In Review

As 2006 fades into memory, I have time and purpose to reflect. 2006 has been a big year for us. Moving 1700 miles from the only home we'd ever known was a big adventure. To put it in perspective, from the time I was two-years-old until the day we moved, I'd had the same mail man, George. I remember running to greet him when I was a kid. And, then when Scott and I found out that he'd be our mailman on Vista Grand, that sealed the deal. Incidentally, I had the same UPS man, Bob, my whole life too. As funny as it sounds, I miss Bob and George and the Safeway clerks, Tom and Ken, as much as I miss my friends.

But, honestly, San Leandro never felt like home as much as Bismarck does and I've only been here six months and nine days. I don't know my mailman's name and the UPS man is fairly grumpy. The clerks at Super Wal-Mart weren't trained by my Baba in the 1950s like the clerks at Safeway. When I introduce myself as Kristy WOLFER Rose, no one asks me if I'm Dave and Karen's daughter. Strangers don't stop me on the street to see if I'm Ruth Orluck's grand-daughter. "Oh you look just like Ruth," they'd always say. And while I miss these things, there are more things to love about my new life here.

Someone once said that I sound a bit defensive about my new home in Bismarck. And why shouldn't I be when people back in California, most of whom have never visited ND, make derogatory comments or question our mental capacity for making such a decision? Most people extract all their "knowledge" of North Dakota from the movie Fargo. Though I like the Coen Brothers' movies, and people up here have unique accents (I'm catching it), that's about the extent of it. NONE of the scenes were actually shot in Fargo. Most of the movie was shot in the Coens' home state, Minnesota. Some was shot in a tiny town on the northeast border of ND, very near to Canada and Minnesota.

The fact of the matter is ND is not for everyone. That's why there are 40% less people in our entire state than in San Jose. There isn't a lot of diversity except for Germans, Norwegians, Ukrainians, Polish and Native Americans. There isn't much nightlife, but there is a lot of wildlife. We've had deer, geese, wild turkeys and even a badger in our yard. We do have cold weather, and we have gotten snow. But, we only get 1/10th the snow of Lake Tahoe; Bismarck schools haven't even had a snow day in five years.

If you don't mind being without a Ross or Trader Joe's, and if you would like to leave your car unlocked and know it will be there upon your return, then you might like it here. If you do visit and don't like it, that's okay. There are many places I've been that I haven't liked. And, if you still think we're crazy for moving here, you're right. You won't like it here. But that's okay because we Dakotans are trying to keep the population of our state to a comfortable 650,000.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoy this blessed holiday and spend it doing the things you enjoy, in places of special meaning, with the ones you love. After all, when you peel back the layers of presents, cookies, and eggnog, Christmas celebrations are about love and family, whether that family is blood-bound or not.

Christmas is coming...

Can you believe Christmas will be here in only 7 days? As the days tick down to my favorite holiday there is much to do around the Rose homestead.
We have activities going on three nights this week plus lots of baking for me to do. This year, I'm doing three kinds of candy, four kinds of cookies and a traditional fruitcake for Scott and Pops. Adam will be helping too!

Christmas this year will of course be different. Like Thanksgiving, it will be quieter and more relaxed. And for the first time since Scott and I met, we get to stay home for most of the two days! Christmas Eve, we'll go to church in the morning then do a special Christmas craft with Adam. In the evening, we'll go to Grammy & Pops' Place and have Turducken for dinner and open presents. We'll also partake in the Wolfer tradition of snowballs and "Silent Night". On Christmas morn, everyone will come here for breakfast complete with aebelskivers, a Rose family tradition. The rest of the day will be for relaxation and playing with presents.

We both continue to be grateful for the friends God has brought us in our new hometown. This last week alone we had five different social events with new friends. The coming week brings Couples night tonight, our church-sponsored viewing of "The Nativity Story" on Tuesday, church Christmas dinner on Wednesday, and Christmas caroling on Friday.

New friends are a wonderful gift from God but old friends are cherished gifts also. We think about you all often. Merry Christmas!

Oops. I'm not perfect.

I have a confession to make. I'm not perfect, though sometimes I want to think that I am. Or, maybe want you to think. But, today, I was hit with the realization that I don't want to be perfect, I want to be the woman God made me to be.

This realization came to me after I realized I sent out three "bad apples" for Christmas cards. And, though the mailman usually doesn't come until 5:30pm, today he came at 3:30pm which was 30 minutes before I realized the mistake.

Of course, I was so mad at myself (and the computer) that I actually threw myself on the floor and cried. Later, in the shower before picking up my in-laws at the airport, I realized that I don't have to be perfect to be good enough for God. I'm already good enough for Him. He created me and so what if three people get dysfunctional Christmas cards. They'll live and so will I. I don't have to have it all together all the time (which is good because I don't).

As I stood there in the shower, I heard God saying, "who's glory were you doing it for?" And the point was driven home. I love it (but hate it) when God turns a stupid mistake into a powerful lesson.

Incidentally, I would like to make it up to you if you get a "bad apple". So, if your Christmas greeting ends before "Adam's Final Take", email me and I'll send you a good one.

First Thanksgiving

What an ordeal last night could have been! I am so grateful to God for protecting us (we hit black ice on our way to the hospital) and providing us with excellent medical care! He is good!
Thanksgiving was hard for me and for Grammy this year. And, not just because we missed our extended family back in California (You guys were there in spirit) but because we don't know how to cook Thanksgiving for less than 30 people! Grammy made huge green bean and yam casseroles and I made a gallon of gravy. Of course, as I finished baking the seventh, yes seventh, dessert I realized I'd gone overboard, but oh well. One nice thing about having a small Thanksgiving is we got to pull out the "good china" and make it a formal dinner. I love the way my table turned out. See:

I used my new amethyst-colored chargers which I picked up at Target at the day after Christmas sale for an absolute song. I couldn't find a turkey napkin fold pattern, so I did the "cocks comb" instead. Close enough, I guess. And, does the centerpiece look familiar? I love using our wedding centerpieces; it reminds me of that glorious day and all your smiling faces.
More later...

Christmas already?

Neither Scott nor I can believe that November is half over. Evidently, it doesn't matter what time zone you live in, time still clicks on as quickly as ever.

This week, we've been busy with holiday preparations. Apparently, Dakotans put up their Christmas lights immediately following Halloween as to beat the coming snow and cold. So, we're following their lead and doing the same. Kinda weird putting up Christmas before eating turkey. But, that's what we're doing.

Played bunko with some friends last night and had a howling good time. Who would have guessed a dice game and some chocolate could be so much fun. I kind of felt like a 1950s TV idol.

Meant to be me

Today what strikes me the most is how happy we are here. We were at dinner the other night when my dad praised God for our new houses. Scott added, "Thank you for our homes. They're not just houses." And that pretty much sums it up.

I LOVE being a stay-at-home mom in North Dakota and have such peace about it. It's like I've finally discovered what I was meant to do and who I was meant to be.

Boy, I sure have turned into the queen of mush since moving here, haven't I? No. Seriously, I'm happy. My husband's happy. My son is happy. My parents and sister are happy. What more could I want?

We had a week-end of indian summer and expect another next week. On Sunday it was in the low 70s and gorgeous. Monday brought teens and twenties and an inch or two of snow. Most of it's gone now but it's still chilly. I've never been particularly fond of the cold, but this isn't bothering me. Besides the cold winds, it doesn't feel as cold as San Leandro did because there's basically no humidity. No damp fog seeping into my aching joints. What?! I'm going on 30 you know. I'm getting old and my joints ache. :)

I have to drive in this stuff?!?

Our first real snow fell yesterday and we got a bit more than we expected. It was only supposed to be an inch or so, but we ended up with three. It's so gorgeous and serene.

Yesterday was my first ever attempt at driving in the snow. When I left home at 8:40am for an Avon function, I was anxious about how it would go. The drive there was a breeze as we only had about a quarter-inch of snow. As I watched the snow fall from the window in our meeting room, I became more anxious about my drive home. At 4pm, I finally left for home and trudged through the snow in my high-heeled boots (dumb idea). When I got to my car and saw the pile of snow covering it from fender to fender, I just laughed. Here I am, a California girl, in the snow in stylish boots, knit dress and leather jacket trying to figure out how to get all that snow off my car. It was nearly ankle high in some points. With nothing else in my car to do the job, I used a magazine to swipe the snow from the windows and got in before my toes froze to the faux leather. Honestly, the wind wasn't blowing, so it was only in the low 30s and not that cold. After a call to Scott and a prayer to the good Lord above, I started home. Everyone was driving 10-15 miles slower than the speed limit and being very cautious. This comforted me a little. Then, I turned down 7th street and started to cry. The trees, cars and lawns were covered in snow and it was so pretty. I was reminded again about how much I love this place. In the end, it took me a few minutes longer to get home, but it wasn't as bad as I made it out to be.

Today, I made another friend! Hooray! Adam and I are going to her house for a play date and coffee on Friday. They just moved here a year ago from New York and live about three miles from us. I'm so excited!

Papa's Pumpkin Patch

What a day today has been. We started our day with a photo shoot at the local portrait studio. Adam had been all excited about going to see Thomas (the portrait studio just got a new Thomas background) all week. We get there and he wants nothing to do with Thomas, the studio, the photographer, or really even me. Soon enough, he came around and the photographer snapped some of the best shots of Adam ever. Two weeks and then you can see for yourself.

From there, we went to a late breakfast at Perkins. Yum. And then off to Papa's Pumpkin Patch down by the river. What fun that was! A couple hours later and we were all ready for a nap, so we left under one condition: Bring Grammy & Pops back to this autumn wonderland this week-end.

What is autumn?

Fall is here in full force. The trees are gold and chartreuse with flaming edges. The air is crisp and fresh. Having spent my entire life (except for Summer 1998 when I was at Oxford) in California, autumn is new to me. It is absolutely breathtaking! I think it might be my new favorite season! There are so many colors to see and the air is sweet with the scent of smoking chimneys. The weather is good too. Mostly the days have been in the 60s and low 70s and the chilly evenings reach the 40s. But, this past week-end was hot with temperatures in the mid-80s. In fact, on Sunday Bismarck was only 2 degrees cooler than Honolulu!

The big news of the week is Karianne bought a home last week. It's an adorable 1930s house on about five acres just nine miles from here. It is exactly what she was looking for and is absolutely adorable. She moves in at the end of October and we'll post pictures then too.

Things are going well here. We're putting final touches on the rooms and unpacking the unnecessary yet cherished items like books and collectables. My Avon business is picking up again and I've been busy with the leadership team. I joined MOPS two weeks ago and both Adam and I have made friends there. I'm starting to meet people and make friends which helps fill the void of friendships left behind. We had dinner with our pastor's family again last week and are really enjoying their friendship. Tonight we start Bible Study at their house and look forward to meeting other people from our church.

Uncle Wayne has been here since last Thursday and goes home today. It's been a lot of fun to have him here and show him our new life. We went up to the ranch (pictures coming) and picked apples from the trees on Friday. On Saturday, we went to the farm in Butte and had a picnic. We explored the old farmstead and I even found an old car sprocket. Grammy and Scott found remnants of the old outhouse and Uncle Wayne pushed a roll of hay. Sunday, they all went back to the ranch for some coke can hunting while Scott made preparations for a fish fry and I baked two more desserts from the apples we picked on Thursday.

At Baba's farm on Saturday, it was hard not to imagine Baba and her seven brothers and sisters playing and doing chores in the Dakota sun. The farm, only about eight miles from the town of Butte, has a tranquility to it. As a kid, it was just a water pump we had to pose next to before visiting the cousins up the road. But, the visits as an adult, and especially this last one, have made it sink in that this place is so much more than an obligatory photo op. It was here that 103 years ago my great-grandparents set down their roots after immigrating from Ukraine. And on this very stretch of land, they built their home in 1915. Perhaps because Scott and I have now planted our family roots here in ND the old water pump has taken on so much more meaning. Life is so, so much easier than it was in the early 20th century, but this is still the frontier.
Every day, I thank God for bringing me "home" to Bismarck.

Mourning into Dancing

Yesterday was a hard day for me as I impatiently waited for and worried about Scott's job interview. But I learned in my heart what I've always known in my head. At a moment when anxiety was choking me, I asked friends for prayer and what I got was so much more. I have the best friends in the world, whether they're in CA, NY, ND or somewhere else, I truly have wonderful friends. And, our God is able! Using the encouragement of my friends, He turned my worry to joyfulness.

Today is day two of the biggest rummage sale (i.e. garage sale) week-end of the year in Bismarck. We got a late start yesterday, but managed to score some blow mold Christmas decorations for only $8! Then, today, the Rose family was scouring sales from 7:30am until 1:30pm and made some awesome finds like the gas grill for $5! But, now we're exhausted.
All this came after a busy week of relaxation. Scott and Pops went fishing with some buddies to Devil's Lake. (hey Scott, why don't you update your blog and post some photos)

Meanwhile, Grammy, Adam, Buddy and I went on a shopping trip to Minneapolis. We spent 6.5 hours at the Mall of America on Wednesday before returning for dinner and another hour of shopping that night! We also visited "Auntie" Allison, "Baby Wyatt" and "Fox Dog" (aka Foxy Brown) while there.

Time to Shop

Wow. Two weeks have passed since my last entry and I can't even account for what happened. I think it went something like this: We went to Medora for Grammy's birthday and saw the Medora Musical. The amphitheatre is basically carved into the side of a butte in the Bad Lands and very picturesque. I had two Avon meetings and was asked to be one of three reps in our district of 450 to be on a special leadership team. Grammy and Pops house is in process with a huge foundation already poured. We also had a well put in at our house for our irrigation needs. The bummer was we had to uproot two trees so the multi-ton trucks could get into our backyard without breaking our driveway. Oh yeah, and I bought a car. It's a red Chevy Blazer and Adam calls it his truck. When we drove home in it, he kept saying, "This is fun, mommy." Yesterday we rode the Lewis & Clark Riverboat up the Missouri River.
Today, Grammy, Adam and I are off to Minneapolis to do some serious shopping and visit Allison and five-month-old Wyatt. I'm very excited to meet him and see Allison! Pops and Scott are on their way to Devils Lake with some buddies for a fishing trip. We'll all be back to Bismarck on Thursday night.
Autumn is pretty much here. The days stay in the low to mid 70s and the nights are down into the low 50s. Some trees around town have already started to turn yellow. The breeze continues to blow cool and we had our first northeasterly storm the other day. I took inventory of my closet and noted the severe lack of cold weather clothes. Oh well, guess that's why we're going to Minneapolis.

First fall on its way

I'm a wee bit sore today from all the ATV riding I did the last two days. In fact, I can barely move my left wrist and my hip abductors would like to have a stern word with me. But, who cares, it was fun! Turns out you can catch some serious air if you ride that thing at full speed over a mound of dirt.
The early signs of autumn are swirling around us. The flax fields have turned amber and are waiting to be harvested. The fields of sunflowers are a butter yellow as they droop their heads and prepare to drop their seeds. One block away, the corn field has been cut down. The breeze that once blew warm and sticky is now cool and crisp. The outdoor community pools are closed for the summer and Bismarck kids go back to school on Thursday.

Summer Storms

Yesterday, we were greeted by a morning thunderstorm. The loud thunder pounded and boomed for about 20 minutes before the rain came. Then the rain and hail joined the show. But, by 9am, the sky was clear and sunny. We had more rain last night with drops as big as marbles. And, it's raining again now. Usually, I hate rain. But, these summer storms make me think of Hawai'i. It will be 90 degrees outside and then these giant drops of warm rain water start to fall. And, above all that, we're having a terrible drought as most of the plains states are and we can use every drop of rain God sends our way.

In other news, my bee sting was swollen and the size of a 3x5 card yesterday. Yuck-o. Today, it's about half that size but still very itchy. I'm staying doped up on Benadryl to stop from scratching, but then I'm like a zombie. You just can't win.

Aloha 'Oe

Hello from ND! Today, I made history. That's right. I was the first Wolfer/Rose to get a bee sting in ND. Woo hoo. Yippee. Hey, at least I'm not allergic like Pops and at least it wasn't Adam who got the first sting. And really, after a few minutes it's just an ugly little welt, it's nothing major. But, it's historical.
We planted the remaining 30 arborvitae trees today. Left to plant at our house are 5 crape myrtles, 10 lilacs, 6 snowball bushes, 4 knock-out roses, 1 maple, 1 ash and 1 crab apple. Compared to the 90 other trees and shrubs we've planted at our house, this should be a breeze. And don't even get me started about the other 40 shrubs left to plant at Grammy and Pops' place.
Scott, Grammy, Adam and I went to the Capitol A'Fair on Saturday, which is a pretty large craft fair held on the capitol grounds. It was a good diversion for me since I was homesick for the Aloha Festival. My former halau (hula group) always dances at the Aloha Festival and had we stayed in CA, I would have danced on Sunday. *sigh*
On Sunday, we took a trip down to Fort Yates and Prairie Knights Indian Casino. I played a whole $2.50 and lost it. Pops won $40. Sickening. We were home in time to watch BB7 and the first Raider pre-season game. I hung my Raider flag with pride. I'm sure the neighbors think I'm crazy. They're right. I have to tell you, fellow Raider fans, that Walters is our boy, the new QB did not impress me in the slightest. And, all those big names on first string better get their butts in gear because I thought first string looked pathetic. I still have a special place in my silver & black heart for Tui. Now I have 2 Tuis to watch. Okay, well, I better go do something productive.

1 Month Anniversary

Today marks one month since we moved into our new house. We're nearly unpacked and settled. I think there's 20 boxes left to unpack. Beyond that we still have pictures to hang in some of the rooms and little things like that. For those of you who want to come visit, the guest bedroom is coming along nicely. We have everything except the mattresses! Ha! A lot of people emailed and asked for more photos of the house, so we did our best. We'll continue adding photos as we finish rooms, etc.

On friday, we went with grammy and pops to our local wal-mart to do some tree shopping. 110 trees later we were home. That's in addition to the 40 trees they bought the week before. On saturday, we did some work in our yard. In the area near our front porch, scott constructed a white arch with bench then we laid a gravel path. Together, we planted wisteria (for the arch), bleeding hearts, tickseed, russian sages, boxwoods, yarrows, cedars, firs, lilac and a crabapple tree in that little area. Scott is finishing the antique-looking water-pump style fountain then this area will be complete for 2006 with planting additions planned for 2007.

In the coming weeks, we'll plant the trees in our yard and the others at my parents. We have an oak, weeping cherry, crabapple, pear, birch and maple to plant at our house. In the photos, you'll see the trees lined up along our porch awaiting their destinations in our yard. This is to keep them safe from the wind. we also have 40 emerald greens to plant. You can see them standing like soldiers along the borders of our front yard.

Sometimes when I stop and think about it, I'm weirded out by the fact that I live somewhere other than San Leandro. We went to the movies the other day (which is a post for another time) and as we left the theatre, it hit me hard that we weren't just on vacation. We live here in Bismarck. It's taken me nearly the full month to stop saying "back home" and start saying "in CA". This really is home to me and I'm happy to be here. It feels like I've finally come home, finally come to the place I was meant to be.

We think of you all often and hope you'll come visit us in our new home.

Transplant in Process

Recently, we picked up and moved to North Dakota. Besides a summer in England, I'd never lived anywhere besides San Leandro, California. In fact, I'd had the same mailman my entire life, even after I got married and moved out. When I was growing up, San Leandro wasn't unlike Bismarck. It was a tight-knit community where most everyone knew everyone else and you felt safe everywhere you went. But over the years, all of that changed and we knew it was no place to raise children. So we left. We closed our business, packed our homes and hit the road. I've since referred to myself, and my family, as transplants.

Here are my journal entries from the move:

June 18:

Our last official day as Californians, we celebrated Fathers’ Day then finished packing up the trailer. The plan was to leave bright and early the following morning. Somewhere between church and lunch, we decided to honor our tradition of leaving the night before our planned departure date. We pulled out of San Leandro at 9:42pm. It was Scott and Buddy in the RV pulling the ski boat. Following them was Pops, Grammy and Adam in the Denali pulling the trailer. And I brought up the tail, blocking traffic for the big guys up front, in the Dodge. We stopped for the night just north of Roseville.


June 19:

California became a distant memory when we crossed the state line at about 10am Monday morning. I told everyone via walkie-talkie, “Well, it’s only taken me 16 years to finally get out of California.” Grammy asked for clarification. I explained, “When I was 13-years-old, we went to Canada by car with Baba and Dido (Grammy’s parents). It was on that trip that I decided I didn’t want to live in California for the rest of my life and I cried the whole way home.”

After a long day driving across the Nevada desert, relying on bad jokes on XM’s comedy channel and strong-words from Dr. Laura on America Right, we finally made it to Cactus Pete’s in Jackpot, Nevada.


June 20:

If you want to know what a white plastic potty chair looks like when it’s flying through the air out of the back of the trailer, ask me! Hey, at least it was empty. We made it through Idaho and stopped in Billings, Montana for the night. Let’s not talk about it.


June 21:

“Country road, take me home to the place I belong…” Yes, I played this song for us via walkie-talkie as we crossed into North Dakota from Montana. A brief stop to look out across the Bad Lands near Medora was just what we needed to welcome us home. We made a quick stop in Dickinson to say hi to our realtor Tanna and pick up the keys to Grammy and Pops’ new place then head on down the road. We made it to Bismarck around 4:30pm and went to check out the new homes before resting for the night at the Ramkota Inn.






June 22:

We were filled with anticipation as we walked up the steps to our new home, which, coincidentally, we’d never seen before! Tanna (our realtor) and Karianne (aka She-she) saw the inside and sent us photos about three weeks before. Other than that, we’d only seen the house from the road back in January. Grammy and Pops had walked around the house, peeking in the windows, in March. Truly, the house was a gift from God. It is far better than we ever imagined and can’t express enough gratitude for this awesome blessing bestowed upon us.