July 19, 2010:

That was quite a storm that roared through Saturday night. We spent a couple hours in the basement waiting for the all-clear time. The Sisters at the Motherhouse spent time in the dining room during the tornado-warning time, too. I did not like the looks of the green sky and churning clouds. Praise God that we were protected from damage. And my prayers go out to farmers who lost crops and all others that suffered property damage.

Last Friday night was the17th Relay for Life event in Morrison County at Flyers Field. Several of us attended the Survivors dinner. I walked the first round, the Survivors’ Walk, for myself and all our Sisters who are cancer survivors. There were 31 teams who walked through the night. I heard they raised about $133,000. That’s a lot of money. Brittany Dobmeier told her story of having pancreatic cancer. Since hearing those words, she said, “The Relay has a whole new meaning for me. It hit home.” Brittany is a 22 year-old pre-med student at Hamline University in St. Paul. This year’s theme was: To Celebrate More Birthdays. Next year the Relay will be July 15. The awards went to Kathy Hubner as the top individual and the Bookin It team as the high money raisers. Thanks. The quilt is made of the various shirts worn during the Relay over the years.


The County Fair came to an abrupt and early end Saturday night when the storms came up and the Fairgrounds were evacuated.

Last Wednesday evening the group, As Good As it Gets, came to entertain the Sisters. They are five ladies who like to sing and play together. They invited us to join them in singing some of the songs we knew.


Last week I was to the Mississippi River. I could hardly believe how low the water is…rocks sticking out all over the place.

Yesterday three of us went for a Sunday afternoon drive. (It reminded us of when we were kids and went with our parents to check-out-the-crops.) Our first stop was at Umbria, our cottage on The River south of Rice, MN. We had heard that the fields of wild flowers were so beautiful. The ARE!!! This is the third year that the land has not been grain fields. The land was planted with prairie grasses and wild flowers. It is a beautiful sight to behold.

Our next stop was to enjoy the beauty of the Munsinger and Clemens Gardens. They are so beautiful. I talked with a couple from Duluth who came to St. Cloud just to see the gardens. If you’ve not been there, it is worth the trip.


It is quiet around the house these days because a big, silent retreat started last evening and goes until Saturday noon. May God bless all those in retreat and renew their spirits. There are 70+ making the retreat. I am working in the mailroom all week so Sr. Georgine can make the retreat.


Peace and blessings. May God protect us from damaging storms.


Sister Mary Lou