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Wednesday, November 23, 2003
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Updates -
by Marlee Freezemann
Hi! Well it's been much too long since I've had a chance to get a Freesemann family update out. Sorry. Thanks to all the kind family members who keep me in the loop through emails and forwards. Troy and I have been quite busy the past month. On October 14th, we met two new little friends, Alyssa, age 6, and Angelie, age 4, and have been having a lot of fun with them on the weekends since.
Alyssa, holding Jazmine Hill, & Angelie
On our ninth anniversary, October 17th, we enjoyed a play date with them at the Minnesota Zoo. Today we explored Underwater Adventures in the Mall of America. We received a call on October 4th about the girls from one of their mother's friends. We had left one of our "hoping to adopt" cards in her antique shop in downtown Hopkins last spring and she had found it again and called us...
The girls' mom died in May, very unexpectedly, of no known cause, and their dad is mentally disabled from a motorcycle accident. They are living with Grandma and Grandpa, who have decided that they would like young, more able, parents to raise the girls. So we have had many play dates and sleepovers, trying to get acquainted. So far, everything seems to be working out, but of course a lot can happen until all the legal work is done, so we'll just have to be patient.
Meanwhile, I am still trying to get a few miles in here and there for the marathon in January, as well as doing the fundraising events. You can check out my website at:
http://www.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=26075
Troy is busy working and worrying ... wondering how he'll feed and clothe three women! Uncle Ben Tuin stays with us, off and on, too, so we aren't ever lacking for entertainment around here. Hope everyone is doing well. Maybe next time I can add some pictures of Alyssa and Angelie. Take care and keep up the good work.
Marlee and Troy Freeseman
UPDATE
by Donna Johnson
A Shop Till You Drop Day
Friday evening I called Peggy and asked if she'd like to ride along to Fergus, to drop some things off at Goodwill. She agreed, as she is still recuperating from her surgery and hasn't been out a lot. She's feeling much better, though, so decided after we'd dropped things in Fergus, that she would be up to a trip to Fargo. We decided there just was not enough to entertain us in Fergus for the whole day and neither of us had the desire to head back home, after spending the entire week in the house. :-)
So, off we went. Stopped at the Bargain place that is going out of business. Neither of us found any bargains, so on to the gas station and then for our lunch. Peggy bought lunch, against my wishes ... thanks, Peggy!
Next we decided to check out thrift stores and consignment shops, with much better luck. Found lots of goodies and had a good time just looking around. Even did one antique store that was located next to the last thrift shop we hit. That was really fun; they had people playing instruments, so we had music to shop by, an unusual addition. We did notice a couple garage sales, but too late in the day to check them out.
Peggy called Roddy (her youngest son) and we got the tour of his apartment. Very nice: three bedrooms, two roommates. They have several aquariums for many kinds of fish -- said I'd have to bring Jayce for a visit; he'd love all the kinds they have. Plus, they have a kitten, an iguana and hamsters! Quite a zoo.
Roddy went out for Oriental food with us and we had a wonderful visit. Learned he enjoys his job, making window screens. His roommate works at the same place and they drive to work together. Said the only drawback was having to get up at 5 a.m. (no surprise, as he likes to sleep until noon otherwise!). He did like the fact he was done by 2:30 in the afternoon, though; still gives a lot of the day to get other things done (or sleep :-) It was really fun spending time with him and seeing how positive he is about his life now. He and his girlfriend have plans to marry in 2005, I assume after she's done with her nursing school. She works at a nursing home nearby and also attends school.
After dropping Roddy back at his apartment, we headed for the mall. They really have a nice mall in Fargo. They have lots of comfy looking couches and chairs, for those that are tired or waiting for spouses, friends, etc. They even provide books and a huge aquarium of fish to entertain you, if that is your preference. Needless to say, I did not take time for sitting around and Peggy said she was doing fine.
After some more shopping, Peggy treated us to an apple pie ice cream cone. Delicious! Nice topping for a fun day away. I am very nearly done with my Christmas shopping, so running out of shopping trips. Maybe I should become a "professional" shopper! :-)
CAREER UPDATE
by Lori Chap
Thank you for putting so much effort into keeping us all connected and thank you also for the gentle "reminder" that I had not written in quite some time! ;-) I have to admit that I need some reminders now and then.
It's a busy time of year for me at work, with year-end fast approaching. One of my career goals/ objectives this past year was to do more of the year-end process with my account and I think I'll be ready for it! It's amazing how much I've already learned about my position in just over a year -- and it's also amazing that there is still much more for me to learn.
I'll be ordering some more books soon to complete another exam for my designation. I'm going to take the test in February, before my other "training" class begins. (This is the one I complained a lot about last time.) I've had a nice small break from the studying and tests, but it's time to get back to it.
I visited Eric and Leona last week. Brought up some pictures that I took at their wedding for them and then they took me out to dinner. It was very nice to catch up with them! It sounds like they are both doing great and I'm so happy for them! Thanks again to them both for the truly wonderful evening!!
I have no exciting trips or anything to write about, but I decided that was no excuse to not write. I'm looking forward to the upcoming holidays. Our family get-togethers are always something to look forward to!
Editor's Comment: Thank you, Lori. It has been so nice to read how well our young college graduates are doing with their careers. We have heard from Wyatt, Chris, and Weston. And besides the graduates, there is at least one student working as he goes to school. Ben J. gave such a neat report on how he is attending school and then practicing what he learns by working in the real practice of auto repair. Thanks for updating us on your progress -- we are truly interested. DMA
UPDATE
by Jim (Miller)
I sure enjoyed The Bulletin, about the old timers coming over from Denmark. Very similar to mother's relatives coming from Sweden. Those old ones sure saw some hard times. Many got sick and died young, but they all had large families, so some to rely on. I enjoyed all the other news including that from Ary. Don't think I met him, but heard so much, because he was here a couple times.
Have started getting ready for Mitz and Kim coming next Tuesday. I am having Krisie, Kelly and Sharon, and all the family, for the evening. They haven't seen each other in many years, since they were small kids. Never have met the rest of the family. Will let you know the results.
JIM
SCHOOL UPDATE
by Mark Johnson
This is Mark writing. How are you? I am great. I haven't talked to you for a long time. School is going good. I am in floor hockey and basketball every week after school. I hope to see you soon.
Thanks for the b'day card!
Bye, Markie
STUDENT UPDATE
by Ben Henderson
Hi there, it has been forever since I have written. Things have been kinda busy ... I guess that is the way it is for everyone, though. This semester is quickly wrapping up, which in some ways is really good, and other ways it is kind of crazy. It is just weird how the weeks and semesters and years have flown. It is weird to look back on the years that I have been in school, and it just seems like it has flown by so quickly.
This semester is going really well. My workload isn't as much as it was the past two years, and the content is pretty easy for me to catch on to, so my grades have been looking really good, which makes school that much better. Living with Dan has been great. We hardly ever see each other it seems, however.
Dan and I are going home this weekend to watch some Glencoe football. This is the third year in four years that Glencoe has made it to the state championship. Before this little stretch, we really didn't have a name for ourselves in anything, but now we have put our names on the map because of our football program.
The next weekend is Thanksgiving, which I believe is at Marlene's and Rich's this year; should be a great time as always!! Will be nice to take a little break away from class for a few days! we only have like three weeks left, after this week, before finals start. Can't believe it!
The weather has been great up here. Today was in the forties and tomorrow I hear talk of the fifties. Has been really mild, so far, but I have heard that it is supposed to be a winter full of snow. So I guess maybe we will pay for our nice fall in a bit.
Well, I hope this finds you and grandpa doing wonderful. We are all looking forward so much to you two joining us all up here. I couldn't believe the news when I heard it! I'll try to be better about writing ... take care.
Ben
SCHOOL UPDATE
by Whitney Johnson
Middle School student
In school we are getting ready for conferences, so it is just a little crazy! And all the homework in sixth grade! Oh well, we have almost a trimester under our belts! School is not hard but it gets old and sometimes boring. But I have all good teachers and they respect me.
For the next while, in gym we are swimming and all that good stuff. In English we are going over punctuation and that is also "good stuff." In science we are starting a new study in atoms and string theory. I really enjoy science and love my teacher. In social studies we are starting a project and I am doing it on the Mississippi. It will be fairly easy. In art we are building house sculptures out of clay. I really enjoy it. I guess that is about it.
Sorry I have not written for a while. I have so much to do! I like 6th grade and if you did not know, I switched back to band and I really enjoy it ... way more than last year. (My teacher last year was not the best band teacher.) I am 5th chair.
I better get to my homework done.
Whitney
FAMILY UPDATE -- ON MOVE
by Carol Printz
The Co-op in Nampa had to do a major downsizing, due to a poor agriculture
economy ... and as part of the recovery plan, Harold could see that they
needed to cut back on the cost of management. So he opted to resign. He
took a job as manager of the "Farmer's Elevator Company" co-op here in
Nebraska. It is a larger Co-op than the one in Nampa and covers an area
from Ogallala, Nebraska, to Cheyenne, Wyoming.
We are living in Sidney,
Nebraska, which is about in the middle of the territory. Harold started
work here September 2 and I stayed in Nampa to sell the home there. It sold
pretty quickly and I got moved here by October 15. Cody decided to move
with us, so he is here too. He got work at the Cabela's distribution
center near town.
Our address is 1922 Keller Drive, Sidney, NB 69162. The phone number is 308-254-4961.
It was hard to leave Nampa after 22-1/2 years there! But the
"consolation prize" is that the move puts us closer to grandchildren and
other relatives ... including you ... so come, see us!!
Hope things are going well for you ... and I'll try to stay in touch
better, now that the move is complete!!
ceprintz@juno.com
Harold and Carol Printz
Culinary Heirlooms
Jerrianne's Soup
by Doug Anderson
Hello family foodies, today you are in for a real treat. This week's contributor might as well be writing the column herself, as she is every bit the cook I am (and then some) and probably writes better than I do as well, as this awkward, run-on sentence will demonstrate.
Today's recipe came in its own unique fashion and I think it would seriously detract from its inherit charm to revise it, so I have chosen to pass it along as I received it. Make sure you've checked the rabbit traps and milked the caribou and then sit down and enjoy:
When Alaska days get short and the temperatures drop, I get a
hankering for comfort food ... I'd been thinking
about turkey soup for a while now, but when I went to the store last
night, the only suitable turkey offered was a family pack, on special
... with nine turkey legs in it! What to do? The price was right, so I
put it in my shopping cart, bought a locally made loaf of "spent
grain" bread, using grains from a local brewery, and selected the vegetables.
A 2 lb. bag of Alaska carrots
A big stalk of celery
5 small Yukon Gold potatoes
1 good sized rutabaga
2 small white turnips
2 fat parsnips
2 leeks
1 medium onion
Four turkey legs went back into the freezer. Three were roasted in the
oven for turkey and gravy and for sandwiches. The last two went into a
big Dutch oven with one stalk of the celery and all the celery leaves,
the medium onion (peeled and chopped) and a couple of carrots (also
peeled and chopped). A little salt, some poultry seasoning and some
parsley flakes from my pantry went into the big pot, too.
When the turkey in the stewpot was done, I took the meat off the bones (about 2 cups), flaked it and put it into a refrigerator container. I strained the broth, squeezing the juice out of the vegetables to get all the flavor, and adding it back into the broth.
I reheated the broth with a little more salt and a good spoonful of curry powder and tossed in a couple of handfuls of brown rice. I peeled the carrots, reserving a couple to eat raw, sliced the rest into "coins" and added them to the pot. I brushed the potatoes, leaving the skins on, diced them and added them. I peeled and diced the rutabaga and then the turnips, adding them as soon as they were prepared. I peeled and chopped the parsnips, cleaned the leeks and sliced them into thin, round slices. I cleaned and chopped three stalks of celery, adding them at all at once, along with a couple of shakes of cayenne pepper.
I adjusted the salt and let everything get hot. I could have added some peas, but it seemed green enough and the pot was now full ... almost too full for the turkey that was waiting in the refrigerator. I "tested" a bowlful and found it good. Tomorrow, it will be even better, once the flavors have "married."
Whew! That's good. We wouldn't want our flavors "living in sin!" Oops! Hope that one gets by the Editor... Oh well, can't let Hetty have all the fun!
Thanks Jerrianne, for sharing with us a comfort food that goes first class all the way! See you next week, and keep those recipes rolling in!
The first time I saw Mindy was as she slid across the floor towards me from our open door, propelled by the shove Don had just given her, as he brought her home for my approval.
I knew immediately we were going to be friends -- but we weren't her first friends. She had been rescued from the ditch by a caretaker at the KOA in Goodyear, Arizona, in that winter of '93. Don had made friends with the caretaker and her cute little puppy when they were out for their daily walks. Soon that busy working girl began to find the burden of pet ownership too confining, and so it was that she was agreeable when Don decided we ought to own that cute little puppy.
It really wasn't so much that we chose her; she just moved into our home and into our lives. Soon that little baby -- just losing her teeth -- whose appearance indicated a mixed background of breeds, was not just a pet, but a part of the family.
When we went home to our apartment that spring, Mindy met some good material for buddies. The three little girls upstairs and their mother were just right for friends and the father made someone to fight with and bark and growl at -- so perhaps he was her friend, too!
The two big girls went to school, so though they were safer to play with than Little Girl, they didn't become the one to be a sister to. Little Girl, from upstairs, was just fifteen months old the week Mindy came to live with us, and Mindy was probably very close to six months old, so in fact they were compatriots -- they were little girls who had to learn their manners together! And they both worked hard at it!
Mindy learned (really always knew) that you don't bite little people, you don't get too close or they pull your tail or whatever, and you only growl very softly to let them know not to hurt.
Every morning, when Mama was taking her shower, Little Girl gently turned the upstairs doorknob. (What a reach and squeeze and turn that was!) Then, very carefully, she came down the long flight of stairs. When she got to the door, she either knocked on the jamb or on the door -- and then her new friend Mindy would run, so they could exchange greetings.
Mindy Greets Little Girl
Then Little Girl would come into the sitting room and she would say, "A'morning, Grandma." Then it was time to have our morning break -- one needs a little sustenance, you know! And then the two little "girls" would climb into my lap and have a "Story, please!" So life was good, and they both kept growing and learning about one another, just like all good friends do.
When summer came and everybody was out in the fresh air, then Mindy was allowed to be out on leash. After the spring season cleaned up after itself, and the mud settled into a nice yard, she was allowed to range a bit. Her favorite area was the little rill behind our house. There the trees grew close around the pond and stream and things were nice and wild and free.
As the late spring faded into the lazy summer, we noticed that a mother and her twin fawns, spotted and rangy, were often out eating on the meadow on the far side of the house.
One day the big girls came running -- shouting, "Come quick and see." They sounded so excited -- but not scared -- just excited. I hurried upstairs to look out their windows to the meadow.
There were the mom, her two fawns, and Mindy, all ranging there together. It was obvious that they were all friends. But as Mindy had learned so well with her little human friend, "you are gentle and quiet with babies." When a car going by made a racket, all the friends ran off together. But no matter how much she wanted to go with them, it was obvious that Mindy was never going to make it, with her short legs.
I do not know how many more times Mindy visited her friends of the wild, but one more time I got to see the event. One day as I looked out our patio window, I saw that Mindy had company. The Twins were feeding right by our doorstep, where Mindy sat. She was carefully avoiding eye contact, but obviously enjoying the antics of her friends. Then, as before, when traffic noise frightened them away, she ran as far as she could -- never making a sound. I guess, because she was a baby and was smart enough to be absolutely quiet when she was with them, the Twins and their Mom accepted her as a friend.
Mindy is now old. She will be eleven years old sometime in this month. She has made many friends in her life time (and a few enemies, too, I don't doubt!) She continues to make new friends, but she has never forgotten Don nor I. And to this day, she remembers with fondness her friends of the Wild, It seems to make her sad when she sees deer and they won't let her near, and they won't come and visit her!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
'Twas the night of Thanksgiving,
but We just couldn't sleep.
We tried counting backwards;
We tried counting sheep.
The leftovers beckoned the dark meat and white,
But We fought the temptation with all of our might.
Tossing and turning with anticipation,
The thought of a snack became infatuation.
So, We raced to the kitchen, flung open the door
And gazed at the fridge, full of goodies galore.
We gobbled up turkey and buttered potatoes,
Pickles and carrots, beans and tomatoes.
We felt ourselves swelling so plump and so round,
Till all of a sudden We rose off the ground.
We crashed through the ceiling, floating into the sky,
With a mouthful of pudding and a handful of pie.
But, We managed to yell as We soared past the trees
Happy eating to ALL, pass the cranberries, please!
May your stuffing be tasty; may your turkey be plump.
May your potatoes 'n gravy have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious; may your pies take the prize
May your Thanksgiving dinner stay off of your thighs.
GOD BLESS ALL
+ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for another good Bulletin. Lots of interesting news to catch up on.
By the way, that photo of Hetty and her friend ... I think I saw them in Wahpeton at one time ... am I right on that? I know those folks were in Wop, and I feel sure that HETTY WON THE JACKPOT! The AP saw her picture in The Bulletin and offered her 25 thousand $$$$$ to use it in their paper. So I hear.
Elaine
I just finished reading The Bulletin. Miss Kitty and Hetty were so FUNNY and so very entertaining! Loved it. I really enjoyed reading about Ary's shop, too. Here I'd been picturing some little shop, for some reason! Nice, to have a clearer "picture" in my head. A restaurant, even, and pet shop ... my goodness, that's no small shop!
Donna
Thanks for the latest Bulletin -- love that newspaper and especially another "introduction" list, which I stapled to the first one. Sooner or later, I will have all these people straight and not have to refer to it so often. Fun to hear about Kjirsten's travels and life experiences ... and keep up on your kids and family activities.
Barb (Dewey)
I am just writing to say that I enjoyed reading Grandpa's article about Ray Wold in The Bulletin this week. It was interesting to read about what happened and your experiences at the time of the accident. You mentioned that you have more information about the accident, so if you wouldn't mind, please forward me that information... Thanks.
Weston
CHUCKLES
Written by a senior person
Sent to us by Barb Dewey
Last year I replaced several windows in my house and they were the expensive double-pane energy efficient kind.
But this week I got a call from the contractor complaining that his work has been completed for a whole year and I had yet to pay for them.
Boy, oh boy, did we go 'round. Just because I'm old doesn't mean that I am automatically stupid.
So, I proceeded to tell him just what his fast talking sales guy had told me last year ... that in one year the windows would pay for themselves.
There was silence on the other end of the line, so I just hung up and I haven't heard back. Guess I must have won that silly argument.
QUOTATION FOR THE DAY: Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened.
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.