Cousins
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The Beauty of Hanging Laundry Outdoors Year-Round
Wow, 47-degrees. How could one not take advantage of a day in December with weather warm enough to hang the laundry on the line. Why would anyone do that? There’s something about the smell of nature that cannot be manufactured in a laboratory. You know the smell of the earth warming in the spring, the Continue reading
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North Dakota Winters: Community, Grief, and Gratitude
Winter dropped. Not gradually, but in one day, we went from sweatshirts to ski pants. Here we are, beginning the Christmas season with snow and cold. Hopefully, you were one of the prepared and put those Christmas lights outside before the storm. Tomorrow, we gather with family and friends for a Thanksgiving feast, followed by Continue reading
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The Last Bouquet: Clearing the Garden and Mind
Way back. At the beginning of summer, I sowed a 90-foot row of zinnias. The seeds are a combination of my saved seeds and gifted seeds from my Aunt Laverna. She has been saving those Dockter family seeds since her grandmother’s day. Zinnias are easy to grow. The colors, sizes and shapes of each bloom Continue reading
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Leavin’ the Garden of Weedin’
Yes, it’s time to say goodbye to the summer, and it’s about time. October is my favorite month of the year. The 10th month of the year provides chill nighttime temperatures for a relaxing sleep. During the daytime, the temperatures have been in the 70s, sometimes reaching the 80s, making it perfect for a walk-about Continue reading
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Cherishing Small Town Memories: A Grandmother’s Reflection
APOLOGY: I am so sorry this is late. This is a busy time of year, and I am preparing to do one more market before the freeze, when my attention will turn to cleaning out the gardens. And, I’m so disappointed I cannot find that photo of me as a cheerleader.) Maybe not all of Continue reading
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I’m worried about my worry worms
Before leaving for Estonia, we had a farewell lunch together. Nancy and I were flying to Estonia soon, and Shelley was praying for us. There was a lot of laughter, well wishes, and, of course, Shelley brought gifts. Then I shared my worry worms. The camp theme was based on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Continue reading
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Preparing for My Journey to Estonia: A Personal Reflection
All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go…… This is it. It has been nearly a year since I committed to traveling to Estonia for an Adult Bible Camp. The time has come to check in for my flight. My bags are packed, my testimony written, and my lesson planned. Some of my preparations Continue reading
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In the Garden of Eatin’
My mother cared for the enormous garden behind our house in Fredonia, N.D. She spent hours tending those vegetables, and a strawberry patch of about the same size next to it. One year, to ward off the robins, my dad sat on the back steps and shot the first bird taking advantage of the red Continue reading
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Weaving Success: My Artistic Journey began at Art in the Park, Mandan
My first job in Mandan was at the Mandan News and Finder. It was back then, in the late 1970s, that I was introduced to the town that celebrates the Fourth of July like no other. There were decorations, fireworks, rodeos, children’s events, and Art in the Park. It was at a booth in the Continue reading
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Small victories and big heartaches
It’s June. I’m celebrating in a small way today. The month of May has passed, and I did not have a single lab, scan, MRI, or doctor’s visit for the first time since December of 2022. In years past, hospitals, clinics, and labs were minor annual blips on the radar of life. Doctor’s visits were Continue reading
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From Seeds to Serenity
Many families spent Memorial Day weekend on a lake, cooking out, eating watermelon, and relaxing. The rest of us, well everybody knows at least one, worked frantically planting our gardens. After the most welcome rain and ever-warming nighttime temperatures, gardening has begun in earnest. Overnight, the trees have greened, the grass lushed up and will Continue reading
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The gift of cancer
Many illnesses are not outwardly obvious, but dealing with them becomes a part of life, and you do what you have to do. Cancer is one of those things. It may not be easy to understand what feelings run through someone’s head after a cancer diagnosis. Or maybe it is. We all have an opportunity Continue reading
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Embracing Life During Cancer: My Journey Forward
Somehow when you are painfully aware that you are in the winter of your life with a non-curable disease, you think almost daily, “What should I do now?” There are so many things I want to do or be a part of. What do I do? By nature, I am the type of person who Continue reading
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Finding Peace in the Cold: A Personal Health Journey
Creeeaaaaaccccckkkk. My heart skipped a beat at the sound of an unfamiliar crack. A very loud noise. The house at last surrendered to the weight of the cold that blew in overnight. It settled over the area like a weighted blanket. Below zero kind of cold creates a hush. It was quiet, as if Continue reading
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A Kaseman Carol: A Family Christmas Reflection
A few years back instead of sending a regular Christmas card to my family, I wrote a short story and created a Christmas Card booklet. I think it was before the advent of Shutterfly and Blurb because I printed, folded, and stapled a cover on it myself. It’s not a New York Times bestseller, but Continue reading
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Christmas bells. Cancer bells
Sometimes, reality sets in. None of my doctors have ever given me a timeline for my cancer’s course. I have never asked. It’s between God and me. I’m trying to move forward without dwelling on what happens next. So far, it’s been excellent news. We share that news at a group I zoom in on Continue reading
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Embracing Faith While Facing Uncertainty
Imagine opportunities you can see across the Missouri River. You dig your toes into the sandy beach and shield your eyes from the rising sun. The shore looks a long way off. You aren’t a good swimmer and the water is cold. Inside your belly, a fire burns longing to get to the other side. Continue reading
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Cancer changes everything. No. Cancer changes me
My mother’s health began to fail at the age of 80. I began to spend as much time as possible with my parents by stopping at their home in Jamestown while taking road trips for my job. My brother lived in the same community and this gave us the opportunity to connect weekly, if not Continue reading
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Believe it or not, I’m at a loss for words this week.
My journey began in January of 2023. As fall slowly creeps into our overnight temperatures, I’m coming up on two years since the day my doctor called and told me the news. She sounded apologetic. It was after 5 p.m. She called a surgeon she worked with to please review the chest X-ray. He followed Continue reading
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Living with Lung Cancer: Navigating Memory Loss and Hope through Poetry and Puzzles
Tumors in the brain make you painfully aware of the memory loss associated with chemo and cancer. I’m always reading, writing, and playing word games to hopefully use up some unused portions of my brain that aren’t under attack at this time in my life. I feel like I am doing fairly well memory-wise, but Continue reading
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There’s no such thing as 15 minutes in McIntosh County
Last week was a week of loss. First, my Aunt Alma went to sleep Saturday evening and woke up Sunday morning in heaven close to one month before her 96th birthday. Then my old neighbor, Jerry Serhienko, followed her two days later. There have been two new cancer diagnoses since then also.It must be my Continue reading
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Cancer, Courage, and Cenotes: A Journey of Facing Fears and Finding Strength
The author reflects on a summer filled with normalcy, enjoyable farmer’s markets, and a trip to Mexico despite cancer. The vacation included confronting fears by snorkeling and exploring Mayan ruins. The experience taught that cancer can give courage and the support of loved ones is essential for moving forward positively. Continue reading
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Winter is coming
The Stark family’s words, “Winter is coming,” resonate as the author reflects on entering the “winter years” of life post-cancer treatment. Facing uncertainty and limitations, they share lessons learned: cherish family, be generous, embrace individuality, and live in the present. Embracing this new phase gracefully, they find solace in focusing on what they can still… Continue reading
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Remember Aunt Alice?
A lightbulb moment. Everyone has one or two or three. It happens when your brain’s receptors are wide open, and something you have heard your whole life suddenly makes a whole lot of sense. Like how could you have missed it? And then there are six degrees of separation. In North Dakota, if you were born and raised here, we are Continue reading
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Uncle Ed
Uncle Ed is my father’s youngest brother. Shortly, way too shortly after my brother passed unexpectedly, and for unknown causes, there went Uncle Ed on June 3. I was heartbroken. You see, every uncle and each aunt contributed something to the person I am today. Every loss affects me differently, but this one was particularly Continue reading
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Life is short and then your taxes are due
I’m caught somewhere between spring 2023 and spring 2024 at the moment. With the medical benefit, Easter, my birthday, and the stomach flu, somehow I lost my bearings. I do, however, feel like I should have thanked everyone for the countless well wishes, cards, donations, love, prayer, and support that I don’t think I deserve Continue reading
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Tying up loose ends
While you might be waiting for the end of treatment post with bated breath, I’m side-tracking a bit this week. Somewhere between the end of the farmer market season in 2022 and the 2023 cancer diagnosis, I took on a project I have been meaning to attempt for some years now — collect the Kaseman Continue reading
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Easter came and I missed it
Pretty funny the things we remember and how we remember them. I have had to ask my daughter several times how long she was here. It was four weeks, or was it five? Before she relocated to Mandan for my treatment, she was looking at Pinterest haircuts for me. Not ever being shy of being Continue reading
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There’s always a tomorrow when it comes to birthdays
JUST FYI: the birthday cake on Monday’s post was one that Claire made for someone else. IT WAS Not the strawberry one from the cancer center folks. X-rays, biopsies, doctor appointments, radiation, chemo, immunotherapy, nurses, weigh-ins, and cancer. These are the things that rob your memory. Thank goodness there are iPhones and sons. I mentioned Continue reading
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The end is near…
The end of the year is near, but the story of 2023 continues. I could not write about the year while living it. I’m not sure why I need to record the events that transpired, one after another, but I think it is imperative to “get 2023 out of my system.” Writing affords me a Continue reading
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Herbals versus narcotics for pain — April 2023
There’s a pain in my chest, my jaw, and my head all the time. I hate to be a baby about it, but I also don’t like downing drugs like candy. I tried Tramadol. I hate Tramadol. It gave me a migraine so bad I couldn’t do a thing. I gave it a second chance. Continue reading
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Where do I begin?
Every story has to begin somewhere. I’m struggling with how to document the year 2023. It has been a year unlike any. And, why not? We are getting older, the world is getting weirder, nothing remains the same, even me. This year has been a year of change for our family in some life-altaring ways. Continue reading
About Me
I love to write. My background is graphic arts and journalism. My roots are German-Russian from McIntosh County, North Dakota.
My time is spent reading, writing, gardening, cooking, blogging, fiber arts – you name it, we try it.
INDYchildrendotme 