WE WILL MISS HER!

We lost one of our own:

Anna passed away at the nursing home on Thursday, April 24th. She was a spark of laughter and reason for all of us through the years. We celebrated her 80th birthday in 2006 at Giant's Ridge (photo below). We will all miss her but will celebrate her life as we remember all of her antics and know that, because of her deep faith, she is in a better place!

It is still our loss.

ANOTHER FANTASTIC ROAD TRIP!

A great time was had by all!

Our road trip turned out bo be great fun again. We last attended the Plymouth Playhouse (see link on the right for the play) almost exactly two years ago; we saw the first "helping" of The Church Basement Ladies then. When we saw that there was a second "helping," we decided that another road trip was in order.

We left around 10:00 a.m. in three vehicles for the nine WT's from "up north" (Sharon and Tee drove, Joan drove herself because she was heading to Brainerd afterwards for a Knowledge Bowl event, and Jodie, who now lives in the Cities, met us there). We stopped in Hinckley to eat; the service was a little slow and we were afraid we would not get there in time for the Happy Hour at The Green Mill. Our intrepid (and fast) drivers made it there and we arrived around 2:30, which gave us plenty of time to check in, get settled, get changed and meet for a drink in the bar.

The waiter in the bar said that ten of us would not fit at the table. Little did he know what we can do--especially, when challenged! This was the same table that we occupied two years ago. Clockwise from the bottom: Pat, Elsie, Janet (hiding behind Pat--usually Tee is the one hiding!), Mary, Jo, Naomi, Joan, Jodie, Tee and Sharon.

After drinks, some of us went back to our rooms to change and the rest waited for the others to return. We got our aprons from Mary and headed off to take some photos and to eat.

Elsie (left) and her daughter Nancy. Nancy moved from out East to the Cities and works close to where we were staying, so she joined us for dinner. She was even gracious enough to wear an apron with us!

Mary, our "apron lady" (see the link for Mary's Productions on the right), does her best Vanna White impression before dinner.

Nancy also took our traditional group photo:

Seated L to R: Mary, Pat, Naomi, Elsie and Tee.

Standing L to R: Jodie, Joan, Janet, Sharon and Jo.

We had plenty of people coming up to us all evening to ask about the aprons. We gave out several of Mary's business cards, so we hope that they all look at her website and purchase books or something else from her.

The play was very enjoyable and everyone in the audience seemed to enjoy it--Lutherans are able to laugh at themselves and the Methodists and Catholics laughed the loudest! It was a little more poignant than the first "helping." There were two actresses listed in the playbill for the same character--the one that had played Mrs. Snustad in the first "helping" had a kidney transplant last November and an insert indicated there is a benefit coming up on April 21 for her. The character of Mavis was played by the same actress as the earlier play and she is still a riot!

As with all of us, the characters undergo some "life changes" during the course of the four acts. All of us can relate to these changes on various levels.

We even had time (and energy) after the play to have a "nite cap" in the bar!

The group had to get back for some evening events (we had already missed the Salad Luncheon on Wednesday to raise money for the Fourth of July): Some were going to a sloppy joe dinner followed by a town meeting, some were heading to Eastern Star, and others had still other meetings. We are still a VERY busy group!

Now we have to plan another adventure or two. Stay tuned!

Another Field Trip!

We (nine of us from the northland are meeting one who lives in the Cities) are off to the Cities to see the play The Church Basement Ladies: A Second Helping. Two years ago we had a similar field trip when we saw the first one. We had a great time and look forward to another adventure for this sequel.

We are heading out around 10:00 and will stop in Hinckley for lunch. Then we head to the Plymouth Playhouse where we will be checking into the "Play and Stay" package--staying at the Kelly Inn, eating at the Green Mill and then attending the play (and we will also do some "playing" to keep with the Play-and-Stay theme). We are sure there will be many stories to tell after this trip!

Of course, we will share them with our faithful readers!

President's Day

At coffee this morning we lamented that it was another miserable day and besides there would be no mail, no bank open, and no library open......so what to do? Well, anyone who knows the Walkie Talkies knows that it is time to go out for lunch. And, why not visit an old huant that we haven't been to in ages. So with that thought,, eight of us decided to head up to Four Corners for some comforting grease.

The road was a bit iffy, but we all made it just fine. A bonus.....it was Senior Citizen discount day......did any of us qualify? We'll never tell. We soon settled on hot tea with lemon and honey for this cold day. Then a variety of 'grease' to satisfy our tastes....au gratin potato soup, hamburgers and fries, patty melts, or deli sandwiches. Even a shrimp salad by one of our more diet conscious members!

Joan remembered her camera and just as she got up to take the required photo of everyone at the table.... another surprise! In walked Connie and Cal Maki. What a coincidence as we had just discussed how we always came here with Margaret before she died. (Connie is Margaret's daughter). We also talked about the birthday parties we used to have in January for Lorraine's doll Molly. We had a nice chat with Connie and then asked her to take our picture. She accomodated us and then Joan took one of the group with Connie and Cal.

So, here is our latest set of photos of the group doing what we do best.....eating.



Clockwise from back left: Janet, Irene, Nancy, Mary, Joan, Lorraine, Elsie, Naomi



Another shot with Cal and Connie standing in back.

Apron Day at the Bakery

Hello everyone. I bet you thought the Walkie Talkies froze to death in the snow and ice up here in the frigid northland. Well, I am here to tell you that that did not happen and we are alive and well.
We did have a hard rain on last Monday evening followed by a big drop in temperature, so we had a solid sheet of ice around everywhere. But, our city did a good job of sanding and salting and now the streets are pretty good for driving, and the sidewalks downtown are not too bad. Some residential streets are still pretty icy and many of us still have pretty icy driveways.
So, of course, what do the Walkie Talkies do when the going gets tough? They get going. Since Mary has a display of her apron collection in the Bakery in town, we decided we should all go for lunch one day and view the display and give our new bakery a bit of business. The date was set for last Tuesday, Jan. 29th but since that was the day of much ice, we postponed it until Thursday, Jan. 31. Thirteen folks showed up for lunch, including Becky who is visiting Mom Pat. Mary who orgainized the event was unab le to attend because of an emergency at her house.
We enjoyed the apron display and many of the Walkies wore old aprons of their own to lunch. Most of us could look at the display and comment that we had an apron like one of them. We also enjoyed our lunch, with many of us having a wild rice with mushroom soup and various types of sandwiches. Also popular was the 7 layer salad.
After eating, Pat announced that she was buying our lunches. They had finally received a settlement from their accident and she felt there should be some kind of celebration. We were all very happy to hear that the settlement had been acheived and thanked Pat for her thoughtfulness.
Naturally, we took pictures. Lorraine took a picture and then Becky took a picture so Lorraine could be in it. Emily arrived after pictures were taken. Bill Ojala also came to take our picture.



Clockwise starting bottom left: Lorraine, Elsie, Joan, Dorothy, Janet, Nancy, Tee, Sharon and Pat, Laurie and Helen





Clockwise starting bottom left: Elsie, Joan, Dorothy, Janet, Nancy, Tee, Sharon, Pat, Becky, Laurie and Helen

Another Holiday Breakfast

Happy Holidays from the Walkie Talkies.

Those that were around had breakfast at the Abbie this morning. It is always great to get together and we never need much of an excuse.

We wish all of you a very Merry Christmas!

Front: Sharon, Pat, Dorothy and Mary.

Back: Elsie, Tee, Emily, Joan, Naomi, Lorraine and Janet.

Fall Report

WT's are on the road again. Mary spent some time in St. Louis, teaching classes at Jackman's Fabrics. The business has been in the same family for four generations, celebrating 105 years. Tee and Joan enjoyed an Elderhostel week in historic St. Charles. They visited the most haunted city in the country for a day, Alton, Illinois. They did not report ghostly sightings or unusual happenings. Lorraine was on a two week tour of New England, visiting historic sights, going through fourteen states and Canada. She came home to rest.

WT's Laurie, Emily and Irene are caring for and helping spouses who are dealing with illness. Naomi and Dorothy had knees repaired and are doing well. Nancy had a shoulder repaired during the summer. We are being helped with replacement parts and patching.

Our "Shopper" is advertising the coming local elections of a mayor and council members. We will watch the outcome with interest--a woman is running for mayor for the first time. The local bank reminds us to prepare for donations to the Christmas Hat and Mitten Tree. The Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts gathered 3,250 pounds of food for the local Food Shelf.

This is the week for Halloween parties and dances. We wish you good treats, especially chocolate.

A Very Happy Birthday!

Today we celebrated Pat's birthday with our traditional Danish and a candle. Pat has driven herself to morning coffee for a few days. She said that she's happy to be here. We are happy she's with us, doing so well after her accident.

The Wt's are planning to breakfast with the new Lutheran pastor on Friday. We look forward to hearing about her adjustment to small town life. Her two congregations are having a welcoming reception for her and her family this week.

Our "Shopper" is reporting the Baptist Annual Corn Feed and a Lutheran church auction. A successful Victorian High Tea Fundraiser was held for Catholic pilgrims going to Australia. The churches are not letting any moss grow under their faith.

The lists for school supplies are out and there is a youth hockey meeting scheduled. Jolts us out of our hot weather lethargy. The Wt's are doing well, keeping up with their social calenders.

Mary's NY Adventure: Her Report (as promised)

For the fifth decade of my life, and beyond, I plan to major in adventure travel, meaning that when there's an opportunity to fly somewhere distant to attend a celebration, I will call Northwest Airlines and find a way to get there, even if it's a last minute deal.

After church on Sunday, June 24, I asked Linda J. if she was planning to attend the ordination service for the new pastor coming to serve our churches--Our Savior's Lutheran and Faith Lutheran. Since she is the chairman of the call committee, I thought she would attend. On that morning she didn't have plans, but by Sunday evening, we both had airline tickets and a plan for Thursday, June 28.

We flew from Duluth to JFK in New York and Sara Neddig, a member of Ascension Lutheran Church, found us in the baggage claim department. Linda told her we were two old Finnish ladies and that she'd be wearing an aqua t-shirt. Sara is the custodian of the church and was excited about setting up for the ordination service on Sunday.

We stayed at a Hampton Inn in Comack, NY. It's in the central part of Long Island. On Thursday evening we had dinner at the home of our new pastor, Donna Olsen. Her husband John and daughters Meghan and Molly were there also. We learned that Donna would like to be called Pastor Olsen and that John had made all the stained glass windows at Ascension Lutheran. Meghan is a graduate student planning to enroll in a social work program and Molly is a political science student in Binghampton, NY.John and Meghan took us out to tour on Friday. We visited Sagamore Hill, Teddy Roosevelt's home on Oyster Bay, ate lunch at a diner, and walked on Jones Beach. We had dinner at the Olsen home and then found an Italian restaurant for a glass of wine before bed.

On Saturday we found our way on the Long Island Railroad to Penn Station in NYC. We met a mother and daughter on the train who gave us clear instructions for how to get on the correct train for our ride back to Long Island. We walked along Seventh Avenue from 34th to 50th Street. I couldn't resist buying a little silk dupioni and twill tape for apron strings at a fabric shop along the way. It was a sunny, breezy day in NYC and people watching was excellent. We saw the musical "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" and enjoyed that very much. Dinner was at Ellen's Stardust Diner where the wait staff sings between waiting on tables. When you aren't accustomed to using public transportation, it feels like a real accomplishment to figure it out, and then arrive back at "home", the Deer Park train station, safely.

We set the alarm for early Sunday morning so there would be time for breakfast and for attending church. Before the 10:45 a.m. service at Ascension we took pictures for the photo display Poster we planned to set up at both our churches. Ascension has about 1800 members, three pastors, and numerous deacons. Spanish language church services are held twice a week and many community groups use the church as a meeting place. Pastor Ryan who preached at the church service was a former intern and our pastor's mentor. He came from his church in Michigan to attend and participate in the ordination. At 1 p.m. the church sanctuary was full and the ordination service began with torch, cross, and Bible bearers, many pastors, and about 15 deacons. The music and lessons had all been chosen by Pastor Olsen and her husband and daughters read the lessons. Bishop Peter Strommen from our district here in Minnesota was there for the ordination and he told the congregation about Minnesota and the area where Donna was going to be the pastor. We found that not many people on Long Island know where Minnesota is, so the information he gave was interesting. The people attending the ordination were very impressed by him and that he would would interrupt his family vacation to come to ordain Donna....oops--Pastor Olsen.

Afterwards, the reception was held in the back yard at the Olsen home in Babylon, NY. A large canopy tent had been set up on Saturday and the caterers had another area for serving the food. About 200 guests were expected. The weather was perfect. Everyone we met welcomed us and told us how fortunate we are to get Pastor Olsen for our churches. It's very easy to agree with them from just the short time we spent with her in NY. She and her husband and daughters are a wonderful family. They are excited about coming to Minnesota, to living a less-hectic lifestyle here and getting involved in the communities.

Our return flights to Duluth went smoothly and we experienced none of the Northwest Airlines traffic delays and cancellations from earlier in the week. Our quickly planned trip was a great success and we were glad we made the effort to attend the ordination.

I arrived home to jump right into the Northern Lights Music Festival concerts and a marathon sewing session for costumes for "Carmina Burana" on Saturday. This festival celebration doesn't require an airline ticket!

Another Adventure for Mary!

Mary is off on another adventure. She says that it only seems as if she searches for trips to distant celebrations (We figure that adventures just "find" her). This one sounds like fun: She and another friend from her church are in New York (hopefully, they arrived there with all the airline hassles and power blackouts in New York City!) for the ordination of the new pastor for their local Lutheran church. The bishop from our area will be there to ordain the new pastor (Donna Olsen) on Sunday. Linda is chair of the Call committee and Mary is always up for another adventure, so off they went!

This is a second career for their new pastor. She has been a speech pathologist for many years. She has two grown daughters and she and her husband have lived on Long Island all their lives and have chosen to relocate to our small Minnesota town. We figure it will be a lot quieter than they are used to so the WT's will have to figure something out to liven things up for them! That never seems to be much of a problem for us!

Mary said that the receptionist at the Hampton Inn is anxious to meet the two "old Finnish ladies" as Linda described themselves to her. We will be anxious to hear all the stories when they return from this trip.

A 50 year reunion

Last weekend Joan traveled to the Twin Cities to attend the 50th reunion of her graduating class from Macalester College. While attending Macalester, Joan had lived at home so often didn't feel too involved with all the campus activities at the college. She was fortunate though to join up with a group of other students who lived 'off campus' and they have remained friends through all these years. This group gathers at least once every year for lunch, or dinner and lots of 'catching up'.

None of us had ever attended a rununion at Macalester, but some of us decided that since this was 50 years, it was time to attend the big bash and reconnect with our Alma Mater. So, Marilyn, Ginna, Lorraine, Dorothea and Joan (known at Pete to this crowd) met bright and early on Friday morning and drove over to Macalester to take part in the festivities of the day. After registering, we toured the campus and saw all the new buildings, and tried to envision some of our old haunts which are no longer there. We all hold many good memories from the Off Campus Lounge and the The Grill which were our main meeting places while on campus.

After our self guided tour, we attended the induction ceremony making us members of the Golden Scots Society. This ceremony was held in the college chapel. We were each called individually and received a 'gold' medalion commemorating our 50th reunion. Following a rousing rendition of Dear Old Macalester we posed outside the chapel for our class picture and then moved on to the Kagin Commons where we enjoyed a delicious meal....complete with wine.

Joan also returned to campus on Saturday morning to participate in a panel she was asked to join. The panel included members of the class talking about things they are doing that they are happy about and how Macalester influenced them in their decisions. Joan talked about the volunteer work she is involved in in retirement and how she was encouraged at Macalester to 'give back' to others because she had the privilege of a college education.

The five friends ended their reunion visit feeling happy that we had attended. We were all amazed at how many people we actually had connected with and enjoyed visiting with again. We were also somewhat dismayed at the long list of classmates who are no longer with us.



Five friends at Macalester reunion: Dorothea, Ginna, Joan, Marilyn and Lorraine

A Party for Jodie...June 6

Perhaps you have noticed that we haven't had too many new posts lately. There is a reason for that. Our faithful blogger Jodie is busy relocating to the Twin Cities and the rest of us are very sluggish in getting blog postings done.

It is a Walkie Talkie tradition to host a party for any walker who decides to relocate, so today was Jodie's day! True to form, when there is a party, our Walkers show up in force. Sixteen of us gathered at the Lodge at the Ridge for lunch and a fun visit with Jodie. It was especially nice to have Pastor Ruth join us (she had previously relocated), and to have Pat with us along with her visiting sister Nancy.

Jodie reports that moving has gone well. There are only about 15 boxes left to unpack. They have been busy connecting with family and friends in their new area. They have enjoyed a short reprieve at their cabin up north, but will be returning to the Cities to finish their unpacking and prepare for Sandy's upcoming fishing trips. A return to the cabin is planned for late June and Jodie promises to come for morning coffee while they are there. She said she also hopes to get us out on a geocaching adventure yet this summer.

We will miss Jodie's everyday presence but do hope to see her occasionally when she is in the northland. Of course, we may need to plan a field trip to the Cities to see Jodie's new digs. Here are some photos from todays gathering.


First a group photo: Left side of table: Pat, Helen, Jodie, Elsie, Naomi, Laurie. Lorraine and Mary (Elsie and Naomi are hiding)
Right side: Nancy, Tee, Joan, Ruth, Irene, Sharon, Emily and Dorothy


Jodie opens her gifts....first a frame to hold her favorite Walkie Talkie Picture


Next an apron crafted from Mary's fabrics and put together by Mary and Lorraine


Jodie models the apron!

Spring News

Once again, the WT's are saddened as another WT is moving away. Jodie, our blog writer is packed and ready to leave for the big City. She has kept us up to date with pictures, geo caching, social gatherings and advice, always with enthusiasm, energy and patience. Our hope is that she will visit us often.

The good news is that Pat is back. She has joined us for coffee a number of times and is managing well. A walking miracle.

The rush of spring is upon us. People of the North speed up to get everything in during the warm season. City workers are picking up the winter debris from yard clean-ups. There is a community rummage sale to raise funds for the July 4th. celebration.

The prom, "Moonlit Memories", was a success. The girls were elegant in colorful gowns, some reminiscent of the plantation era look. Spring school band concerts are in full swing.

It's time to sign up for recreational baseball or softball. The local hospital celebrates Homes for the Aging Week. The summer fishing contest began on opening fishing day last weekend.

Methodists are having a "Sweeter than Chocolate" contemporary service this Saturday. WT's are interested in most things chocolate. Class reunion plans are progressing. WT calendars are filling up with graduations, weddings, family gatherings and celebrations. Stay tuned.

Easter Sunrises and Greetings

A cold and crisp Easter greeting to everyone from the Walkie Talkies! The sunrise was gorgeous today!

Happy Easter, everyone.

Spring Baseball

Tee and Joan arrived home Thursday evening. The week of spring baseball was delightful; they saw two Boston Red Sox games and two Minnesota Twins games. In the process they spent warm (sometimes hot) afternoons in four different ball parks soaking in baseball and sun. Good thing too as the sun was scarce at home. The only drawback to seeing those four stadiums was the bus rides to and from. The new facility that the Phillies have in Clearwater, Florida is a lovely place and it was great fun to sit and watch a ballgame there. The Twins stadium in Fort Myers is also very nice, but not brand new. Sad to announce that our Twins lost both games that they saw. The Twins fans were a minority at this elderhostel and the Boston fans saw four games that Boston played including one in which Dice-K (their new pitching phnom) pitched six innings.

Besides seeing games there were speakers that talked to them about baseball. Tom Giles taught about the written, verbal and non verbal languages of baskeball. Leon Harris, who had been a player in the Negro League, told about his experiences there. Leon had been a pitcher with the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro League. Currently there is a one man show taking place in Sarosota titled "Nobody Don't Like Yogi". David Howard who plays Yogi came and spoke to the group about Yogi and did a piece from his show which everyone enjoyed immensely. John O'Donoghue who had been a pitcher with Kansas City, Cleveland, Seattle and Montreal was very entertaining with his stories about pitching in the major leagues. He had pitched in the Mickey Mantle era. Our final speaker was Jeff Torborg who was a catcher for the Dodgers for many years. He was involved in some real history making games; Sandy Koufax's perfect game, and the fifth of Don Drysdale's six consecutive shutouts. Later he caught for the Angels and had the privilege of catching a Nolan Ryan no-hitter.

Here is a photo of Tee and Joan outside the Twins stadium in Fort Myers.

The Bluebird Has Landed

With that heading, we heard late last night that Pat is now home from the hospital--"back in her nest after over three months," as her daughter Sara informed us. She also said how wonderful it was to have dinner around the family table again and to watch movies later.

We are all thrilled to hear this. We have marveled at Pat's positive attitude throughout all of this ordeal. Talk about making lemonade out of lemons--well, she has definitely done it (sorry that I couldn't think of a bluebird comment!). We will definitely keep in touch with her and look forward to seeing her out and about as she continues with her rehab.

What a wonderful day!

Quick Updates!

It appears that no one has really updated lately, so here is a short summary of what has been happening to some of the WT's:

Mary is in the busy part of her seminar season. She is off to Richmond, VA, this weekend and has had several very successful trips in the past couple of months. We always look forward to her reports when she returns. She told us one VERY funny story about her trip to Washington and some of us are still smirking about it--too bad it is a little too risque to share in our 'Blog!

Tee and Joan are in Florida at an Elderhostel. This should be a pretty interesting one--Spring Baseball. They will be seeing a couple of Minnesota Twins' games and we are sure they will come back with stories about some of our favorite players.

Sharon and her husband will soon be off to St. Louis to the NCAA Frozen Four. They are BIG hockey fans and will certainly enjoy themselves.

Pat is still in the hospital but might be getting out soon. Her husband is home and she has been able to go home to visit. They even had sort of a "date" last weekend--the two of them and their son and daughter went out to eat. Hey--who cares who went along? Just to get out like that was a real treat!

Emily is off to visit her mom out East next week. The latter has been having some health problems. She (Emily) and her husband also have some other trips coming up soon to visit children and grandchildren.

Irene is going through some tough times lately with a sick spouse. Our thoughts and prayers are with her daily.

Lorraine is still recovering from her pre-Christmas tumble. She has been driving down to coffee on a regular basis.

More later . . .

A New Era Begins!

Now that Jodie is moving (in May) and will not be as involved with the Walkie Talkies on a daily basis, it is time to "pass the pen" to someone else. Today, she gave the instructions to Joan to give to Lorraine and Mary. Hopefully, among the three of them, someone will take up the writing of this 'Blog so that our loyal readers will, once again, be able to keep up with what is happening with the WT's.

We Are Taking (Have Taken) A Break!

As our loyal readers can tell, we have not been very diligent lately about keeping you up to date on our shenanigans. Your intrepid blogger has been "on vacation" (if one is retired, is there such a thing as "a vacation?") and the rest of the group has not fed her information. Since the above-mentioned blog-writer will also be moving away in a few months, we need to get someone trained to handle "the techie things," as Pat put it yesterday.

We will get up and running again soon, so please check back in a week or so. We have not been sitting around and there is plenty to write about!

Thanks.

We Are Surviving the Cold!

It has been very cold here but we are all surviving. Some of us walk but most of us drive to coffee in this weather (How cold is it? Well--Emily even drives occasionally!). We have had many days of below-zero weather, but it might be breaking a little now (we hope).

Naomi left for her trip to Mexico--perfect timing for the weather. Mary is off to Pittsburgh for her first work trip of the year--poor timing with the weather out East!

The local boys' basketball team won 16 games in a row. We have high hopes for them and there are a lot of fans attending the games now.

Nancy's Notions is having an Apron Challenge at the Sewing Weekend in May--sponsored by Mary's Productions! Anyone who enters has to use one of Mary's apron patterns. We hope this will be a great deal for Mary who is really getting into her "seminar season" now.

We'll keep you posted on future activities. One is our winter lunch at Jo and Lil's for February 26th. We've got our two sandwich loaves ordered, so lunch is all set.

Stay warm!