve been known to buy these things, and not eat them and a week or so later, throw them out. BUT, this week I have been eating them! Even Rob has taken to eating more of the salads, and fruits too. I hope my friend that told me that by eating more of these healthy foods, my body will crave less of the sweets, is right. I’m giving it a good try. It’s been a while since I really worked at this, and as I said in Monday’s blog…it’s time!

Mother - Daughter

Here's my Mother - November, 2004 - one of my visit's home in PA with her.

I miss her terribly. She died the morning after Mother's Day
last year, and with both she and my Mother in Law gone, I am
not looking forward to Mother's Day 2006. I know it's only been a year, but I'm afraid that 10 years from now I will feel
the same loss. I've talked with some daughters who lost their
Mothers as much as 20 years ago and they say they never get
over missing them.

I wish I had some photos of my Mother in Law on my computer. I really need to find out how to scan photos then I will post a picture of her.

I'm even more aware now of the goal I've always had, to be the kind of Mother to my children, as my Mother and Dolly were to me! They were my role models.

Getting Back on Track

I’m trying to begin again to “take care of myself”, back to exercise, back to eating healthier, walking, etc. The winter has been hard on my body, and now any progress I had made last summer or fall is gone. I know I’m one of these people that to keep weight off, I have to be consistent and work at it at ALL times! However, since I am a “comfort eater and a stress eater”, it’s hard to think of my body when life is hectic and stressful. It is not an easy thing for me. I also have a terrible sweet tooth, and when I’m feeling down or stressed, it’s just so comforting to me to grab something sweet. I wished that I liked vegetables and fruits as much as I like sweets.

My Mother had a weight problem all her life. She told me she was a chunky girl, and was never slim or skinny. She used to tell me things that would help with dieting and eating healthy, then she would always add after her advice “I know, I’m not one to talk, it’s not easy for me either, so I understand what you are going through and how hard it is. It’s easier said then done.” It was always comforting to me to hear that.

Our daughter has a sweet tooth, but she’s very good at controlling it. I don’t believe she is a stress or comfort eater. Scott does not eat any sweets (oh how does he do it?) My husband is very disciplined, and doesn't have a sweet tooth. I also believe that some people just don’t have much appetite in general, like some others of us do. This makes it hard for my family to understand how hard it is for me when it comes to controlling weight. I have a very dear friend, my best friend, she struggles too, she understands. We encourage each other in our battle.

I also think it’s been harder for me, because up until my middle thirties, I was skinny. Being slim, and not gaining weight, leads you to giving in to your sweet tooth and not eating healthy. Then all at once the weight crept up, so fast, I didn’t even realize it. Ever since I’m battling and it’s up and down, up and down! I’m not trying to excuse myself when I say that heredity and family genes has something to do with it, I think studies have proven this to be true. On my Mother’s side of the family, all of her brothers, her aunts, uncles and her Mother all battled with weight. My Dad, he was tall and very skinny all his life, until he retired from work and farming. Even then, he gained weight but did not get overweight. All of his side of the family have all been slim all their lives. It’s in the genes… I look like my Mother and I have her genes. I have my Dad’s personality but my Mom’s weight genes! My sister takes after my Dad. I don't think she will ever have a weight problem.

When I went to my 40th H S Class reunion last August, it was so surprising to see that all of us classmates that were skinny, are now heavy. All of the girls that were heavy, all are skinny now (I’m not kidding…it’s really true!). Now, why is that? Maybe because, like me, they were used to eating anything they wanted without consequence, where the heavy girls knew they couldn’t. When the heavy girls grew up, they made extra efforts to take the weight off, early in their 20’s, (when losing weight is easier) and made it a life style, determined not to let it come back on. What do you think?

I went to the water aerobics class at the Fitness Center last night. It’s my first step in getting “back on track”. Tonight I couldn’t go, as I have my small group meeting at church each Tuesday. But, I did go light on lunch and supper. I was too tired when I got home to blog. The excercise will make me tired for a while, before it starts to energize. I have to remember this fact!

Anyhow, I must make a good effort again because that devilish, sneaky disease, diabetes is also in my Mother’s family, and I am at risk. It is a disease that really scares me. Now, if I could just remember how much it scares me, when I eat, that would be helpful!

Good Weekend

Since I didn't get to write last Monday night, you didn't hear how the grandchildren liked the Water Park at the Edgewater Motel. They had so much fun. We went down and ate supper with them in a room above the park, where we could view the park. We then watched them have fun in the water. Dawn and Bob also went in and had a good time. I would recommend that any of your visitors from out of town would enjoy the park. It isn't open to the public. You need to have a room there to use it. The motel guests can request guest passes for visitors to the tune of $15.00. Rob did that and joined the kids. He said it was well worth the $15.00.

They had a rude awakening though when they got to Hudson on Monday afternoon and had 16 inches of snow that had dumped on them through the day!

There were a lot of people at the water park for a Sunday night, so they must be getting good business. It's good for drawing more tourist into town. On Friday I was waiting in line to pay for my car wash and a woman with two young boys in front of me, asked me for directions to the Edgewater where the "water park" was.

This has been a good weekend for me. Our son arrived home safely from his vacation to sunny Florida, and he (Scott) visited us this afternoon. I talked to my sister in PA, and talked to Dawn yesterday. I have a clean house, my laundry is caught up, our computer is working and I have a meal made for supper tomorrow night. Oh. if only every weekend were like this! It will be much easier to go to work tomorrow and to start another work week! Maybe I should use all my vacation up taking Fridays off!

I hope that all of you reading this had a good weekend too!

Ricky and Lennon Sisters

I just wrote about Ricky Nelson and The Lennon Sisters. If you are too young to remember them, here are photos. If you do remember them, isn't it fun to think of them again?

In Three's

Did you ever notice that when something quits working at your house, it usually comes in “threes”? That seems to happen at our house. One by one, something goes wrong, until you hit the third thing, and then you hope it’s the last thing to go wrong in this week.

1. On Monday night I came home from work to find that our computer would not turn on! Try as we did, we just could not get it to turn on.

2. My cell phone has been acting up by not holding its charge.

3. Our home telephone, the 9 digit on the dial has been sticking for a long time, and this week chose to quit working.

Now, I could do without a cell phone for quite a while, since I mainly use it to call home if I’m going to be late, or to leave a message. In fact, my kids wonder why Mom has a cell phone, they tell me it’s pretty useless because “you never have your cell phone on”, since I don’t have it on, they can never reach me …so they pretty much don’t call me on it anymore.

However, without a working cell phone, we can’t be without a telephone at home. I use my calling card a lot to call family in Pennsylvania. I never realized how many 9’s were in my card number and the number I call to access my phone minutes, until the 9 started acting up. The nine has been sticking for weeks, then on Thurs. night really went haywire. A telephone for the home, we must have.

The computer… at this house we have become very dependent on the computer. Rob loves to look stuff up, and he sits and reads online for hours. I love to use my e mail and of course, now love to blog. Rob and I keep track of our banking on line, and I pay bills on line. Even Bob, who never wanted a computer in the first place, now gets grumpy if it’s not working. He looks up sports stuff and keeps track of the status of our 401 K on line.

I took a personal day off of work yesterday so I could take care of these three problems and also some other things on the home front that have been hanging over my head.

I accomplished a lot even after “sleeping in”, and having a relaxed morning:

1. Received the computer part they told us we needed from the Fed ex man.

2. Purchased a new telephone, the new one is lighter and smaller than the old one.

3. Redeemed my certificate for a free cell phone at the Sprint store that I received in November when I renewed my Sprint contract. This cell phone is lighter and smaller than the old one.

4. Stopped at big sale at JC Penney and redeemed my gift card that I received in July, along with a $10 coupon from the newspaper. I came home feeling like I received a lot for not much $$. Good feeling.

5. Gave my car a much needed car wash, now I can see what color it is.

6. Worked on our taxes. (April 15th approaching fast)

7. Computer – found out that the part they sent us is useless. We were given wrong information. What we really need is a new power source, will have to wait till next week to get. It’s the only thing that went wrong yesterday.

8. Did several loads of laundry.

Today (Saturday)

Since I got rest and relaxation yesterday - I had energy to clean house today – spent all day working on the house. I feel good about that tonight.

I am taping “Ricky Sings” that is on PBS station right now, as I am writing this. I will watch it when I’m finished with this blog. It will be fun to see Ricky Nelson again. He was one of my “heart throbs” of my growing up years. Remember Ricky, from the Ozzie and Harriet show? Us girls watched it faithfully every week, and couldn’t wait for the end of the show to see Ricky sing!

I noticed “The Lawrence Welk” show repeats are still running on PBS. What memories that show gives me. We never watched it at our house, but I spent a lot of weekends over night at my Grandmother’s house, and she had to watch Lawrence Welk every Sat. night. I could not get out of it, I didn’t think he was cool back then, but I did sit down and watch it with her. She raved about The Lennon Sisters, and I must say that they did grow on me and eventually I came to like them too. Now, the thought of Lawrence Welk gives me warm, fuzzy feelings that I had with my Grandma. How I loved spending time with her, even if it meant having to sit through Lawrence Welk. Those were the days. Lawrence Welk, ice cream and pretzels, and a night away from my brothers!

About the computer - gee, I have a smart husband. Today he and Rob took the tower to Best Buy to see if they had the part. They sent us to Computer Renaissance. Bought the part, had it installed, spent $80, but better than buying a new computer. (This computer is 6 years old). Brought it home, yeah, the computer turned on! Yeah, I can blog again! I can e mail again.

I have a clean house, new phones, a computer that works, a great family and I feel rested.

Life is good!

Computer is Sick!

Linda's Thoughts from Duluth

You haven't heard from me all week because on Monday night I came home to find out that our computer would not start! I spoke with IT and found it may be a piece that needs to be replaced and I ordered it. I'm hoping we will be up and running soon, because we've all become quite dependent on the computer. Not to mention, that I now love to blog!

I plan to take a day of vacation from work tomorrow so that I can recuperate from daffodil work. Finally feeling that I'm getting caught up with the non daffodil work this week. I'm writing this from work before I leave. I am looking forward to a relaxing day off and catching up at the home front!

I'm thankful that the second snow storm this week is going to miss us again. Monday we got 2 - 3 inches and the cities and
NW WI got a foot to 16 inches! The kids got home to Hudson on Monday, but it was slow going and they went home to
16 inches of snow in their driveway.

Another storm is coming that is to dump lots of snow on the twin cities area, but we are to only get 2 - 3 in. I'm sorry for
them, but happy for us. This is all very unusual, because usually it's the other way around...lots of snow up here and
not much in the cities! Hurray...some justice coming our way!


Hope all of you have a great weekend.

Fun with Granddaughter

Madelyn (my 5 year old granddaughter) and I have been having fun last evening and this morning. She has just given me a break. She wanted to watch some cartoons, and since we have cable, I found a cartoon station. She is watching it, while I write this. This is a good rest for her, as maybe she’ll fall asleep and take a little nap before they head to the water park later.

Everyone else is off doing their own things, and Madelyn and I had the morning together. I feel guilty that I didn’t take her to Sunday School, but Grandma was just too tired. So I have been playing school with her, it is her favorite thing to do these days. Of course, she is always the teacher. We had some new dot to dot, early reader books, to interest her, and of course for reading class, I read to her.

Bob and Dawn are at the fitness center working out and enjoying time together. Rob and Skylar are at the mall shopping and having lunch. Son-in-law, Bob is visiting his best friend from Duluth that he likes to hang out with.

I wanted to take Madelyn to see the re-make movie “The Shaggy Dog” yesterday. She told me “it is a silly movie about a man turning into a dog” and that she didn’t want to see it! I tried to convince her to go, but to no avail. I was disappointed, because secretly, I want to see it, probably because it is a re-make from my growing up years!

Our son Scott, his girlfriend Sarah, and her parents left yesterday morning for sunny Florida. I’m sure they are enjoying the beach and 80 degree temps this afternoon. They will be there a week. I think they picked a good week to go. With our gloomy, sunless days and forecast of 2 -4 inches of snow for tomorrow, we are all green with envy! We are lucky though, that we did not get the ice and sleet storm that we were to get yesterday.

Duluth and the twin cities weather are notorious for being very snowy and bad on State High School Hockey Tournament weekend. This year we lucked out. Two of our Northland high school teams were in the state tournament. Hermantown took 3rd place and Marshall took 2nd place. We would have liked to have seen one of them take first, but happy that they did well with 2nd and third. We all enjoyed watching them play this weekend, they were good games.

Later this afternoon, we will be going to "The Edge" waterpark to spend the rest of the day
and evening with the family.

Time to Relax!

Did you wonder where I’ve been? I haven’t written since Monday night because this was “Daffodil Week” for The American Cancer Society. I was just way too tired every night after busy days during this week. I was in bed early each night, and 8:30 last night!

It was a hectic week at the office. I spent the week helping Amber and Joni to make their daffodil programs go smoothly. All the daffodil related questions went to me or to my voice mail, and the calls came, as they do each year! Answering lots of phone calls, lots of questions, coordinating the Gifts of Hope for the hospital delivery from the florists, helping to get the flowers delivered, dropping off flowers at the florists, helping to set up and maintain and staff for on site sales tables, finding help for the tables and sitting at the Holiday selling daffodils when we didn’t have anyone, finding more volunteers to help with delivery, helping Amber shift flowers from one site to another, putting out “fires”, apologizing to those who got their orders with a bunch or two missing, sending Ian, Peggy and Jim out to fill in the missing ones, explaining that nothing was wrong with their “yellow stems”, and on and and on….

What a week! So glad it’s over. Thursday and last night, I felt I was about ready to have a “melt down” from the stress and tiredness. This was my eighth year of “Daffodil Days week”. I slept late this morning. I have to rest up because my daughter and her family are coming up this afternoon from Hudson. We are excited to see them.

The grandchildren have spring break from school this week. They will be here through Monday, they will stay with us tonight and at the Edgewater tomorrow night. They will be at the Edgewater so that they can have fun in the new water park “The Edge” at the Edgewater Hotel. Those staying there get the park free; their guests have to pay an admission. We are planning to spend Sun. afternoon and evening with them there. I’m not a swimmer, so I’ll probably watch, but Rob and Bob will take part in the water park fun.

The relaxation will help me get over the stressful week. I hope you were able to get your daffodils, they are gone now. Thank you for your support. Daffodil Days over for another year!

PS...note the flower posted here is not a daffodil. I'm sure you can understand I'm a little tired of daffodils. In fact, yesterday when I picked up the onsite materials at Super One by the mall, there were fresh roses in all different shades at an unbelievable price of $7.77 for a dozen! I think the table to sell our daffodils at $8 a bunch was right across from the rose display. I wonder how many purchased roses instead of yet to bloom daffodils. Since I was tired of daffodils I purchased the most beautiful dozen of dark lavendar roses for my home!

Thank Goodness for Volunteers

First Flower of Spring - Symbol of Hope for Cancer

Daffodils Have Arrived!

American Cancer Society Daffodil Days

Wonderful Volunteers helping to get the daffodils
ready for delivery

Daffodils Have Arrived!

The Flower of Hope - First Flower of Spring - Symbol of Hope

The daffodils have arrived! The truck rolled in at 1 pm today with 143 cases of Washington State daffodils!

I spent from noon to 4:30 pm today helping to pack the daffodils at the Second Harvest Warehouse. We had 16 great volunteers helping, and we finished in record time compared to the last few years. We had things cleaned up, the daffodils ready in their delivery bags and put into the cooler by 4:30 pm. It helps when you have great crew of volunteers! We are grateful to Kevin at the Second Harvest Warehouse, for giving us the space to work and to keep the flowers overnight. This is the second year that he has helped us. I am grateful to our wonderful helpers. Now, tomorrow, we will be grateful to the volunteers that will be taking the orders all over town to the businesses that took orders from their employees.

The packing and deliveries have been trickier this year, because it’s the first year we added other products, vases and bears. “Bear and a Bunch” is a Boyd’s teddy bear, made especially for us by Boyd’s Bear Company. Amber and some volunteers packed the bears and vases at the office, which will go with the bags of daffodils. It was an extra thing for us to worry about. We sold a lot more bears and vases than we imagined that we would. Everyone will be excited to see them, they are both so nice.

Those that purchased “Gift of Hope” have provided a bouquet to be sent to all the area hospitals and Chemo and Radiation locations for Cancer patients going through treatment or in the Oncology units. We thank Engwall Florist and Peterson/Anderson Florist for making those bouquets and delivering them to the hospitals. The cancer patients really appreciate receiving these bouquets.

The week has been predicted to be snow showery, and gloomy. This means that everyone will be cheered up when they see their daffodils! The daffodils do make everyone happy.

If you didn’t get your daffodils pre ordered, you may pick some up at the following sites:
Tuesday through Friday (or until sold out) 11 am – 2 pm at
Holiday Center (Mall) at the top of the escalator
Super One Grocery stores – West Duluth (Bristol St.)
And Super One - Miller Hill Mall
Also: The Gift Shops at Miller Dwan, SMDC and St. Luke's Hospitals
(during the gift shop regular hours)

To those of you that purchase daffodils this week…. Thank you for your support!!!

Suffragettes

My day of rest yesterday made a difference today. By the afternoon I felt much peppier. I scurried around and did all the laundry and things I should have done yesterday. I even made two dishes to use for meals the next two nights when I know I’ll be too tired to cook.

Snow fell softly all day. It has stopped now, and we got about 6 inches. Rob and Bob just came in from snow blowing.

I watched part of a movie (missed the first part) called “Iron Jawed Angels” on TV. What a powerful movie! It was about Alice Paul (photo above) and Lucy Burns who were suffragettes in the early 1900’s. Alice Paul, (1885-1977) was one of the leading figures responsible for the passage of the 19th amendment to our constitution (sufferage) in 1920. The movie was made in 2004. I don’t even remember hearing of it, it starred Hillary Swank as Paul. Becca, whose blog link I have to the left, recommends a movie each day on her blog. I wonder if she has seen this one. Anyhow, my point is that any woman that sees this movie will never take the women’s vote for granted in our country. The brave women, who fought for our right to vote, went through a lot to get us this vote. The movie showed how the men of our country really did not want the women to vote. It showed the abuse they received. They were thrown into prison, even when they did not break a law. They risked divorce and losing custody of their children, when the husbands would not support their cause. This movie made me more interested in suffrage history so I went to the web and read more. Learn more, search “suffrage” and "Alice Paul". When the next ballot comes up for us to vote on, remember what the brave women in the past did to give us our voting right.

Remember the Bigger Picture

Hard to remember the big picture when you are tired. . ..

Daffodils are the first flower of spring. They are the symbol of The American Cancer Society, the "Flower of Hope" especially to all those with cancer. The American Cancer Society has its Daffodil Days next week, Mar. 6 – 10th. You will be seeing daffodils everywhere next week; at least that’s what we at the Duluth ACS office are hoping. Many people have pre-ordered their flowers. If you didn’t pre-order, we did order a few extras to have for sale at the Holiday Center Mall (downtown), and the Super One stores in West Duluth and Hermantown (by the mall). The income coordinator that I support and I have been gearing up for this week for months. The Daffodil Program is one of my areas of work. In fact, it’s because of daffodils that I was hired 8 years ago. I had volunteered for the society during my at home time, raising the boys and not employed. The director, thought of me, when over the Christmas holiday, she returned to find that her part time support staff person had left a note on her desk saying she quit, without giving notice and in the middle of her daffodil promotion for pre-sales. I worked part time as a church secretary at the time, and she called and asked if I’d consider working for her in the afternoons, after my church job was finished each day. I accepted her offer, and immediately went to work on the daffodil program. That is how I came to work two jobs a day for almost 2 years. The Minnesota ACS merged with the states of Iowa, South Dakota, and Wisconsin to become the Midwest Division of The American Cancer Society. At that time, I had the opportunity to come on board full time.

Last year at this time, my years of experience helping with the Daffodil program came in handy when the staff person in charge of the program quit the second week of February. I was asked to step in and carry through with the program to make a success of Daffodil Days in the Duluth area, Superior area, and Carlton County. It was a challenge I gladly accepted, and it was a good feeling when all three areas were successful. I had the help of some wonderful volunteers in each area. ACS has always been known to be a volunteer driven organization. The last 5 – 10 years, volunteers are in much shorter supply because of so many employed women, and everyone’s busy life. Therefore, I want to commend everyone who helps us in any way, and know that every volunteer we have is appreciated by us at the local office. Our events, be it for fundraising, or early detection or support programs could not be possible without the help from volunteers in the community. This includes all of you that purchase daffodils, give memorials, donate and support our relays! I want to take the opportunity here to thank two women, Ginny and Lorraine, who have been coming into the office once a week and volunteering their time since November. They helped me each week with daffodil preparations. They have been packing Relay For Life Team Captain kits for me too. I also want to thank three of my friends, who graciously gave of their time to come in and help me get 1500 packets for daffodil promotions into the mail. Ginny, Lorraine, Rosemary, Lois and Sally, I could not have done it all without you. My life would have been even crazier without your support! Thank you!

Our new staff person, hired in early January, has never been through Daffodil Days, and so I have been assisting her a lot. The staff position that used to be in Hibbing is now in our Duluth office. She was also recently hired, and never been through Daffodil Days. She covers all of St. Louis County (except Duluth) and Itasca County and I support her too. Usually by the weekend before the Monday of Daffodil week, I am so very tired of the word daffodil that I dread the next week. This year is no exception. I have been working late, I’m tired and I am feeling overwhelmed and busy this winter with keeping up with daffodil and relay preparations. I am thankful though, that the burden is not all on me this year for these events. I believe that I’ve done my part to prepare for next week, and now it’s up to the volunteers from the community to help us with packing the flowers into plastic bags, help for delivery, pick up & logistics and for the community to come out and support us by purchasing the daffodils. This year, the UMD students that play athletics will be handling the deliveries, our new staff member thought of asking them. I’m excited to think about next year, because I believe she will come up with some fresh new ideas for Daffodil Days in 2007. I just hope she will be here next year at this time, and that our staff turnover we’ve been experiencing the last 3 years finally comes to an end. In the last 3 years, I’ve worked with 3 different coordinators during our event seasons. That’s been hard on me as the Administrative Support & to feel I'm the only "constant".

In previous years, when the truck rolls into town from Washington State, my energy is renewed after seeing the fresh daffodils, especially after the flowers open. They really are beautiful and they remind us that spring is coming. This being the weekend before, I am hoping for that renewed spirit on Monday! Another thing that helps is that smile that we see on faces when the flowers get delivered. Last week many people came into the office to pay for their orders, and they were all happy and in good moods, looking forward to the arrival of their "first flower of spring". Those were rewarding moments for me, amidst the piles of work in front of me.

I’m taking time this Saturday to rest and relax, so I will be on top of the game when I go to work on Monday. I am also taking time to meditate on the words a dear friend who knows I’ve been feeling tired and stressed, told me. She wants me to remember that through working with the daffodil program that I’m helping to raise funds to fight this terrible disease of cancer, which touches each and every one of us. She’s right, when I’m tired, I need to remember the “big picture” and remember why I work for this worthy organization.

Vote Result

Referendum Result

For my readers in PA, I thought you might want to know the results of our referendum vote on Tuesday that I told you about, for the expansion of our DECC. The vote was 61% yes to 39% no. The voters approved adding 0.75 percentage points on the citywide food and beverage tax paid in restaurants and bars, to help fund $67 million expansion to the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. Our governor wanted us to do the referendum, to prove that the people are behind the expansion. If passed, he promised to put the plan on the legislature schedule to pay for half the project. The University of Minnesota Duluth has also pledged 16 million toward the project. The turnout for the vote was stronger than expected. Almost 23 percent of registered voters went to the polls. The voter turnout in November’s general election was 28 percent. (I personally,cannot believe that those percentages seem high, that means there are still a lot of people that do not vote!).

Well, off to another hectic day at the job. I’ve been swamped and overwhelmed these days, and have been going early and staying late. Don’t know if I will be extra early today, we had 2 -4 inches of snow overnight. It’s still snowing, but is to stop within the next hour our so. If I’m ready to go before Bob, it means I will be the one to move his car (he parks behind me) and clean off both cars….ummm maybe I’ll leave when Bob leaves this morning! Most of our staff are to go to St. Paul this morning for a meeting, hope they have safe travel, and I’m glad I’m not included. There will just be three of us in the office today. But, we will be too busy to party! Getting ready for Daffodil Days!

March 1, 1961

March 1, 1961
This day 45 years ago I was in Jr. High, and our generation looked up to JFK as our president. We really admired this leader. This is the day 45 years ago that our president signed for the organization of The Peace Corps.

I had a core group of 4 friends that I was very close with. Our dream was to someday join the Peace Corps. During that period of time we were very idealist. When we were juniors, our class chose “The Peace Corps Girls” as our Jr. Play. Three of us were in the cast. I had a very bit part, but one of my friends had the lead. One of our group remained, to this day, to have an ambition that someday she could join the Peace Corps, or do something that would make a major impact in our world. Well, she never joined the corps, but her daughter, Lydia, did! She and her husband are so proud, as well they should be. She is in Guyana, and is a teacher for young children there. All of us are proud of Lydia, and look forward to the e mail updates that her Mother sends us.

It’s nice to know that there are still idealistic young people in our world!

PS…Nancy, if you read this, feel free to put in a comment to my readers as to how Lydia is doing.