Category Archives: Gatherings

2026, Family, Gatherings, History, Uncategorized

Men In Kilts

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We are just back from our family gathering in Colorado. We stayed at a hotel in the Highlands Ranch area of Denver, close to Littleton, where Husband’s stepmother lives. As we were getting out of our taxi when we arrived at the hotel I saw an older man in full Scots regalia in the parking lot, including a kilt and bagpipes.

The Colorado Highland Games were held September 26th -27th here, and our hotel was the center of activity for a meeting of the Clan Hay Society. There was a load of older guys in kilts walking around the hotel lobby and eating in the dining room. The dining room had to be closed early on Saturday as the cook became overwhelmed by all the Clan Hay members dining there. We had to order out. We also saw several women in long dresses, fancy bodices, and animal skins around their shoulders.

Sunday and Monday saw the kilted guys again. Many were eating breakfast or just socializing. We even saw Lord Larry Hay, son of the current Scottish chief the Earl of Erroll, in the lobby. He was dressed in a suit. Husband’s sister in law is a Campbell with grandparents who were born in Scotland, and she was quick to introduce herself to Clan Hay members. She acknowledges the Campbells were simply awful people, but none of the Clan Hay members shied away or denounced her as a traitor. (She once had a Scots store clerk in Portland do that. )

The Clan Society members all appeared to be in their 60’s and 70’s. Many had long hair in ponytails. They looked so proud in their kilts and I got the impression they wore those kilts as often as they could. I imagined them going through airport security in their kilts on their way home from the meeting, and wondered what the TSA agents would make of them.

If I were to dress in traditional ethnic costume I suppose it would be Dutch, with Klompen and a pointy lace cap, and full skirt with a close fitting top. I certainly wouldn’t want to walk around all day in the wooden shoes, though.

How did your ancestors dress? What ethnic costume would you wear in public? Ever had to wear a uniform?

2026, Gatherings, History, Uncategorized

Reunion

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Last weekend we attended my 50th high-school reunion. Boommate and I were in the same class. There were two parties-one on Friday night at a local brew pub, and a catered dinner on Saturday night. The Saturday night party was held at The Lake, a small spring fed pond that has been converted into a picnic and camping area with indoor spaces for dining.

The Friday night party was held out of doors at the brew pub. Our class had tables reserved, but it was open to anyone in the community to come and hear the live band, get a beer, and eat at the Polish food truck that had pulled up. Much of the evening was spent trying to figure out who was who. The women were easier to identify than the men since male hair loss and beard growth really changed the men’s appearances. I could hear frequent exclamations of “That’s _______? You’re kidding!”

The Saturday night gathering was fun. Husband noted that not a single person smoked, even though much of the time was spent out of doors. The main organizer had displays of our class pictures from elementary through high school. We were the largest class to graduate from Luverne High School, with around 110 students.

I had only attended our 10 year reunion prior to this one. Some had been to every reunion in the past. For some, this was the first. It was interesting to hear people confess how anxious they were prior to the Friday night party, wondering if people had changed, worrying that the same cliques would be evident. I admit that I was somewhat uneasy to begin with, as was my friend Mary, who has an M.Div degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and another female friend who was a community organizer and mediator in North Carolina, and who has worked for years to get minority individuals registered to vote. The early lessons are the hardest to unlearn, I guess, no matter what you experience later on. I am happy to report that the cliques had disappeared, Everyone was happy and friendly and incusive. Phone numbers and Facebook addresses were exchanged. As one classmate commented “I think we finally grew up”. After 50 years I should certainly hope so.

Have you attended any class reunions? Why or why not? Are you in touch with high school friends?

2026, Automotive, Business, Food, Gatherings, Kids

Vroom, Vroom…

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Apparently, I am too easy to please.  Despite the State of Minnesota spending a gazillion dollars to entertain me at the fair this year, YA says my threshold is too low.  Why, you ask?

On Saturday, the company that watches over my investments (my, doesn’t that sound grand?) had a Shredding Event.  They’ve done this in the past but I was never free; this year there was space on my calendar so I filled up a bag of papers to be shredded and headed to St. Paul. 

It was an absolutely beautiful day and they had everything well organized; there were a couple of guys directing traffic and parking and then there were a couple more guys helping folks unload their shreddables.  Since all I had was one bag, I was easy!

Something new this year was a “car show”.  It was extremely low-key – about 18 cars, all just sitting out.  Each one had a tag with make, model and year.  Other than that, no other hoopla, although I did find a few owners standing around next to their cars.  I did ask before I took the photos in the header!

I noticed the red things (my car equipment vocabulary is not robust) on the wheel so the two Mercedes-Benz’ that were there.  Luckily one of the Mercedes owners was there so I asked him what the red things were.

He explained, in very simple words that even I could understand) that they were the brakes/brake pads; he even used hand movements to illustrate how brakes/brake pads work.  I asked why they were red and got the answer “because that’s what Mercedes-Benz does”.  Hmmmm.  Sounds a bit like grandstanding to me.  Another MB owner who was standing nearby commented that you can now order black ones.  Guess some MB owners don’t want to stand out? 

After seeing the cars, there was a complimentary food truck, so I had a nice black bean burger with kettle chips for lunch and talked to another couple at my table who were new clients.  Followed that up with some cookies `n cream ice cream and conversed a bit with my two financial guys.  Then I headed home – I was there about 30 minutes.  Have I mentioned what a lovely day it was?

When I recounted my experience, I got a big eye roll from YA with the comment that some folks are easily pleased.  I think that’s better than being HARD to please.  I had a fun time, had good reading time on the way there and back (CD audio book) – what’s not to like ab out that?

Any classic/vintage car stories?  Are you easy or hard to please?

2026, Food, Gatherings, Health, State Fair, Uncategorized

Nursing at the Fair

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We got to see the Emergency Services folks at the Fair in action again this year – NOT FOR ME. 

It was last Saturday, a seriously crowded day.  YA and I were feeling very lucky to have scored seats on the bench across Al’s to enjoy our malts when suddenly a man about 8 feet from us fell into the street.  Neither of us actually saw why he fell, just the fall itself.  I was just about to set my malt down and go over but immediately there were at least 8 folks surrounding him.  It made me think of a scene from one of my favorite films People Will Talk.  Cary Grant has taken over the lecture hall of another professor and during his talk, Jeanne Crain gets dizzy, faints and falls off her chair into the aisle.  All the other medical students jump up to help.  Cary Grant’s line is “Get back, get back. Quiet down, quiet down. A group of  Cub Scouts would know better than to crowd like this”.  I stayed put. 

I suspected from YA’s rapt expression that we were going to sit there until the situation was resolved, one way or the other.  When I asked her if this was the case, she nodded, not taking her eyes off the scene.  So I settled in. 

One of the people who had jumped in to help immediately was the woman who had been sitting next to me on the bench.  She knelt down next to the guy as they got him sitting up.  You could see her talking to him calmly; she kept a hand on his back the whole time.  She never seemed to lose her composure and when the first (and then second, third and fourth) set of emergency services guys showed up, she was the one communicating with them.  I said to YA “she must be a nurse”.  YA agreed. 

At first we had thought maybe heat stroke but then we saw the guy holding and rubbing his left shoulder – was it a heart attack?  Then YA heard someone say that the guy had landed on his new shoulder – he has just had shoulder replacement a few weeks back.  Ouch.  There were four different sets of emergency folks who came to the scene – it took quite some time to make their way through the crowds, even with lights going. They also were calm and assured; they asked questions, took vitals and eventually they were able to trundle the guy onto one of their gators and whisk him off.  Well, whisk probably isn’t the right word, considering the crowds.

I talked to the woman who had been attending to him and she confirmed that she was indeed a nurse.  I knew it.  Anyway, I told her that I had thought so based on her actions and I thanked her for her service.  Turns out that May 12 is International Nurses’ Day – I’m thinking we should have more than one of those celebrations a year.  So thanks to those of you on the Trail who are nurses or spent your career nursing – seeing one of your legion in action was really great.

Tell me about a nurse who made a difference to you!

2026, crops, Food, Gatherings, State Fair

On Line…

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Lines and I have a checkered relationship. 

When my baby sister was 14 and coming up to visit me for a week, I slept in line overnight to get Bon Jovi tickets.  When I had to renew my drivers’ license (and had waited too late to get an appointment), I hit the AAA office at 6 a.m. to get one of the 75 walk-in slots.  The office opened at 9; when I got there at 6, I wasn’t the first in line!  You all know I’ve sat outside of Aldis in the past, in the cold for 3+ hours for the wine advent calendar.

But the lines at the State Fair stop me cold.  I think I told the story about YA standing in the donut line last year; the donut concession has upgraded to a building (they were in an RV before) but the line still runs all the way down the street and looks to be at least an hour wait.  Pickle Pizza has opened a second outlet which helps a bit but yesterday at noon, the main outlet had two massive lines, each going in opposite directions.

Last Saturday YA and went up to the Ag building first thing to see the crop art.  We clearly weren’t the only folks who had this thought.  We got there about 8:30 (exhibit opens at 9) and there was a considerable line.  Then a staff person came out to re-direct where the line was forming.  She said that the “come early” thought must have gone viral because the long lines had formed every morning so far; where we were standing was most likely going to be a 2-hour wait. 

And then there are the Apple Fries.  This is a new food at the fair this year and they’ve gotten good reviews, but the lines go down the street and around the corner.  We’ve read on line that most folks are waiting over an hour to get them.  

Not sure if I’ll see crop art this year.  I’m betting money I won’t be getting Apple Fries either.  YA has waited for donuts and Pickle Pizza, but not me.  Even if I had a stadium chair (like when I waited at Aldis and AAA), I’m not sure I’d want to waste so much time of my State Fair day waiting in line!  Hopefully some day in the future, the line for Apple Fries will be shorter!

Any good waiting in line stories?

2026, Art, Gatherings, Mysteries, State Fair, Uncategorized

Eye Catching

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For years I wore my State Fair t-shirts to work in August – a different one each day up until opening day.  But then, for some reason, I never wore any of them TO the Fair.  I’m not sure why and I’ll admit I never really thought it was weird.  I have a nice number of flowy, tunic-like tops (you Blevins folks have probably seen all of them) and I usually wore those during fair days.

Then this year, I had several dirty projects the first week of August and didn’t wear any of my fair shirts.  This made me think about my pattern and I decided to wear fair shirt to the fair.  Radical I know.

On Saturday, I wore my newest fair shirt (above) in addition to a pair of earrings I found last year at a little shop in the Grandstand:

I don’t think I’ve ever unintentionally drawn so much attention to myself.  From the time we got in line for the Park `n Ride bus until we got back to the parking lot (about 8 hours), 13 people commented on my shirt, 2 on the earrings.  All positive comments.  And after a few of the remarks, I started to realize that a lot of folks were noticing the shirt, even if they didn’t say anything.  It was weird and surprising since only two people had said anything about the shirt I wore on Thursday.  And one of them was at the Star Tribune booth; the shirt was a Steve Sachs design…

I met a gal later in the afternoon wearing the same shirt and we had a quick conversation about the shirt and she said she had experienced the same thing I had.  I suppose the colorful corn dogs on the black background make it stand out more than most fair t-shirt designs.  The great irony is that I don’t even eat corn dogs!  Haven’t even tried the vegan one at the fair yet!

Wonder if I’ll get a lot of comments when I wear the corn design shirt with the dangly ear of corn earrings?

Do you have any items of clothing that have gotten remarks?

2026, Games, Gatherings, Mysteries, sports

Fan-Girl

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Who would have thought that at I, who has eschewed all sports for 70 years would become a fan girl?

Banana Ball caught my eye on Facebook last year.  They are similar to baseball although they have a different rule structure (games only 2 hours long, no bunting, scoring is different, trick plays are encouraged, tickets cannot be resold for a profit, if a fan catches a foul ball – that’s an out, etc) and they have lots of entertainment and silliness.  This is what I like best.

They sell out everywhere they play and you have to enter a lottery to even get tickets.  The lottery for 2026 was in October last year and by the time I entered, there was no hope.  I joined a fan group in the spring and it paid off.. I got a notice that a bunch of single tickets were going on sale.  You can’t believe how fast I got online and scooped up a ticket for this past Sunday.  You may remember that YA doesn’t care for Banana Ball so I didn’t have to feel guilty that I picked Sunday afternoon when I knew she would be out of town.

Driving downtown and paying exorbitant parking doesn’t do anything for me so I took the bus (love the $1 fee for us oldies but goodies).  Just a couple of blocks from the bus stop to Target Field.  It was a sell-out, 39,000 folks.  I was in the “nose-bleed” section – five more seats higher and I would have been in the stratosphere.  But I was right behind home plate, so a fabulous view.  And of course, these days, everything is filmed within an inch of its life so you can see all the action on the big screens as well.

From the Stratosphere

Some of the fun was the baby race.  Unfortunately most of the babies were more interested in crowd-watching than racing.  Just one baby thought heading toward mom was a good idea but still a very slow good idea.  Hilarious

Baby Race – Kinda

It was a close game and everyone was on their feet for the last two batters.  The Coconuts took the game—WOOT.  They are my favorite team although I will admit it’s only because I like their team colors the best (and their catcher)!  I had to buy a t-shirt.

The Shirt

I don’t know if I’ll ever get to see another live game, but I did just discover yesterday that all their games play on Disney+.  Watched one in the afternoon – they cut out a lot of the entertainment but it was fun anyway.  I definitely won’t stop watching the FB clips!

Have you ever been a fan-girl or fan-boy?  Any fan merchandise you’ll admit to?

2026, Family, Gatherings, home, Uncategorized

Coffee Klatsch

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Now that we are retired and are getting to know more people, Husband and I are participating in groups for coffee. We never had the time or inclination in ND.

Every Sunday after church a group of about 16 meets in the basement for coffee and cookies. Husband and I are the youngest participants. The women sit at one table and the men at another, and the men have to make sure all the coffee pots are filled. Conversation is brisk and somewhat gossipy.

On Wednesday morning Husband goes to a men’s bible study where they drink coffee, and then afterwards many of them go out for coffee at a local coffee shop for more secular conversation.

Husband now attends exercise class with me. The other men who attend the class invite him for coffee after class. He has yet to go but is touched by the offers. I had forgotten how much men here like to get together to talk and drink coffee. My father ran a coffee shop here for many years and it was always full of guys talking and drinking coffee. After he retired he met every day with a group of fellow WWII veterans at a local snack bar for coffee and treats. They were officially known as The Last Man’s Club. They even had by-laws written up. Governor Pawlenty’s wife came to Luverne to meet with them.

I have been more of a homebody than Husband, so my coffee klatsch participation is more limited. Maybe after my 50th reunion in September I will find local former classmates to meet up with.

Got coffee buddies? Any unwritten rules for participation? Where do you like to meet?

2026, Family, Gatherings, Travel, Uncategorized

Embracing My Inner Coward

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Today Husband and I are going to the local travel agent to have her make airplane reservations for a late September trip to Denver. Husband’s siblings decided that we all needed to get together in Denver for their stepmother’s 90th birthday. It is a straight flight from Sioux Falls to Denver with no layovers. The travel agent is a high school classmate of mine.

I am the person in our family who goes on-line and makes all the reservations, books hotels, plans things, makes arrangements, etc. I look forward to the Denver gathering, but I found myself strangely reluctant to make the plane reservations, and I put it off all week. On Friday I finally forced myself to go to the United website to book the flights and found it impossible to navigate. I told Husband that we were going through the travel agent instead. I felt immediate relief. Husband agreed. He doesn’t want the stress, either.

It dawned on me that I am tired of being brave. I have been a “do it myself” sort of person all my life, and I think I am done. I don’t want the anxiety that goes with independently spending large amounts of money on difficult to navigate websites. I spent almost 40 years dealing with other people’s crises in my professional work, managing suicidal and homicidal people, testifying in court as an expert witness, managing our move here, and generally dealing with and solving problems and finding solutions. I finally convinced myself that it is ok to let other people do the work. I am embracing my inner coward and relaxing!

Is it easy or hard for you to accept help from others? When have you had to be brave?

2026, Food, Games, gardening, Gatherings, Uncategorized

County Fair

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The last time I was at the MN State Fair was 43 years ago on our honeymoon. It has been even more years since I attended the Rock County Fair. It was always an exciting time, and it got even more fun after I joined 4-H. I did horticulture and sewing projects. When I was in Grade 8 I got Grand Champion on my terrarium project, and that led to my first trip to the State Fair.

Last week Husband, Boommate, and I went to the Rock County Fair. It is held in Luverne. Boommate hadn’t been there for many years as well, and neither of us recognized the fairgrounds with all the new construction and exhibit buildings. There was the same collection of carnival rides and food booths. The Rock County Pork Producers had a stand selling great bacon wrapped pork tenderloin. Like the State Fair, we also have a machinery hill, but on a smaller scale.

I remember my cousins showing their Chester White pigs at the fair, dousing them with baby powder to make them pretty. It was fun to be in the animal barns and see all the livestock up close.

We also toured all the 4-H and open class exhibit building to see all the prize pickles, garden produce, tallest field corn, photography, and 4-H educational projects.

Husband spent more time at the fair than I did since he helped the county DFL group set up their stand in one of the commercial buildings and hand out brochures. . My paternal grandfather was one of the founding members of the Rock County DFL party, and I am tickled Husband is getting involved with them.

Our fair isn’t all pigs and canning. The following photos show what else went on. I thought the cannon display was interesting.

I don’t think we will make it to the State Fair this fall, but the County Fair was a delight and I am really glad we went.

What are your early fair experiences? Were you in 4 -H or similar organizations? Ever been to a tractor pull?