Sunset

Originally uploaded by g.norðoy

Saw this on That’s Right and loved it.

Ok, it’s been ages since I’ve made a post here. Lots has happened since my post in June. I finished the class I was taking and I’ve started another class this Fall semester.
I continue to work at TRA in the same position I’ve held for ages. I’m still contemplating retirement, but don’t feel I can pull the trigger on that at this time. Stay tuned on that.
On September 19th Penny and I and 200+ other participants did the Liz Logelin Foundation walk around Lake Calhoun in memory of Liz and in support of Matt and Madeline. Then on Sunday the 20th we attended the foundation’s gala at the Calhoun Beach Club in Minneapolis.
Last weekend Penny and I joined Jeff at a Biggest Loser taping for Jeff’s friend’s father and sister. Look for us when this family segment gets started in January.
Meanwhile the class I’m in is beckoning me now because I have an assignment to complete for Wednesday evening’s class.
Guess that’s all for now folks. God’s blessing always!

Half Dome Impressions #1 – Mirror Lake, Yosemite National Park, California

Originally uploaded by PatrickSmithPhotography

I love this find!

Summer greens in the Duffey lake landscape near Lillooet in beautiful British Columbia ( Explore )

Originally uploaded by Jacques Daigneault

Loving the beauty of this moment on film.

Rich near Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco

Originally uploaded by rjfpafrj

February 2009 San Francisco visit

Life is busy indeed and the time for blogging has not really presented itself very well. Blogging time seems to be in the same place as exercise time. Well, maybe it’s ahead of exercise, but it’s a long ways behind everyday things.

Maybe you’d like to leave me a note of encouragement as a comment to this post. Pretty please!

Thanks for visiting. Till a little later,

God’s blessings to you always!

I welcome you and invite you to return as I develop this site to one you’ll want to revisit. I’ll need to dedicate more time to this than I have in the past. I think I’ll be able to do that beginning some time in May.

Meanwhile I thank you for stopping by today!

I love Lake Louise

Again it’s been a while since I’ve been here to post.

I just visited Matt’s site and was inspired to write again.  There’s a video of him and Madeline doing a photo shoot with Gina, a professional photographer who came to know Matt and Madeline and now does occasional photo shoots of them.  Madeline is such a darling and Matt interacts with her so beautifully.  I think you’ll enjoy this video link, if I can figure out how to insert it.

I’ve been away for a long time.  Lots has happened during the past five months.

My oldest brother, Dwain, passed away on August 12th after an illness that had worsened over the months since February.  Dwain would have been 87 in September.  Dwain’s wife continues to live in their Bismarck home.  We were able to visit Dwain during the July 4th weekend.  Then we attended his funeral on August 16th.  Our children Renee and Jeff and Renee’s husband Rob also attended the funeral and the memorial service the evening prior to the funeral.

Our son Jeff began his senior year at Marquette University in late August.  Jeff came home during a four-day break period in October and then returned to college.  On October 28th we received a phone call from a Marquette contact that indicated that Jeff was having difficulties at school.  Early on the 29th we drove to Milwaukee.  We completed the round trip that evening when we brought Jeff home with us.  I’m sparing you many details here, but the result is that Jeff had an accident on October 30th that caused a traumatic brain injury (TBI).  Jeff was rushed to surgery which ultimately has proven to be very successful.  Jeff spent two weeks in the HCMC intensive care unit, then transferred to another level of care at HCMC and finally transferred again to Knapp Rehabilitation Center, which is located within Hennepin County Medical Center.

If you wish to do so you can read our Caring Bridge journal of Jeff’s recovery at www.CaringBridge.org/visit/jefffick

There’s way more to tell, but time for blogging has expired for today.

A healthy Jeff having fun

It’s past time to blog a little.  So much to say – so little time.  Other “priorities” keep coming up, so please bear with me.  Maybe I should just plan on a post every ten days – that’s probably a reasonable goal and hopefully one I can meet.

I’ve reactivated my flicker account and will again attempt to attach some photos to this blog.  If this works today, watch out, cause this site might just rock.  Hope I haven’t over-hyped this now.

Plenty has happened since my post on the Wednesday the 18th.  I’ll try to hit the high points:

Matt & Madeline were in the Twin Cities, so we had a few opportunities to spend some time with them.  If you recall from my first blog, Matt inspired my blogging with his blog site www.mattlogelin.com - some day I hope to make website links the slick way instead of the ‘old fashioned’ way above.  You may recall that Matt’s wife, Liz, my wife’s sister’s daughter died on March 25th after giving birth to her daughter Madeline on the 24th.  So trajic at a young 30 years of age.  Matt’s blog is a daily journal of his and Madeline’s lives since the week of Liz’s passing.

So now back to the M&M visit here:  they were here about two weeks.  Matt was catching up with folks here in his homeland including his family and Liz’s family.  We even experienced Madeline’s 1st pool party on Father’s Day.  Later Matt and his brothers/friends went fishing at a family connected cabin on Mille Lacs, then on Saturday the 21st Matt’s cousin Josh got married.  Penny and I were invited to the wedding and really enjoyed our time there – thanks Josh and Jane!  Madeline was at the wedding for a while and later headed to Candee & Toms, previous site of the pool party where we were able to join them in sharing some time with Madeline while Matt partied at the wedding.  Later still, we had one last visit with Matt & Madeline on the eve before their return to the LA.  Madeline was every bit as special as she appears on Matt’s blog.  It’s so easy to love her.  She’s great to hold as well as she gets along with everyone.

I also had a gathering with some retired friends from my USAR career.  Our breakfast meeting at the Pannekoeken Restaurant in Maplewood was most enjoyable on the morning of the 21st.  Here’s our group less yours truly.

 Gardening and landscaping work around home has occupied a lot of my time of late.  We shrunk the garden a bit and transplanted strawberries and some peonie plants as part of the shrinking process.  Reducing the garden size also prompted the installation of a new gate for the garden.

Meanwhile inside the house our son, Jeff, is doing all he can to help us get better organized at home.  Hopefully, we’ll get there before he ships out to return to Marquette near the end of August.

Then there’s my brother Dwain and his situation.  It’s been a tough go for him for the past few months.  His weak state has forced him to move in to a nursing home in Bismarck.  We’re happy that he’s in Bismarck after initially being in a Garrison nursing home – that home was about 75 miles from his home and his wife Elizabeth.  Now she can visit him frequently.  It’s tough on all of us to see Dwain in this weak state, we’re more used to seeing him bowling, golfing, and yes smoking.  Unfortunately, Dwain has Emphazema, sleep apnea, and now an infection of his bladder or kidney.  We’re hoping and praying for his healing so that he can be with us as many years as possible.  Dwain is 86.

Ok, I’ve used up my blogging time and the garden is calling.  I think I’ll close with a photo of our newest and wonderful great-niece, Madeline.

And one more of sleepy Madeline deep in thought!