Thursday, February 26, 2009

Dear Kids,
      Poor Paul! They’re sending him to northern Alberta for the summer, “they” being Apex, his employer. His main city is supposed to be Fort McMurray, about 57 degrees north latitude, somewhere near the midnight sun. He’s not very happy about the assignment. They’ve told him that it’s a high-crime area, and it’s growing fast, so that should give them a lot of business. At any rate, it should be a great adventure.
      I’m going to teach a beginning piano class at the Harman Senior Rec Center, starting next Wednesday. I’m there anyway for chess club, so I’ll just come a couple of hours earlier. There are seven people signed up, six ladies and a man. (That’s just about the opposite of chess club.) I’m supposed to give them xerox sheets of their music, and then have them give it back when they learn the songs, and they’ve told me that will avoid breaking any copyright laws. So yesterday I located the copy machine and ran off some songs. It really makes you feel like part of the establishment, using the copy machine!
      Dad received a major award at the Blue and Gold Banquet. Since he’s been doing Webelos for at least six years now, his total time in cub scouting, counting his work back in the 80's, is easily more than ten years. The plaque was made by Harold Rasmussen (Janae’s dad) and it says, among other things, “You are a Webelos leader who TOWERS above the rest.” I didn’t get it at first, but it’s talking about the tower in our back yard, which the Webelos love to climb. By the way, the tower is ten years old this year! Can you believe it! I’ve got to do some renovation on it this summer, so it can go several more decades.
      I’ll be cooking Sunday dinner on March 8th. We’ll probably eat at 5:00 in the afternoon. Let me know if you want to come.
      Lots of love, Mom

Friday, February 20, 2009

Dear Kids,
      Whoa, the sun is shining and spring is coming! We haven’t done enough snowboarding yet this year, but I’m also starting to think of outside bike rides and hiking the loop at the cabin.
      Anybody who’s read Kim’s blog this week knows that they have another little Ackerson on the way. Congratulations! Ali told me last week, when Dad and I were at the cabin. She said she had a baby in her tummy. I figured she meant something else. Tom confirmed that the baby was actually in Kim’s tummy. They were thinking of keeping quiet about it for a couple more weeks, but I said I couldn’t resist putting it on my blog, so Kim put it on hers first. That’s great. I’m thinking there’s another little grandchild on the way, too. Anybody else ready to make an announcement?
      I visited Grandma and Grandpa yesterday, and had a lot of fun, as usual. There was a big heart-shaped box of Sees candy by Grandma’s chair, and I was impressed with all their self-control. Here it was five days after Valentines day, and the box was still almost full? Well, there was more to the story. A few days before Valentines, somebody got the box of candy for Grandpa to give Grandma, and he hid it. Then he couldn’t remember where it was. Katie searched the house from top to bottom, even the garage, and couldn’t find it anywhere. So they got another box. Then, when Grandma found out, she had to solve the mystery. She handed the box to Grandpa and said, “If you were going to hide this, where would you put it?” He thought about it, went out to the garage to the file cabinet, and found the other one! Go, Grandma! Miss Nancy Drew. When I visit, she and I always sit down at the computer and update her books on Goodreads. She likes to read everybody else’s reviews, too. I even got her started on the unending book quiz. Anybody still want to know how to get 100%? I’ve found even better tricks. If you look on Goodreads at the best winning streak, you’ll see that I’m at the top, (with a streak of 1,000 right answers) out of 197,000 people who have taken the quiz. Nobody seems to be impressed by that, but I think it’s cool.
      Hope you’re all doin’ great and lovin’ it! Mom

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Dear Kids,
      My big excitement this week was snowboarding with Donna and Bevan on Monday. When we got to Brighton, it was snowing hard, with about eight inches of powder already. Donna kept exclaiming about the wonderful snow, so I guess they don’t get those kinds of storms at Deer Valley. And the place was practically deserted! We did a couple of runs on the bunny hill, and then we were ready for the big time! We did three runs on Majestic, and to tell the truth, I’ve never snowboarded in powder before. It’s just like floating! Powder makes you want to shout “Wa-hoo!” When we went into the cafeteria for lunch, everybody was laughing about how much fun they were having. (As Tom would say, “You don’t see that on the golf course.) After lunch I sat out a couple of runs, while Donna and Bevan checked out the faster lifts. (Majestic didn’t quite do it for them.) Then we went up Snakecreek, and it was a whole new world for me, going up that high, that fast. And I had to really hustle to keep up with Donna and Bevan going down. We all tumbled a few times. Donna has some new low-slung ski pants, which don’t work too well when you roll head over heels. She got snow up her backside. But it was all good. Really good!
      I’m disappointed that our analog TV signal won’t be cut off, like they promised. We have to wait until June. The media says it won’t make any difference–people who are too stupid or uneducated or technologically backward will never be ready. They have no clue about people who like to read and play chess and watch Perry Mason and Twilight Zone DVD’s. We don’t need broadcast TV. Dad and I are halfway through the first season of Perry Mason, and I can truly say that if TV were that good now, I would watch it.
      Here’s an e-mail that came this morning from Ginny: Starlene Threnety ( pronouced Trinity) Stevens (Theresa’s baby) was born this morning at 2:10. She weighs 7 lbs 14 oz and is 20 inches long and has lots of long dark hair. I delivered her just a couple of minutes before the midwife got there . . . what a special moment that was!!! Love, Ginny
      I can’t think of any other news. Hope you’re all doin’ great and lovin’ it!
      Mom

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Dear Kids,
      Have any of you tried to buy rubber cement lately? You have to show ID! No kidding. I looked for it at Walmart, but it’s not there any more. So got it at Office Max. I asked the checker why it was so hard to find, and he didn’t know, but he said I had to show ID to buy it. I told him I was a harmless Grandma and I wasn’t going to sniff it, so he just asked for my date of birth. Crazy! I used to thin my rubber cement with naphtha, which you could get in gallon cans at Home Depot, but it’s not there any more, either. It was great for getting sticky residues off things. Now I have to use paint thinner. Talk about a high! I might as well be using naphtha. Somebody should clue in whatever government agency makes these rules!
      Nora and Vanessa went skiing at Deer Valley today. (I didn’t even know Vanessa was coming to town–she just shows up!) I hope they had a good time! I’ve had some good snowboarding adventures the last couple of weeks, and I have several more planned, with people that want to go. It’s been pretty good, and there’s a big storm system moving in, so hopefully it will be even better!
      Oreo has a new fetish–Butterfinger bars. He steals them out of my prize box in the piano room and demolishes them on the floor. He doesn’t get the doritos or anything else, just the Butterfingers. Now I have to keep the lid down. I might even have to start locking the box again. Who knows what Oreo can do!
      If any of you have been following the adventures of Mandy and Eddie, Sharon and Seth’s friends, who adopted a baby on Christmas day, you’ll be surprised to hear that they’re getting another baby! It was an adoption that fell through several months ago, but now the birth mother has decided she wants them to be parents of her baby! The new baby is three months older than Jonah, and they’ll be like twins. We’re so happy for them! (You know the old saying, it never rains but it pours.)
      Remember I’m cooking dinner this Sunday, the 8th. Let me know if you’re coming!
      Lots of love, Mom