I'm Rich with Friends

L to R: yours truly, Laurey, Sue, Arlyn, Gayle, Lillian, Bonnie and Nancy

I feel so blessed to have so many really good friends. They enrich my life more than I ever imagined. Some of us get together four times a year for plays at the Bloomington Civic Theater. Our tickets are for the Sunday matinee. On those Sundays, following going to church (most of us sing in the choir), we go to a nice restaurant for brunch, and then head to the theater. I love it!

I-35 Bridge Reopens

	Interstate 35 bridge reopens following last year's deadly collapse.
	Thirteen months after a bridge collapse killed 13 people in Minnesota, a new 10-lane structure reopens to traffic Thursday morning. At 5 am tomorrow morning, emergency vehicles will line up slowly in the north and southbound lanes. At that time, they will drive at 15 mph and slowly pass each other, marking the quiet opening of this important bridge that crosses the Mississippi River. The bridge is reopening over 3 months before its earlier projected date, which is a real blessing to the hundreds of thousands who have had to take alternate routes. It is a state of the art structure that is predicted to stand 100 years or longer. The bridge is made with safety features “no one has ever built before” including 300 sensors placed in the concrete which will monitor the bridge structure. It is believed to be the first bridge ever to use LED lights, which they say is quite impressive. I haven't been to the site in quite awhile, but am anxious to drive over the bridge at night to see this for myself. As the bridge opens to traffic, MnDOT will be monitoring the strength of the concrete, the movement of expansion joints and bearings, and other important signs through the installed sensors. Engineers will now have all the information on the bridge needed to identify warning signs in real time instead of photographs every two years. A memorial to the 13 victims is going to be erected in the Gold Medal Park where family members gathered last August to wait and pray for their loved ones to be rescued.

Cousins

Back row, L to R: Heidi, Hans (sleepy), Tim, Julie, Andrea. Front row: Tim and Julie's kids

L to R: Heidi, Hans, Tim, Julie, and three of their four kids

Fun Times with the Family

Amy with her kids and Tim's kids

70 years ago the Tendermaid restaurant opened in Austin. It is a little shop with 18 stools - no tables (except one picnic table outside) and no booths. The menu is simple: hamburger; cheeseburger; chips; malts and shakes. But lest you think this sounds pretty "ordinary," the Tendermaid was chronicled in the Minnesota Monthly earlier this year as being one of the best places in our state to buy a hamburger. On Monday at noon, members of our family "took over" the little restaurant, filling 17 of the 18 seats. For some, it was their first Tendermaid ever! I especially enjoyed watching the little ones gobble them up, eating almost every crumb! They liked the malts, too.

Sweet Aurelia

My beautiful Heidi

My pride and joy!

More pride and joy!

Yours truly and CeCe

Aurelia, Peder, Hans, yours truly, Heidi (and Marshall Dean - pea in the pod)

God Had Other Plans

This past weekend Hans and Heidi flew to Minnesota to pay a visit to their much loved grandmother. Erna's daughter CeCe and other cousins came to Minnesota as well - from California, Ohio, and Nebraska. We spent much of Sunday and Monday at the hospital where Erna had a room in hospice care. I wonder if other hospice care rooms have had the visitors and laughter that this room comprised? It was amazing! At times there were 17 - 20 people there. But God wasn't ready to take Erna home yet. She went from ICU to a hospice room, and is scheduled to go back to a nursing home on Thursday. The weekend Hans, Peder and Heidi expected to spend in southern Minnesota never haptranspired. Instead they experienced a happy time of reminiscing with their grandma, father, and other relatives. It was so good to see everybody again. And we all wish Erna the very best!

Erna

This has been a very hard day on my kids and me, their father, and the extended family as their grandmother, my mother-in-law Erna, lies in a hospital bed, and not doing very well. It's especially hard for Hans and his family in Germany and Heidi and Chad in Seattle. There have been many phone calls back and forth; checking on flights; and much praying.

Erna has always been so kind to me. My first real memory of her was the week after my mother died. I was only 14. CeCe, who is now my now sister-in-law, was one of my best friends. She must have told her mom that for the first time in my life, I wouldn't be getting anything new for Easter - just days away. I remember Erna picking me up at my house and taking me shopping for a white pleated skirt and a lavender, short-sleeve sweater, which was the style then. I don't think she could really afford this, but she made the sacrifice to bring me some happiness. This memory has brought tears to my eyes today. Erna was always generous to me and our kids.

Erna, my thoughts and prayers have been with you these past few days. I pray that you are not suffering. I'm so glad that Peder got to come to be by your side today when the rest of us could not. Blessings on you.

Is It Possible We Crossed Paths in Alaska?

Sunday, August 10, we were in Juneau, Alaska -- walking around the town, eating in the Red Dog Saloon, and participating in an exciting whale watch. Getting to the bay where we boarded the boat, we passed the new Wal*Mart which our hostess was so proud to point out. This bus ride was about 5 miles away from the city center. Is it possible we crossed paths with Sarah Palin, the newly announced vice presidential candidate, by presidential candidate John McCain that day? Could be.

Or, is it possible we walked past Sarah and her husband while we were docked in Skagway on Monday, August 11? After all, her parents moved to Skagway in 1964 to teach school. Perhaps they still live there. Who knows?

It's fun to wonder. . .

Happy 1st Birthday, Aurelia!

Tonight I was privileged to attend Aurelia's 1st birthday and oh, what fun it was! She is such a sweet, happy, smart little girl. It seems like she is older than one as she has been walking - walking very well - for over three months. For darling photos and an excellent video of her first year, check out Sarah's blog here.

Aurelia loved opening her gifts, especially the toys. She had pizza for dinner and ate a good-sized piece of cake all by herself.

Sarah to the Rescue!

A big THANKS to Sarah for solving my problem with getting my blog entries in the order I want them to appear. I wish I would have talked to her before this project because then I would have our cruise in chronological order. Oh well.

I sure enjoyed our trip and it has been fun to relive it by journaling the daily events.

Pike Place Market

Candied apples

So pretty

I can't imagine catching one of these!

Original Starbuck's

Linda and Heidi

Top row, small covered dish in the front center is now proudly displayed in my home.

Today, even though the temperature was 94 degrees, Janet, Linda, Heidi and I went to downtown Seattle to stroll through Pike Place Market. This was Linda's first visit to Seattle, so we thought she would enjoy seeing this.

As always, there were crowds of people and the shops were busy. I am always amazed at the gorgeous bouquets of flowers and their very low prices. It's fun to watch them being put together so effortlessly. Linda also wanted to see the original Starbucks store, which is directly across the street from the market.

Do they still throw the fish at the fish stand? Yes. It draws quite a crowd.

Even though we didn't buy any candy or candied apples, it's always fun to look.

My favorite store in the market is the Polish Pottery store. As I always say, "You can never have too many dishes!" Anyway, I bought one piece. This I added to my small collection of 5 pieces total. I bought my first piece here, one piece in Salzburg, and 2 in Germany. Each piece I have is a different shape and pattern.

Fun Find in Seattle

This is primarily for Rachel's information, but Friday Heidi took Jerry, Janet, Linda and me to a Japanese store called Daiso - the same store as in Yokosuka. In Japan it was referred to as the 100 Yen store (the same as our dollar stores). Here everything is priced $1.50 in American money. It was so much fun, and we three gals bought things. Three things I was excited about were paper weights: 2 polar bears and one oval shape (like an egg) with bubbles inside. They are beautiful! And such a bargain. I bought some little cobalt blue glass cups too.

Linda asked if there was a store like this in Chicago and the clerk said no, only in Seattle and Los Angeles.

Jerry had one of my polar bears in his carry-on and it set off the signal at security in the Seattle airport on Sunday. Could the bear contain lead? No one knows. But once the guard checked it, Jerry was allowed to bring it through. Poor Jerry.

Random Photos

Sandy and Jim

Jim and Lil

Aunt Liz, Linda, Sarah, and Barb

Sarah's parents, Barb and Ken

My dinner mates part 1:

Darcy, Gloria, Jim, Sandy, Jim, Lil

My dinner mates, part 2: Denny, me, Pat, Jerry, Darcy, Gloria

Yours truly, Heidi, and Janet

My first "hands-on" with a Bald Eagle

Peder and Aurelia

Sunrise over the Pacific Ocean

Jerry with one of the many towel creations made by the crew.

Aurelia enjoying a piece of pizza.

Pat said, "This dessert is so delicious, I could lick the plate!" I told her to go ahead. :-)

Day 7 of Our Cruise

Aurelia was not fond of her birthday hat.

"Birthday Cakes" at Aurelia's little birthday party on the ship.

I love this photo of Peder!

Heidi was treated to a pedicure. Isn't she cute?

Me with two of my favorite people

Before we cruised, someone suggested we should give Aurelia a birthday party on the ship. Sarah got wind of it and said it would be fine, but she didn't want Aurelia to have any cake until her actual birthday, which is August 23.

Pat and Linda decided they would like to host it and gave invitations to everyone on Tuesday. The party would be Thursday in the Champagne Bar, where we held Heidi's surprise baby shower.

The two hosts got pretty creative. They borrowed the ceiling decorations I had used for the shower. For a "cake," Pat stuffed into her purse 20 cups of yogurt from the Windjammer lounge after breakfast. She arranged them on the tray from our room which held our ice bucket. Poked into each cup top was a plastic candle holder and candle that Pat bought at the dollar store the day before in Prince Rupert, B. C. It was really a cute "cake."

Another scheme they came up with was a gift bag for everyone. Pat raided the room service cart in our hallway, taking bars of soap and chocolates, which she stuffed into feminine disposal paper bags. She also deposited a questionable candy in each: a mint wrapped with cellophane, picturing a donkey and stating VOTE DEMOCRAT. My friend, Lil, said, "I'm not sure I can eat this." While at the dollar store in Prince Rupert, she also bought a Pin the Tail on the Donkey game (I'm seeing a theme here.) and party hats. Jerry won the game and his prize was a roll of toilet paper - also taken from the cart.

Aurelia seemed to have fun opening her gifts. It's hard to believe she is turning one already.

Rainy Day in Prince Rupert, B. C.

Our ship at pier in Prince Rupert, B.C., Canada.

Kitchen inside Prince Rupert Train Museum.

Waiting for the show to start.

Roel, from The Phillipines, our waiter in the Edelweiss Dining Room.

Julia, from Russia, our head waitress in the casual dining lounge.

This day we woke to a chilly, rainy setting in Prince Rupert, B. C., Canada. There really weren't any excursions here that we felt like doing, so Jerry and I decided to brave the elements and walk around the town a little. He had a desire to tour the train museum, so that sounded good to me. We found it to be a charming little building with a small waiting room for guests and a kitchen, dining room, and a bed room for the workers. I especially liked the kitchen. It was cheerfully painted which we learned was important since Prince Rupert is the 3rd rainiest city in all of Canada. Jerry has loved trains most all of his life. I think it makes him happy that Josiah also shares this interest.

From the museum we walked up a long hill to the mall. This small city reminded me of Duluth with its hills. The mall ended up being a big disappointment. The only store I would have like to have seen was now closed. So we headed up the hill a bit further to the dollar store. Funny, but we didn't run into Pat there. We did see Sarah's parents on the sidewalk outside the store, however. It's hard to believe that I was in a foreign country and couldn't find one single thing I want to buy - not even in the Salvation Army store. If there were nicer stores, we didn't see them.

But I felt like my luck changed when we finally found the public library. Shaking out my umbrella, which had blown inside out three times, and hanging up my wet coat and purse on a chair, I was ready to sit at a real live computer to check email, a couple of news sources, stocks, and perhaps make an entry on my blog. I learned the first half hour was "free" and each additional half hour only $1 - a bargain.

Jerry and I found a great little restaurant right down the sidewalk from where our ship was tied up. It was called Peg Leg and had a pirate theme. We each had delicious burgers and fries. What a treat.

On a different note, we had extremely nice waiters in the dining rooms. Two of my favorites were Roel and Julia. I loved it when Julia would say in her darling Russian accent, It's my pleasure. She was a delight to talk to.

The Cast

This was one time when everyone from our reunion gathered for a group photo. Missing is Lil's husband, Jim. On a big ship such as this, there were always many events happening simultaneously. Perhaps Jim was in the pool or taking a nap. You will need to double click on the photo to enlarge it.

Endicott Glacier

Approaching the glacier.

Crew member watching for large chunks of ice.

Endicott Glacier

The ice here is about 100 feet high.

On our itinerary, we were to sail through the Tracy Arm fjord, but due to huge chunks of ice, it is too dangerous. The captain instead took us to the Endicott Glacier in Endicott Arm. He directed the ship in very well, moving slowly. The water in this area is 1,000' deep and of course, very cold. Once we got in as close as safety would allow, the captain turned the boat about 90 degrees to give everyone a good chance to see it. A small rubber boat with crew members tried to capture a big piece of ice to bring on board for all to see and touch, but the current began to get too swift so the captain gave the order for them to return to the ship. It was a beautiful sight.