Facebook

Facebook has been giving me grief for the past several days. At first I thought it was just because they were doing another makeover, but after the first two days I knew there was more to it than that. I have tried logging on countless times, but it refuses to cooperate for more than 5 minutes at a time. To add insult to injury, Mom, Dad, and Toby are all able to get on Facebook, so I'm all by myself in this one.

So during the time that it has not let me on, I have come up with some great status updates that are now no longer relevant including the one about the person that thought I was 20, seeing someone with the same hairstyle as mine, my experience as my Dad's secretary, our terrific ad-lib play, having it snow in October, and my several trips to Duluth. Oh! And my awesome shopping trip to Kohl's. I have also completed a 1000 piece puzzle by myself, looked at all the blogs I enjoy at least twice each, listened to at least 100 Glenn Miller/Michael Buble songs, and almost called my best friend.

Hopefully, Facebook will let me on soon, and if not, hopefully I will be patient in waiting on it. Oh how I wish I had a laptop!!!
Lynae

Sisters

As many of my readers are already aware, I have two (2) sisters. But only 50% of my sisters are biological siblings so the other half is always flattered to hear that they look just like me. (Haha)

All two of my sisters are younger than me, which is cool because I read that a little sister is one's biggest fan, and it's fun to see some friendly competition over who is a bigger fan of Toby, especially for me. They are both encouraging and good sports. I have made a slide show of Lynae and me for your enjoyment.



Thanks for watching!

Snow

We have snow. It's not often we see it falling on green leaves. It does look pretty piled on the apples still hanging on the trees.

Most years, I love being out in the autumn weather, enjoying the crisp air and beautiful colors and heavenly smells and flavors. I love putting the garden to bed, walking the property to check the apple trees, driving through the golden glow of the sun-lit trees and feeling their amazing warmth, and taking the kids out back for bug-free evenings of fires and hot dogs and marshmallows. I even look forward to putting away the summer clothes and digging out sweaters, coats, boots, and hats, handing down the hand-me-downs and sending away the littlest people's clothes that have survived being used and outgrown yet again. It's a huge and overwhelming job which takes over half the house for a couple days, but I like the organization and the growth and change it represents.

But not so much this year. This gorgeous season has made it clear to me how much zest I have lost over the past few months. Maybe it has to do with the drastic downturn of our personal economy. It could be because I haven't been taking care of myself for a while, and chronic illness is currently kicking my butt. It probably even has something to do with the fact that I've changed seats at the dining room table since last fall, and no longer have a lovely view of the back yard. Whatever the contributing factors, I don't like it. When I looked out the window last night to see our first beautiful snowfall, there was no excitement. Not even a smile. Only a sigh. And that just won't do. Minnesota is too harsh a place to live without anticipation, joy, and wonder at the changing seasons.

And if October feels like February, how will I ever survive February?

By clinging to God... speaking of which, I'd better get to it!

Brothers

I have three very special young men as my brothers. Each of them has their own talents and weaknesses, and each of them plays an important part in our family. Of all my brothers though, today I would like to focus on my older brother Toby. Toby is a fabulous guy, and he has always been there for me. Ever since he met me 14 years ago, he has treated me like someone truly unique.

For a long time, he was my only friend, and over the years we have developed quite a special relationship. We tell each other almost everything, and of all the people I know, he probably knows me the best. Because we have been through things together, he can relate to what I am feeling. We often find ourselves sitting upstairs talking about what has recently happened, or laughing over things that happened years ago.

I have met many girls who tell me that their big brother is their worst enemy, and every time I hear that, I wish that they could have as good a relationship with their siblings as I do.

Friends

I've got a few friends, in fact if you're reading this you are probably experiencing one of the side effects of being one of my friends and should talk to your doctor immediately. Truth be told, I have way more than a few friends... I actually recently crossed the threshold of 1,900 friends on Facebook. And I'm making more all the time. The MN Trappers Association has welcomed me and given me a column in the quarterly magazine, and just last week they gave me the privilege or doing a weasel trapping demo. As a result, I am meeting a lot of great folks from across MN all the time, adding to my cache of friends.

I decided that "the good ol' days" are a pile of nonsense. When were the good ol' days? Basically any time one was hanging out with one's friends preceding the present time. Am I right? Isn't that why just about everybody loves "The Music Man"? Because we certainly don't love it for its morals!

I have made a short list of some good times I remember fondly, roughly in chronological order, for your enjoyment. Many of my readers will remember some of thes times as well:
The Youngs' house on Wednesday nights for Bible study
PACHEK meetings
Duck "Hunting" in the rain
Primo Voce
Sunday afternoons at Solid Rock
4H Livestock judging, especially at the Western Rivers Expo
Building PACHEK float for the Christmas parade
Trip one, stopping in NY and KY
Trip two, stopping in NY to surprise all the relatives
MTA conventions
Hiking and canoe trips 3 hours north of here
WI convention
MTA district meetings
Goofing off on Sunday afternoon just the other day... especially when we found a 220 conibear trap