Around the Lake

Posted on March 8, 2022 by msw blog

For three decades, Jo Ann and I spent Friday afternoons walking around Minnesota’s Lake Winona. We walked through pregnancies and miscarriages, through homeopathy school and university tenure, through Weight Watchers and evolving wardrobes, through caring for daughters (and sometimes their fathers). And, for 24 of those years, we walked with Jo Ann’s breast cancer. Despite her illness, we planned trips, birthday parties, Passover seders, bat mitzvahs and a daughter’s wedding. In June 2020, we took our last walk around the lake. This February, Jo Ann took her last breath. My life will never be the same. — Colette Hyman

Lake - Wikipedia
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Graded with Grace

Posted on March 8, 2022 by msw blog

My son’s blue eyes sparkled with excitement as he showed me a paper he had brought home from school. It was a math test, marked with a red star and a grade of 100 percent. As we looked at the exam, he said he had three questions left to answer when the teacher said time was up. Puzzled, I asked how he could have received a perfect score. He replied, “My teacher gave me grace. She let me finish the test although I had run out of time.” As my son and I discussed the meaning of grace, I pointed out that God has given us more than we deserve through Christ.

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Mental Health

Posted on March 7, 2022 by msw blog

With everything happening in the world. I committed to taking my mental health seriously this year. After investing in good therapy and yoga props and at home classes. I also began meditating at least once a day. My mental health is still a work in progress, but I see the improvements, in being able to let go and not beat myself up over what I can’t control. I now feel better equipped to handle my anxiety than ever before.  -Kayla Keegan  

759 Me Time Cliparts, Stock Vector and Royalty Free Me Time Illustrations

Positively Purging-I welcome your feedbacks in the comments and your likes and passing the real-life wisdom on to others as I embark on this new venture of “positively purging”, as I know each of these pieces represents something…

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Something New

Posted on March 7, 2022 by msw blog

When my yoga studio closed during the lockdown. I had to find a new way to stay active and clear my head, so I decided to try running. At first even three miles seemed daunting – but since I started in April, I’ve gotten up to six miles without stopping, and I am now training for my first half marathon, something I cold never have imagined before- Katie Berohn  

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Positively Purging-I welcome your feedbacks in the comments and your likes and passing the real-life wisdom on to others as I embark on this new venture of “positively purging”, as I know each of these pieces represents something…

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Invasion of English Ivy

Posted on March 6, 2022 by msw blog

Q: I have the beginnings of an invasion of English ivy in my front yard. Can I get rid of it?

A: English ivy is an invasive plant that produces long vines that root at the nodes. The mature branches produce berries that some birds eat — thereby distributing the seeds. The plants are highly shade tolerant and will root in most soils.

To remove the ivy growing in your yard, handpull the vines and then cover the area with several inches of mulch to inhibit new growth. Do not leave what you have removed on the ground as it can reroot. Place it on a tarp to wither, then dispose of it as yard debris. If, after a few months, you see new sprouts, pull them.

Mature leaves are leathery and have a waxy coating, so treating the vines with chemicals is not highly effective. You may have some success treating new leaves when they first appear. Whenever using chemicals, be sure to read the label thoroughly and follow the directions for use and disposal.

— Linda Holmes, OSU Extension master gardener

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