Little Cousins Meet for the First Time

Yesterday I took my 7 year old grandson, Leo, to Rochester with me to be with my brother, Jerry, and my sister, Janet. Janet's great grandson, Levi, was to come over later in the day to meet and play with Leo.

Once there, Leo got to take out the hundreds of toys that are Levi's but are stored at Jerry and Janet's. He set up the Matchbox cars in rows and rows as though they were at an outdoor theater. He said they had to pay $1,000 admission, except those who were in the rear on the high platform. They paid $.02 each. I thought that was funny.

Leo arranged these car as at an outdoor theater

After a nice lunch prepared by Janet, Levi and Lynn arrived. It didn't take long for the boys to begin playing together. I thought it was really interesting and amazing, that Levi never had the attitude of selfishness with what are are his toys stored at his Grandma Jan's. He never seemed to be concerned to see his cars out of their container and on the floor. He is a real sweetheart.

Levi and Leo

The boys turned their play into a game of hide and seek and played well together. When it was time for Levi to leave, the boys said they wanted to get to play together again. I loved that.

Except for driving in continual rain both down to Rochester and back, it was a really nice time.

More Entertaining

In March I hosted two dinner parties. The first one was on the 15th. I had the Linnihans and the Forces over. After eating, the men adjourned to the living room and enjoyed talking about their jobs—they are both in the field of investments. We women stayed at the dining room table and talked about our church choir. Each of us is in the soprano section.

L to R: Dick, John, Barb, and Debra

A week later I hosted our pastor and his wife, Dale and Marcia, Del and Louise Gorham, and my dear friend, Nancy Carlson. We had a nice time of visiting and getting to know the pastor and his wife better. They all seemed to have a good time. For both parties I had fresh tulips on the table. I had such a good time and forgot to take any pictures of my guests.  I did take these photos before they came.

I made these bunnies for Hans and Peder in 1975

April 3 some of my former colleagues came over for lunch. They included Natasha, Ellen, Eric, Randy and my former boss, Paul. It was fun for me to show them where I now live, but the time went by too fast, however.

This morning two dear friends, Joanie Brooks and Jeanne Mikelson—they are sisters— came for a little tea party. Joanie had been here before. Jeanne is having trouble walking, is using a cane. Things are a bit difficult for her now. I really enjoyed catching up with them.

A Trip to Arizona

Early in the morning on February 28 I flew to Arizona. This time I flew with Sun Country. The experience was interesting in that the gate agent upgraded me to sit in row one, seat one. I had thought this would be a cushy, first class seat with a meal being served, but I was wrong. Sun Country has downgraded their service and one has to pay a fee for each seat they chose. The only "privilege" for sitting in row one was being offered an alcoholic beverage (I gave mine to the man sitting in the aisle seat) and a Dutch cookie: Stroopwafel.

I left Minnesota in minus 5 degree weather and landed in Phoenix where it was already 56 degrees—above zero. Later in the day it would warm up to the mid 70's and even low 80's. Walking through Pat and Pudge's golf condo to their back yard, I witnessed my first green grass of the season—the 7th fairway of their golf course.

I took the opportunity to walk down past other condos and witnessed blooming flowers. There were geraniums, petunias, hibiscus and others. What a treat for the eyes.

In the afternoon their association sponsored a classic car show. We had fun riding in Pat and Pudge's golf cart to witness the beautiful, restored cars. This 1972 Super Volkswagen Beetle was my favorite. Steve and I had one in 1972 in this exact color. It was fun for me to see the inside.

Restored 1972 Super Beetle

A couple of restored vehicles

Friday night I went out with some former class mates of mine from Austin. The live in the same association. Dick and I started kindergarten together. I treated them to dinner at a steak house (They treated me the last time I was in Arizona.)

Dick, his wife, Kaaren, and yours truly

Saturday was the big day for Pat and her dancing troupe, the Sunsationals. Janet and I attended the matinee and also the evening performance. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of her or the other dancers during the shows. I did get a couple of her fixing the fruit on her hat prior to the dance in which she is playing Carmen Miranda and then a photo of her next to Elvis.

Our friend, Sonja, was planning on going to the shows with us, but wasn't feeling well. She complained of having a tummy ache. We also heard that a couple of our other friends—friends from our childhood who either live in Arizona or winter there—were dealing with shingles and prepping for prostrate cancer surgery on Monday. Therefore our planned meeting to attend church on Sunday and then to be followed by brunch, got canceled. They felt bad about it, but it was definitely out of their control. Sunday night we got a message from Sonja letting us know she could not take us to Sedona on Monday because she was on the way to the hospital to have her appendix removed. Wow! Thankfully this whole thing happened before we had gone to Sedona. What if we had driven up there and she had gotten really sick Where would we have taken her? God took care of this for us. Monday we went to the hospital to see her.

In bed: Sonja; L to R: yours truly, Pat, Janet, Esther

* * * * *

While there we went to the grocery store a couple of times. Walking down one of the aisles I noticed unusual glass pop bottles. They had hobnails, and one of the flavors was in a cobalt blue bottle. I decided to buy one of the blue ones and give it a try. I also bought a bottle of California Raspberry Coca-Cola and Georgia Peach Coca-Cola.

The blue bottle was very pretty, and I considered keeping the empty to use as a vase, but then changed my mind and recycled it. The flavor was Guarana, which I found rather tasteless. Google says this about itl: Guarana. ... As a dietary supplement or herb, guarana seed is an effective stimulant: it contains about twice the concentration of caffeine found in coffee seeds (about 2–4.5% caffeine in guarana seeds, compared to 1–2% for coffee seeds). The additive has gained notoriety for being used in energy drinks. The  Georgia Peach Coca-Cola to me tasted like regular Coca-Cola, but the California Raspberry ticked all the boxes for me. [Today I bought a four pack in my local grocery store.]

Sunday was a nice day for a drive. Pudge drove us out to the desert to see if we could find any wild horses. We had no luck seeing any, but loved the drive where we saw many interesting sights, including the Mexican poppies.

Sunday night Pat and I went over to the community center and played many rounds of Bingo. Neither one of us won anything, but I thought it was a lot of fun. We met some nice ladies, too.

We enjoyed beautiful weather, gorgeous sunsets, and joyous times sitting around the table eating and visiting. The time went by so fast, and soon it was time to go home. This next photo is what welcomed me home.

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.