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Weinzierl Jewelers |
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Victoria’s Corner Bar. Nightly Specials and Menus. 952-443-9944 |
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8 First Street in Waconia. 952-442-2885 |
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942-443-2078 |
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Pediatric Rehabilitation Clinic. Occupational Therapy. Speech Therapy. 952-443-9888 |
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Huber |
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City of Lakes & Parks 952-443-2363 |
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“Trees Are Our Roots” 8099 Bavaria Rd * Victoria * 952-443-2990 |
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I've got a lovely, large, cream colored afghan, a long-ago gift from my mother, that is in need of repair. It's in need of repair because I use it all the time. I literally wrap myself in that afghan several times a day, sometimes to sit in front of the fire -- even in summertime -- sometimes to sit in Allan's chair where there's good light for reading, sometimes to lie on the couch and consider a nap. Is there someone to help repair my afghan? I can't tell you if it's crocheted or knitted or whatever because I don't know the correct terminology of such things. In my opinion, it doesn't appear to be a major fix. I'd pay for the service, of course. *** I was glued to the weather channel for many days in late August as Hurricane Harvey barreled down on Corpus Christi and other places along the golf coast of Texas. As events unfolded, I wondered if the forecasters and reporters knew that "Corpus Christi" is Latin for "Body of Christ." As I saw Corpus Christi being engulfed by hurricane winds and flooding waters, I thought about how the real Body of Christ is also being deluged and damaged by the catastrophic times of today. I saw Houston and other Texas communities experience what they have called a 500-year flood, then a 1,000-year flood, and, finally, the worst flooding in U.S. history. Epochal. Life changing. Noah built an ark. Texas needs more than an ark. Thousands of people are now living in shelters. A dozen years after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, parts of New Orleans are not rebuilt. *** We spent nearly a week in mid August out west in Tioga, ND, visiting our daughter Jenny and her family. Her coffee shop, The Red Moose Coffee Hus, is warm and inviting and busy. I'll put more pictures in my online album. Cute as can be. Delightful. The town loves it. I did not watch television nor listen to the radio for those entire six days, except for maybe a half hour one evening as I sliced and diced some vegetables for a summer salad. Instead of "the news," Jenny gave me a speedy ride on their razer in the moonlight through the trees and their boneyard, up and down the ditches and past the wheat fields. The next night it was on their golf cart. We fed their newfies, Goliath and Lucy, and Henny Penny, their lone chicken that survived the weasels. We made delicious suppers and watched fireworks that Christopher saved up just for us. We played many games of Cathedral, and although I won only one game and tied another game, it's my new favorite. Best ever! We also went to an open house at the high school and brought Gunnar to football practice and Addie to volleyball practice. Oh, yes, Allan and Christopher also remodeled a bit, moving Jenny's laundry room and plumbing across the hall. Those guys can do anything. *** So the last day when we got back to Victoria, Nan Emmer emailed that she thought we might have stayed in Tioga for totality. I emailed back to her: "Totality? Hmmm. You mean, like, never come back to Victoria?" She replied: "Like, eclipse." I knew a solar eclipse was moving across the United States on August 21st, but I had not yet heard the word totality. So much for being totally engaged with family and totally unengaged from "the news." So I went online and watched totality, and turned on television and watched totality, and looked out my window and watched totality. Pretty amazing. Everyone was caught up with totality and I knew why. It's because totality shows us the order of the Artist and the Artist's creation. We know it when we see it. *** In that regard, I came across a related quote today: "Visible and audible harmonies are actually intimations of that ultimate harmony which the blessed will enjoy in the world to come. The contemplation of such harmonies can actually lead the soul to the experience of God." To me, personally, that harmony of order explains why I am uplifted by a beautifully decorated coffee shop, a beautifully set dining room table, a beautifully framed print. It explains why I am uplifted by the Rocky Mountains of Montana, the ocean waves at Mexican resorts, the Black Forest of Bavaria, the Badlands of South Dakota, and the vast desert sculptures of Utah. It explains why I am uplifted by the fjords of Norway, the cathedrals of Paris, the Keukenhof Gardens of Amsterdam, the vineyards of Tuscany, the Austrian Alps, the Blue Lagoon of Iceland. Visible and audible harmonies are totality, along with the total solar eclipse, of course, because they speak of the order of the Artist, and also the Artist. |
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From the Editor |
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Dedicated to the sunshine of truth, the moonshine of meeting deadlines, and the starshine of Victoria. |
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The Victoria GAZETTE |
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Sue’s Album A symphony of photos and fewer than a thousand words at www.VictoriaGazette.com |
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September 2017 |
