Winter, 2010
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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 Winter 2010 Photo Gallery Nancy's Quilts |
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE: CELEBRATING 60 YEARS (Nancy A. Mrdock) Click MY PERSONAL LENTEN RETREAT (Colleen McKay) Click THANKSGIVING WEEK (Nancy A. Murdock) Click MURDOCK PHOTO CHALLENGE (Jeanne Tripp) Click QUILTS AND OWNERS (Nancy A. Murdock) Click BIG EVENT IN MINNESOTA (Bob Murdock) Click CALIFORNIA, HERE I COME! (Mary Reese) Click THE NEW MEREDITH (Bob Murdock) Click CLEANUP #1 (Nancy A. Murdock) Click CLEANUP #2 (Nancy A. Murdock) Click Part 2 TWO SNOW POEMS (Nancy A. Murdock) Click MY MOTHER (Priscilla Januskiewicz) Click BLOODLINES (Nancy A. Murdock) Click REMEMBERING WALTER ELDON MURDOCK (Nancy A. Murdock) Click |
Muse Editors Oct. 2010 photo at the 60th party. Gallery photo
Nancy's 2004 quilt, "Color On the Move" Gallery photo Quilt index |
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Colleen McKay After earning $1000 Delta Dollars for giving up my seats on planes on the weekend, I went to visit my parents in Arizona in February 2010. I spent the time on Monday March 1, 2010 at the Sky Club computer seeing how to spend some of those dollars. I had six hours to kill until the new flight. I had three vouchers, one for $200.00 and two for $400.00 each. I had given up my seat on Thursday morning, Sunday evening, and Monday morning. I was super glad to give up my seat on Thursday because I was in coach eleven rows back. The gate agent come on to get me off and asked what was I doing sitting way back there. I said this was the closest aisle seat when I booked my tickets. Usually I don’t care because I am given an upgrade to business. That day I was not. So I got a meal voucher for $7.00 and first class seats to Atlanta, then to Phoenix and got to my parents 3 hours later than scheduled. My parents figured I had given up my seat for a later flight for Delta Dollars. They know me! I checked in asking how full is the flight, and do you need volunteers for a later flight. That’s why the gate agent came to get me. Back to spending these Delta Dollars: I went on the computer to check out flights for a long weekend in Europe. I found a $563.10 round trip flight from Baltimore to Rome for March 11 to March 15. I snapped it up using one of the $400.00 vouchers. I made reservations for a youth hostel near the main train station in Rome. I decided to make it a religious retreat and ask for religious comp time. The beauty of religious comp is that you can pay it back after you take the time off instead of before. I earned 4 hours before I left and earned the 20 other hours after returning. I had one small problem. I was in the credit union on Wednesday March 10 and asked when the money would be available for a check I was depositing. I was told $100.00 on Thursday and the rest on Friday. I said good and forgot to ask that my ATM card be unblocked for travel to Italy. When I got to the hostel I paid for one night in Euros that I had leftover from a previous trip. I would pay the rest after hitting the ATM. That is when I found out that Italy was also a blocked country. This had happened to me in Edinburgh in October 2006. The hostel took my credit card for the other two nights. I was lucky that breakfast was included and that free pizza was available at 8:30 pm in the bar at the hostel. Since my funds were so limited, I did not get a gelato the entire time I was there. I also only bought postage stamps for five cards and sent the free postcards from the hostel. I did buy one pin for 2.5 Euros at a gift shop at a Greek Orthodox church where the Mouth of Truth fountain is. While walking, I found a coin that had Hebrew or Arabic writing. That was the coin I tossed in the Trevi Fountain. I came back from this trip with Euros. I decided to say traveling rosaries. I would pray one decade in a church and go to another church to pray the next decade. There are five decades in a rosary. There are over 300 churches in Rome. I prayed in churches I had seen before and new ones I found while walking around. I went to Friday evening Mass and the Stations of the Cross (a series of prayers commemorating incidents in the passion of Christ) at St. Susanne, the American parish in Rome. St. Susanne’s walls are covered in frescoes and paintings but there are not paintings or statutes depicting the stations. Father said we would just have to use our imaginations as we walked inside the church praying at the fourteen different stations. I got back in time for the free pizza. Saturday was more of the same, walking to find churches to pray in. I did go to St Peter's. I got an entire rosary said while waiting to go through the metal detector. Inside St Peter's there is a side chapel for prayer. The Eucharist (the consecrated communion host) was in the monstrance (a receptacle for displaying the host) on the altar. I said another rosary. I was praying for the health of family and friends. Sunday I woke up late and went to the 10:30 am instead of the 8:00 am Mass. After Mass there was a tour of the church and the crypt. Father explained the paintings on the walls and the history of the church. The actor Carroll O’Connor was a financial patron of the church. I prayed more rosaries. I had my photo taken at the Mouth of Truth by other tourists. I took their photo. I returned to Maryland on Monday. On Tuesday I began to work an extra hour for 20 days to pay back my time off for my personal Lenten retreat. |
As vegetarians, we had to simulate the turkey. |
Nancy A. Murdock Nov. 27, 2010 - We’ve had a wonderful Thanksgiving Week. We decided to have a wing-ding of a time, with plenty of special foods. Then we planned to invite Darrel and Mary to eat with us on Thursday evening. As it turned out, they already had a great plan: to have Mary’s two adult sons, and Darrel’s son Jason with his family, come to their condo in Edina, MN on Thursday. This would be an introductory meeting for them all. So we moved our dinner to Friday evening, and went shopping. First we had a fine time at the grocery market, Super One. We picked up vegetables, apples, a pear, stuffing mix, butter, Tin Roof ice cream, pumpkin pie, a large bag of curly noodles, little pasta rings, and a few other items. We had already decided to buy Tofurkey at the Natural Foods Store. We ended up with two types: a white kind in a roll covered with plastic (very much like buying sausage in bulk), and three or four “Brats”. I used the “Brats” for the large soup I made for us. We’re still eating some of that. And so far, everyone who has tried it liked it a lot. I guess I must have chosen the right spices to make it work. The white roll of Tofurkey was easy to slice and work with. We managed to put it with the stuffing quite easily, so the seasonings worked together. What didn’t work was the pumpkin pie. I had bought a ready-made one, to make it easier, but it got next to some hot containers of the main dish items in the refrigerator, and the pie leaked out when I picked it up. Mary said to freeze it and then follow the directions to cook it, so we we followed her directions and ended up with some delicious pie! Honestly, I expected it to be much easier than baking one myself, but it has turned out to be more complex than buying a ready-made pie and putting it in the fridge seemed. Next year I’ll try to make it from scratch. It’s been a while since I baked pies, but we’ll let you know next year if I pass the test. We had a nice visit and passed around the chocolates. I give an “A” to our guests, who concentrated on telling us how delicious the soup and stuffing were, bless them, rather than expounding on the flaws in my preparation. It was nice to have everyone satisfied with the white and brown Tofurkey. We hadn’t had any since several years ago when we were invited to Bob’s nephew Daniel Leskinen’s house for Thanksgiving. We're just about finished with the Thanksgiving foods. We are pleased that it turned out so well for us. Today, December 12, 2010, Bob allowed me to start wrapping Christmas gifts, so I made the most of the opportunity. I packaged 17 gifts to send to our widespread family. Originally, Bob had set Dec. 1 as my first wrapping date opportunity, but things change. We had to allow a lot of time for Bob to work on getting the Winter copy of the Muse out. So enjoy! And have a great holiday, each of you. We'll be thinking of you! |
Photo gallery Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3 Photo 4 Jeanne's posted pics |
Jeanne Murdock Tripp I have posted some photos (see link at left) found in my grandfather's home; if you know any (or all!!) of the people posted, please email me at jmtripps@aol.com. These photos were sent from my grandfather, Kenneth Murdock, to his sister Helen, so I am guessing they are ancestors of theirs. If you recognize anyone, can you please let me know which picture by number, and describe where they are in the picture. If you happen to know where the picture was taken, I would be very grateful. The only names included with the photos was the following list. The genders and the ages based on the assumptions below match the list potentially to Photo 4, though the two children are not named. Uncle Newton (likely Albert Newton Murdock b. 21 may 1889, married Nellie Gertrude Pomeroy, father of Richard Warren Murdock and Velma Gertrude Murdock - could that be Richard and Velma in the photo? Albert Newton was the son of Milo Elwin and Ella Frances Dodge) Aunt Dora (not sure who she would be) Aunt Nellie (labeled as "Uncle Fred's mother") (is this Ellen Wilson, wife of Henry L. Murdock (son of Sumner), dau. of David Wilson & Harriet Carruth, mother of Frederick Wilson Murdock) Uncle Henry (likely Henry L. Murdock b. 26 may 1839, son of Sumner Murdock and Charlotte Howe) (He looks a little young to be of similar age as Clara, though there is a resemblance there, is there not?) Uncle Albert Mason (likely Albert Mason who m. Clara Murdock, son of Joseph Mason and Hannah ???) He and Clara had four children, Arthur (b. 1881), Alice (b. 1888), Edgar (b. 1871, d. 1879), and Willie (b. 1874, d. 1879) Aunt Clara Mason (likely Clara Elizabeth Murdock b. 5 mar 1849, daughter of Sumner Murdock and Charlotte Howe) Henry and Clara Elizabeth would have been siblings of Milo Elwin Murdock, my grandfather's grandfather. Albert Newton would have been the brother of Milo. Their ages appear matched; Henry, however, looks too young to be a sibling of Clara. An Alvin Henry was born to Alvin and Emma Murdock (Alvin is the brother of Milo) in 1881. Perhaps he was known by his middle name as he appears to be of the right age compared to Newton? In my genealogy information from my grandfather and Aunt Helen, I know that Albert Mason married Clara Elizabeth Murdock in 1868. Clara was the daughter of Sumner and Charlotte (Howe) Murdock. Sumner and Charlotte also had Milo (my grandfather's grandfather), Charles, Henry and Alvin. I therefore suspect the single photo could be Milo, but am not at all sure. (Milo and his wife Ella Dodge had Edward (grandpa's father), Harry, Fanny, Mary and Albert). Note: Photos are scans of copies likely made in Ken's dark room in about 1985. |
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Nancy A. Murdock November 20, 2010 - One of the fun things we did at the 60th Anniversary was to give away nine small quilts. I had been working on some new ones for this, and I also gave some small quilts that had been made earlier. We have known for some time that we are behind at putting in the Quilt Gallery the more recent quilts (and some earlier ones that had been overlooked in updating). At one time, I did know how to add them to the list or make corrections, but now I need to ask Bob for some remedial classes in updating that list. There are 140 items on it, but there are other quilted items that were gifts to quilting friends, etc., or older items that got overlooked. So if you have one of my quilts that is not listed in the Quilt Gallery, please let me know the name and date, and also please email me a picture. That way, you can get the picture to me while still keeping it. If you have passed one of my quilts to someone else, I would like to have the information to update the list. If you don’t want your whole name to be on the list, we can use only the first name or a nickname, or say it’s now owned by a family member or a close friend, teacher, etc. Okay, now for the actual facts as to who got the quilts at the big giveaway. QUILT NAME, (DATE MADE), CURRENT OWNER “Blues” (2010) Sean Murdock “Dancing Flowers” (2010) Colleen McKay “Carl’s Side Garden” (2009) Mer Murdock “Out in the Garden” (2009) Becky Murdock “Roses in the Pink” (2010) Christel Murdock & Alison Jones “Waves and Ripples” (2002) Polly Joubert “Getting to the Point”, AKA “Variations on a Painting” (1994) Natalie Murdock “At the Water” (2010) Mer Murdock “Autumn”, AKA “Fall Colors” (2010) Colleen McKay RECENT QUILT GIFTS FOR FIRST BIRTHDAYS These are some of my colorful favorites from earlier times. Both are my own design. We celebrated two great-grandsons’ “first birthdays” by sending the boys each a quilt big enough to sit on or hide under. “Let Joy In” (1997) Zachary William Murdock “Roads Less Traveled” (1998) Raiden Robert Murdock Hope you new owners are all enjoying your added quilts. |
Valerie and camcorder |
Bob Murdock For Nancy and me, the event of the year was our 60th wedding anniversary. She has covered the ground nicely in her lead article, "Celebrating 60 Years;" but I have a few personal observations to add. We were married on Sept. 16, 1950, but circumstances this year led to a celebration in October. Bevin, Jason's wife, and Mary, Darrel's wife, offered to do the planning and inviting for an event to be held in the Twin Cities. That's just 250 miles from our home in Ironwood, and we could plan to stay for a few days. We found out that Valerie, who lives in Redwood City, CA, had some vacation time in October and would be in town for about a week. She already had reservations at the Super 8 in Golden Valley, MN. So be it. We made reservations at the same motel, and Bevin and Mary were able to secure the evening of October 16 at a VFW post, also in Golden Valley. Both venues turned out to be superb. The Super 8 was one of the best I have ever seen, with a great breakfast room which was available to us other times during the day. Coffee was available around the clock. We had a pizza party one time, played Scrabble a couple of times, and met there for other get-togethers. The VFW post was perfect for the party. Darrel had found an Emcee who specialized in Karaoke, so that was featured after our nice meal (the management had prepared a vegetarian entree for us). There was time for dancing, too. Lots of pictures were taken, and Valerie was everywhere with her camcorder. Guests came from all corners of the country. From the West coast there was a big contingent from the Whittier area of California; Valerie, Jerod and Heidi from the Bay Area; and Christel from San Diego. From the East Coast: Polly Joubert from New Hampshire, Colleen McKay from Baltimore, and Kay Murdock and son Zachary from Georgia. From Mid America, several lived in or near the Twin Cities; Roy came up from Joplin, MO; and Charlie Frost and his wife Janice visited from Kirksville, MO. On Sunday, Bevin arranged a brunch at the Perkins restaurant near the Super 8, and many of us met there for good food and cameraderie. The little kids had great fun taking pictures with borrowed digital cameras. |
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Mary Reese I am very excited to be planning a move to California in December. Palm Springs is my destination and we have found a very cute condo in a gated community. We took advantage of a "short sale" situation and were able to find a bargain. I am going ahead of Michael, leaving him behind to ready the house for eventual sale. |
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Bob Murdock In a phone call recently, Mer informed us that she had bought a wig and was wearing it to work. "People loved it," she said. "I got tired of having clerks ask me if I wanted the senior discount!" |
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Nancy A. Murdock November 4, 2010 - Since we didn’t take notes, we will go with what we recall, and add anything else our readers notice is missing. Okay? The day before Halloween, Bob decided it was time to sweep the mess of crabapples from the front porch, steps, and front walk before the Trick-or-Treaters came. It looked unbelievably better after his strict combing job. How many trick-or-treaters came to our house? A total of one family. Later, Meredith advised us that we should have put a jack-o-lantern or a plain pumpkin outside our front door, to signify that we had treats ready. Darrel and Mary came up to work on their house in Ironwood Township this past weekend. We enjoyed their company at dinnertime and looked forward to improving the outside area eventually. As it turned out, it was Darrel and Mary who quickly found opportunities to make our property look sharp on the following day. They picked up little twiggy branches and put them in sacks, to avoid any danger to elderly folks who might otherwise trip on the twigs. Fortunately, our latest supply of twigs was much smaller and lighter then the one before it, which had included even a sharp, heavy 6-foot branch from the tree belonging to the family over the fence. For that one, we had to pay our strong, young lawn man to break it off and place it in its owner’s yard. I heard some murmurs about the amount of leaves in our yard. There were so many leaves that none of the green lawn showed. Mary and Darrel, who love the outdoors, went out and raked up many bags of leaves. They came back inside with happy faces, and Mary said, “That was fun!!” We are so lucky!! The really ugly area was one that had been gorgeous in the springtime - our peonies. I have always loved peonies, for both their looks and their scent. Unfortunately, neither of their lovely features was showing its best side. In short, we had a whole big garden covered with hip-high decaying vegetation. Bless their hearts, Mary and Darrel stuffed all that mess into black trash bags and put them into the shed. Now we just need to find a compost heap we’re allowed to use. Meanwhile, Darrel and Mary, who had worked hard for several hours on their house in Ironwood Township to fix some window areas before they arrived to bale out the old folks, unfortunately then had to deal with a gas leak at their house. Fortunately, the tool for finding gas leaks worked well. After various phone calls to electric and gas companies, they were able to get someone to fix the problem, and Darrel was able to find a substitute to take over his job at work until he was able to get there. Thank goodness for phones that work! Our next task, Phase 2, will be carrying out our stacks of newspapers, catalogs, and magazines. We’re not eager to start that job, but it will take away the thoughts of possible fires, etc. We just need to keep up our physical therapy workouts. Meanwhile, I am working on Christmas gifts, especially quilts. Today we sent quilts to our two one-year-old great-grandsons, for their birthdays. These are two quilts that were part of a recent show in the great Memorial Building in Ironwood. |
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Nancy A. Murdock Nov. 5, 2010 - We are making great progress at getting our home livable and sanitary-looking. Today we decided to work on several aspects of Phase 2, instead of stringing them out over several different days. We did the following: A. Bagged up all paper items except for magazines, which will be in the next session. We had about six full bags of newspapers and one bag of assorted paper stuff. It is now all safely stashed in the big green recycling containers behind the police station. We tried to remember not to think of the paper cleanup as all done, but we were very pleased to have it so far along on the first day. B. Remembered to bring home all the bags, both paper ones and canvas bags. The canvas ones, complete with sturdy handles, are really good to work with. C. We also carried the metal and plastic bottles and cans to the other recycling bins at the police station. Since we had accumulated only one white trash bag full, it was a simple task to toss it into the container marked for those items. D. Bob, who is good at rewarding himself (or us) for getting something done, had already planned two stops to pick up our rewards. First we went to a bookstore. He loves to buy books and magazines. After he had chosen his reward (a book by Philip Yancey) , he asked what I wanted to buy. I hadn’t planned to buy anything, but I was lured by a quilting magazine that boasted how helpful it would be in using up lots of fabric pieces in quilts. Since there were several suggestions, I just couldn’t resist. I look forward to trying some of their ideas soon! I still have lots of medium and small fabric pieces to play around with. E. The second stop for rewards was a natural foods store, which seems to be the only place in town where we can buy vegetarian Italian Sausage links. They are nice and thick, with strong metal fasteners at both ends. We’ll look forward to a Boiled Dinner featuring them, soon. I think we may need to shop for a couple of missing items, but then it’s just a matter of putting everything in a good-sized container and cooking it for an hour or two. It seems that the flavorful liquid is everyone’s favorite. Once it is in our dish, we pick out the vegetables and “meat” to go with it. I have to say that, all in all, this was a very successful day! I’ll let you know when I try out the magazine’s quilt patterns. CLEANUP - Phase 2, Part B November 27, 2010 - We have just arrived back from a very successful trip to add more papers, cans, and plastic containers to the handy recycling bins in Ironwood. It is the best recycling opportunity I have ever seen. The place is clean, safe, and easy to use, and I can now state that both Phase 1 and Phase 2 have been completed. I can even say that I brought back the four bags we used to carry the paper items: magazines, newspapers, and junk mail. We also had a single white bag of cans, plastic, etc., which means we now have the space between the fridge and the stove to start our next collection of those items. Life is good! |
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