Saving newspaper clippings has probably, for the most part, become a thing of the past. The other day, I got some in the mail. My cousin, Lav sent me some old clippings her mother, Ella Sanderson Leckey had saved. They were tucked into an old Sanderson’s Store envelope.

The first clipping I saw was a picture of Grandpa Sanderson and his friend, Slim Leitze proudly holding a stringer of fish. This brought back so many stories of Grandpa’s fishing outings. I believe it was Slim who was with Grandpa the time the little aluminum boat got high centered at a dam where they were fishing. Grandpa had tall waders and hopped out to push the boat off the high spot. He slipped and fell and came home full of mud. I was pretty little and at his house that day. I saw him full of mud from head to toe and it scared me. I must have heard him say he thought he was going to drown because I became terrified of those waders. He had them in the front porch and I wouldn’t go into the house that way. I had to run around and go in the back door.

I wish I had a dollar for every fish Grandpa caught. I would be filthy rich. He filled up all the relatives freezers and when we couldn’t eat them fast enough, he started stocking other dams with his almost daily catch. I went on several of those outings with him. This was after Cousins Terry and Jeff H, and my brother Billy went off to college. They were his favorite fishing buddies. The Haverberg cousins got treated to outings when they were visiting from Michigan.

There were other clippings in the little envelope. One is a picture of the tear down of Sanderson’s Store in 1970. That one made me sad. There’s a clipping of Grandpa and two others when the South Dakota Parks Association was organized.

Aunt Ella also included a clipping of the football team when cousin, Terry Sanderson was in high school.

Who would have thought that I would be writing a blog about these jewels my Aunt saved all those years ago.

We closed on our new little home in Van, and now we’re in the process of furnishing it. So far, we have a bed. Our sofa and chair are supposed to be delivered on Saturday. It’s been exactly one year since we moved into the RV full-time, and what a year it has been. We’ve spent time traveling and standing still. We much prefer the travel part, but who can afford to do that full-time?

I’ve ordered sheets, a bedspread, a blanket, a shower curtain, a mattress pad, towels, and a set of dishes. All that will be here in the next few days. We’ve picked out furniture for the 2nd bedroom, which will be used as a den, and a table and chair set. We’ll go buy those in the next couple of days. We still need end tables, which we haven’t found yet.

This is all very exciting and very expensive, but we’re thrilled and very grateful that everything so far has gone smoothly.

We have a driveway behind the fence that was built for RV parking. We’ll bring the motor home over the early part of next week when we’re ready to move into the house.

God is good, and like I said, we’re grateful. I can’t wait to write more fun and funny stories and poems as soon as I’m settled into the den. It won’t be the same as the cottage I had at the other house, but I have a feeling the creative juices will be more forthcoming. Like I’ve said a few times here, I’m full of gratitude.

Don’t you just love Val’s stories. They are so filled with humor and truths about being 70ish. Val is the best cousin and friend ever, and I couldn’t be more thrilled that Those 70ish girls has turned into such a fun joint venture.

When I was growing up in the small town of Murdo, SD, I walked home from school each day for noon dinner. It was the biggest meal of the day. We had things like pork chops with corn, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Mom made pot roast and sometimes things like goulash or tuna and noodle casserole. It was all good, but my favorite thing was chicken pot pies with a baked potato. We smashed the potato and dumped the pot pie on top, smooshing it all together. Yum.

Kip and I had pot pies for our evening dinner last night, and though there was no baked potato with it, the taste of the pot pie took me immediately back to the days when Mom made my favorite.

Every school day after eating my huge noon dinner, I would usually get a quarter from Mom so I could stop at the Super Value Store and buy a few pieces of candy for dessert. I wolfed that down on my remaining walk to school. I still marvel at the fact that after eating all that, I could stay awake during Mr Applebee’s 1:00 o’clock history class. I’m not sure I always succeeded.

Food often makes for comforting nostalgic memories. I still make Mom’s lemon bars and my daughter Heidi often serves up cream o cheese o cherry pie that tastes just like the pie Mom made for her bridge club. I sometimes make chipped beef on toast, which is made with dried beef and cream gravy. Mom made that as a “jump up” as she called quick and easy meals.

What foods from your childhood do you still make? Isn’t it fun to let your tastebuds take you back?

I had a New Year’s Eve birthday, and I’m now 72ish. Although that’s a big number, I can handle it. My life has gotten pretty exciting lately. Let me tell you why.

After all of our big talk about being just fine with living in an RV full-time, we chickened out. It was just fine until the idea caught up with the reality. As referenced above, we’re not getting any younger. There will come a time when RV travel gets too difficult to undertak, and then what? What if one of us has a health emergency? What if the RV maintenance is too much for my currently very capable Kip? We need a home base. BTW, I’ll also confess that giving up our previous home base has proven to be a costly decision. Oh, well.

We put an offer in on a little house, and it’s been accepted. Barring any unforseen circumstances, we should close by the end of the month.

We don’t have one stick of furniture or duplicates of anything. We are keeping the RV as we’re not ready to give up the ship yet.

So why is the title of this post harmony? Well, a friend of mine asked a group of us to come up with one word for 2024. Harmony was the word I chose.

Harmony in human beings refers to a state of balance, peace, and coherence within individuals. It involves the integration of various aspects of a person’s being, including their thoughts, emotions, values, and actions. (That’s what the dictionary says.)

Good word don’t you think?

http://maryfrancismcninch.com/2022/12/11/those-70ish-girls-our-magical-sanderson-christmas-eve/

https://maryfrancismcninch.com/2016/12/21/murdo-girl-yram-and-the-man/

I read a remark from someone on Facebook regarding stuff. It said we shouldn’t be focused on accumulating things that, in the end, won’t matter. Why should we leave a bunch of “stuff” behind for our family to sort through and get rid of. “You can’t take it with you” was the point.

Though I am the queen of disposing of stuff, I do see the other side of it.

I remember going to my mother-in-law’s house after she passed. Though she had a massive amount of stuff to be gone through, some of the things she left behind brought back beautiful memories to those she left behind. Her children spent days listening to albums she had collected through the years. Many were family favorites that, to this day, mean something. She left behind photo albums and beautiful needlepoint pictures that she had painstakingly completed. There were other things, including pieces of jewelry, both expensive and costume that were keepers for the kids who remembered their mother wearing them. They were a part of their memories of her.

When Kip and I downsized this last time, I didn’t keep much, but even I have special memories attached to a few things. I kept a small wooden chest that has been in my family since before I was born. My brother and I remember the space it occupied in our old house. In those days, it held all of the family photos. That little chest survived a few moves and a flood. It is relatively unscathed. I really appreciate that Gus sent it to me after my mother passed away and he ran acrossed it in storage.

I also kept some of my Aunt Irma’s costume jewelry. I just wore a pair of her earrings to church on Sunday. I have some of Mom’s things, too. Gus gave me a Christmas sweatshirt when I visited him recently. I have several pictures of Mom looking festive in it.

So don’t toss out or give away all of your stuff. Keep a few things that your loved ones might want to look through. Your stuff might be a family member’s treasure, and they might appreciate reliving the memories of you and special times.

Thanks to everyone for your encouraging words and suggestions, which I have incorporated into my list of new ways to spend my time. Here is my list.

1) Some form of exercise… we walk the dogs 4 times a day, but we don’t walk fast. We mostly mosey along. There isn’t really a good place where we’re parked right now to walk a long distance. I have been thinking about doing chair aerobics. It can actually get your heart rate up and tone at the same time. I’m going to develop a routine and commit to doing it 5 days a week for a while and see how it goes. I’ll keep you posted.

2) Take more pictures. We’re not traveling for the next 3 months or so, but I used to take more photos of my humorous dogs. I can try to catch them in cute poses and write captions.

3) Forget about writing poetry, unless I get the urge, and focus on just writing prose. My stories can be about my everyday life and my successful or unsuccessful adjustments to RV living.

4) I get depressed when my living space, which is smaller than I have been accustomed to, isn’t neat, clean, and orderly. I will avoid being frustrated by keeping things in their place and cleaning more often.

5) Facebook… This one will surprise you. I actually love FB. It has helped me make new friends and keep up with existing and old friends. I have recently found my boss from 40 years ago. We have a date to talk soon. She was not only my boss, but she was a good friend. She gave me a wedding shower when Kip and I got married. I need to check on the friends who don’t show up on my daily feed and see what they’re up to. I love seeing pics of everyone’s kids, grandkids, and pets.

6) Write more cards and notes. I love getting mail, and it might give me a more cheerful attitude and help me to feel like I’m doing something nice for others. I’ll add to this… stay in closer touch with my grandkids.

I think the above is enough to get me started. One thing I’m going to have to get used to is being flexible with my schedule. I will commit to being mindful of my list, and instead of being woeful about missing what used to be, I’ll refer to my list and do something on it.

Thank you, everyone. (I’ll begin taking more pictures today.)

I’ve spent the last 2 plus years clearing out and minimizing. In the process, I tossed out, sold, or gave away a big part of my life. What I didn’t realize is that this preparation for my new life on the road left some empty space that, figuratively speaking, needed to be filled with something else. Is that sentence too long?

Thanksgiving and the beginning of the Christmas season have given me pause to reflect on what I can fill the space in my life with. How do I repurpose the time that I was accustomed to spending doing old familiar things with old familiar things?

I used to spend a lot of my time writing, which I enjoyed. I have been experiencing writer’s block for several months now. The poetry and stories are not top of mind like they used to be. I can’t think about the possibility that it might be a permanent condition. The thought of no more writing creativeness in my brain is unthinkable to me.

So what do I do to fill that empty space? That’s what I find myself thinking about tonight. I think I’m going to try to do what I’m doing now. Write even though I’m not having any spurts of creativity. I’ll try the fake it until you make it method. The question is, will anyone read it?

Since I can’t fill my life with the things I used to do, other than writing, I’ll find new things to fill that space. Maybe doing new things will help spur some brain activity conducive to writing. Do you want to come along for the ride while I explore? The first thing I’m going to do tomorrow is make a list. Any suggestions? As your thinking, keep in mind that Kip and I are together most of the time, we have two dogs that can’t be left alone in the RV more than a few hours, and we only have one car. I can get out by myself some, but not a lot or too often. I don’t want to negatively impact Kip’s life too much, either. There still should be some constructive and interesting things I can do with my time.

The pics of my RV Christmas decorations don’t do them justice.

By MG and Lav

MG: I’m spending Thanksgiving in Murdo this year. Not really. It’s just pretend. The nice thing about writing is you can change up people, places, and things and make them anything you want them to be.

I’m spending Thanksgiving in the house my parents built 70 years ago. It’s between the motel that used to belong to the Gonzalez family and the house that once belonged to Jack Mowell, the pharmacist and his wife, Helen. I think the motel and my house are now owned by Danny Iversen, and I don’t know who owns the Mowell house. I think at one point in time, it became part of Laura Hayden’s motel. (I’m not sure if I spelled Laura’s last name or Gonzalez right.)

Anyway, I digress. I’m having Thanksgiving in my old house and it looks exactly like it did 70 years ago. The furniture is the same and everything.

I’m making turkey and bread stuffing. None of that southern cornbread stuffing that they serve in Texas. We’ll have mashed potatoes and lots of gravy, sweet potatoes with toasted marshmallows on top, green bean casserole, Mom’s raspberry jello salad with frosting made from sour cream and marshmallows all whipped up after melting together all night, and jellied cranberries, just because. We’ll have eggnog, cream o cheese o cherry pie, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream for dessert. Oh, and someone needs to bring a relish tray. I hate the time it takes to put together a really good relish tray.

After dinner, we’ll decorate Christmas cookies while we enjoy a crackling fire in the fireplace. There will be freshly fallen snow…enough to make a snowman. I think I’m kind of conflating Christmas and Thanksgiving, but that’s okay.

Everyone who would like to come is more than welcome. There will be plenty to eat and do. I’m definitely inviting my cousin, Valerie. Someone has to do the dishes, right? How about it, cuz?

I’m adding lots of pictures of the inside and outside of my house. The basement is nicely finished, and there is also a fireplace down there. The pics are all between 60 and 70 years old. It’s kind of amazing that everything looks just the same, except for Val and me, of course. We’re 70ish.

~Lav: I am coming, Mary. Just gotta get my scarf, coat and boots on. Gotta get out the old door of the apartment and down those steep steps and into the sharp wind outside on Main Street, but I’ll be there soon. Takes me awhile since I’m 70ish. I’ll bring the electric portable mixer over that we bought at Sanderson’s Store for whipping the real whip cream. Plus I will be sure to bring an apron so I can wash all the dishes and help clean up. Your Thanksgiving menu sounds perfect. Can we have Coca Cola to drink? Or we could make punch. My Mom always bought a few bottles of Coke for the holidays. I made a relish tray with cold veggies and those little gherkins that I hate, but they look good on my Mom’s glass serving dish.

Later: Your 70 year old house looks cozy, modern and inviting. Your Dad sure knew how to design it with the planter out front, big picture window and breezeway next to the garage. I love coming inside seeing your beautiful brick fireplace, and all that real wood trim, balanced off with those bookshelves. It’s such a classy looking home. They don’t build them them like that anymore.

Okay let’s get ready. I think Mark is coming and a few Borks will drop by. Andrea said she would maybe stop in for pie and coffee later and are Bill, Liz and Gus coming? A guy named Ralph is too busy, he said. He and his millions of cousins are going hunting for pheasant down on the farm. Imagine that. You and I didn’t get invited to their family reunion. We never met a reunion we didn’t like.

I thoroughly enjoyed Thanksgiving. Thanks for coming over.

~ Oops- had to add a couple pictures along with yours, Cuz.

Okay. I’m going to set out the dishes and silverware. This will be the best Thanksgiving ever even if it’s just pretend. See you soon.