Venturing Through the Fires of Life

A wonderful season in my life came to an end as I let go of the last scrap of aluminum from an old  farm store complex. On October 9, 2021, a raging fire destroyed all four buildings which were originally a farmer-owned co-op  in Mount Angel. 

No longer in use by farmers, the building had  been  purchased by my brother, Bob. He spent years getting just the right renters with successful businesses: an antique mall, Hiddenbed of Oregon, Timber Stoves, and KP's  Harvest Time Products. The income from those leases was to be his retirement income. Bob was nearing his move to Oregon so we could live close to each other and enjoy gardening, playing pinochle, and dining together. He was a great cook! Three months after the fire, Bob passed away. 

The businesses were devastated by the conflagration and our family had to have the property cleaned up and sold. 

We managed to gather some scraps of aluminum from the old grain towers. A local Mount Angel lady, Tammy Plummer, painted pictures of the building on some of them and flags on others. We sold them as a fundraiser for a school. With deep sadness I released the last one from the tight grasp of my hands.

This is the end of memorable years of running an Oktoberfest parking lot, enjoying Bob's visits, and seeing that historic grain tower competing for attention with the church spire in that old German town.

Adventure at a Book Fair

I arose at 6:00 am and left my home at 8:00.  My car was loaded with boxes of the two books I have written, a folding table, painted metal scraps, my purse, and lunch bag. In the large hall there were 42 authors with books in a wide range of genres. I set up my table. By 10:00 readers were filtering into the Lebanon Senior Center.

I meandered through the rows of tables looking at other books--an endless variety. All the authors enthusiastically shared about their writings. Fantasy seemed to be a very popular genre.

In addition to my books, I had some rescued scraps of metal from the burned Wilco bulding in Mount Angel. Tammy Bakken Plummer, a Mount Angel artist had painted the U.S. flag on them. We sell them as a fundraiser for a school.

I was pleased that I sold an equal number of my two books, which are quite different. The first being, The Seamstresss of Jamestown, an historical fiction novel set in a California gold mining town in 1870. The second book, The Woman in the Well, is a memoir of my descent into the earth unexpectedly and unpleasantly!

These book fairs are enjoyable because the type of person who reads and attends these are fascinating to speak with. They all have their own joys and benefits they receive from reading. They relate to my books and share some similar stories. It is a wonderful experience to interact with authors and readers for five hours. I truly enjoy these events.

Library Fun!