A Beautiful Saturday in Minnesota!

With the wonderful rainfall of last night a faded memory, we eased into Saturday before launching into the countryside to enjoy a bit of the Minnesota scenery.

Thanks to Belinda, we headed up the highway to Hill City where we had heard there was a local event called "Art in the Park" taking place. Hill City is a tiny community with a big heart that straddles Highway 169 between Aitkin and Grand Rapids. What the event lacked in size it more than made up for inthe enthusiastic banter of the vendors and visitors! We ended up getting some baked goodies from the Hill City Chamber of Commerce and some homemade pickled beans and homemade apple butter. Yum!

A short drive later and we were in Grand Rapids to take care of the car and some needed supplies. Hope your weekend is going great, wherever you happen to be!

Thank Goodness It's Friday!

With a busy weekend coming up, we decided to ease into the weekend with time spent at the Aitkin County Library and exploring around downtown Aitkin. The fire department here had a fire engine with a flag hung from the ladder in honor of 9/11: A somber tribute to that day eight years ago.

There is a lot happening in this county town of 1,984 people! We saw a group of colorful scooters parked in front of the Birchwood Cafe. It made for a nice splash of color on this grey day. We stopped at the nearby fairgrounds, where a large auction was underway. Well done, Janzen Auctioneers! It is amazing what people will buy at an auction (that they wouldn't anywhere else)!

We had the best lunch ever at the The Tuscany Room: Cashew chicken salad croissant with homemade Hungarian mushroom soup and amazing apple pie! Afterwards, we were window shoppng when we noticed a store, Sew Much & More, where Charles picked up some supplies to resume his cross-stitch hobby. We stopped by the Cookies -n- Things shop, and Charles bought Belinda a lovely bracelet she admired AND chocolate chip bars. We enjoy walking around and visiting the shops here in Aitkin; the people are just so nice!

Thursday in Minnesota

The warm weather still hangs on here in Minnesota. It must have been over 75 today! With the nice weather beckoning, Charles ventured out to the Minnesota National Golf Course (near McGregor) for an afternoon round. It was nice to be playing in such a natural setting, lots of marsh and wetlands to hit around, into and over!

Belinda made good use of her time, reading, watching movies and enjoying the quiet of the cabin setting.

Tonight we attended a "Rule of Christ Workshop" (being offered through the Minnesota Annual Conference) at the Aitkin United Methodist Church. This training is based on Matthew 18:15-20 and is designed to help churches deal with conflict before it becomes disruptive to the congregation.

Wonderful Wednesday in Minnesota!

What a full day this has been! Belinda got the day started by attending the Aitkin UMC's Bible study that meets each Wednesday morning at the Birchwood Cafe`. A time of sharing breakfast and the Word gets everyone ready for the remainder of the week. When Belinda returned to the cabin, it was time to do some laundry which we were able to do in town.

After a lite lunch at the cabin, it was off on a drive to the city of Hibbing, about ninety miles northeast of Aitkin. Our purpose for going there was to see the birthplace of the Greyhound Bus Museum! This small town, which is located atop the Masabi iron ore range, is where the concept of public bus transportation got its start.

Just down the street from the bus museum is the famous Hull-Rust-Mahoning open pit mine (for iron ore). This place is HUGE! A bit depressing to look at considering the natural beauty of Minnesota, still, seeing the mine at work was still impressive in its own right.

A drive back to Aitkin and supper at Rossalini's (the best pizza pie outside of Chicago!) and now its time to blog!

Tuesday in Aitkin (MN)

We're enjoying a restful Tuesday here in Aitkin, the first day of school in Minnesota. Since the young ones are in school, the library is a bit quieter than normal! There is a hint of rain in the air. We've not had any in the past week, so this will be welcome if it does come our way.

We enjoyed having lunch with the Rev. Mark Nordell, pastor of Cascade United Methodist Church (where we attended church on Sunday) at the parsonage, located between Deerwood and Crosby. A couple of hours later, we felt like we knew all about each other! Praise be to God for folks who reach out to one another in Christian love and fellowship!

Nothing else of note planned for today... just wondering what 09/09/09 will bring us tomorrow!

Labor Day in Minnesota

It was a quiet morning along the shore of Lake Linde on this Labor Day. What a blessing we are enjoying by being able to stay in this cabin on the lake!!!

We did go to the Bethlehem Lutheran Church this morning where our friend Judy was conducting a funeral. It was a special time to gather in this very old church started by Swedish immigrants in 1891.

We went with Judy and Leon to the home of Judy's sister Susan and her husband Allen for a Labor Day supper/birthday party for Susan. It was nice to spend time with Judy and Susan's mother too! We had a relaxing time on their deck (with mosquito netting set up, of course!). It was a great time of fellowship and

delicious home-cooking! Praise be to God for such good friends!!!

Labor Day Weekend in Minnesota

The unofficial "end of summer" is upon us, and it is rather warm by Minnesota standards, about 80F! We've had a wonderful day, and we hope that wherever you are, Labor Day finds you and yours doing well.

This morning we attended worship at the Cascade UMC (located between Crosby & Deerwood, MN). It is a lovely congregation; the warmth and hospitality were "spot on!" Charles was asked by the pastor, the Rev. Mark Nordell, to assist with communion by helping him in offering blessings, following the receiving of the elements.

After worship, we joined the congregation in the fellowship hall for some really great refreshments, and they use real dishes (a classy touch). On a nearby table, they had day-old bread from a bakery in "the cities" that folks could buy to support the local food pantry. One member of the congregation carved the name of the church and the UMC' cross and flame logo onto a watermelon; how amazing is that!

After leaving church, we made our way through the Minnesota countryside. Along the way, we saw a Bald Eagle in flight, a pair of Trumpeter Swans gliding on a lake, and we discovered a gorgeous field of sunflowers! It was a feast for the eyes! We ended up in McGregor (site of yesterday's Wild Rice Days celebration). We found a great bakery; ate lunch at the School House Cafe; and even stopped by the local winery (nothing to our taste, though).

We are doing well here in Minnesota, and we are looking forward to the coming week!