You slapped your mother?!?!

Hey all,
Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve done an update; my life has been completely crazy. Since I’ve last written my Director’s Workshop has performed (it’s on youtube, you can watch it here if you want: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SkBV4CWMjA&feature=PlayList&p=65993DFE251EF6DE&index=8), and I’m already rehearsing for The Tempest.
I’m 18 now, YAY!!!! Not that it feels that different, tho I did go out and buy a lottery ticket and I won $1. WOOHOO!!!! It was exhilarating. And my birthday was incredibly fun! Very, very busy, but a bunch of my friends and I went out to dinner and it was delicious and very enjoyable. A great quote from the night went like this:
Bianca: Have you ever had those conversations where you just want to slap your mother?
*stunned silence*
Me: Um, even if I had, that's not really something most people would admit to. But it's hilarious and I'm totally putting it in my quote book!
Andi: OH! I did that one summer, and it was one of the most amazing, important decisions of my life!
Me: You slapped your mother?!?!?!?!
....No, she meant she started a quote book. But it reminded me of "You shoot Asian children?!?!" and I laughed.
I got some great presents, too, like a digital camera, a beautiful necklace, and a beta fish from my friends. They named it “Yahtzee”, which I think is quite clever and funny.
My mom visited for the weekend, which was really fun! And she brought me 4 pounds of Wisconsin cheese that my friends and I are enjoying very much. I’ve gotten to introduce a lot of people to their first Wisconsin cheese, and they are all appropriately impressed. It has made me realize just how much I know about cheese, and how completely useless that is unless you REALLY want to label yourself as the crazy hick Midwesterner.
Speaking of labels, “coasties” are called “hipsters” here, which I found interesting. However, because I am not always the brightest person in the world, while talking to someone FROM the East Coast (tho not a true “coastie”) who was explaining the term to me I said “oh, so a coastie?” and she was, mockingly, offended. Still, prolly not a good term to whip out….
I have tons of homework all the time, for example I have 1 final project, 2 papers, and at least one test next week. And that’s pretty regular. Which is why I haven’t written in a while.
I guess the only other really exciting thing to report is that I may join the Varsity Fencing Team. I really want to, but it’s a huge time commitment and I’d like to be able to eat, sleep, and study sometimes… the coach has already offered an option where I’d only come to practice twice a week, instead of the four times that is usually required, but even that conflicts with choir and/or work. So I’m not really sure what I’m gonna do.
I miss you all!!!
Domino

A little Octoberfest for Gma&Gpa in the next week

Happy Fall to all of you-----

Must begin by thanking Casey and Matt for sending their news and the great picture of Freya and the
"kitchens" we had seen her greet when we went to the
farm with them. So pleased, too, with the report on Freya's progress at Montessori school. It was good to have the phone visit with Matt with additional details.
Glad he, Casey and Freya will have a nice Thanksgiving
break in Arvada. Good luck, Casey, on your job pursuit.

Bridget called late this afternoon from Green Bay where she had just completed the regional golf meet. She finished in second place and gained a spot in the state tourney which will be played next weekend
in Madison. It was an exciting call for all of us , we
believe!

We are off in the morning for some more "grand-daughter" experiences. Praying that there will be perfect weather on the Housatonic River near New Haven, CT where we hope to be able to see Magdalena
row in a big regatta. Should be with Lyn, Kevin and
Declan by Thursday evening and then drive with them
early Saturday to the regatta. There won't be much opportunity to visit with Magdalena because she will
be involved, but Kevin believes we will have some time to see her before her 2 PM event if not afterward.

Saturday night we will drive to a motel in Danbury, CT which is fairly close to Domino at Vassar in Poughkeep-sie. Her schedule is open enough that we can spend some time with her before she has a play rehearsal--
probably, "The Tempest". We are looking forward to
being with both of these young women in their
surroundings!

Sunday evening should find us back in South Orange.
We will have to start home on Monday as Grandma is
involved with a series of physical therapy sessions for
some left shoulder discomfort, and the fifth is on Wednesday morning, 10/10. She is already feeling
relief, so does want to conclude the treatment as soon
as possible.

I was in Baraboo last week for a retired educators' meeting and had a visit at Melkas for a few minutes with them and learned some of the details of Alex's job at Christmas Mountain where he with the Time Share program. Learned from David in a call that Charile now has an important spot with a school drum group.
Kevin told us last night that we might be able to hear Declan with a music group on Friday night. Colin did well enough in a golf event that his team won a trip to play in another golf activity in Las Vegas. So this
blog submissiom isn't just about granddaughters!

Grateful, too, for the recent blog additions by Michele and Susan. There have been calls from both of them this week, too.

The Thanksgiving get-together for those of you who will be in Arvada will be something for which we can all be especially thankful!!

Grandma has already told some of you what we have arranged to do on the day after Thanksgiving. It is to be a trip to France for about 13 days where we will have a 9 day river cruise on the Rhone from Lyon to Arles (about 250 miles) and then a 3 night extension at a hotel in Aix-en-Provence where we will do some local touring, as there will be at various city stops along the river. We will fly round trip on Air France from O'Hare to Paris; a flight on then to Lyon. Returning we will fly back to Paris from Marseilles early enough on 12/4 to be back in Chicago that afternoon. This package is provided by the same company we were with 2 years ago, Grand Circle Tours.

Love and prayers, Grandma and Grandpa

We're going to State!

Last week, Bridget shot an 83 at her regional event, took 1st place and her team advanced to the next level. We took off Monday night for Little Chute, near Green Bay and she tied for first place with an 81. That necessitated a playoff, which she missed by one stroke. Her team took 5th place, but as an individual she is going to go to the state tournament in Madison. She wanted to go last year, but scored so badly in sectionals that she blew her chance. She came roaring back this year, overcame her anxiety and stayed steady. It was fun to watch. We stayed at a nearby hotel with three of her teammates and the rest of her team nearby.

Jay and I got away last weekend to Fox Hills for our anniversary and had a very nice time. We played 36 holes of golf and I played my best ever, an 86 and an 89. I beat Jay on the first round. We ended up coming home a few hours early due to some brake light problems with the van, but since we had to leave again Monday night, it was OK.

We have a hotel reserved for Sunday and Monday nights in Madison, just in case. It is really exciting. Colin and I were texting back and forth all day and he will try to watch her next week.

Jay is taking a tax preparers course three mornings a week which he is juggling right now and I will take some vacation time to do this. Our dogs will forget us as they have been in the doggie hotel. They will come home tomorrow and go back on Sunday!

Thanks, Casey for the update and the great Freya picture. She is such a doll and Grandma keeps thinking of stories to tell us about all the cute things she said and did. What a great age!

Bridget had homecoming last weekend, which we missed. Her friend Susan who was Prom Queen was also voted Homecoming Queen, much to the disappointment of all the other court folks. She had a good time, but missed us a little.

Hope everyone is well and that the East Coast visit with theAleksandrowicz-O'Connells and Domi is great. Love to all, Susan

Autumn in Idaho

The leaves are turning, the wind is blowing, and autumn is settling in here in Idaho. Matt has been doing a little bit of work around some early hunting seasons, but officially things get going this coming week. He'll have a new employee to help train, which will take about three weeks before the new guy moves on to the next trainer. October and November will be busy months for Matt, as usual.

Freya has been doing great. She still loves her Montessori program. We went to a potluck at her school on Friday night. It was fun to watch the bigger kids shout, "There's Freya!" and they came and held her hand and walked her around the lawn area, just like they evidently do very often at school. I think she's popular!

My busy season is actually just starting up. I volunteered to head up the Combined Federal Campaign at the Fire Center, which is the federal version of the United Way campaign. I'm excited about it, but holy moly, it's a lot of work. We had one of the local weathermen come out and do an on-site broadcast from our main building last Friday, which took some coordinating. I am also hearing word that a public affairs specialist position is opening up out there, and I will definitely be applying for it. I'm not sure how well I'll rate in the application process, as I'll be competing against a lot of folks with college degrees, but I do know I have some key players on my side. We'll see what happens--I probably won't know anything in particular until December or January.

We made reservations to go to Denver at Thanksgiving, and we'll be meeting up with the New Jersey folks there. Can't wait to see everyone!

We took Freya and her Grandpa Throngard out to a local farm stand we frequent for eggs and produce yesterday. They have some fun harvest activities set up, and we think we got a good family picture to use for our Christmas card. Here's another one for you guys to enjoy--Freya is standing in front of the "kitchens," which is what she calls this variety of poultry.

Love to all,
Casey, Matt & Freya

Hi Everyone-We had a great time with everyone last weekend and a busy week since! We are extremely short staffed at work, and I will probably be putting in some extra hours for a couple weeks. Bridget has her Regional golf outing this Thursday then Homecoming this weekend. Jay and I are going to Fox Hills for our anniversary this weekend because I didn't check the schedule and see that it was Homecoming. Bridget is on court and will be riding in the parade. She said she hopes she is elected Queen so I can feel bad about not being there. This is what being so child-focussed for all these years has gotten us! I hope she is at least half kidding.

I got a call from Mike Martin last week after he saw Bridget's name in the Journal as player of the week. We had a nice visit and he sounds like he's doing well.

Hope things are going well for you Domi. I assume you have gotten so busy that you haven't written anything. I sent the blog info to both Bridget and Colin, but I don't know if I have convinced them to write. Maybe it will happen!

I am sure Freya was very close to buying those diamonds and I wish I had been there to help. She is such a cutie!

Have a great week! Love, Susan

hello everyone--it has been quite awhile since i've been on here. lots of great messages and memoirs.
david is in jackson hole for the next 3 days; i just booked a flight for october 26-29 for a long weekend in seatlle with marianna, cindy tencick (my old cascade boss) and jane cropp (another idaho pal)--for 3 out of 4 of us to celebrate our 50th birthdays in 2007!; and i checked the blog. pretty good for an evening after being on the computer at work. i also got a run in with the dogs! this is our favorite time of year for walking--not too hot--but about halfway we get to stop at a little creek and get a drink! even ruby jumps in this creek.
i have been overwhelmingly busy at work. it really has been too much the past year--becasue we are shortstaffed. but we just hang in there.
we've been out camping twice--in the mountains in eagle, and the plains at la hunta. 2 very nice state parks. and david has been riding. i went to boise--and almost got freya convinced to buy diamonds. she was on the edge.....i know it. she was very fun. and overall the trip was sad--but i got to see lots of old buds--and M and C--and that made it fun. marianna was doing pretty well.
david built the small pergola--and this past weekend we dug a new flowerbed around it, and planted grape vines and honeysuckle--to climb up the lattice. and stained it--so it is ready for winter.
we hope everyone is doing well.

love--michele, david and link and rube

A grandparents' item on 9/17/07

Thanks to Susan and Jay for hosting such our reunion on Saturday. Lots of great food, conversation, and recollections which added more than a little HUMOR!
Don and Mary's family were present in force, Terri and Sandy, Bernadette, Patti, Tom, Lindsey, and Amanda, Kathy and Megan and Mary. Charleen and Bob were joined by Peggy, Kathy, Joe, Andrew and Kerry. Mark
brought Nemo, Calvin and Capri. Bridget joined us after she had a heavy golf invitational at Janesville where she placed 10th in the field. Current information about the rest of you was shared including
pictures featuring Freya from our Boise trip. All of you were missed.

Kudos to Magdalena and Domino for the time they have taken to share their new experiences during August and September. Must mention, too, Magdalena's picture post card with information about the lion encounter arrived on Friday. Domino's news about the Tempest part reminded me that I had seen
Paul Robeson playing Calaban in a Chicago performance which our Loras Players group attended on a college "field trip" during my Freshman first semester. Our high school chorus leader took a group of us to hear him sing some of those great "bass" numbers when he came to the then Iowa State Teachers' College in the early 40's. We were planning to observe Magdalena on 9/30 in a regatta, but as her crew will not compete there, we're now looking at another event on 10/6 which may give us an opportunity to hear more about South Africa. Hope that can work out and that we might be able to see Domino if we make the trip east. Presume that Domino's family was surprised about the fencing class! Don't recall any of you "7" being interested in it at Catholic Memorial where is was a unusal, but prominent, student activity. All of us will appreciate
more from both girls as they have time. Stephen, Nemo, Colin and Alex might have some interesting contributions, too! How about some high and middle and elementary school submissions????

Thanks to David for his alert on Google Earth where he first found the satelitte overhead view of our Rose Ave.
lot. He thought that the image made by the round compost ball was one of us standing near the 4 raised bed vegetable squares! Interesting.

Sorry we missed a phone visit with Kevin during the
reunion on Saturday and that we were only able to leave a anniversary message when we called later.
Congratulations Lyn and Kevin.

The drive for the Boise visit was enhanced when we were upgraded to a 2008 Saturn Aura with all the bells and whistles! Guess it had been since 1962 that we drove east on the route of I-90 route out of Seattle and over the Snoqualmie pass. While we had driven on another trip down the Yakima River valley following I-82 was new for us, then on to I-84 across the Columbia. Leaving Boise we followed a lot of great waterways all the way to Kalispell--the Boise, a Salmon
fork of one name or the other and the Salmon thru Stanley, Challis, Salmon and on to the Montana borde where we began to follow the Bitteroot to Missoula.
From there AAA routed us east to MT 83 to Kalispell which was east of Flathead Lake which saved us from the many slow areas on US 93 on the west side which we encountered as we headed west to Spokane and
Seattle. Couldn't remember how rugged the Idaho area is east of Cour d' Alene and the lack of interstate
rest stops! West of Spokane was smooth sailing, but we did take a break to enjoy the Columbia River Gorge where we accidentally pushed the On Star button and
had a voice ask us what trouble we were having and
state accurately where we were!! A great drive back thru the Cascades, too.

HI, EVERYONE==i GET TO TALK ABOUT FREYA. sHE HAS LEARNED SO MANY WORDS THAT IT IS FUN TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH HER. sHE REFERRED TO US AS WHAT SOUNDED LIKE GUMMA-GUPPA, AND WOULD ASK WHERE GUMMA-GUPPA GO? IF SHE DIDN'T SEE US. sHE LOVES TO READ BOOKS, AND WOULD DIG THROUGH HER TOY BOX UNTIL SHE FOUND THE RIGHT ONE, THEN EITHER CLIMB ONTO YOUR LAP OR SIT BETWEEN YOUR LEGS IF YOU WERE SITTING ON THE FLOOR, AND PROCEED TO TURN THE PAGES WHILE SHE IDENTIFIED THE DIFFERENT OBJECTS. SHE CAN RECITE THE ALPHABET WHEN SHE LOOKS AT THE PICTURES AND IDENTIFY NUMBERS. ANIMALS, THE SOUNDS THEY MAKE, sOMEHOW SHE HAS REVERSED KITCHEN AND CHICKEN, SO WHEN WE STOPPED AT cASEY,S FAVORITE PRODUCE STAND, SHE WANTED TO SEE THE KITCHENS. aPPARENTLY THE CHILDREN AT SCHOOL HAVE PLAYED AT BEING AIRPLANES, SO ONE DAY SHE MARCHED INTO THE KITCHEN AND PUT OUT HER ARMS AND WHIRLED AROUND IN CIRCLES, GRINNING FROM EAR TO EAR.wE WERE EXPECTING HER TO TUMBLE DOWN, BUT SHE KET ON GOING AS FAST AS SHE COULD AND REALLY ENJOYED THE APPLAUSE. tHEY ALSO PLAYED ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BOAT, SO SHE TOOK HER MOM AND DAD.S HANDS AND MADE A ROWING A MOTION, THE IMPISH GRIN ON HER FACE. GETTING GROVER PROPERLY ALIGNED SO SHE COULD GET HER LEG OVER BEING FACE TOWARD HIS HEAD WAS ALSO INTERESTING TO
WATCH!!

Great to have been with Casey and Matt, again, and we
really appreciate their hospitality and their invitation to return, sometime.......

Still getting some produce from our garden, but the days without watering when we were gone took a
toll.

Had a quick nature trail walk yesterday afternoon at
Lapham Peak State Park near Delafield. Long time since we've been there. Lots of improvements. A really nice outing

Have to run, so there is no time for a spell check!

Love and prayers, Grandma and Grandpa