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Sunday, February 24, 2008
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T is for Twila
Photo © Jerrianne Lowther
"Single T" quilt (detail), handmade for Twila Johnson (Mrs. Donald B. Johnson) by her husband's maternal grandmother, Emma (Neller) Miller, 1937.
(Scroll down to A Long Time Ago for more about quilts.)

Updates -


Kailey Dawn now has a little sister. Kailey will be 3 years old on March 22.

Update -- 15th great granddaughter for Ken Kitto!
by Ruth Weiland Swanson Kitto
Apache Junction, AZ

Kenzie May Knaub was born in Helena, Montana. She weighed 7 pounds and is 19 inches long. Parents are Alisha (Kitto) and Philip Knaub of Townsend, Montana. Very proud grandparents are Rick and Elaine Kitto, of Townsend. Proud GREAT-grandparents are Ken and Ruth Kitto, Apache Junction, Arizona. Ken now has 15 great grandaughters and one great grandson!


Kailey Dawn, Alisha (Kitto), Kenzie & Philip Knaub.



Photo © Nathan & Brenda Hill
Antelope Creek lined with trees.

Update -- up the creek...
by Brenda Anderson Hill
Dwight, ND

Regarding the mystery picture of Aunt Elaine and Aunt Mavis -- we couldn't believe it was our creek bank! Look at how many trees have now filled in along it! Here is a picture of the same area, minus the "shapely" ladies and the classic car!

On Saturday Nathan and I took all three kids on an adventure to my old sledding area on the banks of the Antelope Creek (just south of our house). We had lots of fun trying to climb this 20+ foot high snow/creek bank. We dug out a space for the kids to sit and have their picture taken. They are about 15 feet above the surface of the creek. The rest of the time we spent scaling the embankment and sliding down it. It was a lot of work because it was very steep and very hard, wind-driven snow. We were out for about two hours enjoying the beautiful, warm day, in the 40's. The kids sure took good naps that afternoon!

Nathan, Brenda, Jazmine, Jonathan and Jaxon Hill


Photo © Nathan & Brenda Hill
Jonathan, Jaxon & Jazmine Hill.


Day to Day R
With Donna Mae
Ashby, MN


Photo © Donna Johnson
McKenna Ostendorf at 8 months.

McKenna is 8 months old!

McKenna and I have been becoming better acquainted this week, although it's probably something she'd rather not have to do! The second day was a lot easier than the first, though, so she's adjusting nicely. If only she were old enough this time for it to last! She's been tentative with strangers since she was an infant ... way before most children begin to notice. In fact, many 8-month-old children don't seem to notice at all. But she does; she notices everything.

She has a habit of staring at whomever is new in the group, as Donna Richards found out when we met her to eat a few weeks ago. McKenna studied her face for quite some time; it appears that she's memorizing details, or something like that!

She's really close to crawling, gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth. But, so far, her movements are either rolling or scooting backwards. She has favorite toys and gets so excited when she sees her stuffed animals, just absolutely loves them. She also enjoys her meals, so feeding her is an easy task.

Last evening, Lori was giving her water out of the little plastic glass I'd given her. McKenna thought that was a great idea and she did a really good job with drinking the water, no sputtering and choking as most kids do at first. Of course, later, she tried grabbing Lori's glass, too. She watches us very closely when we are eating anything; it appears she's figured we're holding out on her!

Right now she's napping, so should be getting up and raring to go shortly. She does the cutest little toothy grin; makes my heart melt!


The Matriarch Speaks W
by Dorothy (Dake) Anderson
Alexandria, MN

Who Is This?

Let's Play a Guessing Game: Whenever it is handy to do so, we will run a picture of someone of the subscribers or staff members of our e-magazine. Tell us who you think it is -- we will let you know who was the first to guess it right -- and the correct guess -- in the following week's Bulletin.

(Send us some to run; we will line them up in our staging area to take their turn. Heather Henderson supplied last week's mystery picture.


How many can you identify?

Answers to last week's mystery pictures (click here to review them):

Editors' Note: Correct guesses appear in bold face type and incorrect guesses in normal type ... generally in the order we receive them, so the first guess received is on top. This is the first answer to the guess picture this week:

The Guess photo is of Mason and Logan Henderson. They look like their daddy, with their mommie's eyes.

Becky Chap
Ashby, MN


Well, I'd be amiss if I didn't guess this week! My two dear grandsons: Logan Benjamin Henderson and Mason Taylor Henderson!

Grandma Patty (Henderson)
Minnetrista, MN


The little fellows in the Guess are our great grandsons ... aren't they sweet? Mason is the "big boy" entertaining his little brother, Logan. They are Patty and Curt Henderson's grandsons and the sons of Heather and Ben Henderson.

Through my family, they are third cousins to Alexander James Indermark, the first new baby pictured in #296 ... and through Don's side of the family, they are third cousins once removed to the second baby introduced, Jackson Bradley Sorum.

What nice little fellows! We want to welcome Mason, Logan, Alexander, and Jackson into our family circle -- and parents or grandparents please keep us updated!

Don and Dorothy Anderson
Alexandria, MN


It's a little hard to see around the pacifiers, but I'm guessing that these are my two grandsons, Logan and Mason Henderson.

Curt Henderson
Minnetrista, MN


I feel totally lost in the GUESS picture this time. Or is it called the "mystery" picture?

Betty Weiland Droel
MoundsView, MN


$  A Long Time Ago   !


Photo © Jerrianne Lowther
"Double Wedding Ring" quilt, handmade for Donald & Twila Johnson by his maternal grandmother, Emma (Neller) Miller, circa 1937.

Great Grandmother's Quilts Warm Our Hearts
by Jerrianne Lowther
Anchorage, AK

All of our great grandparents had passed on by the time we were born, but one of them -- our father's maternal grandmother, Emma L. Neller Miller -- anticipated our arrival and made quilts for great grandchildren she would never see. Our parents, Donald and Twila Johnson, received several gift quilts, including a "Double Wedding Ring" quilt and a "Single T." quilt highlighting Twila's first initial. (Our parents were married February 25, 1937. Great Grandma Emma died November 23, 1937, at age 74.)

Countless hours of patiently sewing bits of fabric together created quilts I'd have put in a museum, but she insisted they were to be used. And used, they were -- until the finest quilts of all were used up. Two of the most exquisite quilts, with the tiniest and most delicate pieces, in a traditional pattern called "Grandmother's Flower Garden," were given to my sister Kathlyn and me. We have tattered remnants still, but the bits of sheer fabric are literally worn out. On our beds, they warmed our bodies when we were little girls and even now they warm our hearts.


Photo © Jerrianne Lowther
"Single T" quilt, handmade for Twila Johnson (Mrs. Donald B. Johnson) by her husband's maternal grandmother, Emma (Neller) Miller, 1937.


Travelogue t


Photo © Kjirsten Swenson
Essaouira, a sun washed Moroccan port on the Atlantic coast.

Eid al-Adha in Essaouira
by Kjirsten Swenson
Houston, TX

I happened to be in Essaouira on the day of the Eid al-Adha, an important Islamic holiday in remembrance of Abraham's sacrifice.

For days prior to the holiday, each family would have been buying rams (and perhaps other animals, too) for the upcoming sacrifice and feast. Their bleating made the city noisy, and woke me early that morning. I selected that day to walk to Diabat, a nearby village on the coast. As I paused to photograph a woman tending a fire in the street, her son emerged and rather unceremoniously dropped a ram's head into the flames. She invited me into the house to see the family's preparations for the festival.


Photo © Kjirsten Swenson
Ram's head roasting over open fire.

On the terrace, two goats were being slaughtered. A quick swipe of a knife slashed their carotids, and they quickly bled to death. In a small room nearby, I was introduced to a friendly sheep that was still very much alive, but didn't stick around to witness her misfortune. Below, the carcasses of two other animals were hanging in a room where girls were preparing kebabs and slicing cooked organ meat.

I was offered a sandwich of what seemed to be some sort of organ meat, and was polite (and starving) enough to accept ... not sure what it was (maybe spleen?), but in my hungry state it was actually quite tasty! I was delighted by their hospitality, but felt compelled to move on before the charred heads finished cooking.


Photo © Kjirsten Swenson
Sea wall in Essaouira near sunset...

To be continued ...



Photo © Bridget Larson
Bridget & Doug Larson at the harbor, Mackinac Island.

A Visit To Mackinac Island
by Bridget Larson
Ashby, MN

Doug and I took a long awaited trip this past August to Mackinac Island. Doug's cousin and his wife had just moved there and invited us to come out for a visit. The thought of "getting away" sounded appealing to both of us, so we packed up our vehicle and took off for the land of unknown.

We left Ashby on Thursday and decided we would stop that night in a small town called Watersmeet. When I say small, I mean small ... makes Ashby look like Minneapolis. They did have a hotel/casino with a Country Kitchen restaurant inside and it was about four hours away from St. Ignace, our boarding stop for the ferry that would bring us to the Island. I was tired but Doug was already to play with the "free" cash they gave us. Glad he did, because his winnings paid for our hotel and breakfast the next day, along with some gas money.

The anticipation of not knowing what to expect was the most exhilarating thing for me. Considering Minneapolis is a "trip" for me, anything out of the state of Minnesota would be adventurous. When we got closer to St. Ignace, we drove along Lake Huron, which is the closest thing to the ocean I have ever seen. It was so beautiful!

We finally arrived at St. Ignace, Michigan, at 5:30 p.m. for a boat we were to board at 4:00. Thankfully, Doug's cousin Don had rescheduled the boat ride without any problems. Once we got to the island and found our luggage, we took a taxi (a horse and buggy) that was handicapped accessible. This was neat and the view that we got, riding in the buggy, was exceptional. If you love nature and everything that goes with it, you'd love Mackinac Island. Instead of yards to mow, they had gardens of flowers and vegetables and tons of trees.

While at the Island we hiked, ate lunch in fancy places and took loads of tours. I'm sure we did not see it all and cannot wait to go back for another visit. I could go on and on about how wonderful it was (both the trip and getting away) but I will stop for now. Hopefully next time it won't be so long between journeys.


Celebrations & Observances
From the Files of
5
Hetty Hooper

This Week's Birthdays
February 28---Eric Anderson
March 1---Betty Weiland Droel

This Week's Anniversaries
February 24---Jess and Louise Cloyd (63 years)
February 26---Tim and Char Morgan Myron (25 years)
February 28---Junior and Doris Anderson (46 years)

More March Birthdays
' 
March 2---Tom Miller (Doctor)
March 3---Donald Anderson
March 6---Jerrianne Lowther
March 6---Gwen Stucker
March 9---Kylie Grace McNeill (1 year)
March 11---Kjirsten Swenson
March 12---Jolene Johnson
March 17---Ruth Weiland Kitto
March 18---Janie Anderson
March 21---Rachel Henderson
March 23---Colette Huseby
March 23---Capt. Jack Adair
March 28---Donna (Anderson) Johnson
March 30---Mason Henderson (2 years)
March 30---Michael Steinhauer
March 31---Linda Knutson

March Anniversaries
Z
March 3---Mike and Kelley Seaman (7 years)
March 3---Greg and Sonja Dake (2 years)
March 14---Brian and Melanie Birkholz Lehtola (6 years)
March 15---Dan and Gina Henderson (3 years)
March 22---Ken and Ruth Weiland Swanson Kitto (6 years)
March 26---Stanley and Janice Dake (38 years)
March 31---Frans and Rian de Been (30 years)

March Special Days
O
March 9---Daylight Saving Time Begins
March 17 St. Patrick's Day
March 20---First Day of Spring
March 23---Easter Sunday

Miss Hetty's Mailbox:

Dear Miss Hetty,

This is at the close of February 18, 2008. We had a very special day today, which is our 15th anniversary, and we want to share it with The Bulletin.

Steve and Marci, Shalana and Krista Weiland called, saying they were bringing pizza and dessert Sunday evening. We really loved that, and I want to share the dessert Marci made. A first for her and for us, too. It was called Molten Chocolate Cake (like cupcakes). It looked exactly like the picture, and a vivid chocolate flavor, deliciously warm right out of the oven. This link will take you to the recipe.

They took this picture which proves old age is overtaking us, but we don't mind. We are just thankful to be feeling well and content and happy.

Thank you for the congratulations and e-cards which "made our day."

Betty and Roy Droel
MoundsView, MN


Photo © Marci Weiland
Roy & Betty with molten chocolate cake -- 15th anniversary dessert.


Keep Us Posted!

Please drop Miss Hetty a line and tell us who, and what, we've missed. And how about a report (photos welcome) of YOUR special celebration?

'Many Thankse
Everyone!

Miss Hetty


+ LETTERS TO THE EDITORS?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Click here to review last week's Bulletin

Nothing adds as much fun to a chilly Minnesota morning as a trip around the world in The Bulletin.

Thanks again to Kjirsten for sharing her journey and awesome pictures of Morocco. Thanks to Ary for the beautiful pictures of his store ... and sharing the life and happenings in the Netherlands ... gives me the "travel bug" bad!

Welcome to an exciting world, you little ones!

Yeah, and a "way to go" to the athletes!

Thanks to all who share their parties and activities. I enjoy it all!

Barb Dewey
Ashby, MN


I know our article was done in a "rush" -- but you'll probably want to make a correction -- the picture of the lady holding the heart cake (chocolate with whipped cream and topped with cherry pie filling -- mmmmm, good!) is Joann Kloos.

Joann and Bernice are the co-hostesses -- the party was in Bernice's home.

However, the many people who know them will know the difference and not be concerned -- and those who don't, we won't worry about.

Another precious Bulletin!

Love to you and Jerrianne for getting this together!

Ruth Weiland Swanson Kitto
Apache Junction, AZ

Editors' Note: Our apologies to the mis-identified ladies ... we should have checked our assumptions against the group photo caption information. We made a correction in the archived copy but were too late for the e-mails.


Thanks again for a great Bulletin. You are always so perfect, but just want to mention that on the picture for the co-hostess of the Valentine party holding the heart cake is Joann Kloos, not Bernice Hedin. Probably no one is keeping score anyway.

Rich Weiland
Coon Rapids, MN


Last Week's Bulletin Review JKL
by Betty Droel
MoundsView, MN

I appreciate that you are allowing me to submit a Letter to the Editor regarding my personal impression of Bulletin #296. A person feels so full of exuberance after reading The Bulletin that you can hardly wait to share it with someone else, and the only way I can think of is by sending in this review. It will not even begin to express the emotions that flood our hearts as we finally see The Bulletin in the e-mail in-box, and then begin to scroll down to that first picture to see the "tenor" (the drift of something spoken or written -- the thesaurus definition of the word "tenor") of this particular Bulletin.

So, I see the beautiful rose, which was personally photographed by our photo editor, and was so appropriate for Valentine's day. I think we all get an awesome feeling when we observe a most beautiful rose. I wonder if anyone thought to click on the title of the rose. It brings you into many details and the poem and music by Robert Burns. I hardly had time to search it all through. The Bulletin is an endless wealth of fun and information and continuation of the stories through the links that are included. I am just learning this, but maybe everyone else knew it already.

Two new babies. With pictures to enhance the news of the happy parents and grandparents. This issue will be keepsake issue for the families of Jackson and Alexander.

Oh to be young again, is what popped into my mind as I saw the Update on Aaron. All the things that make life exciting and memorable for a young fellow -- like the position he holds in his sports world, and the proud owner of the pickup that his friends would be so envious of, and then adoring fans and personal cheerleader.

The birthday update by Melody Printz sounded so warm and cozy. No big restaurant affair, but just the fun of a quiet evening with family by the fireplace. I can just see all the help opening her gifts, and she has a stack of mail, too.

Instead of reading about the teenager, Gert, that I knew, we are reading updates about her grandchildren. The Bulletin has a way of spanning the years, with all the details and pictures that keep us updated on The Bulletin families.

Can you picture this Valentine party in Phoenix? The retired ladies getting together in their red outfits prove that you are only as old as you feel. One of my faithful e-mailers is on that davenport. My sister is also on that picture so it was especially fun to see that story.

Thank you for using the picture of the Croton plant. My mother died in December 2005, and it is the only surviving flower/plant that is left. It was from the arrangement sent to us by The Bulletin. I just wanted to thank you again for your thoughtfulness in our loss.

The Travelogue, with its excellent pictures, was like a silent slide show with captions, and then there was the good picture of Kjirsten herself by the ramparts. Thank you for explaining what ramparts were. I was very happy to see that this Moroccan story will be continued.

Finally, we have a detailed story from Ary from the Netherlands. Glad you have your computer back in working condition now, as we really look forward to the pictures and news from "across the waters." Looking at the garden center, with all its displays and well arranged stock close to Valentine's Day, left me in awe of all the work that had gone on in the background preparing the flower tables. Click on the link for the special gallery and you will see it was put together just for The Bulletin, as there is a line that says "back to Bulletin #296." That made it easy to view the pictures and then click back to reading the rest of The Bulletin's story and pictures.

Larry, don't think we forgot about you. LTD Storybrooke will be worth waiting for.

I was so thrilled to see "McDouglas" was back from his "sabbatical" or whatever the brief interim can be called. That's as close as we came to getting a story from Donna Mae this week: the picture of the bird taken in Duane and Ingrid Miller's home.

I fully agree with the Quotation for the day this time. Love and appreciation is almost a lost emotion nowadays, which is our own fault for being so caught up in our wildly fast world, and yet it is truly valued by everyone, and free.

My great nieces were here for our anniversary supper their family furnished. I thought it was so precious how both girls fit into the computer chair together, and they brought up The Bulletin on the screen and were reading it.

Thank you to the staff that has once again put together such a varied and interesting Bulletin, that appeals to all ages and is safe and humorous and educating to read.

Betty Droel


CHUCKLES


Photo illustration © Virginial McCorkell; photo by Susie Holman
Hunter Holman likes finding really big shoes to fill.


To search a name in Who's Who or Who's Where: click on the link to open the page, then use CONTROL F on a PC or COMMAND F on a Mac. To search for a second occurrence of the name, use CONTROL G on a PC or COMMAND G on a Mac. (This works on ANY web page with text, unless the text is converted to an image. Chances are, it works in your e-mail, too.) HINT: Search by first name only, as most entries list the family name once but do not repeat the last name for each family member. In Who's Where you can search on state or city names, too.



Quotation for the day: Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel. --Anonymous

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.