So many things to write about!

So many things to write about. And if I don’t do it today it won’t get done until next week.

Last Thursday evening, the Continuing Education School had their graduation for 28 young men and women. The Franciscan Sisters gave scholarships to two young women. Kimberlynn Allen will be attending classes at St. Cloud Technical College in the Dental Hygiene Program next fall. Taeler Ross will attend the University of Minnesota-Morris in the fall with hopes of becoming an elementary teacher. We wish our best to these and to all 2011 graduates. We will keep you in our prayers. The Continuing Education Center has had its programs at St. Francis for 22 years.

We celebrated Memorial Day over the weekend. On Sunday, a couple of us went to Camp Ripley for their 16th annual Memorial Day ceremony. Eleven Minnesota Military persons have died since last year’s service. The day was overcast and we had only two drops of rain. So we did not have hot sun to contend with. There was an American flag at every grave site and flowers by many graves, also. God bless all the living and deceased military personnel.

While out at the Veteran’s Cemetery, we were also able to see the first of the five 8-foot by 10-foot oil paintings by artist Charles Kapsner, depicting Veterans through the ages. The five paintings will honor the Army, the Marine Corps, the Navy, the Air Force and the Coast Guard. When completed they will be on display in the Committal Hall at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery near Little Falls. This historic project will ensure that our Veterans’ sacrifice will be remembered. I was surprised to hear that there are over 4,000 veterans and their family members buried there.

I am in awe of all the activity in the Community Gardens just south of the Motherhouse. There are 68 plots of varying sizes, and they are all taken. The produce seems to be growing well. With our sandy soil, the rain and rain and rain has not hurt the gardens—and saves on watering!

This morning the outgoing Leadership Team had coffee and donuts and a short program as a thank you to us. Three of the Sisters were contestants in the ”Jeopardy of Fortune” game.

The big 2,000 piece puzzle got finished last week, too. The many black pieces made it a challenge to finish. The picture is that of the San Francisco Bridge. It is a Ravensburger Puzzle. No two pieces are alike, so the box says.

Last week we had a Rhubarb Party. The 'Sentence to Serve' guys pulled the rhubarb and the Sisters washed and cut up 25, 5-gallon pails for freezing.

Peace and goodness.

 Sister Mary Lou