Ojibwe Language Coloring Books and Snow Snake

Sandra has been my niece for just a couple of years now. My siblings and I adopted her father in the Native American way. When her boy, Liam, my great nephew now, opened the books pictured above, he was all excited and started looking through them right away.

Liam already recognized Niswi, the number 3 in the Ojibwe language, and is close to what he called his cousin who was at the party. He called him Nisway. I didn’t know his cousin so I don’t know if that is his real name or a nickname.

The snowsnakes were a game I learned growing up and played with my cousins. I showed them mine and explained what we would do with the snowsnakes. My mother said that is why Native Americans are crackshots because of the games we played growing up.

My mother could hit a tomato can right in the middle as it sat across the yard. She just didn’t miss. And I took her golfing once and she hit the ball so straight for her first time golfing. She appeared to have no trouble getting the ball in the hole either.

Well, I must not have played the game enough as I am definitely not a crack shot, although my golf ball does go pretty straight. And I got a hole-in-one on a 3-par hole.

Liam got a snowsnake to design as he wants to and my brother will teach him how to play the game when it is ready. My contributions to his 8th birthday.

They had chili and cornbread, pizza, cake, and ice cream for the meal, and we made Christmas decorations while there.

In reminiscing with a friend I hadn’t seen for a while, we talked about my visit with her and my cousin in Texas. It was a fun time and brought back some good memories of her husband, my cousin who is now deceased.

Overall, my day was fun. I drove 1.5 hours to an artist market, and back to pick up my husband, and then rode for another 1.5 hours to the party and back for 1.5 hours.

Then the husband and I took another 70-mile round trip to a meeting that was worth the drive and the time, even though I wanted to stay home after my other fun trips.

The life and times of two old folks. And I thought retirement was meant to be a restful time!

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First published by Mercury Press on medium.com