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Bob Murdock On June 3, 2008 I turned 82, and received many greetings from family and friends. Colleen made brownies for me, topped with a gel frosting greeting. Nancy made cheese quesadillas at my request, and gave me carte blanche for my favorite book store (Borders). And Nan and I, along with Michael from the group home, feasted at a favorite birthday restaurant, Carrabbas Italian Grill. Polly sent a multimedia Ecard with glistening candles on the cake, background music "Happy Birthday to you" and her message: "Have a great day and we wish you many many more of the same. Do something wild and crazy and enjoy every minute of it." Natalie sent a humorous Ecard featuring the world's first monkey tatto artist, along with her message: "Happy Birthday Grandpa!! Hope you had a great day!" Email from my sister Margery: Well, another wonderful year has begun. Happy Birthday, Bob! Gosh, when I reflect over just the parts of your life that I know of, you have done a lot! From all the wonderful and not so wonderful places you have lived, to the fascinating jobs and volunteer projects you were involved in, to the ever expanding beautiful family you have helped to nurture; certainly hasn't been dull, has it? And, looking forward, the Muse continues, getting better with each issue; Nancy will be retiring soon; and your family continues to grow and add excitement to your life. A lot of memories, a lot of hopes. A good reason to celebrate another birthday! Love you! Margery and Jack Email from daughter Valerie: I was thinking of you throughout the day, and hope you've had a great birthday. Let's see... did you celebrate with a meal of Indian cuisine in a favorite restaurant? We're adopting ever more of the seasonings and spices into -- oops! I said "we" but it's really Larry doing all the gourmet cooking these days. He makes a truly exquisite curry sauce. I'm more or less banished from the cooking arena, except to allow a bit of dish-washing now and again. Come to think of it, we're following in a grand family tradition, aren't we? :-) Happy birthday!! Looking forward to our mini-reunion in October... Love, Valerie |
from the Muse Enchilada Gallery Photo |
Mary Cosgrove Just read the whole enchilada...Muse. So many heart-warming stories!! Such great editors. Such beautiful quilts. Poppies was one of my favorites!! Thank you, everyone, for sharing your talents and lives. Spring has suddenly sprung. While glancing out my front door, I spotted a bird with a grey head, white collar, dark green looking back, more grey and black (I will search my bird book for its name). This cutie was hanging on to the opening to a birdhouse, endeavoring to enter the entryway which was not large enough for anything more than its head..desperate to start a nest there. Three other siblings buzzed the tree where the birdhouse hung from. I was so frightened that this bird would try too hard to enter the house and get stuck! Sadly, I had to run out there and retrieve the bird house to prevent a horror story. I told Bob we'd better build a bigger one quick. Then a black colored bird was snipping up part of the crabgrass, flying off to start a nest in a nearby cypress. I told it to "have at it" (crabgrass, as it's a newcomer this year and we don't want to poison it since we're using the grass clippings for a compost component). Actually, if the birds checked out the parameter of the compost they'd find great pieces of straw for nesting. Spring projects abound. Bob's finishing up a plumbing venture, adding to spigots outside. He bypassed the water pressure regulator so we'd have more pressure if needed for various reasons. Refilling the ditch has been more challenging than he's ever encompassed, because of the poor quality soil, not to mention the next step of trying to level it out. Next, he'll install my clothesline which I'm excited about. That brings back childhood memories. I doubt if I'll go to the extreme, however, and hang clothing there in the winter, allowing the clothes to stiffen with ice as Mum did. Today I hope to plant a few more veges in the two container gardens (4'X8') that Bob built last year. Looking forward to mini tomatoe breakfast Hors d'oeuvres again. Sis Joy is my friendly gardener advisor, rescuer, helper, encourager, etc., with her 40 years of experience! Biggest lesson so far this year: Don't be so anxious to get ahead of the "season" and end up losing. Second biggest lesson: Don't be so enthused as to start way too many seedlings! Then there's spring cleaning, finishing up painting a few walls, attend the garden club meetings, finish up a temporary volunteer job for a local, non-profit agency who advocate for the developmentally disabled, tend to the flowers, etc. We just celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. [Ed. Note: Happy Congratulations, Mary and Bob!] Will try to eat more veges and keep up some exercising as we run the race toward our 11th! Mother's Day was nice as I was treated to a special brunch in Salem. Afterward, I spent some time at my son's home where I was further presented with some nice cards and flowers. Then we went through a family album. After that my son showed me his "time capsule" bag, pulling out tiny, memorable items such as his first teddy bear, so worn and floppy, some small things from Grampy Fellows, and many other treasures. The Master Gardeners Polk County annual sale event was great fun (10 mins. from home). The ladies are wonderful. Besides picking a few herbs from the country store section, I found some curly willow branches ($.50 each) and an old wooden drying rack for crafts ($1.00) from an old barn to use as a backing for my etched "coffee garden" glass sign, making the words more visible. As planned, we met up with a gentlemen we had met at a rock quarry (and his wife whom we were introduced to), and we enjoyed lunch with them afterward. I just accepted the honorary position of sitting my grand girls (ages 6 and 9) for three days each week during the summer. The plan is to spend the mornings at my house and the afternoons at their house (3 miles away). That way, we'll join their older brother (age 13). My daughter, who recently moved to Chandler, AZ, sent me a cell phone (that I would keep ON!). She's having fun exploring the area, working in a medical center, and contemplating a triathalon. Enjoy your spring! Love, Mary & Bob Cosgrove Dallas, OR |
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Nancy Murdock It is June 28 today and getting very close to our vacation-filled July 2008. It all begins on Wednesday, July 2, when we fly to Minneapolis for two weddings! Darrel and Mary are having a quiet civil wedding on the 3rd, and Bob and I will be the official witnesses. Then on the July 5, Jason and Bevin will have a fancy wedding, complete with a beautiful dress for Olivia, the flower girl. We fly back home on the 8th. Then on about July 10 we start driving to New Hampshire for the Howlett Reunion, which is on Saturday the 12th. Since we haven't driven any real distance for a couple of years, we expect to wimp out and stop ovenight at some point. The Howlett Reunion will once again be hosted by John and Cathy (bless them both!). We haven't yet completed our schedule for the rest of our vacation, but we hope to see everyone in both families, and at least a few friends. This is the benefit of marrying someone from the same hometown! We will return on Thursday, the 17th, which works out well for my Sew & Tell meeting on the 20th and Jewish ladies' book club on Saturday the 26th. Bob has bought me the book: Jhumpa Latiri's Unaccustomed Earth. On July 22 my friend Kathy and I are assisting at the national "Ms. Wheelchair America" competition, for which there are 26 state winners competing. (I think one of our book club friends is participating.) We will oversee and assist them as they each make a quilt block. For several years an older lady has helped them do this and has then taken the blocks home to make them into a bed-sized quilt. The following year's winner of the competition then gets the quilt for a prize. The helpful lady can't do this any more, so Kathy agreed to do it and then asked if I could help her. We saw a picture of one of the quilts, which had alternate blocks of a floral fabric to tie it together and enlarge it to bed size. Kathy is leaning toward a theme of red, white, and blue, so I am waiting to see what we will need to take for them to use for the quilt for next year. They have one and a half hours to complete a block. I'll let you know the results in the next issue of the Muse. |
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Colleen McKay This trip with a niece for her high school graduation gift starts out with me flying to AZ for Mother’s Day. Kristina lives about a mile from my parents. However, before I got on the plane on Saturday May 10th I had to shop at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center $3.00 a bag flea market sale. I found treasures and heaped seven romance novels on the top of one bag to take with me on my trip. Monday morning my sister Kathy, Kristina’s mom, picks us up and takes us to the airport. Due to cost cutting measures, the Delta’s Crown Room at the Phoenix Airport closed May 1. I used the time to walk the concourse to get my exercise, since Kristina watched the bags. We are sitting on the aircraft waiting to take off; Kristina’s nose begins to bleed. I ask for napkins and ice to put on the back of her neck. Her nosebleed stops and the Ziploc bag of ice serves another purpose. Grandma sent potato salad in a yogurt container for Kristina to snack on. This kept the potato salad chilled until later in the flight when she was ready to eat it. We arrived in Venice the afternoon of Tuesday May 13th. I remembered how to get to the same hostel I stayed with JoAnnah last year. We were very lucky our room was en suite and one flight lower than the room JoAnnah and I had. We also did not get any roommates in our room even though there were more beds. I bit my tongue about commenting about Kristina’s too long jeans. When she slipped on the stairs going down and scraped her arm, she decided to roll cuffs in her jeans. I had also told her not to pack jeans, because they are heavy and take up room and don’t dry quickly if caught in a rain shower. Luckily the weather did not make her sorry she ignored my advice. This was my third time to Venice, and I finally saw the inside of St Mark’s. The line to enter St Mark’s was not long, and it was early and cool. But it did not open until 9:45 AM. We waited about 40 minutes until it opened. We were in the first wave of tourists admitted. We saw the treasures, said a prayer, and caught the water bus to island Murano for the glass factory. We were blown away by the demonstration. She bought 90 Euros worth of glass items, and I bought a 75 Euros worth of jewelry. I wanted to find the little store where I’d bought the blown glass goldfish in a sack necklace in 2007. I had dropped it and broken off the glass loop that hung it from the black cord necklace. We found it! I was carefully separating the necklaces. I set one aside. Kristina dropped it and broke the loop off. I picked out another one. The clerk charged only 1.5 Euros instead of 3 Euros for the broken one. Kristina put on the black cord necklace and gave me a goldfish bag pendant, saying maybe I could make earrings from the two broken pendants. We walked around the island, taking pictures of the wonderful glass sculptures. We had lunch on the island. The tap water was served in a Murano blown glass pitcher. I of course had to take a picture of the pitcher. Thursday morning we woke up and walked around Venice before the shops were opened. We determined the better place to catch the water bus to the bus depot. That way we did not have to lug our bags up and down the steps of the Rialto Bridge to return to the airport for our flight to Rome. We were staying in a different place in Rome. The directions I had were misleading. We did drag our bags round until we found someone who could tell us where Voltuno Street was. The Italian breakfast included was a pastry and coffee or tea at a small shop a block away. The free internet access was at a Laundromat 6 blocks away. The private room with two beds that I requested was a private room with a queen bed. Kristina is a blanket stealer. After asking for another blanket, I was fine the rest of the stay. Friday was our busiest day. After getting our chocolate pastry and hot beverage, off we went to the grounds of the Colosseum. The line was too long. We opted to continue to stroll past the Arch of Constantine past the outer edge of the Forum ruins past the field where Circus Maximus to find the Pantheon. Before we found the Pantheon, we found ruins to walk through and the cat sanctuary in the ruins Largo Argentina. I bought a cat magnet for my friend Kittie (that’s her birth name), since the little gift store raises money to feed and care for the cats in the sanctuary. The Pantheon was built in 27 AD by the Consul Agrippian to Roman gods. It was not until after 312, when Constantine made Christianity the religion of the empire, that it was used for Mass. It is a short walk to the Trevi Fountain to throw my coin for my wish to return to Rome. My wish was granted; I am going to Rome June 25 to July 3. The next item on the agenda was to see the changing of the guard at the Quirinale. We made it. After that we rested in the garden of the Quirinale. I think that is where I set down a pair of sunglasses and left them. Luckily the glasses were very inexpensive and I had another pair with me. The next big fountain we saw was the Fountain of Neptune. We were not looking for it; we just wandered that way. Next stop was the top of the Spanish Steps. The Bellini fountain at the foot of the steps has a neat place to stand for a photo. We strolled down the Fifth Avenue of Rome, the Via Cordotti. We did not buy anything there. We finished up the day walking around the Piazza De Popolo. There were grandstands set up because they were celebrating the 156th anniversary of the Police Department. Unless it is celebrated every year; I did not know the significance of 156. Saturday was our day to go to the zoo. I hoped that the renovations that were going on when I took my niece Amber in rainy July 2004 were completed. Our traveling guardian angels were with us. The zoo was much better than I remember. The fact it was not raining on us probably added to our enjoyment of the animals. The playground at the zoo was interesting. There still were seesaws and a swinging saucer ride. I looked at those and thought the sue happy American parents are depriving their children fun. After a nap for my niece we went out to the Metro Republican square near where we were staying. There was a bus parked on the square. There was a small rock band inside the bus playing music. We were walking to the intersection where there was a fountain on each corner. I didn’t get good photos. I knew I was coming in June and could get early morning photos: no people, good light. The little restaurant we ate at had food-related pictures made with different colored beans and rice. I could not get Kristina up early enough to go to the flea market before Mass at St. Peter’s on Sunday. Luckily, I had those seven books. Kristina needed a lot more sleep than I did. Mass was in Latin. Holy shades of fifth grade; the Mass changed to English when I was in the sixth grade. Kristina grew up with the English Mass and even was a Mass server, something her mother and I were not able to do as children, although my four brothers were Altar Boys, the term used before girls were allowed to serve at Mass. We rubbed the toe of the bronze St. Peter in St. Peter’s after Mass. Word to the wise: do not buy any food on the food carts in St. Peter’s Square. We had been carrying water bottles to fill up at the many drinking water fountains around Rome. Kristina forgot her bottle Sunday morning. It was four Euros to buy a soft drink. If we had waited to buy it at the little store a half block up, it was only 2.50 Euros. The exchange rate I paid for my Euros was $1.66 for one Euro. Castel St. Angelo was the next stop. This was built by Emperor Hadrian in 130 AD. It is amazing to think that for nineteen hundred years people have been walking the circle ramp inside the castle. I enjoyed taking pictures of the Archangel Michael at the top of the tower. We spotted an interesting building from the tower. We walked over to it before crossing the Tiber. It was their hall of justice. The renovations on the main fountain in the Piazza Navona that were taking place April 2007, when I was there with JoAnnah, are not complete. There was still scaffolding and no water running in that fountain. The other two simpler fountains on the piazza had water. This is where Kristina was ambushed by the street artist. She let him use her finger to start the braiding of a friendship bracelet in the colors of the Italian flag. He then tied it to her wrist. I asked her if she wanted it. I did not think I had any coins. I was not going to hand him a ten Euro note. He said he would give me 5 Euros change. I said no way is it worth 5 Euros. I did manage to find 1.5 Euros in coin. I gave him them and said that was all I was paying. I most likely overpaid. Monday was the early day to go stand in line at Vatican Museum at 8:00am for the 8:45am opening. We saw the tapestries, the hall of Maps. Kristina stood by the map of Venice for a photo. We saw the Sistine chapel and art works from the Orient. Then it was time to go stand in another line for the Colosseum. There was the scary moment when I lost sight of Kristina at the Colosseum. I stopped to take photos and she had moved on. It was time to take a bus to St. John’s, one of the four major basilicas of Rome. I was disoriented because this bus dropped us off at the side door of the basilica. Kristina was tired and did not want to get off the bus on the way back to stop at St. Mary Maggiore, one of the other four. I told her to get her camera out and at least take a picture of the outside. We did not get to St Paul Outside the Walls. Kristina was only in two of the four St. Peter and St. John’s. I still have to locate the Episcopal St. Paul Inside the Walls. When I had located it with JoAnnah last year, it was not open, but then we did not pass that way again when it was open. There is an interesting mosaic with Abraham Lincoln’s features as a Roman guard. Our last dinner in Rome was at a restaurant near our internet spot, with a 1983 Golden Fork Award on the wall. My sister said Kristina lost 10 pounds on our trip, even though we had gelato every day, sometimes twice. I guess not snacking in front of the TV and walking everywhere is the secret to weight loss. |
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Margery Aukstikalnis My outlook on life is much brighter since I had my cataract surgery! All went well until I went to the Wal-Mart pharmacy today to fill my prescription for antibiotic eye drops. First I had to wait about 20 minutes because the pharmacy was closed from 1:30 to 2 PM for lunch, then 30 minutes for the prescription to be ready. So I did a little shopping, and when I returned to the pick-up window, I announced "Margery Aukstikalnis; A-U-K" as I am accustomed to doing. It almost always finds me in any computer. The clerk, typing on the keyboard repeated, "A-U-K" Then she said "Springfield". I thought to myself as I gaped at her, "I have lived in Hubbardston, Gardner, Fitzwilliam, even Washington DC, but never Springfield!" She looked up at me and carefully enunciated in her Mexican accent, "Esss- Ping-Field. About fie mean oots." So I sat down to wait five minutes while my prescription was "being filled." I smelled smoke the other evening, and was alarmed. I couldn't imagine why Jack would consider burning a fire in the high winds we were having. I rushed to the door, then stopped, laughing, as I realized it was raining for the first time in five months! The "smoke" was the creosote bushes rejoicing in the rain. The smell of the desert in the rain is unmistakable, unless its been so many months since it happened that I forget!!! With my newly restored vision, I am really enjoying the wildflowers and learning to identify them. And I even can see better through the binoculars and this week have delighted in seeing several Western Tanagers, many mockingbirds performing their highwire dances to my amusement, dozens of Gambrel Quail, and a pair of Cliff Swallows diving near our heads capturing insects. Finches, sparrows, wrens, hawks, nighthawks, a turkey vulture, Omigosh! It is so nice to sit out morning and evening and take it all in. We traded April showers for April winds, and black flies for "kissing bugs" in May. Porcupines are replaced by rattle snakes in June. But family can't be replaced. Thank goodness for Internet and the Murdock Muse!!! Love, Margery |
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