There are snowflakes falling this morning, quite a bit of snow already on the ground, and spring seems far off, but there is a mandatory meeting on March 13 in the school cafeteria for all athletes that hope to participate in any spring sports.
Well--tonight the Academy Awards will be taking place in sunny California. Here in Minnesota, which is the leading producer of popcorn, we will all be watching to see if the movie North Country, will win an Academy Award for Charlize Theron. There is a big party at a nearby casino for folks willing to make the drive! The rest of us will stay home to watch it on television--and make our own popcorn!
St. Urho's Day will be celebrated with a brunch on March 19 at a church in a Finnish community just south of town. St. Urho chased the grasshoppers out of Finland and saved the grape crop. The actual day is March 16--the day before St. Patrick's Day. St. Patrick's Day will be celebrated on March 11 at the local Catholic church. That means we can all make it to two different celebrations.
We are quite ecumenical here in Northeastern Minnesota. During Lent, the Lutherans and Methodists will be getting together for interdenominational midweek Lenten services. The services are at 7:00 p.m. with a soup supper preceding them (except that on Good Friday there will be a soup lunch at noon). Various members of the community and churches will portray different persons from the Easter story. Our own Laurie will portray Rachel, a maid in service to the high priest, on March 29. We will either attend or get a full report the next day from those who will be there.
The local hospital has just completed an addition to the hospital part of the facility and the Emergency Room. The Grand Opening will be on March 18 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. They will serve refreshments which will include a chocolate fountain from a business called Fountains of Passion. Since there are no deliveries of babies in our hospital, this passionate fountain might not be the right thing to have at this time with so many of us suffering from "cabin fever!"
The Basketball Tourney starts here on March 6--it is our way of celebrating March Madness on a local basis for the girls and boys in grades 3-6 with 26 teams scheduled to play. The tournament lasts until March 17 and it is quite a big thing in our communities. The folks of the local Hoop Club do a great job with the youngsters.
Must be getting close to tax time--there are several ads for tax-prep services!
There are also several ads for tanning booths--a time when many are getting ready to take a spring trip to a warmer climate and want to get a headstart on their tans and for the high school girls getting ready for Prom!
The local school is trying to pass a bond referendum. The biggest issue is the impact it will have on everyone's taxes. The election will be on April 4 and many of us are wearing buttons urging folks to vote "Yes" on it. Several in our group have taken an even more expansive role in getting people out to vote on the issue. We don't talk about it at coffee because there are probably some in our group who are opposed to it and we steer clear of those topics.
The local movie theatre will be closed from March 11-18. The owners probably need a vacation but what are we going to do without the entertainment??!!
Spring is coming! The local A&W Drive-In will be opening soon. That is a sure sign of spring! There is hope.
Until next week . . .
