A Healthy and Happy New Year To All!

Happy New Year to all of our relatives, friends, and loyal readers! We look forward to a healthy and happy New Year for everyone!

We also anticipate lots of zaniness and craziness in 2007--and we'll start right out this next week!

Fun Visits!

Many of us have had a chance to visit Pat and are all amazed at her healthy and positive outlook on all that has happened in the past two weeks. We wish her a speedy recovery and will be sure to visit her often and help out as best we can.

We are planning a New Year's get together with Pat and Anna sometime this next week and will keep our loyal readers updated on all of the news.

Wonderful News Today!

A RED LETTER DAY!

Pat is now at the local medical facility for her rehab. We don't know much about the details, but we had heard that she was close to being able to check out of the Duluth hospital and get into rehab. We were all hoping it would be closer to home--and this is the closest! Now, we can only hope that her husband will be joining her here shortly. We will wait to visit until we hear what she and the family want at this point!

GREAT NEWS!!!

Merry Christmas from the WT's!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

Front: Mary, Emily and Jodie.

Sitting: Dorothy, Lorraine, Irene, Helen J., Pat, Elsie.

Standing: Laurie, Sharon, Helen S., Lil, Tee, Jo, Nancy, Joan and Naomi.

Have a wonderful holiday!

Another Update

One of us ran into Pat's daughter today. Dick is doing OK--still in a lot of pain. Sarah said he walked (with walker) about 20 feet this morning. They are hoping that they can get him home for Christmas. Pat had the skin graft (not as complicated a procedure as they had originally thought) and it went well. She might be starting rehab on Wednesday. The family is hoping it could be in Virginia so that she could be close Dick.

That is good news for all of us!

Another Christmas Event--Another Group Photo

Some of us visited Anna for a brief Christmas party and afternoon coffee on Thursday. Lil and Jo even drove from Virginia. Tee baked bars and bread and we enjoyed a nice visit. Of course, we had to have a group photo.

Front: Jodie, Irene, Anna.

Standing: Sharon, Lil, Jo, Tee and Mary.

We decided that we have to do this more often.

Perhaps wine and cheese in January?????

Good (Health) News

Just a few updates on our group. Lorraine got home from the hospital on Tuesday after her Monday elbow surgery. She does not have quite the mobility that she had with the temporary cast but is doing fine.

Pat is out of ICU and in a regular room. She can receive e-mail there and is enjoying that. She is doing well.

We are all going to visit Anna today and will have coffee at her place. Should be a great time and we'll post some photos tomorrow.

We Are Persons of the Year!

Time magazine announced that the annual Person of the Year went to all of us--"citizens of the new digital democracy." The winners were anyone using or creating content on the World Wide Web. That is certainly the WT's since we are on the Web through this 'Blog, our website page, and our photos that we post on the Geocaching site. Plus--wasn't the World Wide Web named after us?

Congratulations to Us!

Sounds like a reason to have a party!

Lorraine's Surgery Went Well!

Lorraine's husband just called to say that she is out of surgery and in recovery (He had "orders" to report to us). The surgery took a little longer than expected and they found three bone fragments that had to be removed. She is now all "plated" together and will be in the hospital overnight and home tomorrow. The doctor said that everything had gone well.

We will be anxious to have her back "in the fold" and back at coffee as she feels better.

Now their travels will be a little more exciting as she sets off the alarms at airport security with her new hardware.

Another one of the "Walking Wounded" is fixed. We are so happy that it is a good outcome!

WWW--A New Name--FOR NOW!

First of all--an update!

Pat and Dick are doing fine. Dick came out of his knee surgery just fine but is in a little pain now. Pat is not in any pain and her attitude is phenomenal, according to family and the pastor. She will need a skin graft because one of the bones poked through on her leg. That might even be done this week. The first round of family has returned to the Cities with the next batch coming on Tuesday. Both Pat and Dick are so thankful for surviving the accident. Pat remembers that she was able to touch the semi from the car. We all pray for a good recovery for both of them and will be anxious to visit.

We wish Lorraine well in her surgery tomorrow. Hopefully, we will know something early in the day so that we can report to our readers.

Last night Helen J. called from the Cities where she is visiting her daughters for the holidays. She called us the "Walking Wounded." I guess, in keeping with the "WWW" theme, that makes us the "Wonderful Walking Wounded." This is a temporary name and we will go back to the other name when we are all back at full strength--soon, we hope.

Your loyal writer will be gone until Wednesday night, so there might not be an update until then. Please check back for what we are sure will be good news.

Update

There was so much going on yesterday and the information kept changing about Pat and Dick. This seems to be right today:

Dick has some broken ribs and a shattered kneecap and had surgery for that on Friday afternoon. He delayed his own surgery until he could talk on the 'phone with Pat after her surgery. He told his brother-in-law that he loved the car and hoped he would get it back! Don't think that will be happening. He doesn't remember much of the accident.

Pat had a fractured knee cap on her left leg and a broken femur and ankle plus another break on her right leg. She had her surgery on Friday and was "feeling no pain" in the afternoon--good meds! She talked to Dick and also her brother on the 'phone and sounded fine. Pat remembers getting hit by the semi.

Their children are arriving. Evidently, some were on their way anyway for a cousins' Christmas reunion scheduled for next Friday evening. Their son and family and daughter and family are here and splitting their time between Virginia (Dick) and Duluth (Pat).

There was a short article in the paper today about it: http://virginiamn.com/mdn/index.php?sect_rank=1&story_id=207652
Pat might not appreciate that they listed her age!!!


We are all concerned and will try to keep our readers updated on what is happening to our group.

Not A "Good News" Day for the WT's

We have had some strange weather--rain mixed with snow. The sidewalks and streets have been treacherous for walking.

Yesterday Mary and Lorraine were walking to coffee, trying to stay on the crusted snow on the edge of the street to get more traction. Lorraine took a tumble and hurt her elbow, so Mary walked home with her and drove down to coffee by herself. Later in the day, we found out that the elbow was broken and she is now at home in a cast. On Monday she will have surgery to remove a bone fragment and to put in a plate. Mary was walking with Irene nearly three years ago when Irene fell and broke an arm. Now Mary worries that no one will want to walk with her in the winter!

This morning we saw a photo in the paper of a semi-trailer truck that had fishtailed and had an accident with a passenger car. We found out that it was Pat and her husband. He has some broken ribs and they kept him in the hospital overnight. She was taken to Duluth by ambulance (too foggy for the helicopter) with a broken knee cap on one leg and a broken hip and ankle on the other.

We are thankful that they are all OK but we worry about them nonetheless and hope for speedy recoveries. We are a "tight" group and will take care of each other!

One If By Land, Two If By--Air???

"Listen, my children, and you shall hear . . ."

We've all read the poem and know the story of Paul Revere's ride through the streets of Boston warning that the British were coming. We only feel it is only fair to warn the current Boston citizens that the "Rangers are Coming!" Tee and Joan are off to another ElderHostel, this time in Boston.

They will be seeing one Boston Pops Christmas concerts plus another Christmas concert. They will also be seeing A Christmas Carol and The Nutcracker. That adds up to four events in six days. We fear that they will return with "TB"--"Tired Bottoms!"

They leave this weekend. We are always anxious to hear their stories when they return--sort of makes us feel as if we were right with them!

Weihnachtsfest!

For those of us that forgot about the celebration in a neighboring town, we were reminded about 6:00 p.m. on Saturday when we heard the "booms" from the fireworks!

Weihnachtsfest is a festival that kicks off the holiday season. There were many people throughout this little town during the day enjoying the ethnic foods, caroling, plays and other activities. There was a horse-drawn wagon that took visitors on rides through the city streets. Another big draw was the annual craft show in the local pavilion. Of course, the food is always a huge event. Only non-profit groups can sell food, which is good so that they can get some of their projects funded. The ethnic music is also a big draw with polka music throughout the day (Emily's husband played his tuba for an hour; he had been skiing out West for 10 days and hadn't touched a mouthpiece, so his lips weren't in the best shape by Sunday when he delivered the sermon at church!). Although it was a cold afternoon, that did not deter people from enjoying the festivities.

The events cluminatewith the fireworks display and there were certainly plenty of "oohs" and "ahhs" for that.

There is always something going on in the northland!

'Tis the Season--Almost!

Had our first--of many--holiday get togethers today. Went to the nearby resort for lunch and to take our Christmas photo. We had a good turnout, so it was a large group--difficult to pose. Everyone was in good spirits and most had holiday colors on (and most were patient with the amateur photographer). Hopefully, the photo and cards will turn out just great. Our loyal readers will have to wait a bit to see it here on our 'Blog.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Walkie Talkies!

The Snow Has Been "Flying"

We do not have much, if any, snow on the ground.

However, on one end of town there is a great deal of snow and lots of noise. We have a local business that most people know little about--Scheuring Speed Sports. People from all over the world come to our little town with millions of dollars worth of snowmobiles and trucks and trailers to test their machines and to train on the race track there. Currently there are over 100 drivers (plus the entourage that accompanies each driver) in the area. Most of them stay at the local ski resort. Most of them eat at our local restaurants.

They have their own snow-making equipment so the snow has literally been "flying." Most of the WT's live near the business and have had some of the fog from the snow-making (and lots of the noise from the snowmobiles!). Today at coffee Mary said that we have to think of the noise as dollars dropping into our town. It certainly does help the businesses in our community!
The racing season starts in Maine in two weeks. Today we talked to some drivers who were having breakfast while we were having coffee. They were from New Hampshire (They were heading back and had a 25-hour drive). We asked them why they come to Minnesota rather than go to Wyoming or Colorado where they have tons of snow already. The reason is that we are at "normal" altitudes and they don't have to re-tune their machines for racing and training here.

They also have other racing in the summer.

For more information, check out the link for Scheuring Motor Sports.

What's A (Good) Wife To Do???

Subtitle: "The 'Scent' Caper"

Tomorrow is "The Opener"--the firearm deer season opens in Minnesota. It is a big "holiday" around here. Women hate to go to the grocery store the week before because the "amateurs" (hunters) are shopping for food to cook at their hunting shacks and many of them aren't familiar with the grocery aisles and they take forever trying to find items. It is such a popular time that sons fly in from all over the country to hunt with their fathers at the hunting shack.

So--what is a (good) wife to do? Some of us end up with a houseful of men sleeping on the floors and getting up at the crack of dawn to go out hunting. Driving around town and through the countryside for days before, one sees blaze orange clothing hanging outside "airing" to get rid of household or garage odors. Some wives even re-wash their husband's hunting clothes in unscented soap to get rid of "human" smells. One wife has been following this for a week and wonders why they have to air out their clothes. Her husband leaves his long johns and socks in the house so they'll be warm in the morning to put on. He will also have a sandwich made with sausage that is full of garlic. She wonders, "If the clothes need to air out so the deer won't detect human smells, why won't the deer smell the garlic in the sausage and the human odors on his undies?" She also refuses to re-wash the clothes and asks, "After all, if the deer can't smell the garlic from 200 yards away, how on earth can they smell the Downy?" One wife who hates to mend, has ended up mending her husband's backpack. "The presser foot would barely go down enough to sew it right," she said. But he was happy as could be about it--no need to buy a new one as the old one has worked for many years already!

One of the WT's (who will remain nameless) even went with her husband today to put deer scent around the area where he hunts. He was going to go out alone because his hunting buddies were all working and she was a little concerned about him being out in the woods alone so she made the decision to accompany him. After all, she has had a cold and would not be able to smell it! Deer "scent" means putting doe and buck urine (!!!) on cotton pads and hanging them on a tree. The bucks are attracted to the smell and head right for it. This is all legal and, evidently, is quite a big business in the state. In addition, he put the scent pad on a string on a stick and dragged it in a zig-zag method to simulate a buck searching for this wonderfully-smelling doe to hitch up with (or another buck to fight with!).

At any rate, it was quite an educational morning for her. Since this was her first trip to his deer hunting area, he had to point out all the spots where he had shot deer (this from the guy who can't remember what he went downstairs for!).

The doe scent gets used first. It is put on the wick on the left.

Then he dragged it in a zig-zag path along a deer trail that led to a clearing where he has shot deer in the past. The hope is that a buck will smell it and think there is a doe that is pining for him and waiting for him to appear!

Another wick with buck scent gets put in a tree where one had been scraping on the bark and pawing at the ground. The buck hopes that there might be another buck to fight for the lady of his dreams!

A real "find"--a scraping on a tree!

One has to wonder about the kind of person that collects these specimens and how they do it! Then again, maybe we don't need to know!

Next year this just might have to be a field trip for the WT's! It is pretty interesting. Who knows when we might have to use these techniques ourselves???

Surprise Birthday Party for Helen S.

Helen's three "children" surprised her with a Birthday breakfast this morning with all of the WT's at the Abbie Pub. It is a milestone birthday tomorrow, but we won't say which one. Her son gave her the shirt that she is wearing: "Helen" on the left side (as you look at it) and "The Walkie Talkies" on the right.

Everyone had a wonderful time. It's pretty difficult to keep a surprise in a small town and there was some confusion with Helen calling the Abbie to say that she was paying and the kids had already made arrangements to take care of it!

L to R: Mark (from Michigan), Mary Ann (from Illinois), Helen and John (from Connecticut).

A large contingent of the WT's today.

The WT's plus Helen's kids.

We love to celebrate birthdays and this was even more memorable since Helen's family was able to join us (plus there was food!).

Catch Us! We're Falling!

It's that time of year again: pumpkins are sprouting on doorsteps, winter coats are already out, and we get an extra hour's sleep by resetting our clocks (Remember? "Spring forward, fall back").

While the change officially takes place at 2:00 a.m. tonight, most of us will turn our clocks back an hour before going to bed tonight--perhaps, some of us even did it this afternoon (For some, we need the daylight hours to read the manuals to see how to change some of those pesky clocks!). Some might forget and arrive early for church tomorrow. It has taken us since April to catch up on that hour of sleep! Of course, most of us are up at the crack of dawn anyway. It just means we will be up even earlier now!

With the clocks turned back, it will be lighter (or, at least, less dark) in the morning. Unfortunately, it will be dark earlier in the afternoon and where we live the days will be very short soon enough!

At any rate, we hope that none of the WT's will be late for church or whatever else is happening tomorrow. For sure, we don't want anyone to be late for walking and for coffee on Monday!

Saturday Shopper News!

It's been awhile since we have had any of our local news from The Shopper. Why now? Well--none of the WT's have had any other news to share with your loyal blogger, so here goes . . .

The Pumpkin Fest was a great hit despite the horrible weather. The kids were all bundled up for the carriage rides and there were even some vendors outdoors in the parking lot. Obviously, there were plenty of us indoors--kids for decorating pumpkins and adults for the craft sale and the FOOD! We never miss food! There is a big thank-you from the committee for all the help and participation.

The local computer shop now has a sideline business called "Click It's Gone" for those locals who are not computer literate but still want to sell their goods on eBay. Sounds like a good idea and we hope it works.

Interesting event coming up: On November 11 the PTO is hosting a Crafters Retreat: $15 will get anyone some table space and pizza from 8:00 a.m. to midnight. The ad says that it is a great way to get away from all the interruptions and spend an "adult" day/night "actually getting something done." Since it will be the middle weekend of the firearms deer season, it sounds like a great diversion. Of course, some of the hunting "widows" won't be able to get away from their children, but perhaps they'll attend anyway.

School Parent/Student Conferences for grades 7-12 are coming up on October 30. Drum roll, please: They can also pick up the first quarter report cards at that time!

For the past couple of years the Lions Club and the Leo Club (high school kids) are hosting a Halloween Monster Bash for the kids up to 6th grade. This has turned out to be a great event and keeps some of the kids off the streets. The young ones can also try Trick or Treats at the local nursing home, which is something the Elders really look forward to.

There are ads telling us how we can pick up absentee ballots for the November 7 election. There has been some talk about what we might be doing for the election--perhaps just voting "No"???? The local candidates also have plenty of ads--in fact there are some terms where there are more candidates running than there are openings! Might be an actual election for some of them!

It must be getting close to the holidays because there are several craft shows coming up. Great way to get some gifts early.

This Monday--the 23rd--there is a book sale at the local Public Library from 10:00 a.m. to7:30 p.m. These will be the books that are left from this past week's sale--A buck a Bag! Such a deal!

The local Lutherans are having their annual lefse sale on the 25th. The cost will be $3.50 for three rounds. Another great deal! Those Lutherans really know how to make it!

The Methodists are selling pasties (Cornish meat pies) for a fund-raiser. They are pretty delicious also and at $3 each, it is a great deal.

The arena is now open for public skating and practice. Right now, it is almost cold enough to make ice outside! Back in "our" day, we skated outdoors. Many of us remember where the rink used to be and the old Slovenian women who used to work there and would help us tighten up our skates. Who can forget that smell of wet wool as we dried our mittens on the stove? Who can forget how we would have to quickly remove them when they started to smoke??

Can't forget the Buck and Doe Contest at the sporting goods store. For $10 folks can get a ticket and win prizes when they weigh in and register their deer. They are giving away some interesting prizes. There will be plenty of activity around that place beginning on November 4th! They will soon be putting up the ramp and pulley system for weighing the animals. Of course, some folks get upset with the hunting season, but some are happy that some of the deer are harvested so that there aren't as many around to eat our flowers and vegetables and to run into our cars. This time of year is particularly dangerous as they have only one thing on their minds!

The local bank is reminding us that it will soon be time to put up their "Hat and Mittens Christmas Tree." They will be looking for these items to make donations to various organizations in the area.

We have had our second snowfall and there are ads for tune-ups on our snowblowers. Hate to think that the time for using them is coming up quickly!

Playing at the re-opened theater: "Lady in the Water" at 5:30 p.m. and "Clerks 2" at 7:30. "Ant Bully" is tentatively scheduled to start on Friday. Wonder what "tentatively" means. Sounds a little ominous! All tickets $2.00 for a great deal.

Let's hope that the WT's get some more exciting events going so that we can entertain you with our own antics!

Winter's First Volley!

We have had some snow in the past few days. It was quite miserable this morning with the slush and the cold and the wind. Despite all of that there were several in the group that made it for coffee--in fact, several even walked!

Looks pretty cold for visitors to town!
Tomorrow is the Pumpkin Fest. We are hoping that there will be plenty of people who brave the weather to attend this annual festival.

The Craft Show from 10:00-3:00 will take place in the Community Center. There will be activities for the kids--Design-a-Pumpkin and Design-a-Cookie. Of course, we will enjoy the food (that'll be enough to draw in the WT's!)--hamburgers, hot dogs, sloppy joes and, of course, Homemade PUMPKIN pie! Don't know what will happen to the outside vendors, etc. There will be a free Blood Pressure Check at the Firehall and hand and face tattoos and a movie. The Annual Quilt Show will take place at the Library and that is always a popular event.

There will be Carriage Rides from 11:00-2:30 on Main Street.

It should be a great event! And we are hardy folks!

It might look cold, but visitors will still enjoy a very warm reception in our town! So do stop in to visit!

Know When to Fold 'Em!

Today was our big poker lesson. There were twelve of us that showed up for our salad lunch, but not everyone stayed to play.

Our instructor for the day, Tonya, only started playing last February and has since won many prizes. She was so much fun and made the afternoon interesting for all of us.

She brought two table tops, cards, chips and even prizes for us!

We like to think that we are "Superstars" and it was neat to know that someone else felt the same way (or, could it be, that it was the name of the table top from the tournament where she won it!).

The usual group photo: Seated L to R--Helen S., Mary, Jo, Joan, Pat, Irene, Jodie and Lorraine. Standing--Lil, Nancy, Tonya and Tee (Tee and Nancy were on their best "photo behavior" today and didn't hide).
Tonya explains a little about the game before we start to play.
Pat doesn't look so sure that this is better than bridge.
Ooops! Did we do something wrong in our betting? Should we have bet more? Less? Tonya was a great teacher!
It looked as if Mary was going to be the big winner! She had stacks of chips in front of her!
Lorraine also won and rakes them in!
But Tee was the big winner for the day (Mary came in second)!
Most of us will never play again. Some might play occasionally. At least, we now know what it is all about so that we will at least be able to understand what others are talking about when they discuss Texas Hold 'Em!

We found out that Tonya plays every Wednesday night at the local resort and invited us to come to play or to watch! We laughed about that because Wednesday night is typically saved for church activities. We decided that we'd better get out there before Lent, when our Wednesdays are tied up!

Sounds like another field trip!

Know When to Hold 'Em

Our group is always up for something new. Tomorrow we have two events:

A woman who is a professional poker player is going to teach us what this whole Texas Hold 'Em is all about. One of our members decided that she wanted to know more about it but did not want to get a computer game and did not want to watch it on TV. So--we all decided it sounded like a fun thing to do and then tell our kids and grandkids about. Of course, we also will have lunch beforehand. Then the pro will tell us what the game involves and we might even play a little. It looks as if ten or eleven of us will be there. We are always "up" for any event that includes food!

We are going to the movie tomorrow evening: The Devil Wears Prada is playing at our local theater (the one that closed and then re-opened with $2 tickets). We will do our share to try to keep it going. We might also have a pizza or something for a snack after an afternoon of playing poker!

Bad News Turned Good!

Our readers might remember that our local movie theater--aka "The Showhouse"--quit showing movies a few weeks ago. There were articles in the paper about the poor economics of showing first-run movies and the lack of patrons at these movies. There was even mention of selling the big silver screen and the seats! We were so sad to have this happen. Attending movies in that particular theater is quite an event--with the bistro tables in the back where we could eat while we watched the movie.

WELL--something happened and the owners changed their minds. Last night they started showing movies again. The movies will not be right "out-of-the-box" movies; instead, they will be movies that have had their run. They will charge us only $2 to see these movies! We are all pleased that they have had a change of heart. We thank the local leaders that perhaps helped them realize that there was "middle ground." Now we will schedule ourselves to go to see movies on a regular basis. Perhaps this was a wake-up call for all of us to patronize our local businesses!

Autumn's Last Hurrah!

We love autumn! Unfortunately, it is of short duration here in the northland. With the dry summer we just had, we were afraid that it would not be that pretty this year. It has been spectacular. The reds and yellows of the maples, the yellows and orange of the poplars and the birch, the orange of the tamarack--all with the evergreens in the background--have been gorgeous this autumn. This is probably the last week, but we have enjoyed it for the past several weeks.

The sky is so blue in the autumn. It is fun to look straight up through the trees (at our age, we must be careful so that we don't fall over!).

Jodie shot these two photos at their cabin in Minnesota. Above: It was a beautiful autumn morning with the reflection on the lake. Below: The lakes are as deep blue as the sky in the autumn.
A beautiful sunrise in Minnesota's lake country!
Lorraine returned from Michigan with this spectacular photo of their lake. The blues of the sky made everything look so beautiful and serene.
We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves because not all of the leaves are down yet. However, some serious raking will soon be in order! It surely beats shoveling snow!

Another Unveiling--Naomi's Remodeling Project!

As our loyal readers know, it doesn't take much for the WT's to declare a party! Naomi had quite a remodeling project this spring and summer. Now that it is completely finished (and she has recovered from it!), she invited us all over for a potluck breakfast!

Naomi welcomes us to her "new" house. She made her three-season room into a dining room/sitting room (with a skylight), increased the size of her kitchen and had it re-done, and added an entry room. Everything is just gorgeous and we thoroughly enjoyed it!
What would a WT get together be without some great food. With Scandinavians, Eastern Europeans, and even an Irish woman, the combinations were delightful!
Naomi standing in front of the shelves that showcase family photos and plenty of mementoes of her extensive travels.
The traditional group photo--Front: Jo, Jodie and Naomi. Mixed together: Helen S., Elsie, Joan, Lil, Nancy, Sharon, Pat, Tee, Dorothy, Lorraine, and Mary. Next time Nancy and Tee, who are both trying to hide in the back will have to be front and center in our next group photo!).

Autumnal Equinox--2006

Yes, we know that this is not the official Autumnal Equinox, 2006. However, our party leader is not available for Friday night at 11:03 p.m. and we would rather get up early to watch a sunrise than stay up late to sit in the dark. (Besides we are always a little bit "ahead of the curve" on most things that we do!). Emily suggested that we call it "Equinox--the Prequel."

We knew it was going to be a beautiful morning as we headed off to the east and we were not disappointed--it was a spectacular morning at Fisherman's Point. We arrived around 6:30 a.m. to a most gorgeous sunrise over the fog on the lake. It was about 30 degrees, but there was no wind so it was great!

This is the scene that greeted us. The official sunrise was somewhere around 6:58 a.m. so we had a lot to do before that time.
Former flight attendant, Laurie, gets the mimosas ready so that we will be ready to toast the sunrise.

Here it comes!

The mimosas await!

Our toast to everyone--a long autumn, a short and mild winter, and great and long-lasting friendships!

L to R: Pat, Emily, Nancy, Laurie, Joan, Jodie, Tee, Naomi, Helen S., Elsie, Helen J.

Toasty warm: Elsie, Helen S. and Helen J.

We had a great breakfast--two hot egg dishes, scones, blueberry muffins, coffee cake, lots of fruit and plenty of coffee. Nancy even brought "healthy" pretzels for us to sample!

L to R: Pat, Elsie, Helen S., Joan, Helen J. and Laurie.

Emily, Tee, Naomi and Nancy.

As we always say, "A great time was had by all!"

Equinox Party Coming Soon

In September, 2003, we celebrated the autumnal equinox with an early morning party at a campgrounds about 5 miles from town. At that time we said we would do it again in two years. Ooops! We missed last year, so we will be celebrating it this coming Thursday morning at sunrise.

This was the view as the sun was coming up that cold morning in 2003.

The group saluted the sunrise before our campfire with mimosas. We then enjoyed a full breakfast.

More on the Unveiling

Pat had a little more information to share about the "unveiling" of the painting. There were 12 WT's at the event.

Joan was able to salvage one photo of Dick and the painting as he explains how lithographs are made and talks about the painter, Fanch, who is a French artist, now living in California. During Dick's presentation there was a violent thunderstorm--a perfect setting for an English mystery.

They all enjoyed wine and cheese and sat and visited for about two hours!