Dexter Iowa Community Site

Consider this quote from Abe Lincoln

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

I think it is due time for some very random thoughts…

1. The cold continues. At this point even my best thoughts on winter are starting to freeze. You know, those thoughts of hot chocolate and sitting around the fireplace watching the pretty snowflakes fall outside your window? Yeah, not so much! I’m ready for spring to arrive and as soon as it possibly can.

2. Perhaps we’ve been spoiled the last few winters. I don’t really mind winter, and snow, but the cold is for the birds.

3. Speaking of birds, if you get the chance to take a drive up around the lower part of Saylorville Lake the bald eagle watching is really getting spectacular. And while you are up that direction, stop at the Iowa Gold Star Museum, which is located on the Camp Dodge military base, and is one of those really rare hidden treasures.

4. Oh my goodness, I just had the thought of sweet corn and a summer barbeque come to mind. Doesn’t that sound good?

5. As I was busy at another wonderful Walk to Emmaus weekend I didn’t make it to the Duane and Floppy Film Festival at the Iowa Hall of Pride this past Saturday. I did see a few photos of the event posted on one of the social media sites and it looked like a lot of fun. Now I’m not about to call anyone a bald face liar in this publication, but when Floppy was pulled from his position of honor at the Iowa State Historical Museum the public was told that Floppy was in need of protection and refurbishment, or restoration, or something close to that. In fact the powers that be, went so far as to say that he would be sent to….gulp…..Omaha to have this done and no one knew how long it would take. Floppygate continues as his presence at the film festival makes one wonder who was telling the truth, or if anyone really knows what is going on.

6. Valentines Day….in one word….Ugh!

7. Speaking of social media, there are times when I seriously wonder if I spend way too much time looking at selfies and goofy pictures of cats people post online, and then I stumble across pages that someone sets up for towns and cities. There are pages like “You might be from Redfield” or “Lost Des Moines” which really are chock full of interesting historical tidbits and photos.

8. If I asked you what a cake broom was, would you be able to answer that? I spent a wonderful afternoon visiting my friend Shannon last weekend and watching her make brooms. I have written about her business “Little White Lye Soap and Franklin Broom” before in this column. It Is absolutely fascinating to watch as she makes the old world broom and the craftsmanship is amazing. Look for her site online and make sure you get your very own cake broom, because shouldn’t we have a broom if we are having cake?

9. We should have cake…or pie. I made brownies the other night, which is something that doesn’t happen nearly enough at this house. After eating the entire pan in less than a day I realized why it doesn’t happen very often.

10. Finally this week, if you’ve been struggling with something lately, have you stopped long enough to be still and lift it up to God? We spend an awfully lot of time battling things that we really have no control over. We tried to control the outcome or figure out what deal we can make to steer things the way we want them to turn out, instead of leaving them to God and letting him work things out in his own way or to provide us with the answers. Maybe we all need that reminder of who is really in charge from time to time.

See you next week…Remember, we’re all in this together.