Bird Brains

It was their turn; Bob and Deb decided that since we drove to the Arboretum a couple of weeks ago, it was their turn to drive to a Minnesota destination for us to explore. Anna and I were invited to check out the eagles at the National Eagle Center in Wabasha. For those who are not familiar with Minnesota geography, Wabasha is a small city on the shore of the Mississippi River, about a twenty minute drive south of Red Wing. What do you mean you're not familiar with Red Wing? Do you wear shoes? The famous Red Wing shoe company is the biggest employer in town. Anyway, back to the birds. We got to Wabasha and had a lovely picnic lunch under the Wabasha bridge, and then headed for the Eagle Center. There we learned that the reason there are so many bald eagles in Minnesota is because the state is right on a major mid-west migratory route. With the large quantity of lakes there is plenty for the eagles to eat. We also learned that the best time of year to view eagles along the river is in February and March, and the least likely time to see eagles is in the middle of summer. That explains why we didn't see any eagles for quite awhile. Even so, the Eagle Center is a wonderful place to visit because they have lots of information about eagles, and they have their own resident eagles on site. There are two bald eagles named Columbia and Harriet, and they have my personal favorite, a golden eagle named Donald. All of the eagles are there as a result of their injuries that were a result of encounters with motor vehicles and cannot be released back into the wild. The eagles are well cared for and healthy, and the staff is very proud of their work with these birds.

We took quite a bit of time exploring the center and then finally made our way out onto the deck outside overlooking the river. They have installed a small telescope on the deck to assist visitors in their search for eagles and I can tell you from experience that it works. I saw a large black bulge in the upper portion of a dead tree across the river and thought it might be an eagle, so we trained the telescope on it and sure enough, there was a big, beautiful bald eagle just sitting there, enjoying the sunshine and watching the river go by. The eagle hardly moved the whole time we were watching it, only moving to scratch its beak or turn its head. It was thrilling to see the symbol of America in the wild, even though it was not the first bald eagle I have seen, or even the closest. But seeing these birds in the wild and enjoying their beauty is always a thrill.

After watching the eagle in the wild Bob and I figured we could imitate an eagle, so we tried on eagle masks in the gift shop. I think I would scare too many kids if I wore this thing on Halloween, so we left these masks behind. Besides, anything I buy now Anna and I have to move, so we consider these things very carefully.
Blogged by Don

Now THAT was FUN!

Here in St. Paul there is an independent baseball league team called the Saints. They are in the American Association, an independent league made up mostly of college-aged players. This year we had the good fortune of hosting the American Association All-Star Game. It was really a hoot! The Saints are in the North Division, so naturally we were rooting for them, and wouldn't you know it but the North gives up five runs to the South in the second inning. By the sixth, it was a ten-nothing deficit, and even the announcer was hoping the game would end quickly so we could all watch fireworks. But then the comeback started. One player on the North hit a home run in the seventh, ending the shut-out. The South scored again in the top of the eighth to keep the ten-run margin, and it stayed that way until the bottom of the ninth. In the bottom of the ninth the North squad really came to life! No, they didn't win, but they did score three runs to make the final score 11-4, South. It looks a lot more respectable than 10-0, and it gave us fans something to cheer about before the fireworks show. Anna and I decided to go home before the fireworks, however, because it was already ten-thirty and we both had to work the next day, early. Even though our team lost, it was still a really fun evening. Daryl Strawberry, a former Saint, was at the game, and Bill Murray, the actor, who is also part owner of the Saints, was at the game, and even called a mound conference in the ninth inning. That was funny because he gave out little bags of sunflower seeds to all the players who came to the mound, and even gave a bag to the umpire when he came to the mound to try to get them to move the game along! What a great gag! If you're ever in St. Paul during baseball season, it is indeed worth the effort to try to take in a Saints game.
blogged by Don

Collecting

It started innocently enough. Anna and I have lattes on a fairly regular basis and we have been using the same latte mugs for about the last four years now. Well, I thought it might be fun to look for some different ones, but I wanted to find something unique and I didn't want to pay a lot of money. So, one day I was browsing through a Goodwill Store near our home when I spotted a sherbet bowl that reminded me of the sherbet bowls we used to have when I was a kid, and I noticed there were two of them, so I bought them both, one for me and one for Anna. I didn't find any latte mugs that I liked, but that's okay, it gives me an excuse to shop thrift stores now. Anyway, when I got home Anna was curious about what kind of Sherbet bowls these are, so we did a little research on the Internet. It turns out they are made by Anchor Hocking, and the pattern name is Wexford. The Internet article I read says they are no longer being manufactured by Anchor Hocking, but the dishes are plentiful in thrift stores. Anna and I decided to investigate the thrift store theory a bit further, and discovered that there were indeed more Wexford dishes available. We now have six water goblets to go with our two sherbet bowls and are well on our way to forming a new Anchor Hocking Wexford collection.

Now, that should be the end of the story, but there is a little more. Anna inherited a platter from her grandmother that depicts a scene of the inside of a colonial kitchen. As I was browsing this Goodwill Store, I noticed a set of dishes that looked similar, so when I got home I told Anna about them. She went with me to the store and discovered that indeed, they are the same set as her platter, so we bought the whole set. Naturally, being at a thrift store, the set is not complete, but we have a bunch of dinner plates, bread and butter plates, and cups and saucers and a few other dishes to go with the platter. This set is called "Colonial Homestead" and was made by Royal, the same company that made the Currier and Ives plates. This pattern is also no longer made, so now we have TWO reasons to hang around thrift stores. Of course, we have to be careful about how much we let the collecting bug bite, because we pack it all up and move in less than a month. But in the meantime, it is fun to learn about this stuff and have fun finding it. Now I'm on the lookout.
Blogged by Don

It works!

After 6 years of hauling this radio from move to move and being frustrated about the fact that it did not work, I finally decided to ask at an antique store about someone who might know how to fix it. Wouldn't you know it, the antique dealer knew just who to send me to, and that's how I met Del. He runs a little shop called Electric City here in St. Paul and he is a fanatic about old radios. Not only did he get it running, but he told me things about this radio that I never knew before. I have not had a chance to try out the short wave band but the AM works great thanks to Del. Now we can listen to KLBB out of Stillwater, Minnesota, the station nearest here that plays the old style music that this radio was meant to play.

The book stand next to the radio is one that Anna and I bought at a little antique store in Stillwater, MN, on our anniversary. That is my next project because today I bought some Restor-A-Finish to clean up the water stains and checking on the wood. It should look the same when done but the finish will look nicer. Blogged by Don

At the Arboretum

Yesterday we visited the University of Minnesota's Arboretum with some friends, the Sinclairs. It is a huge garden, 1000 acres to be exact. It is so big there is no way one can see it in one day. I was really interested in the wildflower garden as well as herb gardens. There was a Japanese Garden, a hosta garden, rose garden, every kind of garden one could imagine, and trees that I had heard of but never have seen. We had a picnic under a maple tree and when we were done touring the gardens we stopped at the gift shop and looked around. Before leaving we bought a pin oak nut so that one day we can plant it in our own backyard. Blogged by Anna

Spanish lessons

What? Two whole days without a post? What's the deal? Well, Anna and I have been working, of course! But last night we had our first Spanish lesson. We are taking lessons on campus from a fellow student who happens to be fluent in Spanish, and German too, by the way, but we're only learning one language at a time, thank you. We figured it might be good to try to be conversational in Spanish because we are moving to an agricultural area where there are a lot of migrant agricultural workers and Spanish may come in handy. So far the only sentence I remember from last night is, "Mi esposa es muy bonita!" Which means "My wife is very pretty" Pretty good, Huh? Well, it was only the first lesson. I'll learn more over the next few weeks. Feel free to write stuff in Spanish to us, and we'll look it all up in the Spanish dictionary and mispronounce it I'm sure.
Blogged by Don

Oh What Fun it is to Ride...

Well, what happens when Anna wants to spend her birthday with her friends? For one thing, we all wind up in a surrey with a fringe on top! While we couldn't remember all of the lyrics from the song of Oklahoma, we had a lot of fun.

This was one part of a fun-filled day that included a hike to the Mississippi River from Minnehaha Falls, a picnic in the park, ice cream at a new coffee shop in St. Paul, and finally Anna's first soccer game. We attended the professional women's soccer team the Minnesota Lightning, but unfortunately they couldn't get a win for Anna, losing 6-0 to Indiana. Oh well, it was still fun, and Anna was all smiles throughout the whole day, and that is all that matters. Blogged by Don

Anniversary celebration

June 29, 2008

Don and I celebrated our 6th anniversary by taking a train ride. We boarded the Minnesota Zephyr and rode 6 miles up the St. Croix Valley and 6 miles back. The train lazily took us up this valley while all the while we dined and were entertained by a 4-some singing songs of old up and down the train for all to enjoy.

After the Zephyr got us back to our original destination, we decided to peruse an antique store we had seen before we boarded the train. After looking through the wares, we decided to buy a little bookshelf to hold all my work books, and it functions very well, and was a very good buy. We know that it is over 50 years old, I guess that makes it an antique, I wonder what that makes Don and me. Blogged by Anna

Novice Preacher

I'm posting this mostly to introduce myself to my new role as a church leader. I am about six weeks away from the start of my internship with Prairie Star Ministries in Southwest Minnesota, but I have had the opportunity to provide pulpit supply to a few churches closer to the Twin Cities before my internship starts. It has been a good experience, learning what goes into preparing a sermon and the importance of context; knowing what a congregation needs to hear with regard to a particular text from the Bible.

Anna and I are moving to a beautiful area, with lots of expansive prairie and massive farms. I am looking forward to meeting new people and working with them to discover together what the Holy Spirit is up to and how we can participate in God's activity. In the meantime, I rely heavily on prayer.
Blogged by Don

New kids on the blog

Well, Anna and I have decided to join the 21st century and start a blog. Perhaps we'll post something you find interesting. For starters, I think I'll put up a picture from last Saturday's "Light Rail Pub Crawl." In case you are new to the lingo, a pub crawl is where a group of adults, most from Kathy and John Jarvis' church, buy day passes to the light rail in Minneapolis and start in Bloomington, stopping at random pubs along the way to downtown Minneapolis and Nicolette Mall. This year's stops included the Cardinal, Tugg's Tavern and The Local, where Anna tried her first Guinness Stout. As you will see in the picture, Mary Tyler Moore even made a cameo appearance this year! What fun! Hope we get to do something similar next year in Southwest Minnesota.
Blogged by Don

Blogging

July 3, 2008

This is our first try at blogging. As we look at this blank page, am wondering what to say. Have started this blog as a way to remember the next couple of years and all the things that we experience along the way. We are getting ready to move to a different part of Minnesota, a different way of life, all this starts August 18, 2008.
Blogged by Anna