Losses and Memories

We have all felt like we have lost one or more opportunities in life, lost loved ones, etc. We often wonder what our life would be like if different paths were taken, different choices, but I think we are not supposed to dwell on those questions. I believe we are not supposed to live in the past, though it is quite tempting to at times. I think that if we did dwell on the past and agonize over past decisions, worry about what was done or not done, that we would all go crazy! All of us would be emotional wrecks if we did that.

I believe we must live each day at a time and make the best of each day, not thinking about what has been. Any therapist will tell you that we should not carry our “baggage” with us into the future. We can always remember the good things, and have those memories, they cannot be taken away from us, but again, we cannot obsess over those memories, or we will be at risk, emotionally. Good sense tells us to treasure our memories, but not become obsessed with them.
The same goes for the losses we have had, we must not become obsessed over them.
We must resist the temptation to do so.

Memories and losses…lets keep both of them in the proper prospective.

Remember we have the “Present”, let us live in the present and be happy.

Losses - Katrina

Today is one year since Katrina hit New Orleans and the surrounding area. Such losses those people have felt! I heard on MPR this morning a woman being interviewed that she and her husband had re-located to Minnesota until they could get back to their home. While she said the people in Minnesota were very nice and welcoming to those coming from New Orleans, they still wanted to return to New Orleans, because it was HOME. They couldn’t think of living somewhere else. They moved back to Louisiana, but could not go to their home. Now her husband’s employer re-located them to another place in Louisania. They are trying to sell the New Orleans house, they have two mortgages. They have always had good credit and she is worried, with expenses that they will have financial problems. Another woman talked of having to start over at age 50 with a 30 year mortgage on a home, when the home they lost in New Orleans was within 6 years of being paid!

I feel so sorry for all those that have had to go through this past year and all their losses.

I have thought many times of the losses in my life, but after listening to the interviews this morning, I realize that my losses pale very much in comparison. I of course, have lost my parents and loved ones, but that is life, we know we will have to face those losses at some point. I've had other losses too, but try to keep them in prospective. But, we don’t expect to lose our homes, our belongings and everything we have worked for all of our life. We are reminded though in scripture that we are not to build our treasures on earth, and when things like Katrina happen, it reminds us of that scripture.

I believe that things happen for a reason, but we often do not know what that reason is, and maybe, will probably, we are not supposed to know what the reason is.

When thinking of the losses in our lives, we also need to keep in mind that we are not always in control of what happens to us.

Keep in prospective too, that material things are just that, material things. But, that in losing material things, we have to respect that those that lost those material things feel a great loss. May we keep in mind today and always, those that have lost their homes and belongings to the Katrina Hurricane, and keep them in our prayers.

Nice way to spend a Saturday

A quick note before we head for Granddaughter's 6th Birthday Party, being held tonight. I thought I'd let you know I had a successful "party"...it was a lot of fun, and there were 8 friends here this morning. I was up at 5:30 am cleaning and yes, dusting... I felt like I really needed to dust, since it had been a while! I made brownies and blueberry muffins before 7:30 am. I dug the coffee pot out of the cupboard, and hoped that I would remember how much coffee to put in it... we aren't really coffee drinkers around here. Anyhow, I enjoyed visiting with good friends, and now I have a clean house in the bargain! I think everyone here had a good time and the lady that gave the party told me "you had a nice group of ladies here", I said, "yes, I know, I have good friends".

Now, it will be nice to visit with daughter and family.

Monday: The Birthday party was great! We had fun watching the birthday girl open her presents, and she and I played with her new dolls the next morning. Bratz
Dolls (the ugliest dolls I've ever seen!). Saturday night we enjoyed time around the camp fire roasting marshallows.

House Cleaning Thoughts

I am posting the poem that I referred to in my post below. I've always liked this poem, it helps the reader to remember what is really important in life. My Mother used to tell me, as I scurried around the farm house cleaning when I knew someone was coming "They are coming to see us, not the house", another thing she would say "our house is not a show place, we live here". I can't credit the poem, as I think it's author is "unknown".

Dust if You Must
Dust if you must, but wouldn't it be better
To paint a picture or write a letter,
Bake a cake or plant a seed.
Ponder the difference between want and need.

Dust if you must, but there's not much time,
With rivers to swim and mountains to climb,
Music to hear and books to read,
Friends to cherish and life to lead.

Dust if you must, but the world's out there
With the sun in your eyes, the wind in your hair,
A flutter of snow, a shower of rain.
This day will not come around again.

Dust if you must, but bear in mind,
Old age will come and it's not kind.
And when you go and go you must,
You, yourself, will make more dust.

Remember, a house becomes a home
when you can write "I love you"
on the furniture....

Dust If You Must

I should be cleaning my house for company tomorrow morning, but it's been a gloomy, cloudy day, and dark early tonight, so that doesn't exactly put one in the mood to clean house. Actually Bob keeps it tidy, but thought I should scrub the bathroom and kitchen floor, but don't think it will happen. I also haven't dusted in a while and feel that I really should do that. Of course, I think of the "Dust if you Must" poem, and then think is dusting really necessary...ha ha. Why do I feel I "should" clean tonight? Well, I put myself into one of those situations that I haven't put myself in for years, and am wondering WHY did I did that? You know those "parties" that we women book from our friends to "help" them out...
well, in a weak moment in June I booked a "jewelery party". I'm not one to go and buy jewelery, so thought it would be a opportunity to get some "free" accessories to spark up my dreary wardrobe. I postponed my date 3 different times. When I set this date, I thought a Sat. morn. would be easier to get ready for than an evening one....I could do a little each evening of the week to get the house "ready"...yeah, right...what was I thinking?!!! Not!
After setting this date, I found out that our daughter was not having the family birthday party for our granddaughter on the weekend I thought she would, but on THIS weekend! So, I did not have the nerve to change the date one more time, she said she'd have the party late afternoon, early evening. That means, after entertaining, I will jump in the car with Rob and Bob and head to Hudson for Madelyn's 6th Birthday Party.

I need to make something to serve, either tonight or first thing in the morning. I just came back from the local store with some things needed to bake, I think I know what I will make. It's already after 7:30, I have a feeling I will get up at 5:30 tomorrow morning to ready for the 10 am "party".

I do know one reason, probably the main reason, that most of us women book these parties. It seems our lives are so busy, and we really do want to entertain our friends, but unless we book a party like this, we rarely do make dates to entertain. This is an easy way to entertain and to visit with friends that we don't see too often. Now, if we could get over the feelings that we always have that we must have "perfect houses", and serve the "perfect food", we would really enjoy these parties! Once everyone is here, I will try not to worry about what I didn't get done, and I will enjoy being with the friends that I invited.

Then I will enjoy our visit in Hudson and celebrating Madelyn's 6th Birthday!

Beautiful Day in Duluth

Today is one of those beautiful summer days here in Duluth that I’ve told you that I love, 70ish, sunny and a breeze blowing. (Really like that breeze!) It was a bit more humid than I like, but the humidity was bearable because of the breeze. This evening is especially lovely. On my drive to and from work I drive along Lake Superior, and it was the bright blue that I like so much…oh so beautiful.

I heard from a friend from Texas that today was over 100 degrees there. Gee, I don’t think I could handle that. We hit 100 twice this summer, very, very unusual, and we all thought we were going to die! Give me the 70’s any day. Of course, Texas is probably like Pennsylvania, they know how to handle the heat, lots of air conditioning and central air. Maybe they hibernate inside on those days too? I feel sorry though, for all those that have jobs outside that have to work in that heat, that must really be hard.

We are noticing that it is August here, as the evenings are getting shorter every day. It’s dark before we know it, and that’s always a sign that fall is approaching. Everyone in Duluth is scurrying around trying to get those walks in, camping trips, swimming, weekends at the lake, because they know that the summer is soon ending. I didn’t realize until today just how close Labor Day weekend is, and the coming of the new school year. When you don’t have kids that age, you kind of forget that families with school age children are extra busy shopping and readying the kids for school. (I’m glad I’m over those days though, the kids always wanted more clothing than I had money to buy, it was always a stressful time for me). Now, I feel for my daughter who goes through that with the start of each school year. Kids today want so much more than we did. I was never able to “demand” new clothes. I had to be happy if I got one new dress, maybe two if I was lucky. I did get a new pair of shoes, but they had to last ALL year, and a new pair of tennis shoes, to last the year. New socks and underwear was a must, but what fun were they? I think our main excitment was getting new notebooks, pencils and maybe a new pack sack (or book bags, as we called them then), and a new lunch box, if you carried your lunch. We were in fourth grade when our school got a cafeteria. Until then, I carried lunch. The cafeteria food we did not like, however, my Mother said she couldn’t pack lunch for what the cost was, so we had no choice, cafeteria it was. Now, I’m getting sidetracked. Anyhow, today’s boys and girls get so much more to start school with! I think the parents have a harder time saying no than our parents did. Of course, maybe it was because most parents when I was growing up, did not have a credit card. If there wasn’t spare money, there wasn’t any shopping, period! Anyhow, good luck to all you Mother’s out there that are shopping for the beginning of school!

Photos from PA

The Farm where I grew up:

Back in Duluth

As you can tell from my posts the last few days, I had a wonderful visit to my home in PA. I must also confess that it was good to get back to Duluth, my home of 36 plus years.
Reasons to be happy for being back in Duluth:
My husband
Our children, our grandchildren,
Lake Superior
The Aerial Lift Bridge
Beautiful area of Woodland
Our home
All my friends here
Our church
The view from Thompson Hill on I-35
The view of the city on the hill, from Canal Park
The Rose Garden
Brighton Beach
The view coming down Mesaba Avenue of Lake Superior and lakefront
Cooler Summer (usually)
The Love of family and friends

The first few years I was here and so very homesick for PA, my Mother always told me that once I had a family here and put down roots, that I would be much happier and that I would make Duluth my home. She was so right.

PS – My husband was glad to have me back, he missed me. That was a nice to know.
(Of course, I missed him too)

Saying Good-bye

Highlights – Final Evening
-- Final walk around the farm
-- Visit at the farm house with Tim and family, goodbye to siblings
-- Taking in the smells of the farm at sunset and night time

Highlights – Final Morning
-- Final Goodbye to my baby sister and family
-- One last look at the farm and land
-- One last look at the views and the mountains in the background
-- The ride to the Airport with my brother
-- Bringing home Adams County Peaches to Minnesota
-- Tearful goodbye from the air as the airplane heads to Minneapolis

Highlights from PA -Part III - Nostalgic Moments

Upstairs: Attended First Grade in this Building


Lau's Store - East Berlin (Now The Iron Skillet Restaurant)

Highlights: Nostalgic Moments

-- Seeing Dad farming, as I looked over the farm.
-- Seeing my Mother in the farm house kitchen.
-- Remembering when the barn was not in bad shape and gone.
-- Seeing my Mother pour milk from milking into the milk cans, when I look
at the “milk house”.
-- Seeing Daddy with the egg baskets by the chicken houses.
-- The side of the barn hill, I can never forget my mother crying when a hired hand had accidentally run over 8 baskets of eggs with the tractor. It’s one of the few times that I saw her cry.
-- Could that “big rock” in the yard really be that small?
-- Unbelievable that a young tree by the house, when I was young, could now be a mature tree!
-- Visit to my home church and cemetery – remembrances of my parents, brother and all the loved ones in the cemetery that nurtured me as I grew up.
-- Hearing my Mother’s voice in my head, telling me I didn’t need that Lemon Meringue Pie that I was looking at in the grocery store bakery.
-- Noticing that the town of East Berlin looks better and more kept up now, than when I was growing up! (Guess I grew up when the economy was severely depressed, and I didn’t even know it!).
-- Seeing the local stores in East Berlin that are still there. Remembering the ones that are gone. The old bank is now a “Curves”.
-- The old High School and Elementary School in East Berlin, they are now being utilized as a Community Center and Senior Citizen’s Center. The Buildings look as they did 40 years ago.
-- Buying fresh fruit from farm side stand, and the young Mennonite girl as the sales clerk.
-- Local farms that all look in better shape than they did 40 years ago!
-- Seeing a million dollar expansion being done to my high school! The school was brand new when we moved in during our 8th grade year!!
-- Peach Cobbler made with the fresh peaches
-- Fresh farm grown sweet corn (on the cob)
-- All the German/PA Dutch Foods I ate there, that I don’t have in Minnesota
-- Walking on the farm
-- Seeing the “Williams Grove Amusement Park” Sign
-- Driving by both sets of Grandparents home’s (more than once) and remembering them as they were 40 years ago. Disappointed that they don't look the same
-- Driving on Highways 74, 194, 94, 234. Highway numbers I didn’t even know when I was growing up!!!

Highlights of PA - Part II - Hanging Out

Highlights – Just “Hanging and relaxing”

-- Watching my niece and her husband “oooh and aahh” over their new puppy dog
-- Sitting with my sister on our reclining chairs at 3 am – both of us not able to sleep from being sick. We felt like we were “little old ladies”.
-- Sitting with my sister on her deck, just relaxing and hanging out.
-- Spending an evening with an old friend from school.
-- Watching my nephew eat every bit of a “colossal burger” at Ruby Tuesday’s.
-- Spending lots of quality time with my sister.
-- Walking on the farm
-- Boat ride on a man made lake that I watched being built 40 years ago, being employed by the company that built it.
-- Sitting by a campfire
--Sitting on my sister’s deck often, day and evening, overlooking the farm
--Staying up late and talking
--Sleeping in

Highlights of PA - Part II - The Senses

Highlights of PA – PART II
Highlights – The Senses

-- Martin’s BBQ Potato Chips
-- Hershey’s Ice Cream
-- Snyder’s Hard Pretzels
-- Best ever Soft Pretzels
-- Lebanon Bologna
-- Sweet Bologna
-- Homemade Chip Beef gravy
-- Scrapple
-- Fresh corn on the cob and fresh peaches
-- Crab Cakes – Fresh lump crab from Maryland.
-- Country Smells – sweet smell of Fresh made Hay, not so sweet smell of manure and chicken farms
-- Watching the joy on my brother in law’s face as he waxed their new RV Camper
-- Fresh Adams County peaches
-- Sympathizing with my nephew, blisters and bruises from Football Camp
-- Sympathizing with my sister when she was miserable due to neck pain
-- The smell of the basement and the sight of the egg grader that used to be there
-- The smell of the attic and remembering how scared we all were to go up there
-- Seeing my Grandmother when I looked at Great Aunt Dot’s face.
-- Seeing my deceased brother in my niece’s face.
-- Sensing the love all around us – during my whole week stay

Highlights: Pennsylvania - Part I

Thrills:

-- Thrill of seeing the Susquehanna River from the air and knowing I was almost “home”.
-- Thrill of the airplane landing gear preparing to land
-- Thrill of seeing my cousin, who picked me up at the airport! Lunch with her.
-- Thrill of seeing each of my siblings - first time in a year!
-- Thrill of every view I looked at, with eyes of appreciation. I never realized how beautiful this area of the country was when I was growing up.
-- Enjoying the views of the farm fields full of corn and soybeans
-- Seeing the mountains in the background of every view
-- Seeing my home I grew up in being re-furbished to reflect the colonial days that it was built in. The joy of knowing my brother and his family are living in our farm house, and knowing that they love being there.
-- Knowing the farm is still in our family.
-- Knowing my youngest brother is farming Dad’s farm. Hearing from him that he LOVES farming the land!
-- The beautiful view of corn, soybeans and freshly made hay on the farm.
-- Driving through the fruit orchards of Adams County, on our way to visit an Aunt and Uncle in Carlise.
-- The thrill of the apple orchards full of apples hanging on the trees.

Fellowship, Family, Love:

-- The family wedding celebration of my youngest cousin’s marriage. Visiting with her and getting to know her husband. The fun of a family party.
-- Great visits with my Aunts, Uncles and cousins.
-- Seeing the new bride hold her 5 week old niece. The love of a sister who drove from Virginia with 3 small children, alone!
-- Seeing grandnieces and nepews and children of cousins - all under age 5.
-- Getting a big hug from my 5 year old grand nephew, without asking for it.
-- Visiting with 4 - Second-Cousins and a Great Aunt that I haven’t seen in over 40 years, (except for my parents funerals).
-- Sharing that visit with my younger sister, who really doesn't remember them like I do. Hearing from my sister that she really enjoyed the visit with them.
-- Spending more time with 3 of my nieces, than I’ve ever spent before.
-- Hearing from one of my nieces, who drove quite a way to see me on her day off work, that she will “always make time for family”.
-- The LOVE I saw in every family members face.
-- The LOVE conveyed to me.

Stay tuned for more Highlights on tomorrow's Post

Beautiful PA

It has been a great visit to my home in Southeastern PA. The weather has been Duluth like weather, so I can't complain about the heat, though a few days it was in the high 80's through the afternoon. The mornings and evenings have been so comfortable. This is my last day here, I'm so sad. My sister is working this morning, taking the afternoon off, so I checked in on line and printed my boarding pass for tomorrow morning. Though I'd say a quick hello to you.

She and I will be meeting one of my nieces for lunch. Other than that we have no plans, we will just hang out. The other siblings and families will probably stop over this evening to say goodbye to me. When I return I will give you a re cap of the great week I had here. But, now I don't want to waste time inside. The morning is so beautiful, I must take a walk around the farm one last time. So off to the farm I go, enjoying the scenery once more. My brother Mark has all the crops in, corn, soy beans and making hay... the fields all look so good. My brother Tim who has the farm house now, has the grounds around it looking neat and clean, and sister in law Vicki will have the flowers out in all the beds by next summer, as they are concentrating on the inside this summer. Everythng looks so good. It's been so good to see everyone, and it will be very hard to get on that airplane tomorrow morning.

One Day Closer to Pennsylvania

I am so excited tonight! I have a half day of work tomorrow morning, my suitcase will be in my car, and at noon I will be off to Hudson, to visit our daughter and family and Thursday morning, very, very early, she or my son in law will drive me to the Mpls. airport to board a plane for Pennsylvania. By 1 pm our time, noon their time I will have arrived in Harrisburg, 45 minutes from the farm I grew up on. I am pretty much packed, a few last minute things to throw in tomorrow morning. My sister called last night, she is taking some time off her job while I'm there, and she is excited to see me. Talked to my brother last weekend, who moved into the farm house, he and his family are anxious to see me. My cousin is picking me up at the airport because she's leaving to go out of town for a week on Friday morn, and she said that way she can see me. Isn't it wonderful to know you are loved so much, and that everyone is anxious to see you. That is the reception I always get when I go home, it's good for ones' self esteem to know that you are loved.

Had lunch with son Scott today, he's been busy umpiring at night and weekends, Eastern Little League, so haven't seen him for a good two weeks. I wanted to be sure to see him before leaving town. He is leaving also tomorrow morning for Chicago, he and his boss will be driving there (long drive) for a trade show. I so much wanted to kiss him goodbye when he dropped me back to my office, but thought better of it there on Michigan Street .. didn't want to embarrass him, but after we both wished each other good trips, I did tell him that I loved
him and he told me "I love you Mom".

Yep...I'm sure looking forward to NOON tomorrow. If I get a chance I will write you from hot
southeastern PA (but remember, I told you they know how to handle the heat!)

I got my very short haircut for the PA heat. My husband said it is too short... I told him,
yeah, it is a bit shorter than I really wanted, but "hey, it will be cool"! (And it will grow out).

Talk to you later. Have a great week and a half!

Weekend at Last!

Oh my, it has been a long week at work this week. The days seemed to go unusually slow. It wasn’t because I wasn’t busy, I was very busy, as usual. Maybe it was because I knew that after noon on Wednesday of next week, I will be on vacation! I’m getting very antsy for my trip home to Pennsylvania next Thursday. I will spend this weekend getting ready to be gone … figuring out what I’m going to pack, getting things caught up at the house. I am trying to finish writing my thank you notes to all who supported me in our Relay For Life event. I am also writing thank you’s to my wonderful team members, I hope to finish them this weekend. I want everyone who donated to me, and gave us help in our fundraisers to know that they are appreciated, and that I appreciated the commitment the team members had to the relay.

It hasn’t been as hot the last few days, but it’s been very muggy. The mornings have been nice though, and we’ve been able to sleep at night. Last evening we had a rain fall that didn’t even last 10 minutes. We’ve been getting some rain like this off and on, and we really need it. This morning is 67 degrees and cloudy. It feels great, however it's to get into the high 80's. Maybe our 90 plus temps are over now. I hope so.

Well, if I'm going to accomplish some things today, I'd better get started!

A Success Story

You know I’ve written that I was the team captain for a Relay For Life team for our 15th Annual Duluth Community Relay. This event honors all cancer survivors and is held in memory of those who have lost the battle to cancer. This is the number one reason that each of us relay. We walk the track, lined with lighted luminaries in honor of and in memory of our loved ones who were touched by cancer. It is a real honor to be on a team and to honor and memorialize.

The by product of the relay is that it raises funds to be used by The American Cancer Society for programs, resources, education, patient services and research. The American Cancer Society funds the Navigator Program, which provides a staff person to help cancer patients and their families to “navigate” through their treatment and disease. The Duluth Office has a Navigator. She helps to find patients rides to treatments, gives them support through resources, information and lets them know about programs and help that is available, not just through ACS, but also through other sources. We have a “Wig Room” in our office, that someone who will be going through treatment and losing their hair, can come in and choose a wig, free of charge. We also have scarves and hats, and mastectomy items available at no cost. Our Duluth Navigator is one of the most compassionate women that I know. I often wonder how she keeps her prospective and compassion, having to deal with this horrible disease of cancer every day, but she does. We are so fortunate to have her in our Duluth office. She covers not only the community of Duluth, but also all of St. Louis County, Itasca, Carlton Counties and Douglas County, Wisconsin. Donor’s money goes to the Navigator program, as well as other programs. Your donations help fund the 24 hour, 7 day a week hot line, which is available to everyone with cancer questions, concerns. You will get a live person to talk with, even if it 3 am in the morning! Also, the web site: www.cancer.org , information, resources, and things you want to know about cancer can be accessed through this web site.

Our team was comprised of Hope UMC members, and some of my friends not affiliated with the church. The members got to know each other, working together for the same cause. Our team name was HOPE UMC Wranglers, (wrangling cancer).

I am so proud of my team, for their enthusiasm and commitment. I am also proud of my church, Hope United Methodist Church for the support that our congregation gave to our team. We appreciate our Pastor Michelle’s support. She came to the event and let us know that she was with us! We raised over $7500. Last year we raised $2600, so we tripled what we did last year! We worked together on team fundraisers, which made a big difference this year. Of course all those delicious candy bars we sold helped also. We sold over 1400 chocolate bars between the end of May and July 14th!

The levels for recognition for teams are from lowest to highest, Bronze, Gold, Silver, Platinum, and Diamond. Last year were a “Bronze team”, this year with our $7500, we are a GOLD team. By the way, our Duluth Relay is at $116,000 right now, with money still coming in. Our fiscal year ends August 31, and we are anticipating we may reach $120,000. Last year our final total was $105,000. This will be the most our relay has ever made in its 15 years! We also had the most cancer survivors involved and being honored at the survivor reception and first lap. Last year we had 130, this year, close to 175! Honoring cancer survivors and remembering those lost to cancer, is really what the the relay is about.

Our team is excited about next year, and already making plans what we can do to fundraise to reach a goal that we want to set of $10,000. Sounds ambitious, but our goal this year was $2500, never dreamed we’d reach $7500. I want to credit a few members who went above and beyond - Vangie raised over $2800! She lives in Proctor, and I believe that she covered all of Proctor in asking for donations. She is also a United Methodist, a member of Forbes Proctor UMC. Thank you to Forbes congregation in the support that they gave to Vangie! We also have a Lutheran on our team, Peg, we thank Peg and her husband, Jim for their tireless work of selling things at Sidewalk Sales and the night of the event to add to our team total. They sold things at Sidewalk Days when the heat was unbearable, they were unstoppable! Thank you Peg and Jim! Beverly, who came on board in June, spent a lot of time running to different locations with our candy bars. She also was our leader for our major fundraiser, the Omelet Breakfast and Silent Auction. These dedicated people went above and beyond and on behalf of all of our team and myself, I thank them.

The event's top team raised over $20,000 and we have one Platinum team at $10,000 and quite a few teams that raised between $7,000 and $10,000, so our goal for next year is not unreachable. We have a lot of dedicated people involved with our relay, that want to make an impact to make life easier for those struggling with cancer, and most of all, of course, to find a cure to end to this disease!

If any of you reading this, gave me a donation, please know how much I deeply appreciate your donation. I raised over $1,700. To all those reading this that have given to any of our Relays this year, I want to also thank you. Thank you to any of you that have participated in a Relay For Life. You are all part of making a difference! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

PS: The Duluth Relay Committee is looking for committee members, volunteers who want to help with the planning of next year’s event. If you are interested, or want more information about how you can help, please call (218) 727-7439, option 3 and ask for Amber or Linda. If you are interested in the Relay events for Carlton County, Superior, Itasca County, and other St. Louis County Relays, that would also be the number to call. (Toll free: 888-727-7439). Next year’s Duluth Relay For Life will be July 13 -14th, 2007 at the College of St. Scholastica. Mark your calendars!

Beating the Heat

In case you hadn’t heard, our temperature rose again on Sunday and yesterday, and another record was broken, July 31, 2006, the hottest July in Duluth history! We thought about going to the air conditioned movie theater, however, wouldn’t you know, there wasn’t a movie playing the either of us wanted to see!

I’m thankful there is air condition in our office, however, a lot of the days, I still use a fan right by my desk, because I’m too warm. Yesterday one of my co/workers told me they went to Applebees the night before and that the air-condition was so high that it was really cold. Ahhh… I called my husband, suggested that we meet there after work. Applebees is one of our favorite restaurants, and if it’s nice and cool there, what better way to spend a hot evening! The food was good, as always, the drinks were refreshingly cold and yes, their air conditioner was working very well! I really didn’t want to leave. So, right next door is Barnes and Noble, another air conditioned haven. I like to go there and browse, and I had a 15 % coupon burning a hole in my purse, that would expire soon. It’s a good thing I don’t go there often, I always buy at least one book, often more than one. I noticed a $1.00 a book table there, and couldn’t resist looking. I shouldn’t have looked. I bought 4 books for $1.00 each, books that looked really interesting…who knows when I’ll get them read, but gee, they were big priced books .. for a buck, what a bargain! One was all about Martin Luther King and the impact he had on the 60’s and on equal rights, it includes a lot of neat pictures from my generation. Another is about “Unsolved Mysteries of American History”…that one I read quite of a bit last night already (very interesting and a fast read.) Now, if I had only spent $4.00 that wouldn’t have been bad. But, of course, I had to look through the audio books on CD. I wanted to get one to listen to on my trip to and from Minneapolis on the 9th. I know, I know, I really should go to the library and get one for free, but I never seem to find the time to go to the library! I bought the one called “The Mayflower”, about the Mayflower voyage and the pilgrims first year or so in the “new world”.

About 7:30 last night we had a big thunderstorm. It included a nice rainfall, and the temperature went down. Today it was cloudy and not as hot, but the humidity very high, so it was pretty miserable again. Duluthians just aren’t used to this heat. We can take it for a day or two, but not in long stretches. When I go to Pennsylvania, a week from now, It’s hot there like it’s been here, however they are equipped for it…air conditioned homes, air condition every where you go! I’ll be there in the heat, but I won’t be as uncomfortable.
Maybe it will be cold here the week I'm in PA and I will be happy that I will have a little more summer, as long as I'm in air condition and can sleep at night!