Saturday Fun

Part of my Saturday was spent in the company of this lovely sunflower.

My brother and I drove down to Coon Valley to Norskedalen to see the Threshing Bee. I had never been there before, and the place is quite expansive. Many old homesteads have been moved to the site, and for the most part, it was like walking back in time. We saw the threshing, and corn picking, and then shelling and flailing and grinding. Lots of work just to get a little flour. It's one thing to spend time on a chore or a craft because you enjoy it, and quite another to do it because you need to survive, and feed a family and livestock.

There were also demonstrations of beekeeping, blacksmithing, butter churning, cheesemaking, lefse making and more. There was an antique steam engine turning an ice cream maker. All of the foods made that day tasted wonderful, and it reminded me again that simpler is often better.

It's difficult to live simply, and more slowly, when the concerns of the modern day are all around. Today I rushed through another busy Monday at work, made the equivalent of "instant" food, and will fast forward through commercials in a television program. The pace is frenetic. Not only fast, but frenzied. I try to grab moments of time, but they go by so quickly they don't seem to be enjoyed, let alone even experienced.

This is something to work on; to change for the better. Simplify, simplify.

I've got my work cut out for me...