Did I Wake Up In San Diego?

It's March and I didn't wear a coat today! And I definitely won't be wearing one tomorrow. Why? It's in the 70's today and tomorrow it is supposed to reach 80. This will be the first March in record-keeping history in which we got absolutely NO snow in Minnesota. In fact, it was 125 years ago that there was no snow during the month of March here.

When I was in high school - about a hundred years ago - we could always count on big snows in March. They became known as the high school basketball tournament blizzards. But this year is different. An outdoor baseball game was played just last Saturday at the brand new Minnesota Twin's stadium! Imagine that on March 27th. I thought it was chancy at best. But it was played with no delays.

Nice to know we won't be wearing mittens and boots for Easter this year!

Laugh for the Day

A young executive was leaving the office late one evening, when he finds the CEO standing in front of a shredder with a piece of paper in his hand. "Listen," said the CEO, "this is a very sensitive and important document here, and my secretary has gone for the night. Can you make this thing work for me?" "Certainly," the young executive says. He turns the machine on, inserts the paper, and presses the start button. "Excellent, excellent!" says the CEO as his paper disappeared inside the machine. "I just need one copy."

Signs of Spring

Three weeks ago my friend, Carin, who is from Sweden, gave me a small bundle of birch branches she had picked in the woods. She had done this about six or seven years ago knowing I have some Swedish ancestry, and and at that time, she also gave me an envelope with brightly dye-colored feathers. She told me it was a Swedish custom to put the birch branches in water and attach the feathers and that in a few weeks, in time for Easter, the branches would sprout leaves. This year I couldn't locate my feathers, so in place of them, I tied plastic eggs.

Last Wednesday I got a little impatient because I was only seeing the buds which were on the branches when she gave them to me. I called her and she said, "Well, it isn't Easter yet. Just be patient." Friday I noticed the first change - the little brown buds were nearly all turned green. And this is what I am seeing today. Isn't it fun! There are many more buds to open, and I think the leaves will continue to grow.

Bakery

Saturday my kitchen was a bakery. I had invited Rosy, the young girl I tutor each week, to come to my house to decorate cookies. Before I went to bring her to my home, I baked 4 dozen cookies and picked up 4 additional dozen from a bakery. To tell the truth, I think I went a little over-board, but I wanted to be sure we had plenty.

I've had Rosy over once before to decorate cookies - Christmas cookies. She really had fun with it and then taught her mom and grandmother to make and decorate cookies. I love it that Rosy likes to share what she is learning with her family.

Once at my house, I turned on some music - Itzhak Perlman - and we started mixing up some frosting. Rosy helped me with opening bottles of color, flavoring, and stirred and stirrred the mixture. Then I showed her one example of decorating a bunny, and let her chose whatever she wanted. She did a great job. We worked well together as a team - and got all of those cookies decorated. We made two beautiful trays of cookies for her to take home.

An Exciting Year for My Brother

In 1978, my brother took a sabbatical, of sorts, from the US Navy to be the "doctor" for Palmer Station, a science research center in Antarctica. He was there for about 13 months, being one of 9 that "wintered over." Just last night I ran into a web site in which one of the 9 had included records of those months. I have found them fascinating. Jerry is mentioned in most of them. You can read these "situation reports" - sitreps - by clicking on each date on the left column of his website which can be found here. Note: once the date opens the entry, do a left click on the small print to enlarge it. To read them in chronological order, begin at the bottom of the list. On the 12/12/79 entry, you can read about the Chilean submarine that was brought in by a Japanese film crew to shoot part of the movie, Virus. Also on this site is a photo of the 9 that "wintered over." You can click on Jerry's name to see a stand-alone photo of him. This individual returned to Antarctica for 19 additional years. Check it out on this site. His photos are very nice.

During the time Jerry was stationed there, he surprised us with phone calls - via phone patches done with ham radio. I'm sure Hans remembers this well; Peder and Heidi, I'm not so sure. It was a thrill for us to get that phone call - usually from someone in California - who "patched" us through to Jerry. Jerry would speak for a little bit, and when finished, would say, "over." Then we would talk, ending with "over." I believe we may have heard from him more that year than any other year of his Naval career. I'll never forget how excited we were when a package arrived from Jerry with sweatshirts and t-shirts from Palmer Station for my 3 kids. They proudly wore them often.

So long . . .

I'm saying Auf Wiedersehen, au revoir, arrivederci, adiós, cheerio, Sayonara, 再見, Do pobachennya, farewell, good-bye, good riddance to snow! As of today, most of our snow (lots of it dirty brown) has melted away, and I'm not at all sad about it. We got about 20 inches or so over the Christmas weekend, and it had the nerve to hang around until Thursday and Friday of this week. Thanks to warmer temperatures and some rain (also thunder and lightning), I'm beginning to see signs of Spring! Another sign that Spring is on its way - we turn our clocks ahead before heading to bed tonight.

Family Time

On Saturday cousins Linda and Diane and my sister and I gathered at my Aunt Liz's for a time of visiting and having dinner together. It's funny how we come from many directions and all manage to arrive around the same time. Linda drove up from Chicago; Janet from Rochester; Diane from Blaine. It had been a while since we were all together, and it was fun to catch up on everybody and hear about Aunt Liz's time in Arizona with Pat and Pudge this winter. I have to say, I sure miss Pat at these get-togethers, but I know she is having a great time in the Southwest. You can peek into her blog here. We always have fun during our family times.

You've Got Mail!

"You've got mail!" It's an exciting thing to open the mailbox and see that special envelope - you know, the kind without the window in it. The envelope may be white, or it could be pink, yellow, brown, or whatever. You take it inside your home and can't wait to open it.

Another exciting piece of mail is e-mail. Every one in my family is now "online" and I look forward to hearing from them, as well as my friends. Today I got my first ever email from one of my grandchildren - from my oldest grandchild, Josiah. I could hardly wait for the email to open. It was wonderful! - a thank you note for a card I had snail-mailed him. He typed it entirely by himself (he's 5 years old). I was so happy about it that I phoned him (in Germany) and when Rachel answered the phone, I asked to speak to Josiah. He took the phone and said, "Grandma, did you get my email?!" I loved the excitement in his voice. He was so happy, and I was thrilled! I hope there will be many more emails from him in the future.

The Goldbergs

I'm a subscriber of Netflix and am so happy to be finding old classic TV shows. I've now watched the first two seasons of Father Knows Best. Many of the episodes are so good that I watch them twice before returning the DVDs.

Tonight I started watching my new selection The Goldbergs. I can't say that I remember ever seeing this before (created in 1955), but I sure liked the first two episodes: Social Butterfly and Member of the Jury. One of the things that intrigues me with these vintage shows are the furnishings of their homes and their clothes. It reminds me so much of my childhood - and the stories have good, clean humor with good morals. They bring back good memories of growing up in my old neighborhood.

Aurelia's Sleep-over

Peek-a-boo!

On Friday night Aurelia came to spend part of the weekend with me. We played and played, read a couple of books, and on Saturday watched the movie Lady and the Tramp. She was such a good girl - per usual. I let her stay up past her bedtime because she was playing so nicely. Then Saturday morning she woke up somewhere around 6 o'clock. I told her it was too early to be up. "Let's sleep a little longer, okay?" We slept until 8:10.

My Olympic Pin Collection

One of the things I wanted to do while in Vancouver was to trade Olympic pins with folks from various places. I wasn't sure how this would work, but to prepare myself, I bought 10 pins online prior to my trip and was willing to trade 7 of them. The night before we went to Vancouver, Heidi and I shopped at an Olympic store in Birch Bay, Washington, and the owner, a former Olympic athlete, showed me how the trading happens. He said to wear my pins on either a scarf draped over my shoulders, or on a lanyard. I chose the lanyard method.

I placed the 7 pins on the lanyard and proudly sported it on the outside of my coat. I stopped the first person I ran into in Vancouver who was wearing pins. He was from Quebec City and agreed to make a trade with me. After that, I found only two people who were willing to trade. I got one pin from Finland, one from the Moscow 1980 Olympics and one from the Tokyo 1964 Olympics. The rest of them on my lanyard are ones that I bought.

Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony

This was one of my favorite parts of the Opening Ceremony for the Winter Olympics. The skaters entered the stadium right beside us. I didn't take this photo, but borrowed it from Facebook. It doesn't seem possible that the Olympics will conclude tomorrow. I sure have enjoyed watching the TV coverage, even though it meant staying up past my normal bedtime many, many nights. Will I watch the Closing Ceremony? Ja, you betcha! It will be interesting for me to see how it is handled.

My heart goes out to the Chilean athletes who I heard are going to depart for their homeland today. I pray for them, their families, and their land.

Sleep-Over

Tonight Aurelia is have a sleep-over at my home. We've had a very pleasant evening and I'm so impressed with her memory. Each time she has come to my home, I go over the photos with her, my goal being for her to be acquainted with her cousins and aunts and uncles. During dinner tonight she looked at all of the photos on my refrigerator and was able to tell me who each one was. She even knew which ones are wedding photos and when I pointed to her mom, she said, "Mommy in wedding dress."

Our family is pretty much scattered around the world. Aurelia has cousins in Germany and in Seattle. She has seen them only once or twice. I know, it's sad. But ask her who is in the photos - including the new ones from Aunt Rachel, Aurelia knows who they are - well, mostly. She is still learning Will's name. It was so cute tonight to hear her say "Uncle Hans, Aunt Rachel, Aunt Heidi, and Uncle Chad." She always says, "Cousin Marshall." When she saw the new photos of Josiah and Annika, her comment was, "Annika has stripes," - on her slacks.

I let her stay up past her bed time and she immediately fell fast asleep. What a little angel!

Milk Toast

I don't know what made me think of it, but tonight on my short drive home from work, I started thinking about the menu my mom gave us kids when we were sick - milk toast. It made me wonder if my mom and her sisters, Aunt Liz and Aunt Ginny, were served this when they were sick, too. Janet and Jerry, do you remember it?

If my memory serves me correctly, she made a piece or two of toast, buttered it, and then poured hot milk over it. I remember only having it when we were sick. Thinking this might be a unique thing from my mom's side of the family, I decided to "Google" it to see what's out there. Guess what? There are lots of recipes. And the first one I looked at says "In the early 1900s, Milk Toast was popular fare for children and the ailing. It is still popular today among poor families and singles. " You can see and read it here.

Traveltalks - 1942 Minnesota: Land Of Plenty

A friend led me to this wonderful video of Minnesota now on YouTube. Click here to see it, and be sure to turn up the volume on your computer.

While this was filmed before I was born, I do recall my father driving our family over the curly Hastings bridge. My Aunt Liz has a painting of it in her dining room. I find it interesting to see how Rochester, St. Paul and Minneapolis have changed over the past 60+ years.

Fond Memories

Last minutes holding sweet Marshall

Security lines prior to entering BC Place

I'm still living high from my trip out West. Everyone at work has been asking me about the Opening Ceremony. I'm missing Marshall, Brian, Heidi and Chad. It's amazing how quickly I get attached to playing with my grandchildren.

I thought I would include a couple more photos of the Opening Ceremony. What an experience!

Randomness

When you book a flight, unless you're flying with family or friends, you never know who you'll be seated next to on the plane.

Let me back up just a little. As I was standing in the long security line at the Seattle airport today, I couldn't help but notice a woman in the snaking line near me. She was on the phone and I heard her say, Honey, are you griping? Are you griping at me? She had on a low- cut shirt and was nearly spilling out of it.

Fast forward. You guessed it - they seated her in the same row as I. There was an empty seat between us. Well before we took off, she left her seat. When she returned, one of the flight attendants came up to her and asked Did you just have a cigarette in the restroom? "Oh, no. I just put on some perfume." Then she proceeded to eat a bag of M & Ms, followed by a Payday candy bar, and then she ate a long tube of malted milk balls. We hadn't left the gate yet. She had a huge red and white teddy bear in the empty seat between us. It had a big Valentine heart on it's chest. Three flight attendants came to her to tell her her big carry-on bag and her large purse had to be stashed under the seat. She moved them slightly.

When we took off, she started looking toward the window. She said to me, Are those clouds? I told her yes, and we were above them and climbing higher. She told me I've never rode in a plane before! I pointed out Mt. Rainier to her. She was impressed. She said her 100 year old grandmother had died in Minnesota and she was coming back for her funeral. She was at peace with that.

A flight attendant came by to offer the small video machines (sorry, I can't remember the name of them - but Alaska Airlines is the only airline I have flown on that offers them). The woman said she'd like one, so the attendant gave one to her and showed her the available movies. It was $6 - credit or debit cards only. The woman only had cash. The attendant let her use it anyway. She kindly offered to share the movie with me. I thought that was nice, even though I declined.

I noticed she couldn't sit still. She lay this way and that way. She ordered a cup of water and took some pills. She sprawled out on two seats, not watching the movie at all. Eventually a flight attendant came by and told her an entire row was empty further back and she could stretch out, so she moved back there.

I have to say this was really interesting to me. I didn't see her again, but I hope she will be okay. I've gotten to fly a lot and probably take it for granted. Oh, I still love the feeling of the take off. But for the rest of the flight, it's nice - it's comfortable.

I left Winter for a week of Spring

Crocus (sorry this is sideways)

The weather here in the Pacific Northwest has been fabulous! It's been in the 50's, and there are flowers blooming; grass is green; everything smells so fresh.

Today Brian and I went for a little walk and treated our eyes to something we won't see in Minnesota for at least another 2 1/2 months - flowers!

Marshall Enjoying Pasta

Marshall loves pasta!
All done. Good job, Marshall. Yay!

Time for a bath

Interview for Kare 11 Newscast

About a week before I left for Seattle, I emailed Eric Perkins from Kare 11 to let him know I was coming to the Opening Ceremony to the Winter Olympics. That same day I received a message from Eric saying he would like to meet up with me to do an interview about my anticipation. Not knowing how this would work out, I responded that Heidi and I would be arriving in Vancouver on Friday morning and our first destination would be "Will Call" to pick up our tickets. I provided my cell phone number but wasn't sure if I would have coverage or not.

20 minutes after we got off the train in downtown Vancouver my cell phone rang and it was Eric. Where are you? We're at Starbuck's on Beadie Street and heading to "Will Call." Would you mind waiting for us? We can be there in 5 minutes. No problem. We'll wait.

Sure enough, in a short amount of time Eric and his camera man, John, showed up. I had never met either of them before, but as soon as they crossed the street and came close to us, Eric gave me a hug and said, This has to be Donna! After introductions, we visited a little and then I noticed a gentleman in Olympic torch clothing approaching. He appeared to have Olympic pins on his clothing. Since trading pins was high on my list, I walked up to him and asked him if he wanted to trade a pin with me. Sure. He asked me if I would like a pin from Quebec City - and what a French accent he had. This whole scenario peaked Eric and John's interest and before I knew it, the camera was running and Eric was asking the man questions. This gentleman had carried the torch for a distance in honor of Terry Fox. He also gave me a Terry Fox pin.

After I got the pin and a photo of the man from Quebec, we headed for "Will Call" which was a few blocks away. Eric and John continued to walk with us and stayed with us throughout the time it took to pick up our tickets and then walked and talked with us following that. All in all, I would say they stayed with us for about an hour.

That night (2/12/10), Kare 11 had about a 2 minute story with me and Heidi. Some of my friends have told me they saw it.