2022, Family, Gatherings, Seasons, Uncategorized, Weather

Faith & Hope

41 Comments

I got an email a couple of weeks ago from the State Fair folks.  They wanted to give everybody a heads’ up that ticket prices are going up this year.  And that wasn’t all – they also wanted to give folks a chance to pre-purchase tickets before prices go up.  The difference in ticket price is one dollar.  This doesn’t seem that big of a deal to me – after all, the tickets have been $13 for years.  The cost of setting up the website to pre-sell tickets plus the cost to send out the communication probably wasn’t inconsiderable, so my cynical side kicked in; I’m thinking they just need some cash before the fair.  I didn’t delete the email, but I also didn’t give it much more thought.

Then yesterday morning, our ring doorbell chimed as someone was delivering a package.  It was for YA and it was about the size of a shoebox but didn’t seem heavy enough for a pair of shoes.  When I asked her about later, she said it was a pair of sandals.  Seeing as it was -2° F when we were having this conversation, I commented that this was a great show of hope and faith on her part.  She laughed.

So I decided that I could have some hope and faith as well.  Most days I don’t feel particularly hopeful about the end of pandemic but I went online and ordered all our State Fair tickets for August.  Hope, faith and I saved $8!

Are you making any plans for the summer yet?

41 thoughts on “Faith & Hope”

  1. For me, this is the ideal time to think about doing better yard and garden-wise, imaging projects it’s far too early to start.

    Everything is still possible, but there is precious little you can actually DO.

    So you can safely avoid “shoulding” yourself to death or regretting that it’s now too late to ________.

    Please don’t ruin this for me guys.

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    1. I didn’t go, but afterwards found out that the s&h had gone by himself, so he has maintained his solid record of never missing a Fair.

      I then regretted not going, so just texted him that I’m getting tickets today.

      Liked by 4 people

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  3. I have several book signings and festivals scheduled already. Expect to add some more bookstore events throughout spring and summer. Have a trip with friends booked for Sept. Going to Palm Springs sometime in April or May. Expect I will do a canoe trip in Sept. but I don’t book ahead. I wait and watch the weather as much as I can to avoid dangerous storms (always tough to do because the weather is so fickle in the Arrowhead). And yes, I know permits will be more restricted this year, but I don’t go at peak times on popular lakes so getting a permit is rarely an issue for me.

    Chris in Owatonna
    (who likes to improvise but for some reason has a great deal of his life planned already. 🙂 )

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  5. We ordered our garden seeds, which is about as hopeful as a person can get. Peppers will be started in late March, then tomatoes. Other thing like melons are started later. Husband is trying turnip rooted parsely this year, and tells me the roots are the secret ingredient in German cooking. I don’t know if I believe that. No other summer plans as yet. It would be good to see the kids, so that means car and plane travel. We shall see.

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    1. “And go along with you ere you lose sight
      Of what you came for and become like me,
      Slave to a springtime passion for the earth.
      How Love burns through the putting in the seed.”
      Robert Frost

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  6. Hi- yeah, got inputs all ordered for spring planting. With a lot of consideration given to my upcoming shoulder surgery and resulting limitations that will continue into summer, I’ve adjusted a few things. But they’re all work related. We’re not too good at planning personal time. It’s too damn cold to even think about that, beyond the pipe dream of someday going someplace warm for two months in winter, like my brother does. But they’re retired. 🙂

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  8. I used to plan my year around science fiction conventions–MarsCon was in early March, Minicon on Easter, WisCon on Memorial Day, ConVergence on the 4th of July, Diversicon around the beginning of August (there’s a long break after that except for people with money who can travel to wherever Worldcon and World Fantasy Con are being held). Several years ago I gafiated* from fandom, and the State Fair became the central event of the entire summer. You can bet I bought advance tickets when they became available! We like to go two or three times so it’s not so exhausting and overwhelming, and saving a buck or two is still pretty helpful for us.

    *Gafiated is an acronym for Getting Away From It All, or leaving fanac (fan activity) for the real world. Apparently the G is pronounced like in Giraffe, but I’ve never heard anyone actually say it.

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    1. Speaking for myself, it feels like the weeks are flying by. Spring is just around the corner.

      Pre-Covid, we would schedule several trips to sheep and wool events around the region but the last couple of years many of them have been cancelled. We drove down for one at Amana in Iowa last summer but that was about it. If the festivals resume, so will we.

      We already have reserved a place near Grand Marais for a week with the family. You have to plan ahead for Grand Marais.

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  10. I’ve started to let myself imaging Husband and me taking a rail journey somewhere in any one of the warmer seasons. I think we could manage it with a private room (which includes your own privy and shower), which is pricier than we usually travel, but hey, we haven’t had any travel expenses for two years now.

    And there is gardening season in a few months, but somehow that seems a long, long way away.

    It is fun to think about just leaving the house without five minutes of bundling up. And washing the car.

    Liked by 5 people

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  11. This from Facebook this morning:
    “Hang in there. Within four weeks, the maple sap will be flowing. Within six weeks, the earliest migrating birds will begin to arrive in numbers. Within eight weeks, the early spring wildflowers will emerge from the earth. You will feel the warm sun on your face again.” Nick Stow@Stowecology

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  12. A group of friends is going to the Tall Ships Festival in Duluth in early August. We bought our tickets before Christmas. They were selling out fast. We wanted to go for a sail on one of the sail ships but those were already all sold out. We check from time to time to see if there are any cancellations and if any tickets for sailing have become available. We would need 6 or 7 of these though, and it isn’t likely we’ll get them all together. We’re going to stay in a vrbo cabin near Gooseberry, I think. It’s a very small cabin with one bathroom and 6 adults. I’m a little concerned about that but I keep telling myself to get over it. We are all good friends. I’m excited about that. Tall Ships has been on my bucket list for years.

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    1. My housemate/bestie loves tall ships (she grew up in MI and saw them once on Lake Michigan), and is longing to go to Duluth to see them. We haven’t yet because we’d have to arrange not only the cost of the trip and care of the cats but transportation as well, since I stopped driving when Kuro, my beloved Honda Civic, died. We’ll manage it one day!

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  13. You folks are an inspiration. At this juncture it seems a bit risky to be buying unripe avocados or bananas. But I appreciate your optimism.
    My only current long-range plan involves a dermatologist appointment on April 14th, an appointment I made back in December. Seems like dermatologists are in as short supply in the Metro area as psychologists in North Dakota.

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  14. I recently received a gentle plea for funds from my beloved Minnesota Fringe Festival. They are planning a “normal” in-person festival this August. In 2020, they were all virtual, in 2021 they were hybrid; both times I participated minimally.

    It is one of my favorite weeks of the year and I love hosting out-of-town thespians, not to mention the all-you-can-see pass I receive as a result of hosting. My favorite guests are planning on attending the grandparent of all Fringes, the one in Edinburgh so they won’t be coming. My other favorites had a surprise baby a few years ago so I expect that will cramp their style.

    It is fun to think of running from venue to venue in broiling heat.

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