https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlAUEHYl0tw&feature=youtu.be
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We had hoped to turn on the Christmas lights Thanksgiving night, but it did not work out that way. We actually got the lights turned on for Saturday. You will need to tune in the car radio to hear the broadcast, because I do not think my neighbors really want to be treated to my Pooh holiday (different mix for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas) music mix 24/7. Any neighbors that would be able to hear an "open broadcast" and do want to tune in are free to do so - I have a radio inside that is tuned to the correct channel! The music plays from October 1st to December 31st, more or less... Even the snowmen like to warm up by the fire. It keeps them cozy and warm....
As "everybody" goes back to school - the grandson starts kindergarten, the daughter starts teaching and **I** go back to college to pick up the missing classes to turn my Liberal Arts degree into a teaching degree - our family has three generations starting school this fall!
Betcha cash money the "teaching daughter" has more far homework than the two students do, combined! I broke my lawnmower blade Tuesday, so I had to go get a new one Wednesday. It was starting to feel like I was on a wild goose chase - I went to Home Depot, because they are right by Chrysler, and I started from there because I had to get my oil changed for our trip to New Mexico, as we will be headed that way in two weeks. So the guy at Home Depot checked all the blades they had, but none of them had the right kind of "hole" on the blade to attach it to the mower - all of theirs had a star-shaped hole and mine is a round one. All the blades they had specified "lawn tractor" and mine is a basic lawn mower. As I explained it, it is the push kind where you pull the cord to start it, then cuss at it, then pull the cord again and it will start.
Every time. You cannot skip that step. So since Home Depot did not have the right blade, they suggested I should try Mac's Hardware. Mac's is one of the few places where you can still go in and buy just the exact three nails or two washers that you need - they sell them by the pound instead of in packages. However, they did not have the lawn mower blade I needed, so they said to try Home of Economy. As it turned out, Home of Economy did have my blade, so if the weather cooperates, I will finish mowing today. The no-longer-20-minute oil change was quite the afternoon adventure. After sitting through one episode of Bonanza, I was not really up for another - I think they had their waiting-room television tuned to the Bonanza channel - so I joined a lady sitting at a table and we chit-chatted. Deciding we were hungry, I asked at the counter if they had a popcorn machine. Since there is a soda dispenser in the waiting room, a snack machine would not be an unreasonable thing to expect. They do not have any sort of snack machines, but the gals in the office took pity on us (or got tired of listening to us whine about being hungry) and brought us out a bag of fresh warm popcorn from their break room. Now that we both know the place has switched from a 20-minute quick change set-up to an appointment system, we will plan accordingly next time! I am perfectly willing to schedule appointments - as long as I know I need to do so! To be totally honest, I do prefer to have a scheduled appointment for things. I am far less likely to put things off if I have an appointment scheduled to do them. The cute guy got my lawn mower blade on last night, so today I need to mow the lawn. Progress is being made on the kitchen. Not done yet, but progress is visible!
...but it was one helluva wake! Doc Brooks, retiring club caller for the Minot Magic Squares Gayla Haberlock, Duane Haberlock, Wayne Lamon Betty Brooks, Judi Bakken, Deb Pfennig, Marian Himmerick Doc Brooks, Dorothy Lamon Presentation of the Thank You card to Doc. The official retirement cake. Bismarck Belles and Beaux caller Larry Pfennig, Judi Bakken, Deb Pfennig. Art Bakken, Judi Bakken, Betty Brooks, Doc Brooks
I never got any pictures of the actual dancing this time, which is unusual. not really a zero sum game
There was an old song by Waylon Jennings titled "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RePtDvh4Yq4 He ain't wrong, he's just different but his pride won't let him, Do things to make you think he's right. Fun song. Been around a very long time. It has been used recently in at least one car commercial, so I do not think it will be going away any time soon. The reason this song fits into my thinky thoughts here is that I realized (once again) yesterday that there are two very different schools of thought on what our square dance club actually **is** There seems to be a chasm between those who see it primarily intended as a dance school to teach new people to square dance, and those who see it as a club of dancers that is primarily interested in holding and attending regular dances and dancing, but also offers lessons if new people want to join in and dance with the group. Not exactly the same thing. Both viewpoints are held by people who think they are "right." It is a fine line, but there is a line there. I admit that I am often guilty of over-thinking things. I get totally paralyzed by a true-or-false test, because nothing is totally black or white, and there is always "that one exception" that makes an absolute statement false. Once upon a time, when my kidlets were smallish, we attended a PTA meeting and listened to Curt Medalen speak. He said the most dangerous trap to watch out for was when our kids decided they were Fred Flintstone and said "Yabba." Unlike Fred, they were not likely to be exclaiming in excitement and shouting "Yabba dabba doo!" - because that would be fine and dandy. He was pointing out the dangers of falling for "yes, but..." as an excuse, which often came out of the mouths of fast-talking children as "yabba..." to precede an excuse as to why they did or did not follow the instructions they were given. Sometimes life is filled with yabba lines. Some matter a great deal, some matter a little, and some do not really matter at all - but you have to know where the line is before you can decide if it matters to you or not. Because this one really does matter. Mission matters. Before you decide which direction you want to go, you need to know what results you want to achieve. Save The Last Dance For Me
Nikki D. Paulsen Local square dance caller Fred "Doc" Brooks will call his final square dance before his retirement as club caller for the Minot Magic Squares on Friday, May 22, 2015 at 7:30 PM at the Minot Moose Lodge. Square dancing is the official state dance of North Dakota, and it has been an active part of the Minot area social scene from the time this prairie was first settled until well into the 1980s. In the 1990s it seemed to slowly die out in the area. In 2010, local callers Fred "Doc" Brooks and Don Siebert decided it was time to revive square dancing in the area. As a long time educator, Brooks was excited to teach square dancing to a new generation of dancers. Brooks was a professor of Psychology at Minot State College until his retirement in the early 1990s, so he was experienced in teaching students of all ages. Brooks has been the club caller for the Minot Magic Squares since it was reestablished in 2010. Brooks has been calling for many years. He took square dance lessons in the late 1970s, and his wife Betty said he that by his third square dance lesson he already knew that he wanted to be a caller. In the 1980s, there were many square dance clubs in the area, including one plus club and two mainstream clubs in Minot, one at the Minot Air Force Base, one in Velva, Kenmare, Ray, Tioga, Harvey, Mohall, Garrison, Dunseith, Dickinson. "There were 16 clubs the first year we were the presidents," said long time square dancer Cherie Mergel. Mergel and her husband Lloyd started square dancing in 1980, graduating from a square dance class taught through the Minot Merry Mixers. In 1980, the square dance classes were wildly popular. "Our class had 50 in our graduating class," said Linda Siebert. She and her husband Don graduated from the Minot Magic Squares class that same year. When they started as club presidents in 1984, there were 200 active members in the Minot Magic Squares. The Hustlers at the Minot Air Force Base were the biggest club in the area, but the club dissolved when they lost the dance floor they were using at the base. As many of the local dancers got older or moved away, the clubs were getting smaller. November 16, 1997, the Minot Merry Mixers, the Minot Magic Squares and the Velva square dance club all combined to form the Souris Valley Dancers. The Souris Valley Dancers folded in September of 2010, leading to the rebirth of the Minot Magic Squares. The Minot Magic Squares are now, once again, a growing square dance club, ready to support and encourage a new generation of dancers. Come on out and Swing Your Partner! I wanted to link this here, because a recent conversation got me thinking.
While I have been on this journey since long before the internet made finding "guidebooks to Holland" easier to find - not easy, by any means, but at least easier now than it was when young daughter was small. http://www.child-autism-parent-cafe.com/welcome-to-holland.html While it is on an autism page, it applies across the board to any family with special needs. Some of us have had all sorts of challenges finding information over the years, especially those of us that did not have a "common" diagnosis. |
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January 2016
AuthorAll opinions posted here are mine, except when they are not. Staking out my little corner of the internet world... |