Derek Sandstrom

Things That Bug Me

Things that bug me.   I should mention that there are bugs here.   Lots of bugs.   This is the north woods, and there are biting bugs a'plenty.   I hope that doesn't change your plans to come here for vacation.  

 

The most obvious and most plentiful little fella is the mosquito.   There are so many mosquitoes.   So many.   But they are somewhat deal-able because they are slow moving and make that high pitched noise.   So if you're moving you're usually safe, and you can hear them coming.   The biggest danger is when you're sitting still and they get you on the legs and ankles.   Unpleasant.  

 

Then we have deer flies.   These are about the same size as your standard housefly, but sort of triangular in shape.   They don't come down by the lake, but up in the woods there are many.   When we go up to the road to go running, deer flies find us, especially if there is little or no breeze.   They bug you and eventually bite, but like to wander around on you for a few moments first.   There is time to swat.   But they're tenacious.   They follow me for a mile sometimes when I'm running.   Also unpleasant.  

 

Next we have the horse flies.   These guys are big and do buzz, which helps when they fly high around you.   But they can also land softly without detection.   They take a minute to get poised, and then they bite with a painful sting, something like a bee sting that doesn't last.   The upside is that they get carried away with the biting, and can often be smacked.   Revenge is sweet.  

 

Finally there are the little biting flies we call ankle flies.   They are fast and hard to notice, and bite painfully.   The upside is that they are not in camp and only show up when we're out on the lake, and then not very often.  

 

In camp, mosquitoes are clearly the greatest enemy.

 

But, my wife is amazing.   She looked at some natural bug sprays and learned what ingredients they generally have.   We're pretty health conscious and don't do the chemical bug sprays.   So then she went online and ordered essential oils of those ingredients.   She brought them to Canada along with a little, diffuser that you plug into an outlet.   The magic ingredients are lemon grass, rosemary, and geranium essential oils.   Guess what.   They totally work, based on our clinical trials.   Our experiment last night was the most conclusive of all.   The mosquitoes were brutal last night, probably because it had been rainy for the last few days, and they were really hungry.   Those mosquitoes were swarming around our camper awning, clinging to our screen door, making that little dentist drill noise, and being generally menacing.   So, Sheri put our potion in the diffuser and closed all the windows except the ones that open out to our awning.   Then she put our ceiling fan on “in” which sucked air in from above and blew it into the camper.   Basically it created a pump that blew out scented air into our awning area.   Let me tell you that after a few minutes it was mosquito-free!   I couldn't believe it!   And it even smelled nice!   Wow!   We have not been applying the essential oils directly to our skin, but for treating our living space it does a fantastic job.   So take our advice, it's not harmful and it works.  

 

Essential oils…they're not just for hippies anymore!

 

Performing.   I've had the privilege of playing in two churches while we've been here.   I played in the Seventh-day Adventist Churches in Perth and Smiths Falls, Ontario.   They are small churches with very friendly people who treated me very well.   It's so great to be able to go into a church and share what God has done for me and see it have an effect on the people listening.   The Holy Spirit unites people in a way that mere common interests don't.   I'm looking forward to returning to two churches where I've played before.   First Presbyterian Church in Clinton, WI, is one I played last year.   It, too, is a small church with very friendly and enthusiastic people.   Cathy Manthei is our good friend from that church.   She heard a song of mine as it was played in a meeting she attended.   The song had an effect on her, and she learned who I was and bought my CDs from CD Baby.   That gave me her email address, and soon I emailed here to thank her for buying the CDs.   We got to discussing how it was too bad I couldn't come to WI to play, and I asked why couldn't I come to WI to play?   So now we call it our annual concert in Clinton.   Cathy is extremely enthusiastic and her enthusiasm is contagious!   The other church is the First Church of God in Defiance, OH.   Pastor Rick Rufenacht had me play there a couple years ago, and it was a great experience.   This church, by contrast, is a large one.   There was a great energy there, with people excited about God and what He has done for them.

 

Having been at so many churches, I've seen a lot of different ways of approaching church in terms of how people respond.   Some churches are very quiet and contemplative.   There is no clapping or noise of any kind between songs.   Some churches are quiet but a little more relaxed.   They laugh out loud at my stupid jokes and stories.   I guess that makes them merciful, too!   Some churches are very enthusiastic, making noise and responding in the moment.   I find that this is the most different from how I grew up, but also the easiest to play for.   I know how they feel about what they're hearing because they are showing it.   But is one style more correct or appropriate than another?   I don't think so.   I think that by far the most important thing is the attitude of our hearts as we approach God and worship.   I think heart-felt gratitude and love always trump habit and ritual.   But there can be sincerity in those whose church does more ritualized worship, too.   So the main thing for each worshiper, in my opinion, is to check your own heart.   See where you are in your own attitude. Ask God to show you, too.   Then worship Him with a sincere spirit along with your brothers and sisters.   God will steer you where He wants you to be.

Happy July 24th!

Happy 24th of July!   The owner of Tumblehome Lodge, where we are camping, gave a few fireworks to Morgan today, and we set them off at Harter's Beach.   The 24th of July is a new holiday, just begun today.   I hope it catches on!  

 

Harter's Beach is an area on the coast of the lake (not an island) where we like to go in our boats.   We swim there, visit there, and some of us bass fish there.   The thing that makes Harter's Beach unique is that it is covered with pebbles.   A deep layer of pebbles that I have never gotten to the bottom of.   It's the only place like it on the lake.   Some of the islands have sand, some are rock, but this one area has pebbles.   Millions and millions of pebbles.   It's very weird.  

I am in the process of relocating these pebbles to our campsite, where I am laying them out around our awning.   They are pretty and they also cover the sandy dirt, which sticks to our shoes and tracks into the camper.   I have three buckets, and I am moving Harter's Beach three buckets at a time.   In a mere 9000 years I should make a pretty good dent in it!

 

So the question is obvious.   Why is there this collection of pebbles at this one specific place on this one specific lake?   Did glaciers deposit them there during at the end of an ice age?   Did Noah's flood receding cause them to be deposited there?   Did God, with a glimmer in His eye, simply place a large pocket of pebbles for people to find and wonder about?   I think we won't know the truth of Harter's Beach this side of heaven.   But there's something about them I am drawn to and enjoy seeing and walking on, even though they are hard to walk on and inevitably get caught in my shoes.   Totally worth it.

 

And Harter's rhymes with Carter's.   I'm sure there must be some reason I'm mentioning that.

 

My guitar playing continues to be a fun and challenging project.   I get really frustrated at my lack of coordination.   It takes me considerable time to line up the next chord when I'm finished with the current one.   Sheri consoles me with the reminder that I've only been playing for a few weeks.   I wish there were a guitar pill I could take and be able to play.   But for now, I'm clumsy and halting, but I like the sound it makes when I play a chord well.   So that keeps me willing to stumble forward.   I hope that as the months go by I will be less clumsy and it will sound more and more like music.   This is so good for me, as it is hard to remember what it's like to begin a new instrument.   I can relate to my students better.   I will be able to sympathize better with how it feels to make funny sounds when you want to be making beautiful ones.   Not that I'm immune to making the occasional funny sound even now after all these years!

How I Proposed at Crotch

Did I mention that Crotch Lake is where I proposed to Sheri?  

 

It is.  

 

In the summer of 1994 we were here, as we have been every summer but one since we've been a couple.   Sheri has been here every summer except one in her whole life.   This particular year we went out for a spin on the lake in a borrowed boat.   I had brought some things with me in a bag.   All over the lake are small, rocky islands covered with pine and cedar trees.   They are fun to explore, to use as a swimming dock, to do some cooking over a little campfire, etc.   The islands are named for people who have been there, things that happened there, and so forth.   There's Blueberry Island, Long Island, Burnt Island, Ant Trap Island, Flat Island, Picnic Island, and others.   We got to one of these islands, now called Engagement Island, and got out.   After a few moments of really anxious conversation I announced I'd be right back.   It was really anxious because I knew what I was about to do, and so did Sheri.   But I couldn't just tear right into it, so I had to make it look nonchalant.   Which it didn't.   Oh, well.   So after I got myself ready I came back dressed in the top half of my tuxedo and shorts and sneakers.   You might wonder where a 20-something year old guy gets a tuxedo.   It was left over from college, music major days.   I put on the top half of it (shirt, tie, and coat) and came out.   I'm not sure why I stopped with the top half only.   I guess I thought I'd ruin the rest of it in the dirt.   Sheri knew all along what I was doing, but now she was seeing it face to face.   I walked back to Sheri, got down on one knee, told her again how much I loved her, and asked if she would marry me.   I also presented her with a ring that was new but had a family heirloom diamond in it.   She said yes!  

 

We quickly got back into our boat to look for Sheri's parents who were out fishing.   We found them and showed them the ring on Sheri's finger.   Actually they were not surprised since I had asked for her dad's blessing earlier that evening.   Her mom knew, too, because we were in cahoots getting the ring made.   That's another story.   We got married the following summer, August 5, 1995.   This year it will be our 13 th anniversary, which we will celebrate in Wisconsin on tour.   Apparently 13 is the Cheddar Anniversary.

 

The one time Sheri missed coming to Crotch Lake was the summer she was on bed rest waiting for Morgan to arrive.   That was not fun.   Don't ever tell anyone on bed rest how nice it is that they have an excuse to take it easy and relax.   What they really have is uninterrupted time to lie there worrying that their baby might come too soon to be okay.   Not relaxing at all.

 

Anyway, suffice it to say Crotch Lake has been a very important part of Sheri's family for her whole life.   And now I get the chance to enjoy this tradition, too!

 

On another subject, I am the proud owner of a new computer battery.   Get this.   At home in Pennsylvania, I went on Ebay.   I found the exact battery I need for this laptop, which to me was sort of amazing.   I ordered it and paid for it in American funds.   The company, which is located in Hong Kong, shipped it to me here in Ontario.   God bless the internet!   An American can order something at home from Hong Kong and have it meet him in Canada!   And I paid less than half what I would have paid for the same battery through Apple or MacMall.   What a world!   And if I think that's impressive, wait until heaven!   Can I give the planet Jupiter a fly-by?   See how high I can jump on the moon?   Who knows, but life with fewer boundaries sounds pretty great.   No sickness, no death, no pain, no sorrow.   Not too shabby!   What a great God we have who is preparing a place for us and will come back to receive us to Himself!   He said so in John 14:2.   Read that promise and picture Him speaking to you.   Wow!

Disc Utility

Disc Utility.   We've had some computer issues, mainly the fallout from spilling water on it a few months ago.   It died, but then was resurrected for these months.   But then it really died.   We did find someone to fix it, and are really grateful for not needing to spend a fortune on a new machine.   So, this sort of feels like this computer's third life by now.   Anyway, one of the things I've done to try to get things running smoothly is to use something in our Mac operating system, Disc Utility.   Disc Utility is something that corrects problems with the system.   Now, don't ask me how software can help with hardware.   It makes no sense to me how digits can do work on a physical piece of equipment.   But evidently it can.   One of the things Disc Utility does is to correct permissions, which I think are software, not hardware.   I can't really tell you what a permission is.   My kids don't even ask permission.   They announce things.   “Daddy, I'm going to the bathhouse.”   We come back with, “Do you mean…”   They then correct it with, “May I go to the bathhouse?”   The bathhouse question is a camping question, of course.   We do have indoor plumbing at home.   Even in Etters.

 

But a vacation like this one is Disc Utility for my brain.   We are away from the phone.   We have to drive to email, not walk by the computer and check it several times a day.   There is no TV.   No cell reception.   No video games (which we don't have anyway).   Our neighbors are all family or good friends.   The air is clean, clear, and smells like pine, not Pine Sol.   (Okay, we don't use Pine Sol.   That was my attempt at being clever.)   The humidity is low.   All around are rocks, trees, water, and sky.   The sounds are wind in white pines, and the occasional hum of an outboard motor.   The chore lists are short, but there isn't a lot of entertainment, either.   And there's something about this less stimulating environment that does good things in my heart.   At first, I will admit, the lack of urgent concerns and distractions is disconcerting.   But as I become accustomed to a slower pace, I feel myself unwind at a deeper level.   And file permissions get fixed.   The hard drive is being restored to working order.   The clutter of unneeded files like worry and hurry are being deleted.   I'm sure they will get a reinstall when I get back.   But for now I'll enjoy it.   So I have to recommend taking a vacation where you do very little other than BE.   We are all much better at doing than being.   But when we quit doing and be, we can connect with the God who caused us to be.   And that is what we need very much.

The Sandstroms, Simpsonized

RV chic.   Tumblehome Lodge is divided into 3 sections for the lodging.   One is the lodge.   It's a big building with several units per floor on two floors, sort of like a small hotel.   Then there are the cabins and duplexes.   They are free standing buildings, like a two-family house, or a cabin, as the case may be.   Thirdly is the campground.   We are a small village of sorts.   RVs line a short road up a hill and into the woods.   So, whenever camper people get together, you see different ways of decorating the campsites.   This is true at any campground.   Some people get here and begin gardening so that their site is beautiful and natural.   Some have man-made ornaments, like a plastic pool with electric fountain, or little glass orbs that light up with changing LED lights.   We really keep it simple in the Sandstrom family.   We have a little bit of Astroturf under our awning, and a picnic table.   That's it.   If we hate gardening at home, why do it on vacation?   And the plastic flamingo, hanging lights that are shaped like fish, redneck deco thing, that's really not us, either.   And yet, there's that peer pressure.   “Cliff and Arlene's site looks so pretty.   We could do that…”   However, a prized possession is our sign.   Many campers have a sign that hangs out front.   It usually has the family's name, and often where they are from.   It might be painted, or burned into a plank of wood.   Ours says “The Sandstroms” but we had Kim, our sister-in-law paint it like the opening of the Simpsons.   It looks so fantastic!   She did a brilliant job.   It looks very realistic, just like the TV show.   I love it!

 

 

 

Speaking of the Simpsons, you can now Simpsonize yourself.   Google for it.   There is a site that lets you choose your own physical characteristics so you can see what you would look like if you lived with the Simpsons on the show.   Here's how I look Simpsonized.   Of course, people who know me well might already picture me like this.

 

 

It's at this point that I must clarify.   I am no longer a Simpsons addict.   I enjoyed the show greatly in my younger days.   And I did see the movie, which was hilarious.   But as my own worldview has diverged from the ever more shocking worldview of the TV show I have been forced to part ways.   It was a sad decision, but I guess it's a sign of growth.   Besides, being tied to a cartoon…that's a little sad, isn't it?

 

Sheri and Carter saw a bear tonight.   A real, live bear.  

 

“There's a bar!

 

Whar?

 

Over thar!”

 

They were walking down the path to the bathhouse, and as they came to the top of a little hill, there is was at the bottom.   I would guess it was only about fifty feet away.   It was a small, Black Bear, and it showed no interest in Sheri and Carter, but walking up to a bear is a cause for excitement in us humans!   I'm glad we are still a family of four!   God kept my little flock safe.   And the camp owners made sure there would be no need to fear this particular bear anymore.   Let's leave it at that.

 

The other thing we did today was spend some time in a town called Perth.   I have to tell you, I love Perth.   It is absolutely beautiful.   There's a park there called Stewart Park that is just gorgeous.   Way too many good restaurants for a town so small, but I am not complaining!   Lots of limestone buildings and streets lined with beautiful hanging planters with bright flowers.   Even wireless internet!   It's like a nice, little dose of civilization here in the wild.   And Perth even has a three-day FREE music festival!   What more could a Derek wish for?   If you do take my advice and book a stay at Tumblehome Lodge sometime, because you know you want to vacation at a place called Crotch, you need to plan to take a trip into Perth.   It's great.

 

And one more thing before I close for today.   I can relate to my students better now.   I am getting back to the rigors of learning a new instrument.   A couple years ago I bought a guitar with the goal of learning to play it well enough to lead worship with it.   Well, as you might guess it has sat for these two years.   But, no longer.   I am getting down to learning to play the guitar.   I have this time, and I want to do something musically productive.   Gaining proficiency on a new instrument should count for that.   So far it ain't pretty.   But I'll keep you posted.   I can accompany Morgan as he plays “Twinkle Twinkle” and “Lightly Row” on violin.   Not a bad place to start, playing duets with my boy!

There's No Weather in My Bed

“There is no weather in my bed!”

 

This is what Morgan loudly exclaimed, frustrated that I was requiring him to wear a fleece all the time during our first, chilly days in Canada, EVEN in his bed.   This Sheri and I quickly declared our Quote Of The Day, and wrote it on our white board, which we do to all our Quotes Of The Day.   But Morgan was embarrassed that his angry and somewhat surreal outburst had become a source of amusement, and he erased it.   We don't want to cause him any more embarrassment, so we left it off the board.   Now I'm telling untold millions of people about it.   But I can trust you, right?

 

Today (July 5) it has been a little warmer, and we made our first journey out onto the lake.   We are on our annual trip to eastern central southern north little-to-the-right, now-back-to-the-left Ontario.   Nearly all Americans ask “is that near Toronto?”   Well, no, not really.   It's 4 hours east of Toronto, and two hours west of Ottawa.   An hour + north of Kingston, which is northwest of Watertown, NY.   Confused yet?    Some of you will remember reading other blogs of mine about our vacation destination called Crotch Lake.   No, that's not some weird joke.   It's really called Crotch Lake.   I won't go into a long tangent about the name. (I did that last year!)   Bottom line is that it's a beautiful, 7-mile long, lake surrounded by unspoiled acres of wooded land in the middle of eastern, central Ontario.   This is a long-standing tradition for Sheri's family.   It was practically in our wedding vows!   So we go for an extended time.   While here we     soak up nature, and I get away from pressures of life enough that I can get some good creative work done.   That could be in the form of new songs written, old songs orchestrated, or who knows what.   Getting close to God's creation gets my right brain fired up.   This year, in addition to that, I will be completing Susquehannock High School's marching band show.   That's a way to get my right brain fired up, and to try to get the mush on the left side to wake up and remember to transpose the French horn part properly.   Well, actually my computer does that for me.   Relax, left brain.   You're off duty again.

 

I will say one thing, they have a lot more stars here than at home.   Maybe there's a volume discount for them here in Canada.

Back-to-back gigs!

“So, you’re going to do two full concerts, back to back?” Sheri asked.

“Uh…..yeah,” I nervously replied. It seemed like such a good idea when I booked it! Suddenly I wasn’t so sure! 

Well, both the concerts went fine, and as it turns out I’m glad I booked them both. But Sheri’s right, it was a little ambitious. I should learn to run these things by her once in a while! The voice held out but the fingers got a little dizzy! Glad there wasn’t a third one after the second!

We’re in Jeffersonville, NY as I write this. Sheri and I sometimes say that if you’ve never heard of a place, I’ve probably played there! Or I’m booked there. I had never heard of Jeffersonville, NY, but I’ve been here since Friday evening. I assure you, it exists. And it’s a VERY nice place, to boot! Small town, USA at its finest. People are friendly, ice cream stand gives WAY too much ice cream per order, and someone booked Derek Sandstrom to come play at the First Presbyterian Church.

That someone is Rev. Lee Andrews, who lives next to the church with her husband, Dave. Both were extremely friendly and helpful to us. Great folks from South Dakota. Dave makes no bones about missing SD and that he would return there in the blink of an eye! Lee says that everything is much more exaggerated and severe when it comes to the weather in SD. Rain and snow don’t fall, they fly past your window at 40 miles per hour. But they are following God’s leading, which has them in Jeffersonville, NY. I have to respect that. 

This morning I played at this church, and at the Reformed Church in Youngsville, NY, which is the sister church to this one. Rev. Lee is the pastor at both. She says that pastoring two churches of different denominations is no problem since the two are virtually the same anyway. One thing I’ve discovered by playing at a lot of different churches is that, while denominations can have radically different creeds, and that those are important, we still have more in common than we have in dispute. Don’t get me wrong. I know each church has separated from the others for a reason, and I believe in my church’s mission 100%. But I have learned by experience that God is alive and well at churches with a variety of labels on the doors, and that’s good to know.

I forgot to mention that Jeffersonville is one of the few places I’ve been to lately that does not have cell phone service. It also has a creek that runs through town that tends to flood. Dave said that they’ve been here three years and have had three floods that filled up their basement. Wow! That doesn’t sound like much fun to me. Dave agrees.

The people at the churches were very kind and appreciative. It’s always nice to play for an appreciative crowd. Duh! And this one was. 

Before we made it here, we left Etters on Friday morning. It was classic Sandstrom. We had the kids in the truck, ready to pull out at about 10:45. Then we went back inside to make sure the cats were both out. Then we stopped at Rite Aid to pick up something. Then we stopped for gas at BP. Then we hit some traffic around Harrisburg, and then it was 11:30. Harrisburg is usually 10 minutes north of us. We joked, “is it time to stop for lunch?” But as we considered the options and the decided lack of options on the road, we decided to actually stop in Harrisburg for lunch. We said, “we CANNOT tell anyone we stopped in Harrisburg for lunch!” And here I am announcing it to the world. But it was too funny not to share. So we finished up at Panera Bread, got back into the truck and got on the highway about 12:30. Leave Etters at 11:00, get past Harrisburg by 12:30. Pathetic! But once we hit nap time it was smoooooooth sailing! All part of the plan…

More of our adventures coming up as we head north to a Lake called Crotch! Check back often.