Chanhassen, MN Update: Jarby

Lee & I visiting Mayan Ruins in Belize.  Amazing!

Status Updates: 2010
First Quarter

• The fabulous trip to Belize - adventure at it’s best.  Hiking, biking, kayaking, diving, Mayan Ruins, howler monkeys - and marvelous relaxation.
• Snowshoeing adventures at the Minnesota 
Landscape Arboretum.   Ahhh.  So peaceful 
and great photo moments.

  

  "Girl Band Plus Jeff" following
  our show at Whiskey Junction in Minneapolis

   
• Jarby joins a rock band - plays keyboards.  Another item off the “bucket list.”  Now THIS is how we do retirement!  “Girl Band Plus Jeff” (Jeff is our drummer) rocked Whiskey Junction in February (and May, and October)

Playing synth and keyboards.  What a blast!

Second Quarter

• Travel to Chillicothe, Ohio to watch my godson, Cameron graduate from high school.  Was fun to watch his band play and to experience a wild few games of "Wii Rock Band" with him.  And to say he is a terrific drummer!



Picking out "stage wear" is a ho

• Piano time in high gear - leaning to play jazz.  Electric guitar lessons/practice fill the house with “unique” sounds.  Cats hide in protest.  Go through lots of ear plugs for some reason???  LOL.
• The gardening projects heat up - glad to be at the maintenance stage.  My knees object to all that work.

Third Quarter

• Yet another trip to Denver this year - celebrating my uncle Oliver’s 94th birthday.
• Jarby’s Jazz Trio - “The Malbec Method” - plays at an outdoor festival in 94 degree heat.  Even the cool jazz didn’t help.   Bad, bad hair day!  Thank goodness for my fedora!
• Add new instruments to the collection.  Remember melodicas????  And then, there is the “Stylophone”
• Piano time in high gear - leaning to play jazz.  Electric guitar lessons/practice fill the house with “unique” sounds.  Cats hide in protest.  Go through lots of ear plugs for some reason???  LOL.

Got brave and played lead guitar on the
Red Hot Chili Peppers "Otherside" tune. 
About as hard rock as I can manage!  LOL.

Fourth Quarter

•  GB+J plays Whiskey Junction again with a new lead singer and two guitarists (yes, I made my public debut on one song!).  Keyboards are my thing, however.
• Annual trip to LA.  Thanksgiving in West Hollywood.  Always a crazy time.  Lot’s of good celebrity sightings.  Jane Lynch from Glee, Neil Sedaka (Breaking Up Is Hard To Do).  Loved the Griffith Observatory
• Unexpected long Denver trip.  Right before the holidays.  Moved my uncle into a great Assisted Living community in NW part of metro.  He’s very happy with new home and best gift of all -- he is safe and has 24 hr medical care on the premise. 

Ready for my martini!

 In Conclusion

It is always a great pleasure to pull this annual epistle together -- it is still a terrific way for all of us to stay connected in that "sisterhood" thing we promised to uphold.

 Until next year!

Jarby

Bozeman MT Update: Deb H.

OMG!  I can hardly believe that 2011 is nearly here!  It has been quite an exciting year here at the Hoffert houses.

Let’s see, where were we last year at this time?  Oh yeah, my very pregnant new daughter-in-law was here for a visit while Chris was in Iraq.  She headed back to Hawaii on New Year’s Eve.  As her due date approached, we wondered if Chris would be able to get back to Hawaii to be there for the birth.  Somehow it all came together and he did arrive in time to help with the delivery of his little girl who was born on March 19^th.  He was given extended leave since Allie had no one else to help her take care of baby Caroline Adair.  Sadly, Chris had to go back to Iraq for a few months.  Around the beginning of June, Chris called to see if he could send Allie and little Caroline to Bozeman for a visit.  Seems she was somewhat depressed and was having a hard time taking care of baby on her own.  Now, what kind of grandparents would we be if we said no to this?  Allie and baby Caroline (named after her great grandma who also has red hair) came for a visit and arrived around the 19^th of June.  They were able to stay until the 25^th of July and arrived back in Hawaii just a few days before Chris came home from Iraq.  We had such a good time bonding with them both!  But now, we miss them terribly!

Adair turned 18 on March 6^th and graduated on June 6^th.  She has decided to attend The Academy of Cosmetology here in Bozeman.  There she will be learning about hair, makeup and nails.  However, since we have been talking about another trip to Hawaii, and they don’t like new students being gone for long periods of time, we have put off getting her enrolled.  Our 10 day trip originally was planned for between Oct and Dec of this year, but now has been postponed until Feb.  In the meantime, she has found a part time job at one of our grocery stores working in the floral dept.  She has a guy friend (we don’t call him boyfriend) she has been seeing for about 6 months now.  Austin seems very nice and respectful and, for Adair’s convenience, lives only a mile away.  She spends her spare time drawing, crocheting, sewing and playing games on her laptop.

Martin still works at the GranTree, although we don’t know how much longer.  He is very tired of the BS that goes on there and would like to find another job.  We know in this economy though, that that may not happen quickly, so he tolerates it all.  He has taken up the hobby of selling items on ebay.  He’s not making terrific money but we are starting to clear out the storage unit some.  He joined the technology age and upgraded to a Blackberry phone – mostly so he can receive and see the videos of “his little girl.”  Then bought himself a laptop to view videos on youtube and to view bluray movies during our flights to and from Hawaii.  We are now a three laptop family and after two months, I finally got our home wireless router to work with everything.

I went from working part time the first of the year to unemployed and working under contract from home for same companies the first of March.  While doing this, I was looking for full time employment expecting to quit the ‘at home’ work.  In June I managed to snag another part time job.  But soon it became nearly full time and I was continuing to do my ‘home’ work.  I had been at my new job for nearly two months when a previous employer called me to see if I was interested in coming back to work for her.  It took two more months before we agreed that I would come back.  I was able to get the salary I wanted while only working 35 hrs/week (still too many with doing my ‘home’ work too) and I have immediate benefits!  I am doing the same work as before – AR and AP - but there was only a small amount of learning I had to do.  I keep hoping I can quit the working at home, but find the new grandbaby is expensive (we like to spoil her already) so will continue to do until I go crazy or drop from exhaustion.  My gardening was a near disaster this year with getting hit with two hail storms within 2 weeks of each other in May and June, but I kept plugging away just so I could enjoy my time outdoors.

Chris is back in Hawaii now loving the time he can spend with his two girls.  Allie, who was in the Coast Guard when Chris met her, was given an honorable discharge after the birth of Caroline.  She now spends her days entertaining her.  Chris’ enlistment will be up by this time next year, so he has some serious considering of whether to stay in or leave the Army after 10 years of service.  Caroline has just turned 9 months and is such a happy baby as you can see by the pictures:

After having one heck of a long winter last year (Oct – May) we are not at all excited for this winter.  Our Feb. vacation can’t come soon enough!   In fact we had to cancel once when we tried to book in January and almost got cancelled again!

            Our wish for you is that 2011 brings you good health and all the happiness you can stand.

Love in DZ,   Debra Steinwand Hoffert      drhoffert54@gmail.com  

Hawley MN Update: Vickie

Happy New Year Sisters!

                  Our new year brought us new joy with the birth of our grandson Jaxon , August 12,  just one day from Grandma’s birthday.  He is so fun and with Amanda living in Hawley we see him at least three nights a week. 

                  Our grandsons are our joy these days.  Our Carter is now 2 years old and talking.  He loves Nana’s pancakes, so of course I have to make them every time he comes to visit. 

                  Our children are still in their same jobs, although our youngest, Andrew, has moved to his own apartment.  He conveniently lives across the street from Hooters.  He doesn’t have cable, so he is at the nearest place that has a TV quite often.  Any guesses where?

                  This past summer, we rented a lake home for a week and had the best times with our kids.  I wish we could buy a place, but Chuck won’t let me since it is his busiest season.

                  Its hard to believe that I can retire in three years, but I don’t think I will.  I love my job and I thoroughly enjoy the union work I do, so why leave something I enjoy.

                  Chuck just had rotator cuff surgery, so it had better not snow too much, because I don’t know how to run a tractor.  I could use the snow blower in town with no problems, but a tractor, I don’t think so…..

                  I hope you new year will be as exciting as ours is and please call me when the DZ get together is in the cities, I do have personal days coming.  On a side note, our own Melinda Haun is now the CEO of Fargo-Moorhead Untied Way.

Vickie Quiner Carlson

St.Paul, MN Update: Linda Johnson

Happy 2011 to all,

2010 in Review….

Ice Fishing Catch

January, February and March were spent ice fishing

January – Vikings/Games Enchilada Party

Vikings Enchilada Party

March- My mom’s 80^th birthday party in International Falls – had a great turn out and we ran out of food.

May – Fishing opener on Rainy Lake in International Falls

I caught the first fish on Opener

June- my mom found our she had a cancerous cyst on her brain and had surgery

July – 4^th of July in Balsam Lake WI and a week’s vacation in International Falls

4th of July

July 31^st - I was struck by a car while walking in a parking lot – broken right ankle and non weight bearing for 6 weeks  (put an end to my summer!)

Pink Cast

August – Spent 9 days in I Falls after my mom went back into the hospital and was diagnosed as terminal

September 1^st – my mom passed away

Sept 17^th – got rid of cast on my leg, got crutches and a boot

September 27^th – Went back to work, got rid of the boot but have a brace, was able to drive again

October -15^th – got rid of crutches

November – New roof on the garage

December Blizzard

December Blizzard – 20+ inches of snow

December 29^th – Ice dams and water damage in the house.  Dealing with the insurance company now and getting a plan together to repair the damage.

I am hoping 2011 will be a better year for me and all of you.  I went down and joined the health club in my building and my goal is to go 3-4 times a week after work.  I gained 30 lbs while “off my feet”.

I had the opportunity to meet up with Jarby for lunch the beginning of November.  Great to catch up!!!

We should get a gathering together again…..maybe in the early spring.

Running short on time and very busy at work.

Love in Delta Zeta,

Linda (Hopke) Johnson

Linda Johnson

Sunset on Rainy Lake

1755 Ames Place

St. Paul, MN 55106

651-238-3191 Cell

952-837-8595 Work

lindamj87@yahoo.com

linda.johnson@northmarq.com

Rainy River Fishing in July

Susan Island on Rainy Lake

Nancy's Cabin on Rainy Lake

Rochester, MN Update: Beth Solie

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Delta Zetas,

Jarby gave me an extra day to get this letter in and I feel a little like I’m still in college with having to get my paper done; not exactly with a hang over but still having motion sickness from a cruise from that I can’t stop swaying. 

 My oldest daughter Krista, graduated this year from Luther College and is currently living in Ecuador teaching English with World Teach.  Darryl, our younger daughter Paige, and I met Krista for a Christmas holiday in Quito, Ecuador plus four days on a boat in the Galapagos Islands.  It was an incredible vacation learning Ecuador’s customs and sight seeing with our daughter as our interpreter.   

The Galapagos was truly amazing with snorkeling with sea turtles, sea lions, colorful fish and yes, a few sharks.  The animals on land were so interesting and not afraid of people as have never been hunted and is where Darwin’s Theory came about. Our 16 person cruise ship had a great crew and all interesting passengers. We all celebrated New Years together learning to Salsa dance, star gazing, and counting down in Spanish.  We were proud to make it our whole vacation without getting robbed or sick and it was so fun to spend time with our girls.  Paige goes to college in Rochester at RCTC.  It was a rude awaking for us three to get off the plane last night getting back to winter.

Darryl has been retired now for two and a half years.  One of his projects this year was to plan a two week golf trip to Scotland this past September for us and three other couples.  He took care of all the arrangements and T times and we played many of the historic golf courses and stayed in four cities. We enjoyed the people and the pubs!  We also toured a few castles and gardens and I skipped golf one day and toured the Edinburgh Botanical Garden. Priceless.  It was a dream vacation that we have waited many years to take and it exceeded all our expectations.

Ok Darryl is retired but I do work a lot!  My business is crazy busy and had to finally turn away clients.  I try to help all my past clients be successful with their landscapes and gardens but I didn’t really know what I was getting into when I committed that to them.  If I only spend an hour with each in the spring, that is 50 hours on top of all my new designs going in plus maintenance at the Country Club and a few wedding and graduation customers that want annuals and special attention.  Whew!  I got it all done but was lucky to have my daughter for the summer to clone myself.  And I’m lucky that Darryl does all the grocery shopping and cooking.  I still teach middle school gardening classes and write a column for the garden club newsletter for my Master Gardening hours. Also this year I had two of my designs on the city wide Garden Tour and will be a speaker for the Rochester and Flower Garden Club in January.  Of course there is nothing I like better than talking about gardening so it is really not like working.

Just one more travel paragraph but Darryl makes me go.  He wants to spend winters south so we chose Florida this year.  We rented a condo for six weeks and even though is was the coldest winter in Florida for the past 50 years we had a good time and met great people, many from Canada.  It made for great golf conversation with the Olympics and you could hear yelling during Hockey games, even at our condo with Jamie Langunbrunner being from Cloquet.  I try to go to all the gardens I can while traveling for inspiration.  We stopped at Callaway Gardens in Georgia, The Biltmore Estate in North Carolina, and Naples’s Botanical Garden in Florida.  We also stopped at Tiger Wood’s golf course that he is designing but somehow it just wasn’t as enticing as it could have been.  (Darryl chose that side trip) 

It seems we have now gone from graduations to weddings.  It is fun to join family and friends for these fun weekends.  I helped a friend decorate her son’s wedding and learned it is a lot of work so I will stick to designing gardens that host weddings.  So far I have had four wedding yards and a few wedding brunch yards.  I still thank my bridge group for starting my business as they have all hired me and given out my name.  The good thing is…I still have a little time for bridge.  Have a blessed New Year. 

Beth Hennum Solie

    

Chillicothe OH Update: Lori Lippert

DZ Sisters...

Another year zooms by and here we are trying to catch everyone up in a few short sentences. How wonderfully absurd!

Cameron and Lori
celebrate his big achievement.

The Lipperts remain in good health and good spirits in spite of losing Brandt's parents four months apart. Brandt's mom, Joanne, lived with us and died in October of 2009. His dad, Lou, died in February of 2010. 

It was certainly a strange holiday season without both of them.  I've been without my parents for several years. These changes serve to remind each of us to treasure those close to us and live in the present each and every day.

For Cameron's graduation reception,
I baked several cakes from scratch
rather than serve a boring sheet cake.
The cakes were a hit!

Our number one son, well, our only son completed his high school journey this year.  Jarby, Cam's godmother, joined us in celebrating his graduation. He began a new journey towards computer geekdom at the university level with classes starting in July. He was a bit put out that all his friends were enjoying the summer carefree while he was studying. If all goes well and he doesn't change majors, he will finish well before all of them and be starting his career while they still will be hitting the books. He should be completing his bachelor's degree in 3 to 3 1/2 years.

Cameron Brandt Lippert
Class of 2010, Unioto High School, Chillicothe, OH

We enjoyed a nice family vacation -- visited Brandt's brother Gill in Mechanicsburg, PA, and then headed into D.C. for a few days. Again, we didn't get to all the places we wanted to go.  Mostly because our feet gave out. While we enjoyed the convenience of the their metro system, the stops still are too far apart so lots and lots and lots of walking is required to get around.

2011 has started with a new challenge for us. One of our three cats is experiencing kidney failure. We are having to hydrate him several times a week through IV. I never would have guessed I would be doing this. We will be very sad to lose him.

Brandt and Lori "chilling" at yet another Open House party

Now that Cam's out of high school, Brandt and I are both job hunting and doing house projects so we can put it on the market.  We'd like to get back into a larger city - one with a bit of culture to offer. Send a prayer in our direction that someone will be needing to relocate here and will love our house! If you have any job hunting advice for a "woman of mature years", I'm open.

That about covers the highlights. So please be well, be safe and be happy.

Love,

Lori Lippert

43 Quail Road, Chillicothe, OH 45601  
llippert@roadrunner.com    740-779-1944   740-703-0225 (cell)

Marshall MN Update: Beth Ritter

 

Hi all you past Delta Zetas!  What a title we still get to carry!  Get out that badge or lavalier, just for a moment!

I’ve been mulling over Jarby’s invitation to “set aside some time, pour a refreshment –vanilla coke at the moment but a chelada beer on a hot day or a hot buttered rum on a normal MN winter day would be even better. So here’s the story of 2010 for us.

I started the year out taking another ‘financial planner’ on line course through Mankato State. On line learning is not for the procrastinating.  I lowered my sights to the goal of ‘passing’, found that a 3^rd time reading something finally made it ‘stick’, still treated the prof like he was 30 years older than me with a “Mr.” in my e mails, and actually used the excuse of ‘having to study’ frequently.

Student-hood was interrupted by ‘daughter-hood’ in February.  My dad was in a car accident and spent 4 months between hospitals, nursing home, and his ‘home’.  Wow – how are they ever going to handle us millions of post-baby boomers when we get there?  It’s almost too scary to have to worry about!   I know many of you have walked this walk.  My parents are now in an assisted living place in Marshall.  I’m playing sideline ‘monitor’ with their house for sale, medical apptmts and wishing I’d kept a few more ‘treasures’ from their house!  It was a fast process.  One moment changes a lifetime.  There should be a better way to ‘use’ the wisdom of our ‘aged’.  Could someone start working on that for us in 30 years?

Our kids are doing well.  Chris and Heather became house owners in Bloomington last year, and pet owners to Jade, a white lab, this year.  They are learning & using lots of new life skills; tree trimming, fence building, landscaping, etc.  Commute time is great for Heather and central for Chris.   Kelly had a great job opportunity come up and moved back to Marshall in June to do ‘contract’ speech therapy services to nursing homes in southwest MN.  She misses ‘kids’ in school but has a knack for her new clientele. She puts 3-4,000 miles a month on her car so will become an expert winter driver this year. It is really nice having her back in town. Nick is still living the great life of college student and summer construction worker.  He keeps my ego in check – I still know very little, according to him.  That change will come, oh wait, maybe there is some truth to that – depends on the topic!  .

My list of ‘to do’s’ for this year include some travel, one final class on ‘taxes’, finding a ‘volunteer’ opportunity with the Hispanic/Somalian/Hmong, a book club with my mom, making more time for friends and for the Y, and increasing my tech abilities. I have an unused facebook page that Kelly thought I should have -  so will be getting to that in January.  Sorry – no pictures, not much posing time this past year and my hair’s a mess right now!  At least I have some, and I’m keeping it un-grayed. In next year’s picture, I’ll be 10 lbs lighter!

I’ve reread last year’s letter and am awed by the challenges and entertained by the ‘I can relates’.  Welcome to the letter, Anita!  Linda – I hope you’ve recovered from your accident.  And, my sympathies to all those who were without some family member this year.  That circle of life is meant to be – as new babies start showing up in your pictures!

Something I recently read highlighted the positive power of nostalgia – I totally buy in to it.  This annual letter makes me remember you all in such good times.  Thanks for your updates and I hope “life” treats you well this new year.  God bless and keep you,                               Beth R

Minneapolis MN Update: Emily

Happy Holidays!

Hope this letter finds you and yours doing well!  Our family has been busy this year, as always, it seems.  A brief recap:

 Tiffany is 15, and a sophomore at Edina High School.  She’s really enjoying high school, although not the increased homework level!  Her subject courses this year are Chemistry, Advanced Algebra, Enriched English, Advanced Placement World History, Japanese, Orchestra and Photography (to be replaced with International Cooking next semester).   

She took drivers' ed before school started, and we've been practicing her driving together, at least until the snow fell!  She's also still playing Suzuki piano, violin and is participating in the church youth group.  She’s taken some TV/film-oriented acting classes (which included a photo shoot, two photos of which I’ve included), and is busy with a long list of social activities.  A creative writing project for National Novel Writing Month, which called for writing a 50,000 word novel during the month of November, competed with homework time.  Tiffany has done a bit of traveling this past year--Washington, D.C. with her 9th grade Government class, Orlando with Emily for an acting workshop/audition trip, and a trip to California to see her cousins.

Ott is still working as a stockbroker.  Although the Stock Market is coming around, it continues to be a challenging business.  Ott’s creative side comes out in the songwriting he likes to do in his spare time.  He's had about a dozen songs recorded in Nashville and L.A., and he is trying to market them to an up-and-coming female artist.  Ott’s also been writing poetry for quite some time, and he published a book of his poetry last year.  His music is at www.myspace.com/suspendedspidersongs, and his book is at www.ottlukk.com.

Since my mom passed away a year-and-a-half ago, I’ve been spending has been spending a lot of time with my dad. He’s doing pretty well at age 89, with short-term memory problems being his only issue.  He's living in an assisted living facility five minutes from me.  He loves it there, is happy as a clam, and all of the staff really like him.  With my only brother, Bruce, having passed away four years ago, I feel very blessed to still have my dad with me.  Family, including two cats, take up most of my time.  That involves lots of chauffeuring, errand running and coordinating of individual and family activities.  A little reading, going to Let’s Dish (preparing and freezing family dinners), and get-togethers with friends occupy my free time.

Best wishes for you and your family this holiday season, and for the upcoming year!

Emily

Duluth MN Update: Lynne

Dear Sisters,

This is the final Christmas activity, and my favorite.   Lauren is heading back to college tomorrow morning (as always, way too soon) which must mean the holidays are really over.

On the whole, it has been a pretty good year.  Our cat, Athena, died in November, but we had adopted a younger cat in May so the hole she left wasn’t quite as big.  And the kitten (Nova, or Terror-Nova as I call her) had added some interest to Athena’s life.

I graduated in December with my Transportation Management degree!!!! It was a busy year—I interned part time at the North Shore Scenic Railroad this summer, and learned about running a tourist railroad.  Got to ride in the locomotive with the engineer and fireman.  The best part thought, is I was able to find a job here in Duluth, working for a trucking company.  It is really different not being an expert at my job, but I am learning a lot, and so far it has been a great company to work for.  Remember—anything you use moves by truck at some point!

Claire has joined the ranks of licensed drivers—and says it is lonely driving by herself.   I, however, do not miss waiting for her in the parking lot, in January, after the hockey games!  She is beginning the college search—her current criteria are 1) archeology program and 2) not in Minnesota.  It will be interesting to see where she winds up.  She is still playing lacrosse in the spring, participating in Mock Trial, and tutoring through NHS.  I enjoy her company--when Rich is gone on business (which this year has been often), we have developed the tradition of making fudge and watching “Bride and Prejudice”.

Lauren graduates from Colby in May, which will mean a trip to Maine for the rest of us.  She will head back to Dartmouth in September to finish her engineering degree, and then who knows what after that.  Ultimate Frisbee is her sport of choice currently—playing has provided a nice social group on both campuses. 

We tried something new this fall—we hosted a Russian student for two weeks through the Sister Cities program.  Sophia is from Petrasovosk, near Finland.  She is about Claire’s age, and went to school every day with her.  We lucked out—her English was the best in the group, and she fit into the household nicely, but she did get a little homesick the second week—this is one instance where I am not sure the ease of access around the world was beneficial (although it was cool hearing her chatter away over Skype to her mother in Russia).  Given the opportunity, I’d definitely host another exchange student.

Rich continues to ride his bike like a maniac—10,000 miles last year.  Our basement looks like a bike shop.  But then, there are lots of worse things he could be doing.  Hopefully, with my new found free time I will be able to make some of those rides with him this year.

Another thing finished in 2010 was a counted cross stitch Christmas stocking I have been making for Claire for 11 years—it had become something of a family joke (there is much more to the story).  Anyway, this stocking had become a psychological albatross—I felt it had to be finished before other projects could be started, and I have no idea why I felt that way.  Now that it is done, I have so many things I want to do—knitting projects, books to read, taking a cake decorating class, clean out the clutter in the house. I am really looking forward to 2011.

On that hopeful note I will close.  Take care of yourselves.  I’ll be coming to the Cities more often now, to look in on my parents…if anyone is ever up for a Saturday lunch date, let me know.

Love,
Lynne

Eagan MN Update: Lyn Malone

Dear Friends,

• Date:  Dec. 30 or 31, 2009 (yes, that’s over a year ago.)  I’m at home thinking to myself, “I’ve got to write my DZ letter and send it off to Jarby this weekend.”Date:  Jan. 1, 2010:  Fever, cough, chills- “uhoh, I’ve got the flu:  possibly the dreaded H1N1.”  All thought of DZ letter leaves my mind. 
• Dates:  Jan. 1-9:  Kelli’s international friends from Australia & Serbia spend the week with us.  I’m recovering from the flu and enjoying the girls.  Not once did the DZ letter enter my mind.
•  Date:  End of January, 2010.  I think to myself, “I should check my yahoo e-mail.”  I’m notoriously poor about checking that one.  “Oh, no!  I totally missed the DZ letter!

Luckily, that terrific Jarby sent me the letter so I was able to hear from all of you.  And, truthfully, 2009 was a pretty uneventful year for me.    So, this year, I’m going to be a couple of days early!
 
I think this is my 33rd year of teaching.  With all the press about failing schools and lousy teachers, I find it a little harder to be a teacher these days.  Also, because of budget cuts, the expectations are higher without the resources to back it up.  In our district, our paraprofessional hours were cut (crucial in my job), which leaves me short-staffed at the beginning and end of each day.  I’m figuring it out and getting by, but I’m doing less meeting kids individual needs and more group stuff.  It’s kind of a slow, whittling away of programming.  Having said that, I still truly love the kids and take great joy in seeing their progress.  I’m also lucky to work in a school with a supportive principal and a staff with a great deal of talent and integrity.
  
Mike is doing fine.  We’ll be celebrating our 30th anniversary this summer.  I’ve heard that couples who live together for years start looking alike.  Well, I don’t think we look alike, but we do frequently think alike.  This Christmas, I decided to surprise Mike with a new TV and he decided to surprise me with a TV.  Imagine our reaction Christmas morning when we had two new TVs.  Naturally, we kept the more expensive one- the one he picked out.  However, they were both Panasonics and the same size.  Freaky.

We took a trip to Las Vegas in March.  We enjoyed some great shows (the Beatles Love was terrific) and even won a little money.  However, Las Vegas about every 10 years is plenty.  We enjoy following the Twins and went to a few games at Target Field.  We also went to Milwaukee and saw the Twins play there.  My cousin lives near Milwaukee and we had a great visit with her when we were there.

Kids:  Adam is now an “Actuary” for Allianz Insurance in Golden Valley.  He’s living in Uptown and enjoying his life.  He continues to surprise us with his hobbies:  playing the piano, guitar, & cello.  He also did a stand-up comedy routine at a club  and produced a short film with a friend and had a premier at the “Riverview” theater in Minneapolis.   Kelli is going to school in Mankato.  (My kids take forever to finish school!)  She’s living in a house with 4 guys and holding her own with them.  I’m all for equality, but when she told me she was the only one shoveling after the first heavy, wet snowfall in November, I’m not so sure about that.  You would think one of those guys would have felt guilty watching her shovel!  I’ve really enjoyed watching my kids grow up and turn into pretty nice people.
I’ve said enough. I look forward to hearing from all of you and I wish you all the best in 2011!
                   
                Love,
                Lyn (Swid)
Email:  lynmalone84@yahoo.com I promise to check it often!

Savage MN Update: Anita Guillotel

Happy Holidays!

I do not have much new news this year with the exception of one big event coming up June 25, 2011. My youngest son, Steven is getting married. Any vacation time I have is spent either with Steven and Jessica ( his fiancee) who live and work in Kansas City, MO or with Matt, Jodi and Leif (18 months) who live in Pacifica, CA (a suburb of San Francisco). I see Mike(the son I gave up for adoption), Karly, Payton(6) and Addison(2) every so often as well. They live in Brainerd, MN. 

Payton and Addison are going to be the flower girls and Leif will be the ring bearer at Steven and Jessica's wedding. The wedding will be held in a small town about 20 miles out of Detroit Lakes. All three boys chose women to be their wives that I would have chosen for them and that I would have chosen as friends for me. Their parents are all lovely people as well. I only wish that they all lived closer.

I just returned from a long week end with Steven, Jessica and her parents. We spent Christmas together ( hardly any snow in Kansas City!)
 

I will be flying out to be with Matt, Jodi and Leif on Dec 31. Steven and Jessica will be flying out to join us on Jan 6 for a long family week end. I will be taking the red-eye flight back here Jan 9/10 and going right to work. That will be a tough day, but worth it.

Fergus Falls MN Update: Lyn Johnson

(Editor's Note - Lyn's original letter is a "Johnson Family Christmas Crossword Puzzle" -- so I had to do some revamping to make it work for this format.) 

2 Across:  Kansas City --  To celebrate Brian's birthday in July, we traveled here to take in a Royal's game, zoo, Hallmark, and taste world famous BBQ.
7 Across:  Revenue Tax Specialist -- Hannah's job title at the MN Dept of Rev since June.  She lives in Lowertown (St. Paul) and is the proud owner of Sammie, a 2 yr old "Heinz 57" dog she adopted from Homeward Bound Dog Rescue.
8 Across:  Mayo Clinic -- the largest integrated medical center in the world and Leah's new employer!  She is an occupational therapist in the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation department.

9 Across:  Retirement -- When you combine the number of years Ly has taught with her age, you will discover she has reached the Rule of 90 indicating eligibility for this!  While the idea is enticing, Lyn can't imagine not working with young children with special needs.
10 Across:  Mayflower -- The name of the company that moved all of Leah's belongings from Willmar to Rochester in October.

1 Down:  Park Gardens -- In September, the decision was made to place Lyn's Mom here.  It's a secure living environment geared to provide supportive services to those with memory loss.  It's just down the street and around the corner so we can visit daily.
3 Down:  Fantasy Football-- The name of the interactive virtual competition that Brian is the proud owner of the traveling trophy for the Maroon and Gold league!  This season, however, he is competing in the "Toilet Bowl" playoffs (Goodbye trophy!), has a team in the "Beer League" at the bank and manages Hannah's team.
4 Down:  Isaiah -- Old Testament book that includes this quote:  "His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
5 Down:  Graduation -- Name of the ceremony Hannah participated in on May 1st after completing a major in Accounting and minors in Business Administration, Management Information Systems, and Theology at the University of Mary in Bismarck.
6 Down:  Luke -- New Testament book that includes this quote:  "For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the King." 

Cloquet MN Update: Patti

(Jeff')  Another year has gone by.  Hope everyone is staying healthy.  Nothing new here, still missing the boys.  Mackenzie is injury free, so I am enjoying watching her play sports and improving in every game I watch.  She has a new hockey coach who stresses having fun, so she should have a great time.  Have a Happy Holiday.

(Patti)  Seasons Greetings 2010 to all.  Both Dylan and Colton moved out of the dorms this year and into apartments so we kept busy helping them gather apt supplies and get moved in to their new places.  Mackenzie turned 16 in August and got her driver's license.  She is on the go a lot.  Terrible summer for gardening and growing anything.  We had so much rain and it just did the garden in.   Colton was happy as he is the garden watering person and barely ever had to water it.  I am still with Carlton County as a Child Support Officer.  Take care and Happy Holidays 2010 to all - may you all have a very blessed holiday season.

(Dylan) I hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year.  I have been enjoying my last year in college and am more than ready to graduate.  So far this year, I have been enjoying some of the intramurals that are offered at our school for the last time.  Most of my classes this year are project classes which I enjoy very much and I hope the position I choose to work in is as enjoyable as them.  Once again I hope everyone has a great new year.


(Mackenzie)  Happy Holidays everyone!  I'm finally 16 and a sophomore in high school.  I'm still playing Hockey, Soccer, and doing Track, thankfully no serious injuries this year so I've been up and on the go constantly.  Have a great new year everyone!


(Colton)  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone.  I am still attending the University of Minnesota, majoring in biology and have recently just picked up a minor in psychology.  After all is said and done, I hope to be lucky enough to attend medical school in the fall of 2012.  I hope to enjoy the winter sports available to college students more so than the fall after watching a horrendous football season displayed by the Minnesota Gophers.  I hope everyone has a great new year.

Patti Roy