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!