July 2019. Minnesota.

The first part of this section is sort of a ride down my personal memory lane.  I like to add photos in this blog, but almost all of my family and life history photos were destroyed a few years ago.  Very sad.  But at least that means I won’t be boring you with pictures of times past.  I have the photos in my head, and that is good for me.

I have a long story and heart-filled connection with Minnesota, past and present.  I first moved there in 1966 when my oldest child was only a few months old, which made me 20.  OMG!!!  My husband was just out of the Navy and we returned to his roots in Minnesota.  We rented the upstairs in an older house in a neighborhood near downtown St. Paul.  The downstairs tenants were a couple in their 30s.  I spent so much fun time with her, just talking and (me) learning to cook and do laundry.  Washer in the basement, and clothesline in the back yard.  Guess stairs were not a problem then.  And do it when the baby was asleep.  Sounds crazy, but I loved it.

About a year later, we bought a house on a piece of rural property northeast of the “Cities” (local name for the combined areas of Minneapolis and St. Paul).  Another chapter.  We dug fence posts and put in a rail fence.  Got a dog.  Planted a huge vegetable garden.  Got to know the neighbors.  Especially two families a little down the road, each of whom had five children.  My husband worked hard, and I also had a job and worked hard.  Somehow, about three years later we came to a fork in the road and went our separate ways.  I stayed in the house and became a single mom, and he moved on.  It was a good choice.

I lived in that area for another 6 years, and grew to become even more a part of the two families closest to me.  One of the moms was my son’s babysitter when I worked, and the older kids in both families took on extra hours babysitting when I worked late or had a project.  My job occasionally gave me access to tickets to touring shows.  When the Jackson 5 came to town, I acquired 6 front-row tickets and took 5 of the elder neighbor kids.  (Hmmm…. Seat belt laws??)  It was fun to lead them single file all the way down the main aisle at the venue to watch young Michael Jackson and his family perform.  A cool memory.

I bought a horse, built stalls in the little barn on the property, joined a local horse club, and rode for hours both summer and winter in the woods behind us.  I bought my son a pony for his fourth birthday that would just as soon come home without him as with him.  He eventually learned to stick to the saddle, and progressed to a better-trained pony.

I learned to pluck chickens, raised some sheep, and shared in ownership of a calf and three pigs.  Felt like quite the farm girl!  I bought an old-fashioned “cutter” sleigh and harness and trained my horse to pull it through the snow.  Very Norman Rockwell!  Then in the summer I took the rigging from the cutter and built a cart from an old boat seat and some bicycle wheels.  I hitched up the horse, we climbed on, and rode off.  But only for about 20 feet before the wheels collapsed.  My wonderful, good-natured horse simply stopped and looked around at us with a “Really???” look in his eyes.  I never asked him to do such a dumb thing again.

Early 1976 found me with a new husband and a new Chicago address.  Then toward Fall, his company transferred him to their headquarters near Minneapolis.  And there I was, once more in the beautiful land of 14,000 lakes.  Our next two children were born in Minnesota, and see themselves as Minnesotans. We lived in Chanhassen, south of the Cities, near the property where Prince built his complex.  It actually was just a house, then.  The Complex (with a capital “C”) came later.  I played lots of bridge and made many new friendships.

In 1986, we moved to Southern California.  My older son stayed in Minnesota, but the two younger ones grew up and became immersed in the So Cal life.  And I guess I did, too!

Life stuff happened, and by the late 1990s, my job as a technical editor for an engineering company had taken me to live in the Las Vegas area.  My older son and his three young children had moved to Nevada and now were living near me.  His daughter in Minnesota made a connection with him on Facebook in about 2009, so this wonderful granddaughter dimension was added. 

And now it is 2019 and I am on a physical journey around the country exploring new territory, and, as it turns out, delving back into old areas.  Minnesota was, and is, a big part of me.

Minnesota and Wisconsin. June 21 to July 7, 2019.

As you can see, Minnesota and I have a long-standing relationship.  Friends and family from years ago and now.  Tugs at my memories and heartstrings.

South of The Cities.  June 21 to July 2.

My granddaughter, Amber, and her husband, Nick, recently acquired their “forever home,” a country property in Cannon Falls, about 30 miles south of Minneapolis/St. Paul (“The Cities” in local parlance).  I rolled into the “Farm” on June 21.  Set up my little camper about 50 yards from their house in the shade of a crabapple tree.  Every morning, my two little great-grandsons, ages 2 and 4, came running out as soon as my camper door opened, usually between 6:30 and 7:00.  They played with everything they could find, colored, built magnetic block towers, stomped through (or slid in) mud puddles in the driveway, ate breakfast with me, and included me in their daily mornings.  Their mom goes to work in the afternoon, and they go off to daycare, so I also had plenty of time to explore their fun little rural town on my own.

When the family was home, the boys spent time on small 4-wheel electric ATVs, or on the Mom and Dad full-size ones.  We spent time in the pool, watched for thunderstorms, chased chickens, and generally hung out. We shared lots of family time and meals.  And I was part of their first real movie adventure (Toy Story 2).  I think I liked the movie more than the little ones. 

Another adult grandson (yes, Jordan is now 21!!)  lives about 20 miles away, so he came out a few times and I also got to spend much appreciated time with him.  The men did a number of projects for me (carpentry, electrical, glass replacement, and oil change), which was great.  Nick has a full shop onsite, so I took advantage of the help while I could.  Nice to play the grandma card once in a while!

June 28 and 29, 2019.  North of The Cities.

While my trailer was at Amber’s, I unhitched and snuck away to spend a few days with a long-time friend, Mary, who lives in the general area where I lived on my “hobby farm” in the late 60s/early 70s.  She was the eldest child in the family up the road, and we spent a lot of time back then horseback riding and showing horses.  Her dad was a truck driver, so I took her with me on “take your child to work” day.  She put in an application at Univac a year later, and she still blames me for her 35-year career there!

We have each had full lives, and I have only seen her a few times over the years, but of course it is one of those friendships that seems like we saw each other yesterday.  She has a great house on a pond, and we woke up to coffee watching wildlife and went to bed after much wine and tons of conversation.  A huge bonus was seeing her mother, who just celebrated her 85^th birthday and was my son’s babysitter when I worked all those years ago.  She came over to be “dogsitter” for Mary’s two adorable dogs while Mary and I went exploring for the day.  What a treat to see both of them!

July 3 to 7, 2019.  Chanhassen, Minnesota.

Main stay number three was with another long-time friend, Carol.  We were bridge partners in the early 80s, when our daughters were little and we lived in Chanhassen.  Other than me living there, Chanhassen’s big claim to fame is that it is where Prince lived and had his music studio.  Now it is a huge tourist attraction.  My husband and I moved to California in 1986.  In 2014, my daughter had one of those “wonder what ever happened to?” moments and looked for her long-ago playmate (Carol’s daughter) on Facebook.  Of course, the two girls connected, which means the moms connected, and Carol and I have spent at least a week together each year since, usually in Las Vegas playing Omaha poker.  We do have fun. 

I spent a few days with her and her husband, with Hilda parked in their driveway.  Another fabulous time running around, exploring Minneapolis (including a favorite bakery that has been there for years), and more conversation and reliving good times.

On July 6, I got a phone call from a Michigan Sister on the Fly.  Could I make it to the Eastern Michigan Fairgrounds in Imlay City, Michigan by July 10 to take part in a camp-in exhibit at the Michigan Lavender Festival?  Not much time based on my normal slow pace, but of course I said, “YES,” and made plans to leave the next morning.  Off to the next adventure.

July 7, 2019.  Wisconsin.

When I looked at the map, I decided to drive north and cut through Wisconsin to try to connect with other hobby-farm-days neighbors who had moved to northern Wisconsin over 30 years ago.  Left a message, headed that direction, and through the miracle of voicemail connected with them and arranged a stop.

My friends the Blomquists have a fantastic 40-acre property just south of Lake Superior.  It has its own small lake, fed by five underground springs.   Fishing, a huge vegetable garden, shade trees to sit under, a large shop, and trails throughout the property.  Artesian water is captured at a flowing pipe near their house.  And Monarch butterfly nesting areas with fields of St. Johns Wart planted to attract them.  We had a great meal and tons of conversation (seems to be a theme, here).  I would have loved to spend more time, and hope to go back. 

But I was on a mission, and left their house with the intent of crossing the state line into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan by nightfall.  Which I did.  Barely.  So I was in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan on July 7.  Not bad for this meandering traveler.

Headed to meet some SOTF Sisters at the Michigan Lavender Festival!