Blog | Julie Saffrin

The Dodge Brothers, ABBA, and my first car

May 14, 2015 • Julie Saffrin • 2 Comments

Bring up the subject of one’s first car and you’ll be taken for a ride. In my case, down Memory Lane. I don’t think Dad had a clue what he faced taking his only and firstborn daughter car-shopping in 1978 to “Larry Reid’s Chrysler Plymouth and Dodge” ( hear their jingle here) in Bloomington, Minnesota on Penn Avenue, except to say that I remember him saying he “liked the Dodge Brothers.” Turns out I did too when, in the used car lot, I laid eyes on an orange car with a white roof. Before Dad could say, “I think we…

The Best Bean Salsa Ever

May 12, 2015 • Julie Saffrin • Leave a Comment

No matter the season, you will love the vibrant, al fresco feel to this Bean Salsa Recipe. My family eats it with tortilla chips as well as a meal in itself. Enjoy! Bean Salsa recipe by Jessy Olsen Makes: a lot Ingredients Veggies, Herbs and Beans and Sweet Corn 1 can 15 oz black beans, drained 1 can 15 oz pinto beans, drained 1 can 15 oz kidney beans, drained 1 can 15 oz garbanzo beans, drained 4 stalks celery, chopped 1 bag fresh sweet corn, thawed (or not, if you’re not going to serve it immediately) 1 sweet onion,…

Day 8 Favorite Movie Line for Moments in May 2015 Challenge

May 8, 2015 • Julie Saffrin • Leave a Comment

“Fester and rot.” Kate to Luc in French Kiss The romantic comedy French Kiss released in 1995. I can hardly believe the movie’s twenty years old. The film is perfectly cast and allows the stars’ talents to shine. It stars Meg Ryan, who plays Kate, a jolted young woman who flies to France, determined to win back her fiancée (Timothy Hutton), and Kevin Kline, who plays Luc, a Frenchman who is cunning and highly motivated to help Kate on her quest. The wonderful Jean Reno also plays an important role in this delightful film. While there are many quotable lines…

Day 7 Throw Back Thursday Favorite Vacation Memory for Moments in May 2015 Challenge

May 7, 2015 • Julie Saffrin • Leave a Comment

Kalalau canyon | http:'//juliesaffrin.com

Planned vacations dangle. Make us wait like quivering whiskered rabbits. Two months away. Only a week before we leave. Some vacations are relaxing. Some, like my and my husband’s March 2014 trip to Kaua’i, was a planned adventure. The encounter with the island left me a changed girl. The day before we’re set to leave, we check in, confirm our seats, re-sort what to take, refill travel bottles and, new for me, pack hiking boots. We plan to see secret beaches, the second Grand Canyon, a presence of year-round summer-like temperatures and sunshine, fog, some snorkeling, some hikes, and a…

Day 6 The View From Here Moments in May 2015 Challenge

May 6, 2015 • Julie Saffrin • 4 Comments

Everything comes to those who wait. Longfellow My husband, known around here as the Night Ranger, and I embark on our two-hundred-mile drive up north to the cabin. He wants to get the pontoon out of the pole barn and make room for other things. “Let’s do it today,” he says. I want to, too. Two seasons is two too long to wait for the ice to melt in Ottertail County, Minnesota. Time to launch it. Whirling somewhere in the gray matter, though, is the thought that the pontoon never gives us an easy go of it. Whether it’s getting…

Day 5 Favorite Music Moments in May 2015 Challenge

May 5, 2015 • Julie Saffrin • Leave a Comment

Music has always been a matter of Energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel. I have always needed Fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. – Hunter S. Thompson How can I possibly narrow the kinds of songs I like down to a favorite? To get me thinking, I ask myself what songs I would pick for…

Day 4 #DearDiaryEntry for Moments in May 2015 Challenge

May 4, 2015 • Julie Saffrin • 2 Comments

“Most diaries begin all at once, with a rolling up of sleeves, and intake of breath — and a here goes.” from Thomas Mallon’s A Book of One’s Own: People and Their Diaries Day 4 of the Moments in May 2015 Challenge is to post a writing about or a photo of a diary entry. I’ve kept a diary for as long as I can remember. The earliest diary I have is from 1971, the year I was a seventh grader in Pat Fatchett’s English class at Portland Junior High School in Bloomington, Minnesota. Pat made us keep a year-long…

Day 3 #QuoteILove for Moments in May 2015 Challenge

May 3, 2015 • Julie Saffrin • Leave a Comment

“Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are.” Author Unknown I don’t know how you finished April. I finished it well. Celebrated my youngest’s birthday, found and returned all the library books I’d borrowed on the subject of resilience, and booked two writing-related getaways – one of which I embarked upon this weekend with fellow writers from across the state of Minnesota. I also finished listening to and reading Laura McBride’s debut novel We are Called to Rise. I cannot stop thinking about this book since I finished it a week ago. I read it based upon the…

Day 2 Favorite Flower for the Moments in May 2015 Challenge

May 2, 2015 • Julie Saffrin • Leave a Comment

“Go down to Kew in lilac time (it isn’t far from London!) And you shall wander hand in hand with love in summer’s wonderland.” Alfred Noyes Yes, my favorite flower is the fragrant lilac. My first memory of lilacs were the six-foot tall ones, hedgerow-like, that bordered our property from our neighbor, Betty Freundshuh, a widow who lived behind us. Though the bushes belonged to our neighbor, I couldn’t resist the allure of their sweet perfume and heart-shaped leaves. My pruning was that of quick tears and a race to my back door to give them to my mom. Immediately the…

Day 1 #MayDayMoment from Moments in May 2015 Challenge

May 1, 2015 • Julie Saffrin • 4 Comments

Day 1 MayDayMoment of Moments in May 2015 Challenge

“The world’s favorite season is the spring. All things seem possible in May.” – Edwin Way Teale Happy May Day 2015! This little watercolor I made especially for you. It was painted with happy thoughts of all that spring brings. Today is Day 1 of the Moments in May 2015 Challenge. I can’t wait to see how you choose to tell your #daystory. Make sure you post it and let me know about it, either in the comments or a link to your Web site or social media. A favorite memory of past May Days is helping my three sons when they…

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