Carrington Senior Citizens Center

Attention, Seniors (That means members of the older generation, like myself!): If you haven't been to the Senior Citizens Center lately, you're missing out on the great activities that take place there. Just this last month I attended two meetings which were tremendously informative and interesting.

The first meeting took place at their monthly potluck where they had two special guest speakers who served in World War II. Sad to say, we don't often get a chance to be around veterans like these nowadays. It was a great honor to listen to these vets talk about the trip that they took to Washington, DC, and to view their perspective of our capitol.

The second meeting that I attended (Monday, August 29th) was a special presentation by one of our local pharmacists, Matt Paulson. He has been going to the Senior Center once a month, talking to seniors about diabetes. You come away from his "Sweet Spot" talks with lots of valuable information about how to prevent or live with diabetes. At this last meeting, I learned how important it is to count and keep track of carbs (carbohydrates), not only for diabetes control but also for weight control.

There is one more meeting in this series on September 26th at 10:30 a.m. The topic will be "Diabetes and Immunizations." Hope to see you there!

Love Those Red Hat Ladies!

What a delightful group of ladies! I was having lunch at the Prairie Inn today when I noticed all the spunky women with colorful red hats and purple outfits. I thought to myself, "I would love to be a part of that group!" So, I took out my handy camera, went over to introduce myself and was immediately thrilled and impressed with the fact that they didn't run away from my camera, and didn't mind taking a minute to pose for me. They were all very gracious, and I found out lots of fascinating facts about them and the Red Hat Society.

Information That I Found Online...

One of the premier women's social organizations in the world, the Red Hat Society® based in Fullerton, CA, began with the gift of a red hat and has grown into a universal symbol for women around the globe as they victoriously celebrate turning 50 and entering into the next phase of their lives. The social message behind the first red hat has resonated with millions of women around the globe regardless of race, creed, occupation, age or socio-economic status. Today, it is commonplace to see Red Hat Society® members out frolicking and embracing life to the fullest in their now famous symbol, the "red hat."

How It Started

In the fall of 1997, on a trip to Tucson, AZ, Sue Ellen Cooper impulsively paid $7.50 for an old red fedora in a thrift shop. When a good friend was nearing a "fifty-ish" birthday, Sue Ellen cast about for an idea for an original gift. Inspired by a well-known poem, Warning, which begins "When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple, with a red hat which doesn't go and doesn't suit me. " She wanted to encourage her friend to grow older in a playful manner. She gave her friend a red hat of her own suggesting that she keep it as a reminder to grow older playfully - on her terms.

The symbolism behind the red hat had a profound impact on women Sue Ellen encountered. Those women responded by donning their own red hats and entering a new women's movement embracing a renewed outlook on life filled with fun and friendship, fulfilling lifelong dreams.

The Red Hat Society® was born. More....

NOTE: The ladies that I met today at the Prairie Inn were from Harvey, Fessenden, Bowdon and New Rockford, but no one from Carrington. Does this mean that there is not a Red Hat Society in our town? I would be interested to know, so if anyone has that information, please comment below.

By the way, if you haven't read Jenny Joseph's poem , which was the catalyst for creating the Red Hat Society, take a look:

Warning

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me. And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter. I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells And run my stick along the public railings And make up for the sobriety of my youth. I shall go out in my slippers in the rain And pick flowers in other people's gardens And learn to spit. You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat And eat three pounds of sausages at a go Or only bread and pickle for a week And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes. But now we must have clothes that keep us dry And pay our rent and not swear in the street And set a good example for the children. We must have friends to dinner and read the papers. But maybe I ought to practice a little now? So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple. Jenny Joseph

2nd Annual Apple Pie Contest: "My, Oh My! Love That Pie!"

Sponsored by Dick and Gail Paulsen, their 2nd Annual Apple Pie Contest took place on the evening of August 26, 2011.

Contestants and friends arrived and enjoyed the pleasant summer evening while getting ready for the contest.

Everyone talked excitedly about their recipes, while they visited and enjoyed a barbeque/potluck supper which preceded the event.

The Paulsen's daughter, Leslie, had fun setting the stage for the contest, artistically arranging all the entries on a picnic table with voting materials close at hand.

Next, everyone lined up to get their first glimpse of the apple pie entries, and proceded to vote on the presentation aspect of each entry.

As you can see from the photos, the apple pie for this contest did not consist of your traditional, flaky-crusted pie, but instead consisted of a liquid version that supposedly "tasted" like apple pie.

Naturally, in order to judge the flavor of each entry, everyone proceded to enjoy the next step of the contest which was the tasting of each concoction.

Since everyone at the event became a judge, there was quite a bit of circling the table, tasting-tasting-tasting, chatting and voting.

After this quite-festive part of the evening, everyone went back to settle around the fire, talk about the flavors of the entries, and wonder which apple pie would be the grand winner.

The Paulsen's son, Robert, built and carefully tended a wonderful fire which provided warmth and beauty as night descended around the group.

After a short while, Leslie appeared with award certificates and prizes and proceded to announce the winners.

Everyone was presented with a Certificate of Participation with the two main prizes going to Jody for the "best presentation award" and to Tami for the "best taste award." Tami also received the most points overall, so she received a special "Award of Excellence."

Believe it or not, I won a special award and prize, too - the booby prize! I think they felt sorry for because I didn't know about the presentation aspect of the contest, and it was my first time to make apple pie. Anyway, I won a cute little yellow chicken that goes "clickety-click" as it walks across the floor. (I think I'm supposed to bring it back next year for the next booby prize winner!)

Now, if you haven't had liquid apple pie before, I'm going to give you an average recipe which you can play around with until it satisfies your taste and you make it your own. It goes something like this: 1 gallon of apple cider, 1 gallon of apple juice, 4 cups sugar, 8 cinnamon sticks, 1 (750 milliliter) bottle of 190 proof Everclear alcohol. Mix together all ingredients except the alcohol, bring to a boil and simmer for as long as you like. Then when the mixture cools completely, add the alcohol. If you're interested in making apple pie, you can find all kind of variations of this recipe at AllRecipes.Com http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/apple-pie-2/detail.aspx.

All in all, we had such a great time at the 2nd Annual Apple Pie Smack Down that the Paulsen's are thinking of opening up the contest to the whole community next year! So... if you're interested in coming to the festivities, start working on your own apple pie recipe for the 3rd Annual Apple Pie Contest!

2nd Annual Apple Pie Contest Slideshow - August, 2011

Raptors Growing Up in Carrington, ND

Our visiting raptor babies went from white fuzzy balls of fluff to streamlined flyers in barely over a month's time. Now they're streaking through our neighborhood, testing out their flying and hunting skills. Mama and Papa are still watching over them.

I wonder if/when they will fly away together.

Falcons/Hawks Are Growing Up

Since I'm still not sure exactly what these youngsters are, I'm just going to call them raptors - since falcons and hawks are both raptors. Anyway, it is absolutely fascinating watching them get ready to fly. So far, they haven't left their nesting tree; however they are moving all around the top limbs, stretching out their wings and moving fairly rapidly from branch to branch. During the last storm with fierce winds, thunder and lightning, their mama and papa tucked them tightly back into their nest and stood guard on either side. Since the four youngsters are getting to be quite large, I'm amazed at how they all managed to fit into such a small space. Today they spent most of their time fluttering around the tree top branches, as well as eating the fresh meat that their parents brought to them continuously.

Raptor Babies Are Getting Ready To Fly

Publish Post

Today when the wind came up, I was afraid that the falcon/hawk babies were going to blow out of their nest. They kept raising their wings and flapping them like they wanted to take off. However, their mother was watching them closely, so I don't think she would let them get very far.

The youngsters still look like big fluff-balls, with dark spots and streaks beginning to appear on their front feathers. They are starting to look more like adults, but their tails are little short stubby things.

Sometimes when the youngsters start moving around I can't tell their heads from their tails. Also, it's hard to see exactly how many babies there are. There are at least two, maybe three. Soon, there will not be room for mother and offspring to occupy the nest together.

Bowdon, ND - Farmers' Market: Should It Continue?

Hi Everyone! I received an email from Linda Widicker, one of the organizers and managers of the Bowdon Farmers' Market. It was addressed to the friends, neighbors and supporters of their farmer's market, so I hope you will read the letter and respond to her questions.

Personally, I've tremendously enjoyed their market for the past two years. In fact, I've taken lots of pictures of their activities, featured them on CarringtonNews.Com. and received lots of positive feedback about their organization.

It was always a pleasure to take the scenic drive from Carrington, observing how the landscape changed as the summer progressed. Then at the end of the drive, I always found a variety of fresh, locally-grown fruits and vegetables which were in season. Also, I can't even begin to describe the pleasure that my family and friends got from the scrumptious pies, pastries and baked goods that I found there! Mmmmm..... the home-made breads! Made from locally grown wheat, flax and other nutritious grains... Hot homemade bread, covered in real butter... How can you beat that?!!!

Also, if you didn't have a chance to visit the Bowdon market in the past, you missed out on many talented musicians who entertained during the event. As well, there were interesting demonstrations, one of my favorites being the process of turning wool into all colors of beautiful yarn. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the Bowdon cafe that is attached to the market where you can get a wonderful homemade meal for a very reasonable price! Can you tell that I'm definitely hoping that the Bowdon Farmers' Market continues to be a part of my life!!

Anyway, back to my first request... Please take a look at the following letter and give the Bowdon community some feedback:

• "Dear Friends, Neighbors, and Supporters of the Bowdon Farmers' Market:
  
  Members of the Bowdon Farmers' Market met on Thursday, March 17, to make plans for the upcoming farmer's market season. The Farmers' Market has proved to be a good thing for the Bowdon community and folks have enjoyed the festive atmosphere at the Wednesday night markets in the gym.
  
  The markets provided fresh garden produce, baked goods, hand-crafted items, home-cooked meals, great musical entertainment, fun contests and door prizes, and informative craft demonstrations. They also gave Bowdon residents a chance to visit with each other and meet some new faces as folks from surrounding communities who came to join the fun.
  
  Our questions are:
  
  1. WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE FARMER'S MARKET CONTINUE IN BOWDON?
  
  2. WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO HELP WITH THE PLANNING AND ORGANIZATION?
  
  MORE WILLING HEARTS and HANDS are needed to make the 2011 season a sucess! Our hard-working vendors have the biggest task - it takes a lot of work to bring their fresh garden produce and hand-crafted items to the customers.
  
  Along with the vendors, we are needing community supporters and planners for the upcoming season.
  
  3. IS THE BOWDON COMMUNITY ABLE/WILLING TO HELP PROVIDE THE VENUE TO KEEP A STRONG FARMERS' MARKET OPERATING IN OUR TOWN?
  
  We are planning a short, informational meeting to discuss the Bowdon Farmers' Market on:
  SUNDAY, MARCH 27, at 4:30 p.m. at the Bowdon Community Center
  
  The meeting will immediately follow the Community Food Forum and viewing of the movie, "FRESH."
  
  The Food Forum, which begins at 2 p.m., is open to ALL.
  
  We would like to invite everyone interested in the Food Forum and the Bowdon Farmers' Market to attend either (or both) meetings on Sunday.
  
  THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST AND SUPPORT IN THE BOWDON FARMERS' MARKET!"

By the way, you can click here to see some photos of the market in session!

Visiting the Presidents in Rapid City, South Dakota

If you like statues of the U.S. presidents, Rapid City, South Dakota is an exciting place to visit. There are presidents hanging out on every corner of the downtown streets!! Life-size, life-like figures of the presidents in bronze watch the tourists and citizens of Rapid City as they go about their daily business. If you're not sure about the identity of a particular president, just take a look at the plaque embedded in the sidewalk nearby.

The project of placing presidents on the street corners of Rapid City began in 2000, with four sculptures being placed there each year. Each bronze statue was created by one of the following South Dakota artists: Edward E. Hlavka; Lee Leuning; John Lopez; James Michael Maher; James Van Nuys. For more information about this noteworthy project, and for details about each statue and its sculptor, take a look at VisitRapidCity.Com.

If you would like to see enlarged images of the pictures that I took (in the slideshow above), just click on a picture, and it will take you to my Picasa web album site where you can see larger images and download them if you're interested. I took these pictures on a cold, windy day in November, so they are in no particular order and haven't been enhanced in any way. Somewhere among the photos, you will even see a dinosaur that overlooks Rapid City, seemingly guarding the presidents. I hope you enjoy the pictures and have a chance to see the presidents in person someday.

Neighborhood Snow Walk

I woke up to see snow-covered trees outside my window this morning. I couldn't resist going outside to take pictures of our house in the new snow. For some reason or other, I just love the way our house looks covered in snow! It reminds me of an old-timey Christmas card... you know, like something from Currier and Ives. All our house needs is a frozen pond in front with people in colorful winter clothes merrily iceskating round and round and back and forth.

Actually, according to A History of Foster County which was published in 1983, there used to be a body of water called Willow Lake right in front of where my house stands on 1st Street today. There is even a picture of the lake on page 213 of this book - a book which was compiled by Lucile Zink and a dedicated committee of local historians.

Once I took way too many pictures of our house, I decided to take a walk around the neighborhood to see how our latest snow had treated the neighbors. It took me quite a while to slip and slide around the block, but I managed to get photos of most of the houses in our area. They all look so beautiful in the new snow!

Here are some of my favorite quotes and sayings about snow:

~ Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here. To watch his woods fill up with snow. ... ~ Robert Frost

~ The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found? ~ J. B. Priestley

~ Oh! the snow, the beautiful snow, Filling the sky and earth below, Over the housetops, over the street, Over the heads of the people you meet. Dancing, Flirting, Skimming along. ~ J.W.Watson

~ Announced by all the trumpets of the sky, Arrives the snow, and, driving o'er the fields, Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air Hides hills and woods, the river, and the heaven, And veils the farmhouse at the garden's end. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

~ A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water. ~ Carl Reiner

~ A snowball in the face is surely the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship.~ Markus Zusak

~ To live anywhere in the world today and be against equality because of race or color is like living in Alaska and being against snow. ~ William Faulkner

~ Then come the wild weather, come sleet or come snow, we will stand by each other, however it blow. ~ Simon Dach

~Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing. ~ Phillis Diller

Lights Out in Carrington!

Thanks to the man at the top of this pole, we finally got our lights back on Monday night! You have to admire someone who has the skill and fortitude to do something like this - especially in sub-zero weather conditions!

Since we moved to Carrington five years ago, I've been bragging to friends around the country about the fact that we've never lost our power for more than a blink or two. Friends and family in California, Missouri and Tennessee have lost power for days at a time. Otter Tail Power Company has done a great job of keeping us warm in winter.

I called Otter Tail to find out the cause of the power outage, but no one was available to give any details. Friends who were watching the Vikings game with us at the time said that it looked like a transformer blew out. Whatever the cause, it made me realize just how important it is to have reliable power in a climate such as ours.

Lucky for us, we just had our gas fireplace overhauled by Rusty Sherman (Sherman Plumbing, Heating and Air), another guy who is great about fixing things in emergency situations like this. So, we still had heat while the power outage was being taken care of.

Thanks again to the hardy souls who took care of us on Monday night!