A Day Out!

Dear hubby and I were out and about yesterday enjoying some time together. We went first to the Swedish Institute in Minneapolis to see a Scandinavian woodcarving exhibit which was SO much fun to see. Hubby said- "Makes you want to get out your knives, doesn't it?" People new to the former mansion the museum is housed in don't always realize WHAT they are seeing. Just to go into the former home is phenomenal. The woodwork is everywhere and EVERYWHERE is carved! (That's NOT the carving exhibition.) Just the music room has I don't know how many cherub angels around it, each different! For a pair of carvers like us it is just breathtaking to go in and see. OK, so then on to Como Park Conservatory to see the Sunken Garden room. It wasn't as spectacular as it was a couple of weeks ago, but given a few more days will be again- some areas had "bloomed out" and been replanted. Here are just a few shots for you. Hope you enjoy.

I always try to get a photo of Dear Patient Robert waiting for me to take my photos. This time he was doing some "people watching". :)

This is always such a beautiful spot to come and enjoy.  We had a fun and relaxing day.  Hope your get to do something like this- it's good for the soul!

Once Upon a Time...puzzle pieces

Do you realize life is like a jigssaw puzzle. We've lost the boxlid, so we just have to blindly fit the pieces, and as we go along if we look we can begin to see the larger picture. The old saying "with age comes wisdom" is so true.
Looking back over the years of the girl's life, one could see the need to be creative all along. Creativity and artistry come in many forms. The girl began knitting, doing crewel work, painting on barn boards, carving small figures, and creating her own recipes (entering them in contests, and sometimes winning! Pillsbury Bake-Off, 1988, what a wonderful experience!) That creative spirit came out in many forms over the years, but it was always a driving force.
The girl/woman was happy in her role as wife and mother but did not realize she was getting "lost" in other peoples lives. No where was she "someone", rather she was "someone's mother" or "wife". She did not mind this but as she became more known in the carving world and became "someone" herself, with people knowing who she was and giving her respect for her work, it suddenly became clear to her how lost she had been. The carving world became her life- she would live for the shows and classes, and work toward them in between times. She still loved her family just as much, but this world filled a huge void in her life. Art became her life.
Meanwhile, her second world was filled with joy and wonder. She and her family moved to 11 acres in the country, teeming with wildlife. Deer, racoons, turkeys, woodducks, pheasants, foxes, bobcats, 67 different birds seen from her own yard (jays, woodpeckers, warblers, quail, finches, sparrows, eagles, hawks, etc.) They fed the deer and enjoyed all the little creatures that ventured out for the corn, and laughed at the antics of the different animals that made their home right out the back door. The woman had gardens (sometimes sharing her bounty with the deer and bunnies...)- vegetables to feed her family, flowers to feed her soul. The flower beds were all around her home and extended out around the acreage. A large fishpond in the backyard attracted woodducks, turtles, and frogs. She would pick wild berries, feeling the pull of women of the past gathering for their families, remembering her pioneer heritage as she gathered in the goodness. She wandered those acres until even now she can close her eyes and follow the paths step by step in her memory, seeing each tree and bush as they were. She called it her "little piece of heaven"- and for 20 years she lived in joy...