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Time for Pie
Thirteen years ago I was pregnant and some new friends invited me to watch the move “Waitress” with them. I was enchanted by the quirky film, the story of a woman named Jenna (played by Keri Russell) who is unexpectedly pregnant and in an unhappy marriage but finds solace in baking pies and dreams of…
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Daphne and Her Ducks
My four ducks- Jemima, Zeana, Ping, and Peep- are a non-stop source of entertainment. Since spring set in I have been letting the birds free range in the yard, where they scavenge for bugs and tasty plants. The chickens have been especially industrious scratching up dirt alongside the house and under bushes and trees. The…
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Seasons
When I was a kid, I thought growth was continuous. Every year I got a little bit taller, a little bit stronger, a little bit faster than the year before. I imagined this rate of growth would continue for the rest of my life, until one day when I was on a hike with my…
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Oak Center General Store
If you drive north towards Lake City on Hwy 63, you may notice a two-storied general store building seemingly in the middle of nowhere. At first glance you might take it for an abandoned relic of a bygone era, when every tiny township in this part of Minnesota had its own economic center. But as…
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5 Affirmations for the Socially Anxious
The fear hits me on a regular basis: “What if I’ve offended someone by something I said?” Whether it be comments made in conversation or posts on social media, I feel my gut wrench instinctively after sharing any thought or opinion. It is a manifestation of my social anxiety, my fear that I might be…
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Zelda the She-Rooster
We brought our birds home in the late summer as two-day-old babies, tiny fluff balls huddled together in cardboard boxes that seamed to weigh nothing at all. Aubrey and I had selected four ducklings and eight pullets (female chicks). Chicks that young are notoriously difficult to sex accurately, however, so we knew we were taking…
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Pearl Street
In recent years the three of us (my husband, daughter, and I) have had the opportunity to take an annual weekend trip to La Crosse, Wisconsin. On each visit we have discovered new and interesting places to enjoy a well-crafted cocktail or a tasty sandwich, or view a movie in a unique setting, or browse…
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Food and Flock
This is the time of year when I find myself drawn to hover over the stove, to brew colorful stews and roast root vegetables while I breath in the revitalizing steamy scents of stock and spices. I have felt especially inspired lately to try out some new African recipes from these two excellent cookbooks: Back…
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Cabin Fever
There is a favorite place where my family and I like to go on vacation every couple years. It is a tiny off-the-grid cabin in the middle of a wooded valley. The cabin is heated by a small wood stove and electricity comes from solar panels. We use a composting toilet and conserve our water…
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2021 Blogging Goals
It has been a few months since I last posted. I have been putting my energy into other writing projects, holidays, and editing the layout of this blog. I have also been allowing the drab, low-light days of winter to drag me down from time-to-time, feeling adrift in the sea of social isolation and underemployment.…
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Angie Gustafson 