Julie's Musings | Julie Saffrin

Ducks and Daffodils Thank You Card

April 8, 2021 • Julie Saffrin • Leave a Comment

My newest Ducks and Daffodils greeting card at my JulieSaffrinsStuff Etsy store is a thank-you note. I wanted it to have the feel of springtime and happiness. These little ducks and daffodils lift my spirit. I hope yours is lifted too. We ventured to Florida and Denver in March and April and wow, did it feel good to vacation again and to finally see my son and his wife’s new home in Colorado. The weather was wonderful. Nothing like the crashing of waves and miles of wide sandy beaches to take dreary Minnesota out of a person. So, so wonderful.…

Happy Easter, Buona Pasqua, and Buon Compleanno

March 19, 2021 • Julie Saffrin • Leave a Comment

By having an Etsy store, I have made connections with people whom I would not have otherwise. I’ve also learned the importance of adding tracking with the Postal Service during holiday seasons – particularly in December. Mail going “lost” is very much a reality. With it comes the responsibility I feel as shop owner of juliesaffrinsstuff, to resend people their purchased items with the cost on me. I have no regrets though. I’ve met some lovely people in these interactions. While I added British Christmas cards in 2019, in 2020, I created two new Christmas cards, One in French and…

A Charcuterie Post

November 22, 2020 • Julie Saffrin • Leave a Comment

Happy Thanksgiving, friends! Here we are in Minnesota and wow, I saw a guy in shorts two days ago. When does that happen in November around here? So, this post is like a product charcuterie board – filled with bits and pieces of what’s been keeping me busy since my last post. Mainly, I’ve been busy creating new products on my Etsy store, JulieSaffrinsStuff. If you’re looking for Christmas ideas, here’s a list of some new creations in case you’re in the shopping mood. By the way, everything in the shop is 10% off, if you purchase $30’s worth of…

What to do in the Time of Corona Virus? Have an Evening in Paris

September 3, 2020 • Julie Saffrin • 4 Comments

Having an evening in Paris during the time of Corona Virus

In previous blog posts, I’ve mentioned that my husband and I gather once a year at our cabin with our friends from way back – Randy and Peggy Hamann and Sue and Kris Mestad. This too-long year, 2020, corona-virus year, Rick and I self-isolated ourselves as much as possible from others and decided that we’d quarantined ourselves safely enough for our friends to venture a risk and come to the cabin. They had also done self-isolating. In June 2020, Kris and Sue were supposed to be on a 17-day trip through the French Riviera and Italy. Their plans were squashed…

A Loonigan Notecard in the Time of Corona Virus

August 25, 2020 • Julie Saffrin • Leave a Comment

loonigan notecard and envelope on brown background ready

Greetings to you in the time of corona virus. 2020, a place in time where everywhere we look or listen and live seems anything but ordinary. Where facemasks are “mandated,” and every day brings a twist tucked into it. By now, a good portion of us, due to this pandemic, have moved to making pencil entries because of having had to put lines through inked-in items on our to-do lists as well as planned adventures on our calendars. What a Weird Year, or, as I like to call it now, a “loonigan” year. The Mestads and Hamanns have come for…

GUEST BLOG: DEANNA PAVLENKO SHARES HER ORTHODOX EASTER TRADITIONS

April 18, 2020 • Julie Saffrin • Leave a Comment

Today’s guest blog post is from a new friend of mine, Deanna Pavlenko, whom I met through an online writing group called Novel Academy. We are in a small group called a “huddle” with three other women within that organization. We group-text everyday, asking how we can help one another and be in prayer for each other. Deanna heads our group and she does a fantastic job. As we’ve texted back and forth, she’s shared that her family is of Ukrainian descent. Last week, she told us the incredible amount of hours her family invests to make traditional Ukrainian and…

HOPE IN AN UPSIDE-DOWN WORLD

April 12, 2020 • Julie Saffrin • 6 Comments

Earlier this week, I watched a person give a live devotional with the camera placed in such a way that she appeared upside down. Her message was still excellent and the video was a-righted in time, but the captured moment seemed a perfect metaphor for the world we’re living in now. Upside-down world. A friend in Wisconsin recently posted on her Facebook page: Just so I NEVER forget….. April 2, 2020 Gas price a mile from home was $2.08 School cancelled – yes cancelled Self-distancing measures on the rise. Tape on the floors at grocery stores and others to help…

THOUGHTS IN THE TIME OF CORONA VIRUS AND SOME FREE STATIONERY FOR SPRING

March 30, 2020 • Julie Saffrin • Leave a Comment

Hello friends, Greetings in the time of the corona-virus pandemic. Hope you’re all hanging in there with your sheltering-in-place. I found some things to smile about today. Maybe you’ve experienced a number of them since your residential work relocation? I have to say, the first one, yeah, I’ve experienced it. But nothing that a bag of Cadbury mini eggs couldn’t help to get me going again. So, I’m an Enneagram 7 and according to Enneagram experts, 7s haven’t met a hobby they haven’t wanted to take up. Which is why there’s this next string of photos, because yes, I decided…

FREE QUOTE BOOK FEB. 13-15, 2020

February 12, 2020 • Julie Saffrin • Leave a Comment

For all my life, I’ve collected quotes. So, to celebrate Valentine’s Day, I’m doing a three-day giveaway of my book on quotes, “Kissing the Shoreline: Quotes and Reflections to Live By” You can download a digital (e-book) version for free on February 13th, 14th, and 15th, 2020. Here’s one of my favorites from the book. “Friendship is the warm cloak we wear over our winter lives. Friends wrap us with affirmation, enfold us with understanding, and protect us against the cold winds of hostility and criticism. Friendship is the cool breeze of our summer lives. Friends sail along with us…

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

January 3, 2020 • Julie Saffrin • 17 Comments

Minnesota, USA. After our 2019 post-Christmas-ing, we bid adieu to our son, Jake and his wife, Jenny, as they headed back to their new home in Arvada, Colorado. Rick and I headed up to the cabin to make sure all was well. We drove separately because I wanted to stay an extra couple of days to do some writing. He got a ten-minute start. In the way-back of my mind, Rick’s words echoed in my head that supposedly there was a snowstorm in the area. I know some of you live according to The Weather Channel or a weather app. I…

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