Updates -

STUDENT UPDATE
by Mitzi Swenson (Kjirsten Swenson's mom)

At this time Kjirsten is in a small rural village doing her research project. We won't have any communication with her until after Thanksgiving. I hope we get a couple more letters to share when she has time. Our recent correspondence has just been a line or two, as she was really busy getting projects and travel arrangements completed.

Sheldon and I will be meeting her in Chile in December for a few days. I don't know what her plans are after that time. Last I knew she was checking out taking Biochemistry at the university in La Paz and volunteering spring semester.

I don't think it would be good to send her The Bulletin now because she's not able to check her e-mail for over three weeks and her in box will be full, but thanks for the offer. When she's back in civilization I"ll let her know it's available.

Mitzi


FAMILY UPDATE
by Kristi Indermark

Sorry I haven't written in a while; things have been so busy around here. I started work again last Monday. This week has gone by so quickly. I now get up at 5 a.m. to start my day. (I know, poor me, poor me).

First I feed Jordan, then dress her, and by then she is all smiles and I have to pry myself from her so I can take my shower while Jim watches her. Then pack the diaper bag for day care, pack my purse for work. Get everything loaded into the car, play with Jordan a little more, and then off to daycare and work. I have her at daycare by 7:45 a.m. so I can be to work by 8 a.m.

I then leave work at 4:30 p.m. and pick Jordan up by 5 p.m., rush home to start dinner while she is still in a good mood. By 7 p.m. dishes are done and Jordan is in the bath (which she loves). Then it is a bottle and off to bed, just to start all over again the next day.

Hopefully she will start sleeping through the night soon. Last night she didn't get up until 3:45 a.m. (Of course I got up at 2 a.m. to make sure she was still breathing.) I am trying everything I can think of to stay home with Jordan again, so if anyone has any get rich quick ideas, let me know. I really miss my afternoon naps!

We are going camping this weekend so Grandma Shari is watching Jordan overnight for the second time. Hopefully it will not be so warm when we go camping. It is still in the high 80's down here. Normally it is in the mid 70's this time of the year. We go camping with about five other couples; it is a lot of fun.

Something always happens when we go camping. The first time we tipped our canoe in the river (which has alligators). The next time it stormed all night with lots of lightning, The time after that we decided to be brave and camp in the "wilderness" part of the camp grounds with no bathrooms or electricity, and we met some real authentic Florida red necks. We got invited to go coon hunting. We decided not to go and stay close to the camp site.

The last time we went camping was right after we got our new Jeep. We thought it would be fun to go "muddin" (everyone else was doing it). Well, one new engine later, we are ready to try it again. We will only be observing the "mudders" this time. I will be sure to tell ya'll of our newest camping experience when we get back.

Thanks for the great Bulletins! Please send me the other "Best of" Bulletins. Thank you again. I enjoy reading all the updates on everyone. Take care until next time!

Jim, Kristi, and Jordan Indermark
Bradenton, FL


Jim, Kristi & Jordan Indermark


FAMILY UPDATE
by Diana Martin

Received and truly enjoyed the latest Bulletins. Loved the cat stories!

Just a bit of this and that: Nephew Danny Mellon, from California, came to Minnesota this past week on business, and went to the trouble of coming up to see us. That was such a delight. We talked a lot about the terrible fires in California, and how he thought they were almost all out ... thankfully ... as not only he and his wife Nancy were just a couple of miles from one of them, one of Nancy's nephews was just feet away, and, if I remember correctly, had to evacuate for a short time.

He also showed us updated pictures of their beautiful new grandson ... now that's ONE PROUD GRANDPA! ... and generally, had a great visit.

We had been living with bamboo shades over a couple of our larger closets for a couple of years, now, so Russ got busy and built new doors for them, and boy, do they ever make a difference! Well, as you can see, our week was busy and productive, so guess we can't ask for more than that, can we? Hope you and yours are well!


COUSIN UPDATE
by Debsy (Grob) Vogt

It was good to read The Bulletin when it came in. I like your article about your farm days, Don.

It is good to hear you are to move back home where your kids are. Maybe if I come up this summer we can visit.. That would be great..

I just took a 6 mile hike up a huge hill at Superstition Mountain. I was really panting loud and my chest hurt but I wasn't going to give up and not reach our destination up the hill. I knew going down would be a piece of cake. I didn't go hiking alone. A friend from my grief support group asked me to go, and then he and his girlfriend had dinner at his house for us. It was a lot of fun talking and enjoying the company. I didn't realize how out of shape that I was. I need to walk more and faster to get my heart rate up and lungs exercised.

I have taken up banjo playing. I know, or rather I am learning, five songs and learning the rhythm and lead parts. It is hard, but I enjoy it. I have a great teacher that tolerates my speed of learning. He doesn't give up on me and tells me I am doing well and to keep practicing as much as possible. Well I better say goodnight, practice on my banjo and read the Bible before retiring!


SISTER UPDATE
by Gert

Don't forget this baby sister of yours when you send out the next two special Bulletins. I do enjoy them. And thank you, Doug, for that most beautiful birthday poem. You haven't seen me for a while, so you don't realize that even though I am a LITTLE bit older, I still look 39, I think, but I haven't checked a mirror lately either!

Just think, Thanksgiving will soon be here, then Christmas. For Christmas this year us girls are drawing, not names, but meat-salad-vegetables names, etc. out of a hat, and whatever we pick out is what we have to bring for the dinner. We can't tell what we pulled out nor what kind of a dish we are going to bring in that line. So we should have a fun meal. I am having it at my house this year.

Thanksgiving will be at Ardis's. Travis and Jason are coming home for that day from Georgia and Michigan; will be nice seeing them.

Good night now.
Love, Gert


The Family Cookbook
Culinary Heirlooms
loris spinach dip
by Doug Anderson

     Hello again, and welcome to another "tribunal in taste," another "culinary coup d'etat," another "gala of the gastronomique," as it were. We pride ourselves on our many gifted contributors, and today's entry is no exception. This week's recipe is just what you need when you are having people over and Chex Mix just isn't going to do it. Please don't write in, I like Chex Mix too, but sometimes you want a little something that says, "Hey, I know this is informal, but do we have to be complete slobs about it?"
      This week we have a fine comfort food to present from my talented niece Lori, so let's not waste any more time with my cheeky introduction and get right to it! Check out:

Lori's Spectacular Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Lori's Spectacular Spinach & Artichoke Dip

1 box frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted and drained

2 cups mayonnaise

1 bunch thinly sliced scallions

2 boxes (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed & squeezed dry

2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

Black pepper to taste

1 clove garlic

Coarsely chop the artichoke hearts & place in large ovenproof serving dish. Add the mayonnaise, scallions, spinach, grated cheese, pepper and garlic (use garlic press if possible). Mix together. Back at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and serve with sturdy crackers, tortilla chips or bread rounds.

      "Cool beans," as the kids used to say about ten years ago. Thanks, Lori, for a classy condiment that will go well with garden parties, bridge games, covert espionage operations, the like. Oh yeah, some of you may remember scallions as that hit pop song from the wonderful, magical decade known as the sixties; Green Onions. See you next week, when the recipe you're reading may be yours!


The Matriarch Speaks W
by Dorothy (Dake) Anderson
Springfield MO

With the new format, and with the added support force, I have a feeling it is time to make a statement of policy: it is time to make plain just what we "are all about." I started The Bulletin seventy weeks ago with a worthy purpose in mind. I think it is still a worthy purpose. I wanted to draw our family together.

At that time I was concerned that my grandchildren who were away at college did not know what was going on with the various members of our clan. So I wrote to them and gave them a sort of outline of what we wanted to know about what was going on in their school life. The wonderful part was that every one of them did respond and they all expressed their "thank you" to me for starting this way to keep them connected. I want this to still be the most important part of this effort we are so many in. Let's Keep a Strong Family Link!

Part of the strength of such a unit is that we can reach out and draw others in. What a host of people and relationships we have had represented in these pages -- Parents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins (Oh, wow, those come with various number labels!) In-Laws, Nieces and Nephews (of various number, too) and Relations of Relations -- and in addition several very nice people who just hold a title of affection: Friends. We welcome them all.

This has never been labeled a family paper -- anyone who was interested in reading it need only request a "subscription" and then supply some contributions to keep that updated. :-) I do, however, think everyone knows that we uphold family values, and want to accentuate the positive in the material we print. As Hetty has found out, the boss is pretty "stuffy" -- no cuss words and even slang makes her pretty uncomfortable (though she has been known to let a little slip by, knowing it is pretty necessary for expressions of great feeling!).

There are a few items I should cover. With as heavy schedule as I have set for myself, it is impossible to always be available (though I have a pretty good record so far). I can't promise that I will always have the paper on schedule -- but I do try. I will try to get a person with a backup list of subscribers (any volunteers?) who could inform you whenever you might expect a missed copy or two.

One more item -- I wonder why some of you don't pay your bills? The agreement was that you got the first copy or so free and then needed to contribute some pay back: a contribution to one of the existing columns, an Update for you or your family, or maybe some original poem or story. That was the price of the subscription -- quite a modest payment. Maybe you have just forgotten to send off the payment -- or is it in the mail? I do not intend to quit sending it to anyone because of delinquency, but if you are not interested in continuing to receive the copy, would you please give me a notice of that fact?

May I wish you all well -- and see you in The Bulletin.

The Editor


The Miss Kitty Letters *
By Jerrianne Lowther

Thanks again to Doug for suggesting that I sign up as a regular contributor to your Bulletin. Why not? Miss Kitty and I have been having a wonderful time with the Miss Kitty Web Log and sending excerpts for The Bulletin. We'll send more e-mails and links to the web log, which started out as a picture of a lost kitten, in hopes that her owners might recognize her and reclaim her. She's my kitty now and her web log can always be found here:

http://www.jlowther.com/Pages/kitty/index.html

Today we woke up to the first snow of the season in Anchorage, which is probably the first snow Miss Kitty has ever seen, so we went out and played in it, with Miss Kitty wearing her harness and leash, so she wouldn't get lost all over again. We like all sorts of adventures, from walks in the woods to camping in my VW camper van and cooking (and eating!) and writing and photography.

We hear that Doug cached the recipe for the turkey soup we made last week. Miss Kitty has never met Doug, but I remember that when I visited Minnesota a few years ago, Beaver and Donna and I all joined your family for a Thanksgiving feast and we picked Doug up on our way there.

I have always enjoyed the kind of writing that goes into web logs and journals and your Bulletin ... they are essentially writing letters home. Years and years ago, when I was a newspaper staff writer and photographer, the editor's advice to young writers was always, "just tell it to your mother."

If the truth be known, though I may have photographed for my mother, I always wrote for my Dad ... and when he passed on, I practically stopped writing. He was my audience, my reason for doing it. Though I and my siblings now write to each other, in some sense we are still writing, if not to our Dad, at least as though he were still listening in, or reading over our shoulders. He gave us the gift of a receptive ear ... and he would have loved The Country Scribe.

Miss Kitty has awakened from her catnap and now she wants to play. She has worked over the scratching post and she says it's time to play toss the mouse and my participation is required, so I must be going, before she sharpens her claws on me!

Jerrianne


Memory Lane

My Friend, Ray Wold
by Don Anderson

In the last Bulletin, a friend of mine, Ray Wold, was mentioned. Elaine wrote a poem regarding Bud's life. Bud was killed on my 18th birthday, March 3, 1945. He was along with his crew on a B-17 bomber returning to England after a bombing mission over Germany. The plane Ray was on hit a "wash" and raised up and struck the upper level and both went down. One crewman, a tail gunner, escaped by parachuting and suffered a broken ankle. All the others were killed.

Bud was just about 20 years old. I knew him in school at Dwight, North Dakota. He gave me rides on his bicycle. Later they became our neighbors as we moved to a farm near their home in 1941. After Ray graduated in 1943 he joined the Army Air Corps. After basic in McDill Air Base in Florida, he went to England and served as a waist gunner on the B-17 bomber.

We heard on March 17, 1945, that Bud was killed. This was a sad time for all who knew him. I felt very bad for a long time. I registered for the Selective Service on the day he died. I will never forget that day that I turned 18.

In 1985, Dorothy and I made a trip to Europe, we visited his grave in Belgium. The land for the cemetery was a gift to the USA for the help Belgium got in World War II. The country of Belgium maintains the cemetery. It is a beautiful area and very large. White crosses remind one of checked corn, row after row. Many men are interred from the Battle of the Bulge, the last major battle in World War II.

I have a lot of information regarding the accident in which Bud was killed and would forward some to any interested in hearing more.


+ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First of all, thank you (and Elaine) for sending me the piece from the Country Scribe Web Log. I love it! The beauty of the web is that everyone is a publisher now ... at least everyone who wants to be ... and there are many gems out there, along with the inevitable trash. Your Bulletin is a gem, too, and I've enjoyed receiving it. I hope I'm on the list for the Best of the Bulletin compilations. It's amazing what I didn't know that my own siblings and in-laws were up to, until I read about it in The Bulletin.

Thanks also to Doug ... first for the food columns ... including this week's recipe for Patty's Lemon Caper Sauce. One of my very favorite restaurant meals is fresh halibut baked in a lemon caper sauce from Turnagain House, on Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet, a dozen or so scenic miles south of Anchorage. I have halibut in the freezer, thanks to Mitzi and Sheldon and Shane and their Alaska fishing adventures, but I had never even thought of trying to concoct a caper sauce on my own. Now I must try Patty's!

Jerrianne Lowther

PS Next time I pass by Doug's restaurant, I'm planning to stop for dinner! Wow! Also, I see you reprinted Beaver's Scientific Experiment With Kitty. Love that story. I was just reading my copy of it a week or two ago and thought it would be perfect for your Bulletin. I mentioned it to Donna and she said that had already happened long ago.


Dear Editor: Please put my name on the list for the Review editions. I truly enjoy the Bulletins and Review Editions very much and appreciate your work in putting all this together for the enjoyment of so many. Keep up the great work.

Mavis Morgan


Oh my Goodness, Hetty really DOES exist... and she looks just about how I pictured her. Though I hadn't pictured her quite that charming!

Another fine Bulletin, indeed. It was a nice surprise this morning, because I keep forgetting they are biweekly again. Thanks Mom, for putting a spring in my step today, you are a cutup!

Doug Anderson


Really enjoyed The Bulletin... I hope they get the drift to the pictures... the one of Hetty and friend IS really hilarious!!!!!!!!

Wow!!!!!! Is that menu for real, or are you just pulling our leg, Doug? Oh what a variety! Many things I have never eaten, or even heard of -- and furthermore -- CANNOT PRONOUNCE! Great!!!!!!!

Elaine Wold


Quite the attractive photo of Hetty! Had to chuckle. Enjoyed all the rest, Elaine's poem was moving, thanks for sharing Elaine. Wow, what a menu! Some day I'd like to sample a couple of those things (or more if I could afford it!). Got a good chuckle about the heating blanket Dad, aren't you glad you figured that out, before going back and complaining! LOL Will be fun to read Ary's contributions and loving the continuing letters from Kjirsten, opens up the world for those of us stuck at home.

Donna Johnson


QUOTATION FOR THE DAY: We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to learn to live in the same box.

EDITOR'S POLICY: If you wish to subscribe to The Bulletin, simply send me a statement of that fact. If you wish to keep receiving it I hope you will contribute to one of the columns that are running in this family epistle (at least occasionally!). My e-mail address is dma49261@juno.com


This Bulletin is copyright Dorothy M. Anderson; the contents are also copyrighted by the authors and photographers and used with their permission, and the contents are not to be used for any commercial purposes without the explicit consent of the creators.