Single tulip
Photo © Jerrianne Lowther
Single Tulip
(Miss Kitty wants to share her pretty tulips with you.)

Updates -

UPDATE -- Coni stays with NIH study
by Weston Johnson
Maple Grove, MN

This past Tuesday, Coni and I flew out to Maryland again. On Wednesday morning, Coni had a CT scan that showed that the spots of cancer on her lungs have remained stable since last time out here. While we were hoping to see some shrinkage of the tumors, the doctors were encouraged that there has been no growth over the past nine weeks, and recommended that Coni proceed with two more rounds of chemo, the first of which started on Wednesday afternoon.

Coni had quite a bit of fatigue during the third cycle of chemo, so she is receiving several new treatments to help prevent that from happening this time around, including an injection of Procrit, which is supposed to help her produce more red blood cells. The injection was painful, but fortunately I didn't have to give her this shot -- the nurse gets the blame this time! Coni also received a tranfusion of two units of blood, which will help her get her energy back. The doctors also prescribed iron pills as another line of defense against fatigue.

I returned to Minnesota on Thursday morning, but Coni's sister Kristi flew out to Maryland on Wednesday night and will spend the rest of the week with Coni. They will come back to Minnesota on Monday morning.

Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers again this week. You can send e-mails and e-cards to her here: c_waltzing@hotmail.com.


UPDATE -- Diana Martin
by Diana Mellon Martin
Coon Rapids, MN

I see the oncologist today for the first time, so will hopefully know more about treatment and etc. afterward.

The sore spot that I was somewhat worried about turned out to be gas, of all things, and took care of itself, but it sure was miserable for a while! I've had an ongoing bladder problem for about a week, but, fortunately, no infection, so it is believed to be part and parcel of the healing process. Time will tell.

I hope and pray everything is going well for Coni, and really look forward to reading about her progress in The Bulletin.

Hope you are well. Love......Diana



Photos © Jerrianne Lowther
Double Tulips


UPDATE -- from Heidi & Ryan
by Heidi Johnson Henderson
Albuquerque, NM

Sorry I haven't been very responsive lately ... I don't have any good excuse, just busy.

We just finished up the ski season. We got to go to Wolf Creek Ski Area (in Colorado) a while back. The first time we went, we skied all day in an amazing snow storm. It snowed 22" that day. To say the least, it was great skiing. Ryan and I skied double black diamond runs all day. It sounds talented of us, but with so much snow on the ground it was pretty easy... :)

I'm sorry that we couldn't be with you all for your birthday party. I really wanted to be there, so thank you for the pictures in The Bulletin so that we could join in a little bit! Looks like you had quite a crowd there to celebrate with you!

I just finished up my spring semester last Thursday. The final was really easy ... only took me 10 minutes to finish it. It was an easy A. And though I didn't think I would, I learned a little bit, too. :) So I guess it was a successful class. I am now just getting ready to register for my summer semester. I hope to take a full load and try to get through my degree as fast as possible.

This last Sunday, my irises started to bloom, I was very excited! They remind me of Minnesota and Mom and Dad's house. I just love how they smell! Yummy!

We had a little bit of an exciting start to the week last week. Chuck (Ryan's dad) fell off a ladder and broke one of his vertebrae. Being I was the closest to their house, I helped Tami get him to the hospital. He is all right ... just in a lot of pain. We were all glad that he was OK because so much worse could have happened!

I guess that is all the news I have right now. I hope that you and Grandpa are doing well. Ryan and I will be flying up to Minnesota in August and I hope that we can see you then. It's hard to believe that it's been almost a year since we were up there for our wedding! It will be great to see everyone again!


Ryan & Heidi (Johnson) Henderson at Wolf Creek Ski Area April 1.


UPDATE -- signs of spring
by Betty (Weiland) Droel
MoundsView, MN

One morning we discovered a little House Finch was building a nest in our hanging planter just outside the kitchen window. There were artificial Poinsettias in it that we had planned to take down now that it was spring ... now we couldn't. They didn't care, and soon there were three little eggs in the nest. The mother was on the nest continually, only flying away when we came out the back door. We saw the father come and feed the mother. From his beak to hers. It was really quite touching how dedicated and concerned they were for their eggs and each other.

Then, one day, little tiny fuzz balls showed up in the nest. We enjoyed watching them grow, through the kitchen window just a couple feet from the nest. It was so touching to see the attention the parents were giving them. Soon we saw some feather like covering. As another week or two went by we saw them walking all around the planter. They had grown way too big for all of them in one nest anymore.

So, this morning when I stepped out to get the paper, I saw this baby House Finch perched on the edge of the planter, and while I watched from just two feet away, the little bird left the planter and soared up into the air to a tree a long way away. No problem -- didn't even hesitate. Then I realized that, since last night, they had all left. I was pleased that I did get to watch the last one leave.

Nature is so wonderful, and a perfect plan man could never improve upon.


Photo © Betty Droel
House Finch nest April 12th. Today, the 27th, the last one has just flown away.


UPDATE -- from sunny Arizona
by Ruth (Weiland Swanson) Kitto
Apache Junction, AZ

GREETINGS from the Valley of the Sun!

I believe I must be the only one from ARIZONA that is a subscriber?

Some of you may know me from years back. You maybe know that after high school, I went to the Minneapolis Business College.

Cap'n Jack has already given you a bit of history -- Vernon Swanson's parents passed away when he was 10 and 11 years old. He went to Nisswa to the William/Addie Curtis farm -- called the Jack Pine Farm -- and was there until he enlisted in the U.S. Navy.

I, being a patriotic person, wrote to various servicemen -- as did many others at that time -- and that led to a friendship that led to our marriage in 1947.

We lived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, for the last year of Vern's enlistment. After that was completed we returned to Minnesota to live.

Editors' Note: You are not the only subscriber we have in Arizona. Don's Aunt Lolly and cousin Debbie do get The Bulletin ... and if you do a search, you will find they have both written for us in the past. You are the only one from Apache Junction, though. Also, our Photo Editor was a Phoenix resident from 1967 until 1975, when she moved to Alaska. Jerrianne has many fond memories of Arizona ... and remembers Apache Junction as the gateway to the Superstition Mountains and the Pinal Pioneer Parkway -- the scenic "back road" to Tucson. (Check the "Where" link to learn who lives where.)


Day to Day R
With Donna Mae
Ashby, MN

Jayce Hosts A New Friend: Ted E. Bear

Jayce got to bring "Ted E. Bear" home for a visit from kindergarten; in fact, he had him two nights. This is Ted's new outfit, that we gave him. Ted visits each of the kindergarten children and this is his second time around. Before he heads back to class we are to write in his notebook, about what he got to do while at our house. This gives the teacher a chance to learn more about her students and them to learn more about one another and their home lives. Rather a fun concept.


Jayce & Ted E. Bear (wearing new outfit).


Fun With Legos

They've been busy building Lego things lately, so here's one of Caity's houses and the boys, Austin Schroeder (Oscar, as Dad calls him!) and Jayce's "vehicles" ... they have a good imagination and came up with some very interesting results; this is just one of many!


Photos © Donna Johnson
Caity builds houses, left; Austin & Jayce go in for "vehicles," right.


Now here's a site that can really add to your recipe collection!

Recipe Source
http://www.recipesource.com/


And here's a great springtime site!
P. Allen Smith
http://www.pallensmith.com/


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

Mother's Day 2006
A Tribute to Amy Mellon Dake

As the present Matriarch of the Dake family, I invite you to help us pay tribute to Amy Mellon Dake, the Mother of the Dake Family -- whether she was your mother, your grandmother, your great grandmother, your aunt, your borrowed mother, or your friend.

Please write a short paragraph telling us what she meant to you. We hope everyone who knew her will join in, so please keep your comments to one brief paragraph -- and please do participate in this special memory page. (We have some very nice tributes, so far.)


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. Thanks to Ginny McCorkell for sending last week's mystery pictures.)


How many can you identify? (The more, the merrier!)

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

My guess is Greg and Jenny Dake, Ernie and Carolyn's children.

Melanie Lehtola
Howard Lake, MN

Editor's comment: You are correct and also first to answer -- Congratulations!


The GUESS pictures are a puzzle to me this time. I am guessing that the girl on the right is one of Mitzi and Sheldon's girls. I am guessing that the boy is going to be a very intelligent student. That's quite a project he has there.

Betty Droel
MoundsView, MN


I don't think the proud parent part of us ever diminishes. When I saw my kids' pictures pop up on Guess Who, my heart did a little jump. Pictures really do preserve the memories and refresh your heart. Those two kids (Greg Dake and Jennie Dake Horne) mean the world to me.

Carolyn Miller Dake
Duluth, GA


LTD Storybrooke

We had our first lambs of the season born this morning! A black one and a white one, born to a black ewe lamb! --LTD

The Ayes Have It
by Larry Dake

I was recently diagnosed as having Acute Retinal Necrosis. That means "fast death of the retina." The retina is that part of the eye that corresponds to the film in a camera. It captures the light that enters the eye through the pupil and lens.

The retina in my right eye was attacked by the same virus that causes both Chicken Pox and Shingles. The virus was likely latent in some cells in my body ever since I was born with the Chicken Pox in 1955. For some unknown reason, 50 years later, my body let down its guard and the virus reactivated -- in my eye!

The symptoms I first had -- mild pain, sensitivity to light, and eventually peripheral vision loss -- were thought to be from a bacterial infection. That was ruled out because the condition didn't respond to antibiotics. Then it was thought to be from an inflammatory condition called iritis, and I was put on an anti-inflammatory medication. That didn't help either.

I was then referred to a retinal specialist in Fargo, who sent me directly to another specialist at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul, who has experience with this rare disease. He put me on a very expensive antiviral medication -- $2,000 a month -- and gave me an injection of the same, directly into my eyeball, with a long, shiny needle.

After a week or so passed, nearly the entire retina separated from the back of my eye. It came down like a curtain over my vision. It's been likened to wallpaper coming off a wall. I was again rushed from the Fargo doctor to the University doctor in St. Paul. I had emergency surgery to "put the wallpaper back on the wall." I was awake, but relaxed, during the surgery.

The doctor pumped out the vitreous gel that fills the orb of the eye (while he visited with his nurse about his upcoming family vacation in Aspen, Colorado). The vitreous had become clouded by blood and debris. As it was extracted, it was replaced with a watery liquid. The parts of the retina that had been destroyed by the virus were then removed. What remained of the retina was smoothed back into place with tiny tools while the doctor looked into my eye with a microscope. It was like he was putting the wallpaper back onto the wall.

A small light was inserted into the eye so he could see what he was doing. Then a tiny laser gun was used to "tack" the retina back to the wall of the eye. Next, silicon oil was injected into the clear liquid. The oil rises in the liquid and pushes against the retina. It helps hold the retina in place until it re-attaches by healing. I needed to keep my head down most of the time for ten days, to keep the oil pushing the retina against the wall.

My sight in the affected eye has been improving gradually. Some of the peripheral vision will never come back, but it now seems hopeful that I will have much of my vision restored in that eye. At some point, the silicone oil will need to be removed.

I will likely be staying on the antiviral medication for six months to a year, to try to prevent necrosis in the retina of my remaining "good" eye.

There is a better than 70 percent chance the good eye will not be affected. However, if it does become infected by the virus, I would expect less damage with an earlier diagnosis.

I returned to work this week. Sherry has been working for me during my absence, in between shuffling me to and from the numerous eye doctor appointments. She's been doing an extraordinary job keeping up with all the extra demands this has put on her.

Opening my eye one morning and seeing nothing was a bit disconcerting. Thanks to the doctors, the drug companies, and Sherry, I am hopeful of a nearly complete recovery. We'll just have to wait and see!

(Yes, we do have health insurance coverage.)


Big Wheels!

Kids on wheels (1979): Kurt Larson, Jason Quick, Justin Blackstone, Penny Miller, Lori Chap, Derrick McNeill, Becky Chap, Darrin McNeill.

The wheels in these photos had been around as long as I can remember, and when Mom and Dad retired and moved from the farm, and my family started living there, the kids started playing with them. Whoever wanted a ride got pulled up and down the road by the other kids. I still have the wheels and the milk can, memories that I don't want to part with.

Gert Dake Pettit
Howard Lake, MN

(Click here for Doug Anderson's story, "The Carriage," about these very wheels.)


$  A Long Time Ago   !

Ruth (Miller) Collings, one of our father's first cousins, gave me a copy of a 12-page manuscript her father had written in 1960 of his growing up years (1880s-1905) near Ashby, Minnesota. This excerpt concludes that manuscript, but it is not the end of the story. Stay tuned -- for an amazing news story and photos of his exquisite inlaid wood artistry next week. --Jerrianne

On November 1, 1960, our great uncle Edward W. Miller wrote:

EARLY EMPLOYMENT
by Edward W. Miller
Ontario, CA

There were two [school] terms: first, one of three months, then a break during the coldest month, and another four month term. The school board told me that they preferred to have a man teacher because the two previous lady teachers had too much difficulty managing some of the big boys.

For the first three months' term, I received $20 a month and paid my own room and board. I managed to persuade the clerk of the school board to take me in, for which I paid them $5 per month for board and room. I applied for the second term but upped my price to $25. By that time I had not only gotten well acquainted with the clerk's family but also with the Mrs.'s younger sister, whose family lived on a farm not too far away. I don't recall her name and doubt that I would know her if I saw her, but we did have some happy times together.

Like most other farms, there was a barn where the farm animals were kept and the winter supply of hay was stored. Mr. _ had intended to have a sling installed to unload hay. It would be carried on a track located in the peak of the barn and would be operated by a rope, to which a team of horses was hitched. I told him that if he would furnish the necessary material, I would build the overhead track and install the equipment. I did the job on Saturdays, and by so doing, paid for my board and room.

In the meantime, I got in touch with the Metropolitan Business College in Minneapolis and received an offer to teach in one of their branch schools. As soon as my country school had closed, I went to the Minneapolis school to brush up on commercial work, as I had made no use of it after leaving Fergus Falls.

It was while I was in Minneapolis that an attorney from New Ulm, Minnesota, called at the school to get a young man to work in his law office and study law. Someone in the school recommended me. The lawyer said if I would come, he would make an attorney of me. I did not accept, and maybe that was one of my numerous mistakes.


Edward William Miller married Ruth Young while they were both teaching at Chaffey Union High School in Ontario, California. He later went on to become a building contractor. Employed by the U.S. military as a skilled cabinet maker on Kodiak Island during World War II, Edward W. Miller was the first Alaska resident on our father's side of the family. He sent me an Eskimo doll that I still have.

Edward and Ruth had five children. He died in 1964, preceded in death by his wife, Ruth, in 1951.


Edward Miller's nephew Donald B. Johnson recalled, "Uncle Edward sent us a big box of tangerines from California one year. They were kept at the bottom of the basement stairs and it was my job or privilege to go down and get three every night -- a big one for me, a middle-sized one for Daddy, and a small one for Mama. I've been told that I never got fooled on the size!"


Edward Miller, teacher (circa 1905)


Travelogue t

Greg and Sonja Dake left Durham, 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.


Photo © Greg & Sonja Dake
Chinese architecture -- street scene in Shanghai.

Another Taxi Adventure
(posted by Sonja)

The taxi ride back to the hotel was interesting, as well; the driver knew the general area but not the exact location of the hotel. We got close and he started pointing around different buildings. My small bit of Mandarin finally came in handy as I could point and say, "Zai nar! Shi zai nar!" (Over there, it's over there).

He was, I believe, more relieved than I to get there, as when we pulled up to the entrance he took both hands off the wheel and said something that must have meant, "Thank goodness!"

This resulted in him running up onto the curb with both passenger side wheels of the cab! He looked at me, I looked at him, and we both just broke out laughing. The hotel employees waiting to help me out were laughing, and two other hotel guests outside were laughing. I seem to cause quite the humorous incidents when I venture out around here!

Which reminds me of another funny incident, earlier this week. I had walked to the Carrefour and was walking back to the hotel. It was raining and I had a hotel umbrella, which probably made it hard to distinguish me as any different than anyone else on the sidewalk. One guy riding his bicycle the same way as I was walking passed me and glanced my way as he did. He did the classic double-take and just stared at me for a second, and only narrowly avoided smashing into the back of a car parked on the side of the road because of it. He managed to swerve and miss it but I don't know how.

I was biting my lip not to laugh out loud at him but the other pedestrians around had no such qualms. They were all laughing loudly at him. So that's how I found out that Chinese people can blush, because the guy turned as red as the traffic light ahead of us.

And that's all I have time for today, I'm meeting Greg and some of his co-workers at their office for a dinner and shopping outing in an hour or so, and I still need to get some stuff packed before I go or we'll be up all night getting things ready for Lijiang tomorrow.


Plans For Next Week
(posted by Sonja)

Thursday, January 19, 2006. Looks like we are headed to Lijiang, in the Yunnan province of China, next week, leave Saturday and return Wednesday. It's the far southwestern part of the country. Beijing and the Great Wall would be very cold and snowy; Lijiang is shirtsleeve weather. We've been advised to bring sunscreen and hats, as well as cold weather clothes for climbing Snow Mountain! Anyone who wants more info can put Lijiang into Google; I found lots of links while researching it.

Here is the itinerary straight from the guide company [with Chinese characters deleted by editors]

Qiangsheng Corporate Travel

SHANGHAI QIANGSHENG INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL SERVICE CO., LTD.

Group Memo

Group Target:
Lijiang travel (2 persons), 21 Jan-25 Jan 2006

Routing:
D1: Fly to Lijiang, visit the Tiger Leaping Gorge and check in at Lijiang Hotel.
D2: Bus to Dali, Visit the Dali Three Pagodas, Butterfly Spring, the Old City of Dali and western street. Stay at Dali.
D3: Visit the Erhai Lake and Erhai Park by boat (Bai people's a song and dance, tea culture) Return to Lijiang.
D4: Visit Yulong Snow Mountain, Yunshanping, Ganhai zi and Baishui River. In the evening, enjoy the Naxi Ancient Music Concert.
D5: Visit the Lijiang old city, and return to Shanghai.

Service:
1. Accommodation:

2. Transportation: travel bus (Jinbei van) Air-Ticket: Round travel from Shanghai to Lijiang.

3. Sight Tickets: The first toll ticket fee (Including Yunshanping' ropeway, and the Naxi Ancient Music Concert fee. Non-including Yulong snow mountain telpher)

4. English guide: local English guide

5. Non-including meal (The guide will advise to guest)

The Notice Of Travel

Our Respectful Travelers:

Before our traveling to the Lijiang and Dali, now let us inform you some notes you should pay attention in advance:

1. Detailed information about the Average, Maximum and Minimum Temperatures and the rainfall in Lijiang and Dali. Average Data Jan in Lijiang and Dali.

Average High (F) 59/63
Average High (C) 15/17
Average Low (F) 37/41
Average Low (C) 3/5
Rain (in) 0.2/0.4
Rain (mm) 4/9

The temperature is different a lot when night falls, please attention to keep warm, it is better for you to prepare brumal [winter] apparel.

2. It is forbidden to carry the sharp material such as the knife and fork etc, contraband and some food with unusual smell as well as the condiment. Please carry about your valuables such as different kinds of cash, jewellery, camera and watches etc. Keep in remind that don't put these objects in the luggage for consigning. You will be responsible for it if these objects are lost or damaged in the course of consigning.

3. The guide will welcome to guest at airport with name brand. Please contact with Mr. Tan Rong-13708449145 if any urgent local questions.

4. Requisite: suntan oil, umbrella, sunglasses. The ultraviolet radiation is heavy.

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 also provide the links to the blog, for those who are interested:

Web Log: http://sonjas-travels.blogspot.com/



Miss Kitty makes a birthday wish.

The Miss Kitty Letters*
By Miss Kitty

Miss Kitty Is Three!

My birthdays just keep getting better -- just like me! Did you see those tulips? Five single tulips and lots of double tulips ... because some of them were two or three blossoms per stem. And they were lovely shades of pink and mauve. I love mauve. It sounds so ... so sophisticated -- like me! So what, if that painter James Whistler said "Mauve is just pink trying to be purple"? Mauve is an important color -- it made history! Besides, Queen Victoria thought it was elegant enough to wear to her daughter's wedding -- and so do I.

But tulips were just the beginning! There was cake with strawberries and whipped cream and three candles! I got to make a wish -- and this year I was careful not to singe my whiskers! I'm not all that keen on strawberries and cake ... well, I can take the cake or leave it ... but whipped cream! Oh, boy, whipped cream really lights my candles! Of course, I just had to have a taste ... but I was very polite ... just sampled a bit from the back so it wouldn't mess up the pictures!

And I got cards and presents -- lots of them. I have secret admirers, you know, and they didn't forget my birthday. There's a brand new "purr pad" ... a soft material that is so comfy to rest on ... and if I stretch out my claws and knead it a bit, it fluffs up all nice and cozy ... kind of ruins it for pictures, but it's just great for snuggling. I keep several around in my favorite chairs and my bed.

I got a soft, bright, fluffy ball that you can see in the picture and a lovely white, furry mouse with a feather for a tail ... and gourmet catnip ... Mmmm! Good! And a new copy of "Da Bird" to play with and kitty stickers and catnip flavored "bubble" solution for blowing bubbles -- even a fat roll of paper towels printed with kitties. When I got too rambunctious chasing bubbles during the picture taking and knocked over the tulips, I noticed that Miss Jerrianne got a rag and wiped up the water I spilled ... she didn't just grab the new kitty paper towels and mop. I appreciated that.

And the cards! My goodness, they were so fun! One had four little kittens and another one had a cat with a frosted cupcake with a candle for a hat! And one of the cards was all hand made, especially for me, with a lovely personal message and lots of pictures -- even a picture of ME! Now that's special! And one of them had a charming shiny gold name tag that says "Miss Kitty" inside. That IS me! Miss Jerrianne put it on my harness, so in case I ever got lost I would be easy to identify ... and with my microchip tag, one phone call would find Miss Jerrianne immediately.

I don't know whether you remember that Mr. William Shakespeare and I celebrate our birthdays on the same day ... well, I don't suppose he's been celebrating recently, now that I think about it, but I did want to mention a lovely book that ties those two thoughts together, as you might enjoy it, too. It's called Shakespeare Cats by Susan Herbert. She's British, you know ... like Mr. Shakespeare. Miss Jerrianne thinks I may have had ancestors in Thailand, but I'm an all American Alaska cat now!

So thank you, to all of you who helped make my birthday so special -- you know who you are!

Miss Kitty

For more Miss Kitty adventures, check out my web log.


Miss Kitty with cards and presents, left, and a shiny, gold name tag, right.


Skinny Recipes  6
from Donnie Anderson
Isanti, MN

Fresh off the presses! We just prepared this meal for tonight's dinner. It was fabulous! A delicious meal in under 15 minutes! Weight Watcher's = 5 points per serving. --Don and Patty dopaerza@netzero.net

Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Ginger Lemon Sauce
& Stir-Fried Snow Peas

1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. five-spice powder
1 lb. pork tenderloin, sliced 1/2" thick
2 Tbsp. green onions, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. minced ginger
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp. water
2 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced

2 tsp. canola oil
2 tsp. minced ginger
4 cups snow pea pods, fresh
1 cup green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper


1. Combine first 3 ingredients and rub evenly over pork. Heat a large, non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Coat with cooking spray. Add pork to pan and brown about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and keep warm.

2. Add next 3 ingredients (onions through garlic) to pan and saute 1 minute, until fragrant, stirring constantly.

3. Add next 6 ingredients (sherry through soy sauce) to pan. Bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.

4. Combine water and cornstarch in a small bowl, add to pan and cook 30 seconds, or until slightly thickened. Return pork to pan and heat through. Serve topped with 1/4 cup green onions.

Stir-Fried Snow Peas (ingredients listed in second column, above): Heat oil in non-stick skillet or wok over high heat. Add ginger and snow peas and stir-fry 1 minute.

Add green onions and saute 30 seconds. Add water and cook 30 seconds more, or until snow peas are tender crisp, stiring constantly. Stir in salt and pepper and enjoy!

Yield: 4 servings; 248 Calories, 5 W.W. points per serving.


Photo © Donald L. Anderson
Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Ginger Lemon Sauce
& Stir-Fried Snow Peas

Click here for the Skinny Recipes collection.


Celebrations & Observances
From the Files of
5
Hetty Hooper

This Week's Special Days
May 1---May Day (hanging May baskets day)

This Week's Birthdays
April 30---Kurtis James Larson
May 1---Frans de Been
May 4---Beau Birkholz
Happy Birthday!

More May Birthdays
' 
May 7---Ben Johnson
May 7---Kim Mellon (Tim's wife)
May 10---Curt Henderson
May 12---James Dake
May 14---Ernie Dake
May 14---Tyler James Indermark (1 year)
May 16---Angelique Ann Freesemann
May 17---Dwight Anderson
May 19---Ryan Hellevang
May 22---Dan Henderson
May 23---Don Pettit
May 25---Amy Ellen Dake
May 26---Rick Anderson
May 27---Tracer Scott Roberson (8 years)
May 28---Jazmine Jane Hill (3 years)
May 28---Jason Hunt
May 29---Kristi Kay Larson Indermark
May 31---Mavis Anderson Morgan

May Anniversaries
Z
May 14---Roddy and Alisha McNeill (1 year)
May 16---Nathan and Brenda Anderson Hill (10 years)
May 27---Dwight and Janie Anderson (35 years)
May 31---Tom and Mavis Anderson Morgan (49 years)

May Special Days
O
May 1---May Day (hanging May baskets day)
May 8---VE Day (Victory in Europe)
May 14---Mother's Day
May 20---Armed Forces Day
May 29---Memorial Day (observed)

Miss Hetty's Mailbox:

Dear Miss Hetty,

Want to thank you for the card. Unfortunately there are no pictures or anything to share with you. I worked at the grocery store until 6 and then at about 8, Eddie did take me to a Dairy Queen style place in Elbow Lake for my birthday dinner. Linda was the only one out of my family that remembered me on my day; she also sent an e-card.

Thanks much for the thought.

Peggy McNeill
Ashby, MN


Miss Hetty Says

(Sarah Dake Steinhauer sent this lovely photo to Ginny McCorkell, who sent it on to us.)


Photo © Sarah Steinhauer
Hepatica -- Earliest Spring Wildflowers!


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

Nice to take a break from my Saturday housecleaning and read some of The Bulletin!

Shari, you just don't know what you missed by passing on the okra on your visit to see "The Little Engine that Could"! I ate it every chance I got on our recent trip to Texas. :>) (Of course it helps if you grew up eating it.) :>) Cut up, dipped in egg, then cornmeal, then fried ... can't be beat.

I'll have to admit it takes a little "getting used to" to eat it boiled, though. Probably helps if you "practice" for the experience by eating raw oysters or raw eggs or something else nice and slimey. :>) However, when stewed with tomatoes and onions, the sliminess is moderated a bit.

I'm wondering ... is the Don Kitto who is Ken's son the Don Kitto who lived in Laramie, Wyoming, at one time? Harold's dad and mom (Leslie and Elizabeth Printz) lived in Laramie for many years ... so we knew quite a number of people there during that time ... including a Don Kitto.

Back to the housecleaning....

Carol Dake Printz
Sidney, NE


Wow! Loved The Bulletin! It just keeps on being amazing. Except reading and seeing those delicious looking recipes makes me hungry each time. :-) It was good to see Mitzi and Sheldon had such a fun trip, so glad they shared! Although that sunburn looks painful! Fun reading, from both our Loris!

Donna Anderson Johnson
Ashby, MN

Hi, I'm really missing the LTD stories.

Markie Johnson
Long Lake, MN


I just finished the latest edition and boy, was it a humdinger! It doesn't surprise me that Keith and Lori ran into a troll in Big Bear Lake; that area has been a hotbed of troll activity since the 50's. The little fellow they ran into seems so compliant ... like he WANTS to be photographed!

Puzzled in St. Cloud
Doug Anderson
St. Cloud, MN


Edward Miller's School Days story reminded me so much of my grandmother. She graduated from Grinnell, Iowa, High School with a normal training degree and began teaching one room schools about 1884.

The farm boys had to pick corn in the fall and plant corn in the spring so only went the winter term. That took three years to complete one year and many of them were 21 or 22 when she was teaching them and she was 18 or 19.

One of her students later became Grinnell's most popular doctor; he delivered my brother in 1928.

Let me say those graduation pictures of Edward and his sister looked so sophisticated -- compare them to a group of high school graduation students today. I'm terribly old fashioned, I know, but blue jeans and tank tops don't look very sophisticated to me. (Now I've said it!)

Jess Cloyd
Hot Springs, SD


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

I can't foresee enough time other than right now to sit down to send you our thanks again for another great Bulletin. This is Sunday afternoon. I just read it over again. I love seeing the pictures on the screen as they are so clear and sharp and the colors so vivid. Not the same in printing them, but when I print The Bulletin it is easy to read over again anytime. To click on the links makes it more detailed, as there are things included that there wouldn't be room for in The Bulletin and they enhance the story.

I always look forward to that first cover picture. (I suppose next week will be Miss Kitty and her third birthday cake.) Can't say that Tate and Jake have a bad dog's life, can we?

We do appreciate keeping up on details of the treatments and condition of both Coni and Diana, so thanks for giving them to us as complete as you did. Our thoughts are certainly with them and their families, and you, Weston.

On a very "up note," we have the fun of hearing about this lake home by Lori Chap. I am trying not to be envious by thinking of all we have to enjoy right here at home in our older years. Takes a young family to really make the most of time at the lake. Also, the Huseby's will have to be sure to update the latest events of their move.

I was so shocked to see the TROLL out there in California now. That little fellow really gets around, and looks like he's got Keith and Lori wrapped right around his ugly little finger. So that's where he is ... Big Bear Lake. Well, Doug, enjoy your peace and quiet until he somehow gets a ride back here to see you. I suppose he's going to be getting lonesome for you before too long. Please let us know if you have any Troll sightings, Doug -- and we will watch for him, too. He has so many disguises that you never know it's him until you get close enough to -- well, smell. Anyone who doesn't know about the Troll can just click on this link to Doug's story.

I was amazed at Rylie's coloring on the Easter basket. Looks like Virginia will have some competition to worry about. Of course Grandma Dorothy, the Matriarch and Editor has to claim some attention with her fancy, colorful basket. Let's hear it for our DOROTHY!!!!!!! Eighty years old and still enjoying every single little thing.

I was so surprised and pleased to see Jim Miller's pictures with his family on "The Little Engine That Could." Actually, he should be right up here in this most beautiful spring weather. You don't need Florida this time of the year. Then maybe we could get a glimpse of him, too.

I marvel at the time it took to get all those eggs colored and hidden and found and I must say that Donna Mae is one busy, happy, organized lady. Always making it interesting for her family and relations. And finding time to share it all with us in The Bulletin. I really admire you, Donna Mae, and these are the wonderful years of life when your children are so much fun, even if they are a lot of work.

You even have time to look in on your Mom and Dad, and thanks for showing us the new workbench. Soon won't be room for the car in there, Don.

A Long Time Ago was easy reading, and it sounds like some things Roy tells about in his very young years. Like boarding in town to be able to attend high school, etc. Edward Miller resembles Donald B. Johnson in the round face and the eyes. I wonder how many generations he was before Donald?

Photo Editor's Note: Edward W. Miller was Donald B. Johnson's uncle ... and Donald has written about how he would have preferred to look like his Norwegian father when he was a youngster ... and often lamented his "round Dutchman's head"!

That is such an interesting detailed diary of Greg and Sonja's travels in China. You could just picture it all, shopping. You'd have to be pretty sharp to stay ahead of the ones targeting foreigners. Good thing he took "no thanks" for a final answer.

I was shocked at the size of the crew Ary Ommert is in there in the Netherlands. He said there were 25 more not on the picture. What an operation, and still he has taken time to send us pictures and stories for The Bulletin. Thank you. We are so fascinated by what's going on across the ocean, even to the tulips in bloom.

OK, Mitzi and Sheldon, just go ahead and send pictures of a great vacation in that famous place. That pineapple was quite a work of art. No wonder you shared your piña colada served in it -- it was huge. Sounded like you had wonderful days, and I am sure you earned and deserved every moment of it. No bugs -- a dream!!!

Sudoku -- Roy can do it, but it doesn't hold his attention like the JigZone puzzles that come every day on the computer. He is so persistant to finish even the hardest ones, and I enjoy the finished product but NOT doing them myself. No patience!

I fixed some asparagus like you mentioned about the green beans, Donnie. I thought they were delicious baked in the oven like that. We don't have a grill.

What a flood of memories come back, seeing that picture of the Millers and Marjorie as I turned the page. Who would have thought it would be Great Grandpa Jim in the same issue of The Bulletin? Time goes too fast and brings many changes.

Once again, it was "Good To The Last Dot," and thank you for Bulletin #201 that captured our interest until the last sentence.

Betty Droel

CHUCKLES


Photo illustration © Virginia McCorkell

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Quotation for the day: All through the long winter, I dream of my garden. On the first day of spring, I dig my fingers deep into the soft earth. I can feel its energy, and my spirits soar. --Helen Hayes

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