Off to a girlfriends' rendezvous! WOW! It's been ages since we've "vented" our frustrations, hopes, and goals for our futures. Nothing is better than friends with history, who understand each other's mood swings, dilemnas and dreams, even when those dreams bring such disappointment.
And what better place to meet during this unseasonally bitter weather when we'd had hopes for a sunny, blooming spring than our college town? Talking into the wee hours with plenty of wine and nibbles will satisfy me for months of girl talk! How lucky I am to have pals like Ginger and Ruth!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
gray Good Friday
Gray and gloomy...it's Good Friday today. Though the daffodils and crocus are blooming, a damp rain is falling and the sky is gloomy gray. Flashing thru my mind are memories of those 3 PM Good Friday church services with a crucifix above the altar covered with a black cloth. For some reason I see the image of a dark curtain torn as the cresendo of the pipe organ announced Christ's death on the cross.
At Glenwood Lutheran three choirs performed a French Easter cantata with dual grad pianos all at the front of the church. It was magnificent! I remember feeling so inspired as my fingers struck the chords and the choirs responded in song. Carol Hustad, the other pianist, and I were piano students of Miss Rahn, whose teaching talents were held in high esteem in our community.
The idea remains in my mind that Good Friday is supposed to be a dark and gray day; rain is expected. But the darkness is gone as sunshine comes out on Easter Sunday! Every church will have their altars blooming with blue hydrangas, pink and red tulips, hot pink azalas, and fragrant white Easte lilies. It's glorious! LIttle girls have new frilly dresses and paten leather shoes with lacy anklets, tiny white gloves and Easter bonnets. Little boys are dressed in starched shirts with bow ties, long trousers and shined shoes. Some women still dress up and don Easter hats with flowers. They have Easter hunts in their back yards for the children to discover chocolate bunnies, jelly beans and colored Easter eggs. Families gather for ham dinner with sweet potatoes and salad topped off with a bunny cake or a fancy coconut cake or decorated cupcakes.
I love holidays! Best of all, this year we're guests, and I get to make the desserts! I'm making Sarah's smooth, rich coconut almond supcakes with bird nests of jelly beans on top....YUM The Dessert Queen wishes all a joyful Easter filled with sunshine!
At Glenwood Lutheran three choirs performed a French Easter cantata with dual grad pianos all at the front of the church. It was magnificent! I remember feeling so inspired as my fingers struck the chords and the choirs responded in song. Carol Hustad, the other pianist, and I were piano students of Miss Rahn, whose teaching talents were held in high esteem in our community.
The idea remains in my mind that Good Friday is supposed to be a dark and gray day; rain is expected. But the darkness is gone as sunshine comes out on Easter Sunday! Every church will have their altars blooming with blue hydrangas, pink and red tulips, hot pink azalas, and fragrant white Easte lilies. It's glorious! LIttle girls have new frilly dresses and paten leather shoes with lacy anklets, tiny white gloves and Easter bonnets. Little boys are dressed in starched shirts with bow ties, long trousers and shined shoes. Some women still dress up and don Easter hats with flowers. They have Easter hunts in their back yards for the children to discover chocolate bunnies, jelly beans and colored Easter eggs. Families gather for ham dinner with sweet potatoes and salad topped off with a bunny cake or a fancy coconut cake or decorated cupcakes.
I love holidays! Best of all, this year we're guests, and I get to make the desserts! I'm making Sarah's smooth, rich coconut almond supcakes with bird nests of jelly beans on top....YUM The Dessert Queen wishes all a joyful Easter filled with sunshine!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Easter baskets, dresses, burrrrrrrrr
Those shivering little girls in their sleeveless Easter dresses and bonnets are going to be so disappointed. Surely the snow will melt and the temps warm up before the Big Weekend holiday! What's the point of an Easter egg hunt in the snow? Uncovering Easter treats under wet snow piled up on the lawn would be miserable. And the poor moms thinking, "How am I going to get that dress clean after all the muddy stains...and those tiny white gloves!" UFDA! But, in truth, do little girls still don lovely dresses, wear ribbons in their curled hair, pull on lacy gloves, turned over anklets and paten leather shoes in honor of the day? I wonder...I see so many kids in sweats and torn jeans at Sunday morning church services. Parents wear the same informal clothing. I miss seeing church goers attending Sunday services dress up in their "Sunday best". However, I am aware that at least some people are still bringing their children to church and sunday school. I did like the idea that Sunday was not just another day of the week; it was special, family time, a day of rest.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Camus quote; front porches; neighbors
"In the midst of winter, I discovered within me an invincible summer"...that's French author Camus' thougths. It has to be mine this season too! Snow is forcast once more for tonight and tomorrow. But the tulip leaves are tall; the spring beauties, trout lily and violets have sprouted in the woods and we Minnesotans NEED SPRING!
Guess it'll have to be fresh ideas, not spring warmth, that will capture my fancy this week. Amidst my de-cluttering of papers and books, old clothes and dishes, I'm coming up with ideas about the comfort of a front porch where neighbors used to sit, rocking, calling to passers-by to come sit and chat. I miss that feeling. Life has become so much more formal. One doesn't "drop in" on friends; one calls first. I never even see some of my "neighbors"...have never met them! Some people own houses on Casco Point which they only visit a few days in the summer! AMAZING! It's a great spot with lots of interesting people!
For all the new homes being built, even in this recession, I haven't seen any with a front porch. The house we bought across from St Thomas College for our college son to live in and rent to others DOES have a front porch. There's even a fan and roll down wicker shades to block the sun and give privacy. Otherwise, open the windows reveal strolling neighbors with their dogs and children strolling through the neighborhood for an evening walk or going to school. It's a wonderful scene. I can sit on the porch swing, with the fan cooling me on hot summer days and read a good book.
We need more neighbor contact....who knows when we might need to borrow a cup of sugar of a flashlight?
Guess it'll have to be fresh ideas, not spring warmth, that will capture my fancy this week. Amidst my de-cluttering of papers and books, old clothes and dishes, I'm coming up with ideas about the comfort of a front porch where neighbors used to sit, rocking, calling to passers-by to come sit and chat. I miss that feeling. Life has become so much more formal. One doesn't "drop in" on friends; one calls first. I never even see some of my "neighbors"...have never met them! Some people own houses on Casco Point which they only visit a few days in the summer! AMAZING! It's a great spot with lots of interesting people!
For all the new homes being built, even in this recession, I haven't seen any with a front porch. The house we bought across from St Thomas College for our college son to live in and rent to others DOES have a front porch. There's even a fan and roll down wicker shades to block the sun and give privacy. Otherwise, open the windows reveal strolling neighbors with their dogs and children strolling through the neighborhood for an evening walk or going to school. It's a wonderful scene. I can sit on the porch swing, with the fan cooling me on hot summer days and read a good book.
We need more neighbor contact....who knows when we might need to borrow a cup of sugar of a flashlight?
Thursday, April 7, 2011
pansy faces appear
Purple and yellow pansy faces peek from clay pots lined up at John's Variety Store this morning. The sun is shining and the ice is inching away from the shoreline of Lake Minnetonka. Ice should be out in another week. Then canoes, sailboats, cruisers and speedboats will appear floating and roaring across Carmen's Bay as I'll sit, musing about my column writing, on the dock with Buddy, my ravenous Beagle who just ate a whole loaf of bread off the kitchen counter!
Death has invaded my life in voluminous numbers this past month. We'll attend two more funerals this weekend. I can feel my body weaken, tired with emotions difficult to deal with. I remember Donne's "Death Be Not Proud" poem "though some have called you mighty and dreadful/thou art not so...? and e.e. cummings's "Buffalo Bill's Defunct" with a mighty and dreadful Mr. Death, but his power can't erase the memories we hold close of that person. Memories live on.
Spring is a renewal of life. Perhaps I'll feel recharged as the sun warms; the ice melts, and my tulips and crocus will burst into bloom. I look forward to new life in nature and within me.
Death has invaded my life in voluminous numbers this past month. We'll attend two more funerals this weekend. I can feel my body weaken, tired with emotions difficult to deal with. I remember Donne's "Death Be Not Proud" poem "though some have called you mighty and dreadful/thou art not so...? and e.e. cummings's "Buffalo Bill's Defunct" with a mighty and dreadful Mr. Death, but his power can't erase the memories we hold close of that person. Memories live on.
Spring is a renewal of life. Perhaps I'll feel recharged as the sun warms; the ice melts, and my tulips and crocus will burst into bloom. I look forward to new life in nature and within me.
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