Man, does it get dark early now and it’s plenty dark when I roll out of bed, too. Whatever time it is in the morning, save for Sunday morning when it’s 5 a.m. and he sleeps in, Marina’s Seeing Eye dog, Andy, comes to my side of the bed to greet me and to reassure me that both of us still are alive. Today was the monthly potluck meeting for the Osceola Seniors, of which I’m president. We had a nice turnout, for which I’m grateful, and the big room is getting more and more use by seniors. We need that to cement, by our use, the “official” designation of our space as THE space for seniors. There still is a push for that space to be used as a community room. We are happy to share the space, but with seniors having “first dibs”.
As of today, also, my “Some Mangled Fairy Tales” paperback is for sale in Osceola’s “Coming Home” store. The store is a classy addition to Osceola’s downtown. Along with this new retail site, my “Mangled” fairy tales are sold at the St.Croix Regional Medical Center gift shop and at Polk County’s Information Center, as well as through Amazon.com. Last night’s WPCA-FM story reading was one of those fairy tales, “Little Red Hoodie” and, like a famed porridge, it all went “just right”.
Last blog I talked about the fallen leaves around our place; after three mulching passes and much raking, there still are leaves to be dealt with. (Small voice within: “maybe tomorrow”.) So yeah, maybe tomorrow. I’ll add that to the necessary run into St.Croix Falls to get some things we just didn’t have time to get today.
Wolf Creek UMC had its Charge Conference in October and we did it electronically via Zoom, with the District Superintendent on the screen and one church member joining us from Madison, Wisconsin, as she drove. It went well. I still struggle with the forms to be filled out and have no idea what has been submitted and what has not and by whom. It’s like pushing a string and I find myself very anxious and tense when dealing with the forms and the information demanded. Since I’m designated as “supply” and retired, there are many things I’m not required to do, but skipping those forms is not one of them. The only consolation I find is remembering the admonition of one of the professors at Licensing School lo these many years ago. He said, “Remember, paperwork is people work.”
The District Superintendent surprised us–me, especially–when she said she subscribed to our You Tube Sunday Services. If you want to catch us, go to You Tube, Wolf Creek United Methodist Church services. Because of our camera limitations, it runs in two parts. I have no idea, beyond the two or three people who’ve told me they watch, who does watch, but we are open to prayer requests from viewers, as well as those we receive in our customary way. (You can email a request to wolfcreekmethodistchurch@gmail.com or snail mail us at Wolf Creek United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 176, St.Croix Falls, WI 54024.)
One of life’s pleasures is to get together with family, and we were able to catch up with Granddaughter Number One at son-in-law Steve’s place in Mahtomedi, where we were able to oooh and aaah at his new garage, which is more a play space than a place for a vehicle that might drip oil on the new, pristine concrete floors. The garage’s upstairs is a large space that’s perfect for some music jamming, which happens when our elder son is in town and he corrals Steve and another son-in-law and they lay down some hot rhythms and string work. Remind me to sit in sometime.