This picture of the northern lights was taken from our yard. It was our first time experiencing them. Fall is a beautiful time of year. The leaves begin to change color and the bugs begin to die. Last year, I released my song “#1”. It was a time in which AI programs were becoming popular. I made a lyric video that had an AI image in the background of someone hiking in a mountainous landscape. After some reflection, I realized that I didn’t really feel good about using an AI image.
So I decided to redo the video. I ended up capturing some beautiful footage of a nearby historic road. I knew there would be little to no traffic and I went at the perfect time when the leaves were in the middle of changing color but just starting to fall. Here is my new lyric video.
Parallel to the leaves falling and dying, our family experienced the loss of some loved ones this fall season. Both of my Grandma’s died peacefully within two months of each other, both at the age of 92. Both of them had been in nursing homes for multiple years. My Grandma Joan (my dad’s mother) died on August 16th in West Bend, WI and my Grandma Kathy died on October 17th in Green Bay, WI. I will miss them both.
I will remember Grandma Joan staying at our house when my parents made a trip to France when I was eight years old. We had a lot of fun playing board games the whole week. With my Grandma Kathy, I will remember staying over at her place multiple times while on break when I was in college studying for the priesthood. I loved hearing her tell the story of how our family was saved by the miracle of the fire at the Shrine of Our Lady of Champion.
Calena also experienced a loss. Her Aunt Linda (her dad’s oldest sister) passed away in September. She was a woman of faith and I am grateful for the few times I was able to spend time with her and have deep conversations about faith and politics.
I was blessed to share my music at both of my grandma’s funerals. Joan was Lutheran and Kathy was Catholic.
For both funerals, we came down to Oshkosh to stay at my parents. Calena was able to take the kids to visit the tomb of our miscarried baby.
We were able to have a decent harvest from our garden. We had a few weeks of delicious home grown salads. Also, we even got a few pumpkins this year! We stocked our woodpile as a family and I cleaned our chimney in preparation for winter.
We like to have more bonfires in the fall because the bugs are way down once the evening temperature drops. The colder weather encourages us to build a strong fire so that being close keeps us warm. We had fun telling stories, singing songs, looking at the stars, and cooking food over the fire.
We also have been watching some of the Packers games together as a family and we’ve been playing football outside.
We are super excited to build a 40 x 70 ft ice rink this winter. We found a fairly level area in the middle of our field. With two hoses connected it will be just long enough to make the rink. This year I am hoping for a long stretch of cold weather because I am making the rink without a liner. An ice rink liner is a giant white tarp that you put over the grass that holds the water as it freezes. Instead, I will be mixing snow and water to create the ice.
With a liner, you have to fill it up with water all at once. Since our well has relatively low water pressure, a rink this size would take an estimated 15-30 hours straight to fill. The liner is nerve-racking to me to do because if there is one hole it can mess up the rink. Building liner-less will take a bit more time, but give me greater control over the process. It also saves me the money of buying the liner. Liners are more necessary if you expect the temperature to rise beyond 30 degrees often. Since we live way up north in Wisconsin, going without a liner makes more sense because our climate is colder and therefore our ice has a better chance of remaining solid especially starting in late December until early March.
I am excited to become an “Iceologist” as my dad calls it. He made a backyard rink each winter for us growing up. Great memories. He never used a liner.
Ksenia, my mom, and I made a trip to Ave Maria, Florida in late September. We stayed at my sister’s house. It was Ksenia’s first time in Florida! My Grandpa Jim lives in Naples and we got to spend some time with him by the ocean.
I was set to perform the music for the high school students at Donahue Academy. Hurricane Helene hit on September 26th and ended up cancelling the retreat. The hurricane didn’t hit Ave Maria badly but it was enough to cancel school.
Thankfully, I was able to come back in early December to lead retreats for 1st-3rd, 4th-5th, and 6-8th grades. They went well!
The new song I have to share with you is Trust in the Lord. The bones of the song are the keyboard chords. I was able to include some of my family members in the song. It is a repetitive song with simple lyrics. I am first joined in vocals by my son Blaise (9), then Ksenia(6), and finally my wife Calena. I finished the song singing the song on my own with both a low and high vocal.
It is a simple song to encourage greater trust in God. Back in Pennsylvania I purchased a very old refurbished mandolin. If you listen closely, you will also hear it come in during the middle of the song. That was fun for me to add to the song. This was another milestone for me in my quest to mix and master my own music.
May God bless and keep all those who have gone from this life to the next. Please pray for souls, especially for those who have no one to pray for them.
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
