Peppi

I'm an animal lover - well, I love many animals. My favorite large animal is the giraffe. I have had more than a few pets in my life time: fish, cats, one dog - a St. Bernard, and canaries. At the present time, I have two pets: a beta fish at my office named Jonah, and a canary in my home, Peppi, who turns 3 years old this coming Wednesday, September 29.

Today Peppi got his cage cleaned, which is sort of an ordeal, but one that makes me feel like I've accomplished something when all is washed and put back together again. Canaries are singers, and unlike most other pet birds, are not meant to be handled. Peppi lives his days in a very pretty white cage, next to corner windows, which allows him to see activity outside as well as me and any guests I have. About every six months, I have to reach into his cage to catch him in one hand in order to gently hold him to clip his claws. He is very quick, and flies from one side to the other; to the top and then to the bottom. With a little luck and patience, I'm able to grab him. The first time I had to do this, I was as frighten as he was. I held him ever so gently, being careful to not squeeze him too tight. I could feel his little heart pounding. He pulled his nails into a fist-like position, and I had to carefully unfold each toe to clip the nail, being sure to not trim too close to the blood supply. When I had done all the toes, I placed him back inside his cage and let him try to compose himself. But today I decided to hold him just a bit longer and I stroked the top of his sweet little head. It was really nice getting to touch him in this way. And I think he liked it.

Happy 60th, Aunt Ginny & Uncle Allan

Aunt Ginny with her birthday cake

Uncle Allan and Aunt Ginny

The happy couple 60 years ago!

Uncle Allan donned his Navy hat for me.

Lorna, my first cousin once removed, modeled Aunt Ginny's wedding dress.

Row 1: Aunt Ginny & Uncle Allan

Row 2: Dave, Linda, Diane, and John

Happy Anniversary!

This past weekend Aunt Liz, Pat, Janet, Jerry and I drove to Indiana to celebrate my Aunt Ginny's 80th birthday and her and Uncle Allan's 60th wedding anniversary! This event was hosted by their kids Dave, Linda, Diane and John.

Aunt Ginny and Uncle Allan have been an important part of my life. Aunt Ginny is my mother's youngest sister. The summer after my 4th grade, I was privileged to ride with them from Minnesota to their home on Long Island, New York. It was a trip I'll never forget, because I had never been that far away from home before. I stayed with them two weeks. The second week my mom, dad, brother and sister arrived. During that time we got to go to several places: toured the UN building; stood outside the window of the Today Show; went to the Ed Sullivan Show; went to the top of the Chrysler Building, toured the Statue of Liberty; rode on the Staten Island Ferry; swam in the Atlantic Ocean at Rockaway Beach; and spent lots of fun days playing with my cousins.

The summer after my dad died, I spent the month of June with them. They lived in the Chicago area at that time. Again, I had fun playing with my cousins. They are very special to me.

At the anniversary celebration on Saturday, my four cousins paid tribute to their parents. Their remarks are impossible for me to record here, but let me say, they were touching and memorable. From one of them I learned only 2% of married couples make it to 60 years of marriage. Aunt Ginny and Uncle Allan attributed their long marriage to the commitment they made years ago. They have been wonderful role models for us. Once again, Happy Anniversary Aunt Ginny and Uncle Allan!

Autumn Is In the Air

We have been having what I consider perfect weather since Saturday. The humidity is gone, and the temperatures are in the upper 60's and lower 70's. It's nice to wear a sweater again, and to ride in my new car with the sun roof slanted open just a bit. Now, if only this would last until around December 15th! Is that asking too much?

The Last Seven Days

The last seven days have been full to the top! No wonder I'm tired today. Here's a recap:

• Friday: drove to Branson, Missouri, with Aunt Liz, Pat, Janet, and my sister-in-law, Donna. This trip took us 14 1/2 hours - a trip that usually takes my friends Jim & Lil 9 hours - reason being we have more needs and probably more interests. Also, we got on a wrong highway in Kansas City and ended up in a big traffic jam due to an overturned tanker.
• Saturday: walked over a mile in Lil's beautiful neighborhood, including touring two new model homes. In the afternoon we went to see Noah, the Musical, which is a fabulous portrayal of the Biblical story. After going to a pizza place for supper, we went to the show, The Haygoods, which features a family of seven who sing and play various instruments. It was very enjoyable.
• Sunday: we went to church with Jim & Lil and spent the rest of the day at their home - visiting, eating, and singing, and capped off the day watching a very nice fireworks display from across the lake. Also, this was Hans' 40th birthday, so I called him and we got to chat for a little bit. He was a bit distracted due to unpacking things from their move.
  
• Monday: this was mostly a repeat of Friday, only we made it home in 13 1/2 hours, shaving off an hour. I'm trying to decide if I'm a candidate for long car trips in the future.
• Tuesday: back to work. Since I had been off on Friday, I had tons of emails and other work to do. I ended up working nearly 9 hours.
  
• Wednesday: after working all day, I went to choir rehearsal.
• Thursday: after once again working all day, I went to a pot-luck supper at a friends' home where we watched the Vikings take another licking by the Saints. On the way home, a loosely capped jar of bread & butter pickles spilled inside a cloth bag on the floor in my new car. I knew right away I was smelling vinegar, but couldn't stop on the highway.
  
• Today: I took my car to a car wash where they shampooed the removable carpet mat. The pickle problem is solved. I'm going to clean Peppi's cage in a few minutes.
  
• Tomorrow: I'm going to a big neighborhood garage sale that's held annually in a very nice neighborhood. Pat is going with me, and Sarah may join us there. Should be fun.
  

Blog Neglect

My cousin never updates her blog. It's disgusting. She's a lot of fun, does unusual things almost every day - funny you don't read about her in the New York Times. Anyway, she's sitting beside me, and I'm pestering her to update her blog. The last time she wrote was back in March. With such an active, fun, interesting life, wouldn't you think she'd want to share it? If you want to egg her on, leave a comment on my blog, and I'll be sure she sees it.

Don't Try to Take the Light Rail Tonight!

Tonight for the first time in history, both the Minnesota Twins and the Minnesota Vikings will be playing in downtown Minneapolis. The reason this has never happened before is because until this year, both teams have shared the same facility. They are anticipating 100,000 will be coming to these games tonight, which are only about 7 or 8 blocks from each other. Add to that, the performance of Wicked, at one of the downtown theaters. They expect 4,000 patrons to attend that event. And that's not all - the Minnesota Gophers are also playing in Minneapolis tonight. Do you think that's a a lot? Well, there's one more big event transpiring in the twin cities - the Minnesota State Fair. The fair is known to have the largest attendance in the United States for a 10 day event. Just yesterday, 175,000 folks passed through the gates of the fair.

Which one am I attending? None. BUGGIE and I are settled in for the night. If I weren't leaving for Branson in the morning, I might be tempted to venture out for one of these.

Surprised Meeting You Here!

Rosy and yours truly

Felix and Aurelia

Tonight I took my little friend Rosy out to dinner. We had eaten most of our dinner when I went to get refills for our beverages. I just happened to look to my left and who do you think I saw? - - - - Peder! I could hardly believe my eyes. Had I not gone to the beverage area at just that moment and looked to my left, I would have never seen Peder and they would have left without us seeing each other. I almost NEVER see anyone I know as I frequent various places around the twin cities. Neither of us were in our "neighborhood." Peder, Sarah, Aurelia and Felix came to our table and I got to introduce them to Rosy.

After we finished eating, we joined Peder and his family at a neighborhood park where Rosy and Aurelia spent some time on the swings and the slide.

A Strike

I've had many jobs in my life - jobs with lots of variety. I've been a clerk in the men and boy's department at J. C. Penney Co., a waitress at Bridgeman's, a computer operator at Northwestern Bell Telephone Company, a clerical clerk at Cutler Hammer, and a church secretary. I've worked in a bakery, ran a ceramic studio in my home - also taught piano lessons in my home, was a receptionist for a mortgage company, a service writer for a telephone equipment company, and am currently an assistant to the design director and production manager at a book publishing company.

Twenty five years ago right now, I was working at the George A. Hormel Company in the stock room, where I did accounting. At 3 pm, twenty five years ago today, I was called into the office and informed I was being laid off because the union workers were going on strike. This was a terrible time in the community where I lived. Picket lines formed outside the entrances to the plant. The strike lasted about five months and came to a bitter end when the company began calling the workers back. Violence erupted when any union employee dared cross the picket line to claim his job. The National Guard was called. The image of them burned into my memory is of the line they made just outside the entrance to the plant; bright, temporary spot lights shinning down on them. You could see their breath from the extreme, cold, January temperatures, and I also remember the sight of their white bunny boots. The reports of the violence made the national news daily - not the kind of news you want the world to know about your hometown. A small crew of news reporters flying down from the twin cities, got tangled in some power lines just outside of Austin, and crashed to their deaths.

I got called back to work around the second week of February. I wasn't a union worker, but worked for the office in the company, so I used a different entrance. The picket lines were still there, but by this time hundreds of cars were crossing every day. Little by little, life in our town was getting back to normal. The strike severed many friendships, and I even know of two brothers who won't speak to each other. One went back to work; the other refused to cross the line.

Welcome Back to the USA!

After being stationed in Germany for the past 2 years and 9 months, Hans and his family are now back on US soil. This was a bittersweet day for them, for they fell in love with Germany, and I don't blame them. It's beautiful there - especially near the German/Austrian border.

I want to take this opportunity to welcome them back, and to welcome William Friedrich, who was born to them last October. Today is his first day in America. Welcome, Will!

I'm very proud of Hans and his service to our country. His next assignment will be on a ship based out of Norfolk, Virginia. Welcome back to America Hans, Rachel, Josiah, Annika, and Will.

Heidi and Marshall

Aurelia and Marshall

Marshall

Togetherness!

Marshall playing with Heidi's phone.

I've had so much fun while Heidi and Marshall have been with me the past few days. I hadn't seen them since February, and in that interval Marshall has changed quite a bit. He was walking in February, but not climbing steps and up into chairs and sofas. He's talking now, too. One thing that hasn't changed is his sweet smile. Of all my grandchildren, he is the only one with blue eyes, and he sure uses them to express himself.

While Heidi and Chad went to the Twins/White Sox game on Thursday night, I had Aurelia and Marshall stay at my home. They played together pretty well, and were a joy for me.

Yesterday Heidi, Marshall, Aurelia and I went to Austin to have lunch with our family there. It was good catching up with them. Then we drove to Rochester to have dinner with more of our family. I loved spending time with all of them.

News has it that all of my kids will be in the twin cities for Christmas! After five years - and five new grandchildren (Josiah is six), we hope to finally be together again. We have a lot of catching up to do!

We Went to the Zoo

What a sweetheart!

Our picnic lunch

Aurelia

Marshall

Today was a fine day to go to the zoo with my family. Heidi, Marshall and I joined Peder, Sarah, Aurelia and Felix and Steve at the Minnesota Zoo. It was really fun for me to see Marshall interact with Aurelia, and Felix was generous with his smiles. One part of the zoo that particularly fun was the area with water spouts. Aurelia has been out to this zoo many time, so she went right to the spouts and enjoyed getting "rained on." Marshall was a bit timid, but eventually he decided it was rather fun and didn't want to leave.

A few weeks ago a baby dolphin was born and we got to see her swimming next to her mother. In a few weeks the two will join the other dolphins and the public will have a closer view of the baby.

It's a Wonderful Day!

So many good things are happening today! First of all, it's Rachel's birthday! And though we're thousands of miles apart today, that won't be the case for long because they are moving back to the United States on Saturday! While they have loved living in Germany these past 2 and 3/4 years, they are looking forward to being closer to family once again. Happy Birthday, Rachel!

In about 4 hours, Heidi and Marshall will be arriving at my house and I get to be with them through Friday night!! I haven't seen them since I was out in Seattle in February so it high time we get reacquainted!

On Sunday I am invited to Aurelia's 3rd birthday party! What a sweet little girl she is! It's hard to believe she is 3 already!

You

Most of the time my blog entries are about me. They are reports of places I have been, people I have seen, and other miscellaneous ideas. This entry is about you. Click it and may be surprised at what is revealed. (This was sent to me by a dear friend of mine.)

Scorching

It's the weekend, and it's summer. I should be outside enjoying my time off from work, right? I would be, except that it's too darn hot! I just checked the weather and this is the sizzling report:

95 degrees

partly cloudy

heat index: 106 degrees

dew point: 75.9
wind: SE at 8.1 mph

relative humidity: 63%

If I could control the weather, I would program two weeks of cold, snowy winter, and two weeks of hot, steamy summer, and the rest of the days would be either spring or fall. It's probably good that God hasn't given the assignment to me. For now, I'm going to stay inside.

Changes

Today I'm tackling an area in my cottage that has gone "untouched" for some time - clearing out some unwanted books in my bookcase. Before putting any of these books in the bags going to Savers (a local charity), I have fanned the pages to be sure I am not leaving anything personal in them. One item flew out: a phone directory I created more than twelve years ago. It was interesting noting the changes. Here they are:

• Hans was stationed in Jacksonville, Florida, on the USS Carney.


• Peder lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado.


• Heidi was a student at UND in Grand Forks, North Dakota.


• Jerry lived in a mobile home in Rochester. Janet and Dave lived there, too.


• Lil and Jim lived in Waseca, Minnesota.


• Lynn and Bobby lived on 27th St. SE, in Rochester.


• My dear friend Cassie lived in her home on 10th Ave S, in Bloomington.


• Linda lived on North Seeley Ave in Chicago.


• Diane & Dave lived in New Town, Pennsylvania.


• David and Donna lived on 2nd Ave NE in Austin.


• Keith lived on Wood Stock Curve in Bloomington.


• Sandy lived in Plymouth.


• I worked at McLeod USA and lived in Eden Prairie.

Wow! That's a lot of change. The only ones on this address list that still live in the same home are Aunt Ginny & Uncle Allan, Aunt Liz, and Pat & Pudge, and Steve. I guess it is safe to throw the list away.

My Birthday Dinner with Peder, Sarah, Aurelia, and Felix

Last night Peder, Sarah, Aurelia and Felix took me to the Olive Garden for my birthday. Aurelia was so excited about giving me my birthday card. In it, she had drawn a little picture. And Felix - I thought he had changed so much since the last time I saw him. Right away I asked to hold him, and he felt so cozy. I love his big eyes. His skin is very creamy and soft.

Aurelia and I shared a salad and spaghetti dinner. Yum! She seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. After eating, Aurelia wanted to go for a little walk with me. She took my hand and we walked through the restaurant. It was fun watching the other patrons smile at her. She really is a charming, little girl. Her eyes and smile are very attention getting.

Thank you, Peder and Sarah!

Another Year Older

My dear friend, Nancy, gave me this darling apron. The banner under the cake says, " I like to have my cake and eat it too!" At the lower edge is a bowl with cherries. The banner coming from it says, "Yes! Life is a bowl of cherries!"

My birthday decorations

Today is my _____th birthday! The celebrating started while I was preparing my breakfast and the phone rang. "Happy Birthday, Grandma!" said Josiah. "Are you sleeping?" No, I'm fixing my breakfast. "Are you having cake and ice cream?" I'm sure his daddy put him up to this. I've heard Hans say: You can eat pie for breakfast. My mom does it all the time! [This is NOT true.] I told Josiah I would be having chocolate cake and ice cream later in the day. He thought that sounded fun. Next I got to talk to Annika who also wished me a Happy Birthday! It's so much fun to hear my grand children's voices. They are such angels. Rachel also greeted me and wished me a happy day. This was really a fun way to start my day.

While getting ready for work, my brother called to wish me a Happy Birthday. That was a nice surprise, too!

Arriving at work, the folks in my department were still putting up decorations, so they told me to take a seat in the library while they put on the finishing touches. Each year they seem to pull out all the stops and make my office look very special. This year there were helium balloons at each corner with more balloons on the ceiling. Later in the day, I thought my cubicle resembled the old man's house in the movie, Up! I was hoping it wasn't a hint for me to "take off."

For lunch yesterday, Nancy and I went to Famous Dave’s. We sat in a darling booth – cabin artifacts surrounding it – and a very nice waiter. He was probably in his 20’s – and seemed to dote on us. We each ordered “kids” meals, because at Famous Dave’s, they are just enough. I had the ribs; Nancy had the BBQ chicken. One of her “sides” was “Drunkin’ apples.” When choosing that, she asked him what was in the apples and he said they were soaked in rum and cinnamon. After we had finished our lunches, he asked me if I liked chocolate or caramel? I told him chocolate. A minute later he came back to our booth with a large bowl with three scoops of vanilla ice cream, hot fudge topping, and whipped cream. In one of the scoops was a large lit sparkler! He stood by our table until the sparkler died out and then took it away, telling us it was hot; he didn’t want us to get burned.

When he brought our check, I asked why he hadn’t asked to see my license to prove it was my birthday and Nancy asked why he hadn’t “carded” her because of the rum soaked apples. He replied, “I knew you were of age – but just barely!”

We had my party in the afternoon - homemade chocolate cake with homemade fudge icing and ice cream. It was a special time with some of my work friends.

I've heard from so many family members and friends - snail mail, phone calls, emails, and this year - Face book. Getting older isn't all that bad.

Tall Ship Festival in Duluth, Minnesota

Our spot on the break way is the first thin patch of green grass about 3 blocks to the left of the lift bridge in Duluth, Minnesota. The tall ships waited out in Lake Superior and made their entrance into the harbor through the canal and under the lift bridge.

Sitting outside Ray and Nancy's RV. What special people they are!

Ray is a retired Navy Captain - a Chaplain.

One of the many schooners in the area. I loved the flags!

Coast Guard ship which spouted water throughout the entire celebration.

The first tall ship in the Tall Ship Festival to enter the Duluth harbor was the HMS Bounty. This ship has 10,000 square feet of sails, 10 miles of rigging and four functioning canons. It shot off canons a couple of times! It was used in the 1962 film "Mutiny on the Bounty" and later used in "Pirates of the Caribbean II."

Pat, sitting at the end of the break way.

L to R: Yours truly, Janet, Nancy, Ray, and Jerry. These turned out to be excellent seats!

The US Brig Niagara is the official flagship of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Its tug boat was tied up close to our break way.

"Roseway"Barque EUROPA - from The Netherlands

"Pride of Baltimore II" of the state of Maryland and the port of Baltimore. It arrived with part of its sails folded.

Traffic jam leaving Duluth. It took us 2 hours and 15 minutes from the time we left the RV park before we reached the outside edge of Duluth - party due to road construction. Ugh!

Yesterday was a fabulous day! My brother, sister, cousin and I drove to Duluth for the Tall Ships Festival. This year was built up to be the best ever - with eight tall ships expected to arrive in the harbor. A couple of weeks ago I mentioned we were going up to this event to my dear friends, Nancy and Ray. They both sing in our church choir and Ray is a retired Navy Captain. They told me they were going to be there also and invited us to join them for lunch at their RV, which would be in an RV park at a marina only three blocks from the lift bridge in Duluth. How nice is that?! Of course, I accepted their invitation. We arrived at the marina around 10:30. Ray was on his bike at the entrance to the marina and we followed him to their site. Little did we know there would be a narrow break way on which we could sit to watch the parade of the Tall Ships!

After a lovely lunch, we carried our chairs, umbrellas, and binoculars to the break way and had a wonderful time. The first ship to enter the canal was the HMS Bounty. It's sails were puffed out by the wind and it glided into the harbor with ease. It shot off a couple of canons which echoed around the city. Wow! Was she impressive! I thought her sails looked "tea stained." She turned to make her way to the pier next to downtown Duluth, and we could then read her name. Over the course of the next hour and 15 minutes the other ships and smaller vessels made their way under the lift bridge and through the canal. It was fun for me to listen to Jerry and Ray discuss the flags each ship was flying. It made me wish Hans would have been there to join in the conversation.

Except for the heavy, heavy traffic exiting (or trying to exit) the city, it was a great day! We couldn't have asked for nicer weather or more gracious hosts. Here is a U Tube I found with some great shots of the event.

Ottawa

The Town Hall

This is an oil painting on a roller that graces the small stage in the Town Hall.

This area in Minnesota is rich with limestone and white sand. Much of the land is being purchased by a company that is selling the sand to glass factories around the US.

The church where my father and his family attended.

The old school. There is no intention of restoring this building. In fact, the company buying up the property for the sale of the white sand has purchased it and it will be demolished. I have recently learned that my mother's parents lived in my father's farm house at some point. So, my Aunt Ginny attended this school for a couple of years. You can read about it here.

On Saturday I attended the family reunion on my father's side which was held in the small town where in he was born - Ottawa. There are very few people living there now, but a couple of the old buildings have been restored and are on the Minnesota Historical Register. One is church; another is the Town Hall where we held our gathering. The church was locked - apparently it is opened only on Sundays, so I didn't get to go inside of it. The Town Hall was built 150 years ago, and has been restored. In fact, Henderson High School recently rented it for their prom.

I would estimate 70 people came to our little reunion. Many of them are strangers to me, but several of my first cousins were there: Beulah, who will turn 95 in January; Jane, Dick and Carl - brothers and sisters; Kathleen, who was born the day after I; and Mary, Kathleen's sister, who is a couple of years younger than I. I hadn't seen Mary for more than 20 years, so it was especially nice catching up on what she has been doing. And of course, Janet and Jerry were there.

The Town Hall was cool when we first arrived, but add about 70 people and temperatures outside rising to the mid to high 80's (the building is not air conditioned, but we had a few fans running), the reunion adjourned around 2 o'clock.

Storms

This photo was taken last night from my bedroom window.

Some members of my family like storms. They like the clouds, the wind, the lightning and thunder, and the rain. My cousin, Em, was looking forward to the storms tonight. She even said she loves the storm clouds. She posted this picture of the sky a few weeks ago.

I'm not in that camp. When the weather announcer predicts storms, I get a bit antsy. The closer it gets to the expected time of arrival, I'm checking the radar, listening to the radio (WCCO), watching the news station on TV. If there's any mention of hail in the forecast, I'm especially nervous. In May of 1998, on a Friday afternoon, we had a big storm roll in. Hail the size of golf balls badly dented every one's car in our office parking lot. It broke headlights and shredded window screens, and played havoc on anyone with aluminum or steel siding. Leaves were everywhere. Big trees were down. It was a real mess. I guess storms have brought fear to me ever since.

Today it was very hot -- 94 degrees, with a heat index of 104! The weather personnel were predicting severe storms for this evening, with possible hail and tornadoes. It seems we've had a lot of this unsettled weather this summer. I was thankful I didn't have to be anywhere but home tonight. With my car tucked safely in the garage and my plants on my patio pulled back under the roof, I felt a little more secure. Around 8 o'clock, the wind picked up. Oh, boy. Here we go again. I turned off my computer and TV and unplugged both of them, and proceeded out to my patio to look at the sky. Big, dark gray clouds were swiftly passing overhead. I could hear thunder in the distance. Every now and then there was a little bolt of thunder. Eventually it began to rain. As I sat there, I could feel the air getting cooler. Once when I stood up to check the thermometer, it read 82 degrees. Fifteen minutes later, it was 77.

We never did get anything severe. No hail (Thank You, Lord!); no downed trees. I sat and watched the rain come down for a little while longer, and then I noticed the orange cast on the building across from mine. I hurried inside and looked out my bedroom window. The sky was a gorgeous coral! I got my camera and took a few pictures. The color didn't last long, but I hope I got a couple of good pictures.