challenge family history ideas

Well Past Time to Add a Child Care Rating to the Military

We interrupt this regular broadcast of house renovation and excavation posts for a special announcement. This past week, Erik and I became grandparents to our second grandchild. Woooooo-to-the-Hooooooo! As with Grandchild #1, in the interests of our new grandson’s privacy, I likely won’t blog much about him except in fairly general terms. Grandchild #2 is an adorable bundle who doesn’t like to stay swaddled, so I suspect he will be as active as Grandchild #1…

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art design family

What Happened to the Owl?

About a month ago, I posted about a necklace I had made with a pink owl pendant. I was wondering whether I should keep the owl or lose it, so I asked around online. Since that time, I’ve been sidetracked by tearing apart our dining room. Perhaps you’re wondering whatever happened to that owl necklace. Did I keep the owl on the necklace or take it off and rework it? The responses I got to…

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history pragmatic historian preservation

In Memory of Denis P. Gardner

Denis P. Gardner was Minnesota’s National Register Historian. It was a role that was perfect for him because he was so passionate and particular about documenting Minnesota’s historic places. I had the honor of getting to know Denis by serving on the State Review Board, which reviews nominations of Minnesota properties to the National Register of Historic Places. The State Review Board and National Register Historian fall under the auspices of the State Historic Preservation…

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