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Claudia Lindsay Dear Family & Friends, On Saturday Evening, January 3rd, 2009, Dennis & I will be taking the Red Eye from Los Angeles to Orlando, Florida. We will be going with friends to Walt Disney World and then on a 4 day cruise in the Bahamas. We return on the evening of the 15th. We are looking forward to this much needed vacation. This will be about our 5th trip to Walt Disney World, but our first cruise. Hope our clothes fit when we get home. LOL. Dennis is taking his laptop with him, but we don't know how the internet connections will be at the condo, so if we don't answer any of your emails, we will get to them when we get home. We know that the ship has internet access but it is very expensive, so will not be using it. Take care, everyone, and have a Happy New Year. Love, Claudia |
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Dorothy Salminen Thanks so much for Nancy's Collected Poems. I spent the whole time that my laundry was in the washer and dryer reading it. Make that enjoying it. I was amazed at the difference in styles that you used and pleased at the memories it included. I can't pick a FAVE but have a question about Icy Steps. The definition of plunge is: to throw or thrust suddenly or forcibly into something. I am not sure if you made it down safely! I did like the Twelve Days of Retirement, the thoughtful change of font on Shelly's birthday poem and I love the Icy Roads and laughed out loud at Procrastination! Now your wonderful book of poems will be stored nearby beside Gene's large folder of poems that he has written. Thank you again and have a HAPPY NEW YEAR! Love, Dotty |
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Daniel Leskinen Gather all around, come and lend me an ear. Pull up a chair, pillow or sofa, sit right here. So I don't have to shout, please come near. Give thanks to friendships, lift your glass for cheer. Talk about the past, go ahead and shed a tear. Step into the future, as if you have nothing to fear. Look out for the sobriety check, better not drink that beer. Gaze at your significant other, go ahead kiss your dear. For one and all, have a happy new year |
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Jeanne Tripp It's hard to believe it's December again so soon! We hope 2008 has been a good one for you! Samantha and Nicole continue to do well in school; Samantha is in 5th grade and Nicole is in 2nd. They both sing with the South Hadley Children's Chorus, and will even join Jeanne and her chorus to sing Carmina Burina in May. They are also still studying piano and are progressing weekly. Samantha will catch up to Jeanne's 3 college years' worth of progress any day. In September, we were saddened by the loss of David's grandmother, but we feel fortunate that she had moved to our area so we could enjoy more of her last years wtih us. Our biggest news in November was the adoption of a dog, Emma. She is only 18 months old and is both house and leash trained. She is very sweet and has been a great companion to us all. Best of all, she has not bothered anyone's allergies! We wish you and your families the very best for the holiday season and in 2009. Please drop us a line when you can. Very Sincerely, Dave, Jeanne, Samantha, and Nicole - and Emma, too |
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Nancy Murdock We were very pleased to be invited by Daniel Leskinen to celebrate Thanksgiving with him and his extended family. The evening before the big day, I took off two hours from work (at Bob’s request) to make an apple pie from scratch, which is sort of a biennial event. Colleen, who went to Mass in the early morning, told us that the gas station across from work was selling gas for $1.559!!! (The norm was considerably higher than this.) So we filled up and went on our merry way, north toward Hanover, PA. Colleen had a printout of the route from Yahoo, so she got us off to a good start. A lot of the route looked like pictures from the past, maybe by Norman Rockwell. We realized that part of the time we were in horse country. Nice, neat barns and fields. Perfect for Thanksgiving. Dan and Carolyn now have a house previously owned by her mother, so we were eager to see how Dan had set up for this crowd. Two years ago, in a different house, he had remodeled the downstairs to fit in a huge table he had constructed. In the “new” house, we weren’t disappointed. In a rather compact kitchen, he and his helpers had an ambitious menu, which was going well. I offered to help, but the best I could do was to carry dishes from one place to another, a highly enjoyable task, since I got to see and smell all the items as we wafted our way to the dining room or another spot where family and guests were nibbling. The children were very good at welcoming guests and taking care of our needs. I noticed that if one of them saw that it had been a while since someone had brought olives, crackers, or cheese, the items would quickly appear. The food level never went below the point where it looked to us as if we were running low. We had been ushered to a space right before the kitchen, just down one step. It was perfect! We could watch TV, visit with people circulating through the crowd, sniff the great dinner in progress, and accept foods to carry around. There were plenty of munchies on our little table, also, so we munched and enjoyed seeing all the others as they came by and picked up their favorites. One room held a group of adults and older children who, under the supervision of one of the ladies, were making beautiful wired, beaded stars as gifts for each of the lucky family and guests. We have our two stars hanging from the edge of a lampshade in the living room, and we think of that talented, kind, hospitable family as we pass by the lamp table. We offered to have the gathering at our church next year, but someone had already planned to host this great family event. For the following year, my name is one on the list of possibilities. Probably it won’t happen, because it would mean having everyone travel to here. However, it keeps me thinking of what to serve, what games and crafts to offer, etc. With the big screen TV in our little nook, we ended up watching a dog show – on Thanksgiving Day – who would guess? We were introduced to many breeds of dogs and what makes a champion for each breed. Very interesting! I wondered if our San Diego family was watching it, since they raise dogs and show them, especially Bedlington Terriers. I could hardly wait to see if that breed showed up in the terriers’ portion of the show. Yes! There it was – just one, the one with the highest Bedlington score! I probably would have called San Diego if I’d had any of their phone numbers with me. But to tell the truth, I remembered better-looking Bedlingtons they had owned. The dining table took up most of the dining room, and name cards defined our placement. This family had done a WHOLE LOT of work, probably starting on this long before the holiday. There was plenty of room on the table for the turkey, main dishes, vegetables, fruit cups, special breads, and desserts. Although only one of their daughters, Bob, and I were vegetarians, they had a good-sized Tofurkey – our first one of these substitutes for the main centerpiece of a Thanksgiving Day meal. It was delicious, and I look forward to shopping for one in 2009. Another enjoyment was seeing Bob’s sister Barbara and her friend Dick. They live in West Chester, where they have been operating a Quiznos shop. With the economy so unsettled, their plans may be changing now, so we were glad to have been able to visit with them. With Colleen navigating, we made it home easily. Somehow, it looked like a different scene from that direction, especially with the changes in light as the sun bathed the scenery from a different direction. We had a wonderful visit and feel very fortunate that Dan and Carolyn invited us to share in this special day. |
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