Author: Norma

In March 2000, friends were kind enough to take a trip with us to Japan.

This memory recently crossed my mind so I went back and looked at some of the pictures I had taken.

I believe one of the reasons I am attracted to Asian art is the simplicity.  Clean lines ~ nothing overly bold.  The Japanese gardens I have been to create such a peace in my heart. It’s as if distractions float away.

And the same can be true of the architecture of their temples and prayer houses.

And now, the rest of the story (didn’t think I’d leave you hanging, did you?)

Yoko and I became pen pals. I introduced her to a friend of mine (also Japanese but born in Hawaii) and they got married and had a son who next year will graduate as a doctor.

It’s been many years since we traveled together to Japan and we are separated now by a couple of states, but our friendship remains.

Funny how people can come together from different parts of the world and have such an influence in your life.

Seems like every year I have to hire help to remove the Minnesota invasive plants off our acre of land – buckthorn and the garlic mustard plant.

At first it appeared that the garlic mustard was almost under control but unfortunately our neighbors don’t clear theirs so one side of our property is more heavily infested than the others.  Unfortunately Roundup will be the only way to kill them.  It’s a lot of back breaking work to get every single plant removed.

Fortunately the buckthorn is under control this year so that has left time to work on the landscaping closer to the house.

Although we’ve removed approximately 85 trees (both large and small) our property is still fairly shaded so getting plants that have color can be a challenge.

This year though I’m quite pleased with how things are turning out so far ~ mainly because the deer haven’t eaten anything yet.  HAHAHAHA

The front yard caused minimal work with the exceptions of pulling a bunch of maple seedlings that had grown 2-3 inches and adding 15 bags of bark.

The large leafed aster really surprised me and had spread out so much that I had to cut it back. Fortunately this is one plant that the deer don’t find tasty.

I could have planted more impatiens but last year the deer ate them all and I didn’t want to invest more money on feeding them.

The astilbe both in the front and the back yards are so beautiful.  I had planted some along the driveway but those haven’t done as well – hmmm, perhaps because they don’t get sun?

This magenta astilbe always makes me feel happy.  Something about this shade of color gives me a sense of peace.

Last year I laid down a bunch of black weed control tarp that looked awful but we weren’t sure what we wanted to do so I left it that way all summer.  This year I did some landscaping in the area and added bark.  It came out looking pretty good and once the plants grow it should look great. Two new plants I added are peonies and yellow day lillies.  This portion of the yard gets afternoon sun so we’ll see how they fare.

Most of the backyard is covered with hostas that I divide in autumn and replant elsewhere in the backyard.  Unfortunately deer love to eat hostas so we spray Deer Repellant on them after every rainfall.  One missed spray and the deer know they have found a new feeding ground.

Every year, a friend and I spend many hours weeding in the backyard and this year I became a little wiser.  Rather than having to re-weed later in the summer I picked up a large container of weed deterrent called Preen.  Once the weeds are pulled, Preen is spread over the area you don’t want weeds to grow in then it is watered in.  So far, this has worked in preventing the weeds from returning.  This does give me more bare spots but I’m hoping to add decorations in some spots along with replanting hostas in those areas.

Lastly, the red bridge in the front of the house has brought me much comfort.  I put it together from a kit and stained and painted it myself.  Every 3 years or so I bring it in and re-sand and re-stain it.  The paint has held up well over the last almost 8 years.

It’s the end of June and I’m hoping that the deer continue to stay away from our yard.  When we have visitors, they love to see them but when I see deer I think of how they’ll eat my plants and of how they bring ticks onto the property.  These are animals who should be appreciated from afar.

Walking through the Oakdale Nature Reserve in Minnesota, one sees the beginning of spring. A sky blanketed in shades of blue gives respite to a soul that is longing for respite from a very long winter.

Yet, it’s May.  And although spring will “catch up” to summer quickly, it will still be a short spring. Not that I have any say in the matter, but I prefer a long spring and a short summer.  The Minnesota insects will be out in full force way too soon.  Tick season has already started and the mosquitoes aren’t far behind.

For now though, being present in this moment is important.  Too many times we dash through the day without really enjoying “now.”

A week later, the world seems to have started to turn green.

For now, thoughts of insects and hot humid weather escape my mind as it savors this moment.

As we were looking forward to celebrating my husband’s 60th birthday and our 37th wedding anniversary, we decided to book a cruise on the Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas.

Unfortunately, unlike other Royal Caribbean cruises that we have taken, this one was very disappointing.

The Royal Caribbean online process of printing forms before arrival made check-in quick.  On previous cruises, we have always had someone show us to our room but perhaps that nicety is dated as no one showed us to our rooms.

A couple of weeks before our cruise, we had noted on their website that we had two events that we were celebrating.  Those events were never acknowledged by RC except when we told the waiter later in the week and he was nice enough to gather people together and sing to my husband.

Well ~ here’s everything that went wrong …

• We had no cold water coming out of our faucet.  For three days the  plumber worked in our room until we were told that it was not fixable and they gave us a $100 shipboard credit.  This was quite odd as the restrooms throughout the ship all had cold water.
• The shower water was lukewarm at best.  The plumber was able to change the hardware to fix it.
• The bed linen was ripped in quite a few places.  After I told our cabin steward, she made sure they were changed immediately.  But really, don’t first impressions matter?
• The curtain liners were filthy.  We didn’t mention this as we didn’t expect it would be fixed.
• We had asked for My Time Dining which meant that we could call and reserve a time for dinner.  The first day we went to do so we were told they couldn’t take any more reservations as they had too many people.  The next day I went back early in the day to reserve a time for dinner and I was told that they didn’t have any place to put us and that we would have to stand in the “no reservations” line and hope that someone didn’t show.   This was very odd as on Day 5 we were seated at a table and the waiter told us that the table had been empty the whole time of our cruise.
• A friend had sent us a cake for my husband’s birthday/our anniversary that was to be delivered our first day at dinner.  When it hadn’t arrived after the second day our son went and spoke to the front desk and was assured that it would arrive that evening.  It didn’t happen.  The following day a group of staffers came to our table singing happy birthday at dinner ~ unfortunately they sang to me with the name of my friend instead of to my husband.  The cake that was delivered was ~ well, quite unprofessional, wouldn’t you say?  It looked nothing like the picture that our friend was shown online.

• We only went on three excursions and the beach excursion was pitiful.  We were alloted a certain area to sit and since we hadn’t rushed out of the bus to get a seat, we were in the back row and all we could see were umbrellas in front of us.  But we could not move from that area.  However, the Barbados Harrison Caves Tour was pretty good and it went quite far under ground.

• Most of the food was good although there were few options from day to day and sometimes you didn’t get a very satisfying portion such as this ravioli entree with 5 small pieces.

The scenery on this cruise though was amazing.

I especially like trees so had to take a picture of this one.

Antigua was also pretty.  We had nice weather while we were there.

One day while we were sitting in our room, there was a knock at the door.  When we opened the door we were handed a plate with a cover on it. After removing the cover we were surprised to have had chocolate covered strawberries delivered.  But … like, why?  No reason was given.  Perhaps this was their way of saying “sorry that we can’t find seating for you when you want it?”

We did enjoy the weather on this cruise and of course, being with my husband and “boys” always makes me happy.

Although the calendar date for spring to begin has passed, it still looks and feels like winter.

A long brisk walk cleared my head as I took deep breaths of the cool air.

There is so much beauty that can be found when one looks for it ~

And the stories that trees tell when you take the time to really look at them.

The buds haven’t yet started to grow ~ not even an inch ~ but there is hope in the waiting.

Big blue sky country is not just in Montana either ~ Minnesota has it’s own beautiful big sky.

And then it happens ~ hope springs from the ground to satisfy the heart longing for the season of spring.

The transition from winter to spring is a slow one in Minnesota yet it will satisfy a heart longing for warmth and transition soon enough.

Shortly after we purchased our house, the doorbell rang and I went to answer it.  A portly man with a smile on his face could be seen through the side windows.

Opening the door, the man said “Hi, I’m Bob and I’m your mailman.”

This was the first time a mailman had actually introduced himself to me.  Must be the Minnesota nice that people talk about here.

As the years rolled on, Bob and I became friendly.  We shared laughs about family and when there was no mail for us, he would put a note in the mailbox that said “no mail today.”

When Bob was going on vacation he always let me know.  I joked that perhaps I should put our mail on hold while he was gone.  I said it jokingly, but I had so many problems with the temporary mailpeople that I actually considered it.

One time a package was delivered to our unfriendly neighbors across the street.  I had been waiting for my package and saw when the mail woman arrived.  I then received notification that my package was delivered.  I called the carrier annex immediately and the mail woman said she remembered delivering it across the street.  In spite of their best efforts, the post office was never able to retrieve the package from the neighbor  so I never saw the package.  The company that it came from was kind enough to send me another one for free.

Such was life without Bob.  Sigh (laughing)

One day Bob came to the door and told me that he was going to be retiring in 6 months. I know, I know … one must not become dependent on someone so dependable.

I told him that he couldn’t retire but I knew it would happen.

A week before Bob’s retirement he put an invitation to his retirement party in the mailbox.  Unfortunately we were not able to make it.

A few months later, our new mail carrier arrived ~ John.  John was a little different.  He came at different times each day and did some of the oddest things.  For instance, one day I received a package and John put it on top of our mailbox since it didn’t fit inside the mailbox.  Hmmm … why not drive up to the front door and leave it there? I pondered.

Anyone could have driven up and taken the package with no problem.  Fortunately I saw what he did.  Unfortunately for John I called the carrier annex and issued a complaint. “Don’t worry, we’ll talk with John” they assured me.

Since John did not arrive around the same time every day, I didn’t wait to see when the mail arrived ~ 11 am, 2 pm, 5 pm ~ there was no consistency.

One day I was waiting for an Amazon package and the I received a message that the package had been delivered.  Heading to the front door, I peeked outside but didn’t see a package. So ~ I went to the mailbox.

And there it was.

Stuffed Mailbox Package

John had stuffed the package along with the mail into the mailbox so I couldn’t remove it. Even with my small hands, I could not put my fingers in at the sides to grasp the package.

Sigh, sigh and sigh again …

I went into the house and called the carrier annex.  What would possess John to shove this package in the mailbox so that it couldn’t be removed? I wondered. Was he lazy? Did he have an appointment that he was in a hurry for?

The supervisor at the carrier annex apologized and said someone would be out by the end of the day to remove the package for me.  Sure enough, as promised, the female carrier came to the front door with the package and mail in hand.  She apologized.

It seems such a small problem in life ~ a stuffed mailbox package, doesn’t it? Yet when a lot of small things happen and start adding up they can become large in our minds.

That’s why we have to keep our focus on the bigger picture and allow these smaller problems to roll off our shoulders ~ so they don’t become one large piece.

I’m glad that I can talk to God about both the little and the big things in my life and that He cares about all of it.  It lifts all of it off of my shoulders because I know that He will always have my back.

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”  1 Peter 5:7

And John?  Well, he hasn’t made any mailbox deliveries anymore ~ he brings them to the front door.

Dashing out to the store to purchase groceries, I remembered that someone had mentioned we needed flowers for a church program tonight.

Since Trader Joe’s flowers are fairly inexpensive, I picked up, what I thought, was a pretty bouquet.  “This will do” my brain reasoned.

When I arrived home, I picked out a vase, snipped the bottoms of the gerbils (flowers) to keep them fresh, added water to the vase then plopped the gerbils in the vase.

Before leaving the house in the evening, I wrapped the flower arrangement in a plastic bag to protect it from the cold air.

Arriving at church, I removed the plastic bag and set the vase on the entry table.

Blah, I thought to myself.  They don’t look good at all.  Yet I received compliments on the arrangement ~ who would’ve thought?

Since the program was for only one night this week, I brought them home and set them on the table. Droopy, I thought. Why did I pick this arrangement?

I pretty much ignored the flowers until Saturday morning when I sat down to breakfast and looked up at them as they were centered on the table.

Wow! I thought.  These are beautiful!

The bold pink gerbils with hints of yellow in the center bathed my brain with delight.

The white gerbils were just as beautiful with transient pinks in the middle.

In my busyness, had I failed to see the beauty of these gerbils?

Sometimes that’s how life is though ~ you go through life running from one errand to another without noticing the blessings right in front of you.

Then, BAM!  God sends a blessing that you just can’t ignore.

That’s why I call Him my Friend ~ He’s always making sure I don’t miss out on what He’s sending my way.