Hello using Lucita Grenade!!
Flash: Early call this morning from Susan letting us know that Bridget was having an emergency appendectomy at the Burlington Hospital. She called again after we returned from mass to say that the operation was successful and that Bridget was resting. We expect to hear more later and will presume that Susan may wish to provide more details when she has time.
We were to be joining them this evening to attend a banquet honoring area (maybe Walworth County)high school graduating seniors in Elkhorn.
Some of you learned from you phone visits with Mom this week that we attended a wedding of Steven Farrell ( Pam and Craig's
second oldest) in Chicago last evening. It was held at the Newberry Library, an historic institute/structure on the near North side. We drove down in the PM and arrived in good time for the 6 PM event, followed by a reception and splendid
sit down dinner/program which was still in session when we left at 10 PM. The other 3 sons, Michael, Christopher and Timothy were in the wedding party. We had good visits with them and they were especially interested in learning about Lyn and Kevin's family whom they learned to know when we all
visited the Farrells twice while they still lived west of South Orange in NJ. The boys remember us as we had followed their growing up as we visited Pam and Craig over the years in the Atlanta, Washington, DC, NJ and Toronto areas before they moved to the Milwaukee area. In fact, we learned of Magdalena's birth when we visited them in Atlanta those "many" years ago--right, Magdalena?
Will be busy the coming week "commuting" to our WREA Convention in Oconomowoc at the Olympia Resort. It begins tomorrow with a Board of Directors' dinner. Driving back and forth each day will allow Mom to skip two part day activities and tend to things at home and be part of the major events on Wednesday, particularly and the Monday night dinner.
Got lots of work done in the yard/garden area last week. Good weather. Got all the leaves caught in the snow while we were in France last fall either burned or hauled to the village compost pile and transplanted a lot of perennials we've been raising the the back areas to some of the plots around the house and in the front. Guess it won't be much over 50 any day this week so there may time to get the raised beds planted after the convention duties.
mom.s turn--After the long drive yesterday we were happy to find our destination and relax during the wedding. Much visiting until dinner time. The young men are interested in music much as our boys are, and would be interested in talking and listening to them so we might be able to work out something this summer.We'll work on it. Dad is anxious to get this off to you so I will close and wish everyone well , especially Bridget. Birthdays coming up soon --love to all
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
College Life
Hi everyone,
The week since I've gotten home from NY has been a blur. It's nice to finally sit down and have a minute to write...
Parents' weekend at Vassar was pretty wonderful. I flew in to Newark last Friday at noon, picked up my rental car then drove to Kevin & Lyn's, where I found Kevin's neatly drawn out instructions for getting to Manhattan to meet up with Domino. I was going to be arriving at Penn Station, and Domi was going to be arriving at Grand Central, so we needed to know how to find each other.
In the end, I just took a cab for $10 from Penn to Grand Central and found Domi immediately. We spent a few hours walking around Times Square and Central Park, and shopping at this great sheet music store off T.S. where we snatched up music for Singin' In The Rain, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and The Snowman before running into Ed Flesch, the creative director at Fort Atkinson's own Fireside Dinner Theater. Ed seemed very surprised to learn that Domino was majoring in theater at Vassar, and he invited her to come down to NYC sometime when he's holding auditions, so she can learn the ropes. Very odd seeing him there, but maybe very fortuitous for Domi...
That night we went to a very offbeat, downbeat musical in Greenwich Village, "The Adding Machine." Domi wanted to see "Rent," but I put my foot down. My friend Laura suggested "Adding Machine," and I'm glad she did. Anyone can see "Rent!" In the end, Domi loved it as much as I did.
Back by train to S. Orange, where we found Lyn still up. We had a good night's sleep, a nice breakfast with Lyn in the morning, then a 2 hr drive to Poughkeepsie, where parents' weekend was well underway.
Saturday afternoon we saw a student dance recital, a student stage production of "The War of the Worlds," and to cap off the evening Domino performed in a choral concert (and for the first time ever I actually had a hard time picking out Domi's voice...). There were so many things going on, it was very hard to pick out what to do... we missed a lot of great-sounding events. One highlight was meeting Domi's best friend Andie and her parents, who are old pros at high class parents' weekends, having sent a previous daughter to Brown... I was most impressed, and found the whole family to be incredibly nice. Since Domi spent half her spring break at their house in Philly, we hope to get Andie to visit here next Christmas.
After the concert we walked to a sushi restaurant off campus for dinner, and on the way found a "pop culture collectibles" shop that was advertising an autograph signing session this Sunday with wrestling and movie superstar Rowdy Roddy Piper, and that's when we knew--really knew--what a wonderful place Vassar was. Rest assured that Domi will be in line Sunday to get Roddy's autograph on various 8x10s.
Spent Saturday night at the Best Western Pougkeepsie, then back to Vassar Sunday morning for a walking tour (in the rain) of the campus. I learned more Vassar trivia than you can shake a stick at, and met more friendly parents, including one couple who had both gone to Vassar themselves and had a few trivia stories of their own, and a family from Waukesha whose daughter is graduating this May. After that it was a parents' brunch, shopping at the bookstore and a fun little block party (that had to be moved indoors) put on by Vassar's GLBT (LBGT? LGTB? I can never remember...) community. Pretty fun all in all.
By 2 it was time to hit the road for Newark and send Domi back to Noyes Hall to do all the homework she hadn't been able to do all weekend. I read a funny bit in the campus newspaper calendar section that described the last day of parent's weekend with the words: "For ***** sake, you haven't all gotten sick of each other yet? GO HOME, Mom and Dad!"
I loved it :)
Thanks to Mom and Dad for staying with Cal & Capri for the weekend! It sounds like everyone had a good time. Thanks Kevin & Lyn for the hospitality and directions!
Hope to see everyone soon!
Mark
The week since I've gotten home from NY has been a blur. It's nice to finally sit down and have a minute to write...
Parents' weekend at Vassar was pretty wonderful. I flew in to Newark last Friday at noon, picked up my rental car then drove to Kevin & Lyn's, where I found Kevin's neatly drawn out instructions for getting to Manhattan to meet up with Domino. I was going to be arriving at Penn Station, and Domi was going to be arriving at Grand Central, so we needed to know how to find each other.
In the end, I just took a cab for $10 from Penn to Grand Central and found Domi immediately. We spent a few hours walking around Times Square and Central Park, and shopping at this great sheet music store off T.S. where we snatched up music for Singin' In The Rain, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and The Snowman before running into Ed Flesch, the creative director at Fort Atkinson's own Fireside Dinner Theater. Ed seemed very surprised to learn that Domino was majoring in theater at Vassar, and he invited her to come down to NYC sometime when he's holding auditions, so she can learn the ropes. Very odd seeing him there, but maybe very fortuitous for Domi...
That night we went to a very offbeat, downbeat musical in Greenwich Village, "The Adding Machine." Domi wanted to see "Rent," but I put my foot down. My friend Laura suggested "Adding Machine," and I'm glad she did. Anyone can see "Rent!" In the end, Domi loved it as much as I did.
Back by train to S. Orange, where we found Lyn still up. We had a good night's sleep, a nice breakfast with Lyn in the morning, then a 2 hr drive to Poughkeepsie, where parents' weekend was well underway.
Saturday afternoon we saw a student dance recital, a student stage production of "The War of the Worlds," and to cap off the evening Domino performed in a choral concert (and for the first time ever I actually had a hard time picking out Domi's voice...). There were so many things going on, it was very hard to pick out what to do... we missed a lot of great-sounding events. One highlight was meeting Domi's best friend Andie and her parents, who are old pros at high class parents' weekends, having sent a previous daughter to Brown... I was most impressed, and found the whole family to be incredibly nice. Since Domi spent half her spring break at their house in Philly, we hope to get Andie to visit here next Christmas.
After the concert we walked to a sushi restaurant off campus for dinner, and on the way found a "pop culture collectibles" shop that was advertising an autograph signing session this Sunday with wrestling and movie superstar Rowdy Roddy Piper, and that's when we knew--really knew--what a wonderful place Vassar was. Rest assured that Domi will be in line Sunday to get Roddy's autograph on various 8x10s.
Spent Saturday night at the Best Western Pougkeepsie, then back to Vassar Sunday morning for a walking tour (in the rain) of the campus. I learned more Vassar trivia than you can shake a stick at, and met more friendly parents, including one couple who had both gone to Vassar themselves and had a few trivia stories of their own, and a family from Waukesha whose daughter is graduating this May. After that it was a parents' brunch, shopping at the bookstore and a fun little block party (that had to be moved indoors) put on by Vassar's GLBT (LBGT? LGTB? I can never remember...) community. Pretty fun all in all.
By 2 it was time to hit the road for Newark and send Domi back to Noyes Hall to do all the homework she hadn't been able to do all weekend. I read a funny bit in the campus newspaper calendar section that described the last day of parent's weekend with the words: "For ***** sake, you haven't all gotten sick of each other yet? GO HOME, Mom and Dad!"
I loved it :)
Thanks to Mom and Dad for staying with Cal & Capri for the weekend! It sounds like everyone had a good time. Thanks Kevin & Lyn for the hospitality and directions!
Hope to see everyone soon!
Mark
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Just checking in
Hi to everyone. Quiet afternoon in Sheboygan after a couple of busy weeks. Coop and I had a great trip to AZ. The first day was a bit discouraging when we found his school to be a heavily fenced and razor wired compound in the sketchy South Mountain area of Phoenix. We saw Mom and Dad that night and had a great dinner and visit, but his spirits had been a bit dampened by the Stalag 13 visuals. Sunday things were looking up for Cooper as he counted copious amounts of cute coeds on the ASU campus and on Monday the school visit was more than either of us could have asked for. Lots of great staffers and students, beautiful instruments being made, lots of body art and piercings, one wacky hippy teacher VW freak, and within about 10 minutes Cooper knew he had found home. On Tuesday we finalized his housing in a shared house in Tempe and then headed out for a hike at the base of the Superstitions just west of town. We went up to Taliesen west on Sunday for a quick look around up there which was pretty cool. (I had applied for work with Marshall Erdmann & Assoc. in Madsion earlier this year and got a really nice complimentary portfolio review from them but no openings. He was a Frank student/ protege and had a couple of his books in the book store) We did get a bit of desert driving on Tuesday and Sunday and fortunately Cooper had the foresight to put the sound track from 'the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly' on his iPod so we could run it in the car radio and whistle it as we flew past the rusty mesas at sunset.
I had a whirlwind convention in Kansas City last weekend and consumedcopious amounts of BBQ Ribs. Kitchen & Bath in Chicago on Friday. Last night Coop and I played for an Earthfest benefit and had a fun night and great reception to our tuneage. Not much else here.
Charlie is working hard on Drumline's version of Thriller to be video taped in our local graveyard in the next few weeks and performed at North High's Expo next month- M&D I still don't have the date but will call when we have it. Charlie found this incredible video on Utube where, in some prison somewhere, the entire locked up community had taught themselves the Thriller dance and perform it in the exercise yard at the prison! It's crazy. I'll see if he can find it and send it.
That's all from here. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the glimpses of spring.
Hey Michele- Cooper and I were thinking we should see if you have any Thanksgiving '08 plans yet as Denver is nicely located between Wisconsin and AZ and he'll be out there past Christmas. Could be a great rendezvous spot! Let us know if you've done any long term planning in that regard.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Gma & Gpa from Ft. Atkinson
Hi to all using the Verdana font!!
Writing this afternoon from Lillian St. where we are the house guests of Calvin and Capri
until their dad returns Sunday evening from his Parent weekend at Vassar with Domino. Grateful, too, that the laptop found Mark's WIFI service without a hitch!! Nemo may be coming home for a while tomorrow, so we'll be pleased to see him, too.
Readers will quickly realize that everyone has been very busy because Susan wrote the last entry announcing that they had returned saftely from Arvada.
We made the same announcement via
telephone and believe most of the details of our Arvada stop were included in those visits.
Will admit that this entry will have to serve as an 'official' THANK YOU for Michele and David's hospitality. We enjoyed our few hours there and appreciated especially
her delicious taco dish. We remember it from Newcastle, WY days!!!
Had a lot of comments last Sunday at mass from folks expressing belief that we had brought back good weather with us from AZ.
But it has been pretty much down hill since then. We drove to FtA yesterday in rain and the pond as seen looking out Mark's west windows looks like an ocean. Capri and Gma walked down the road this morning to see where the entry road from HY 106 to the park is under water and blocked. They returned to report very chilly, windy conditions.
There was still some ice/show next to the north deck steps and outside the north family room window behind the RV when I was refilling the bird feeders and putting out more suet on Thursday afternoon. Learned that the Good Friday snow was first wet when it fell and when the depth reached about 12", our friend who does the clearing
found the snowblower being clogged quickly, so he had a big hand work job.
Our annual WREA/retired educators con-
vention is being held at the Olympia Resort in Oconomowoc the last few days of April and May 1. We'll be attending and commuting, so Gma will not be going every day. She's hoping that the days she will be at home will be good for some outdoor effort in the sunshine.
We're really missing the sunshine after all those clear sky, 80+ days in Tucson. We were away from our RV park for most of the day about 4 days of each week. Many of those were with Ann and Ed,and we alternated driving. We were at Madera Canyon 4 days, two days each at Sierra Vista, Patagonia Lake/Patagonia Nature Conservancy, and Saguaro West NP (just north up the road from our rv Park) and 1 day at Saguaro East NP. One of the last days we drove, with thhe V's, to Buenas
Aires Fish and Wildlife Reserve where we hiked and had a picnic lunch, then drove farther west and south to the Headquarters (very near Sasabe, AZ, a border town west of Nogales)where we enjoyed a great video presentation and some sightings of some shore birds on a small seasonal lake. This last was a first--and we were glad we drove the extra miles. Did spend one hot afternoon at the Desert Museum. Had not returned there since we visited in 1971. Best new exhibit is a humming bird aviary where those guys buzz right by your ears. Located one mom sitting on her tiny best, too. Had hoped to get to a Cactus League baseball game, but could not find one on a day we didn't wish to do other things.
Our quick visit with David and Cooper in Phoeniz was special. David's details on what they were able to experience during their actual visit to the school are most encouraging for Cooper's hopes. Wished we might have shared their hike at Lost Dutchman SP near Apache Junction. That is place we really enjoy, too.
Making preliminary plans to be with Matt and Freya during most of the first week in June when Casey will be doing her "field" work at BLM Fire Prevention locations in Alaska.
Our 4 day drive home was easy. Every day was clear, sunny and with winds which were basically favorable, W, SW and SSW. Saw some snow in Iowa ditches between Waterloo and Dubuque before we stopped for a few minutes to visit with Charleen, Bob, Kathy and Kerry. Some along I-43 between Beloit and home, too. It has been many years since we drove the I-25 segment from Albuquerque to Denver in the daylight and it was wonderful to see the many whitecapped peaks and ranges in the west almost constantly all day. It inspired me to order Willa Cather's "Death Comes for the Archbishop" from the library. I picked it up yesterday before we left and am enjoying the re-reading I began last evening and am continuing today. Some of you have read it, no doubt.
We were both glad to learn that things went well for Freya and Matt while Mom was away. No doubt there was a great reunion!!
Hope that Declan and Kevin are having a worthwhile Ultimate weekend in Atlanta.
Did see that there might be some unsettled weather and really don't remember is those contests are cancelled if the weather is bad.
Our best to all of you for a great spring, a positive finish for the school year, unhurried final planning for your trips, and time for each one to make a blog posting!
Love and prayers, Gma and Gpa
Writing this afternoon from Lillian St. where we are the house guests of Calvin and Capri
until their dad returns Sunday evening from his Parent weekend at Vassar with Domino. Grateful, too, that the laptop found Mark's WIFI service without a hitch!! Nemo may be coming home for a while tomorrow, so we'll be pleased to see him, too.
Readers will quickly realize that everyone has been very busy because Susan wrote the last entry announcing that they had returned saftely from Arvada.
We made the same announcement via
telephone and believe most of the details of our Arvada stop were included in those visits.
Will admit that this entry will have to serve as an 'official' THANK YOU for Michele and David's hospitality. We enjoyed our few hours there and appreciated especially
her delicious taco dish. We remember it from Newcastle, WY days!!!
Had a lot of comments last Sunday at mass from folks expressing belief that we had brought back good weather with us from AZ.
But it has been pretty much down hill since then. We drove to FtA yesterday in rain and the pond as seen looking out Mark's west windows looks like an ocean. Capri and Gma walked down the road this morning to see where the entry road from HY 106 to the park is under water and blocked. They returned to report very chilly, windy conditions.
There was still some ice/show next to the north deck steps and outside the north family room window behind the RV when I was refilling the bird feeders and putting out more suet on Thursday afternoon. Learned that the Good Friday snow was first wet when it fell and when the depth reached about 12", our friend who does the clearing
found the snowblower being clogged quickly, so he had a big hand work job.
Our annual WREA/retired educators con-
vention is being held at the Olympia Resort in Oconomowoc the last few days of April and May 1. We'll be attending and commuting, so Gma will not be going every day. She's hoping that the days she will be at home will be good for some outdoor effort in the sunshine.
We're really missing the sunshine after all those clear sky, 80+ days in Tucson. We were away from our RV park for most of the day about 4 days of each week. Many of those were with Ann and Ed,and we alternated driving. We were at Madera Canyon 4 days, two days each at Sierra Vista, Patagonia Lake/Patagonia Nature Conservancy, and Saguaro West NP (just north up the road from our rv Park) and 1 day at Saguaro East NP. One of the last days we drove, with thhe V's, to Buenas
Aires Fish and Wildlife Reserve where we hiked and had a picnic lunch, then drove farther west and south to the Headquarters (very near Sasabe, AZ, a border town west of Nogales)where we enjoyed a great video presentation and some sightings of some shore birds on a small seasonal lake. This last was a first--and we were glad we drove the extra miles. Did spend one hot afternoon at the Desert Museum. Had not returned there since we visited in 1971. Best new exhibit is a humming bird aviary where those guys buzz right by your ears. Located one mom sitting on her tiny best, too. Had hoped to get to a Cactus League baseball game, but could not find one on a day we didn't wish to do other things.
Our quick visit with David and Cooper in Phoeniz was special. David's details on what they were able to experience during their actual visit to the school are most encouraging for Cooper's hopes. Wished we might have shared their hike at Lost Dutchman SP near Apache Junction. That is place we really enjoy, too.
Making preliminary plans to be with Matt and Freya during most of the first week in June when Casey will be doing her "field" work at BLM Fire Prevention locations in Alaska.
Our 4 day drive home was easy. Every day was clear, sunny and with winds which were basically favorable, W, SW and SSW. Saw some snow in Iowa ditches between Waterloo and Dubuque before we stopped for a few minutes to visit with Charleen, Bob, Kathy and Kerry. Some along I-43 between Beloit and home, too. It has been many years since we drove the I-25 segment from Albuquerque to Denver in the daylight and it was wonderful to see the many whitecapped peaks and ranges in the west almost constantly all day. It inspired me to order Willa Cather's "Death Comes for the Archbishop" from the library. I picked it up yesterday before we left and am enjoying the re-reading I began last evening and am continuing today. Some of you have read it, no doubt.
We were both glad to learn that things went well for Freya and Matt while Mom was away. No doubt there was a great reunion!!
Hope that Declan and Kevin are having a worthwhile Ultimate weekend in Atlanta.
Did see that there might be some unsettled weather and really don't remember is those contests are cancelled if the weather is bad.
Our best to all of you for a great spring, a positive finish for the school year, unhurried final planning for your trips, and time for each one to make a blog posting!
Love and prayers, Gma and Gpa
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