couch potatoes

My sister and I, along with two of our brothers, are sitting on the couch in the living room of our house on Alabama Avenue.  It is springtime in the year 1967.  It must be a Sunday because we are all dressed nicely.  I wore my hair up a lot at that time.  My hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail and tucked under in the back.  I kept the front and side hair swept to the side.  That was a really cute hairstyle and it "dressed up" any outfit.  That was then.  Now my hair just sort of lays there..nothing new, no drastic change, no style.  What happened to you, Miss Lazybones???

ship's wheel

Isn't this a cute picture.  That's me peeking through the center section of the ships wheel.  I believe this picture was taken in about 1955.  I, also, believe we were in New England at the time.  I love these group pictures.  Why get a nice picture of one child when you can get a super nice picture of a whole group of children at once.  Group shot!!  Hooray!

sailing along

2004.  My sister and I were sailing aboard the Norwegian coastal steamer Hurtigruten on our way from Bergen to Kirkenes in Norway.  We were on the ten day voyage and having a grand time.  This was my first actual cruise and it was a lot of fun eating and sleeping on board a ship.  We left the ship at most ports of call and took a walk around the area.  The longer the docking time, the longer the walk, the more we saw.  Fun times for sure (or should I say yah-sure?)

walking in Brussels

Five years ago in June of 2013 my sister and I were visiting Brussels  We are big on walking and we walked all over the place.  Here is a picture we had taken in a very large and beautiful garden in the historic area.  (What happened to my hair that day? It looks very flat on top!)  About the walking...let me tell you!  The night before our planned trip to Paris we decided to make sure we located the nearby (smaller) train station so that we would know exactly where to go in the morning.  We took the train from the central station to the next stop, got off and then attempted to follow the walking map back to our hostel.  We must have gone out of the wrong door at the train station because we ended up going in the wrong direction and we soon realized that we were walking in a section of the city that we did not want to be walking in.  The neighborhood was rather shabby (sorry, but it was) and we stood out as tourists.  It gave us a creepy feeling but we kept on going.  After an extensive hike we started to recognize certain buildings in a square that we had seen that morning.  We walked another block and then we found the historic center of town and we then knew where we were.  What a relief.  Interestingly, as we were on our long hike, the sky was getting darker and we were becoming a little more concerned for our safety because--let's just say it--we were lost.  On the bright side though, the square that we had seen in the morning (which at that time was very quiet) was now beautifully lit and coming to life with all of the sidewalk eateries now a-buzz with happy people enjoying the evening.  It was magical.  We continued to walk a few more blocks and when we were close to our hostel we, too, stopped at an outdoor cafe and had a glass of wine.  I remember there was a band playing on a nearby rooftop and there were partygoers dancing to the music. Susan and I were content to toast ourselves for successfully finding our way back to the hostel after going off course for far too long.  We just sat back and enjoyed the moment.  The next day we walked back to the central station and got on the train.  We decided not to go to the smaller station primarily to make sure we didn't get lost again.  We did, however, chuckle later as we passed through the smaller station while we were safely on board the train to Paris.  side note: That's me holding a Peter Rabbit toy and, yes, there is a little two year old boy behind me that wants it.  It is his and I gave it back right away.  Yes, I did.

dessert first

You don't need to see this if your disgusted by sweet, creamy, indulgent desserts so look away now...or just enjoy the moment.  I certainly am.  The top picture was taken in January of 2015 and the bottom picture was taken today.  Not much has changed in these three short years.  It's still all about the desserts.  And, if you want to, please help yourself to a yummy treat before mealtime.  What could it hurt?  Dessert first, I say! (with vigor)  p.s. The chocolate chip cookies were prepared by my sweet little seven year old granddaughter.  Cookies rule!!!  p.s.s.  same hair style, just smoother today.  No bounce.

three sirens

Susan, Melissa and I were having a good day at Casperson Beach.  The warm water was a perfect blue/green color and the waves were really rolling in.  It was June of 2007.  It was never our intention to lure wayward sailors to sail dangerously close to the rocks and thankfully we didn't. However, if you sing the lamenting song of the siren, you never know what can happen.

Williamsburg stocks

Today is the 286th anniversary of George Washington's birth in 1732.  In honor of his birthday I am sharing a picture that was taken in the restored colonial village of Williamsburg, Virginia.  This is us posing by the stocks.  My older brothers were able to balance themselves on the thin post of wood that served as the seat and stretch their legs over to the boards that locked the ankles in place.  The stocks were meant to be physically uncomfortable and the public embarrassment of being on display only added to the uncomfortable position the prisoner was in.  Since Williamsburg was the seat of government for the Virginia colony, I suspect General Washington visited here.  So, here's to you George and thanks for your service.

three ladies

Here is a picture of my sister and me sitting with our neighbor, Mrs. Miller.  We are both holding her hands which is a very sweet thing to do.  Susan and I are wearing matching dress in different colors.  I remember these dresses very well.  I liked the plaid skirts.  The bold plaid pattern was large and really stood out.  Any pastel color mixed with black was very popular in the 1950's.  This picture was taken in about 1955.  I think this is a very sweet picture.  And then there's me today.  I look pretty much like I did yesterday...and the day before that...etc.  Same is not so bad.

a budding young lady

I'm showing you this picture of me and my birthday cake (thirteenth birthday) for one good reason and only one.  I like how my hands are placed on my knees in this very ladylike position.  I look so cute with my hair all done up and I'm wearing a very pretty blouse and skirt, too, but for me this is all about the pose.  Here's to a budding young lady.  p.s. This is me today.  No, really...today.

kids at the piano

Here's a fun picture.  It's my brothers and sister and me standing around the piano and posing for a family picture.  We are all dressed up and it may be a Sunday.  This picture was taken in the mid 1950's while we were living in the parsonage on Brookside Avenue.  Below: prehistoric dinosaur cave drawings or a budding artist's rendition of prehistoric dinosaur cave drawings.  Your choice.  (Leave me out of this.  I'm talking about the drawings, not the person.  Although, some may question which is which when it comes to the prehistoric stuff.) (It's not me.) (I'm pretty sure!)

Happy Birthday Duane

Today is my brother's birthday.  Duane is four years older than me and here is a picture taken on his eleventh birthday.  It looks like he has a couple of friends over to join in the celebration.  We are sitting around the table at the Brookside parsonage.  I guess plaid flannel shirts were what the boys wore during the winter months in Minnesota.  Look at that cake!!  It was baked by our Mom.  Cheers to you, Duane, on your birthday and here's to many more.

a spiffy gent

This is my Dad.  He was in his eighties when this picture was taken.  At that time he was still singing with the Gondoliers, a barbershop group that he belonged to for many years.  He is dressed and ready to perform in the annual Spring extravaganza.  What a guy.  I know he served as president of the group for a couple of terms and he enjoyed that responsibility.  As a matter of fact he served as president of several organizations over the years.  Airstream travel trailers (Minnesota chapter), Rotary Club (St. Louis Park chapter), Gondoliers (Venice, Fl), etc.  He was a go-getter.  Sing on, Dad.  That heavenly choir needs you.  Me: eating a heavenly brunch at Balboa Park this morning.

a relaxing moment

2013.  My sister and I were in Copenhagen on the last day of our three week vacation.  We had visited Belgium, France, Switzerland and Germany.  The night before we flew back to the USA we relaxed at an outdoor cafe along the canal.  Cheers to us as we wind down from another successful journey abroad.  SKOL!!!     note: same hairstyle, five years, no change.

alabama parsonage in winter

 I used to live in this pastel pink rambler style house on Alabama Avenue.  4312, to be exact.  It was built during the fall and winter of 1959/60.   We moved into the house during the month of February.  We had been living a block away on Brookside Avenue (my childhood home) and now were going to live in the new parsonage (my teen years home).  This house had four bedrooms so the boys could spread out a bit.  Susan and I took our twin beds and moved them into the corner room at the end of the hall.  My mom was thrilled to have a walk-in closet and a bathroom of her own on suite.  Because of the slope of the property, the house had a walkout basement.  Bonus: there was a very nice size cedar closet in the laundry room and every late Spring, as the weather warmed up, we took our winter woolen clothes down to the cedar closet to be stored over the summer.  The best part was changing out our wardrobes seasonally and being happy to see our favorite sweaters and skirts again as the weather turned cooler.  This was a great house for teenagers to live in.  The basement was large enough enjoy the extra space.  Plus, a wall of windows let in a lot of light and the door to the backyard was right there.  The picnic table was right outside and during warmer weather it served as a handy place to do homework.  It was a very nice house to live in and was extremely well built by talented craftsmen.  Good memories.

winter dance

1961.  I was thirteen years old and I was dressed up and ready to go to the Winter dance at Central Junior High.  I had a good time at the Fall dance and I wanted to go to another one.  Maybe this time a boy would ask me to dance.  My mother made this dress for me.  The bodice was made from red velveteen and the attached skirt and the wide tie belt were made from satin brocade in a lovely winter white color. I wore my red high heels.  My hair was perfectly combed and sprayed.  This picture captured the moments in my parents house before I left for the dance.  I don't think I danced with a boy at this dance either but I still had fun hanging out with my friends.  In honor of Velentines Day I give you this young girl with a hopeful heart all dressed up for the big dance.  Hugs.

canal boat ride in Bruges

This is kind of a funny story.  My sister and I were traveling in Belgium in 2013.  We wanted to visit Bruges and see the canals and walk the streets.  We hopped the train in Belgium and rode through the countryside taking in the beautiful scenery.  Upon arriving at the station in Bruges we looked at a large city map posted on the wall of the station and laid out our plan of attack.  Apparently a woman was listening to our English conversation and she latched on to us and we became a tour group of three.  She was looking for the canal boat rides and we, too, thought that would be fun.  It was actually.  The canals wove throughout the city and we were able to see the cutest cottages hanging right by (and somewhat over) the canals.  The upper windows were open and lace curtains fluttered in the breeze.  This picture was taken by the woman "traveling" with us.  That was nice of her to take this picture.  Both Susan and I thought there was something just a little odd about this woman but we couldn't quite put our finger on it.  She mentioned that she was working for a few months in Belgium and during her days off, she wanted to sightsee.  Fair enough.  She had her agenda and we fit into her plan.  As we were getting off the boat we noticed that the woman quickly scrambled off the boat and started heading down the street.  By the time my sister and I got off the boat, she was gone.  Out of sight.  Gonzo!  I think she just needed a temporary escort and we just happened to be "it".  Well, we had a big laugh and then we took off on our own adventure.  We walked all over the city and had lunch at an outdoor cafe in the old town square.  We had a GREAT day...and some good laughs, too.

Lincoln's birthday

In June of 2017 I visited the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln.  He was born in the Hodgenville, Kentucky area.  The Lincoln farm is part of a National Historic site and there is a replica log cabin on display for the public to see.  Today we remember the birthday of our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln.  When I was a kid and attended school in St. Louis Park,  Lincoln's birthday was a holiday from school.  We also were given a school holiday on February 22 in honor of George Washington's birthday.  What a great month February turned out to be with two school holidays only ten days apart.  Nowadays these two presidential birthdays are combined into one holiday, President's Day, and it always falls on a Monday.  Today, however,  is all about remembering Abraham Lincoln. Okay, another thing that happened while I was in elementary school was the addition of the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance.  We learned to say it one way and then we re-learned the pledge with the additional words.  Another schooldays memory...yeh, I was there.

syvde

I'm in a traveling state of mind today.  The weather here is warm but overcast and storms are expected to roll in later this afternoon.  But, look at the sky in this picture looking out on the Syvdefjord in Norway.  The mountains surrounding the fjord and valley are capped in snow.  Look how calm the water is on this sunny day.  It is the summer of 2001 and my dad, my sister and her son and my son and I are driving around Norway having an exciting adventure.  We came to visit some relatives that live in this small village at the end of a fjord on the western coast of the country.  The village is small with a main street and a few stores.  The houses spread out across the narrow valley.  The valley is surrounded on three sides by mountains and beautiful waterfalls flow down from the mountains.  Why is Syvde important to me?  My grandfather (Dad's dad) was born here.  He lived here for the first nine years of his life before his family immigrated to the United States through Canada in the 1890's.  They eventually settled in Minnesota and their story (and mine) continues from there.  I have been to Norway several times and I feel drawn to its' spirit.  My Norwegian heritage runs deep.  However, today,  with the weather being chancy, I guess it's time to work on a jigsaw puzzle.  I can do my traveling another day.

a fireplace and food

It looks like my sister and I are visiting a log cabin house.  I believe this was taken during the summer of 1956 while we were driving through Kentucky and Tennessee on our big "goin' out east" road trip.  Nice fireplace.  I wonder how many meals were prepared in this room.  Meals, food, lunch.  I see an eating theme emerging.  So, here I am today at Chef Chen's restaurant eating cashew chicken.  (Don't look at my chin!  I SAID don't look at my chin.)  (You looked)  (I felt it.)  This is what my fortune cookie said.  An upcoming event will soon make your life more exciting.  Wowsers!!

5 kids in a chair

This is a cute picture of us kids hanging out on the green chair by the door in the living room of the Brookside parsonage.  It must be a Sunday.  We are all dressed so nicely.  I love, love, love my sister's jumper and blouse.  Smiles all around.  Look at the blue sky in the picture below.  Incredible.  Can you see the fountain in the pond just behind me?  What a beautiful day.  More smiles.

the floral print dress

I am 22 years old in this picture.  I am standing with my mother in the living room of the parsonage on Alabama Avenue.  I absolutely loved wearing that dress with all the large flowers printed on it.  It had a zipper front and a nice wide collar with a tie belt at the waist.  I shortened it a bit, of course.  It was such an easy dress to wear.  Now, let's talk about what's on my head.  Yep, it's a wig.  My own hair was long at the time and this wig gave me an opportunity to change things up a bit.  I was working at the Dayton's downtown department store (LOVED THAT PLACE!!) and I had my store discount card at the ready.  I was always scouring the racks on the fourth floor young miss department and I was able to score the dress ON SALE plus 10% off as a store employee.  I made $1.65 an hour at the time (that was after two previous 5 cent raises)  and I looked for good bargains during my lunch break.  My job was working in the ladies neckwear department selling scarves.  I worked on the first floor and that was an exciting place to be.  The wig department was close by and it was fun to try on wigs during my break.  You know what else was on the first floor?  Handbags and jewelry.  woohoo!  I was able to find some very nice things in those departments, too.  Anyway, this is me and my lovely mother when I was 22.  fun note: I am just standing with my sister's bike near the Silver Comet Trail. She rode, I walked.  Nice pic, though.

the stocks

1956.  This is the summer we made our road trip out east.  This picture was taken while we were visiting colonial Williamsburg in Virginia.  The beautifully restored village gives the visitor an idea of how people lived during colonial times.  You will see a working bakery and a working blacksmith shop along with the courthouse and other dwellings.  The gardens are very, very pretty.  I see that the use of the public stocks was an acceptable form of punishment for somewhat minor offenses back in the day.  Hmmm...no, we're not being punished for anything.  We are just having some good ol' fun...family style.

snow in summer

During our road trip out west in 1958 we crossed over the continental divide at Logan's Pass.  I remember on our way up the mountain we would see small patches of snow alongside the road.  The patches kept getting bigger the higher we rose up the mountain.  At one point we  came around a corner and saw this huge field of snow.  We went crazy.  It was summer and there was snow on the ground!  We knew all about snow, having grown up in Minnesota, but we were so surprised to see it in July.  My dad pulled the car off of the roadway and we all got out and had a grand time playing in the summer snow.  How fabulous was that!!

Mrs. Miller

The year is 1951.  I am three years old. Here we are standing in front of the Brookside parsonage with Mrs. Miller.  She was our babysitter at the time and she lived two doors down from us on Brookside Avenue.  She and her husband lived in a small house that sat down in a little valley (low spot) on our block.  Babysitting was a natural fit for older women at that time.  With five kids in our family, a mature woman with parenting skills was a plus for a babysitter. My younger brother and sister were only eighteen months younger than me.  When they were born (my mom didn't know until the ninth month that she was expecting twins) the delivery doctor looked at my dad and said "You WILL take your wife out on a date every week."  This is how us kids got to know Mrs. Miller so well.  She was a great babysitter.  Bonus thought: At that time the topography of our neighborhood was rather up and down.  Our house actually sat at the highest point and the houses on either side of ours sat a little lower.  As kids we used to roll down the little hills that separated the back yards.  I remember our mom getting on us and saying we shouldn't roll into other people's yards.  Ahhh, but that was so much fun.  Hey, Mrs. Miller!  Rollin' your way.

Tricia

A dear friend is having a birthday today.  This picture was taken eleven years ago.  I think we look the same today.  She is a friend that I have had since the early 1980's during my Vicksburg years.  We still pal around together and have a fun time while hanging out.  Cheers, Tricia!!  p.s. The gentleman in the lower picture is Alfonso D'Este, Duke of Ferrara Italy.  Just so you know.