Roots, Hoots and Salutes!

Hi All!

I apologize for not getting my ramblings up last night, as promised, but by the time we got home and had everything unloaded and cleaned up, it was pretty late. And I, my friends, was beat!


It was completely worth it!

Let's start off with my niece's graduation. It was so cool to watch her accomplish this milestone with such maturity and grace. Even better, was watching my little brother, as he watched her. He has 3 kids, and this is the first to leave the nest. It's very bitter sweet to see your babies graduate. On one hand you are so proud of them you just want to burst, on the other, your buffering days between them and the huge world out there, are coming to an end. They are, for all intents and purposes, grown up.

The graduation brought back all kinds of memories, those of our girls' graduations, and even those of my own. Which brings us to the next part of my ramblings. The Denzil Centennial!

To start things off, I did a reading/signing on Friday afternoon. It went pretty great! Some of the faces in the crowd were those of people I used to babysit in high school! Others were the faces of their kids, some were Aunts and Uncles, some were covered in face paint and cotton candy. The best part is, that when I was finished reading both books, they were all covered in smiles!

So after we finished up signing books, we headed back to the lake for a bite to eat and a bit of a wade in the water. It was gorgeous! Then, it was back to Denzil for the first of 2 nights of dancing!

The band the first night, was, well, disappointing. Two guys on guitars, a lot of canned backtracks (and not great quality ones), forgotten lyrics, and missed chords. All in all, it seemed like a band dipped heavily in rust, that didn't really bother to shake off the cob webs for our little country town.

Now, did we let this hamper our good time? Of course not! My hubby, some cousins, and I still had a complete blast!

Now, on to Saturday. Through the course of this gorgeous day, we were able to pick up a few missing or forgotten pieces of camping essentials (we are pretty much novices), to meet my newest little cousin, Elijah, who, by the way is adorable, and get ready for the next round of food and dancing!

We drove back to Denzil for an awesome supper that fed well over 500 people. Here is where I was able to meet up with a few familiar faces! I was a little disheartened to see only 2 of my graduating classmates during the weekend, but there were a lot from the classes a little older and a little younger, so a person was still able to get caught up with a few people.

The band for the dance on Saturday night was phenomenal! They had a huge arsenal of songs, which they played and sang with perfect three and four part harmonies.  The hubs and I had a hoot and spent very little time on our chairs that night!

Also, on Saturday night the little town of Denzil put on the best fireworks display I have ever seen! They hired a company that has been honored with all kinds of national and international awards, and, Wow! It was absolutely spectacular! We were standing with the band, watching, and the lead singer, commented on how it was the best he has seen, way better than Disney World! A huge salute to Denzil!

During the bands' breaks, we had a chance to chat with them about music, dance crowds, venues, etc. Through the conversations, we found out the lead singer has a CD out and a 5 year old son. Well, we did a little swap, and now his little guy, Noah, has a signed copy of " A Crazy Day," and we have an awesome CD to listen to!

The combination of my niece graduating, coming back to the town where I grew up, and capping it off with a reading/signing of my very own books, sure makes a person reflect on your roots.

It was good to go back and see where and who I come from. Roots are important, even if they aren't perfect. The hard soil and rocks our roots go through to thrive, is what makes them strong enough to withstand the harshest storms.

Now folks, as for the upcoming week.

Armed with some tips from Saturday night's band (The Hudec Brothers), I will take a fresh stab at the guitar.

 I also need to start the music prep for Milden's Centennial.

We are also doing that wedding is early September. I need to start the initial prep work on that.

I need to work on more childrens' songs.

I have to get in touch with the Sundog Craft Show people to find out if I made the cut.

Shaping up to be a busy enough week!

Until then.


May you see your roots for what they are, the beginnings of who you've become.
May you let the solid ones run deep, let the ones carrying poison die, for they can only hinder your run.

May you become a root in another's life, one they can hold on to, a deep runner, solid and true.
May you find being that root for others, makes you, your happiest you.

May you accept your roots, both good and bad, and turn them into gold.
May you accept that they are only the beginnings of who you are, the rest is for you to own.



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