Sunday, February 12, 2006
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Happy Valentine's Day!
Illustration © Virginia McCorkell
"Blowing Kisses" -- with love to sweethearts everywhere.
Updates -
by Weston Johnson
Ashby MN
Coni is still making steady progress in her recovery from her surgery. She had a follow-up appointment with her surgeon at the Mayo Clinic this week, and that went well. Dr. Thompson was pleased with her recovery so far, and he gave her the OK to start driving again, a limitation we thought would be in place for several more weeks.
She is getting to the point where she feels up to being more active so she doesn't feel as confined to her house as she has for the past few weeks. This weekend we are planning to attend a friend's wedding in Osakis on Saturday and her niece's baptism on Sunday. She is looking forward to getting out of the house and seeing her friends and family.
That is about all the news I have for this week. Thank you to everyone who continues to keep us in your thoughts and prayers, and a big thank you to everyone who has sent Valentine's Day cards for Coni!
Weston
Weston and Coni will return to the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, next week for her first round of chemotherapy. They will fly out on the 20th, for tests and scans on the 21st before starting the chemotherapy treatments on the 22nd. The treatments will continue through the 25th, and they will fly back on the 26th.
Photo by Donna Anderson Johnson
Weston Johnson and "Weston" bus -- All aboard for Bethesda!
When Beaver and Donna and Lori and Weston visited Washington, DC, a year or two ago, this picture of Weston with a bus of the same name turned up. It never quite seemed to fit anywhere ... but when we learned that Weston and Coni would be heading back to the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, for Coni's first round of chemotherapy next week, we felt it was time to load up the "Weston bus" with cards and letters and valentines full of love and good wishes for Coni, to wish her a speedy and complete recovery. All aboard!
YYY
Cards for Coni may be sent here:
To Coni
c/o Weston Johnson
7600 Berkshire Way
Maple Grove, MN 55311
E-mails and e-cards and virtual bouquets may be sent here:
c_waltzing@hotmail.com
Weston will gather up our cards and valentines and good wishes and present them to Coni. --The Editors
UPDATE -- Indermarks
by Kristi Indermark
Portage, WI
Well it is Saturday, and for the first time in a few months I actually am sitting in my basement looking for something to work on. I have all my "chores" finished upstairs, Tyler is sleeping and Jordan is watching Dora. It is a very rare moment that I get time to myself. I am not sure what to do anymore. So I figured I should catch up on my writing.
Jim is still working at the GM dealership in town during the week and on the weekends he is working at Sears. I have my daycare of four kids (plus Jordan and Tyler). I am adding a family of three to that list here shortly.
Jordan is growing up so quickly it is hard to keep up with what she likes. One minute it is Barney and now she is too big for Barney and loves Dora and Diego. She is now into playing pretend. She has all of these wonderful conversations all by herself! It is so funny to listen to.
Tyler is also getting big. He is now walking along the furniture. At his last appointment he weighed 20 pounds and is 28 inches long. He is 8-1/2 months old. He can crawl very fast and loves to get into everything! Right now he has a double ear infection, but you would never know it. He is such a happy and easy going baby! Jim and I are very blessed!
Jim and I finished off another part of our basement. It is going to be the "Packer" room. It will eventually hold a pool table and other grown up furniture. Jim's only rule to the room is "NO TOYS."
I think that is all that is going on here. We will be traveling a lot this month so I will send some updated pictures and stories from our travels.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Jim, Kristi, Jordan and Tyler Indermark
Jordan sings along with American Idol, left; Tyler crawls under, right.
UPDATE -- Introduction to Brock Dewey
by Grandpa Russ and Grandma Barb Dewey
Ashby, MN
We'd like you to meet our first grandchild, Brock David Dewey, born at 9:23 a.m. Sunday, February 5th, at the Douglas County Hospital, Alexandria, Minnesota. He is pretty cute, although he was a "conehead" at birth -- and he was born with his arm raised alongside and hand above his head -- but what do you expect? His mom, Heather, is a teacher. :-) He's heard his mom tell the kids, "If you want to talk, you have to raise your hand," a million times.
Our son, David, who farms with us, will be around close to give mom those much needed naps this month. We are all pretty excited and anxious to spoil him.
David, Heather & Brock Dewey
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.)
How many can you identify?
Answers to last week's mystery pictures (click here to review them):
This would be another "know" and not a guess ... but that's the Bill (Billie) Dake family in the mystery photo. Bill and Lois and children Carol, Kathleen and James. Don't know where Stan was ... and Patricia wasn't born yet. I'm quite impressed with how "prim and proper" I look ... that's how it is when you're the oldest child, and a teenager on top of it! :>) I especially like this picture of my dad.
Carol Dake Printz
Sidney, NE
Editor's note: You are, of course, absolutely correct. I have been waiting to make this comment: A few "Guesses" back we heard a comment on the "handsome" Miller men. Well, I am human enough to want to show you that the Dakes produced their share of handsome men, too -- and Bill, with his auburn waves, was one of them!
I definitely recognize those people ... my Grandpa Bill Dake, my Grandma Lois Dake, my Mom (Kathleen), my Uncle James, and my Aunt Carol. I don't think I've seen this picture of them before ... thanks for sharing!
Adrianna Brown
Granbury, TX
That would be Uncle Bill and Aunt Lois Dake, Kathleen, James and Carol [Dake]. Were they visiting in Minnesota? They look cold!
In that picture he really looks like Uncle LeRoy!
Donna Johnson
Ashby, MN
Photo Editor's Note: Could be ... a note accompanying some proposed "mystery" pictures said: "...one of them, Dad said, was when their car broke down on their way up here and he went down to get them..."
The guessing picture looks to me like Bill and Lois Dake and family.
Mavis Morgan
Estero, FL
That is a very nice picture and brings back many wonderful memories of time spent with Billy both in Minnesota and Texas!
I really like his Texas Stetson (cowboy hat, for those who may not know) and Billy loved the time he spent working the ranch at Valley Mills. There was lots of love in that family and deepest respect for their friends and relatives. Lois, you can be very proud!
Lou and Tom Miller
Madera, CA
Holding the back end of a ewe up in the air, while my accomplice was pushing down on her bulbous, prolapsed vagina, was heavy work!
Sheep flocks can be fraught with health problems. Our two bands of sheep were no exception. Several flocks had been purchased and run together, to make up the two bands.
It is common, when buying large numbers of sheep, to end up with someone else's culls. The poor doers, and the ones who have failed to raise a lamb, sometimes are shipped to the sales barn and sold as replacement ewes.
One of the problems we were having with the sheep was a fairly high incidence of vaginal prolapses. I had helped repair several. So far, my job had been to turn the ewe onto her back and hold her back legs up in the air as high as possible. This made her internal organs shift forward, making it a little easier to stuff the inside-out-vagina back into its place.
But this time I would perform the procedure, while my accomplice held the legs up in the air. My accomplice was the boss's son. He was a strapping, big youth, fit for the job.
He had shown me how to inject Lidocaine™ between two vertebrae above the tail to block the pain. I stuck the extra long needle in and injected the analgesic.
Next, I assessed the protruding vagina. It was about the size and shape of a large rutabaga and was brilliant red.
I carefully washed it off with a bucket of mild soap and water to free it of manure and debris. Then I sprinkled its shiny, red surface with a white powder called J-Lube™.
When the powder mixed with the dampness of the wet vagina, its surface became super-slippery. The lubrication was to aid in the tough process of replacement, and it helped to protect the vagina from abrasion.
The boss's son lifted the back end of the ewe higher up into the air. I knew from observation that the vagina wouldn't go in easily. Ewes tend to contract their muscles and push it back out at you.
Replacing prolapses is a strenuous occupation! At the same time, it's of paramount importance that it be done with gentleness, so as not to puncture or rupture anything.
I cupped the organ in both hands, as I had seen demonstrated, and began applying downward pressure with my palms.
The super-slippery rutabaga began to slide into the ewe, until the bulk of it disappeared. All that remained on the outside was a little red strip about the width of two fingers.
But, there didn't seem to be anywhere to push this strip into. We puzzled over this for several minutes.
"What in the world?" the boss's son said; "I've never seen one like this, before!"
I prodded gently around the remaining vagina and discovered I could slip my finger underneath it -- and my finger came out on the other side!
"This is really strange!" I said. "It's like it's attached to the outside of the ewe ... "
Then it hit us both! The boss's son began to laugh uproariously! The super-slippery vagina had slipped neatly into the ewe's rectum.
I was a bit horrified at my mistake. However, I couldn't help but grin sheepishly as I pulled it back out and washed it off. I applied a little more J-Lube™ and tried again. This time the slippery, red rutabaga began to turn in, like a sock, into its proper place.
I knew I was on target when it passed the urethra. I got a warm shower! The bladder couldn't empty when the vagina was prolapsed, and enough time had elapsed for it to build up quite a bit of head-pressure!
I pushed the vagina all the way home with my fist. After it was turned right-side-in, I stitched the vulva shut with a large, curved needle, using a purse-string stitch and wide surgical tape. I drew the ends of the purse strings together and tied them. We would leave these stitches in until the ewe went into labor.
We marked the ewe with a livestock crayon, to remind the lamber to release the purse-string to make way for the lamb.
Over the course of the next month, I did a number of these procedures. It was good practice for later. After ewes lambed, they sometimes prolapsed their entire uterus!
These could be an even larger challenge.
Travelogue t
Greg Dake and Sonja Maness left Raleigh, North Carolina, for Shanghai, China, on January 6th and returned January 28th. It was a business trip for Greg and Sonja went along. They took extra time for sightseeing while they were there. (Greg is the son of Ernie and Carolyn Dake, grandson of LeRoy and Vonnie Dake, and grand nephew of the Matriarch, Dorothy Dake Anderson.)
Greg and Sonja, not quite awake yet, at breakfast in China. :)
Adventures In Shopping Shanghai
Monday morning started bright and early, with both the alarm clock and the wake up call at 7 a.m. I was already awake by then, anyway. The only downside we've discovered to this hotel, so far, is the construction site right next door. Another skyscraper being built, it looks like, and they literally work on it night and day. Sunday night they brought out spotlights and kept working long after dark, probably til 10 p.m., or so. Monday morning I woke up about 7:30 a.m. and they were already hard at work out there. So we hear banging and jackhammers and construction noise pretty much all the time.
We again had breakfast in the Club Lounge, again with the exact same food. The only difference was today we noticed the containers of yogurt in a chiller near the fresh fruit. Greg brought us each a container of that, as well as orange juice, a few minutes after we sat down. Again, we were served coffee, this time by someone other than "Beth." I didn't think to read her nametag to find out what Anglo name she'd chosen; I will some other time. We took a table at the back of the room again, because we could watch the flatscreen TV on the wall there. It was tuned to CNN in English. We also read a couple of English local newspapers a bit while we ate. Pretty soon it was time to go back to our room and for Greg to collect his things to meet his ride to work at 8:30.
After he left, I checked the hotel information sheets to be sure I could get to the fitness room at that time of day. In the process I learned something we hadn't noticed before -- included in our room rate is a 100RMB per day laundry allowance. That's only enough to launder one pair of jeans, one T-shirt and one pair of underwear a day, or two pair of jeans, or four T-shirts, etc. But it is still a help. I got one pair of jeans, a shirt and a pair of underwear bagged up and ready for the maid to take when she cleaned the room.
That done, I got a book to read while on the treadmill (Changeweaver by Margaret Ball) and went out into the hallway. At the next room down, the maid was standing by the door, about to go in. When she saw me come out, she asked if she could clean our room today and I said, "Yes, please, xiexie ni (thank you)."
This afternoon Greg got home a little earlier than we thought, so we decided to do some more exploring. We found out from the concierge that the department store listed on the area map provided by the hotel was only two blocks away, so we decided to walk rather than call a cab.
Blocks in Shanghai are much longer than blocks in any other city I've ever been in. Yes, we only crossed two streets, but we walked longer than I expected to have to. We did find the store with no problem, and were happy to see there was a plaza around it with several restaurants and smaller stores. We walked around to see what all restaurants were there. There was a Pizza Hut, but that didn't interest us. There was a French store that sold baguettes, as well. Several Chinese restaurants, no surprise there. We went down a little side way and found an Indian restaurant. So, yeah, we come all the way to Shanghai, and we go out to eat Indian food. It was very good Indian food, too.
After we ate ... and just communicating to the waitress that we wanted the check was ... interesting. This was only the beginning of the communication errors for the evening, however!
We went into the Carrefours store, the department store, http://www.carrefour.com.cn/
We found things very cheap, indeed -- heavy insulated coats for about $10 USDollars. We found a power strip for 7RMB, which was less than $1 US. We decided not to stay long, because it was pretty crowded. Thus the fun began -- trying to find a cash register to pay for our purchases.
We walked toward the entrance, only to be pointed toward the middle of the store by someone there. There was indeed a register there, but the girl working at it wouldn't check out our purchases. I started looking in my dictionary for how to say "pay," as I knew how to say "where is" but not "pay." She took the dictionary from me and started looking through the Chinese section. A few minutes later a guy came over and apparently asked what was up. He told us, "Go straight, then left." So we did, and found no register. We walked past a jewelry counter but suspected they would not check us out there, either. Finally I saw another register and walked to it. I asked the girl there, in English, "Pay here?" and she said "Yes," in English. Relief!
So, if you ever visit Carrefours in Shanghai, the register is not at "Go straight, then left," but "Go straight, then right." I may walk back over there tomorrow and look around more; hopefully it will be less crowded. And I intend to look up a few words before I go, so I can better ask questions!
Purchases in hand, we walked back to our hotel. It was a little chilly when we left the hotel; it was getting quite cold by the time we headed back. I almost left the hotel without putting a sweater on over my T-shirt; I was glad I grabbed it after all.
Tomorrow we are invited to supper with the site executive where Greg is working. We also may get the chance to visit the famous tower of the Shangri-La Hotel, one of the tallest buildings in the city. It's supposed to be a fantastic view of the city.
to be continued...
Why you don't drink the water in China: this is what tap water looks like, left. Doesn't smell so good, either. Satellite map of Yangtze River, right -- same color as the water in the bathtub, go figure.
Photo Editor's Note: We are serializing Sonja and Greg's web log and illustrating it with the photos they are posting, but there is far more photo material available than we will be able to fit in The Bulletin, so we will also provide the links to the blog, for those who are interested:
Web Log: http://sonjas-travels.blogspot.com/
Did you know...
That practically the entire west and low north of the country consists of polders: drained land which is mainly surrounded by dikes, within which groundwater levels can be controlled. There are some 5,000 polders in all. The largest polders are the result of the Zuyderzee works. Since 1920 -- when the decision to carry out the works was taken -- these have resulted in the inland sea (Zuyder Zee or Zuider Zee) becoming a shallow, dike-enclosed lake (the IJsselmeer) and a gain of 1,650 square km [637 square miles] of land.
That a second major project in the Netherlands' fight against the water is the Delta project. The construction of the Delta works (Delta Werken) started after a devastating storm surge hit the low-lying polders of the southwest Netherlands on February 1, 1953, killing more than 1,800 people and flooding large areas of land.
... and that the supposedly Dutch story, known as the legend of Hans Brinker -- who supposedly put his finger in the dike to prevent a flood -- was actually a literary invention by the American writer Mary Elizabeth Mapes Dodge (1831-1905), who was born in New York.
[Of course, New York City was once New Amsterdam and the surrounding area was then New Netherlands ... so there is a connection, of sorts, between writer and subject, we suppose.]
Old Time Memories ...
The Hunt For Carribean Coral
by the Photo Editor
If you think reading The Bulletin is entertaining, you should see the fun that goes on behind the scenes...
Betty Weiland Droel sent in a story about her father's 1949 Carribean Coral Kaiser with a black and white photo, for Bulletin 189, two weeks ago. I figured I could at least add an appropriately colored headline. I thought I knew what color "coral" was and I was sure I knew how to spell "Caribbean" correctly, so I figured I could find pictures in color by searching. Little did I know...
Dorothy saw what I was doing, and after we published Bulletin 189 and the sequel in Bulletin 190 with the off-color headline, she confided that the car really wasn't that color at all. Not even close. She said it was sort of maroon. Don said it was about the color of red ("flame") grapes. Betty described it as a pinkish mauve. Sometimes I wondered whether they were even describing the same car. I searched for Caribbean+Coral+autos and found a 1956 Caribbean Coral Pontiac that looked sort of pinkish mauve to me -- but they all agreed that wasn't it, either.
Dorothy searched on the Internet and found some color pictures of Kaisers that were supposed to be the specified color, but they didn't seem to match Betty's memory. She said they were too red. I searched but couldn't find the pictures Dorothy found, and what I did find didn't seem to match, either.
Then Dan Mellon sent in a memory piece about driving from Minnesota to California in his dad's 1949 Kaiser, which he described as "bluish green." He wondered aloud whether it could possibly be the same car ... and could that green color be called Caribbean Coral? Not likely, based on what I'd already heard from Don and Dorothy and Betty.
Eventually, after much searching, I happened upon a photo of paint chips on a catalog page showing the colors of Kaiser passenger cars from 1942 through 1949. Sure enough, one of the colors was labeled "Carribean Coral." They couldn't open the link I sent, so I followed up with a screenshot. Don and Dorothy and Betty all agreed that was IT. And Betty's brother, Richard Weiland, concurred. Roy Droel said "Carribean Coral" looked a little dark to him and "Coral Sand" looked a little light ... but "Coral Sand" was a 1947 color, not 1949. That's when I took one last look at the color name on the catalog page ... and noticed that Kaiser spelled it "Carribean Coral" -- the same way Betty had spelled it originally.
"It was a most beautiful car," Betty said, "and my mother's favorite color was the wine shades, so of course we all thought Carribean Coral was ideal." She then sent two more black and white photos of her father trying out his beloved Kaiser. "He had to see how easy it was to get in and out of the back seat. He had to walk around it to see every inch of his Carribean Coral Kaiser, at last."
A Google search for Kaiser+autos+Carribean+Coral (using Kaiser's spelling) yielded several new links, including the pictures Dorothy had found earlier. I soon learned more about the history and mechanics of Kaiser automobiles than I had ever hoped to know!
And about the mania of collecting and restoring old Kaiser automobiles, I learned plenty from a fan who calls himself kaiserkrazy ... and posted enough pictures to prove it.
Read on for Dan Mellon's story about a memorable road trip in another 1949 Kaiser. After consulting the paint chip chart, Dan said the color of this one was probably "Green Spray." We established that it was definitely NOT "Carribean Coral." Not even close.
Henry Weiland checks out his beloved Carribean Coral Kaiser.
Click here for color photos of this car.
A Kaiser Of Another Color
by Dan Mellon
Alta Loma, CA
Well, this may just be a huge coincidence, but my Dad had a 1949 Kaiser (around the same time; he also had a '51 Kaiser) in the late 50's. My recollection is that it was a bluish green. (Caribbean Coral, maybe?) Don, do you think it's possible Dad bought it from your family?
If it's the same car (or at least it was one of those Kaisers), we left Minneapolis in it in February of 1960, headed for Arizona. My mother had chronic lung problems and the doctor told him to get her out of Minnesota. If not for that, we probably never would have left, and I might know many of you people first hand, rather than merely through the articles in The Bulletin.
Douglas, Arizona, (a border town) was too big a culture shock, and after a week we were back on the road for Southern California (where my mother had relatives) and never left.
Two things about that cross-country adventure stand out. First, the Kaiser was a notorious vapor-locker and Dad's solution was to place a grapefruit, cut in half, on top of the fuel pump. After several hundred miles, when the grapefruit dried out, he'd pull over and install a new grapefruit. This was my first insight into Dad's ability to analyze a problem and offer a unique solution.
My second recollection came back to me a few years ago from my older brother, Tom. While riding together in a golf cart during a tournament, he turned to me and accused, "You're doing it again!"
Not knowing what transgression I had committed, I replied, "What?"
He said, "You're on my side of the line." I was immediately returned, in my mind, to that trip.
Honestly, whether that was the same car or not, I'm glad to have been reminded of our family's life-changing adventure 46 years ago. Thanks for the memory!
I am doing reduced calorie recipes for our Weight Loss Support Group. For those who may not have received my letter, I send out a recipe a day. (They are given in points, serving size and approximate calorie count.) Just ask, and I will add you to the group that receives them...
| A Valentine Dessert -- Cherry Cheesecake 8 servings of 4 points each -- (about 180 calories) |
|||
| 1 (20 oz.) can lite cherry pie filling 1 reduced-fat Keebler Graham Cracker Crust 4 oz. fat-free cream cheese, softened |
1/8 cup (2 Tablespoons) Splenda or sugar 4 oz. fat-free whipped topping, thawed (half of an 8-oz. container) |
||
1. Blend the softened cream cheese and Splenda (or sugar). 2. Fold in the whipped topping. 3. Pour into the pie crust. 4. Top with the cherry pie filling. 5. Chill for at least 2 hours. |
|||
This and That
6
by Elaine Wold
Wahpeton, ND
Daily Valentines
By Cleo King
How sweet to get a valentine
Of plain or fancy art,
A rose so pink and violets too,
Or satin-covered heart.
But more than beauty or design,
We prize the words they say,
The sender's love comes with the gift,
In quite the warmest way.
We like to know that someone cares,
That someone wants to do,
The kindly deed that makes us feel
Well loved and happy too.
So why not give expression then
To love for friends so dear,
Not only on one certain day
But many times a year?
Our valentines may be a smile,
A cheerful word or two,
A helping hand, a tender glance,
That signals "I love you."
And if we often take the time
To give these friendly signs
The world will soon be brightened by
Our daily valentines.
Celebrations & Observances
From the Files of 5
Hetty Hooper
This Week's Special Days:
February 12---Abraham Lincoln's Birthday
February 14---Valentine's Day
This Week's Anniversaries
February 18---Roy and Betty Weiland Droel (13 years)
February Birthdays:
'
February 1---Kathlyn (Johnson) Anderson
February 4---Cameron Birkholz
February 6---Melody Printz
February 6---Kelli Nicole Mellon (7 years old)
February 7---Rylie Johnson (3 years old)
February 28---Eric Anderson
Happy Birthday!
More February Anniversaries
Z
February 24---Jess and Louise Cloyd (61 years)
February 26---Tim and Char Morgan Myron (23 years)
February 28---Junior and Doris Anderson (44 years)
February Special Days
O
February 2---Groundhog Day
February 12---Abraham Lincoln's Birthday
February 14---Valentine's Day
February 20---Presidents' Day
February 22---George Washington's Birthday
Miss Hetty's Mailbox:
Ni hao! Gung hay fat choy!
(Hello & Happy New Year!)
from Shanghai, China
We heard that The Bulletin readers were following our travel-blog and thought a postcard was in order. We head back to Durham, North Carolina, tomorrow, January 28th. We'll continue the blog until we've recounted all our adventures in China.
Sonja and Greg
Happy Chinese New Year!
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?
Everyone!
Miss Hetty
+ LETTERS TO THE EDITORS?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Click here to review last week's Bulletin
Many Thanks for another most interesting Bulletin! I'm like what so many express -- "the kind who read it through from cover to cover." Glad to be on the mailing list!
Lou and Tom Miller
Madera, CA
Illustration © Virginia McCorkell; photos by Melody Printz
"A Mutton Buster named Wade
this week another ride made.
He cinched down his hat
On the sheep tightly sat
But the sheep fell down and there laid."
It all happened so fast that there is no picture of him on the sheep, just a "before" picture! We were at the Black Hills Stock Show for the ranch rodeo and Wade was the mutton buster for one of the competing teams. Even though the ride didn't go as well as he had hoped, we all had fun watching the rodeo. He's already getting his game plan ready for the sheep he plans to ride at the fair this summer ... it's quite a big deal to a 6 year old! :)
Justin and Melody Printz
Edgemont, SD
Last Week's Bulletin Review JKL
by Betty Droel
MoundsView, MN
While Roy works on his taxes, the computer is available for me to start this LTTE for Bulletin #190.
When you started, did you ever think you'd be sending out a #190? They just keep getting better and better, and this LTTE will be a little thanks for all you put into each and every issue.
Bitzi will never run out of little faces to submit to The Bulletin, and with her creative frames, it would be hard not to use them for that first catchy picture.
We do appreciate the UPDATE on Coni. It would be so exciting for her to see a pile of valentines from the subscribers, as was suggested, and Weston would be so happy to deliver them. We are very interested in the progress she is making, and thanks for keeping us informed like you have.
For some reason Breezy Point didn't appeal to me in the winter, but it sounds like Wyatt and family had a great time. I loved that picture -- a happy bunch -- but who is that fellow hiding with the plaid shirt on? Oh yes, I recognize him now! Must be one of The Bulletin scribes.
The Sister's Act, was hilarious. I think they need a weekly update as they tell it like it is. Brooklynn's account of Mom and Dad's Party sounded pretty pathetic. Poor thing didn't enjoy one single thing about it, except maybe the Kool-Aid. I looked up the links, and it was really interesting about the original Kool-Aid events.
The last, but not least, the Catering to the Matriarch. It looked pretty delicious, except I would like my steak a little less rare, thank you. I happened to see the pointy hatted little man just after the dinner, and he was telling about how he hid in the corner, so he could see Doug actually putting this feast on, and had made plans for something he could get in on soon. He didn't like the broccolini ... he thought it was too bitter, so he's opting for some good old mac and cheese ... so, Doug, I'm just warning you.
I can imagine the Wright family have been silently groaning every Saturday morning,
until they finally got back on the mailing list, and next time we hope they include a picture.
Dorothy, I mean, Matriarch, did you HAVE to tell us all about the delicious leftovers, and not even share one single bite with us? I just may have to search the freezer for something to pacify us, like the "No Name Salmon," or something.
The GUESS picture is so familiar that I am disgusted not to think of who they are.
I can hardly wait for next week to find out. Roy had said that was Don's mother in
the GUESS picture last week, but I didn't have any guess. I just spent some time
up in our cold upstairs guest room where we store our pictures, and found a box
of old pictures. So, after I go through them, I just may have some to send to you for
the GUESS, or a related story. We have a nice, cozy downstairs (basement) guest room we use in the winter.
I was digging through my pictures, hoping to find one of the Kaiser in color, but most of them were black and white back then.
Larry, we were so touched with your kindness to Esteban and Domingo. Am
sure they never expected to be treated that well, and from your story they had
responded with appreciation and respect.
We laughed at Beaver's initiation into the barracks. Is he lucky it wasn't worse, or what? The best thing to do is to obey orders even if it meant standing in the position of the next victim to be laughed at/with.
I must say, I have thoroughly enjoyed the Travelogue about the trip to China. A place we will never see, but have heard about so much. All the little details that were included made it so interesting, and pictures to prove it. A trip for the young and adventuresome. We printed ALL the pages in the links, and sat down to read them slowly and with great interest. Thank you for taking time to give us everything but the smells and sounds!
Marloes even has a carrot cake ... not too far from USA fare. A lot of facts about Netherlands that we found helpful as my dad came from Emden, Germany, just across the line from Holland, I'm told. He came over when he was 4, so had no memory of Germany, but we have relations there yet.
I see it takes rutabaga soup to inspire Jerrianne to write an LTTE, but
it was worth it. I made some wild rice soup the other day, and almost
thought of inviting Bitzi and Larry over, but they probably wouldn't have
even eaten it without the secret ingredient. Actually, it was left over from
what we had served to IdaMae and Beatta, but I totally forgot to ask IdaMae
about the rutabaga soup she had had recently. I was disgusted at myself
for forgetting that, but she probably wouldn't have commented, anyway.
I'm still looking for the Carribean Coral color to send to you, Don, but so far no luck. A beautiful mauve, different than any of the color samples you sent or I have seen. Give me time. Maybe an antique car web site.
I think Wade Printz had a little help decorating up with the shaving cream.
Woops, once again this is way too long, but we enjoyed every page of this great #190 Bulletin, and wanted you to know it. Thanks again!!!
Betty and Roy Droel
CHUCKLES
Illustration © Virginia McCorkell
Sweethearts Michael & Sarah Steinhauer
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