David

Steve's brother, David, had been dealing with cancer for a couple of years. Prior to that he had heart issues and diabetes, plus he was overweight. The day it was discovered Steve had died (January 12, 2018), David had to be air-lifted to Rochester due to a huge infection in his body and he remained in Intensive Care for about five days and then spent an additional four days in St. Marys Hospital. Thus, he couldn't attend Steve's memorial service. This past summer he wasn't doing well and was told he had about three to five years to live. December 4th, Heidi and I drove down to Austin to have a meal with David and Donna. He looked frail, but was able to eat at the table with us. By this past Christmas his diagnosis was shortened to three to five months. His kids and their kids came for Christmas and it was a great celebration.

David's family Christmas 2018

January 9th of this year, Peder and I drove down to Austin to be with David. I took a prayer shawl with me to give to him, knitted by someone in my church's knitting club. David looked very week and had oxygen going into his nose. Initially he had a bit of trouble conversing with us, but then he seemed to wake up and was sharp, very sharp. I wrapped the shawl around his shoulders and he said it felt nice, comforting. He and I reminisced about our second grade teacher who taught us to knit. David did a very good imitation of her with her blinking eye condition. We had a good time.

The following day a hospice nurse came and a hospital bed was delivered to their house. It was determined David could rest and breathe better with the bed. The nurse warned Donna that David would be on a steady decline and she gave him about two months. David lived six more days—dying one year and four days after Steve died.  All of his kids were with him and they had a beautiful communion service with him the day before he passed.

Hans and Heidi flew home to attend his funeral which was this past Monday, January 21. The service was very nice. I was impressed with the pastor who no doubt had had a very good relationship with David. In my opinion, the best thing that happens when a death occurs is the reunion of family and friends at the memorial service. It was wonderful seeing David and Steve's sister, Cece, and her sons Michael and Ben. Since they live in California, we just don't get to see them often. Also, Andrea's husband, Troy, managed to detour to Minnesota when he was supposed to be in India for the filming of a special NBA documentary. Her son, Jaxon, and his wife, Hannah, and her daughter, Morgan, also came from long distances. I hadn't seen them in a very long time. A nice lunch was served after the service followed by family photos. Here are some of them.

Our family

Part of the family

Tim, Donna, Andrea, Amy

Amy's family

Andrea's family

Tim's family

Ben, Cece, Michael

Yours truly; my sister-in-law, Donna; my sister-in-law, Cece

Hans, Heidi, Peder

Heidi, Hans, yours truly, Peder

Another Party!

Friday night I hosted my fifth dinner party in my new home. This party was for my former neighborhood "pool" ladies. Sadly, three of the neighbors couldn't make it. They all really liked my new place—couldn't get over how large it is. It was a lot of fun having them here.

L to R: Patti, Colleen Mc, Mary Jo, and Gwen

L to R: Rita, Susie, and Sheryl

Yours truly and Colleen M

I kept the menu simple: appetizers: spinach dip and crackers, candied mixed nuts, sparkling juice; dinner: salad, sloppy Joe's, scalloped potatoes, relishes, pickles, and cherry devil's food cake with chocolate chip ice cream for dessert. After dinner, we moved to the living room where I opened the hostess gifts they brought. [I do not want people to bring me anything. I spent weeks getting rid of things and now I have everything under control.] We talked and talked and laughed and laughed. The evening went past so quickly.

I am blessed to have so many friends. It's a rich feeling.

100th Birthday of My Mother

Had she lived, my mother would have turned 100 years old today. I don't know anything about her birth except that her parents were farmers. I believe she was born near Lake Crystal, Minnesota, but I'm not entirely sure about that. I like this photo taken of her and me.

More Entertaining!

It has been so nice to entertain in my new home. With a bigger kitchen and more dining room space, I have been enjoying having people over.

On Friday, December 21, I had Peder and his family over for supper. They were so surprised to see how big my apartment is. When they were here the first time, I had only moved in the day before and there were boxes, boxes and more boxes stacked in the kitchen, living room and my bedroom. This time everything had been put away. Sadly, I forgot to take any pictures that night.

On Sunday, December 23, my brother and sister drove up from Rochester and my cousins Pat and Pudge (back from Arizona for 10 days) drove over from Willernie to have dinner with me. It was wonderful to catch up with everyone and Pat, Pudge and Jerry wanted a tour of my building. I think they really liked it. Pat, bless her heart, managed to make us a plum pudding, so the tradition continues. The recipe for the pudding is from our grandmother, and is well over 70 years old. Our kids aren't fond of it, but our generation sure is. While we we eating dinner, the pudding was being steamed (reheated) on the stove. The sauce was also being warmed up. It is so delicious!

L to R: Janet, yours truly, Pat, Jerry

This past Friday night I hosted another dinner with friends I know from my church—specifically the choir. Each of the three women helped me with unpacking at my new home and I appreciated their help so much.

L to R: yours truly, Laurey, Max

L to R: Judy, Pat, Ed

Another dinner is coming up this next Friday night. I'm looking forward to that one, too.

My First Company

This past Wednesday I had my first company—ladies who sit next to or behind me in choir. It was really fun getting my place ready and for the first time, having extra space for appetizers.

Once everyone arrived, I gave them a tour of my home. Two of them had been here before, but it was while there were stacks of unpacked boxes and nothing yet on the walls . They loved the transformation. Also, none of my Christmas decorations were up, so this time things looked festive.

We had a nice visit and the ladies raved about my casserole (hotdish) and asked for the recipe. It was my hot chicken salad. I served it with a chopped kale/broccoli salad and raspberry/cranberry jello, plus banana bread. For dessert I served peppermint ice cream. Those present are (L to R): Bonnie, Debra, Joanne, and Nancy. Unfortunately Anne couldn't make it due to illness.

The following day my friends Jolene and Mark came over and baked Russian Tea Cake cookies with me. Actually, they did nearly all the work. I merely showed them where things were. Both of them love to bake and they thought my spacious kitchen was really nice. I agree.

Getting Settled

October and November days were filled with preparing to sell my home, showing it, and after five days on the market, marking it "sold," with a closing date of November 16. Next came the huge job of packing everything up and getting rid of things I no longer needed or wanted. I donated a love seat, two chairs, two ottomans, a night stand and a cedar chest to Bridging, a local charity who helps immigrants. I made trip after trip to another charity with my car trunk full of "stuff." How did I accumulate so much of it? While I was packing, Nels took it all in stride—sleeping most of the time.

November 10 I closed on my new apartment at Valley View Cooperative and the next day the moving van came to move my things. It took them an hour and a half to load everything and over two hours to unload. For a few weeks the living room was full of boxes and tubs. There were some in the kitchen, too. Steve Oates, a VP at Bethany House, came to my home and put together a new tv table and book shelves for my library. He returned and installed a  hub on my new tv so that I could use my DVD player and VCR. I have quite a large movie library, and he hung pictures, plates and shelves.

And now things are settled. I have some things in my storage unit that will remain there for a time. I am a bit weary of moving and want to enjoy the Christmas season.

A Belated Birthday Gift for Aurelia

Life was busy in August around the time of Aurelia's birthday so my celebrating with her got delayed until a couple of weeks ago. I had asked her what she would like to do for her special day and she requested going to a ceramic studio like I had done with Annika this past summer.

We got to the location before they opened so we stopped in at a Panera and had a little breakfast. After that we drove a little ways to the studio. We were the first customers there, so that allowed Rellie to take her time to look around to see what she would like to make. The pieces at the studio have already had the seams removed (at the greenware state) and been fired once. So that means the pieces are now bisque and less fragile—ready for glazing. In the past I had a ceramic studio of  my own, with two kilns and about 30 students a week. My students first worked on the greenware, often using underglazes for such pieces as figurines. Then they were fired to about 2300 degrees. The next step would be to glaze the piece, followed by another firing. If gold or platinum was to be added, that would require a third firing.

Rellie chose a mug that was either a whale or the bottom half of a mermaid.

Rellie applying the aqua glaze interior. Once she had one coat brushed on, I set my timer for five minutes to allow it to dry. Then a second and third coat were applied, letting each coat dry for five minutes.

Rellie chose a bright yellow for the exterior. She followed the same procedure as with the interior.

I love the scroll work she chose to embellish the fins on the tail. It was applied with a bottle that has a pointed nozzle.

With the glazes applied to the mug, it was ready for firing. The studio has two large kilns and has the customer return in a week to pick up the finished piece. My brother and I drove there Saturday to get the mug and delivered it to Rellie. She loved it!

Happy belated birthday, Rellie!

I sold my home!

This past weekend was one I'm not keen to repeat. A week ago today my home was listed on Zillow and in the south metro realty association. An open house was set for Sunday afternoon. By noon Friday a showing was already requested, followed by two on Saturday. Then on Saturday two more showings were requested for Sunday—one overlapping the open house. For each of these days I had to make my home look the best I could, having it appear as though I didn't live there. Before leaving the house, I was to turn on every light in the place.

Sunday morning I got up very early to vacuum, make up my bed with the decorative pillows, hide a few kitchen things here and there, and went out to door for church by 7:15. After church I checked my phone and discovered there were two more requests for showings on Sunday! This meant I couldn't return until after 3 pm. Oh, my. So I went to a favorite restaurant for a leisurely brunch and then to a furniture store where I placed my order for new living room furniture.

I came home after 3 pm and slumped into my living room chair. I placed a call to my brother and sister and while I was talking to them, a request came in for a second showing at 5:30. So once again I had to leave for another hour. Lucky Nels got to stay home during all of these showings. I wish he could have told me what went on while I was away.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday brought two more showings each . My stress level was high and my energy level was low. Then Tuesday afternoon I got a message from my realtor letting me know there was an offer for full price. He called me shortly thereafter and we agreed to some terms. He came over in the evening and I signed a document stating I wouldn't have any more showings. The Wednesday showings were canceled and I'm relieved. God is good. He brought the right people to purchase my home in five days. Whew!

Marshall and Corinne Were Here!

Right after Anni left to go home, Marshall and Corinne came to my home. We had a lot of fun together, going over to my pool every day, plus other things. Here are some of the photos of this time together.

The kids loved sitting out in the porch in the evening. Things were quiet then and we were able to chat for a bit.

Marshall took a turn at playing the piano. I taught him to play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

Corinne did a great job of coloring this restaurant placemat

Corinne playing with my dolls. I thought it was fun she remembered me having them.

Marshall did a great job of steering our cart at the grocery store. Isn't this a cutie behind the wheel?

Another visit on the porch

Leo and Corinne playing in the sand at Shoots and Ladders playground

L to R at McDonald's: Felix, Leo, Rellie, Corinne, and Marshall

Near the end of the visit, Nels had warmed up to the kids. Marshall asked if he could try holding him for a bit. I put a towel on Marshall's lap in the event Nels would want to bolt and thus, scratch him. But to our surprise, Nels really enjoyed Marshall holding him and he sat there for a long time.

I'm Moving!

Last Friday I got the call I have been awaiting: "We have a unit for you to look at in Valley View." I have been on the waiting list two and a half years. Today I went to look at it and I think I'm going to take it. Here are photos of the rooms.

Master Bedroom Closet

Back corner of the Master Bedroom Closet

Master Bedroom bathroom

Inside Master Bedroom shower

Linen closet in Master Bedroom Bathroom

Master Bedroom Vanity

Master Bedroom Vanity

Large closet inside guest bathroom (perfect spot for Nels' litter box)

Hallway to Master Bedroom and Guest Bathroom

French doors to the Den

Dining and Living Room

Dining and living room

Kitchen

Kitchen

Kitchen

White porcelain kitchen sink. I'm excited about this!

Kitchen. I'm going to have this counter on the left removed. 

View from the balcony. It was dark outside with a storm coming in. This faces east.

Kitchen on the left and dining room and living room on the right

Living room looking toward balcony and den

living room looking toward balcony and den

Laundry room a couple of doors down. There are three laundry rooms on each floor

Laundry room

Laundry room

Storage closet down the hallway

Master bedroom

The co-op will be replacing all of the flooring, which I get to choose. They will paint all the ceilings and walls, replace all the blinds with new ones, replace all of the kitchen appliances, except the microwave, and are replacing the two toilets with new taller ones. I am considering screening in the balcony. The unit is on the top floor—4th floor, so there will no longer be heavy foot steps above me. There is underground parking with a car wash bay. There are more amenities, too. I'm thrilled about this!