January and February, 2009
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MUSE INDEX Dropdown menus LINKS Previous issues What's New Who's Who Birthdays and anniversaries Muse readers' own websites Muse History Jan-Feb 2009 Photo Gallery Nancy's Quilts |
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE: ENJOYED THE MUSE (Polly Joubert) Click IF I HAD NOT (Daniel Leskinen) Click A NEW VENTURE (Natalie Murdock) Click SEASON'S GREETINGS 2008 (Charlie Frost) Click DEATH VALLEY (Chip Martz) Click MISSI'S MUSIC WEBSITE (Missi Sargent) Click HIGH SPEED INTERNET (Margery Aukstikalnis) Click Part 2 ICE STORM 3+3 (Missi Sargent) Click A WILD RIDE (Charlie Frost) Click CELEBRATION AND STORM NEWS (Polly Joubert) Click THE STORM (Dorothy Salminen) Click ICE STORM OF 2008 (Jane McCauley) Click PHOTOS FROM MARY (Mary Cosgrove) Click A NEW YEAR (Jean Kiyoye Ogawa) Click Part 3 EXPLORING WEST CHESTER (Barbara DiStefano) Click VACATION TIME! (Claudia Lindsay) Click NANCY'S POEMS (Dorothy Salminen) Click HAPPY NEW YEAR(Daniel Leskinen) Click DECEMBER AGAIN SO SOON! (Jeanne Tripp) Click A GREAT THANKSGIVING (Nancy Murdock) Click |
Photo from Valerie
Blue Crab quilt Gallery photo Quilt index |
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Daniel Leskinen 10/08/08: If I had not kissed my wife farewell, would I be this sore? If I had not traded my van for a truck, would I be wearing this sling? If I had not slowed at that last dip would I have this headache? If I had not gone the speed limit, would I not be on pain killers? If I had not hit the brake, would that man been able to open my door? If I had not done something, would I have been hospitalized? If I had not had eggs for breakfast, would I be writing this sonnet? We can not dwell on what would have happened. Life changing moments happen, no matter what. I have looked back at my life many times as to how I could have changed it. I know I make decisions from the moment I'm awake to the time I fall asleep. What decisions do I really think about? How much tragedy must be into play before I ponder? My mother will agree that I will run it through my mind until I'm done. I have found from past events that writing helps relieve my mental anguish. If I had not friends and family like you, would I have written hundreds of books? Daniel Leskinen |
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Natalie Murdock Hey guys. I wanted to write and thank you for the Christmas letter. The first thing I noticed when I opened it was the art at the bottom that stated 'WE LOVE NATT' in a nice drawn heart. That made me smile :) I enjoyed reading what was above it, as well. So, these past few days have been absolutely hectic. My best friend, Jaimie, and I decided this year we would have a small holiday cookie business. We planned to sell beatifully frosted and designed cookies at different Christmas boutiques. We planned on having lots of fun baking with each other, and we even included my childhood friend, Jackie. We PLANNED to do those things....here's what actually happened: -We hated each other by the 5th hour....haha. Not really, but we definitely had our differences at times, especially when it was midnight, and people's wrists were falling off from mixing dough, and I was getting sick of wrapping things in cellophane. -We frosted approximately 30 cookies (out of 200 or so), and there were NO designs. We did buy cute sprinkles though, which looked nice. And most of the cookies were Rainbow Chocolate Chip, anyway. -We went from having a fun baking party on Saturday night with 6 people and dancing; to only 4 people on Sunday night, and some music, but no dancing; to only Jaimie and I on Monday night, with no music, no fun, and a lot of stress....until 1 AM!! -Instead of spending the money on the vendor space at the boutique, we decided to have my Mom sell our goods at her work. We beautifully wrapped all the cookie tins and ceramic dishes in cellophane and ribbon, and topped each with a jingle bell. We gave her about 10 or 12 things to sell on Monday, and by 1 pm she had sold out. Today, we gave her more to sell, and she has already sold most of everything. Hope everything is great with you guys!! LOVE YOU! NaTT |
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Charlie Frost Janice and I have enjoyed the many cultural advantages of campus life in a rural community – plays, concerts, operas, guest speakers, foreign-language films, and even country music soirees in a friend’s home. Jan was tied down at Truman State in July and August preparing and presenting a summer teacher institute in Korean mathematics for Missouri elementary schools. She followed this up with two workshops for math teachers in Kansas City. We did have ten days together in June in Honolulu, thanks to her son John and his partner Gregg, who graciously loaned us their seaside villa. Jan’s hillside dwelling was being refurbished after a lease to three bachelor Navy pilots! The big event in her family was John and Gregg’s wedding in Santa Barbara. This was in September after the California Supreme Court ruling permitting same-sex marriages. They exchanged vows at their mansion construction site, which was not damaged by the November wild fires. The Maienza and Wilson clans were there in force. Michael and Susan Maienza and their daughter Meredith came from River Forest in suburban Chicago. Their son Michael Jr. had to stay behind because of football commitments. Chuck and Jenni’s family came from New Jersey. Their daughter Cathryn had played a starring role as the Wicked Witch in the community production of Enchanted Sleeping Beauty. Paul, their little son, was a ring bearer in the wedding. Jan’s nephew Rick Collins and his Imagination Movers have won an extended contract with the Disney Channel. Pamela has moved into an apartment complex in Kennebunk, ME. The quarters are small, but she has chosen her furniture judiciously. Her assistant in artistic creation, Elaina, has taken the apartment across from her, and they have a great time shopping together. Elaina’s mom, a rural letter carrier, can drop by for hot cocoa on her route. Colleen worked several days a week at a women’s clothing store at the Maine Mall in Portland. She now has a full-time job as reservations and desk clerk for a motel in York, ME. She has purchased a mobile home and is having a blast decorating it. During the summer Pam, Colleen and I experienced the special joy of visiting the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston to see the impressive “El Greco to Velasquez” exhibition. The MFA is undergoing a massive $500 million expansion. Derek and Rosalind left Portland, OR, in January after two great years living in the Pearl District, an artsy area downtown. They loaded up a Budget truck and headed east, visiting friends in Boise, ID, and in Kansas City caught up with their former boss from security at The Mother Church. They then headed north and stopped overnight with us in Kirksville. Derek is now Director of Sales for Bar Code Direct in North Grafton, MA, and Rosalind is getting back into quilt making, art work, and the Christian Science practice after eight years owning and running Black Badger Bed & Breakfast in Williamsburg, VA. Both are active in the Christian Science church in Portsmouth, NH. Had a fun day boating with them on July 4th out on Great Bay. Derek and I negotiated the tidal currents on the bay in a canoe while Rosalind masterfully handled a kayak as a curious old seal looked us over. Alexis works at the public library in Rochester, NH, and has finished co-writing and illustrating a graphic novel for young readers, which will be available this spring. His wife Kristen is working on a NASA satellite project at University of New Hampshire. They have made considerable progress on their waterfront property on Little Bay in Dover, NH. Jeremy-Ruth has performed in new pieces with the dance company Anna Myer and Dancers, including a dance-cum-poetry show called "Street Talk, Suite Talk" about Boston’s inner-city neighborhoods. She teaches dance at Dean College in Franklin, MA, and will be choreographing two ballet pieces there next semester. She also plans cultural programs for the residents of the Chestnut Hill Benevolent Association. Met Stephanie for morning coffees a number of times during the summer when she got off work at the Portsmouth Regional Hospital. Her son Ethan, 19, is working with a landscaping company and doing various other jobs off season. He is working on getting back to college in the fall. His older brother Matthew is leaving this month for training prior to a year’s deployment to Iraq and /or Afghanistan. He will be with an infantry combat unit of the NC National Guard. Chelsea, currently with Holyoke Credit Union, is getting many accolades in the banking world. Steph and her children spent a wonderful Thanksgiving together, the last time they will all be together until Matt returns from his military tour. We join her in prayers for his safe return and hope that the new Administration will find solutions to bring everyone’s children home from the Middle East. My sister Katherine is taking advantage of the cultural and academic activities at her independent-living complex in Concord, NH. Her son Brian will be singing in The Messiah with a choral group in Kennebunk on December 21st. Her daughter Beth is working as a property manager in Derry, NH. Stu and Nancy's daughter, Sheila, will be spending the winter at Plimoth Plantation, working on wardrobes and "shadowing" the actors. Her granddaughter Heather and Steve Nutter, who were married in Cape Neddick, ME, last June, now have a baby boy, born in August. Heather’s sister Brianne and her friend Colin bought a house in Durham, NH. Kay and I linked up during the summer to search genealogical records at the MA Archives in Boston. Nanci and Joe Pandolfi bought a property in Enfield, CT, where they keep goats, horses, and chickens. They lost one chicken to a hawk and two to a fox. Nanci and younger daughter Sophia saved one chicken. Every morning when they went to check on the injured chicken they dreaded what they might find. But the chicken thrived on their doctoring. The chicken’s name is Believe -- with a name like that…! Believe now runs, pecks and lays eggs like the rest of them. Only problem was the rest of the chickens rejected her. After doing some research on chicken behavior Nanci took out the next weakest chicken so Believe wouldn't be alone. Now Believe and her companion Chip live happily together. The Pandolfis are getting ready to breed Nigerian dwarf goats in the spring. Samantha made honors this past semester. Sophia is working on her application to join her older sister in the agricultural science program in Suffield. The two girls look forward to playing on the same basketball team. I taught a course in criminal intelligence analytics last spring. The classroom in the Justice Systems Department is equipped for teaching with visual investigative analysis software. There were some problems with the University’s computerized testing system, however. On good days the students in class could log on at the appointed time, answer the questions, and get a score as soon as they pressed the “submit” button. On bad days they couldn’t access the questions; I would have to use a document reader to flash them on a screen and then manually score their scribbled answers. Cleaned a lot of things out of “High Ledge” during the summer. Derek and Rosalind helped me haul heavy pieces of furniture out to the dumpster. It was a bit sad to see my first-generation computer hardware thrown onto the heap like so many empty cartons, but such is the progress of technology. Divvied up kitchen appliances, dishes and utensils among the children in an evening downsizing party. One morning I went down to Perkins Cove in Ogunquit to a breakfast place run by a teacher I knew at York High School. Two of her girls recognized me as a substitute there, and their mother came out and gave me a hug. As she went back into the kitchen I heard her mumble to the girls, “He left here for a woman.” One needs a pretty good excuse for leaving Maine! Janice has graciously accepted the status of “that woman.” This fall I taught a distance-learning course in criminal justice at our local community college. The students were actually high school students taking the course for college credit at a school 20 miles south of Kirksville. Communication was via closed-circuit TV, a new experience for me. One day I arranged for the students to come up to Truman to see our crime lab. Thanks to the Admissions Office they got a tour of the campus and a free lunch at one of our four cafeterias. When they discovered they could get unlimited refills on ice cream they went on something of a feeding frenzy! Janice and I wish you the blessings of the Holiday Season and “All the Best” in 2009. |
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Chip Martz Nov. 26: I hope you have recovered from your accident in California. What a thing to happen on an otherwise great trip. Last week I went on an Elderhostel hiking trip to Death Valley. I am sending a picture of me at Badwater, which is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. Now on to Christmas. Chip Martz |
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Missi Sargent Hello Everyone! I just put the finishing touches on my new music website. I’ve been working on it all week and am pretty pleased with the result. I have all of my recordings posted. If you get a chance, please check it out and stop to comment. I really appreciate it and all the support everyone gives me. The site is at: http://home.comcast.net/~missismusiccafe When you go to the jukebox page (by clicking on “Click here for Missi’s Recordings”), it will bring up a streaming player. Hope you all like it! Missi |
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Margery Aukstikalnis 11/24/08: We have finally joined the wonderful world of high speed internet by way of Satellite. A little expensive, but there were just so many things I couldn't do on that ever-so-slow dial-up internet. We have increased our speed from 24 Kbps to 1033 Kbps!!! My banking today took 5 minutes instead of 45! I smile a lot. Our new email addresses are effective today. We will keep people pc only as long as needed in case anyone finds our new address not working. Probably a month. Please make the changes in your address books. And now you can send us pictures without making me groan!!!!!!! :) Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Love, Margery and Jack |
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