We were in Cass Lake yesterday for a sobriety feast to celebrate Wallis being clean for 3 years. We also congratulated Laurie and Faith for their sober years.

The old house and splintered oak.

Kids know what to do with a down tree.

How old?

Mama's apple tree is gone.

Cedar perched on the old tree.

Geezis sits on the log.

Wallis reads her cards and receives gifts.

Cedar and Mya

Three young friends.

The old yard had been greatly changed by the storm and it was sad to see some of my old tree friends down and dead. They are all part of my history

I made my first trip to Cass Lake since the big storm. Terrible destruction but no lives lost.
On our return we checked on the five sisters and found one down.
It happened on New Years Eve 1991 that I helped organize a walk to pledge ourselves to recognize and celebrate the seventh generation.
My mother was not well but she wanted to walk as far as she could. She walked 7/10 of a mile. I told her how far when I got back from the rest of the walk and she smiled grandly. "One tenth of a mile for each of them," she said softly. Her eyes were bright with pride.
We were joined by many walkers but many left us to celebrate the New Year in other ways. Five of us, all female, completed the seven mile walk. At the end of seven miles there was a circle of five red pine.
We built a fire in that circle and prayed for the future of the Leech Lake Reservation. I called those trees the five sisters.
Now one of them has fallen in a fierce and mighty storm. But four remain to encourage us onward.

The small hall of Pigeons Roost is lined with posters to provide a more cheerful entrance.

So the tour of my abode continues with a glimpse into the small hall and a review of posters that adorn the walls and closet doors. Not allowed to paint or add wall paper so I add posters and photos.

The hall also contains a small memorial area which you will see later.

Switch plate covered with gift wrap to make it more appealing.

Small section of the plant poster.

The morel is represented on the mushroom poster.

A few of the birds on the English bird poster.

Posters from Paris.

Now if you ever come to visit you will know what to expect when you enter the small foyer.

The tour continues on second floor of Pigeons Roost.

Randy's pepper plant.

It actually does have peppers.

My friendly door mat.

Door lark looking for a meadow.

My eclectic door.

Brandon at the door.

Elvis at the door.

More Elvis at the door.

It has been a long day. Three hours of laundry. Then Cedar fell asleep and I had to stay home. She often arrives so tired she doesn't want to do anything but sleep. So I let her rest. It is the only humane thing to do for an exhausted child.
So we didn't work on wigwam. Tomorrow we have to hit it hard!

Yesterday I spent a wonderful day with Cedar. We had several stops but the one I enjoyed the most was the second hand book room at the Grand Rapids library. You will never believe the treasures I found waiting for me! One Hundred Best Poems for Boys and Girls published 1930, a gift from Aunt Clara to Evelyn Reinecki on August 9, 1932. Also a copy of The Book of Famous Poems. The book had been a Christmas gift from "mother" to Evelyn in 1932. This is the collection I purchased when I was about 7 years old. I still have the ragged old book and now a much better copy of it has fallen into my hands. Has anyone been better blessed?
Then we went to secondhand stores shopping for dishes and flatware for the Girlfriends Retreat. Now all we need are a couple of cooking pots.
She spent a quiet night at Pigeons Roost under the sky table and we enjoyed another beautiful day together.
We went out to Peg's and she got to play in Moose Lake with Peg's friends, family and grands.
Peg and I worked hard to cut poles for the new wigwam we are making on her property. It was a hot and sweaty job. Soon we were ready for the lake, too.
It was fun to see how the children enjoyed being together. They interacted graciously. One of the things they did was collect leeches. Then they poured them out and restored their freedom. I am sure the leeches hurried to find their relatives and told them of their adventure with the curious children and how they were shown such mercy. Later the children captured three frogs and soon they too were released to enjoy the pond where they are happily multiplying. I wonder how many frogs such a small pond can support?

Today we had a pizza party in the hen house. Gloria and I made pizzas. They were not cheap but they were exceptionally delicious. I bought the ingredients as I thought it would cost less. But it saved no pennies. We all had a very good time and all approved of our efforts. So high praise is our reward.

Here is our friendly kitchen. When we have a crowd we add the long table seen at the right and there are extra chairs, too. I added the puzzle art over the sink last winter.

Over the sink art.

Coffee club poster.

Roses and feathers by Cedar.

I painted this radio blue to keep it from being boring.
The label keeps it from being stolen. Or maybe no one wants to steal a blue radio.

Day two of the tour.

The front door has been more active during this hot weather as the sun does not reach into this shady place at all. There is a hole in the lawn that fills with water so it probably breeds a few mosquitoes. 

Front entrance of Deer Crest Manor.

Dorothy got the flowers. Cedar and I helped plant them. It is a pretty nook with a sense of welcome.

Mail room.

My mail box with blue label.

Puzzle art in ladies bathroom.

Laundry room.

Today we shall begin a tour of Pigeons Roost.

Back entrance of Deer Crest Manor

It's a gathering of empty chairs waiting for friends. We often sit together in the cool of the afternoon/evening to exchange ideas or make general complaints to no one in particular. We swap stories and most of the time we laugh at ourselves and each other. We are simply like other human beings who find themselves looking into the end of the journey and wondering if we made a difference.

My car has never been lost in a parking lot.

This is my seaworthy 1995 Oldsmobile, Juliet. She has been a loyal frigate and carried me safely to many near and distant shores. I require no crew to sail from port to port. When a wind from fancy catches itself in the belly of her sail we simply depart.  We set our sails without fanfare or even a glimmer of astonishment, for our journeys have been full of wonder and I marvel no more at what may occur on any given day. She is also capable of time travel... backward and forward, too.  Ah, well. That's another story for another day.

Broken T-rust.

Juliet is sick with rust but she continues to carry me onward and upward.  I cover some of her wounds with carefully selected bumper stickers so she will not be embarrassed by captions that do not appeal to her high standards. This is a particular favorite of hers for in 1994 I traveled to Chiapas and met with many of these stalwart rebels.

Three Marines

There are three Marines in the family now: Charles, Annie and Royal. 

Brandon

On the day before Brandon was murdered I had taken his mother/my daughter, Wallis to the store for groceries. On our return to the house, Brandon came out to help carry the bags inside. He stopped and looked at the Marine stickers on the car and asked if I would have room for his stickers when he joined the Army. I took him to the other side of the car and showed him where his stickers would be attached. He laughed softly and was satisfied. As I backed out of the yard he stood on the porch and gave me his beautiful smile accompanied by a grand wave and a smart salute. We laughed together. It would be the last time I'd see him alive. But I have put stickers on the car as I promised. This is the place where his military symbols would have been attached had he survived. You don't have to go to war to be shot down. You can be killed right in your own home town.

Do you have time for a dream?
I was in a really run down section of a large city. I was with a group of people I didn't know. We were excited about something and I followed the group up a flight of outside steps to a large but shabby room. As the gathering enlarged many bags of food were brought in and in anticipation of a mess I went to find wastebaskets. I located a couple of pails in an extremely small laundry room. As I moved the pails something fell off the shelf and behind the washer. I heard it tumbling down the steps and knew I would not be able to retrieve it. So I placed the pails near the food table and sat on a large comfy chair. It was a really hideous brown plush fabric.
I began to see that we were planning a protest rally. I didn't know enough about it to offer any ideas. Then all the women with children left. I was feeling out of place when the door burst open and in walked Ann Mikkelsen. She was wearing a beautiful exotic dress. The dress was full but not sloppy with fabric. It was a gorgeous bright rose with tiny brown and gold designs organized neatly throughout. The insert at the neck and around the hem was a brown, gold and rose paisley in a small pattern.
"Come on," she said, "I want you to see something." I followed her out but when we got to the bottom of the steps I realized I had left my purses inside. She said she would get them and hurried up the steps. Then my dog Jojo showed up and was playing with a young fox. When the fox started to run away so did Jojo! I followed them and we discovered two more fox. After a few minutes we returned to the steps and Ann came down with my three or four purses! Jojo leaped up on the handrail and walked to the top of the steps and down again! Ann and I laughed at his silly antics.

Mary and Ann with the flying pot

When I asked her what we were looking for she caught my hand and hurried me around the building to a line of laundry. She told me that these were our clothes and we should take them before they disappeared again. I quickly began removing the items from the line but I didn't recognize anything. They were very nice feminine garments in very attractive colors so I imagine she was right. These are the kind of clothes we would enjoy wearing. We hung them over our arms and began walking away together. When I woke up I could still feel the garments in my arms. They felt cool and slightly damp.

I had just stepped out of the bathroom and he was standing before me. He was wearing black swim trunks and water was running out of his hair. He stood there dripping wet. He gave me the sweetest smile and held his arms out to me. He seemed to be about 14. I stepped into his embrace. He was wet and cold and so real. I could feel him breathing. I began to cry. Great awful choking sobs. Over his shoulder I saw John and Annie watching me. Their eyes were large with astonishment.
At last I released him and looked up at him. Now he was a man. I'm sure he was about 25. He smiled and touched my face. Then he stepped around me and into the bathroom. At that point I realized I was in John's mobile home on the Oak Point Road.
Suddenly I was upset. I walked toward John and said, "He's been here all the time and you told no one! How could you be so hateful? Does he live here?"
"No," John said.
"Where did he come from?" I persisted.
"He isn't here," John told me.
"I saw him! He's real. You saw him."
Then I looked at the floor and found it dry. I looked into the bathroom and found it empty.
"Get her out of here," John told Annie.
"Come on, Mom. I'll take you home."
"Didn't you see him?" I whispered. "It was Brandon."
"It was no one." she said.
I woke up sad and confused. I was alone. How can a dream be so real?

Image of Brandon at about eight years old.

Today I made two pies for the 2PM pie party. We had a full table. Even Cedar showed up. She had requested apple. Ed favored banana cream. Gloria said she will make the pies next time. Then Dorothy said she will make pies for a future party.

I have begun calling the Community Room the Hen House. Today I made a sign and will put it on the door and see who complains. I think it will be one of the roosters.

Today I have decided to share the adventure of the buffalo box. Several years ago I joined a group of intrepid women who aspired to complete a collection of exquisite quilled birch bark boxes. Our instructor was Dorothy Jenkins.
This is the box I made. I was trying to make the buffalo more textured and give him a good glossy horn. As I went along with the plan I showed it to Dorothy and she said, "I see where you are going with this."

This is all the farther I got with the bottom. I see at least one quill has escaped. Dorothy has since passed on and she probably thought I had finished the task she'd left for me. So from the side you can see the completed top and the bottom still wanting.

Then you might want to know what I keep in this box. A five-petaled flower beaded by Mamie Garbo Humphrey, a sweet grass turtle, my grandmother Frances Roberts Vanoss' scapula which is kept in an anacin tin and a pair of tiny moccasins made for my Aunt Geraldine Vanoss Fairbanks by my great grandmother Fanny Smith Roberts.
So there it is, the whole story of my wonderful unfinished buffalo box. I am quite sure I will not attempt a second.

Before the storm of yesterday I created this lamp of broken glass. It is a glowing masterpiece. I am taking it to the Redd Shedd where I will be spending a lot of time after surgery. The doctor doesn't think I can make the 18 steps up to my apartment for until at least two weeks after surgery. He is worried I might trip, fall, break stitches and end up in a bad way. So I have begun to make the Redd Shedd into a nice place to recuperate.
I will have three days in hospital followed by five days of rehab. The insurance does not cover more time so Annie has provided me with a ground level shelter.
Today I was out there cleaning windows, sweeping and rearranging furniture. Cedar was a great help. She is my number one girlfriend. She is helpful, creative and persistent. She and I have renamed the Redd Shedd, Girlfriend's Retreat but the new title has not been accepted by others.
Tomorrow I hope to clean up around the chimney and wood stove. It is very nasty in that area due to leak in roof. The chimney is on the inside of the building. It would have been better on the outside but so it is and I must deal with it.
There is a beautiful moon walking across the sky. She is peeking in on me and I was enjoying a nocturnal moon bath when I got up to try to connect to the internet.

Annie called and said we were meeting David and friends in Park Rapids for late breakfast. We had a nice drive over and got there early so went to shop at the Lazy One store. We were on our way to Ben  Franklin when David called to tell us they were waiting at McDonald's. We hustled over and decided it was too late for breakfast and we would have dinner instead.
We ended up at the Four Seas where we ate, and talked and laughed and shared our humanity.
The waitress took our photo. Left to right: Sammy, David, me, Cedar, Juanita, Annie and Geezis.
It was hard to say goodbye but we planned to meet again somewhere on the earth journey. Juanita was going to get off at Motley but David and Sammy were driving to Racine, WI.
We headed toward home and stopped at A-frame. I got my old camp fire cooking stove. Also a small table, an oil lamp and my coleman gas lantern. Cedar and I are trying to fix up Girlfriend's Retreat and the War Pony, too.

When I got back to the flat I was kind of sick but had planned the ice cram party and so I got right on that. I was the first to leave as I was feeling poorly. Had a headache and my face hurt. Laid on ice pack and fell asleep. Got up to take Mr C out and had a cup of coffee. Feeling like a new woman now!
However, as we sat in common room I saw something on the street. Upon further investigation found it was a large mud turtle. It had been run over by a vehicle driven by an underdeveloped person. Eggs had been pushed out of her. She was dying. It takes a long time for a turtle to die. So I got a shovel and a rake. Then Ed picked her up and carried her to the big spruce tree. He laid her in the friendly shade. I noticed that he did it in a respectful manner. I had to appreciate that.
My friend Ann was catching some rays in Xalapa today and sent photo.