Monday, October 12, 2009

Snow and Weddings

October reminds us that fall is nearly over here in northern Minnesota, winter is just around the corner. Do you think that perhaps the corner may be too close? After the past summer of cooler than normal weather, we had a delightful September and a later than usual frost. When October arrived, it was a bit colder but it didn't bring frost again until almost the second week. Then the cold arrived with late fall vengeance.

Last Thursday, there was a legacy grant workshop in Shevlin, Minnesota. For those who don't know where Shevlin is, it is about 15 miles west of Bemidji on Highway 2. Thirty-six individuals came to learn how to write Legacy grants. Several grant application writers from MHS (Minnesota Historical Society) arrived presented a workshop and assisted in the grant writing. I am sure they must be weary of assisting with the grants; there has been so many workshops all over the state already.

Joan Hull, a staff member, and I headed down about 8:30 to what looked like a fairly decent day. We spent the day working on a grant and listening to other people present their ideas and work on their grants. It was a day well spent and our Northwest Minnesota consortium of friends made the day even more enjoyable.

Our drive home was more eventful. The trees were beautiful in their fall attire.

We also saw about a 100+ swans on a pond coming back from Gully. Then it got ugly. The clouds rolled in with some sleet, then snow scowls. Not fun at times and a good reminder of things to come.

On Saturday am, we woke up to a winter cover of fresh snow. I even had to sweep the car off when I drove to Roseau to do some shopping. There was a coat of about one and half inches all over it. First real snow of the season, and it disappeared by noon!

We had an enjoyable Saturday evening at the wedding of a neighbor's daughter. One of my friends from International Falls, a great-aunt to the bride, was there. We had not seen each other in years so it was fun to catch up on what has been going on each others lives. The wedding was a very festive occasion! The bride and groom were a delight to watch as they celebrated the first day of their life together.


Ardmore enjoyed chatting with several neighbors and school chums. It was fun to listen to Ardmore and the Lee boys discuss their youthful escapades. One never knows what their spouse was really like until you listen to them visit with their childhood friends. Having not grown up in this area, they had even more meaning to me. I lived in town almost all of my life, he lived in the country, quite a contrast.

We waited and waited for a slow dance on Saturday evening but didn't get to dance while we were there. I was presenting a lesson in Relief Society at church on Sunday and decided I needed to check over everything one more time so we went home at 9:30. Aren't we the dead beats? We had a very enjoyable evening while we were there and that is what counts.