I hope your New Year has been off to a great start.  Thank goodness it’s finally began to “warm up” to the balmy 20’s and 30’s.  I still find myself laughing when I see people in shorts at these temps.   I have lived in Minnesota since I was nine months old and I am still not totally used to the cold. But I would not want to live anywhere else!

We were in Florida last week, helping my hubby’s parents.  Daddy is doing well after the stroke last year.  He is up and about, doing gardening and surfing the Internet.  He does have limitations, but it is to be expected.

Wow, we certainly picked a banner week to go there!  One would think you could pack some shorts or sundresses, but we packed sweaters and wore our coats.  We landed in Florida to enjoy the tropical breezes that took us to a fabulous 25 degree temp at night.  And, it rarely got into the 50’s during the day while we were there. Poor Mickey!!!

Cold in Minnesota is a good thing; we have great snow and welcome all you snowmobilers to hit the many trails in our lovely area.  A long cold snap can make for a wonderful trip across the lakes or make for a scenic walk on the creek.  Patrice Winfield, a Duxbury resident, took her doggies for a walk on the Tamarack River this past weekend and saw many tracks of wildlife.  Coyote, turkey, raccoon and wolf abound in this piece of heaven.  She did give me quite a giggle as she mentioned that she fell through the ice at the edge of the river.  Luckily, it was just one leg and was not deep.    She said it did make for a cold walk home!

Our fire department continues to train; ensuring your lives and property will be taken care of if the need should arise.  Last week’s winter training was at night.  According to the Duxbury Fire Chief McCullen, they drilled holes in the ice to fill up their pumper truck. Having this dedicated group of caring people makes me sleep much better at night.

Mike and Shawn McCullen were in Chicago a couple weekends ago for a Sports Show where they were showing their wares from Fudally Tackle.  Mike said they enjoyed their trip and always look forward to chances to enjoy the “culinary faire” of the town they visit.  “Some people go bar hopping, but they go restaurant hopping!”  Can you say YUMMY?

Pat and Ron McCullen had a welcome visit from Roz Hannula from Annandale for the week.  Her husband Brad passed away before Christmas from health complications.  Together they were a staple in this area.  Brad helped to wire the Wilma Town Hall and was always available.  If you needed help, he was there.  Roz worked at the Duxbury Store for over ten years and would still come up during hunting season to help them out during that very busy time.  This is yet another testimony to the beauty of our little piece of heaven.

As I sit and enjoy the splendor of nature, my hubby and I have both cried at the terrible aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti.  We have been following it and seeing both miracles and sad tragedies makes your heart happy and heavy.  If you were watching you understand.  For several hours a couple days ago, they worked to free an eleven year old girl stuck on thousands of pounds of collapsed rubble.  After working for endless hours, watching her suffer, they finally freed her, only to find out that she died a couple hours later, due to lack of medical assistance.  This is so hard!!!  The people of Haiti need our help.  If you can, please contact the Red Cross or other reputable charities and give as much as you can.

Be thankful everyday and pray for Haiti, pray for your neighbors and pray for the world.

Thanks for reading.  See you in two weeks.

It’s almost Christmas and I am continuing my time honored tradition of waiting until the last minute and then panicking about shopping like I didn’t know it was coming. I am not sure why I find pleasure in this but running around like a chicken with its’ head cut off sure does keep me warm!

Well the Duxbury deer count was down quite a bit this year. In general conversation with various people, we hear it is because of the wolf population. According to Joe Vink, Duxbury Store owner, there were 301 deer brought in. The largest deer was a 10 point buck that came in at a whopping 250 pounds. Sounds like a lot of warm yummy meals for the winter! If you want to experience country hospitality, hearty conversation and timeless friendship, Duxbury is the place.

Paul Raymond, Wilma Township Clerk, spent several days in warm, sunny Puerto Rico and came back in time for the December Board of Supervisors meeting and to enjoy the “warm Duxbury breeze”.

According to Paul, he went to Puerto Rico twenty three years ago for the first time, to map out the western island for cable television. In the four years that he was there, he had walked out almost every town and village west and south of Arecibo, the site of the huge radio telescope. He’s made many return trips virtually every year since then. This last trip was to reunite with the pastor and members of the church he attended in Mayaguez, who were also visiting. He was able to tour caves, Indian sites, Spanish forts, cathedrals and museums, as well as the pools and the beaches.

I smiled as he mentioned how great it was to get back, even with the cold. That says a lot about our little piece of heaven; even when you can surround yourself with tropical heat, you can’t wait to get back. The love we have for this area can keep you warm, even when it minus twenty #@&% degrees! Ah, yes, I’m scratching my head on that statement, but it’s true!

Please send prayers of continued healing to the family of Patrice Winfield, Wilma Township Treasurer. Her father Hollis recently had knee replacement surgery. He is doing well and at 83 years old, now has two “bionic” knees, having had the first done several years ago. We are happy to hear everything went well. Ironically, Patrice took care of Paul’s dog while he was away in Puerto Rico and he did the same for her while she was gone, taking care of her dad.

Each year we all make wishes for the Holiday Season. Kids want toys and games and adults wish for continued love, money and inner peace. Old goats like me wish my hip will last another year! But sometimes the sweetest blessing comes from the return of a four legged friend.

In continued conversation with Patrice, she spoke of how her cat, Sadie had disappeared around July 4, 2009. Patrice came home on December 16th from helping her father after his surgery. She heard a meow; instinctually she thought it was her male cat named Dude. She called out “Hi Dude”, and to her amazement, the meow came again but it was different. She went to the sound and there was Sadie. She was skinny, but alive and oh so happy to be home. I could hear the joy in Patrice’s voice as she told me how she is catching up and eating a can of food a day. The male cat, Dude is also happy to see her and wanting to play. Sadie, on the other hand, is busy getting reacquainted with heat and food she doesn’t have to catch! Luckily for Sadie, she still had her claws and even luckier for Patrice, she had been spayed! No pitter patters of little claws to be expected.

Always keep your hopes up. Sooner or later we all find our way home.

I wish everyone a blessed Holiday. See you in two weeks (or should I say, next year).

The Christmas season is fast upon us. Thanks to all the stores it was a barrage of mixed holidays that came together so fast it made me visualize a turkey with a Jack O Lantern under its’ wing wearing a Santa hat waddling around in a vat of mashed potatoes! Now that there is only Christmas left before the year begins again, we can finally focus on one holiday.

If you are in the Holiday spirit or in need of a gentle boost to get there, head North to Bentleyville! We had our two oldest grandsons over for Thanksgiving and took a trip up North, last Saturday. Now to you “city folks”, we already live up North, but to us it meant Duluth! We made a few needed stops and were told by the proprietor of one of the stores of this wonderful holiday uplifting place called the Bentleyville Christmas Light Tour in Canal Park.

So about 6pm we went looking for Bentleyville. Well, we couldn’t miss it. The place was all lit up with lights that we saw from the freeway. We followed the cars ahead of us to Canal Park area.

Our grandsons were amazed at the many different scenes of the season, from reindeer, sleighs, carolers, and Santa’s, all done in light. At the entrance to the tour, we were greeted with coffee, hot chocolate and cookies. All provided absolutely free of charge.

Drinking our hot chocolate and eating cookies, we started the tour, following a well lit pathway. The walk took us through several tunnels of lights, each separated by different holiday scenes including one of my favorites “the twelve days of Christmas.”

Halfway through the tour there is a warming area which consists of about two dozen roaring fire pits where you can warm you hands, eat popcorn or roast marshmallows (this is still all FREE) . “Elvis” was singing a Yule tide song on the stage, while many others were in line to meet Santa.

The place is amazing, so if you’re looking for a wonderful getaway, that costs little or nothing, except for gas, just go north to Bentleyville USA. It’s right off Interstate 35, in the Canal Park area of Duluth. If you go around 5pm, you won’t be able to miss it from the freeway, because it will be all lit up.

This is a time that is particularly hard on the food shelves. Even though times are tough all over, I urge you, if you have the means to donate whatever you can to the food shelves. A child can be happy playing in an empty box if they have a full stomach. I know!

In the spirit of the Season, please drop a donation in the Salvation Army Bucket when you are out shopping or bring a donation to the Sandstone Food Shelf at 312 N Main St in Sandstone. Their number is 320-245-2485.

Be sure to check out DuxburyNews.info to give us your comments, see more photos, past articles and recipes. Thanks for reading