10 Years of fun and laughter

Strange title? It was 10 years ago that I signed up to write this blog and it’s now at an end. I’ve enjoyed the experience and it’s provided a great outlet for my creative side, letting me share poems and events that have occurred over these years.
I began this exercise while employed full time at the USPS – hence the name of the site – and am now retired going on 5 years!
This past Summer we cancelled our annual July 4th picnic after 34 years of hosting, and then Fall served up a surprise in the shape of my husband suffering a stroke in September. He has recovered fairly well but still has shoulder surgery ahead of him for a torn rotator cuff. When that is finally completed, we’ll have gone an entire year without his business income and he will not be able to go back to work in the very demanding field of electrical and plumbing. . .you can’t work on those toilets without hugging them.
We’ll be looking for new adventures and other sources of income and see where the Lord leads. Hope to travel a bit and see old friends, but ‘best laid plans’, ya know?
This month we celebrate our 49th wedding anniversary and though we’ve known each other since we were in kindergarten together, we still like each other!!
Thanks for following along on this adventure. I hope you enjoyed the stories and poems as much as I enjoyed writing them.
I am still hoping to self-publish a book of my poems in the months ahead. I’ll let you know via e-mail and hopefully you’ll buy it!
May you look to the Lord for all your needs and let Him give you what He wants to give you – Heaven awaits and I hope to see you there!

Purpose and Meaning

This year has been a year of decisions and changes. Of course, every year contains those two things, but this year they are BIGGER decisions and changes!
My beloved husband of 48 years will follow me into the next decade of our lives when he celebrates his 70th birthday on July 5th. Remember the 5th of July? No, no one gives it any thought except that it’s that day after all the fun and explosions and cake and hot dogs. The day you have to go back to work again and struggle to be enthused about it.
And at our house? The day to clean up after the Independence day picnic for the last 34 years. Granted, we missed one year for drought, followed by the next year with a flood where our porta-johns were on an island surrounded by rushing water, but we enjoyed decent weather for nearly all those years! God was so good to us!
We have been asking ourselves, when is the right time to end the picnic??  How do you come to that decision? Obviously it would end if one of us died, but that doesn’t sound like something we can look forward to. So, while we’re still able to get around and in reasonably good health, we decided to bring the celebration to an end.
For those of you who have always attended through the years, I can’t tell you how much we’ve enjoyed seeing your smiling faces. To see you visiting with others, making new friends, and laughing . . . as one first timer said, “This looks like a Norman Rockwell painting!” No one on their phones, kids playing volleyball and riding in the woods on the 4 Wheel drive MULE – the music and fireworks!
(Anyone interested in some 4th of July decorations? I’ve got a storage unit full!)
We’re hoping to be able to get a few trips under our belts before we croak, and one of them should be to the friends in Texas who visited us in March!
Dane, bless his heart, told me he understands my need to entertain and will certainly have my back for any events I plan, but the traditional “4th” will not go on.
I will admit, I do tend to live from event to event and plan these things in my head for months before they happen, but there will be other gatherings of note – in fact, we’ll be hosting a family reunion this September and my head is spinning with plans for that!
I know this will disappoint some, my family included, but this is the year for big decisions!
Thank you for your faithfulness in attending, and to those who helped “pull it off’ by helping in the kitchen and serving, and to our kids who gave up their plans to fulfill their parent’s dream every year for the greater part of their lives . . . we are eternally grateful for all of you!
On to the next chapter. I have been writing new poems for a book of poetry, and have a song in the works that I hope to copyright and publish. In the blink of an eye, eternity will be here and I hope to continue to fulfill whatever purpose the Lord has planned for our lives in this decade. “To glorify God and enjoy Him forever!”

Digging up the past

Sounds like I’m about to air dirty laundry, doesn’t it? Nah. . .  As I grow older, the inspiration to ‘get things done’ seems to fade and I’m inclined to lean toward my procrastination side because, well, tomorrow is another day.
But I had occasion to go through my huge box of family pictures that were under the bed in my youngest son’s room. We’re having childhood friends visit later this month and I wanted to dig up old photos. There were two other boxes under there and realized that I hadn’t gone through them for many years! Other than the pictures, there were old school books from when I home schooled my boys, old car magazines, etc. . . What a treasure trove of memories!
One of the items I found was a notebook from 1991 that had some old poems that I wrote that were pretty good, if I do say so myself! And I found some interesting notes that I had made about our then, current Pastor who had a great sense of humor. I’d like to share them with you because they made me laugh all over again.

Our Pastor once decided to use a different approach to having people remember to check the lost and found rack. After several announcements about a raincoat being left in the foyer, he said,
“Someone has left an expensive raincoat in the foyer for over a month now and I’ve decided that I don’t want you to claim it, but instead I’d like you to bring in the lining because the coat is a 38 and I’m a 38 and I could use a nice raincoat!”

And: One Wednesday evening at our more informal prayer meeting (meaning he didn’t stand on the platform behind the pulpit), he waited until everyone was seated and then walked up the center aisle carrying his Bible under one arm and a heavy wooden podium under the other. When he was certain that everyone had seen him, he dramatically stopped, mopped his brow and stated, “Boy! Am I glad I don’t play the piano!” And before anyone could laugh, a silver haired woman in the back dryly said, “So are we, Pastor, so are we.”

This wonderful man has since retired but his sense of humor is still intact. He played some great practical jokes on people that I still enjoy relaying to others when the occasion arises. A wonderful Shepard of his church people and a heart for God that remains true and faithful. It is such a blessing to have walked this life with fellow believers such as he. God is good!

Making lists

It’s Monday morning. Christmas Eve is 12 days away. I say Christmas Eve because Scandinavian families tend to celebrate all that is “Christmas” on the Eve! We have a big dinner together, open our presents and the kids can stay up as late as they want.
Funny thing – I have never come across a kid who complained about having to open their presents the night before everyone else gets to. . .
As we grow older we realize the importance of getting together as a family and how we’re building memories for the grand kids as well as ourselves.My memory bank is pretty full. In fact, it’s so cluttered that I can’t pull up words or answers to questions as fast as I used to – but that’s part of aging and I’m okay with it.
Dane and I tend to spend our evenings watching British television and asking our phones about which actor was in that movie? and aren’t they dead? Then we switch to Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy to prove that we can’t answer questions quickly anymore. If they would just have “Senior Jeopardy” and give us a full minute to say, “I know that one, wait a second, it’s, it’s, oh, what’s that guys name?????” All while staring at our feet and and snapping our fingers in the air. Life isn’t fair, you know??
I am looking forward to this year’s celebration. The ham and ham gravy! The laughter, the crowded room. I like being forced to clean house for others, since Dane and I don’t mind our own mess. And anticipating the gifts that will give my grandchildren sparkly eyes and smiles. And, perhaps, I’ll get one of the boys to play Dr. Mario doubles with me! (It’s the little things!)
This coming 2023 will put both Dane and I into the start of our 8th decade! Yes, we will have succeeded in finishing 7 decades of life and the day after our 70th birthdays will be the first day of our 8th decade. I will go first to test the water and he will follow me 5 months later whether I give him the OK or not. The new year will also see our 48th year of marriage and that is worth celebrating! What fun we are having in these later years!
God has been so good to us!
As you and yours look around this Christmas season, consider how blessed you are with all that you have and your family that you love and adore. And to know that the infant whose birth we celebrate left His heavenly home to identify with us in human form and then to give His life to redeem us for all eternity! What love!! That’s what the ultimate gift looks like in this season of gift giving.
Share the love, share the message of the true meaning and, for heaven’s sake, say MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone you meet!
God bless us, one and all!

So much to be Thankful for!

The trees are nearly bare, we’ve had a hard frost, and the wood stove has been activated for the 45th year! It’s been a beautiful fall, full of color and a mix of cool weather, then warm, then hot, then cool. I mean – make up your mind already!!
Many, many years ago, my dad introduced Dane to a wood stove made from a barrel – also known as a 55 gallon drum. We have used this to warm us through all the winters since then. We MAY be on our 3rd drum now, and Dane has been faithful to load the thing up once a day, every evening when he gets home from work. He is particular about the loading process. It is an art form, almost a religious experience for my favorite “controlled pyromaniac”. On the extremely cold days, he feeds it in the morning as well, but we don’t have a lot of those in this part of the country.
I have accepted the fact that my only two live outdoor plants are going to bite the dust soon, but I am hanging onto them as long as I can.  Our deer, who are friends of ours, make certain that no live plants survive outside unless they are on the deck, proper. I’m still waiting for the day that my Ring shows them up on the deck, munching on Petunias or impatiently eating my Impatiens.
I turned in my calendar originals on the 26th of October and am anxiously awaiting that call from the printer that says those 3 little words I long to hear, “Pat, they’re done!”
I struggled with the theme again this year. Adding to my stress was the paper availability that I told you about, but I blame it on our Women’s SS class who’s series was about trusting God and stressing less. I had to spend several weeks practicing that theme. I finally heard that my printer had found paper at a reasonable price and my stress level went way down after that. And, for your information, the theme is “Talking with God” – Verses of Scripture on prayer. I arrived at the theme because of all the prayers we have been offering on behalf of the Brothers and Sisters in Christ in Ukraine these past 10 months. I learned this year that a classmate of mine from Kindergarten on through high school has been a missionary to Ukraine and is over there bringing care packages as I write this. A 60 plus year friend, in touch again because of a war across the sea – isn’t our God a marvelous God? And isn’t the world so much smaller, the older we get?
I am entertaining the thought of producing a book of all the poems I’ve written over the years. I started back in high school and have kept most of them.Some are serious, but most are funny and I don’t know if there would be much interest in them. I’m talking about poems – not poetry! I like things to rhyme!! Your thoughts? (WeBeSwedes@juno.com)

IT BE FALL, Y’ALL

IT BE FALL, Y’ALL

The days are running ahead of us before we have time to catch up to them!
My Monday morning lists tend to get longer and have less items crossed off by the end of the week. What’s that all about??
I had decided to start on my calendars this week, Lord willing, so that I am ready for the supply chain issues that came at me last year. (I had turned in my  black and white, hand drawn originals to my printer, only to find out that the paper would take two weeks to get here.) To head that off, I called my printer and asked him to:
1.) see if the paper was available
2.) how long it would take to get here
3.) I am happy to pay for it in advance so that it’s there when I have finished my    originals and am ready to turn them in.
Well, he called me this morning and gave me the bad news. The paper I usually look for is not available at this time, and the similar paper made by another company will cost me more than I paid for the whole printing process last year!
I’m heading down there today to see what alternatives are available, cheaper alternatives, needless to say. Dane has always been more than generous in footing the bill for my artistic adventures, but I owe it to him to find a way to keep the cost down.
I am determined to make the artwork more beautiful so that no one will notice the paper change! I am grateful to have gotten several ideas for “themes” from friends near and far and I trust the Lord will lead me to the right one for the year ahead, as He always does.
Meantime, back at the ranch, the Swedes are doing well. Older by the minute, but lots of laughter and fun going on.
This past weekend we had childhood friends come into town from Florida and Wisconsin and all our families got together and ate hearty meals. We rubbed elbows at several tables, and realized how blessed we are to have one another close enough to have these gatherings.
The wood stove will be fired up soon and the leaves will fill the yard like there’s no tomorrow. From my desk I will  watch the squirrels stashing their walnuts everywhere for the winter. Jackets will find their way back to the hooks next to the door and socks will, once again, be part of my life. I love the cold. (Eye roll from some you here. . .)
We still have a trip to see dear friends in SC coming up, but after that, I believe I’ll find a little part time job to let Dane take more work breaks.
Let’s remember to pray for one another as the mood in the world is more angry and volatile than ever before, and may we be light and salt as we serve one another and share the Good News with the lost.
God is good – pass it on.

 

Picnic past, forward march!

Our Independence Day picnic was a success again this year. Number 34 under our belt and God was very good to us in weather, safety, and attendance. We held it on the 3rd because if people know they are off work the next day, they are more likely to come and stay up late for the fireworks show that Dane and the boys provide. That also means that they can attend another event on the 4th if they so chose. PLUS – the kids, (a.k.a. our 3 sons and 3 daughters in law), volunteered to “do the work” and let the old people enjoy the picnic.
I made lists because, well, there was too much in my head to transfer verbally to them and because I am a list maker. For several days prior and after, stuff was done to get the yard ready. Marinating and baking, cutting, pulling, shopping, mowing, painting, and manicures. If I’m going to sit and talk, I need my nails to look good.
My brother gave us 2 more canopies and since the loss of our beautiful Ash tree to those horrid boring beetles, we’ve tried to provide that perfect shade that is now missing. Need I say  we miss that tree? We planted it when our middle son, Preston, was 1 year old. It grew to be a real beauty with a ton of picnic shade. “You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone”, eh Joni Mitchell?
We had 213 people sign up – some came and some didn’t. Some showed up that hadn’t signed up, but it all balances out in the end as long as there’s a general idea of how many will be there. When you’re feeding people, there’s a huge difference between 150 and 215. But 40 pounds of chicken, 40 pounds of pork and 160 all beef hot dogs managed to satisfy the crowd with a small bit left over. I worried for no reason.
The next day, some folks from Järl and Kelly’s church showed up to help us take down the 3 canopies and put all the chairs and cushions away, etc. . Clean up is always a tiring job. You’re already beat up from the day prior, but things have to be returned, e.g. chairs and tables from church, and stuff needs to go back to the storage unit lest my basement becomes over run.
Dane went to help with the fireworks in Buchanan on the fourth and I stayed up until 11 pm waiting for him and tackling the pots, pans, and bowls that were stacked up a foot high on the counter. (We have a shallow well and I stress to the girls and their helpers NOT to use water to wash anything after the picnic dinner to save our water supply.) Dane was thrilled when he came home and saw that they were all washed, dried, and put away – he has OCD in his old age and cannot stand dirty anything in the sink or on the counter. I go to bed before him and always wake up to a clean kitchen . . .I’m keeping him!
Taking stuff to the storage unit takes days and I made one of those trips today with chair cushions, drink coolers, banners, good ‘ol dancing man, the jump-o-line, and just “stuff”.
When I got home, I had one more thing to put away and that was the last canopy that my brother, Axel, had given us. I backed the van up to the outbuilding to load it into the large canister and that’s when I discovered. . . the garbage had not been hauled away like we thought and the BEAR had found it. 3 large black plastic bags full of plates and cups and who knows what had been ripped open on the floor of the outbuilding. I pulled back the tarp and saw it and spoke aloud to no one there, (at least I hoped there was no one there), “I’m not happy!!!” Actually, I said it aloud in case there was an animal in there because I wasn’t packing. Wouldn’t it be fun to have startled the bear in the process??? I think not!! I unloaded the canopy parts and headed into the house to cool off. It was a hot one out there today, baby!
Now that the picnic is behind us and we saw what the kids could accomplish with little or no help, we ease into summer with nothing out there before us except relaxing –
with little bouts of work in between for Dane. I’m still a professional bum. But there are goals to aim at and I would really, really like to be able to cross something off that list.
I did write a little ditty for the kids (as a surprise) that I sang at the picnic and I will share that with you here:
To the tune of Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen :

I was 23 when we bought this place
and I thought, “This would be an ideal space
for an outdoor party – it’s the perfect venue”
But then work and bills came here to stay
and I packed my little dreams away
but, still I hoped that someday they’d come true!
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Our first picnic crowd numbered 33
I think Nelssen came up to here on me
(you may notice he’s since grown a foot or two)
There were chairs and blankets on the lawn
Sandi Patty sang our Anthem song
and thus was born this Day we share with you
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
This year our kids have taken charge
they’ve done all the work and by in large
they’ve really been a quite impressive crew
They said, “You 2 guys will sit right there
if we have to glue you to your chair”
And believe me, we are filled with gratitude
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Next up – Pastor Bruce will speak
And I know that will be a real treat
and we’ll follow that by serving you more food!
Then we’ll turn our chairs to the southern skies
and when it gets dark, the Hamren guys
will celebrate the ol’ red-white-and-blue
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
When they’re finished, we will clap and cheer
for we made it through another year
lots of hugs and smiles as we say ‘so long’ to ya
As you try to remember where you parked
the exits are all clearly marked
Drive safely home . . . and know that we love you!
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, I’m finally through, YA!

 

What we refuse to see

There’s an old story from long ago about a man caught in a flood. As the waters rose into his house, someone came around with a boat and asked him if he wanted a ride to safety.
“No thank you,” he said with a smile, “God will save me.”
As the waters continued to rise and he had to go to the second floor to avoid drowning, the boatmen came back and asked again, “We have room, won’t you let us bring you to safety?”
“No – I know God will save me!” he replied.
When he had to go to the roof of his house and had little space left to avoid the rising waters, a rescue helicopter spotted him and dropped their ladder, signaling him to climb up but he smiled and waved them off shouting, “I’m OK- God will save me!”
And then the waters rose above his roof – he drowned.
When he reached the proverbial Pearly Gates, he was surprised at all that had happened and asked God, “Why didn’t you save me? I trusted you!”
To which God replied, “I sent two boats and a helicopter!”
We often believe that God will meet our need, but when the answer shows up not looking like we expected, we pass it off and wait for the sensational, the perfect, the obvious, the expected, the imagined.
The thing is, our trust can be conditional, which is trust none the less, but it’s a measure of trust that has faults, like a boat with leaks is still a boat, but, . . .leaks?
To trust Him to to do what’s best for us means accepting what He brings into our lives. He knows you better than you know yourself! And He knows exactly what will satisfy your soul what will make you cling to Him and chose His way. It make not look like something you would chose for yourself, but if it comes from Him, it’s exactly what you need.
I remember a dear brother in Christ who was paralyzed from the neck down by a bullet he’d received in the line of duty as a Wisconsin Sheriff’s Deputy. Being a huge Packers fan, he attended a game and was presented with a Packers team jacket which his mom rubbed on his cheek to let him feel it. He looked at her and said, “I wish I could hold it in my hands and feel it.” To which his Mom replied, “If you could do that, you wouldn’t be here on the field receiving it.”
It was his circumstances that brought him to be honored. Circumstances that weren’t his choice for his life, but he graciously lived for many more years, accepting what God had chosen for him, blessing so many people and being honored for his sacrifice.
When he decided to forgo another surgery to keep him alive for a little bit longer, he was driven home from the state of Colorado to his small Wisconsin town. As his van passed through each state, the police were waiting at each state’s border to honor their fellow officer with a silent escort across the many miles and many states.
When he reached his hometown in Wisconsin, block after block of  townspeople lined the streets all the way to his front door, and while he lived a few more days, the townsfolk visited him in small groups to thank him again for his service and to say goodbye to their friend.
He honored God with his life. He accepted what he was given and made a difference to all those people who knew he and his family and watched them live their lives with joy and grace.
Let me ask you, when you go, are people going to line the streets to say goodbye?
Have you or I made a difference in the lives of the people who have crossed your path?
Do we embrace the things God has chosen for us or just endure them, complaining all the while that you can’t wait until this or that  is over?
Plug the holes in that boat with verses of assurance. TRUST the Captain to navigate where you need to go and get out into the deep water of life. You’ll be amazed at where you’ll go and what you’ll find there!

The perils of old age

One of my catch phrases is “This is the first time I’ve been old” and it’s true! Observing old people from the point of view of your youth has always been easy. You see the gray hair, the slightly bent over stance and you equate that with old.
“Did you see that old man?”, you ask someone. As they scan the crowd, they know what to look for and spot him right away. But I have noticed that not everyone ages at the same rate in appearance.
Physically, of course, there are aches and pains that remind us of our age – case in point – getting up from your seat without making a noise, have you tried that? Standing still for a few seconds to make certain everything will move on command so you don’t fall? Oh, yeah.
And going to the doctor where they ask you if you’ve fallen and you don’t want to lie, but you don’t want to admit it, either. Signs that you are getting old, yup.
But then, you find yourself out at the woodpile for 4 days, tossing big chunks of wood 10 feet away from you, bending, lifting, stacking, and wearing a hole in the thumb of your  glove and it occurs to you, I know some teenagers that couldn’t do this! Then you push a little harder and sweat like a stuck pig and your aches and pains don’t seem so bad, in fact, some of them have eased up a bit. Life is good!
I might just put off this ‘getting old’ stuff for a little while longer and stay outside doing yard work (which I love). There are some nasty briars around the yard that need wacking and I own a wacker! They have been calling my name and I just put my hearing aid in, if you know what I mean.
The tyranny of the urgent – so much to do and so little time.
As spring settles in with it’s:
April showers that bring May flowers
which my deer will eat within 3 hours
I start thinking about our Independence Day picnic and see people everywhere in the yard. I envision where the chairs will sit, where we can create shade, how the sun moves, where to put the Putt Putt course, ( which Dane nixed, by the way – what??), and how to make things more fun for everyone. And while my brain starts shooting out thoughts faster than I can figure out how to make them come true, the lists get longer and longer and then . . . I take a nap.
But for now, I will pull the brain back and couple steps and channel my energy into a poem for your entertainment and my relief.
To the tune of “If I Only Had a Brain”~

Tho our yard is big and roomy
when the flowers start to bloomy
and I see that old crabgrass
I start thinking about mowing
all these weeds that nature’s sowing
but I can’t afford the gas

I just want the yard much bigger
and so I start to figure
How to move some dirt en masse
every year the dream comes closer
should I go and rent a dozer?
No, I can’t afford the gas

I reiterate this motto
‘Should I ever win the lotto’
the picnic ‘d be first class
But ya know, it’s kinda funny
I don’t have that kind of money
’cause I spent it all on gas!

And now, I’ll eat some breakfast and go out and work in the yard!

 

Dinner with friends!

After 2 years of being “safe”, avoiding people, I felt inspired to have some friends over for dinner.
Yesterday evening was the date set 3 weeks ahead of time and snow did not deter them from heading our way, for which I am thankful.
We enjoyed a hearty salad, chicken fettuccine alfredo, and garlic bread, followed by a  dessert of home made cheesecake.
The dinner was easy, the house cleaning ahead of time was harder – it had been awhile since I’d had to clear my dining room table (where I usually sit and read/study)  and vacuum everything, (2 new kittens, remember?) and don’t forget bathroom cleaning, suitable for company. Fortunately, Billy Joel was there for me, letting me sing my way through the chores.
But my brain kept making rhymes all through the day and I couldn’t help but jot down a couple of thoughts about cleaning and share them with you;

Starting in the morning with so much ‘to do’ ahead
’twas hard for me to make myself climb out of my warm bed
but coffee called my name and promised big things for the day
and, dang it, I believed ’em, and downstairs made my way.

First things first, compose my list of final preparations
clear junk off the bookshelves, choose table decorations
And Dane and I agree a salad’s great with hard boiled eggs
( while I stand and peel them, kittens rub against my legs )

Don’t forget to take the Christmas lights off of the deck,
I mean it’s almost February! ’bout time? What the heck??
And move the cars so company can  park nearby the door
there’s still snow on the ground and we don’t want them falling o’er

Vacuum, dust, and OH the glitter from those Christmas cards!
It sticks to everything! Red and green and silver shards!
Scrub the toilet, scrub the floor, scrub the kitchen sink.
Check the fridge, chill the wine, get ice for all the drinks.

Sit and play a game of cards, reward all your hard work.
It’s the little things, you know? You need a little ‘perk’!
It’s looks like things are going well – check each nook and cranny?
You’ve got a half an hour, yet. Go rest rest your chubby fanny.

At last they all arrive and the evening feast begins.
There is nothing I love more than an evening with my friends.