Minnesota | Julie Saffrin

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…

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…

WHEN MOUNTAINS SING BY STACY MONSON. A REVIEW

August 7, 2019 • Julie Saffrin • 2 Comments

When Mountains Sing book Cover | https://juliesaffrin.com

My favorite kind of story is one that holds my attention, has memorable characters, and leaves you thinking about it after you have finished it. Well, it’s been four days and I can’t, nor do I want to, stop thinking about this book, When Mountains Sing by Stacy Monson. So many takeaways, including the title’s meaning. It’s beautifully written, with not an ounce of a saggy middle, and lots of belly laughs and touchingly tender moments. Most importantly, I’m not a person who likes camping so much, but I want to be a friend to HIKER GIRL! And you’ll want to…

MINNESOTA HOME POSTER FREE PRINTABLE

May 12, 2017 • Julie Saffrin • 3 Comments

Well, on Thursday, May 11, 2017, we sold the house we’ve lived in for twenty-three years. Feels strange. We’ve moved into our son, Sam, and his wife, Hallie’s house for the time being. I’m so grateful to them for letting us take up a room until we find our next house. Last week, we visited our son, Jake and his wife Jenny’s place in Arvada, Colorado. Jake was three when we moved in. He’s now twenty-six and he and Jenny will celebrate their one-year anniversary in 10 days. Crazy!Had an amazing time, met their little fluffball, Bella, the cutest golden…

A SUMMER EVENING ON DEAD LAKE

June 14, 2016 • Julie Saffrin • 4 Comments

2016 marks the tenth year we have owned our cabin on Dead Lake in Ottertail County, Minnesota. When we first bought the place, our three sons, Sam, Joe, and Jake, joked that the reason the lake was called Dead was “because there were no girls on it.” I, too, was surprised the first time we circled the lake. With the exception of a handful of resorts, very little noise or activity was to be seen or heard. Notta one ice cream shop or restaurant to motor up to on this 7,500-acre lake was to be found. The lake, it turns…

WRITING BEYOND OUR MORTAL COIL

February 5, 2016 • Julie Saffrin • 6 Comments

I read the other day that Prince Charles has painted thousands of watercolors. He’s a prince, first in line to the throne. Why should he do anything other than be princely? His Royal Highness responded, “We walk away and shuffle off our mortal coil, but these things live on.” Ah, a partial quote from a soliloquy spoken by a fictitious Shakespearian prince from Denmark who wrote, “To be or not to be, that is the question.” The Prince of Wales paints so that the beauty of that which he sees will extend beyond his time here. The British heir to the throne…

Gratitude by the Lake

October 7, 2015 • Julie Saffrin • 4 Comments

A red and white sailboat, moored at its secured buoy, rocks bow to stern. The tour paddleboat leaving the Port of Excelsior just tooted its horn. A man in black sweater, khakis, trilby and white beard checks his dory. It is a beautiful 50–degree day at “my office” in my car at Excelsior Commons in Minnesota. I’ve come today to displace some anxiety. This beautiful setting, of boats and water, is once again working its magic and bringing me to a place where I can both let go of worries and concentrate on what is at hand for me this…

Meet Bonnie McGrath: Writer of 800 Christmas Cards Each With Handwritten Note

December 18, 2013 • Julie Saffrin • 1 Comment

Meet Bonnie McGrath: Writer of 800 Christmas Cards Each With Handwritten Note EDINA, MN — Think you have a big Christmas card list? You haven’t met Bonnie McGrath. Not only will Bonnie send 800 Christmas cards in December 2013, she’ll write a personal note in each one. “For me, it is just very meaningful that I put something in the note that lets the person know how I feel about him or her,” Bonnie said. “I feel it’s the only time I might have to talk to a person and I want to stay connected.” Seems a lot of us…

Traveling by Townie on Minnesota’s Central Lakes Trail

September 16, 2013 • Julie Saffrin • 3 Comments

townieatthetunnel | http://juliesafffrin.com

For our 34th anniversary, Rick bought me an Electra Townie bike. No, it is not the same as my recently stolen red Schwinn LeTour, a bike cherished since the day I bought it in 1976. The Townie does not have 10 speeds, it has seven. It does not have pedal cages and thin tires. It’s a bike meant for town riding. It’s wonderful on the back and the seat is marvelous. The handlebars feel like leather. I am in love. On our way to our lake home on Dead Lake on September 12, Rick and I found an old railway…

Time, effort, consistency

October 26, 2012 • Julie Saffrin • Leave a Comment

I have been a member for 21 years at Hope Presbyterian Church in Richfield, Minnesota. October is National Clergy Appreciation Month and marks 10 years that Pastor David Lenz has pastored our church. I can’t think of a better way to say thanks to him than to share his words with you about a recent trip he took to Lake Superior. May you be blessed by his words, as I have for the past decade. Thanks, Pastor, for always giving us God’s best. For those of you who would like some great suggestions of ways to thank your pastor, click…