Our Next Generation

Our Next Generation
2006 is about over and a new year is upon us. When I was growing up, I couldn’t even imagine that I would see the year 2000…it seemed so far off. Now, we are 6 years beyond 2000. Unbelievable!

Looking back at 2006, I know how fortunate I am, and how fortunate my family is. I pray that I will always appreciate what blessings my family and I have.

After Christmas, I always take time to once again look at the Christmas cards we receive. I enjoy them so much, I enjoy the notes, the Christmas letters, the photos and just thoroughly enjoy looking them all over again. As I was looking at them again, I re-read one of the Christmas letters of a friend of mine, who is of the younger generation. It’s so good to know that the younger generation thinks about things other than "material things". Sometimes, us baby boomers wonder about the generation coming up after us, so many of them seem to interested only in making lots of money and the material things that the money can buy. It’s so refreshing to find out that not all of them are like that. My friend is not like that. This friend is compassionate, kind, and does all she can to make this a better world. I watched this friend grow up; from the time she was a little girl. I know the values she has developed over the years are because of the family she grew up in. It’s good to know she has stayed close to those roots as an adult in the 30 age range.

Anyhow, in her Christmas Letter, which she noted was the first Christmas Letter she has done, I want to quote to you the wish she gave for the new new year. (I asked her permission to do so) please remember when you read this that these wishes are from her, but they are wishes that I would agree with, and want to wish each one of my readers!…so here goes: To quote my friend:
“My Wish for you and world this year:
• A warm bed
• Enough food, but not too much
• A new friend
• People to giggle with
• Peace. Real Peace
• Understanding
• A little mystery
• Hope
• Good Health
• A Merry/Happy/Joyous/Fan-tabulous/Righteous Holiday Season!
And as part of the Baby Boomer Generation, I completely concur, and wish each of my readers the same!

Goodbye to 2006

Goodbye to 2006
As we say goodbye to 2006, let us each remember all the good things about the past year, and not dwell on the bad things of the year. If we made mistakes, may we learn from them. May we remember the blessings and the things that made this year special.

I want to acknowledge the losses I had of loved ones and special people who left us in 2006.
Good bye to Friends from our Hope UMC Family:
Berneta Smith, Shirley DeJanes, Lewis Oakland, Sharon Mickolajak, Helen Massie, William Tryon, Helen Olson, Blanche Johnson. I will especially miss Lew Oakland and Blanche Johnson, who were special friends of mine and Bob's.

I lost two second cousins, Mary Masemer Guise and Jim Craig, both of these cousins were within a year of two of my age.

I will remember each of these with fond memories. Goodbye 2006 on to the new year!

I wish

Snow is Coming

Snow is ComingSnow is Coming
(Photo by Jonathan Lund)
We woke up to rain and more fog this morning. Not the ice, and sleet that would turn to snow, that they predicted for us to have this morning. But, let me tell you we WILL have a "White New Year".

A friend and I were planning to drive together to Moose Lake this afternoon for a retirement party for a friend there. I talked with her at 12:30 to check the weather, it was still raining, no snow or ice, the temp was 36. We checked the weather on line, Moose Lake is about 45 minutes south of the western part of Duluth, and we looked at the weather on line and it didn’t look like snow there. She would drive, I met her at 40th Avenue West’s Perkins parking lot. We commented that if the rain that was falling would be snow, we’d have a pile of it! The party was slated to start at 2, so we thought if the rain turned to snow down there, we would only have to deal with it coming home, and we wouldn’t stay long. Barely 10 minutes from Proctor, the rain turned to snow, very fast, we couldn’t believe how fast, and within minutes the ground was white and the road was slippery. We both agreed we didn’t want to drive in this weather if it wasn’t necessary, and since we were barely out of town, we turned off on Midway Road and headed back to town. It looked like the snow was coming up from the south and heading our way. When we reached Duluth, it was rain again. However, as I headed over the hill toward Woodland everything was white, it had turned to snow up here earlier, and the ground was white. That was an hour ago, it is still coming down fast and furious, and I’ll bet by now, it’s turned to snow downtown too.

We are disappointed we couldn’t be there to celebrate with Romelle. She sold her cafe there that she and her husband owned for many, many years, and when she was widowed years ago, she continued to run it. Unless you personally know someone who runs a café or restaurant, I don’t think we fully understand how hard they work, and how much of their life they put in to their business. The town and her friends will miss Romelle at the café, but she is looking forward to not working 7 days a week, long hours. The café was open 364 days a year, only closed on Christmas Day. She will be spending her retirement with her son and family in warmer weather and looking forward to the family time. We wish Romelle the best retirement ever, she is a wonderful person who deserves this time of relaxing. I will miss her, and I will miss her wonderful hot roast beef sandwiches!
Happy retirement Romelle!

Celebrating New Year's Eve

Bob and I are getting old. We realize this more with each New Year’s Eve. When we were young, we went out on the town for the whole evening of New Year’s Eve, like most did at our age. It was a big deal, a big night! Lots of fun! When Dawn came along we hired a babysitter and continued to go out. When the boys came along, we didn't do the bar scene, instead we started going out to eat early in the evening to a "family oriented" restaurant and took the kids along, then came home. As the kids became old enough to go out, we sat at home and watched them go out. Sometimes we would go out early in the evening to eat and follow it with a movie. As the years passed, we started just staying home and celebrating at home. If we do decide to go to a restaurant we do it very early in the evening. Usually by midnight we are fast asleep on the chairs in the living room waiting for the magic hour! We tell ourselves we don’t want to be out on the road when there are so many drunk drivers. We tell ourselves we enjoy going out early and spending the later part of the evening together, but is the real reason because we are getting old? One of my friends told me "you aren't getting old, you're getting wiser". I hope that's the case.

This year, we thought we’d eat out early and then maybe take in a movie. This afternoon Bob suggested that since tomorrow the weather may be snowy and roads bad, that we should go out tonight instead, and we should go early, since it’s so foggy! This is the first year we've done our "celebrating" a night early! We went to a restaurant in our area, due to the fog, and we were there by 4:30! Service was great, not many were there that early. We relaxed and took our time .. we were still back home by 6! We will spend tomorrow evening at home, maybe I will cook something special. For you local readers, we went to “The Sunset” on Martin Road. We have never been there for an evening meal. It was very good. The atmosphere was lovely, there was a fireplace in the room, which was lit and decorated for the holidays. I had my usual soup that I’ve been living on these days, but for some reason, I am able to get broiled shrimp down…I tried it last Sat. night in Hudson, with no side effects. So tonight I tried them again after the soup, and I think I’m alright. The shrimp were very large, there were 6 of them on a bed of wild rice. I was only able to eat three, and brought home the other three for tomorrow.

In my post below I wrote about the restaurant we used to go to for New Year’s Eve celebrations the first 5 years or so of our marriage. We started with dinner there, then we would make the rounds of the bars (something we never do anymore!). The restaurant used to be on the waterfront, all of my Duluth readers that grew up here will remember it. I’m sure a lot of you have great memories of it as we do! Read on below:

The Flame, Duluth, MN

The Flame, Duluth, MN

How many of you remember the restaurant by Bayfront Park (there was no park there then) that was at the exact spot that our Aquarium is now. If you said “THE FLAME”, you are correct! The first January I was here as a new bride, (1970) we celebrated New Year’s Eve with Bob’s cousin and his wife at the Flame Restaurant. It was one of a few really fancy, nice restaurants in Duluth at the time, if you wanted to go to an elegant place to eat, you usually chose The Flame or The London House on London Road. Both restaurants were really elegant. It sat on the waterfront, and if you sat at a table by the large windows facing the harbor, you saw this beautiful flame that burned there in the landscape, and at night the harbor was beautiful, you could see the lights of the bay and over in the Superior Harbor. Yep, it was a pretty place. We liked it so much and felt it was the height of luxury, that we also celebrated at least our first 5 wedding anniversaries there.

When the Flame closed, many of us were sad. It stayed a restaurant, but a much different one, a franchise owner purchased it and it became part of a chain called “The Anchor Inn”. I don’t remember which year that happened, but I do remember going there when it was The Anchor, when Dawn was maybe 9 or 10. It was the first buffet restaurant to appear in Duluth, and it was a big hit, especially for families with children. It made going out to eat more affordable. I believe after the Anchor, there was another restaurant chain that tried to make a go of it, and eventually it closed down completely. It sat empty for years, until the Aquarium was placed on its site.

We missed the atmosphere and beauty of “The Flame” and we will always remember fondly the times we spent there on New Year Eve’s and Anniversary celebrations. Yes, we have good memories of The Flame.

I have been searching the web looking for historical information about the restaurant, and not finding much. I did find something about it on a Jewish History website that talks about it and its owners Jimmy and Ruth Oreck. I am going to print what I found on this site: http://www.geocities.com/txsynvr/superior/sup.html (in case you would like to look at this site for further info on Jewish roots in Duluth. It also tells about the start of the harbor sight seeing boat (now know as The Vista Cruise Fleets). Here is what I found -

I quote from the article:
“The Flame was something. It had style, it had class, it was raffish. Then so were its owners, Jimmy and Ruth Oreck. Jimmy was of the first American-born generation of Rafuel Avrumovich Oreckovsky, "The Zaideh", and Ruth (nee Peterson) the beautiful daughter of Danish immigrants from Brainerd, MN. They stretched the chain as far as it would go--maybe farther. Jimmy, though famously laconic, possessed matinee-idol good looks, and knew how to run a restaurant. Jews could go to the Covenant Club for family affairs and simchas; they couldn't set foot in the front door of the Northland Country Club or the Kitchi Gammi Club--not till much later. Everyone who was anyone wanted to go to the Flame for a big time, and everyone else just wanted to be able to afford a meal there. The Flame was in its way the local embodiment of the American dream.

But tourism increased. Families hit the road in search of scenic wonders, and the Duluth-Superior harbor was a big attraction to folks in the midwest. The Kaners, along with a colorful Polish businessman named Gazonsky, outfitted a harbor sightseeing boat dubbed the Flame, as a result of a deal with the proprietor of the Flame restaurant, Jimmy Oreck. They set up shop at the Flame's dock and sold tickets in the lobby. While the tourists sprung for tickets for the harbor tour, they passed up the Flame's celebrated food and Charlie Casmir's drinks upstairs. Jimmy continued to ring the ship's bell at the top of the stairs to announce in his peculiarly toneless voice the vital statistics of each ship looming huge beyond the big picture windows of the main dining room: "Ladies and gentlemen, now passing, the D. G. Kerr, downbound for South Chicago with 13200 ton of ore loaded at the Mesabi docks. She has a length of 600' and a beam of 60'. Owned and built by US Steel she made her maiden voyage in June of 1916." The boat business was later sold to the Goldfine family, who continue to operate it to this day."

If any of you have memories of The Flame, feel free to click on comments and tell us about them. I'd love to hear your memories/stories. I was searching for photo of it, but came up empty in that search.

Fresh Start

From Hope UMC’s Weekly Meditation:
First Sunday after Christmas - Week of December 31, 2006
"Fresh Start"
Readings selected by Rev. Michelle Hargrave

Weekly Lectionary Readings:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-13
Psalm 148
Colossians 3:12-17
Luke 2:41-52

Readings for Reflection:
This day is a new day that has never been before.
This year is a new year, the opening door.
Enter, Lord Christ,
we have joy in Your coming.
You have given us life and we welcome Your coming.
I turn now to face You. I lift up my eyes. Be blessing my face, Lord,
Be blessing my eyes.
May all my eye looks on be blessed and be bright.
My neighbours, my loved ones be blessed in Your sight.
You have given us life and we welcome Your coming.
Be with us, Lord, we have joy, we have joy.
This year is a new year, the opening door.
Be with us, Lord, we have joy, we have joy.
-- New Year Prayer from Celtic Night Prayer

I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee. Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen -- John Wesley, “Covenant Prayer”

Questions to Meditate on:
• How do you observe the ending of one year and the beginning of the next?
• How does this new year give you a fresh start in life?
• What else gives you a fresh start? What helps you make a new beginning?
• What do you wish to leave behind you from 2006? How does God help?
• What do you wish to make new in 2007? How can God help you do this?

Ford and Brown

The Christmas Holiday brought us the loss of two people who touched our lives, well, the second one may have only touched the lives of us baby boomers, but the first, of course touched each of us, President Gerald Ford and the entertainer James Brown. Gerald Ford was the president that our nation needed after the Nixon Administration, he healed the nation and will go down in history for that. We are all fortunate for what Gerald Ford brought to our country, Democrats and Republicans both will admit to that.

James Brown is not in the same category of course, as President Ford, but he did bring a lot of “soul” into the world and we baby boomers did enjoy his music. His music will live on.

White New Year

(Photo by Jonathan Lund) Christmas Tree downtown, Minnesota Power Plaza
Duluth didn’t have a White Christmas, but it will for sure have a “White New Year”. It snowed yesterday. The weather service reports that at 6 pm last evening, we had 1.7 inches of snow on the ground. However, here in our Woodland neighborhood we have closer to 3". It was a wet, heavy snow, so the snow has lingered on the trees and landscape. It sure was a beautiful sight driving home from work last evening. Now today, because the temperature is so warm, we have fog. If it weren’t for the snow on the trees, it would look like a very dreary day. Tonight we are to get some freezing rain, switching over to snow tomorrow. It’s reported that we could have a “snowy Sunday”.

Sick Days

Linda's Thoughts from Duluth
As you know, I was sick on two of the three days off that I had this week. We work a skeleton crew the week between Christmas and New Year’s, and Friday was the day I volunteered to work. Of course, wouldn’t you know, I was better by yesterday morning, when I was to work. It was so dead, that I only answered the telephone twice. One of the girls I work for that had the time off, came in to do a newsletter, so I’m glad I was there to help her get it in the mail, it made the day go faster.

Starting Jan. 1st, our sick leave will be tied into our vacation days and our sick, vacation and personal days will now be called a “Paid time off” days. They tell us that by switching to the system of “Paid Time Off (PTO), we will be better off, some of us have our doubts, especially when it comes to our sick leave. Previously we could take an hour or two of sick time if we had a Doctor’s appointment, but now we will have to take a whole ½ day of our valuable “PTO” days to be gone just for an hour’s appointment. It seems to us, that cases like this will eat up our PTO days faster. We were told that we are not to have too many “unscheduled” PTO days. When you wake up in the morning sick, like I did on Wednesday, that’s pretty much “unscheduled”, so we think we will feel more pressure than we felt in the past, not to take a sick day. So, Wednesday, when I have my doctor’s appointment, that won’t take a whole ½ day, I will lose a ½ day of PTO. Somehow, that doesn’t seem fair.

Oh my, a thought did just now cross my mind! Some people work without any paid sick leave, so I really shouldn't be complaining. I just realized that my son doesn't have any paid sick leave. If he gets the flu and is out of work, he doesn't get paid for those days. Gee, why am I fussing, shame on me! I need to count my blessings! I feel silly all at once. You should probably disregard this whole post!!!

Not Fair

Not Fair

This isn’t fair. I had yesterday, today and tomorrow off of work. Yesterday as I was running around doing errands, my nose started running constantly. By this morning I was congested, coughing, and had one whale of a sore throat. It’s not the flu, but just a very nasty cold. So I went back to bed after writing the post below. I’ve been laying low and resting in bed most of the day. I just got up to get some more medicine and tea. My throat feels a bit better. I am hoping by staying low today, I can be well enough tomorrow to do some of the things around my house that I wanted to get done on my “days off”. It’s very unfair to get sick on your day or days off! I had hoped to use these three days to catch up at home. There are areas in my house that I won’t let my husband “clean”, because he would throw everything out. He’s not a saver. I am, and if I don’t clean my areas where I have "saved" things, he will get throw out crazy! I have to protect my "things"!! (ha ha)
Above is one more photo of Dad and myself, when I was a baby.

December 27

December 27
Today is December 27th. It is my Dad's birthday. I never forgot my Dad's birthday because it was easy to remember, 2 days after Christmas, December 27th. I always called him and wished him a happy birthday. I wish I could do that today. We lost Dad in 2004. But, I can still make this day special by marking his birthday. He would have been 87. Happy Birthday Dad, we have our memories, for which I am thankful, and I am thankful I had a great Dad. We all love you, and we know someday we will see you again.

The Christmas Coat

The Christmas Coat

Here is a photo of Madelyn in the blue coat we gave her for Christmas that I referred to in the post below. That's Coco with her.

A "Brown" Christmas

A Brown Christmas


I'm Hoping that all of my readers had a wonderful Christmas - I meant to write on Saturday before leaving for WI and post a Merry Christmas post, but the morning went by too fast!

Well, we officially had a Brown Christmas here in Duluth, it is our first one since 1979. The others were 1939 and 1923. A “brown” Christmas means that there was not a trace of snow on our ground at 6 am December 25th!

Hudson, WI also had a brown Christmas. One thing nice about a brown Christmas, the travel was great. Traveling to and from Hudson to spend the weekend and Christmas with our daughter and her family was a breeze. The roads were dry. Even coming home, when rain and sleet had been forecast possibly for Monday, the roads were bone dry. We sometimes don’t see white in the southern part of our trip, but it was really funny coming home yesterday and not seeing any white on the ground as we headed closer to the northland! On Saturday and Sunday the temperatures in Hudson were warm. I ran to the grocery store for Dawn about 12:30 on Sunday afternoon, and the temperature was 42 degrees, unheard of for December 24th! I have never seen so many people in a grocery store as I saw that day!

Brown Christmas or White Christmas... it doesn't really matter. Christmas is Christmas, no matter what the temperature or color of the ground. The best thing about Christmas is celebrating the birth of Our Lord, and celebrating and spending time with our families. That is what we did, and once again, we had a beautiful, happy Christmas, because we were together with our family. I talked with my siblings in PA last week and on Saturday and greeted them, talked with some cousins from PA and of course, I've been receiving every day Christmas greetings from friends and family in PA, those cards, calls and greetings all add to my joy.

We had a great Christmas with the family. Our daughter makes the best Italian meal for us each Christmas Eve. She makes lasagna like I make it, really yummy, with meatballs, sausages, salad, and all the trimmings.(She learned well). With my esophagus problems, I didn’t dare risk eating any of it. Her husband made the best homemade squash soup for me, it was delicious and very creamy and it went down my throat very well! It’s funny though, that I am able to eat cookies, fudge and all the fattening things from Christmas … they seem to go fine, I suppose because they turn to “mush”, so don’t feel too sorry for me. I had some eating enjoyment.

The little one, our 6 year old granddaughter, made out the best, gift wise, she got so many things, that she didn’t know what to play with first! I am so happy that one of the gifts I gave her, I picked out myself, no help from her Mom…and it’s a gift that she absolutely loved. After I had found quite a few things for her, I was shopping one day and saw this pretty light blue double breasted dressy type coat, with a light blue “fur” collar. Blue is her very favorite color. I could just see it on Maddy. I was so delighted that when she opened it, she was as excited about it as I had been. We went to my son in law’s parents’ home yesterday before heading home to Duluth, and she insisted on wearing the coat, even though it was so warm, none of us wore coats! It did look really great on her, and I was pleased that I found a good gift to really please her. I hit the jackpot with the gifts I gave Skylar and our boys, Sarah, and Dawn and Bob this year too. They all seemed extra pleased and knowing that I made good gift choices, made me feel better about Christmas shopping. Bob and I did not exchange gifts this year, because we are planning a trip in Feb. or March, and we decided we’d better keep our money toward that!

A very fun part of our weekend with Dawn’s family was enjoying the new addition they have to the family. Their little puppy that they just got … her name is Coco Channel, we call her Coco, and she is part Yorkie and part Maltese, both breeds being very cute little dogs, so you can imagine how cute this puppy is. I took pictures, so when I get them back, you can be sure I will post a photo or two to go with my post below... that is all about Coco. Our son Rob, titled the post, commenting that Christmas this year was pretty much about Coco.

Hudson - Almost Like Home

Hudson - Almost like home
I love the area that Dawn and Bob live in. They are in Hudson, Wisconsin. Hudson is a nice rural type town (although it's growing bigger all the time). Their home is in the woods, just blocks away from the St. Croix River. They have a beautiful home. Hudson is surrounded by farm land and country side, in fact that whole area has a lot of country and a lot of farms. It reminds me so much of rural Pennsylvania where I grew up. It’s almost like going home to PA when I go down there. The photo I’m posting here was taken when I was there last month. Dawn doesn’t like the photo because she said it’s not one of their prettier farms in the area, but I like it because it reminded me of some of our farms in PA when I was growing up. Read my above post about our Christmas in Hudson with her family.

A Very Coco Christmas

A Very Coco Christmas

Christmas in Hudson with our daughter and her family was extra fun this year, because we shared in their joy of the addition to their family a few weeks ago. Their new puppy, they have never had a pet before, so this is new for them. We have never had a pet at our house, so it was new for my children. Of course, living on the farm, I had lots of pets when I was growing up, so I naturally gravitated toward their puppy. She is so very very cute, we all fell in love with her! We spent a lot of time holding her and playing with her. Dawn couldn’t get over how much her Dad loved this little dog. Bob had her every chance he could… she loved to chew on the ties on his slippers, and he let her. He played with her, let her sleep on his lap, Dawn couldn’t believe it! Of course, she had never seen her Dad with a dog of any kind, so she was pleasantly surprised at the attention he gave Coco. Of course I heard from Rob how he and Scott always wanted a dog, but we never would “let them have one”. Bob even offered to dog sit anytime they go out of town…that was a surprise for even me! Rob titled this post and told me I should write about our "Very Coco Christmas"!

White??? Christmas

"White"???? Christmas
We are on our way to having the first “brown” or “green” Christmas in the Northland since 1979. The snow storm that was heading this way from the west was supposed to give us snow this morning, but it fizzled out before it reached us, and we’ve had no snow all day. It will mean dry roads for traveling, which will be good, since many people travel over the holidays, including us. We will be leaving tomorrow morning for Hudson, WI to spend Christmas with our daughter and her family. We will return home on Monday. I’m hoping since it didn’t snow yet, that it holds off until Tuesday now. Also, when it’s this warm, we sometimes get icy, rain and sleet, and we certainly don’t want that for driving, we’d rather have the snowy roads. I also heard the weather man say that this is only the 4th Christmas in Duluth’s history that there is not snow on the ground! That’s something! Who would have thought that on December 22, we would be going to a restaurant to celebrate a friend's wedding, and not be wearing a coat, and not not even being cold walking to the car without a coat! It used to be that we had below zero temperatures the weeks leading up to Christmas and during the holidays. We would especially have the sub zero temps if we didn't have snow! Now, warm temps, no snow and no sub zero weather. Very strange indeed. I don't think we have to doubt that there is indeed, global warming!

Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice

Yesterday was the Winter Solstice. The shortest day of the year, this means that the “light has returned” and the days will have more daylight, a little more each day…yeah! I’m so glad. I’m really tired of the darkness. I am celebrating in the return of the light.

Finally, A Diagnosis

Finally, a Diagnosis
Do you realize how we take eating, swallowing and our digestive system for granted? Of course, I guess, until one has medical problems, everyone takes the way their body works for granted.

Remember about a month ago when I wrote about an “aborted” test. A test that I had, that wasn’t a success? It was an esophageal manometry (Esophageal function test). Well, this week I attempted to have the test again. The last time, there was food at the bottom of my esophagus, which should have been digested previously, so we could not complete the test. The Dr. sent me for a “Barium swallow” x ray the next week. I thought I wouldn’t have to go though the manometry a second time after this x ray. However, after looking at the x ray, the doctor needed me to have the manometry to confirm his diagnosis to the surgeon. Ahh…since it’s an icky test to go though, I was determined not to have to do it a third time. So since my esophagus seemed not to empty food into the stomach in a timely manner, I went on a liquid diet for three days before the test. This time it was a success! Thank goodness. And thank goodness, the test showed a positive diagnosis for my problem. At last, a diagnosis!
I’ve been dealing with a lot of symptoms for a long time, the Dr. told me I have probably learned to “deal with”. It came to a head 2 weeks before Thanksgiving, when I couldn’t eat anything except very soft stuff, soups and liquids, without having very uncomfortable results. One night about midnight, I thought I was going to choke to death. Another time, I felt that food was stuck for 2 days, with accompanying pain, after eating meat. That’s when I decided to never eat meat again! It wasn't the first time that happened, but it was the worst time. Both things happened the same week and finally drove me to the doctor…as I was scared! Wednesday’s test confirmed what my barium swallow test showed two weeks ago, and what my primary doctor suspected that I had. I have a primary esophageal motility disorder called Achalasia. As my sister commented, boy that is some name! What it really means is that I do not have the muscular contractions in my esophagus. The muscles that push the food down into the stomach do not work. I did some research on the internet and found that the doctors do not know why anyone gets this disorder. Achalasia develops in about 2,000 people in the U.S. annually. There is no particular race or ethnic group affected, and it does not run in families. So…no one knows where it comes from or why. I thought it was because I’ve dealt with acid reflux for about 10 years, but actually the technician told me that is not the case, this is completely separate from reflux. In fact, I was told the pain that I always suffered was not from the acid, but from the muscles working hard trying to do their work, and the muscles would spasm, causing the pain! The technician told me that after a while the muscles got tired of trying to work unsuccessfully, so they just decided to “quit”!

I will have to have a surgery called a Myotomy. Apparently the last two times I had an endoscope, to look at the esophagus, the doctor did a pneumatic dilation, hoping that would work, he also injected botox, which paralyzes the muscles of the valve between the esophagus and stomach. These are the two treatments for achalasia that are tried first, before surgery. It’s not possible to restore the function of the esophagus completely to normal, even with the surgery, but the surgery is supposed to help one to carry on a “nearly normal lifestyle”. Well, I sure do hope so! My research said that 95% of patients who have surgery experience relief of symptoms for many years after the operation. I know I will have a lot of questions to ask the surgeon, when I finally get to see him…. I am still waiting to hear from the office, when that appointment will be. It seems the wheels of medicine in the doctors offices can move slow at times, especially this time of year. I realize the doctors are very busy, with the holidays coming up, but boy, I sure do hope I will have an appointment set before the weekend, so I have some time frame for when I get some relief and know when I can eat normally again. In the meantime, here comes another holiday meal that I won’t be able to enjoy. My daughter is going to make her homemade “squash” soup for me to eat on Christmas Eve. The only good thing about all of this is that I’m losing weight,not the way I wanted to lose. The bad thing is my energy level is very low these days. I am ready to get some action taken to fix this!

Santa Got Stuck

Santa Got Stuck

I didn’t have the energy last evening to try the fudge recipe, so can't report on that tonight.

Today around 4:00 one of my co/workers started singing “I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas”. It’s one of those oldie Christmas songs that 101.7 radio station dug up for their classic Christmas songs that they are playing on their station all month. It got us all talking about funny Christmas songs, and a favorite of mine when I was a kid, popped into my head. I haven’t thought of this song since my kids were little and I told them about it. Let me quiz you to see if you remember it. Of course, if you aren’t over 40, I’m sure you won’t. I think it was made into a record around 1952 or ’53:
“Santa Got Stuck in the Chimney”
My Grandmother had the record and I used to listen to it a lot at her house, every Christmas season, that record and also “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”. None of my co/workers had ever heard of it. I started singing it, and it still wasn’t familiar to them. Do any of my readers remember it?

It was suggested that I call the DJ at 101.7 and ask them to look it up and play it. So, I did. He could not find it anywhere in their system, and he said he searched in all the places where they can search. One of my friends said to ask the DJ “Rain Man” that he for sure would know it. Rain Man is not working this week. I couldn’t, at the time remember who sang it, but I suggested that it might have been the flip side of “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”, which became a very big hit and pretty much everyone knows. If it is the flip side, that could be why it didn’t become popular, so, the whole drive home from work, it was driving me crazy as to who sang it! By the time I got to my computer at home, two names came to mind. Johnny Marks and Jimmy Boyd. I googled both of them, Jimmy Boyd recorded the Kissing Santa Claus song, (do you know that some radio stations banned the song?!!!). I was sure he did the Chimney song too, but couldn’t find it listed anywhere under either of their names. Finally, I found a reference to Snopes.com web site, referring to stories of people getting stuck in a chimney. Snopes, of course, reported that it has never happened, and that the stories might have originated from the Jimmy Boyd song of “Santa Got Stuck in the Chimney”! SO…I was right, it was recorded by Jimmy Boyd! I found a CD on Amazon.com that had old Jimmy Boyd songs, but “Santa Got Stuck…” was not on the CD. I tried calling the DJ back for over an hour, to tell him to look under Jimmy Boyd, but the line is constantly busy. I will try calling tomorrow! Maybe he can find it and play it. If you hear it, you will know I was responsible for requesting it!

Speaking about funny Christmas songs…what is your favorite(s) “Funny song”????
Please post a comment and let me know.

In The Spirit!

In the Spirit
Alright! I’m in the Christmas Spirit now! My Christmas cards are all done, Christmas shopping done, I did some baking, and what really put me in the spirit was our HOPE UMC service this morning. The children at our church put on their Annual Christmas Pageant. It was wonderful. It was cute, it was inspirational and it was so nice to see the children understanding exactly what this season is really about. It takes the little ones to remind us oldsters, who sometimes get a bit cynical when their children are all grown, why we celebrate and to put us into the spirit! We had the children choosing people from the congregation to come up and help portray Mary, Joseph, the animals, shepherds and wise men. The persons chosen were given their costumes to get them into the part. It was wonderful. We even had a real baby. I saw some flashes of cameras, so hopefully we’ll see some photos of this wonderful program, and I will post one here. The only thing I missed was not having any grandchildren in the pageant (remember they live in Hudson).

Christmas Baking

Linda's Thoughts from Duluth
Yesterday I did Christmas baking. I helped to serve coffee and goodies after the program this morning, and of course, we wanted to serve Christmas goodies. This afternoon I did some more baking. Taking a break now to rest my legs and back. I like to take some goodies to Dawn's house, since with the kids she doesn't have a lot of time to bake. She always requests that I bring my "Nut Goodie Bars", and her husband likes the Peanut Blossoms. I want to try to make some fudge yet today. I can never make fudge right, it either gets hard as a rock, or it doesn’t set up. I’ve tried lots of different recipes too. A co worker told me she had the best fudge recipe, one that never failed. I told her I even tried the “no fail recipe” and it failed. So, she brought me her recipe on Friday. Guess what…I’m sure it’s the “no fail recipe” that I have tried before. Well, it’s been years since I’ve made an attempt to make fudge, so maybe I’ll give it ONE more try, with Kim’s recipe. I’ll let you know how I make out!

The Pieta

Linda's Thoughts from Duluth
Today while baking I watched a show I taped that had to do with Christmas and Christianity. It talked about Mary, as all shows about Christmas do. In all the talk about Mary, one thing came to my mind that I haven’t thought about in a very long time.

The sculpture that Michaelango did of Mary, holding her son’s body after it was taken down from the cross. What a special piece of sculpture. It reminded me of the awe that I felt back in 1965 when on a moving walkway (such walkways almost unheard of in those days) I was able to view the real Pieta by Michaelango. It was on loan to the New York World’s Fair, I believe it was in the Vatican Pavilion there at the fair. I have always felt honored that I was able to go to the New York World’s Fair, not once but twice. The first summer it was there, I went along with my cousin and her family. The following June, our high school senior class trip went to the fair. It is probably the only World’s Fair I will ever get to. It was a real honor to see this piece of sculpture that has so much meaning, to think how as a Mother, Mary must have felt as she held her son’s body. We wished we could stand in front of it for as long as we wanted, but the moving walkway moved on…

Tootie

Linda's Thoughts from Duluth
Here is a picture of "Tootie" that I wrote about in the post below - she was my Mother's dog. Now she is my brother Mark's dog. The picture is of Mark and Tootie.

Equal time for Kitty Lovers

Linda's Thoughts from Duluth
This is a cute picture someone sent me...for all of you that love kittys and cats.

We always had a lot of kittens and cats around the farm too. The kittens always gathered around the house porch looking for milk and attention. I think I got so used to seeing cats and kittens, and I never became attached to any of them, that now as an adult, I really don't care for cats. Kittys are cute. But, they grow into cats. Maybe farm cats are not as friendly and nice as house cats. Mom did end up having a house cat a few years ago, that I have to admit, I got to liking when I would visit home.

My Mother used to tell me that every boy should have a dog. She was always encouraging us to get a dog... at times I was tempted, but I knew who would be responsible and end up taking care of the dog, that I always thought I had enough to do without having a pet. Maybe in my old age I will get a "house dog". She never encouraged me to get a cat though.

Coco

Coco
Speaking of puppies and dogs...(see my post below)
Our daughter and her family just got an addition to their family, their Christmas present. They got a cute little puppy, who won't get much bigger when she's full grown than she is now at 12 weeks. She is a mix between a Yorkie and a Maltese.
She is 2 lb, 12 oz. and is not to get bigger than 4 lb. The children have been asking for a dog for years, and she has always resisted. She is allergic to dog and cat hair, is the main reason, but she really has never had a desire for a dog, until the last year or so, she said she has been thinking that it would be nice to get a small, house dog. So, they did their homework, and researched the breeds. She said this breed does not have "dander", so she will not have the problem of being allergic. She is very cute, looks like a little ball of fluff, and they all just love her to pieces already! We can't wait for December 23, so that we can see her. They named her Coco Chanel and call her Coco. Dawn says she is very mellow, and hardly ever barks.

My parents inherited a dog that just showed up at the farm one time, that reminds me of Coca. When you live in the country, those things happen. City people that don't want their pets anymore, often drop them off on a country road.
She had lots of long white hair, and we weren't sure what breed, but sure she was a mixture. She wasn't as small as Coco will be, but she was darn cute. My Mother named her Fluffy, and she became my Mother's dog and companion in her later years of life. After Fluffy died, they got another little dog, breed also unknown, but not long haired. They named her Tootie. Tootie was lost when Mom went into the nursing home. My brother Mark took over her care and now she is Mark's dog. Mark used to take her up to the nursing home to see Mom. My Mother was always a dog lover, so we always had at least one of not more dogs around when I was growing up.

I know Dawn and the family will enjoy their Coco as much as we always enjoyed the dogs at our home. I'll bet their Christmas cards will now be signed, Bob, Dawn, Skylar, Madelyn and Coca!

Jackie

Jackie
This morning my favorite outdoor writer wrote an article about his aging hunting dog.
“An Old Dog’s Last Lap”, see my newspaper link on the left and click on Sam Cook’s article about his beloved dog who is aging. It reminded me of our beloved hunting beagle, Jackie, when I was growing up. Jackie was a beagle we had from the time he was a pup. He became blind and deaf in his old age, he also had trouble walking. He was 15 years old. We loved him. My brothers took extra care with him, knowing that he had trouble seeing and hearing and getting around, and like Sam, they took him along hunting and watched over him.

One winter week, we realized that we hadn’t seen Jackie for a few days. We looked all around, the boys kept their eyes open for him, but Jackie never showed up. We didn’t know where he was. Our Dad said that perhaps he just went off and died. Well, we certainly didn’t’ want to hear that! We loved Jackie and missed him.

Unfortunately, when the spring came, a few months later, one of my brothers discovered what had happened to Jackie. On our neighboring farm across the way there was a pond. In the spring when the ice melted away from the pond, he found Jackie. He was blind, we figured he was walking along and made his way onto the pond, and the ice wasn’t completely strong and he broke through and drowned. We were very sad. The mystery was solved, I guess Dad was right. It was a sad time for us all.

Snow Emergency Route

Snow Emergency Route
I received a phone call this morning from number one son. He was waiting for the tow truck to come. We had just enough snow overnight to make the roads very slippery, and there were icy patches. His car went in the ditch. Fortunately, he and the car were both alright. He has the worst luck with accidents, I was just so thankful that another car was not involved this time and that he and the car were fine. But, the first words out of my mouth to him after I knew he was alright was “SNOW EMERGENCY ROUTE”…why didn’t you take the “snow emergency route” instead of your usual route to work that is a windy road with some hills! I reminded him why the city has certain streets that are designated as snow emergency, because those are the streets and roads that have high priority to keep sanded and plowed, and they are the first ones sanded and plowed. It’s nice that the city has these designated routes to handle our bad weather, and I always make sure when the weather is bad that I always stick to those streets, even if it seems out of the way. I know why he didn’t this morning…mostly out of habit, but also by taking that route, he has only one traffic light instead of several, and he thinks the traffic is less.

I reminded him when he left this morning that the streets would be slippery and to be sure to drive slowly and carefully. BUT, I forgot to remind him to take the SNOW EMERGENCY ROUTE! Next time I won’t forget to include that phrase in my “Motherly speech”!

Candle in The Darkness

Candle in the Darkness
Before I take off for my 1/2 day of work today, I want to ask you to click on Michelle Hargrave's Link
to the left of my column, and read her Monday, Dec. 11th post titled "Candle in the Darkness". It will be worth your time.

Now I'm off to give blood.

Our Anniversary

Our Wedding Anniversary
Today is December 13th. It is our Wedding Anniversary. 37 years. In three days it will be 37 years that I have lived in Duluth. We got married in East Berlin, Pennsylvania at my small country church, Red Mount. It was a beautiful wedding, all I had dreamed of. The church was so full, people were standing in the aisles. I have a big family and all the relatives and friends were there. My husband was represented by his Mother, who flew out for the wedding. He had two cousins he was close to, that he hoped would come, but they were not able to make the trip. He only has one sister, she was in California and could not be there. I was so thrilled that his Mother could be there. He had a good friend from the army base that stood up for him as “Best Man”. My brothers were the ushers and I had 4 attendants. My best friend Nancy, was Maid of Honor, she was in a long Green Velvet gown and the bridesmaids wore Red Velvet gowns. I had the church decorated in reds and greens for the holidays. Now you know, at every wedding, something goes awry. At our wedding it was the flowers and the floral decorations, they did not arrive early like they should have. The florist was so late, the church was full and NO FLowers! I was a wreck...where are the flowers? My Mother called the florist, and she kept me calm. The florist came in and put everything together while my guests were sitting there in the pews. Oh well, I guess it could have been something worse.
Our family friend Helena, our organist kept everyone entertained with her great music while we waited. One thing my Mother and I wanted for sure was that we would have lots of music and that the music would be good. It was, it made up for anything that could have gone wrong!
Our wedding was recorded by a friend, and we played it at the 30th Wedding Anniversary party that the kids gave us for our 30th. I had it transferred from reel to reel tape to a cassette tape. Now I suppose, I should have it transferred to a CD!

Our reception was at the “Chalet” Restaurant, which was one of the few nice restaurants in the area with a banquet room, it was about 15 miles up the road from the church in Dillsburg. That restaurant hasn’t been there for years. We stayed at a Holiday Inn on our wedding night in Camp Hill. That Holiday Inn hasn’t been there for years either! It snowed about 6 inches after midnight and we had trouble getting up “Big Dam” Hill on the way to the farm in the morning because the road crews weren’t out, they didn’t move as fast in PA as they do here in Minnesota. The Harrisburg Airport closed due to the snow, and my Mother in Law was so upset that she couldn’t get her flight out that day. She said 6 inches of snow would never have closed the airport in Duluth! The snow gave me one more day at home before having to leave for Duluth. We left Monday morning instead of Sunday morning.

I cried the whole way across the Pennsylvania Turnpike. I kept telling my new husband how happy I was that my Dad told me he loved me, before we left. I had never heard those words from him before, and it meant so much to me. (You’ll remember I wrote about that in a post last winter). We made one stop on Monday night in Indiana. We arrived in Duluth at his Mother’s home at 9:30 pm on Tuesday night. I was a nervous wreck because we were in my ’68 mustang, pulling a U Haul with everything I owned in it, my bedroom set, dishes and kettles I had purchased before our wedding, and all of our wedding gifts. When we hit Wisconsin the roads were all snow covered and it was very cold, so they were very slippery. Most of the trip across Wisconsin was on narrow, two way road, and it started snowing the last part of the trip. Our hitch came loose and we had to tie it up at a gas stop, and I kept imagining we were going to lose our U Haul! It was a tense drive. I hated the snow and cold before I even reached Duluth! How was I going to survive a Minnesota winter?! I fell into my new Mother-in-law’s arms when we got to her door and I just cried and cried.

Anniversary Gift - Twin Ponds

Linda's Thoughts from Duluth
I gave my husband an Anniversary gift. He told me he loved it, but said that it really was a gift for both of us. I found a beautiful winter photograph, 11 X17 framed, of The Twin Ponds here in Duluth. It was taken at sunset, so the shadows and the sunset is in the photo also. I bought it in July and could hardly wait, but decided I would wait and give it to Bob for our Anniversary.

Why would I do that you ask? Here’s the answer. There is significance to the photo. Between the time that Bob left PA from the army and when we got married, I made a trip to Duluth to visit him and meet his family. I flew (first time flying) into Duluth at 10:30 pm at night. He lived on 12 Ave. West, and on the way to his place, he brought me across Skyline Parkway…I saw the lights of the city, Lake Superior and it was a beautiful sight to behold. Now, my out of state readers will not know the “Twin Ponds” area, but you Duluthians do. It is along the skyline, hillside, and there are two ponds and a pretty bridge. He stopped by the two ponds and asked me to marry him. When I saw this photograph, it brought it all back to me. I had to have the photograph! When Bob opened it, I asked if he recognized it, he did, and he knew exactly why I bought it!

PS...I didn't get a gift from him, because our Anniversary falls so close to Christmas we do not give each other anniversary gifts usually. The posted photo here, is NOT the photo that I gave him.

Celebrate

Linda's Thoughts from Duluth

To celebrate our Anniversary, I took a day and a ½ vacation to spend with my husband. I don’t have to go back to work till tomorrow afternoon… yeah.

We had a nice relaxing morning, and then we went to Red Lobster for lunch, because due to my digestive and eating problems I’m having now, I’m pretty much living on soups, and I simply love their clam chowder. We took our time and really enjoyed our lunch. I am STILL waiting to hear from the Doctor about the tests I had last Thursday... (and yes, I have called and the office knows I am anxious- no messages on voice mail when we returned today..)

Then we spent some time shopping around a little bit…not too much, since neither of us are shoppers. We picked up a gift certificate to help complete our Christmas shopping, and we spent quite a bit of time in the local “Dollar Store”. I hear people rave about the Dollar Store, but must confess I don’t go there too often, I guess I should, since they do have some good deals there … well $46.00 later… the “dollar store” can be a dangerous place, and it’s probably a good thing I don’t go there too often.

I was wrong this morning when I lamented that we would have a dreary day weather wise…the sun did make every effort to come out and once and a while we did see it, in between the thick clouds. It was much nicer than yesterday, and the temperature just about hit 40.

The Blood Center has been calling me for the two months about giving blood, it sounds like they are really in need, especially the 0 positive which is the most universal, and what I have, so I’ve been trying to find time to give. I called and got an appointment for tomorrow morning. I started giving blood about 5 years ago when our church had a blood drive, with the Bloodmobile, and was talked into doing it. I was very scared, but found out there’s really nothing to it…so now I give regularly and it is a good feeling to know that you are helping others through your blood donation.

Gee, what to do on the rest of my day off….? Maybe I should wrap some of those Christmas gifts I bought last weekend…

Snow Business: No Business

Unseasonable
A headline story in this morning's Duluth News Tribune is titled
"Snow Business: No Business".
*To quote from the story: "Winter - and many winter activities - is on hold in the Duluth area...unseasonable warmth and a lack of snow have forced the city to delay opening winter attractions..." Ice Skating, skiing, snowmobiling, cross country trails - cold and snow needed for all these activities that outdoor lovers want.

Our son works a part time job evenings at one of the ice skating rinks, that the city can't open yet until temperatures drop enough to allow new ice to form. A supplemental part time job is one thing, but in Duluth and our area, there are many full time jobs that depend on the cold and snow. Looking outside this morning, it looks like it will be another warm, gray, foggy day in Duluth.

*For full story click on my Duluth News Tribune link on the left of this page

Pennsylvania Weather

Pennsylvania Weather
Dark, foggy and wet! That is how to describe the drive to work this morning, and the drive home was dark, wet and not quite as foggy. The temperature was 36 both this morning and this evening. In the winter when we have warm temperatures, no sun during the day, and lots of moisture and dampness in the air, I call it a “Pennsylvania Day”. Winter in Pennsylvania consists of so many days like this. The sun never came out today, so it was very gloomy. One thing I’ve always said about our cold temps like we had last week, whenever we have teens, or below zero temps, we always have one thing to go with it that makes it more bearable and that is a three letter word called SUN!

Last week it was cold, but sunny. This week it will be warm, but cloudy and dreary. We may also get another common thing from PA, when the temps go down around 30 – 32…ICE & icy roads. I think most of us that live in Duluth say we’d rather have snowy roads, than icy roads. I remember one spring when we had ice instead of snow, it affected our electricity lines and we were out of power for 4 days, due to ice, not snow! Ice is nasty!

Isn’t the “Solstice” soon here…I think in another week . . . then our days will start getting longer. I’m tired of going to and from work in the dark! How about you??

Photos of Duluth in December

Here are some photos of Canal Park area last week after we had some snow and the temperatures dropped.

Bayfront Festival Park - Duluth, MN

Here is our Bayfront Festival Park that I wrote about on Saturday. It was completed the summer of 2001.

I'm having trouble posting photos this evening. First I couldn't get one posted, now the same photo is posted twice! I couldn't get it on the one titled "Christmas in Duluth", so made a separate post.

Our Christmas Baby - December 10th

Our Christmas Baby
Our Scott is 25 years old today. 25 - we must now for sure, accept that he is an adult. It's sometimes hard, especially for a Mother, who remembers the baby in her arms, the morning he was born, to think that he could be an adult. It was a very happy morning. 1981 was a very special Christmas for our family. We dressed him in a cute Santa suit, with a Santa hat, took lots of photos. (I should have looked them up and scanned them for this post).

Somethings we have to accept when they become adults. Once again we feel left out as parents, as it seems we are not being included in his birthday celebration. I had asked both of them, two different times this week about them coming for his birthday, or what we were going to do, what plans they had. They both told me “I’ll get back to you”…well… they didn’t. So…I tried to see him today. I stopped up at their apartment after church, to give him our birthday gift and card. When they weren’t home, I drove to Sarah’s parents house, thinking they might be there, but they told me they were out for a late brunch with friends that were in town from Bemidji. (UMD played Bemidji in hockey last night). So, I left his gift and card there…as I know he will get it there later today or this evening I’m sure. I’m trying not to take it personally…getting used to it…I know that he is an adult and his priorities are with Sarah. When he calls to thank us, I will offer that we will take him to lunch or supper sometime this week, so we can "celebrate".

The Christmas that he was born was the very best Christmas I ever had in my married life! Since he was due close to Christmas, I did everything early that year. I had the gifts all wrapped and ready, the tree and house decorated, all my Christmas cards out early. It was also the best Christmas because we knew we would have our third child by the time Christmas came. We were looking forward to him so much, because after 9 years, having a second child (Rob), we enjoyed having a baby in the house again so much, we thought it would be great for Rob to have a brother and sister and another small on in the house. That he/she would come right in time for Christmas was a bonus. We had no preference, boy or girl, but secretly, I did think that a brother for Rob would be great, and nice for two boys to grow up together. They were great pals when they were young, and good company for each other. Little did we know 25 years ago, that these two brothers would be so different, that when they became teenagers, they ceased to be “buddies”. But, I understand that happens with a lot of brothers. I’ve been told that when they become adults they will be as close again as they were when they were young. I’m hoping that day comes. They are adults now, but maybe not “adult enough”? In the meantime, I know they love each other, and accept each other’s differences, and for that we’re grateful.

Happy 25th Birthday to our son!

Nice Shopping Weather

Nice Shopping Weather

After I wrote my last post, I decided that with the warm weather it would be a good evening to go do some Christmas Shopping. I’m not a shopper, so Christmas shopping is not easy for me, and I tend to put it off till the last minute. I don’t have a husband who will shop with me, so the burden of Christmas buying is always upon me. It was 40 degrees, dry roads, and nothing was on TV … so off I went. If I could get a majority of it done in one evening, I would feel ahead this year.

I got back at 10 tonight. I had to quit, as my legs, knees and back started hurting badly and I was getting hot. All reasons why I’m not a shopper! I managed to get a lot of gifts purchased, and did it all without going to the “mall”…hurray! I may have to make one trip to one store at the mall for Grandson’s Skylar’s gift, but otherwise I may escape having to go there. The most fun I had was buying for our 6 year old granddaughter; I kept finding all kinds of things for her, and eventually had to make choices. She loves the color blue and my last thing I spotted for her was a darling light blue coat with a light blue “fur collar”…well, I just had to get that for her, I can just see her wearing it! I hope that I’m right. Don’t worry, I made sure I got gift receipts for everything. It’s so much easier and fun to shop for little ones isn’t it? This year I insisted that our 27 year old make a list for me, so I don’t buy him any more clothing that he won’t wear! It made shopping for him easier. He will be happy that he won’t get any clothing this year! Since Scott and Sarah are off on their own in an apartment, I decided I could buy “joint gift/s for them for the apartment. They are both very hard to buy for, so something for the apartment made it easier.

I did most of my shopping at Target. I thought there wouldn’t be many there in the evening, but I was wrong. But, I’ll bet it was only half what it would have been during the day! I heard a lot of people being pretty grumpy. One couple was lamenting that they didn’t know what to get the kid because he has everything… another lady was complaining because someone left an unattended cart in the aisle, just to name a few of the grumbles. Gee…I’m thinking … grumpy people and it’s still early! What will it be like closer to Christmas! I’m glad I won’t be out there to find out. I did see one act of kindness. A man in front of me, on the way out the door, offered to help an elderly lady with her large bag, “thank you, but my ride is pulling up in front right now”, she answered, very appreciatively. I know he felt good that he had offered her help.

Oh, and at 10 pm tonight the temperature was at 36 degrees... yes, excellent shopping weather!

And I’m much closer to getting into the Holiday Spirit!

Christmas in Duluth

Christmas in Duluth
When I started writing this blog, some of my intention was to compare Duluth in 1969 and early 70’s to the Duluth we now have.

I worked on my Christmas cards today, and late this afternoon I took the majority of my Christmas cards to the main post office out in the other part of town, so they would go out right away. When I went by the freeway on the way there I noticed the lights at Bay Front Park. I wrote earlier this fall about how the city made a beautiful park down by the bay front across from the arena-auditorium (DECC). The park was built in recent years. Returning from the post office, I stopped in to see the park. In the winter they have been flooding the lawn in front of the building where rest rooms, etc. are, for ice skating. I have heard about it, but apparently never checked it out, especially over the holidays. There are lighted decorations everywhere, and it is a beautiful spot for kids and families to go for skating. It really was beautiful. I took some photos, don’t know if they will turn out, but if they do, I will post them when I get them back. It would have been so nice to have a place like that to go to when our kids were little. I’m happy that it is there for today’s families. The temperature in my car said 42 degrees outside, so it is the perfect night for ice skating, and I’m sure the ice is good, with all the sub and teen temps we had during the week. In the late 70’s a play park was built next to where the bayfront park is now. It was a project of the Junior League of Duluth, and was paid for by them, and built with volunteer labor. It became known as “Playfront Park”. That park was there for our two younger children and our grandchildren.

Then I took time to drive around the DECC and down Canal Park Drive. I couldn’t help but remember that when I came to Duluth, Canal Park Drive was all warehouses, and not a pretty sight. The only thing pretty in that area was the Marine Museum that had just been built in the late 60’s. Now, it is beautiful. There are hotels all along the bay front, and shops all along on the other side. Lamps and landscaping, sculptures, trees, it’s so nice. In the dark, with all the lights and the Holiday lights, it was really pretty. Also, the Aerial Lift Bridge is lit all the time, 365 days a year, thanks to a project the Rotary Club had years ago. I don’t know how long the bridge has been lit, but I know it had no lights on it when I first lived here. (I should look up that information).

Downtown was beautiful and very festive looking, with Holiday lights on the skywalks, and banners on the lamps. There is a large decorated with colorful lights, tree in the Minnesota Power courtyard, in the heart of downtown.

This year, the downtown merchants made a special effort to decorate their store fronts for the holidays, and that has been a nice touch. I haven’t seen that since the department stores in downtown left, by the way, in 1969 everyone shopped downtown. There wasn’t a mall, and there wasn’t much over the hill. Now it is so crowded over the hill, last night I had to go that way from downtown, to run an errand, and I couldn’t believe the traffic. I was so thankful that I didn’t need to go home that route on a daily basis!

Tomorrow I’ll write more about what downtown Duluth was like 37 years ago.

Sunrise on a cold morning

148th to Deploy more

Day in Infamy
Today is Pearl Harbor Day, the day that The United States entered War World II, after being attacked by the Japanese in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Pearl Harbor happened before I was born, but I heard a lot about it when I was growing up, as our parents generation are the ones that remember it well and told us about it.

Today it was announced that our 148th Fighter Wing from our Duluth Air Base is being deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and other locations in the Mideast in early 2007. It will be Duluth’s largest deployment since War World II. The announcement mentioned that the deployment was expected, so guess they were not taken by surprise. God speed to all those that will be leaving and to their families that have to see them go.

When the Doctor’s office called me and told me that I had a test scheduled for December 7, all I could think about was “A day that lives in Infamy”, as President Roosevelt said this day 65 years ago. I even told that to the nurse on the telephone. I felt silly after I said it, but, I guess December 7th is a date that is important to us “Baby Boomers” too.

By the way, this test was successful. It showed on the x ray exactly what my problem is, and I’m waiting for my Dr. to see the x rays, and give me a call tomorrow with a “plan to fix it!” And, I was right, swallowing the Barium drink was much easier than swallowing a tube!

December 7, 2006

7:40 am - Winter is here. 7 degrees below zero,
WIND CHILL -26 degrees below zero. Duluth, MN

December 7 - it's Pearl Harbor Day

Off to the hospital for another test - hopefully this one will be successful

Snow for the Mood

Linda's Thoughts from Duluth
On my lunch hour right now. I just came back from taking my Christmas Letter down the street to be printed. It was to start snowing at noon today. It started earlier. The streets are covered, and slippery. We are to get 2 - 4 inches by evening. I'm listening to a Lori Line Christmas CD, (piano music) and between that and the snow the last two days, I'm starting to feel more Christmasy. Doing my Christmas letters and fixing them for mailing, will finish putting me in the
spirit.

Dawn didn't get their puppy last evening. Bob is picking her up today. They are very excited.

4 Degrees warmer

Coming home from work tonight it was only 4 degrees warmer (14 degrees) than this morning's drive to work! Also, more snow over the hill, so roads were still slippery. No added snow downtown during the day.

I called for computer help from Gateway as soon as I got home from work, thought I'd try them since I didn't hear from the Norton Virus Company. I can talk to them
free, I refuse to pay $30 to Norton to hear what the computer company can probably tell me for free. Well, over 2 hours later, after uninstalling Norton and re-installing it, and checking over other things, I now have my computer protected, the little icon is on the right hand side to assure me of it, and I can now send and receive my e mail. What a way to spend the evening! I told the technican that was helping me that he certainly had more patience than I did!

While I was on the telephone with the technican, my husband made supper and he and Rob ate supper, and I was still on the telephone! Neither one of them ever want to make a call to the computer or server company...gee ... Bob would rather cook...
actually so would I...but I'm the one stuck on the phone!

Oh, I must give our daughter a call. They are getting an addition to their family,
a Christmas gift for them all...a puppy! She told me they might be able to pick her up tonight. It's a female, and when I get a picture of her (which I'm sure I will, I'll post it and tell you what they got). They are all very excited!

Slippery Drive

Linda's Thoughts from Duluth
Slippery drive to work this morning, our temperatures sure have fallen! It was 10 degrees on my way to work, and we had about 2 inches of snow over the hill. The roads were very slippery, and when you live in Woodland, there is no way to get downtown without going “down hill”. I know, I’ve tried many different routes and each route requires that you go down an avenue… some steeper than others, but always downhill. And when you are downtown, there are either avenues up or down. What a fun town to live in during the winter! The car I drive has anti lock breaks, it’s the first car I’ve had with them, and I can’t get used to them. This morning I thought I wasn’t going to be able to stop on one incline that wasn’t even very bad. There must be a secret to using them…guess I’ll have to investigate.

Computer Problems

Linda's Thoughts from Duluth

Computer problems again! Yesterday I renewed our Norton Anti Virus program, which one must do each year, to keep the bad stuff out of the computer. It seems every year I do this, I have problems afterward, our computer locks up, and when I go to re open it, it doesn’t always load up. Then also, I can’t get our e mail. Now, I’m almost afraid to go online, as the Norton tells me it’s working, but we don’t see the icon in the lower right hand corner. Also, when I first click on it, it says it is disabled, then I click “turn on” and then it looks correct….shouldn’t have to do that, it should come on automatically. Of course, when I called the virus company, they don’t want to talk to anyone, we are told to e mail…if you want to talk to an actual person, it costs you money! It’s just ridiculous! I was so frustrated last evening! Before the e mail stopped working I e mailed. Today I checked it from the office here, and the e mail said I would hear from them within 48 hours…. oh my, isn’t that service, I only need to wait 48 hours, when if I had talked to someone at 4 pm yesterday, I would have known the answer! How frustrating.

So, I’m writing my post at my lunch time at work, to get the frustration off my chest!
Maybe I’ll be cooled off enough till I get home tonight, and maybe I’ll call the computer or the cable company, though, I’m sure they will say it has something to do with the anti virus program…they always like to blame it on Norton. My son says, why do you use Norton, he’s heard so many people that have problems with Norton. My answer…it’s what came with the computer, and now I’ve paid for another year’s subscription!

Well, sorry to go on about this…but it does feel better to get it off my chest! Ha ha!

Holiday Mode

Holiday Mode
OK…I’m now more in the Holiday Mode. I typed my Christmas letter last evening. Today I finished decorating the house with holiday trimmings, everything looks like Christmas now. I even found a new place for my third nativity set, the white ceramic one trimmed in gold. I found the perfect spot, on top of the antique curio cabinet that I had shipped from PA two years ago. It was my Grandmother’s; passed down to my Mother and now I have it. It’s nice to have something really substantial that I see all the time, that came from the farm and from my Grandmother. It may even have been her Mother’s, we aren’t sure. But, it looks perfect in our dining room, and I like the nativity set on top of it. I put away the “East Berlin” treasures I had there.

Now, I have a question for everyone … if I have three nativity sets, and our kids are grown, and the Grandchildren will not be up here for Christmas… and everything looks like the holiday, we really don’t need to have a Christmas Tree, right??? Please comment and let me know your thoughts.

Holidays . . . Nativity Sets

Nativity Sets
One of my friends who blogs, wrote a post the other day saying that she was in denial that Christmas was coming, but that it was alright because it was still November, but when Dec. 1st came she would have to “get real”. I agree with her. I’m in denial. Although, I do not do anything for Christmas, except my Christmas letter and correspondence to my out of state relatives and friends, until after Thanksgiving is over. Usually before Thanksgiving I am almost done with my Christmas letter and have a good start on the addressing, etc.

Here it is the first weekend of December and for some reason, this year, I'm having trouble getting into the Christmas Spirity. I just now started thinking of my Christmas letters and cards. I was hoping the Lori Line Holiday concert last Friday would put me in the mood, I even have been listening to her Christmas CD’s this week, but I can’t get myself to sit down and write my letter.

I did make an effort this morning to put away all my fall and autumn decorations in the house and I got out two of my three nativity sets. That was hard, because I love fall and fall decorations, and bought some new fall decorations this year, and thought the house looked real fall and autum like. I was more excited about decorating for Christmas when the kids were little.

Then I listened to two authors tell about their books they’ve written on Book TV, and that’s as far as I got in getting ready for Christmas. Well, wait a minute, I did do online shopping last evening and ordered 4 Christmas presents! What a great way to shop. I was looking for something for the grown sons to order on line, but no luck! What do you buy for grown children? I did decide on a gift for the daughter and son in law, (with help of her suggestion!) and I ordered that on line. But, I’m afraid I am still going to go out to the stores at least once shopping. Christmas shopping was oh, so so much easier when the kids were little. It was also more fun. Christmas shopping hasn’t been fun for me since. If I could just buy gifts and not worry whether the person will like the gift, but, no…I can’t do that, I worry about buying the “right” thing. It’s so hard.

Now, about the nativity sets. Do you wonder why I have three, yes, count them, three nativity sets? When my kids were young, I didn’t own one. I wanted one so much, but could never afford to buy one. One year I had a “Christmas Around the World” party
(where people come and buy things from the demonstrator…remember that company?)
just so I could get one free. I did get it, and it lasted me all through the kids growing up, then one year baby Jesus figurine got broken, and the stable was starting to look pretty shabby. I couldn’t put it up without Baby Jesus. That year, after Christmas I found a beautiful white and gold set at JC Penney’s on sale for half price. So, then I had a set for the following year.

One year soon after Dawn was married, I bought them a beautiful set at Sam’s Club and gave it to her right before Christmas. I felt she should have one. I guess she didn’t like the one I chose. I never saw her use it. About 2 years later, when I mentioned that she wasn’t using it, she told me the “pieces” were too big, and didn’t fit anywhere just right. Did I want the set back? Sure, I liked the set….so I took it back. It sits on top of our antique cedar chest in the dining room, and fits just perfectly! The smaller white and gold one sets on our mantle some years, and some years, on the table beneath our mirror in the living room. So…that’s two sets.

In September I was graced with another nativity set, a gift for my birthday from our youngest son and his girlfriend. I will say it also is beautiful, and completely different from the other two. I love it, and the thought at my birthday was very nice. I have set theirs on our fireplace mantle, it looks very nice. I was so tempted, but of course, didn’t say “haven’t been to our house at Christmas to know that I already own two sets?..” ha ha…no…I kept mum…I told them it was beautiful and that I loved it (which I do). The gold and white set, I left in the box in the basement today. I’ll retire that one for now. Maybe Dawn would like that one?

So, at one time I didn’t own a nativity set and now in 2006 I own three. Maybe I can say I collect Nativity sets.

Maybe tomorrow I start my Christmas letter/cards.