Masquerade party tonight...

Eva's pumpkin art

Pumpkin loving Henry

Wednesdays problematic...

I got quite a start this morning. I was doing laundry around 9 o'clock, when someone rang the doorbell. I missed it. I thought it was neighbor Gary who always comes over near the first of the month to pay his rent. He always comes back, so I was not concerned. I thought differently 10 minutes later when I heard a HUGE commotion...2 big firetrucks, an ambulance and police cars. My initial thought was "that sounds really close." For sure...it was for MY house! A neighbor saw the exhaust from my dryer vent, and called the fire department. From her vantage point, she could only see what looked like smoke! It was so humid, that I'm sure it looked like more than dryer exhaust. Anyway, these big guys burst in with axes and equipment! Needless to say there was no fire, and the neighbor felt foolish. The fire department was very nice to me, and even commented on Henry, but they felt a little foolish too. A false alarm :(

Henry's Halloween costume:)

kudos

Congrats to Elle and Eva on great report cards:) I also want to congratulate a co-worker on her successful return to school (Marian) to become a nurse. I was one of her support persons, so I was proud when she got an A in chemistry. You go Sarah!

Nice weekend

Of course it's always nice when the Pack wins, but equally nice when the Vikings lose:) Sorry James, just had to get that dig in. This weekend we borrowed Rick's dog Indy and took some long walks in the beautiful fall weather. It was mild enough on Sunday afternoon for Henry to go as well. I met with a church friend who has an autistic grandchild, and she gave me an update on how he's doing. He really likes Henry, and Grandma asked about respite for the family. It was nice getting caught up with them. Years ago, Paul taught piano to their kids. We also got a few nice 'rainbow bridge' sympathy cards for Steven. Photo is of Indy with Aliyah, who's deciding what she wants to do for a Halloween costume...which explains the lovely hair:)

Thanks to Rick...

A special thanks tonight to Rick for giving me my first flying lesson on the simulator. I 'flew' to Oshkosh using mostly Visual Flight Rules. Then I did the route again trying to use Instrument Flight Rules. It was much harder. I'm very visual so I felt claustrophobic just looking inside the cockpit, but managed to land without crashing. I guess you can 'crash' with these simulators. Paul said I should have had my helmet on:) Thanks again to Rick. It was a great experience and I may revisit my goal of learning how to fly.

early start

This morning Paul and I took an early morning walk in the cold rain:( Sure gets your heart pumping. Later today, co-worker Kristin and I are making a butternut squash casserole, and a fettuccine dish from JoAnn's cookbook. It's nice to try new dishes with folks at work and 'tweak' them to our liking. Tonight Elle joins Paul and I for dinner at Oscar's. A relaxing weekend is planned.

Essie on Steven's bed

Esmeralda slept most of the day on Steven's bed. I think animals mourn in their own way. Carmen, the other female, slept all day on Steve's other bed, which is under the piano. They have never done this before.

thanks a bunch

Thanks to Elise, Eva's friends and our church folks for their kind words on the loss of Steven. Everyone who met Steven will agree to his positive attitude while facing a multitude of physical problems. He was ALWAYS wagging and eager for his walk. Tonight the cats are on to something being different. As my neighbor Julius used to say...cats are no dummies:) Indeed. Thanks folks. We appreciate the kind words and thoughts. Losing a pet is not easy.

a sad day

I brought Steven to the vet today, because of a sore left leg. He had been favoring it since July, but just in the past few days was unable to put any weight on it. It turns out he had quite advanced bone cancer. It is amazing how he kept doing all of his favorite things, with all the pain he must have felt. Sadly, we felt our only option was to euthanize him. The vet felt that the only hope might be amputation, and then the odds are 90% of a return somewhere else. Not good odds, and the recovery would be painful. We will really miss him. Blind since birth, he did everything a typical dog did. He enjoyed many camping trips over his almost 10 years, and our early morning walks won't feel the same without him:( Rest in peace our Steven...now you and McTavish can finally catch those squirrels:)

quiet sunday

Today was a very relaxing day. Actually got a long walk in early, before getting the choir kids to practice and church. Also spent some time with Aliyah. Poor Minnie hurt herself at work and could barely get around. Hopefully she can take some time off this week and recover. Liyah is looking forward to our annual Halloween camping trip, and this year it lands on a Saturday which is terrific. We're getting our monster lights out, and all of our scary things to decorate the site, and Elle is checking her schedule to see when she can join us. Thanks to JoAnn at work for filling in for me...I owe her a favor. Thanks also to Patti for the bushel of apples. We've already made applesauce and dried a batch in the dehydrator. Fall is such a nice season:) Photo is from October 1988...baby Eva.

ravioli with pesto:)

Thanks to Kris from Studio One for the lovely photo of the girls taken before Elise returned to Nashville earlier this month. Next time we get together, she'll be a mom:) Yesterday was a great day at work. We used our 'test' kitchen and made egg noodles from a terrific recipe of 1/2 semolina flour, and 1/2 whole wheat flour, eggs and olive oil. After we rolled them out, we made them into sausage ravioli and topped them with our own pesto, using our basil and parsley. It was a terrific combination. Tonight we're roasting pumpkin seeds and then heading off to the FABULOUS jazz fest at Marian with vocalist Kevin Mahogany. Paul is playing the piano which he helped move to the venue yesterday. It's a large Steinway so it wasn't an easy task. Eva's jazz group was featured yesterday, so tonight she and Elle just get to sit in the audience and enjoy the concert. Nice way to relax.

prayers needed for the family

Yesterday we lost a friend in a car accident in Outagamie County. Steve was a classmate of mine since 1st. grade. My memories of Steve are all positive, although we often got into innocent mischief. My favorite memory is climbing the bell steps at St. Boniface Church over a noon hour, while in 8th. grade. We got in major trouble when Steve grabbed the rope to get his balance...the bells rang out and of course we got caught. Funny what you remember. Condolences to Patrick, Bernard and the family. He was really a great guy...I'm happy to have been a part of his life, albeit briefly.

10 years ago today

Photo is from October of 1999, taken while we were camping at High Cliff. McTavish always loved to camp:) Nice memory of a great dog.

Happy Birthday to brother Jeff!

Birthday wishes go out to brother Jeff as he turns 55:) Photos are from Elle's Gilligan's Island themed birthday party in July of 2000.

big apple, big weekend

We're just back from an extended weekend in New York City, with 40 church folks, friends Clyde and Donna, and my sister Jill. We had a terrific time. We enjoyed a Carnegie Hall concert, Wayne Brady, and the musical Chicago to name a few events. We toured all of Manhattan and ate some wonderful meals together. Another highlight was an audience with New York's Archbishop Tim Dolan, following a mass at St. Pat's Cathedral. The Columbus Day parade (Hispanic version) followed. The weather was perfect with temps in the 60's. The group had such a good time, that everyone is thinking about going again:) Some pics from the trip...

just for fun

Here are a couple of pictures of Elle and her musician friends relaxing. A big weekend is planned up north for band competition, so they have a lot of work ahead.

little helper

Astrid, the 4 year old kitty from Stan's farm helped Paul as he cleaned his office:)

Harvest Moon Stroll

Tonight we strolled through Rienzi Cemetery on their first Harvest Moon Stroll. It was wonderful. The weather was cold, rainy and windy. It was just perfect for the trek around the cemetery. Photos are from tonight.

a few more with her friends...

Homecoming

Although the Cardinals lost and the weather was miserable, the mood is great tonight as Elle and her friends head out to eat. We'll have additional pics of the group later. Thanks to Eva for the photos:)

Congratulations to Bob and Kathy

Congrats today to in-laws Bob and Kathy who celebrate their 22nd. anniversary:) We'll toast tonight with Grandpa's old Bourbon! I remember the wedding very well...there was a snow storm which brought about 4 inches of new snow to Traverse City. Great memories. Happy Anniversary!

travelers arrive safely...

Paul and Elise have arrived safely in Nashville tonight. The latest text I received from Elise is that they are picking up Chinese food for the evening meal. James is back as well from Tasmania, and hopefully everyone can relax tonight after traveling. Elle and I worked on her homecoming dress, and we also worked on a dress for a co-worker's daughter. Things are coming along well, and everyone should look great for the homecoming festivities. Photo tonight is of Henry after a bath. He always preens after a bath, so 'sticking up' feathers happen a lot. It's funny:)