Bring On The Christmas!

Merry Near Christmas friends!  We are all set for the big day here and Tyson is barely able to contain himself, just waiting and waiting and waiting.  He believes that if there is snow falling from the sky and a Christmas tree in the house then it is Christmas--RIGHT NOW.  He helps unload the groceries in hopes of discovering a gift for himself that I may have forgotten to hide.

We attended the annual Christmas party at Jerry's.  All of the Angle and some friends from town come together for a potluck and White Elephant Gift Exchange.  From front to back on the left:  Big Rick, Jenny, Ava, Tyson, Me, Half of Andie, Rick.  Right:  Bridger, Pat, Brian, Nikki, John.

Santa hands out the packages for the gift exchange, which range from booze to candy to tools and back to booze.  Ava and Tyson were starstruck when Santa came walking out of the bathroom.

We have always had a fake Christmas tree in our house because I sort of like things tidy and clean and couldn't stand the thought of pine needles all over my floor.  But this year Tyson wanted to go out and cut a tree down.  Living in the woods means this is decided over breakfast and is just a matter of Dad going to warm up the Mule and Mom getting snow pants on the kids.  Then the 30 second ride out of the campground.

Tyson hauling our little 3 footer back to the road.  He found this exhausting and almost collapsed after a drag of 20 feet or so.

Everyone knows you have to bring your hockey stick on a Christmas tree hunt.  Somehow I live in the arctic country and have no ice scraper for my car.  On the first frost of this season I had to scrape my windows with a hockey stick.  Thank goodness there is never a lack of them around here.

Snow Angel

Our chariot to the great hunting grounds with our grand tree find in the back.

Kids getting started with the decorating.

The proud Tyson with his tree.  He's holding a paper towel because we had popcorn while decorating the house.  And when I say we had popcorn while decorating the house, please know that I mean Rick and Tyson ate popcorn and watched me decorate the house while the baby ran around unsupervised and destroyed any last square inch that appeared clean.  Everyone has their favorite task.

Later she was tired out enough that she had to sit and read and relax.

In other exciting news, there is enough snow now to snowmobile.  Andie took her first ride with her dad and was very smiley upon her return.

The ride only last about 5 minutes because her helmet is so huge her head sort of bobbed from side to side and she almost couldn't walk straight from the weight of it.  Luckily it doesn't take much to make her happy.


**I have been working hard this month to teach Tyson the meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate it.  Not the Hallmark version, the Jesus version.  When I tell him that Jesus loves us so much he wants us to have gifts on  his birthday, Tyson is sort of awestruck and looks as if he can't decide if Jesus is the coolest guy ever or the craziest. Today he made a list of his friends and is making them cookies and a painted picture.  (His list includes Grandpa Rick and Jeanette that owns the J&M store and always gives him a sucker.) Hopefully the spirit of giving is something he will grasp and have grow within him.

In church last Sunday, about half way through, he yawned and said to me, "All this learning about Jesus is making me sleepy."

Big Rick: Act 1

This is it.  The much requested time has come.  Last week I sat down with Big Rick at his house, just the 2 of us, for an interrogation.  The big interview of the Young's Bay Commander in Chief.  It took three and a half hours, some chocolate and 15 pages of notebook paper to get it all down.  He let me ask any question I thought of and answered them all.  We laughed a lot and I cried once.  Truth be told I expected him to be the tearful one-- and not just one cry, but a few.  (On Thanksgiving we were tied at three cries each.)  Some information will make the blog, some will only make the back corners of my mind and be stored away for a little laugh here and there.  I won't be able to fit all the information in one blog post, it will have to be separated out due to length and the time it takes to scan pictures and get all my information formed in to a read that is understandable and makes sense. Plus this always seems to be the time my kids are cranky and need to be cuddled.

So this information that will be posted.  Is it 100% accurate?  Is it written here in the actual order and detail it was told to me? Do you think Big Rick wants you to know every detail of his life? So many questions my dear public.  You know how rumors fly at the Angle and you know how the memory can change things. You also know that we all have our secrets, things we would have changed or not changed, things that we could still be arrested for years later, things we say we can't remember but would never forget.   And maybe even things we hold so dear that we keep them to ourselves.

Rumor has it there was some whiskey involved the night of the interview....maybe a call to the sheriff for mischief......Is there truth to any of that?  I assure you, I do not remember. But I can tell you this night is one of my favorites since moving here, so much fun and so much to learn. I love this man. This is the story as it was told to me and as it was written in my notebook.  I've said it before and I'll say it again: if my facts aren't straight, it's your own fault for checking them or knowing them in their entirety. These are the words of my father-in-law, Big Rick.

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Big Rick was born on Flag Island during a windy snowstorm.  They weren't able to get to a hospital, which would have been by boat to Kenora, Canada. Delivered at home by his aunt, he was a few months old before he saw an actual doctor.  His parents, Charles and Hazel, owned the resort on Flag Island and that is where he spent his childhood with a bunch of sisters.  At 10 years old, he was a fishing guide for $5 a day.  At that age he wasn't strong enough to start the motor on his boat and had to have an adult do it. He was known to put Poison Ivy in the woodpile at school so the teacher would get a rash from stocking the woodstove.  In 1963 he was in the 7th grade and started going in to Warroad for school.  (This is the same year our children will move to the school in town as well.) He was the dude (my term, not his) in high school---prom king, hockey player etc.  He also met Pat in high school.

L: How would you describe Pat back then?
BR:  She was quite spunky in her day.

When it was time for prom, Grandma Norma (Pat's mom) made them sign a contract that they would stay together.  She was trying to sew the dress and they kept breaking up and getting back together.  She wanted written agreement that the dress would be worn!

After he graduated high school, Big Rick thought he would never work the resort life again and attended college in the city, studying Auto Mechanics.  He and Pat were married in 1970 and lived in the city for the first couple of years. He thinks he was 20 years old and she was 18.  "Legal"--he does remember that.

L: What is your favorite memory of Patty?
BR:  There are a lot of them.  I got really lucky.
L:  She's known for being outgoing, though I don't see her as that forward.  Is she?
BR:  She can be quite feisty when she wants to be.
L:  What did she do when you got in trouble?
BR:  She might clatter around in the kitchen when she was mad, bang a few cupboards, but not more than that.
L: Did you ever get your payback?
BR: No, she was never revengeful.
L:  What put you in the doghouse, the worst?
BR: A few things.  One time I came home way too late and when she asked what I'd been doing I said, "I'm really tired.  Can I write it all down and I'll read it out loud to you in the morning?"  It did not go well.
L: Did you come up with that yourself?
BR: No, I heard it from someone.
L:Describe your mother-in-law, Grandma Norma:
BR: Wise, kind, thoughtful, resourceful.
L: Did you feel like you won the lotto as far as mothers-in-law?
BR:  Oh yeah, she always took my side!
L:Did you ever give marriage advice to your sons?
BR: NO.
L: Did you want to and just kept it to yourself?
BR: Yes.  But one thing I always wanted them to know is to think things through.

While living in the cities, Big Rick received a call from Charles saying that there was an opportunity to buy 80 acres at the Angle.  He knew he was tired of living in the city and all the people, so he borrowed the money and purchased the Young's Bay property for $5,000 in the early 70's.

 Young's Bay was homesteaded by Faye Young and had a couple of owners before Rick and Pat bought it. Faye ran the "Resolute", the boat that delivered the mail, passengers and gas on Lake of the Woods.  The boat also went to Kenora once a week.  It was an all day trip and you could get a ticket for $6. ( Today this trip takes about 3 hours if the weather is good.)  It should also be said that not just anyone can drive a boat to Kenora from here.  There are so many islands in between, it has to be memorized.  The Resolute was finally retired when the Coast Guard stopped allowing wooden boats from hauling people. Also, a road had been built in to the Angle by that time.  No one had lived on the Young's Bay property but there was an 18x12 wooden building that sat on it. Grandpa Charles found out that the taxes on the land were $110 a year and called the county to see why they were so high.  When they told him it was because there was a building on it, he said "Well it won't be there by the morning!" and he burned it down.  For those of you who don't know him, Grandpa Charles has a rather colorful way of saying things, so I'm sure that is a very tamed down version of what he said.

         
Rick and Pat's first house being delivered.  There were no roads straight enough to get the house to the Angle.  They had to bring it across the frozen lake. Also there was no road in to Young's Bay, that would come later. Since they had to build the resort from the ground up, Rick and Pat lived and worked at Flag Island Resort.  She worked in the laundry room mainly, but did various other jobs as needed.  Rick started up and ran the Island Passenger Service, hauling people between the mainland and the islands. He did this in the day, and at night he worked on the future Young's Bay Resort. The year was 1974. Stay tuned........

November Updates

Happy Holiday Season!  It's hard to believe we are entering another winter of freezing temperatures ALREADY.  Didn't we just kick off the summer?  What happened to August and September?

This was the snow level on Thanksgiving.  We have a couple more inches now and it is currently snowing.  It's 10 degrees outside and the overnight low was -8.  I am officially a shut-in now.  I have no need to feel -8 degrees.  Our next cabin reservations are in December for ice fishing.  While November has been an easy month of doing what we want all day....ABC's, the Hokey Pokey, playing outside when the sun comes out.....I'll be forced to leave the house and clean some cabins.  It's good to have guests.  This will be my mantra as I psyche myself up to get out the door.  It's good to have guests!  It's good to have guests!

This is Andie playing in the first snow.  Literally, this is all she did.  She doesn't know she is able to walk in the snow and pretty much stands in one place waiting to be picked up.  I suppose the 10 pounds of warm clothes may feel a bit constricting.  But it's so cute!

Deer season came and went.  We had to wear orange vests when we were out running to avoid being shot.  Rick actually took 2 whole days off to hunt.  He enjoys being able to go hunting right out in the back yard.   I've been asked if I will be hunting sometime soon.  Answer: No.  Nope.  No way.

We had a great Thanksgiving!  Nikki organized a Turkey Trot in the morning.  I can't remember the temperature, but it was below freezing and there was a slight breeze.  Little chilly, but we had fun.

Runners on the road, and the walkers are up toward the left.  We went to Big Rick's in the afternoon for Thanksgiving dinner.  We had a nice gathering of family and friends.  Lots of laughs and good food.

The new cabin is coming right along.  It has a partial roof now too.  But it may be awhile before you see it on the blog since I'd have to go outside to take a picture.  That is a level of dedication I cannot commit to at this time.

Tyson watching for pirates.  It's a concern and he has taken on the task of watchman.

Before the snow when Andie was able to motor around in her winter garb.  She may turn out to be just like me.  A sunshine girl not impressed with cold weather and snow, desiring a warmer climate. But I heard on the news the other day that people in tropical climates have a shorter average lifespan by 7 years from various environmental factors.  Check back with me in a month to see if I care about having my life stretched out by 7 years after a few weeks of Minnesota winter.

Halloween

We did a  few fun things for Halloween this year, the first time we've done anything since having kids. The first was a costume party at the one-room schoolhouse.  The students made invitations and included all the little kids in their party. Lots of great snacks and some fun games.

Here they are posing for the group photo.  This is a cropped version since  I don't know the parents of 2 girls in the picture, I better not post their little faces on the internet.  The hunter and the pirate shall remain nameless as well, just in case.  But the monkey and the fire chief are mine, and I give permission.

There were quite a few games at the party.  This is Musical Chairs.  A concept that Tyson can't quite grasp, as you can see him sitting in a chair that has already been taken out of the circle.  This didn't happen just one time, but repeatedly.  He hits his head a lot, what can I say.

Trick or Treating at the Angle is bountiful, to say the least.  We only went to 5 houses, but we came home with about 10 pounds of candy.  Since it's a small community some treats were very personalized.  Susan gave Andie some animal crackers since she can't have candy.  Grammy Nancy gave her a sweet little stuffed monkey for the same reason.  So thoughtful.   The picture is the 4 cousins at Al & Linnea's house while making the rounds.  This is a fun house for all to T or T.  The kids got hoards of candy, while the Mommies and Daddies got whiskey drinks.  TREAT!

And last stop of the night is the bar, naturally.  Jerry loves the kids and always has gifts for them.  So we would never leave him out of the fun.  That's Michelle doing the honors of handing out the goods.

Andie just went straight to the ATM machine (on the right)  for her T or T.  Smart little baby.  If you can't eat candy, might as well have cash.

Nikki, me and Bonny at the Monster Mash 5K Dash in Warroad.  We won 2nd place as a group for our costumes.  There were only about 25 other super heroes there.  But we arrived before the rest and got a jump on impressing the judges. It was a brisk 23 degrees or so that morning.  All the more encouraging to run fast.  Wearing a tutu also gives you a little extra pizzazz and hop to your step.

Nikki took first place in our age group (no surprise), but adding to the excitement, I took 2nd behind her and Bonny took 3rd in her age bracket.  We had quite a celebration when they announced the medal winners.  Apparently we also caused a little ruckus at US customs when we came in that morning because we were in "disguise" and Bonny has a new car, so we had no real license plate number.  Alarms were going off and officers were preparing for trouble, we could see them all standing up as we pulled in to the booth. Although we thought they were just checking out the crazy people dressed as the Justice League. Luckily we knew the agent checking us in and all officers were told to stand down.  Just another day in the life of your average Angle women.

Addition to the Reverse Bucket List:
1.  Breastfeed a baby while icefishing.
2.  Attend a Tupperware party in a bar on a Friday afternoon.
3.  Watch the sunrise over the lake that I live on.
4.  TAKE OUR SMALL CHILDREN TRICK-OR-TREATING IN A BAR.

World Vision

Yesterday Tyson and I were looking through a "World Vision Gift Catalog".  This is an organization that works with communities of poverty worldwide.  You pick out gifts to donate such as chickens to lay eggs, oxen to plow a field, Bibles, medicine, school supplies etc.  So I told him we were going to pick a gift to send to a needy family for Christmas.  First he chose a donkey for their travel, then he thought Bibles would be best, then we were on to school supplies.  After that we came across an article on Orphans.  I explained that an orphan means the child has lost his parents and we could send clothing or medicine, something like that to help. His response was, "Maybe we should send him a donkey so he can go look for his mom and dad."

Season 2, Episode 1

Due to a little nudging (some blog comments, personal emails, text messages, phone calls and 2 death threats) I agree to continue writing the blog.  This means that I will set a goal of 1 blog a week, but don't get disgruntled if it takes longer. Although I have plenty of time on my hands, I am having trouble sitting down to do it.  Thank you for all of your nice comments and making me feel important.  BUT--- when I am droning on and on about poopy toilets again or all the attention has gone to my head and my ego has outgrown the square footage of our house, just remember you asked for it.  You  brought it on yourself.  It's your own damn fault.

Also, due to high demand, I promise to interview Brian.  Soon.  As I've mentioned before, he is an elusive creature and I just have to catch him.

I owe an apology to Big Rick as I did not post anything about his birthday on October 24th.  Rude.  He, of all people, deserves to be blogged about and wished many Happy Birthdays to come.  Tyson gave him an 8-pack of mini Sprite's and some beef jerky.  But somehow I don't think that covers it.  I will interview him as well and get some history of Young's Bay on a few posts.  It's been my intention all along, just never did it.

There you have it.  My commitments typed out for the world to see and keep me honest.  I'll accept donations in check or small bills chocolate for my hard work.

Thank you,
The Editor

One Year

October 30th marked the one-year anniversary of our arrival to the Northwest Angle.  We have been official Minnesota residents for an entire year now.  How the time flies and how it does not.  Since all this craziness started, somewhere around June 2011, we have had some stress and some tears.  Some sadness and happiness.  Major life events and teeny tiny moments of realization.  In that year and a half we have experienced changes on the work front that started the talk of moving, welcomed a baby girl, put our sweet dog to sleep, watched the progression of my mother's illness, quit our jobs, sold our house, moved to Minnesota, adjusted to a lifestyle that I never knew existed, said a final farewell to my mom (my third trip between Minnesota and Washington during that time span) and dealt with the ups and downs of leaving my beloved home behind.  In the last year I have learned some things about life, about myself, about life's ebbs and flows.  Here is a list of some of those things.  Some Angle related and some about the bigger picture.  Some things I've known, but needed reminding.  Just some observations about life....From This Angle.

• The Northern Lights are worth getting up at 1:00am to see.
• I have given directions to my house here one time.  Everyone knows where I live.
• Lonely is a state of mind.  Sometimes you have to change your state.
• I have a quick gag reflex for kitchen sink drains and poopy toilets. 
• Very kind people live up here in the woods.
• Seeing a happy husband and spending time with my kids are worth every second of homesickness.
• Circumstances can change your life in the span of 24 hours.  The scariest decision can bring the happiness you've only heard from other people but haven't found.
• All women should join a Bookclub and a Bible Study.  Anyone who disagrees hasn't found the right women or the power of prayer.
• Mileage is not the end of true friendship, it is the proof.
• Dinner is called "Supper" way up here in the north.  Although if you are Tyson, it is called "Lunch", and so is every meal you eat. 
• Hot Dish.  In Washington, we call this a casserole.  Here it is called hot dish and it can contain anything.  The biggest hit in Northern Minnesota is the Tater Tot Hot Dish. It's known as TTHD at the schools.  This festival of calories entails ground burger, cream of mushroom soup, milk,  frozen vegetables, and tater tots all layered up and baked in the oven.  You want to see my family go to town on dinner, you serve up the TTHD.
• There is no one like your mother.  Be this good or bad, it is a fact.  We take things for granted in this life and mothers are on the top of that list.  Make sure you aren't topping your list like that.
• If there is more than 2 of something---can it, pickle it, or freeze it.
• When I ask where a town is located, 9 times out of 10, the person will say "South".  You can imagine my surprise-- based on my latitudinal coordinates.
• Fish scales stick to kitchen sinks really well and don't care to budge.
• If you need something for your house or clothing related, make it.
• If you hate birds, this may not be the place for you.  They are large in size and in number,
• 32 degrees in Minnesota feels warmer than 32 degrees in Washington.  The difference is that Washington doesn't go much below 32 degrees for very long.  Minnesota likes to dip it down low for a LONG period of time.
• One can survive without WalMart or Target. 
• You could even go so far as to say one could survive without a coffee shop or espresso machine.  But you won't hear it from me.
• You can miss someone the exact same amount in 1 month as you can in 12 months.  Missing someone  doesn't change based on segments of time.
• I am still the new girl around  here, based on not knowing how things work and what animal made that poop.  But I'm not sure I can be called the new girl on the block anymore otherwise.  I think it may be time to wrap up the blog and move on to another form of creativity.  Obviously that would likely be sewing or canning or bird watching.  
• I have enjoyed writing the blog for all of you.  Thank you for reading it and saying such nice things.  The people of the Angle have followed it all along and made sweet comments, even though my writing may sound ignorant to them.  You've made a new girl feel right at home.  
• I'm not ready to say my "home" is still Washington or that it is now Minnesota.  I will always include both if someone asks me.  My heart resides in both.

Duluth

One of Tyson's all time favorite things in the world is trains.  One of my all time favorite things is a little roadtrip and exploring this new state we live in.  One of Rick's all time least favorite things is taking time off.  So in the spirit of all that, we took a little trip to Duluth to ride the Northshore Scenic Train. This was a BIG deal for Tyson and we heard the word train at least 7,600 times on the drive to Duluth. Much of the time in the same exact question.  Mile 1:  "Are we going to ride the big train?"  

Mile 2:  "Are we going to ride the big train?"  

Mile 3 through 60:  "Are we going to ride the big train?"  

Then, when he finally stopped with that question, he started with "But I want to ride a little train."  

Sigh.

This is the outside of the building that houses the ticket window and a theater.  The train station is right below it (not pictured).  I just love how this building looks.  They were decorating for a wedding reception in the banquet room that is inside as well.  Never in my life did I want to crash a reception so bad as this one.  I imagine it was a beautiful party.

Tyson holding his golden train tickets and waiting in line to board the train.  It's an hour and a half ride, from point A to point B then back to point A.  It runs along the water and had some great history told by some guy over the loud speaker.  I think he may have been from the Price is Right.  Same voice.

Getting ready to leave the train station.  Kids all excited about staring at a wall because they are doing it from a train.  There wasn't much for a kid to see on this ride, but it was fun anyway.

Did you ever just look at your family and feel like you will burst with pride over how great they are?  I feel like that when I look at this picture. ** I forgot to mention that Rick and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary on October 6th. I don't have a clue what he sees in me, but I've got my claws in him now and he's required by law to act like he likes me. In my younger days, I wasted a lot of time doing stupid stuff and making terrible decisions that make me cringe if I dare think of them now.  But marrying this man was the best decision I ever made, and the beginning of other choices that have made my life what it is today, joyful and full of love.  Thanks be to God.

Here is Rick, obviously holding back his enthusiasm.  Tyson, on the other hand, cannot contain his.

This is the face of a baby that has put up with a long car ride, a night in a hotel and a train ride that she is growing very bored with.  This is the face that says you have about 10 minutes to get me off this ride before I make a scene that will end with your ears bleeding. 

There was a museum at the station as well.  Lots of old trains and information about how it all started.  It's a really neat place.................

.....for adults.  Our son was really more interested in the train track in the lobby that is almost identical to the one at his grandparent's house that he plays with ALL THE TIME.

                                      
Here is our darling little girl at lunch, in a bar, eating french fries, by a bottle of beer, with her brother on a bar stool in the background. Again, I could not be more proud.

Construction

Construction on the new cabin is underway!  We are adding a duplex, Cabins 6 & 7.  Just as the family at Young's Bay expanded this year, so do the guest beds.  Dirt work first.  Rick's Uncle Steve owns an excavation business and comes up from Warroad to help with the beginnings of the cabin.

Rick and Uncle Steve putting in the draining something or other.  (Tyson helping, of course.)  As you know, I don't know the technical terms for construction and I don't plan to learn in the near future.  Should all the men of the Angle be swept up in a tornado and taken away, I will not be the next in line to build things.  Sorry to disappoint.  I'm not even third or fifth in line to build something.

Tyson was particularly fired up about them covering up the pipe with rock.  Nice and loud and dirty.

For anyone familiar with our resort, this new cabin is going in right by the old duplex, next to the Marina parking lot.  Lakefront naturally.

The following week, the actual building started going up.  Big Rick and Brian used to build cabins for other people every winter, making them well versed in this area.

Look at that beautiful blue sky!  It has rained everyday since I took these pictures and the productivity is at a standstill.  We have reservations for this cabin next summer, so there is a deadline looming.

I will keep you posted on the progress of our new cabin.  And maybe, just maybe, I'll learn some construction lingo and throw it at you.

Wild Hog Run

The 1/2 marathon in Grand Forks was FANTASTIC. Thank you for all the prayers and thoughts coming my way that day. The Angle ladies stormed in on a Friday afternoon, did some shopping, had a delicious dinner and good conversation with the men and then pounded out 13.1 miles the next morning.  Success.

Nikki headed in at the finish line.  She is an avid runner and dedicated to her sport.  She lets me know about all the races coming up and has been a fun running companion, though we don't actually run together!

My big finish.  I am generally quite a distance behind Nikki.  But on this day I locked my eyes on her runner's buns and trailed her.  Between her steady pace and your positive energy coming my way I was able to set a personal best and take 14 minutes off my race time.  14 minutes!!!!!  To say I was elated about my final time would be an understatement.  We came in at 1 hour and 53 minutes, with some seconds on there.  Nikki was ahead of me by half a minute or so.

Post race drink at the beer tent.  This race was very well put together and had great gifts.  Not just the usual shirt, but also a glass with the Wild Hog logo on it and a free beer after the run.

2 happy ladies right after the finish.  It was a beautiful day and a great course.  We got there in the dark and freezing cold, but it didn't take long for the sun to come and reveal blue skies and smiling runners all around.

While we ran, Rick and John got some breakfast and did a little boot shopping.  They were there in time to see our crossing of the finish line.  John is a runner as well, but didn't get signed up in time and had to run on his own early that morning from the hotel.  That is dedication I tell you!

I post this goofy picture, even though it is not all that attractive,  for one reason.  This is the picture of pure happiness.  You've put in so much work and sweat.  Dreaded it some days, reveled in it on others.  Blisters and zits and joint aches.  Nervous jitters the days leading up to it, which can't be explained because you know you can do it.  You cross that finish line and have this feeling of utter and complete joy.  Especially this race where I surprised the hell out of myself when I realized how much time I had shaved off.  I have found no other occasion that can compare (well, except childbirth!).  For one day you have conquered the world and done something you know a lot of others can't or won't ever do.  I thank the Lord for an able body, the opportunity to share it with friends, the knowledge that it is all worth it and the mindset to commit and execute.