Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Thanksgiving family memories November 26, 2010

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I CAN’T IMAGINE Thanksgiving without family. They make the day memorable and fun and cherished.

This year 14 of us sat down to a turkey dinner at our house. That’s really a small number given if everyone from my side of the family attended, 26 of us would gather around the tables. Seldom, though, are we all together on Thanksgiving or Easter; that usually happens only at Christmas and never in my small, cramped house.

Anyway, Thursday’s get together provided plenty of memorable moments and laughter, some of which I’ll share. Others are best kept within the family. Here, for your entertainment, are some of those publishable moments:

  • My mom arrived with two cans of corn, soda crackers, cheddar cheese and other ingredients for a scalloped corn dish which she insisted I requested for my eldest. I kept insisting that I had not requested the corn and my daughter, who was called upon to help prepare the dish, kept insisting this was not her favorite corn. No matter how loudly my daughter and I protested, we could not convince my mom that we had not asked for the vegetable. Later, when my sister, L, arrived, we learned that she had requested the corn and that our niece, H, loves it.
  • The corn-requesting sister failed to bring the prune-filled fruit stuffing that is our mother’s favorite and which a certain sister-in-law detests. My youngest brother then shared that the first time he had Thanksgiving dinner with his in-laws, he told them he didn’t like fruit stuffing. They looked at him like he was crazy and told him they didn’t have fruit in their dressing.
  • That same brother wore jeans to Thanksgiving dinner. This is significant because, as his wife revealed, he has not worn jeans in some 25 years. They went jean shopping on her recent birthday and my brother bought not one, but two pair, of jeans.  I don’t know whether the fact that my brother is an attorney has anything to do with his two-plus decades of boycotting blue jeans or not. But I do know that he’s missed out on many years of comfort.

 

At 11:33 a.m. on November 25, 2010, my sister, L, had nothing to say.

  • At exactly 11:33 a.m., my sister, L, stated that she had nothing to say/was speechless. I was in the other room and did not hear why she said this. But, we all made a very big deal of this statement given my sister has never been at a loss for words. She always speaks her mind. A roomful of witnesses duly noted the time and I declared it a monumental moment in family history. (This same sister later threatened to light my vintage Thanksgiving candles.)

 

The vintage Thanksgiving candles that will never be touched by fire.

  • During an interrogation about any men in her life, my second daughter rolled her eyes. This did not go unnoticed and a brief discussion ensued on this inherited family trait. I roll my eyes, my kids all roll their eyes and my sister and her daughter roll their eyes. My sister-in-law says her kids are not allowed to roll their eyes. Uh, huh.
  • My husband failed to remove the foil cover from the turkey during baking. A pale white turkey is not a pleasant sight.
  • When I started whipping cream for the pumpkin dessert, my sister-in-law called her son to “watch Aunt Audrey make real whipped cream.”
  • My eldest brought a to-die-for cheesecake, which she whipped up by hand because she could not find the beaters for her hand-mixer.
  • Two of my nieces, a nephew and my son washed and dried the dishes. My 16-year-old, who towers at six-foot-one (or is it two), complained about the low sink.

 

My tall, tall son declares our sink "too low." That's as good a reason as any for purchasing a replacement for my vintage brown sink, don't you think? I would really like to win a kitchen make-over.

  • I made my sister and my middle brother and his significant other tromp outside in the cold and snow to look at siding samples for the front of our house.
  • My sister-in-law commented on the brown shirts my son and eldest were wearing and said brown was the color to wear for Thanksgiving. She was dressed in a button-up red sweater and a shirt she would have to button over if she was in church. She told me I was wearing an Easter shirt. I told her I didn’t care.

 

I have never pretended to be fashionable. I wore this "Easter shirt" for Thanksgiving because I wanted to be cool (I'm a woman over 50) and comfortable while working in the kitchen.

  • My brother offered $1,500 for a painting I purchased for $7 at a recycled art sale at the Paradise Center for the Arts in Faribault. I quickly accepted the offer for the Jose Maria de Servin painting, which is worth considerably more than $7. He quickly withdrew his offer, saying he was “just kidding.”

My bargain Jose Maria de Servin painting

  • Family members gathered around the dining room table after dinner poring over newspaper ads. None of us, except the momentarily speechless sister (see above), shops on Black Friday. She informed us that she enjoys the thrill of the hunt while regaling us with stories about shoving shoppers and angry shoppers in the parking lot. She successfully convinced all of us to stay home on Black Friday.

 

My brother and sister-in-law brought a stack of newspaper ads for us to peruse after dinner.

WHAT ARE YOUR THANKSGIVING stories? If you have a publishable story to share, send it my way via a comment to Minnesota Prairie Roots.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

A Psalm of Thanksgiving November 25, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 8:54 PM
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PSALM 147: 7 – 9

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;

Autumn window, Valley Grove Church, rural Nerstrand

make music to our God on the harp. (An organ will do if you don’t have a harp.)

Immanuel Lutheran Church, rural Courtland, organ keys

He covers the sky with clouds;

Train near Lamberton

he supplies the earth with rain

and makes grass grow on the hills.

Cattle grazing along U.S. Highway 71 in southwestern Minnesota.

He provides food for the cattle

Silo and cornfield along U.S. Highway 71.

and for the young ravens when they call.

So... I didn't have a photo of ravens. These chickens from Prairie Winds Antiques in Springfield will have to substitute.

I hope, dear readers, that your Thanksgiving, your year, has been blessed with music, with sunshine following the rain, with green grass under your feet, with food for your table and, most of all, with the love of family and of friends.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Holy Bible, New International Version

Photos © Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Bargain vintage Thanksgiving candles November 20, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 10:47 AM
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Vintage Thanksgiving candles displayed in my home.

 

LOOK AT THESE SWEET vintage candles I purchased in a Redwood Falls thrift store in August.

Now, if I was running this business, I may have waited to sell these holiday candles closer to Thanksgiving. I also may have priced them higher than 50 cents each.

But the shop owner neither waited nor over-priced these candles. I was fortunate enough to find and snap up the bargain collectibles.

My daughters think the candles are ugly and weird. I don’t share their opinion.

I find these kitschy candles festive. They make me smile. And I bet when I host Thanksgiving dinner, more than one guest will comment on the candles and ask where I got them.

In case you’re wondering, I will not put fire to the never-been-burned wicks. These candles are purely for decoration and for the enjoyment of those who appreciate ugly, weird, kitschy, festive candles.

 

 

An up-close look at those two collectible Thanksgiving candles.

 

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

A spectacular fireworks show, sort of July 5, 2010

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The most magnificent of fireworks displays, viewed by millions.

THIS WAS, WITHOUT QUESTION, the best fireworks display I’ve ever seen.

Multiple fireworks shot simultaneously above the water, exploding non-stop in the night sky like “the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air.”

I sat riveted, in awe, wondering how the pyrotechnicians managed this show, this exact timing, this magnificence before me.

Coordinated with patriotic songs like The Battle Hymn of the Republic and The Star Spangled Banner, this Fourth of July fireworks show impressed and inspired. I’d never seen such a spectacular scene on Independence Day.

Yet, something was missing. And, truth be told, watching fireworks from the comfort of a La-Z-Boy recliner in your air conditioned living room simply does not measure up to sitting outdoors on a lawn chair in a mid-sized Minnesota town watching fireworks soar, one by one, into the air.

For the first time in forever, my family skipped the local fireworks show, choosing instead to view the annual Macy’s fireworks extravaganza televised from New York.

Although the show ranked beyond impressive, I missed the experience of lounging outside, gazing at the expansive sky, anticipating each burst, hearing the ooooohs and the aaaaahs, the cheering, the clapping.

But I didn’t miss the mosquitoes, droning and diving, circling and attacking, and the reason we opted for a bug-free front row seat beside the Hudson River.

Fireworks over the Hudson River, as seen on my television from my La-Z-Boy recliner in Minnesota.

Text © Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

A WW II flag of honor reminds me of freedom’s price on Independence Day July 4, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 8:38 PM
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Four flags, including an American flag that flew in Iraq, stand in the narthex of Trinity Lutheran Church, Faribault, Minnesota.

FOUR FLAGS STAND in a circle in the Trinity Lutheran Church narthex—two American flags, the other two unrecognizable to me.

So I inquire on this Sunday morning, this Fourth of July, this day we celebrate our nation’s birthday, this day of independence.

The one flag, with the big blue star in the center and the smaller white stars along the sides belongs to Kathy, who manages the church office. She knows nothing about its background, only that she purchased and proudly flies this red-white-and-blue at her home along with an American flag.

But the other flag, oh, the large star-studded flag, draws the attention of many. “What is this flag?” we ask each other as we unfold the fabric to reveal a sea of stars on white fabric bordered by red.

The women of Trinity Lutheran Church stitched this WW II honor flag.

And no one knows, until Dave arrives and uncovers the mystery. It is, he says, a flag recognizing those congregational men and women who served our country during WW II. The blue stars denote all who served. The six gold stars hand-stitched atop six blue stars honor those who never came home.

Six gold stars represent the six Trinity members who gave the ultimate sacrifice, their lives, during WW II.

I stand there awed, really, that so many individuals from this German Lutheran church in a mid-sized Minnesota community answered the call to duty during a single war. My friend Lee and I count: 162 blue stars and six double stars of gold upon blue.

The blue stars number 162, one for every Trinity member serving in WW II.

Six young men gave their lives for their country. The thought of such grief within a single congregational family overwhelms me.

I feel now as if I am viewing a sacred cloth. I wonder how many tears fell upon this flag as the ladies of the congregation stitched these stars.

I lift the flag, gently flip the fabric to the back side and examine the even machine-stitching on the blue stars. And then I examine the long, uneven stitches on the gold stars, sewn in place by hand.

Hand-stitching on the backs of two gold stars honoring those who died. The outer row is machine-stitching, holding the blue stars in place.

Dave tells us the flag stood at the front of the church, as did similar flags at churches through-out our community of Faribault. Roger steps up, says he remembers a smaller flag in the church he attended during WW II.

And if Dave’s memory serves him right, this flag remained on display until the end of the war.

Today I am glad, even though also saddened, that this flag of honor has been taken out of storage and put on display. For this one morning, on this Independence Day, those of us gathered here freely to worship have been reminded again that freedom does not come without a price.

A view of three of the flags, looking into the sanctuary, centered by a cross.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

An Easter egg message April 5, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 8:12 AM
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THEY WERE, IT appears, trying to mess with my mind.

“They” would be two of my three kids—the two who were home to dye Easter eggs Saturday afternoon.

Dying eggs typically becomes a creative challenge in our household. Who can combine colors for the most appealing, or yucky, egg?

This year, though, the creativity was directed toward language, not visual arts.

My second daughter—the daughter who is home—is suddenly inspired. And as she writes her message with white crayon on a white egg, she is already giggling and looking directly at me.

This can’t be good.

As she dips the egg into the red-orange dye, spooning the liquid across the surface, the words begin to emerge.

She looks at her brother, encourages him to take a peek, all the while shielding her project from my peering view.

He looks and laughs a loud laugh of approval.

I am thinking hard now, wondering about this Easter egg greeting. Whatever the message, I am certain it is being written at my expense.

“Oh, I know, I know,” I suddenly exclaim. “It’s the mouse, the mouse.”

Although I do not guess her precise words, my daughter has written “Happy Easter! Guess who?”

"Happy Easter! Guess who?" my daughter wrote on an Easter egg she created especially for me.

The “Guess who?” part is all too familiar. At Christmas I received a plastic mouse from my cousin Dawn (although she doesn’t admit it) that repeated “Merry Christmouse! Guess who?” After awhile, that little phrase got pretty annoying. I suppose the mouse wouldn’t have been that annoying if my annoying kids hadn’t continued to torture me with the annoying mouse missive.

Now, I admit, they’ve gotten me again with that creative greeting on an egg.

Then, as I’m cleaning up after our egg dying session, I page through the Sunday comics laid down to protect the table. I find “Sally Forth” and a speech bubble that perfectly fits the occasion. The topic of the comic strip, surprisingly, is about Easter, albeit about eating the ears off a chocolate bunny

I lay the “Happy Easter! Guess who?” egg down atop the comic strip, next to this text:

“I’m trying to get inside my mom’s head…”

Focus on the speech bubble just to the right of the egg. It fits perfectly the motivation behind my daughter's Easter egg message, from my perspective anyway.

And they did.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling