Blogging For a Year!

Linda's Thoughts from Duluth Blogging A Year!
This week is a year anniversary that I have been "blogging". I wrote and put my first "post" on this site on January 29, 2006. The year has gone by fast, as they do as we get older! I want to say tonight that I have throughly enjoyed my year of writing, and as you can see, I plan to continue to "blog". Writing has been enjoyable to me, and I believe it's also been good "therapy" for me. Somedays its good to write down my thoughts, somedays I need to vent, somedays I need to let someone know a piece of information that I discovered, somedays I just want to connect with my out of state family and friends, and somedays I think of connecting too, ith my in town friends that read. It's also been nice to know there are readers in other states and other countries that enjoy reading what I write. The posts that I write about family memories and history, I hope that my family, especially my children and grandchildren, will be glad someday (if not today) that I put the memories down on paper. That is the reason I am sharing the memories. I'm also enjoying posting photos of the town we live in and especially old photos to share with family. My other posts, even the mundane ones, I hope will give my family members and friends some insight into my life, to my thoughts and to how I feel about living in Duluth, Minnesota. Do me a favor and click on "comment" below and let me know if its been as much fun for you as it has been for me this past year. I would love to hear from my readers. If you don't want it to posted on the blog, let me know, because I moderate all comments before they are published and will not post it if you don't want me to. I look forward to another year of "writing and sharing my thoughts from Duluth!"

PS - A big thank you to my friend Becca, who turned me on to blogging!

Boyds Bear - Hugh R. Hope

Genuine Boyds Collectible Bear created especially for American Cancer Society Daffodil Days. His name is Hugh R. Hope. He wants to remind you that you don't have to "bear" colon cancer. If you're 50 or older, get tested and stop colon cancer before it starts.

See below how you can purchase Hugh and a bunch of daffodils during our Daffodil Days promotion.

Order your Daffodils before Feb. 15

Daffodils Are Coming
The bright, yellow daffodil is the American Cancer Society's symbol of hope in the fight against cancer. Because the American Cancer Society's daffodils are fresh and colorful, Daffodil Days has become a successful fundraiser in the upper Midwest where winters can be long and unpredictable; therefore, a sign of spring is always welcome!

Daffodil Days orders are being taken now through Feb. 15. Daffodils are available the week of March 5-9,2007.

Make a minimum $8 donation to the American Cancer Society and receive a bunch of approximately 10 unopened daffodils. Several other daffodil products are also available for ordering, including:
Bunch and a Vase - $10
Gift of Hope bouquet - $15
Bear and a Bunch - $25 (A beautiful plush brown, collectible BOYDS bear
created especially for the American Cancer Soceity's Daffodil Days program)
Sunshine Bouquet - $75
Half case of daffodils (25 bunches) - $175
Case of daffodils (50 bunches) - $340
Individual vase - $4

For ordering in the local Twin Ports (Duluth, Superior area) call the local office 727-7439, option 3, extension 18.
For ordering in other areas and counties contact our call center at 1-800-ACS-2345.

A Birthday We Never Forget - January 27th

Linda's Thoughts from Duluth

Well, I wrote this last week before Saturday, to post on Saturday, which was my Mother in Law’s Birthday. I came down with the stomach flu in the middle of the night Friday and was sick all weekend. Too sick for me to get out of bed, let alone come near the computer. So, tonight, I am finally feeling better, so here is the post that was meant for Saturday.

January 27th was always my Mother in Law’s Birthday. We did not forget it, or we would face her wrath. She was very good at remembering birthdays, and she expected that no one should ever forget hers. We always made sure that we had her for dinner on her birthday, and that we had a cake with lots of very sweet icing, as she was a big sweets lover. We have so many good memories of those birthday celebrations. I think I took a picture most every year, so have lots of photos of our celebrations.

When she was 75, she threw her own big party at her house. We helped her. All the relatives came, and many of her friends. That party was the greatest. She and I made all the food, and she had homemade pasta, meatballs, ribs, beef roast, pork roast, breaded pork chops and at least 3 or more “hot dishes” (Minnesota word for casserole). Of course, all the side dishes and trimmings to go with the main dishes.

When her 80th Birthday came along, I planned a big party, invited everyone. The relatives out of town said it would depend on the January weather if they could come. The ones in town said they’d be there. The morning of the party, was the coldest day of a long stretch of below zero temps here in Duluth. It was -25 below zero with dangerous wind chills of -60 below. I started getting phone calls, one family couldn’t get their car started, even when they tried to jump it. Another family called to say they had broken water pipes to deal with at their house. Calls from out of town saying they couldn’t travel in this cold. (by the way, when it gets that bad in Duluth, the weather man does advise no travel, or limited travel – especially if it’s on a weekend when people don’t have to go out to work, and this was a Sunday.) Dolly didn’t even want to come out of her house, and told me to cancel it. We always planned to re-schedule the party, but you know how things go, it just didn’t get done. I always felt bad. I thought I would do it the following year, but again it didn’t get it scheduled, so we celebrated the 81st here just our family.

Oh, Dolly was smart, when she had her 75th party she had it in July! That’s what I should have done!

It seems so funny when the 27th comes, that we are not celebrating her birthday in person, but I know that Bob and I and the grandchildren never forget that 27th was her day, and we spend that day with her on our minds.

Last year around Mother’s Day I wrote a post about her. In case you didn’t catch it then, I am going to re-post it today, (see below) in honor of her birthday.

Dolly - heart of the family in Duluth

Linda's Thoughts from Duluth
We lost Bob’s Mother in January, 2003. She was the true Italian Mother. Her name was Clara. When she had to fix her birth certificate, which wasn’t correct, she added Dolly to it as her middle name. She was the baby, and they always called her their little Dolly, so the name Dolly stuck. Her parents came to New York, through Ellis Island from Italy. Her father came first, then moved to Northern Minnesota for a job at the mines, in a town that is no longer there. Then he sent for Dolly’s Mother and her oldest sister. The other 6 girls were born in Minnesota.

Eventually her parents came to Duluth, where she grew up, the youngest of seven girls, her maiden name was Rich, and the girls were known as the Rich Sisters from “Little Italy” on the hillside. Someday I will write more about her history, but today I want to post a piece that I wrote about her and read at the funeral:

“Dolly was the heart of our family. The stroke and Alzheimer’s put her in a nursing home 4 ½ years ago, that was hard for us all.
Dolly was a loving mother, a loyal friend, a hard worker, always full of humor and kindness. Her nephew Jim, told how he loved her jokes. She was always the life of the party. In the nursing home, often a nurse would say to us “Dolly must have been a spit fire and full of spunk” and we told them, yes she sure was. We loved her spunk. She was the baby of 7, but she was the leader amongst them….she was a strong woman, she learned that from her Mother. She passed that strength on to her daughter and to me, in an age when women weren’t so strong. She was a good sister. Though she was the baby, she acted more like the big sister to her sisters that lived here in Duluth. When she and Auntie Mae were the last two sisters left, Aunt Mae was so worried that Dolly would go before her. She really took care of Auntie Mae, and the thought of her without Dolly wasn't imaginable for Auntie Mae.

As a daughter in law, she was the kindest Mother in law anyone could have. Coming to Duluth as a bride from PA 33 yrs ago, I was very homesick and she was always there to support and and comfort me. She took my Mother’s place when I was in labor with our first child. (Dawn). I wanted my Mother to be here so badly for the baby’s birth, but she couldn’t, so Dolly was the best. She was there with me as much as she could be, and gave me courage. Her Woolworth friends still tell about that day, how excited she was to become Grandma, and her runs to the hospital, they were glad when Dawn arrived so that they could get her back to work! Dolly as the Grandmother…boy did she love those kids…she doted on them, spoiled them, and supported them always. All the grand-children tell about their memories of her wonderful food. She knew how to make the best Italian dishes. Saturday mornings Bob would often take the children to her house to visit, so I could clean and she made them a large breakfast. She had us for Sunday dinners. Her meals always consisted of 3 or 4 kinds of meat, plus the spaghetti and meatballs and her homemade pastas. Carmella and I have never been able to duplicate her meatballs…and we will never have as good a meatball as she made. I tried hard to learn, she helped me make them, I watched her lots of times, and they still did not turn out like hers. Her meatballs were the size of a baseball, but moist, and they never fell apart in the sauce…still can’t figure out why.

She worked hard all her life. She was a waitress, before starting at FW Woolworth’s downtown Duluth. She worked there for 39 years, and her years spent at Woolworth’s were happy ones. She started in the plant department and moved around to every dept. in the store. I heard from her friends there that she had a passion for ordering candles …and for the candy counter and the roasted cashews. They told us that she was always the life of all their parties and would glitter. One time she forgot her shoes at the Jolly Fisher and they went to Tony’s after,and she danced all evening in her stocking feet. She survived two knee surgeries,and she was back at work soon after. She was frequently heard to say at the store “I have a little boy to give away, anyone want him?”…they loved her humor.

She was supportive of her daughter, Carmella, who never took the usual route in life…she became an opera singer and Dolly was very proud of her she and her husband, who is also an opera singer. Dolly worried plenty when Carmella was ill with her bad heart, and gave her lots of support during her illness. As I said, she was a supportive, kind and loving Mother, Grandmother and friend, and we have all been blessed by knowing her and we will all miss her and keep her in our hearts forever! Dolly, we will never forget you and what you brought to our family.

85,000 calls a month answered about Cancer

I want to post this so that all that support The American Cancer Society know that the National Call Center, one of our programs to support those dealing with cancer is a real benefit to more than a million people a year, and it's but one of the programs that your donor dollar supports. Thank you to all who support us!

This is a letter sent to us staff members from our CEO, on the 10th Anniversary of our National Cancer Information Center:

"The American Cancer Society is an organization with an impressive history of firsts to its credit. We were first to educate the public about the value of the Pap test in preventing and detecting cervical cancer, to confirm the link between smoking and lung cancer, and to establish mammography as the gold standard for the early detection of breast cancer.

Ten years ago, we became the first – and remain the only – organization to offer live cancer information 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When we opened our doors in January 1997, a staff of fewer than a dozen people responded to a total of 720 calls that first month. This year, as we celebrate the National Cancer Information Center’s (NCIC) tenth anniversary, that number has grown to about 450 staff members who field an average of 85,000 calls a month – well in excess of a million a year. We also respond to constituents electronically, answering more than 50,000 emails a year.

The NCIC is proof of both our progressive nature and our deep understanding of people touched by cancer. We know that questions about cancer aren’t limited to nine to five. They come at all hours of the day and night, and we recognized a decade ago that someone needs to be there to answer those questions – no matter when they arise.

This extraordinary, one-of-a-kind service has obvious implications for our mission. It’s clearly the most crucial way we’re making progress toward our 2015 goal of measurably improving the quality of life for people facing cancer. However, the NCIC is helping us make progress toward our other goals as well.

Our innovative clinical trials matching service helps people touched by cancer find clinical trials that may save their lives. In fact, some 4,000 people turned to our clinical trials specialists last year for help exploring all their treatment options. In addition to ensuring access to cutting edge medical care for these individuals, the clinical trials matching service has even broader benefit because each patient’s participation in a clinical trial fuels the research advances that have made such exciting progress against cancer – including two consecutive years of declining numbers of deaths – a reality.

But you don’t have to have cancer to benefit from NCIC’s services. The “worried well” constitute a portion of our callers, and the information we provide them about cancer prevention and early detection and healthy lifestyle choices is also fueling progress against the disease. For example, our award-winning colon cancer awareness campaign prompted the busiest single day in the history of the NCIC. In a single day, March 8, 2005, in response to a letter by former president Dr. Steve Sener to Dear Abby, 8,962 people called for information about how they could stop colon cancer before it started.

In addition to building awareness of early detection, the NCIC is making a significant contribution to another factor cited as a reason for recent declines in cancer deaths – tobacco cessation. Our Quitline – again the first of its kind – has been proven to double a smoker’s chances of quitting for good. Last year alone, NCIC completed 62,000 Quitline® sessions and provided 42,000 tobacco cessation counseling services.

I hope you will join me in offering the National Cancer Information Center our heartfelt congratulations on 10 years of success and our best wishes for a bright future. The center recently moved into a new, state-of-the art facility that will empower the American Cancer Society to expand the already impressive level of life-affirming support we offer to constituents and to deliver on our mission of moving toward a future in which cancer no longer threatens the people we love."

John

__________________________
John R. Seffrin, PhD
Chief Executive Officer

Answered Prayer

This morning I want to praise the Lord for answered prayer.

Rob is 28 today!

Rob - 28
Our middle child, Rob, is 28 years old today! January 25, 1979. Nine years between he and his sister Dawn. Dawn was happy to finally get a brother or sister. We were delighted. Dawn was especially happy because it meant that I would quit my full time job and stay home. That meant a lot to her. The first thing she said after we told her I was pregnant was "does this mean you will quit your job? When I said yes, she said, hurray!" It was so much fun having a baby around the house again, and big sister was such a big help to me. I loved too, that I was home to see her off to school and home to greet her return from school! I was home all during her years from age 9 to after she was grown. I learned during that time that it is as important to be home when your kids are teens, as well as when they are little!

We enjoyed Rob so much, that 3 years later we decided we wanted another child. Then, after Scott came along, I realized what it really was like having two small children, rather than just one. It was diffent, much harder. But we enjoyed raising them, and the difficulty of two little ones, got better as they got older. We have enjoyed all three of our children, and still do!

Our three children were planned. I have often thought how fortunate our generation was to be able to really "plan our children". Our generation, in the 60's when the pill started to be in use, is really the first generation to have a more sure family planning tool. As easy as it was for me to get pregnant 3 times, I think how we could have had a much bigger family! (Not that we wouldn't have wanted more children, but we knew we couldn't economically afford more). We were able to wait until we could afford me to stay home from work to have our second. We were able to wait till we were ready for our third. If not for the pill, we could not have done that. We thought 3 was just the perfect number, we are pleased with our family and thankful that we had the "family planning" option of the pill.

Happy 28th to our second child, who with his siblings has been a blessing to us. So happy we didn't stop at one child! On your birthday, we want to remind you how much we love you.

Love from our Grandson

Love from our Grandson
Our Grandson Skylar works every weekend and was not able to come up to Duluth for his Grandpa's Birthday Party. He was missed. But, we know that he was with us in spirit. He posted a note below on Jan. 20th (in the comments), to let us know that he missed being there too. I also now know that he reads my blogs and enjoys them. I am writing these posts for my family back in PA and for my children and my grandchildren here in Minnesota. It's nice to hear that they like reading it.

Bob Turns 60!

Here are some photos of the party... these are of our family. I have photos of party guests, but hesitate to put them on "the web" without getting their permission first. It was a good time. Read about it below.

January 20, 2007 - Happy 60th

Yesterday was a special day. My husband, Bob, turned 60 years old. I had a SURPRISE birthday party for him. I held it in a room by the golf dome at Skyline Bowling Lanes. It was the perfect room to hold the party. There was lots of room for mingling, tables for sitting and visiting, a sofa, and more than one TV for watching the UMD and Minnesota Wild Hockey games for the dire hard hockey fans. I had a cake that had a golf theme on it for the 60 year old. He was really surprised! It’s not easy planning a surprise party, it involves a lot of sneaking around and a lot of organization. I’m such a talker, it was hard for me not to let anything slip! But, I managed to pull it off. We had a good time. He got some really funny cards. I asked for no gifts, but if the guests wanted, they could bring new socks or underwear to be donated to the CHUM Drop in Center (they are always in need of them). I took a bag of socks (no one brought underwear), some canned goods and $20 to church this morning for the CHUM donation box. The invitation had this cute photo of Bob on it, when he was umm...2 or 3 years old. (thankfully, he didn't get cross at me for sharing the photo)

Our daughter came up from Hudson yesterday, supposedly to “get away for the weekend” and to wish her Dad a happy 60th. We made plans to go out to a restaurant to eat at 8 pm, and Scott, who couldn’t join us for dinner, invited us to stop at the bowling alley lounge for a birthday drink at 7. When we got there, we sprung the surprise on him. The only family member that didn’t know about it was our granddaughter, Madelyn. She got mad when she found out we didn’t tell her, but we knew she would never be able to keep it a secret! Soon after Dawn came to town we told her Dad that us girls had to go to the mall to look at something there, nothing suspicious, because Dawn often shops when she comes to town. That’s when she and I went into action, setting up and decorating the room. Bob was really surprised. He didn’t have a clue; we did a really good job. He enjoyed
his party, all of us enjoyed his party. We had about 35. If everyone came that I invited it could have been a lot more, but the best part was that the ones that did come were ones we are close to, and there were at least 6 that we haven’t seen in more than a year or more, friends that we used to be close to, it was so good to connect with them again!

I ordered our favorite Utz’s Grandma’s Hand Cooked potato chips from the factory in Hanover, PA, and our favorite Martin’s B B Q Ripple chips from Hanover, PA. Both came direct from the factories, so you know they are the freshest ever! My husband loves potato chips and especially Utz’s and Martin’s BBQ, which we can’t get in Minnesota. We eat them when we go to PA. I discovered one time a few years ago that I could order them on line, so once in a while we treat ourselves. This is the first that I ordered Martin’s online. If companies do not have online access, they are missing out on a lot of sales, especially from out of state fans of their products.

I had to laugh, for the Martin’s chips, it cost more to mail them UPS (regular speed) than the chips cost! Bob asked me today how I hid the chips. I told him I had them shipped to a friend’s address, “sneaky”, he said! I told him it was a good thing he never looks in the trunk of my car, where I had everything else hidden. There is a pizza place in the bowling alley, and they kept a steady stream of pizzas coming for all our guests between 7 and 10, and a very good bartender, who didn’t want to take my tip at the end of the night because he said we were all so nice and he enjoyed working the party. When he wasn’t looking, I put the tip into his tip jar on the counter. The pizza staff was great too, they had a busy night, there was a party in their lounge, and the bowling alley was just packed with bowlers, and lots of pizzas going there. For all of you that live in Duluth, let me tell you the Golf Sky Dome room is a great place to have your party, and Dave’s pizza is delicious pizza!

As to the birthday guy, I read in the newspaper last week that “60 is the new 40”, and someone in church this morning made the same comment. Let’s hope that is true and that when we are 80 we will feel like the last generation felt at 60!

Happy 60th Bob!

PS when I get the photos back I post one or two...the photo above is one of those cute baby photos that a wife can't resist but to share with others!

Great American Health Check

Great American Health Check
This week American Cancer Society is focusing on promoting "The Great American Health Check":

Start the year off right and take the Great American Health Check! The American Cancer Society’s Great American Health CheckSM is an easy, confidential, online health assessment tool. It is available year-round at www.cancer.org/greatamericans. Check it out today, it could save your life!

R.S.V.P.'s and Caller ID

I sent invitations for a surprise party I’m having for my husband on Saturday. Have you ever noticed that people do not respond when there is an R.S.V.P. on an invitation. Most people ignore it, I don't think they do it intentionally, they probably think they will call, but never get around to it, etc. Anyhow, that’s one reason that I didn’t put an RSVP on my invitation, mostly because I was afraid people would think on Saturday afternoon, “Oh my, I didn’t RSVP, so I’d better not go”, or if they said no, due to another commitment and that changed, then they would feel they couldn’t go because they had said no initially. Those are the reasons I didn't add it.

On my lunch hours the past two days, I have been trying to call people on the list to get an idea of how many I might have coming, so I can better plan the food. I guess I will just plan for the amount I invited, less the percent that might not come because I have only been able to reach two homes! I’ve called people that should be home during the day, I knew the ones employed wouldn’t be home. It’s been hard to call anyone, because Bob is home every evening, when I could be calling. I stopped at my friends’ house on the way home, thinking I’d make some calls from her house, and she wasn’t home! Years ago, he would have never paid any attention to who I was talking with on the phone, but the last few years, it's not like that. He always asks me who I'm calling, or who I'm talking to. I don't want to do anything that will give away the surprise.

I think the problem is that is that I was calling from my work phone and so many people today have “Caller ID”, they see the call is coming from ACS, so they don’t answer! I personally don’t like caller ID, I don’t exactly know why, maybe I like being surprised when I answer the telephone. We paid for caller ID once, and after a month or two, I got rid of it, I just didn’t like looking at it before answering the phone! Besides, we put our phone number on the “No call List” and that list must work, because we don’t get too many unwanted calls.

If we would have had caller ID there was a call tonight I wouldn’t have answered…it was some sort of survey. I don’t mind doing phone surveys, but if they get long, I get impatient but this caller said it was a 45 second survey, so I decided to go with it. The first question was “Are you registered to vote in Minnesota?” Of course, my answer was yes, that was easy. But, the second question, I really wasn’t sure if I wanted to answer, it was “Do you have a favorable opinion of President Bush”? I guess I’d really like to keep my opinion of our President to myself. Because this was a “black and white” question, they were looking for a yes or no answer. I am not a person who is “black and white” when it comes to politics. I don’t think that was a fair question for someone to ask, because there is more to think about when it comes to our leaders than “do you have a favorable opinion”. So, I hesitated for awhile, wondered if I should answer, then hung up the phone without answering. I feel bad, because hanging up on someone is not something I like to do, but I didn’t really want to answer that question either!

Drop in Cancer Deaths

Drop in Cancer Deaths

This is from a news release just sent today to the media by The American Cancer Society (where I work). Watch for the complete news release in your local paper or media. The full report can be viewed at www.cancer.org/statistics.

American Cancer Society Reports Steepest Drop Ever in Cancer Deaths“ Jan. 17, 2007 – An American Cancer Society report shows there was a drop of 3,014 cancer deaths in the United States from 2003 to 2004, the most recent year for which mortality data are available from the National Center for Health Statistics. This drop was significantly larger than the 369 fewer deaths reported for the previous time period (2002 to 2003), which itself marked the first decline in actual number of cancer deaths in the more than 70 years since nationwide data began to be compiled.

In Minnesota, cancer deaths dropped from 9,182 in 2003 to 9,091 in 2004, an even larger proportional decrease than seen nationally (0.5 percent decrease nationally, compared to one percent decrease in Minnesota.*

“Everyone involved in the fight against cancer should be proud of this remarkable achievement. For the second straight year, we've seen a decline in the real number of cancer deaths in Minnesota and nationally. What's exciting is how dramatic the drop was this year as compared to last year, which was the first time in 70 years that cancer deaths decreased,” said American Cancer Society Minnesota Health Promotions Director Matt Flory.”

* Minnesota-based statistics provided by the Minnesota Cancer Surveillance System in the Minnesota Dept. of Health.
* The American Cancer Society is dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by saving lives, diminishing suffering and preventing cancer through research, education, advocacy and service. Founded in 1913 and with national headquarters in Atlanta, the Society has 13 regional Divisions and local offices in 3,400 communities, involving millions of volunteers across the United States. For more information anytime, call toll free 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.

Would you do it Again?

Would you Do it Again?
Last week I heard a study that was done through one of the women's magazines, asking that "if you had it to do over again would you marry the same man?" The results were that a lot of the women who responded said that they would not. Then tonight on the way home, I heard there was a study taken from 2005 census in the Times Newspaper that found that there are now more women living WITHOUT a spouse, than those living with spouses! Wow! Earlier some friends and I were talking about the hard times that young married couples have these days with dealing with all the changes that come about in their lives after they have children, especially the economy being that so many need to be in the work force. (However, I don't think we can just say it has to do with being employed alone) In fact we even decided we would pray this week for all those raising children, with or without spouses.

Now after 37 years of marriage, if someone asked me if I would marry the same man today, I would definitely say yes, of course I would. However, during the time of my life when I was
employed out of the home and raising children, dealing with not enough money and the hectic life you have with children, I'm not sure at that time if I would have been so quick to answer yes. Fortunately I had friends who were married with children like myself, and knowing I wasn't alone, and that other women were going through what I was, that is what got me through those years. We stuck it out through the hard times, as our marriage vows said, and now we are in the good times, but sticking it out wasn't always easy. In fact somedays it was "darn hard!"

If we can give advice in our older age to our children who are stuggling with their younger marriage years, and raising children, I think we should tell them to always remember "This too, shall pass" and there will come a time when life will not be "this hard". An older friend of mine, when I was a young wife once told me that there are "seasons in each life" and we move from one season to the next, each season is different, and each season has its good times and its bad, but remember, a new season is on the horizon! We need to remember the good times from each season, and the bad times will eventually fade away with time if we don't dwell on them.

Ask that question of me right now and my answer is YES! I am in a new season right now, and looking forward to the next season to come. I am learning to treasure each season, and the memorys of seasons past.

Global Concerns and Social Justice:

Torture Is A Moral Issue

A Statement of Conscience of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture:
"Torture violates the basic dignity of the human person that all religions hold dear. It degrades everyone involved -- policy-makers, perpetrators and victims. It contradicts our nation's most cherished ideals. Any policies that permit torture and inhumane treatment are shocking and morally intolerable.

Nothing less is at stake in the torture abuse crisis than the soul of our nation. What does it signify if torture is condemned in word but allowed in deed? Let America abolish torture now -- without exceptions."

If you agree: You can endorse this statement(I did) by logging onto the website:
www.umc-gbcs.org/nrcat

A Day Off!

It's great having a day home from work on a Monday in January. I tried to make the most of my day off by catching up around our house. Here’s what I accomplished:

 Didn’t sleep in (that’s good, because I really wanted to!)
 Posted about Martin Luther King Day
 Cleaned my desk top and dining room table of my “paper” piles
 Finished putting away Christmas decorations
 Did extra cleaning in the kitchen
 Did grocery shopping*
 Made three meals to have for suppers this week, of which I
won’t be able to eat any of
 Searched the internet for air fares for a vacation we want to take
 Went to “Party America” to buy party plates, napkins, etc.
for a Surprise Birthday party that I’m throwing for my husband
(don’t worry, he won’t see this…he NEVER reads my postings)!
I absolutely can’t believe what my bill was there. I wanted plates and napkins that said “60” on them, and found them at 50% off…now if they had been
full price, my bill would have been even more! I guess I did buy a centerpiece, and a few other things that maybe I wouldn’t have needed… but you know how
it is…I got carried away….

I was planning to go to a meeting tonight at church, but spent most of that time in the bathroom instead. I ate something for supper that I’ve eaten before with no problems, but this time I got sick. I am really getting fed up with not being able to eat normally.

* I would have gotten a lot more done if I hadn’t gone grocery shopping. What was I thinking, when my husband is more than willing to do the shopping! He has been doing the grocery shopping, and would have today, if I would have given him a list. I’m having a hard time giving over the grocery shopping duty to him. I’m not sure if it’s because I hate writing a list, or if I want to be in control of what food we have in the house. (or maybe a little of both). Well, considering the time it took me today, and I always seem to spend more money than him, I really need to let him do it. Next time I think of buying groceries, I’ll have to remember this day.

Back to work tomorrow. It's to be a cold one. The coldest day since Feb. 18, last year, the weather man just said. It's to get down to 20 degrees below zero. We will all wish we could sleep in tomorrow morning!

Martin Luther King Day

Let Justice Roll
I want to write something today to honor Martin Luther King. A bishop from the United Methodist Church writes about him in a Faith in Action Newsletter that our pastor forwarded to me. I urge you to go to www.umc-gbcs.org and click on “Faith in Action” then “Dear Martin” to read his annual “birthday” letter to Rev. King about the progress of racial equality in the United States. One part that really struck me is this - a quote from his letter: "Racism and prejudice can run deep. They do not automatically disappear with succeeding generations. Indeed, I have sadly noted that some grandchildren are more prejudiced than their grandparents! The issues of racism and prejudice must be addressed in every generation." Also read why he has come to this conclusion "So, as we celebrate your birth date in 2007, if I were to be asked if race relations in America are better or still a problem, I would have to respond, "Yes!""

Let's do what we can to pass on to our next generation what we have learned these 30 - 40 years. Let Justice Roll!

Heifer International Project - Help End Hunger

Global Concerns - How you can help in 2007: (see the two posts below this one also)
The Heifer Project:In my writing about the two organizations this afternoon to help with global concerns, poverty, etc. I realized that I need to write about a very important one that does a lot toward fighting hunger in the world. Heifer International, also known as Heifer Project is also a wonderful organization that helps hungry families, not just by donating money or food, but by donating animals that help the families to become self sufficent. It helps people to feed themselves. There are 726 active projects in 57 countries. When you give toward the purchase or purchase an animal through the Heifer Project, you give a gift of hope and the knowledge that you are helping to feed the family, not just for one day or one month! When you log on to the Heifer site, you can read about what the organization does, and there is an online catalog that you can purchase animals to be given to families, it makes a good gift to give in someone's name, especially those that you don't know what to buy for. I am actually thinking about giving to the Heifer Projects in the names of those I usually buy for at Christmas, for Christmas 2007.

Our Sunday School supports Heifer Project and they raised enough money from Sept.through the beginning of December to buy two large animals (I forget which ones..) that will help families. We have a "Pig" sitting in our narthex, that we "feed" for the project, and periodically we are reminded that the pig needs to be fed. Our United Methodist Church and Hope UMC believe this is a very worthy project to raise money for. Please check it out: www.heifer.org

Nothing But Nets

Nothing But Nets
Global Concerns - a way you can help:
Malaria kills more than a million kids in a year. 90 % of these children are in Africa. Despite the magnitude of the problem, there is a simple and cost-effective solution to prevent malaria deaths. For just $10, the Nothing But Nets Organization can purchase a bed net, deliver it to a family, and explain its use. Bed nets work by creating a protective barrier against mosquitoes at night, when the vast majority of transmissions occur. A family of four can sleep under an insecticide-treated bed net, safe from malaria, for up to four years
For just $10, you can save a family.
Log on to the web site: http://nothingbutnets.net
It will give you the information about how the nets help the families, how they distribute, etc. Also, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will match donations given for the nets. There are several partners to this organization, among them The United Methodist Church and the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Powered By You

Powered By You
GLOBAL CONCERNS:
Campaign to Make Poverty History
I've just signed the ONE Declaration committing myself to help fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty.

The first thing I'm doing is asking you to make that commitment, too.

ONE is a new effort by Americans to rally Americans - one by one. So far, over two million have signed the declaration in support of a historic pact for compassion and justice to help the poorest people of the world.

I think your name belongs on that declaration, too. You can put it there by visiting:

http://www.one.org

House Husband

Linda's Thoughts from DuluthOh my gosh! Now I know that my husband has become the “House Husband”. He has been retired for 7 months now, and as I’ve written before, he has taken over a lot of the household chores that I used to do, such as laundry, dishes, etc. I’m still working full time, so I’m very appreciative of all that he does around the house. The other day he made a comment that makes me realize just how into “being in charge of the house” he has become.* He asked me if I was going to take down the Christmas decorations this weekend. I told him that I wasn’t sure, that I usually liked leaving them up through January (except the tree of course). (January is usually a blah month, and I enjoy still seeing the nativity sets, and holiday trimmings). He told me that he thought we should take them down this weekend. Now, my dear Bob would never have noticed in the past years how long these decorations stayed up, nor would he have cared! He has definitely changed his way of thinking!

*He runs a tighter ship at home than I ever did. He did laundry yesterday and he missed two pairs of slacks I had in the bedroom to be washed, and he told me "they weren't in the hamper,
if you want them washed you need to put them in the hamper!" Gee whiz!

January Weather - Back to normal

Linda's Thoughts from Duluth
Well, it finally feels like January in Duluth. Our weather turned cold on Thursday. It was 15 degrees coming home from work last evening. Brr…it was cold! We haven’t seen cold like this in a long time. I had to wear my winter jacket this week! I even put on a scarf. I was complaining last night that I was cold, and put on some layers.

Now the kids can play hockey on the outdoor ice rinks, and if we get moisture, it will be snow, not rain, which is what we need for our economy in this town. We did get about an inch of snow yesterday morning in Woodland (none downtown). This morning it is 2 below zero, with wind chill of -22 below. Winter is here.

A question for you

Linda's Thoughts from Duluth
One of my friends has asked if I would put a question on my blog for people to respond to (she's not a blogger, but is a reader of blogs). A friend of hers says that there is no humor in the Bible. She disagrees, but doesn't have any specific passages or concrete information. She is sure there is humor in there. So her question I'm posting and I hope you, my readers will respond to is: Is there humor in the Bible, if you say yes, please give us the scripture or tell us where to find it. Thank you from both of us! (Click on comments below and it will allow you to respond)

The Dance Competition

Our daughter and I went to the dance competition held in Monticello on Sunday, to watch the children, Skylar and Madelyn. They both are on Competition Teams for Hudson Dance Studio in Hudson, WI. The performances started at 7 am...and went till 9 pm!!! There were 188 performances! All of the group performances were before noon, Maddy was in two of them, and Skylar was in three. One was to the tune of "In My Daughter's Eyes", the whole group danced, and the older girls each danced with one of the smaller girls, then took them in their arms like their "daughter", and it brought tears to my eyes, it was so so beautiful!

Maddy's age group (age 6 & 7) did a ballet number to "A’ You’re Adorable" song, and it was SO "adorable"! They won a second place GOLD for it. Then the older group of dancers from their studio did a tap number to the song from "ANNIE" musical, "It's a Hard Luck Life" and they were in Annie costumes with props of scrub buckets and all...it was so darn cute...they did well and won a gold in the tap category for their age. Awards were given for morning performances at 11:30 and from 1 pm to 9 pm the performances were all solos. One of the parents took Madelyn back to Hudson with them, and dropped her at a friends house, thank goodness, she would NEVER have lasted through the afternoon and evening. Those little ones were so tired by the time noon came!

The older group did a number from “Lion King”. The props and costumes were great. There were two trees to represent the jungle, that took 8 hours to make! Skylar’s group did a Jazz number that was really sharp and edgy “Satisfaction”. (Gold) Also, our group did a tap number to "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”, very, very cute.

All of the groups from studios represented were so good. They had numbers such as: a tap number to “Jail House Rock”, and “Nine to Five”, “Do you Love Me”, “Great Balls of Fire”, performances with props, costumes, all very entertaining!

After lunch and a break, Dawn and I settled down to watch the soloists perform. We had to wait until 8:20 pm for Skylar’s solo performance, so it made for a very long day. Our favorite solo was “Don’t Tell Mama”. The soloist ranged in ages 8 - 17, and it was interesting to watch the different ages, and different levels of skill. We were quite anxious to see Skylar’s first solo! He and Dawn were so nervous, but I knew he would do well... I tried not to be nervous. Skylar sure didn’t look nervous when he performed, wow, what energy he had. Skylar won GOLD and he also won an "Outstanding Performer" medal and certificate that was only given to 3 dancers. His teacher and also the head of the dance studio were very pleased with his performance and proud of him. (We found out last night that he was only ONE point away from getting the Platinum award (highest).

Their dance studio took home a lot of trophies! Above is a photo of some of Skylar’s age category with their trophies won for HUDSON DANCE STUDIO. One of the teachers said this competition was just a “practice” for the next competition coming up in March! They will see the judges notes and find out what needs to be worked on to fine tune their performances for the next competition.

Dawn and the kids kept thanking me for coming, it meant so much to all of them for Grandma to be there. I’m so happy that I could oblige them!

Outstanding Performance & Gold

Outstanding Performance Award
On Sunday our Grandson Skylar, 17,took part in his first Dance Competition. He just started dancing last February. He not only won GOLD for his performance, which means a trophy for the dance studio, he also won an award for "outstanding performance", which gave him a medal and a certificate (see photo). His teacher found out last night, when looking at the scores and critique of his performance that Skylar was only one point away from the Platinum award (first place)! Wow! His teacher and dance studio is very proud of him, and so is his family, (especially Mom and Grandma!) Way to go Skylar!

"A" You're Adorable...

Here is a photo of three of the 4 in Madelyn's group .. they danced to the song
"A" Your're Adorable (B you're so beautiful, etc.) song. And it was oh, so adorable. They did so well and won GOLD for their performance. Madelyn, our Granddaughter is the dancer on the right.

One of the Dancers

Skylar
This is the photo of Skylar at his recital in May.

The Dancers

Linda's Thoughts from Duluth

You may not hear from me until Monday night, unless I have time to write tonight or tomorrow morning. I have taken Monday off of work, and will be leaving tomorrow morning to drive to Hudson to spend the weekend with Dawn and the kids, returning home on Monday morning. Sunday morning at 7 am, we will be in Monticello watching a day of dance competitions. We plan to go there Saturday evening, rather than make the drive so early on Sunday. Dawn said it probably won’t be over till 10 pm, so it will be quite the day.

You may know from my writing, that Madelyn takes dance lessons. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned that 17 year old Skylar also studies dance. He started dancing late, not quite a year ago. When Madelyn starting taking lessons, he became interested when he would take her to her lessons. He started taking lessons in February. His teacher by last May was amazed at the progress he made and how good a dancer he was. At the May recital he had a solo part, in addition to the group dance. She invited him to be part of the “Senior dance team” that did competitions. He has been working on a solo number to perform at this competition. Madelyn’s dance group will also perform. It’s funny, at the May recital, Madelyn’s dance outfit was almost the exact replica of the dance outfit that her Mother wore in 1975 at her first dance recital! Dawn only took dance one year. She was much more interested in playing with her neighborhood friends than in dancing, so I couldn’t persuade her to continue after the first year. Madelyn seems much more interested in dancing, especially in tap dancing, so we'll see.

I told Skylar I wanted to come down to watch, he was very surprised, and his eyes lit up when I told him that, he was very happy to hear that Grandma wanted to see him perform. I told him that Grandma’s are here for supporting their grandchildren in all that they do!

Dawn and Bob, as most of us parents do, offered Skylar many opportunities to find where his interests and passion were, soccer, baseball, skating, and other such things, but until he started dancing, we saw no passion in any activities. Dance, we see the passion when he dances! Who knows, maybe his passion will lead him to Broadway! We wish him the best on Sunday. (Madelyn too, of course).

No Windows

Linda's Thoughts from Duluth
Whew! Today was a day that I was glad that our office doesn't have windows. Our office is 2 floors under the main floor of the US BANK Building. There are no windows. Most of the time we complain because we can't see outside. We laught that we often feel like moles. We also think that if there was ever a nuclear blast, we'd be the last to know, but we'd sure be in a safe place. Even if we got stuck there during a blizzard, there is actually a locker room on the floor, with showers!

Today was unusually dreary and gloomy. On the drive to work, it seemed darker than usual, usually at that time the sun is out much more. Coming home was darker than usual, and all day was gloomy. At lunch time when I was out, I wondered if there was any sun behind those clouds! If there were windows in our office today, everyone would have felt gloomy, just by looking outside! We didn't feel gloomy because we had no windows to see the gloom. Our temperatures yesterday and today once again hoovered around high 30's and low 40's, so as I have told you before, when it's warm, it's not sunny. I'm ready for a cold day and the SUN
that goes with it!

Ending Homelessness

Falling under the "Justice" category for the new year:

I noticed in this morning's paper that the committee to "End Homelessness in St. Louis County in Ten Years", has made its first draft of a plan that they have come up with for our county. We may look at this plan and give comments. Apparently the comments are due today, so take time to look today if you want to comment to the committee. (I hadn't heard that this draft was available previously to reading about it this morning). Anyhow here are the web sites:

To view the plan go to: www.co.st-louis.mn.us
click on "what's new"
or it can be viewed in Room 202 of the Courthouse.

Your comments may be e mailed to: planninginfo@co.st-louis.mn.us

PS - Did we even know that there was such a committee??? Good to know.

Opinion Page News Trib 01.01.07

Linda's Thoughts from Duluth
Back to work today. I've had my soup. Now, I will post on the rest of my lunch time, because I had something yesterday that I wanted to tell my readers to look at and I forgot about it until this morning. Yesterday's newspaper had three "Letters to the Editor" letters printed that I found were really good. I usually read the opinion letters, but don't always feel they are all good ones, but this time I found myself agreeing with all of them. One was about
noticing an absence of "compassion, respect and loyalty", (I'm not a fan of our war, but do agree we must support our troops). The second is about "missing the big picture" when it comes to religion, democracy, and what our founding fathers had in mind for our country. The third is about smoking, health and of course the big debate we are having here in Minnesota over this issue.

To my out of town readers, click on the Duluth News Tribune link on the left of this page,
click on Archives, "Monday" (January 1st), then click on "Opinions" and "readers views".

The Flame

Finally, found a photo of the spot where the Flame Restuarant sat. Our Aquarium sits in the "Flame's" spot now. I've been trying to post it on the "Flame" post, but it won't post for some reason, so I'm trying it on this new post.

I found a photo of the Aquarium by our waterfront. It was taken by Jonathan Lund. It is the building by the water, odd shaped, green, red, white... it's quite a odd building. This building, our Fresh Water Aquarium sits exactly where the Flame Restaurant that I wrote about on Saturday sat. Also, when I wrote about our ice skating rink at Bayfront Park, I couldn't find a good photo, this photo also shows the ice rink, open to the public.

This photo was taken by Jonathan Lund. I just discovered his photography, and he has given me permission to use his photos on my blog. He has really great ones, which I will be posting, so my friends and relatives who have not been to Duluth can see what our city looks like. So, when I use his photos, you will see his name "Jonathan Lund" by the photo. Thank you Jonathan.

New Year's Resolutions - Happy New Year!

New Year's Resolutions
I hope your New Year’s celebration was a good one. Ours was quiet. With the snowy roads, we were glad that we had gone out the night before! As usual, I was fast asleep when midnight came. I slept late today, our house is cleaned, I have the New Year's Day meal planned, our snow stopped, and the sun is out, the first bright sunlight we've seen in days, a day off of work, the new year of 2007 is starting good.

On this day, many think of “New Year’s Resolutions”. The New Year is a good time to “start fresh” (read my post below about that.) Yesterday’s message at church was about that, the scripture readings were from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (To everything there is a season), and Colossians 3:12-17. I know you are all familiar with the one about the seasons. Do you know the other? If you are thinking of making one or more resolutions for the New Year, taking the words from this scripture and striving to live these words each day would be a good goal. Taking the scripture from the translation, “The Message”* this is how it tells us we should strive to live our lives:
• With compassion
• Kindness
• Humility
• Quiet strength
• Discipline.
• Be even-tempered
• Content with second place
• Quick to forgive an offense
• Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you.
• Cultivate Thankfulness
• Wear Love. Regardless of what else you put on, wear love.
Love is your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.
• Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other

Looking at this scripture, I know that this was the model that my parents and grandparents strived to live up to, and model to us children. Instead of making resolutions about losing weight, being a better person, etc., my new year’s resolutions will be based on Colossians 3:12-17. Check it out for yourself.

Best wishes to you for the new year and for reaching whatever goals and resolutions you may make for yourself! Happy New Year!

*The Message is a translation of the Bible in contemporary language