Why I am voting and why I am voting Republican

We are experiencing a cantankerous political season.....with only a few weeks away from a major election-you might say-'why bother'- 'Neither candidate is appealing'- or- 'Does it matter anyway'

I grew up in a family that had fairly high engagement in local, state, and national happenings, so this included policy and politics. Listening to discussions and an occasional argument helped to form the opinions I have about this years election.

• The role of government is to protect its citizens from foreign and domestic attacks. This is one thing I can't do!  
• Some regulations are necessary, regulations should be limited, allowing farmers to farm and provide food, oil companies to produce energy products, teachers to teach, doctors to practice medicine without undue interference from the governement agencies.
• Safety in our homes and towns is a way of life we've enjoyed in the mid- west. Certainly, one of the roles of government is to vet incoming visitors and new citicizens for infectious deseases, intent to harm, and ability to abide in our country-live by its rules, and speak its language.

So yes, I'll be going to the polls November 8th. The Republican candidate, Donald Trump, has come out in favor of;

• A strong military
• Less regulation and growth of energy independence
• Support for police and law enforcement

It does matter- little kids should have the opportunity to grow up in a secure environment, feel safe in their homes, town, and community, and have the opportunity to own and run a business, attend college, and work at a job that provides a good living. 

The distractions we hear and read are a product of today's culture. If the person elected only focuses on these three things we maybe could actually enjoy greater freedom and safety.

October 1

October 1

Today is a beautiful fall day, the type of day we want to spend as much time outside as possible, so what do you suppose we were doing 10 years ago?
Laura- a student at Lisbon High
Elizabeth-  at UND working hard in nursing classes
Chelsey-at U of Mary
Kristin-teaching at White Pines Charter school in Idaho
Linda-graduate school-Concordia- so for sure I was sitting by the computer creating a masterpiece about something important in  the fall of 2006

How about 20 years ago?
Laura-perhaps playing school or Little House on the Prairie
Elizabeth-playing with Stacy, or working with geese, kittens, or creating something with whatever could be found around the farm.
Kristin-cross country
Yes, most likely we all would have been at a cross country meet in Valley, Cooperstown, or DetroitLakes

30 years ago is a stretch, but on a nice day like today;
Most likely we would have been combining a whopper of a bean crop, I would have been making lunches, Kristin would have been playing with neighbor kids, riding bike, or going for a walk and stroller ride with little Elizabeth. We might have driven to the farm and visited Grandma and Grandpa, had brownies for lunch, and walked around the farm, watching the trucks come and go with loads of beans. We lived in town so the ride to the country was a treat.

Whatever we would have been doing, I only remember we were happy and content, can't recall what the worries were at the time, but I am fairly sure there were some things that were a cause for concern.
HAPPY FALL, enjoy your day!

Changes don't come very easy for some of us!

April of 2011, Grandma Evanson moved in with us at the lake house. We said it would be a trial run, just to see how everything went. Well, it actually went very well. It's the fall of 2016 and we are noticing changes we wish weren't happening. 

The first year was actually a lot of fun, Gma washed and I Dryed dishes after every meal. When I baked, she'd help, we'd talk about all of the baking she did, gardening, and handiwork. Little by little her stamina gave way to mostly sitting and watching. She still tried her hand at knitting, and spent hours making a scarves. This, too dropped off, giving way to word search puzzles, the Gazette, and Forum. She treasured letters and cards and read them over and over. The golf cart ride was a highlight in the summer. Now it's unsafe to venture down the stairs.

She'd often ask is she got any mail, when I'd bring in the paper, I'd tell her, she'd have to write letters if she expected to receive any, she laughed at this. This summer there's been a change, she doesn't notice as much, or often ask about anything.  The bright sparkling eyes are less observant, and it's difficult for her to get around. Today Will lifted her from the kitchen chair as she wasn't able to get up on her own. 

She has an appointment tomorrow, it might be a UTI, or something else causing this change, or it might just be advancement of the vascular dementia.

We put a call into the cottages, asking them to Keep us in mind if any rooms opened up as we may have to have help, we don't know how this winter will go, but I'm grateful for the opportunity to have Mom with us these past few years.

Wondering

Just thinking about this past weeks visit, it seems a SIL is very hard for me to attain, the first 23 years of marriage there were a few, but didn't stay around long enough to create any lasting memories or fun times together. This past week, the visit included 2 BsIL. One never married, the other mostly travels here alone. So I wonder what the last week would have be like with a SIL? 

Maybe a walk, coffee, shopping, sharing? I guess I really won't know.

I believe that's why I feel so close to daughters. We enjoy all of these things and more when we have an opportunity to be together.   

                                                  For this I am forever grateful

Best white Tee

 I started packing for our "vacation"...... Noticed 2 of my favorite white tees could be freshened up, so I  washed them, without a second thought. They, however, came out of the washer with OIL stains on them???

The service attendant at LG hot line educated me......our top load high efficiency washer needs the tub cleaned with a special cleaner once a month (didn't know this) or hadn't paid attention to the owners manual. After a trip to menards I gave the machine a recommended X3 treatment (1 hour /treatment)

Google had tips for removing oil.....corn starch, followed by DAWN dishwashing soap, followed by vinegar......so we'll see how this works.  ( the shirt was from a couple years ago and is no longer available) bummer, I guess.

Birthday

As I was recently looking through recipes, I found a recipe for "filling for white cake"

Birthday parties were important events! Aunts Eva, Augusta, and Inga always brought food everywhere they went. So for all of our birthdays, they brought, among other things, the cake. 

The cake for kids and adults was always the same, white cake, 7 minute frosting, and this super good tasting filling. The cakes were always white, with a bright yellow HAPPY BIRTHDAY sign inserted on the top. This sign was used over and over again for every cake.

The filling recipe, is fairly simple;

3/4 cup brown sugar

4 egg yolks

3 Tablespooncold water

3 Tablespoons butter

Stir well and cook over low heat until mixture thickens. When cool add 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts. Spread between layers of white cake

Frost with 7 minute frosting.

This is a great combination, the frosting uses only egg whites, the filling used the yolks, nothing waisted.

Fun times and wonderful birthday cake. ( I didn't know it had walnuts until I was old enough to to ask for the recipe)