Nancy and Bob Murdock, Editors - murmuse@erols.com



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September and October, 2003
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE:

A PERFECT BIRTHDAY (Becky Murdock) Click

ANOTHER EXCITING DAY (Becky Murdock) Click

BLEATINGS FROM SOAK AL (Ian Murdock) Click

AFTER THE REUNION (Polly Soberg) Click

WHAT A WEEK! (Meri Murdock) Click

IF IT'S TUESDAY, IT MUST BE - WHERE? (Nancy Murdock) Click

A NEW COOKBOOK (Orrel Frost) Click

Click here for PART 2.

ALL SORTS OF UPDATES (Sarah Bergeron) Click

NEW ADDRESS (Steve Howlett) Click

A WHIRLWIND VISIT FROM JAPAN (Nancy Murdock) Click

PROTECT YOUR ADDRESS BOOK (Barbara Di Stefano) Click

NEWS FROM JOPLIN (Roy Murdock) Click

LENNIE AND BOB SCHLICKE'S WEB PAGE (Steven Schlicke) Click

MEATLESS MONDAYS (Gene Murdock) Click

COME WALK WITH ME (Gene Murdock) Click

COLORADO TRAIL (Carlton Martz) Click

Click here for PART 3.

NOTES FROM OUR JULY VACATION (Bob Murdock) Click

ALMOST LIKE A SIGN (Becky Murdock) Click

TWO GRADUATIONS (Orrel Frost) Click

A PERFECT BIRTHDAY
Becky Murdock

Aug. 3: I had a perfect day. I started it by waking up late, which is always a plus. Next, we relaxed and watched TV. Then Ian and Tim went out and trimmed the bushes I had hoped would get cut soon, before we weren't able to make it out of our door from them being so overgrown. They look great!!! Next, I bought 2 new blouses that I had my eye on. Then Natalie drove to Steak Corral (my favorite), and picked up a yummy dinner for all of us.

By that time, it was time to get ready for my big b-day party that was planned down at our favorite hang-out. The place was taken over with our guests; we had about 35 people - it was great. We partied into the night with dancing and a bit of the ole bubbly. Around 1:30 I was tired and decided to call it a night. I got home and Ian was fast asleep (he had left a little earlier to pick up Tim from Meredith's house). When he got up to leave and said all his good-byes, my friend that I used to work with, who is in her 50's, goes "he is adorable" I had to agree on that one. Today I'm a little sore. Ian and I danced so much that I used muscles I haven't used in ages. Today, we plan on having a barbecue and relaxing to gear up for Ian's b-day tomorrow. Life is good!!!

P.S. About 2 months ago I wrote into a local radio station here for a reading with a physic. Not hearing anything, I forgot about it, but Friday I got a call from the radio station that my entry had been picked to get a reading on Sunday. So tonite I will be on the radio; I feel like it's a gift from my parents.
ANOTHER EXCITING DAY
Becky Murdock

Aug. 9:Well, big news here today: Natalie and I met Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver today at the Norwalk courthouse registering to run for governer. It was so exciting; they both came over and shook my hand. Maria Shriver only shook two people's hands the whole time, and I was one of them. When I shook Arnold's hand, you could feel the strength.

We also meet Arianna Huffington, and Bill Simon. All the news channels were there broadcasting. We were on CNN live, and Ian was watching us as it was happening. I felt like I was in a movie. This has been a crazy week; last Sunday I was on the radio getting a reading, and this week I was on TV, which was being shown all over the world. It has been a good week!!!
BLEATINGS FROM SOAK AL
Ian Murdock

Aug. 9: Couple o' quick notes:

I got the start date for my new job at Optimal Robotics (Monday 8/11).
Did you know that Robert and Caroline had a boy? Riley Milo Murdock, born 7/30/03 (I think), 8 lbs. 12 oz., no complications.
My new e-mail address is murdock.i@comcast.net - please spread the word.

Here's my latest attempt at rhyming (be forewarned: I have no poetic license, just a poetic learner's permit):

Ma, pa; glad gleets
And this is no bull:
Thank you, thank you
Three bags full

One for the mystery thing
And one for the dough,
One for the poetry
(Which was enough, y'know)

Ma, Pa; time to sleep
But, once more sans bull:
Thank you, thank you
Three googol bags full!

Enjoy the weekend; it will be >CF* here!
AFTER THE REUNION
Polly Soberg

Bob, I counted 48 people at the party. What was your count? [Ed. Note: Bob's count was exactly the same! Click here for the roster. --NAM]

We had a nice vacation week with Claudia here this year, with something planned for each day. We only "rested" on Friday when I had a staff meeting to attend in the morning and due to the rainy day we chose to stay home. Some of our highlights were the Cog Railway, which was a first for us and well worth the expense, and a two night stay at the Tall Timbers Lodge in Pittsburg, NH, which is right on the Canadian border. The lodge is right on Back Lake, which is a relatively small and very quiet lake. The biggest motor one may have on a boat is a 10 hp so it keeps the noise level way down and makes putting around the lake more fun.

This lodge has the best food one could ask for. Unfortunately I don't think they have vegetarian meals. We enjoyed steaks that could be cut with a fork, scallops, baked haddock and nice salads. We went moose watching but this time did not see one moose. We did see a couple of deer but I think we may have gone out a little too early in the evening.

We visited Chutters Store in Littleton, NH on the way home where we shopped at the "longest candy counter in the world". On the way home we found a nice little seafood restaurant that satisfied Claudia's craving for fried clams. On some of the other days we visited the Vermont Country Store and found the best vegetarian "cafe" not far from there. It's actually a bakery that serves lunches and we learned that none of them had any meat in them. We had something like a calzone with mushrooms etc. You would love that place!


ON WRITING
Meri Murdock

Well, I e-mailed Writers Village University, and I will enroll Tuesday. Yay! I'm going to take the mystery class I never finished; I still have the book.

After the events of the past two weeks, I don't believe I had much choice in whether to write. First, the wizard of Oz was featured on television. This has always haunted me when I think I'm supposed to be writing. Commercials, tv shows and books I'm reading will have direct references to it, including songs and quotes from the movie. As soon as I start writing, these references stop appearing. Once, to escape from them when they were bombarding me, I even went to see "Predator 2" at the movie theater. I was sure I was safe at an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. However, I believe it's Danny Glover who says "Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" in the movie. Hee, hee.

Anyway, it was "Wizard of Oz" day on tv about 2 weeks ago. After that, my horoscope on my MSN start page kept telling me to write fiction. Every day for 2 weeks. Fiction was specifically mentioned almost every time. I finally decided to enroll in that school to get myself going, and now the threatening horoscopes have stopped. Oh, yes, and yesterday when I was trying to figure out if I did indeed have enough money to enroll this coming payday, I was asked by the vice president of our company to work on a project for the next 2 weekends. This is 32 hours at time-and-a-half. I think somebody is trying to tell me something.
WHAT A WEEK!
Meri Murdock
July 23: I really hope you have a picture or two of Magic. I realized today, I don't have any! Ian and Tim brought me flowers, helped me take care of Magic's final arrangements, and then we got Thai food and I went to their house for awhile. Then Tim kindly came over and hung out with me the rest of the evening, which was terrific, even though the Dodger game was a bust! Now I'm trying to get ready for bed and I'm slipping back into sad mode. I need to go cuddle with my two other kitties, Charlie and Kayla.

July 26: I got home last night to find my window screen cut, and my computer gone! They didn't take my DVD player or anything else, and the neighborhood kids saw Kayla peeking her head outside, and shut my window.

I'm at work this weekend, or I wouldn't be able to write to you this morning. Anyway, as a temporary solution, Ian is being kind enough to bring his webtv unit over tonight.

Sigh, I need a little good luck after this terrible week.

July 30: I wrote to the facilitator of my 3-week online dialogue class to tell her I needed to drop out and take it next time around. I explained why I was not able to attend the first class, and she refused to let me punk out - telling me I was only one week behind and could catch up. She was so sympathetic about the stolen laptop and Magic's death (she has three cats) and so hopeful that I would come to class - I just can't disappoint her! Long story short, I'm going to do my assignment when I get home and go to class tonight, and then do my 2nd one tomorrow. My long mystery class starts next Wednesday, so this will help shake the rust off.


IF IT'S TUESDAY, IT MUST BE - WHERE?
Nancy Murdock

In May we traveled West and a little South, so for our July trip we went North and a little East. Bob gathered together a whole different set of maps, and we got into our 13-year-old car and drove off with confidence to Gardner, MA - on Wednesday. It felt strange to start off for a major car trip with no jars for dyeing fabric, and no sewing machine. On the plus side, we did carry three games: Scrabble, Triominoes, and Racko, so we definitely were ready for fun.

It was a great vacation! We had something scheduled every day, and we reached the point where I was disoriented one night, not knowing where the bathroom was, because it kept changing. We had contacted everyone in Museland to let them know where we would be, and our daughter Meredith had instructed us in the technique of getting our messages while we were away from home. So we had the best of all worlds: visits with lots of wonderful relatives and friends, a peek at the email without unplugging the computer to carry around, changing scenery, and plenty of film.

Of course, it was extra easy to see a lot of people, as Cathy and John Howlett had scheduled the Howlett Reunion 2003 for Saturday in their spacious backyard in Chichester, NH. That way we saw three of my siblings (Polly, Doug, and John); my oldest living cousin (Clyde) and his daughter Claudia; the family of my brother Andy, the only one of us who didn’t make it to the year 2000; and numerous members of the younger generations. Once again, we had a great visit with Uncle Arthur’s grandson Albert and his wife Jenny, who introduced us to their son David. John spent a lot of time at the barbecue, but everyone else had also brought a fine variety of food. We brought greetings and hand picked strawberries from my brother Tom, a gift from an enjoyable visit with him and his wife Marcia in Hubbardston on Thursday.

We had also visited my brother Steve, who gave us a fine, relaxed visit on his front porch. He said we had missed by one day the flight of the baby birds from a birdhouse that was on the porch about one foot from Steve’s head. Unexpectedly, his wife Terry surprised us by arriving, having been given an extra couple of hours of vacation by her boss. After our visit, they went out to dinner to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

On Friday morning we had a great time with Bob’s sister Dotty and brother Art. We exchanged computer news with Art and played a game of Scrabble with Dotty. As usual, she outdid herself with a beautifully prepared lunch, which we ate in several courses. We had a nice drive up to Concord, NH, where we stayed at an inn that provided plenty of decaf and ice water, along with a “continental” breakfast that pleasantly expanded that term.

Saturday was the big day - the Reunion! But first we visited with Bob’s cousin Priscilla Januskiewicz and her husband Roy (a beekeeper) at the Farmer’s Market in Concord, where we picked up a great pie and some rolls for the reunion. Bob had arranged this visit through his cousin Donna, and everything went perfectly, from our point of view. Priscilla, Bob, and I went to an air-conditioned cafe for conversation and cold soft drinks, and then we shopped at a couple of cute places. I bought a pretty necklace of turquoise glass beads. When we got back, Roy was wilting in the hot sun, so we were especially grateful to him for allowing us to sneak off with Priscilla.

Sunday Polly, Carl, Clyde, and Claudia were our guests for brunch at The Uncommon Man, our favorite restaurant in the Concord area. As we were packing after checking out of the inn, we found a tape we had borrowed a year ago and were to return via Claudia. We hadn’t yet watched it, so Polly graciously allowed us to view it at her house. It was made by Cousin Roger and his wife Wanda as a gift to his sister Betty and her husband Harold. Roger had chosen lots of clips of movies he had taken, and we even saw my parents on one! It was especially poignant listening to Roger’s voiceover, since he had died within the past year.

Next we drove to Margie and Jack Aukstikalnis’s house for a nice visit and a tour of her lovely gardens. Margie showed us some old papers and pictures she had found among Jack’s parents’ things, and we were excited to see pictures of the Murdock family from the newspaper. They were snapped at the annual Christmas party for Heywood Wakefield employees. Jack’s brother Paul was also there, so we got updated on his retirement from the Post Office. Margie also served a really wonderful dinner, all vegetarian. She’s an excellent cook who loves to read cookbooks, so we reaped the rewards of her hobby.

We stayed that night with Cathy and John, where, with their daughter Lori and her family, we watched a fun movie featuring a beauty pageant, an FBI agent who was in the pageant to stop a disaster they had been warned about, and her coach who took very raw material and molded her into a gracious winner. Who cared if it was 12:30 AM when it ended? Well, actually, Bob did; he wiped out much earlier. Apparently chick flicks aren’t his thing.

Monday morning John gave us an extra special breakfast: delicious individual mushroom and onion omelettes, the first omelettes he had ever made! Then he and his grandson Patrick took us on a guided tour of his property and detailed his plans for future projects. And then we drove to Cape Neddick ME to visit Orrel and Charlie Frost.

They had the meals all planned and lunch prepared, so we gathered to catch up on all their news. Their daughter Pam Clark and her daughter Colleen, who live in the “garn” on their property, came in to chat, too. The Frosts’ two dogs (a retired greyhound and Pam’s elderly redhead who is too arthritic to climb stairs in the garn), along with two neighboring dogs (one of which has only three legs), all played happily in the large, fenced-in play area. Diversity has not passed that family by! Orrel and Charlie made us a fine breakfast in the morning, and we lingered over coffee before taking off for our next destination.

We headed first for Athol, where we visited Bob’s sister Lennie Schlicke in the Alzheimer’s wing of an excellent local facility. She didn’t recognize us, but we were chatting with her when her husband Bob arrived. He said, “I didn’t think you were coming!” We had arrived several days later than the original plan, and he was glad to spot us. He said he a few days ago he had seen Joan, another classmate of Lennie’s and mine, in a wing for other types of health problems.

After we said goodbye to them, we looked her up and had a wonderful, happy reunion, not having seen her for about 40 years. Joan and I had been together in the same grade through all 8 grades at Center School, 2 years at Athol High School, and 2 years leading to graduation from Gardner High School. She had missed the Gardner High School 50th reunion because she hadn’t kept up with anyone and figured she wouldn’t know any of the participants. She would have had a surprise if she had come, with a whole table of Hubbardston students. Bob and I left feeling really good, having touched base with our distant past.

It was quite a scenic drive to VT to visit Bob’s cousin Donna Estep and her husband, Chris. They live on beautiful property, and their home is lovely. We had lots of good conversation, including a stimulating political confab with Chris. We were pampered with good meals and a fine game of Scrabble, with Bob’s Aunt Ona and our hosts. Chris kept the players supplied with popcorn, cold beverages, and stories of the wild animals that live on their grounds, including a big black bear with bad table manners that likes to visit their porch. We had so much fun we had to force ourselves to go to bed.

Donna, an excellent hostess who seems to be able to cook anything well, served us a hearty breakfast (with their homemade maple syrup) before we headed for New York State. It was a long drive to see Bob’s sister Barb DiStefano and her husband Pete, so we didn’t quite make it in time to go to Chickadee Fabrics on the way. We enjoyed catching up on their extended family, and even had the pleasure of a visit from Bob’s niece Sally Bacon and her husband Ernie. Ernie has an interesting job as recreation director in a nearby city. Pete’s Marine son-in-law Ben Lesperance was back from Iraq, and he and Mary Anne were planning their church wedding in September, after a civil wedding January 10, 2003, just before he shipped out for Iraq.

We managed to do a lot in the one day and two nights we were there, thanks to Barb’s organized planning. She took off work Friday and took us shopping in some interesting little places. We toured a small museum about the salt business that used to thrive in that area, and we took a bus tour of the grounds. We also enjoyed a great meal at their favorite Italian restaurant. Barb, who is always good at coming up with extra fun things, bought a rhubarb pie that we ate as lunch outdoors as a break from shopping. She even had a spray can of whipped cream for topping. We did manage to visit the quilt shop before we left, and we discovered it was their anniversary, with everything 25% off. Bob was pleased to find an update of a quilt shop directory he likes to carry when we travel.

It seemed like a LONG 350 miles coming home, but I think it was just strange knowing that we weren’t going to find any welcoming relatives or friends when we got to the stopping place. It had been a great time, with plenty of visiting, good eats, and enjoyable entertainment, combined with lots of time for the two of us to visit and plan during our drives. It was good we got home on Saturday, though. We definitely needed a day to rest up before it was time for back to work. In all, we visited and stayed overnight in five states. We used to make separate trips to visit different households, but with Bob’s declared limit of one trip per year to New England, we were fortunate to squeeze them all into one eleven day trip. Whew!!


A NEW COOKBOOK
Orrel Frost

I have the most wonderful cookbook I have ever seen, compiled by a favorite individual of mine, called "Passionate Vegetarian" by Crescent Dragonwagon. We visited her restaurant many years ago with Derek and Roz, and enjoyed it tremendously. I have her first(I think) cookbook, but this latest one is ooo, lala!! It has over 1,000 "robust recipes with notes..." and is wonderful reading, even if you don't want to take the time or energy to make the food!! I thought you would like to know about the book; I think it is on a reader's listing.


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