family
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The Power of the Pencil: Embracing Your Inner Writer at Christmas
This is the first year I can remember not sending Christmas cards to everyone by the day after Thanksgiving. In past years, I designed many Christmas cards and had them ready to mail by the time the Advent season began. Not this year. This has become my year of wandering in the desert, waiting for Continue reading
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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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The Real Meaning of Christmas: Anticipation and Reflection
This year, Christmas arrived before winter did. Retail stores began selling Christmas decorations before Halloween was in the rear view mirror. Black Friday and Cyber Monday emails drowned out any important messages we might have received over the past few days. It’s already overwhelming. And it’s just begun. Today, it seems that Christmas has become 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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Brief update ‘cause it’s almost Friday
One day of packing, two days of moving, three days at Mayo and the time change have been exhausting this past week. Not to mention, scanxiety at yet one more CT scan on Monday. Yes, scanxiety is something we all experience with upcoming tests. The most difficult part is waiting for results. The good news 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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The Joy of Fall: Homecoming Memories with Cheerleaders
PS: Next week I will post a photo of me as a cheerleader. I don’t have access to it at the moment. I hope I can find it. What wonderful weather comes with the autumnal equinox. Warm sunny afternoons and chill evenings, just right for bonfires. With the changing season comes school. With school, there Continue reading
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Harvesting Memories: A Journey of Resilience
It has been quite a year. Here we are approaching fall, speculating on whether winter will be mild or cold and snowy. The gardens are nearly done producing, and the root cellar has been restocked as the pile of empty jars goes down to nearly nothing. An awesome trade-off. Speaking of trade-offs, I have accomplished Continue reading
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Embracing Creativity: My Journey to Fargo
It’s already Thursday, and I am still struggling to complete a blog post. Well, this is my week of storytelling in person, rather than virtually. On Tuesday, I presented on my mission trip to Estonia. Today, I am in Fargo at the Sanford Survivorship Retreat. I took this opportunity to leave on Wednesday and spend 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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Challenges of Gardening (and breathing) in Extreme Weather
This was a good year to cut back on farmers markets. With the damage in my lungs and current medication, I have become sun sensitive, heat sensitive, and unnaturally tan. While it hasn’t stopped me from weeding and harvesting in the early morning, standing in the parking lot in this heat would be very uncomfortable. 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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From the farmer’s field to the mission field
Somehow, everything changes after the Fourth of July holiday. I can’t explain it, but even the weather seems to react to the shortening days. My garden has been loving the rain and there are signs of harvest popping up all over the place. Many of you know I decided to take some time off from Continue reading
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The Joy of Watching Grandchildren Grow
There is no greater joy than grandchildren. Somehow, while raising my children, I missed out on observing how a child progresses from non-communication to endless questions and observations. My friend Shelley maintains we are too busy as moms making sure they are fed and cared for to notice the nuances of the toddler stage. Being Continue reading
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The Joy of Watching Grandchildren Grow
The very first personal column I penned for the Mandan News so many years ago was titled “Cleaning up the Little Girl.” My daughter was in middle school. One day, after work, I went to her bedroom and caught her furiously cleaning. She earned some extra cash cleaning houses and seemed to enjoy cleaning our 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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The Emotional Journey of Medical Appointments
Well, it’s not Monday, but I thought I had better stick to my schedule and get a post out. It was a wonderful Easter Saturday, followed by the dreaded CT scan and MRI on Easter Monday. It’s Tuesday evening, and this Tom Petty song keeps going around my head. “The waiting is the hardest partEvery Continue reading
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Miss Sue goes to Washington
Like Mr. Smith, my first trip to Washington D.C. was an adventure. Who’s Mr. Smith, you are asking? Remember Jimmy Stewart in Frank Capra’s “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” Mr. Smith’s story opens with the death of a senator. When contemplating a replacement, Hubert Hopper, the governor of some western state, appoints an unknown Boy Continue reading
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A Year of Healing: Birthday Reflections After Cancer
March is a month of birthdays in our family. Growing up, my dad did not acknowledge birthdays. When the subject was broached, his answer was, “It’s just another day.” There were no huge birthday parties growing up. No mountains of gifts, and no grandparents in attendance, but we did get birthday cake, I think. When Continue reading
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A time of German-Russian purgatory
When man plans, God laughs. It’s been eight days since my hospital stay. Eight days of German-Russian purgatory. For anyone joining me on this cancer journey, I recently posted my long list of commitments for the year, trusting I would be well enough to follow through. I was feeling so normal I filled my calendar Continue reading
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I’ve seen the end and it ain’t pretty
Ever had the wind knocked outta your sails to the point of capsizing the boat? It has been such a couple of weeks. I have spent hours gathering my thoughts to put down in words. I have seen the end and it ain’t pretty. The past two weeks have been colored with grief at the Continue reading
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Elsa Dutton’s Wisdom: Faith and Purpose in Life
1 John 5:14-15“And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.” I think I was born too late. True, TV westerns romanticize the past, 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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Christmas: Past, Presence, the Future
Christmas Past Two years have passed since December 2022 and the cough that changed my life. Forever. My darling granddaughter, Audenia, was born on December 30. I went to see her, came back, saw my doctor, and by January 2023 began a journey that I didn’t expect to last this long. Yet, here I am, living in three-month increments with lung cancer. 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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Thriving Through Anxiety: A Thanksgiving Reflection
It’s 4 a.m. I can almost smell the cup of Earl Grey waiting to be brewed as part of my morning ritual. “Is it too early to get up?” I ask myself before the next glance at the clock reads 5:37 a.m. That’s a reasonable time to get out of bed and enjoy quiet time Continue reading
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Let me tell you ‘bout my Jesus
It is done. Not the large tunnel, not the outdoor garden, not the small tunnel, not the flower beds — all of it. Everything. Done. In one day from green and growing to clean for sowing. The sun warmed the still air. People showed up by 10 a.m. By noon, three of us had dumped 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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Cancer goals: A McIntosh County cemetery tour
One of this year’s “I have cancer” goals involves working less on my passions in life and spending more time with people. (I am an introvert and people wear me out.) I do love spending days in the garden or crocheting for my grandkids. However, it’s been a wonderful year of reconnecting with my past 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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Cancer, Gratitude, and God’s Tender Mercies
After a challenging week involving medical procedures and family events, the author expresses gratitude for their home, health, and support. Despite the ongoing battle with cancer, they embrace each day as a precious gift, drawing inspiration from a poem and their faith. The author encourages others to cultivate a spirit of gratitude and kindness. Continue reading
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Navigating Health Challenges with Faith: The Power of Prayer
We leak. It’s 3 a.m. Monday morning. My throat hurts. My left ear is throbbing. My eyes are wet but there are no tears on my pillow. There’s a storm brewing in the pit of my stomach. The peace of the past four days has dissipated like the morning mist on the windows from the Continue reading
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Overcoming Cancer Doubts: A Journey of Faith and Reminders
Some days I feel so normal, whatever that means. Some days there are moments I can forget I have cancer. My body seems to be working just fine. I can make it through the day without napping every hour. I can weed for hours on my hands and knees on a beautiful August morning. I Continue reading
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Fulfilling My Longtime Dream: A Journey to Alaska Amidst Cancer
Here is a scan of a yearbook photo from 1973 of my science teacher, Mr. Bryan Dinkins. I wish I had paid more attention to my studies back then; of course, I didn’t realize how much I used math and science in baking, sewing, weaving and almost everything else I do. If you can see… 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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50th Class Reunion: Rediscovering Memories
As a journalist, I had the privilege of interviewing many people for newspaper articles and the two books I wrote about Germans from Russia. Most interviewees begin by saying, “I have nothing to say that anyone would want to listen to.” By the end of the interview, they would say, “Thank you so much for 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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Witnessing the Power of Prayer and Healing | Encouraging Update on Tumor Progress
SEEING THE FOREST FOR THE TREES It’s true. They say sometimes you cannot see the forest for the tree. It’s very true. Sometimes you cannot see the big picture when surrounded by all the stuff that gets in the way of your view. Details, feelings, other people’s feelings. It’s been one of those weeks. I’m Continue reading
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Overcoming Loss: The Story of ‘Dan’, a Resilient Tree and Symbol of Hope
I love plants. My house is full of plants. If a leaf drops and you leave it lying on top of the soil it becomes another plant and they continue to grow and reproduce until you have a houseful of plants. The front of our house has a long porch with lots of windows. Those plants love it out 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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The Threadbare Bunny
I wanted to do something for Easter for my grandchildren so they would remember me when I am gone. So I gathered up the courage to cut up a quilt my grandmother made for me and stitched five bunnies. Then I wrote a story explaining the quilt turned bunny and printed a little book with Continue reading
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My new normal
When I saw my doctor last week, I said, “I know my life will never be the way it was before this all started. So I have to find a new life.” However, I didn’t expect this second round of dis-ease to feel like I was pregnant with an alien baby, or worse Rosemary’s. But, Continue reading
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The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
“After radiation is better understood a day will come when the power from exploding toms will change the whole world we know. Some of the mutations will be good ones – wonderful things beyond our dreams – and I believe I believe this with all my heart, THE DAY WILL COME WHEN MANKIND WILL THANK Continue reading
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Coming out
By now, you may have heard the news about Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s cancer. There was quite a hullabaloo regarding the fact he hadn’t disclosed any information about his cancer before his recent hospitalization. Granted, I am not a VIP, and my cancer did not make headlines, but I know why he did what he Continue reading
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Ring my bell, ring bell…
It’s here finally. I baked a couple of cakes. The first was a three-layer white cake with Swiss buttercream. If I am honest, that frosting tasted like I buttered each layer twice with sweetened butter. Lucy and I love white cake. Elle and I love chocolate cake. I never met a cake I did not 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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Week two treatment – Happy Birthday to me
The second week of treatment was pretty much the same as week one. Everyone at the cancer center was so nice. I told someone I knew why people went to the doctor as often as they did because they were treated with such tenderness. It might have felt like love.The staff also knew we were 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
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 