Joyce Kropewnicki

Getting ready for Stan's 70th Birthday 5-14-2010

2010-04-25T09:58:00.000-07:00

Stan Kropewnicki - 19 months in this photo - November 1941

John Kropewnicki and his son Stan - about 1941 or so

Stan Kropewnicki - 4 years old - 1944 - In Navy sailor suit just like his daddy who was off to war.

We were getting ready for Stan's 70th birthday party. His birthday is on 5-14-2010. The party is on Saturday 5-15-2010.

I needed to send out some invitations and wanted to put on some old photos.

Stan reluctantly brought out a photo or two, which I started to scan in. Then the flood gates opened. I have over 30 photos to scan. He still held back some though for another day.

Here is a list of photos and tidbits Stan shared.

1) Maternal grand mother Helen Jackowski is 3rd from L to R.

2) Aug 1971 Cousin Richie Shuber getting married to Cathy.

Richard was an accountant. We met him a few years back in Boulder as he was visiting his son who was attending college at CU. We went to the Boulder fair grounds to hear some polka music. Stan had just renewed his interest in polka music and dancing. We thought surely Richie and Cathy would be interested also. They were polite, but mostly bored. Polkas had not filtered into their heritage as they had with Stan.

3) Sept 1971 Stan's neice - Mary Anne pictured in the middle. She is riding on her Grandmother Alice Kropewnicki's boat. Along with her is Eleanor and Chrystina (whoever they are?)

4) Alice Kropewnicki - Stan's mom She always spent a lot of time decorating their home for Christmas holidays

5) Stan's maternal Grandparents - Helen and Leopold Jackowski

6) Alice Kropewnicki - Mitch Poplaski Sept 1971

Stan's dad died July 2, 1969. After a few years of grief Alice, Stan's mom met an interesting man, Mitch Poplaski. He was a big deal with the window washer's union in New York city. He belonged to the local Yacht club and was president for a long time. Alice fell in love and they bought a boat together. Alice enjoyed dolling up the boat with colorful cushions and going out for a ride through New York harbor. One of the thrills for Mitch was seeing the tall ships gathered around the Statue of Liberty in 1976 during the country's 200 year celebration.

7) Pat Kropewnicki and her brother-in-law Tony Szeluga

Tony married Stan's oldest sister Irene and had a boy - Robert Szeluga.

Pat, Stan's other sister married Richard O'Neill and had a girl - Mary Anne O'Neill.

8) Jamela Swanson and Stan Kropewnicki - Summer 1969

Stan was concerned about the first time he met Jamela, Joyce's daughter. Stan was an outdoors kind of guy: fishing, hunting and getting right into things. Here was this little two year old kid that had trouble walking on pebbles as she crossed the path to the fishing hole in the Colorado mountains. It has been an interesting experience for him and her the 40 some years they have known each other when they learned to call each other Dad and Jamie.

9 Stan Kropewnicki and little baby - could be his neice Mary Anne O'Neill.

Some of these photos are very old and were stuck together from some moisture which created a partial image. Still a picture is worth a thousand words and holding a new baby is worth the look.

10 Richard Shuber - Stan's Uncle Richard has a son named Richard also that came visit Colorado photo # 2.
Richard was his mother's Brother-in-law. His wife was Frances Jackowski, Alice's sister.

Must have been someone's wedding as Richie is wearing a flower in his lapel.

11) Helen and Leopold Jackowski (Stan's maternal grandparents) Aunt Loretta (Jackowski)Gatz and John Kropewnicki (Stan's dad).

12 Stan Kropewnicki and sister Irene Kropewnicki (Szeluga - Muse - Rodway - Miller)

13 Maternal Grandmother - Helen Jackowski and her brother ..Terlik

14 Aunt Loretta (Jackowski - Alice's sister) Gatz Grandmother Helen Jackowski Aunt Ruth Jackowski (married Stanley Stan's Uncle) mother Alice Kropewnicki

15 Stan Kropewnicki - taken in Mespheth New York in living room

16 Stan Kropewnicki - Beauty (his dog's tail in photo) In front of Stan's house in Mespeth NY looking north. Late 1940's his dad had a Chevy. Stan is about age 10-12 in the photo which makes this about 1950 - 1952.

17 Alice Jackowski (Kropewnicki then Poplaski) Graduation from Grammer School. Stan didn't think his mother graduated from High School as she had to go to work. The photo was on a postcard with no date. A. Klimas Phot Studio 98 Grand Ave. Maspeth, L.I.

18 Loretta Gatz Stan Kropewnicki (little boy in front) Stan's parent John Kropewnicki and Alice Kropewnicki

New Years Eve in Boston 2009

2009-12-31T16:54:00.000-08:00

Visited our grand daughter Anya and her parents, John and Rachel. She is so cute and happy all the time.

We watched and played for hours with little Anya, 14 months old. She is such a delight. She is cheery and happily sports a contagious smile. She looks through her stacks of books and brings one right over, crawls into your lap to hear a good story from Grandma and Grandpa.

She has a surprisingly long attention span. It is interesting to watch children learn. Anya spent quite a while putting little square blocks down the tube from long spent Christmas wrapping paper. She figured out the five blocks could easily be retrieved from the other end when they slide down the tube. She picked them up one at a time and replaced them in the tube for a big slide. After many repetitions she had figured out how to hold 4 blocks in her little hands and slipped them in the tube.

Another time she was learning to get in and out of a Christmas sleigh. This foot here and that hand there and pretty soon she tumbled out. Up again to crawl in and work at getting out.

What a delight to spend the New Years weekend with her and her parents, John and Rachel. By the time we said good-by she had her Grandpa's number with her little flirty eyes and smile. She says lots of words some are understandable. Grandma was "ammow" and Grandpa sounded like Grandpa or our ears were playing tricks on us.

She has a Nana nearby who loves to visit and play with her. When we went to Diane's (Nana) for dinner, Anya played with Nana putting different shapes into an elephant. She learned quickly that you could just put them in the elephant's big trunks also. The ultimate in work around technology.

On New Year's Day 2010 Frog Park at Boston Common downtown and later we all went to visit Anya's other Grandma (Nana), Diane in Salem, MA.

2009 Christmas stockings

2009-12-04T13:10:00.000-08:00

Many of my co-workers decorated and filled Christmas stockings for needy children during the holidays.

Irene's 80th Birthday

2009-11-28T06:08:00.000-08:00

We took a brief trip down to Albuquerque, New Mexico for Stan's sister Irene's 80th Birthday.

She had just married her 4th husband, Ben Miller two months ago. He is a quiet easy going guy. It is interesting to see older people engage in life together after both have had rich full lives.

He is polite and clearly answers questions when asked, but doesn't ask any of his own or pry into anything about you.

He was a crane operator for 17 or so years and lived in Danville, Illinois. We talked a little about how scary it must be to perch a top the crane as the boom maneuvers around moving equipment and building materials. I asked how he got up to the top of the crane. "Just climb up," was his reply. There is a cage that encompasses the metal rungs of the ladder, but still you are climbing up there with only safety rope. He also was a car mechanic for years.

Irene was thrilled when she opened the quilt and loved the colors. I know she would as she has many of the mauve rose colors decorating her home. Ben was so appreciative of the gift and knew first hand the work that goes into making a quilt. He said his wife (I assume first wife - probably deceased) made many quilts. When she finished them she wrapped them in a pillow case and put them in a dresser drawer. He said it as if she were still alive and you could just go over to the dresser drawer, open it and take a look at her handy work. He is 82 and life's experience intersect with the new life he is making with Irene.

Irene is happy once again - driven by guidance from the Lord who told her in a dream that she would be married to a wonderful man a year before it happened. Whatever people believe evidently comes true.

They showed us a photo video of their wedding. It was well done with heartfelt music and fade in snapshots of the beautiful day. Bob gave his mom away to Ben in a touching scene. Irene was dressed in a full length cream-colored wedding gown. She carried herself in the same elegant way that I have known from years past. The four tier wedding cake fed the many friends she has at their church.

Ben grew up on a farm in Danville, Illinois. One time a rival minister was looking for place for his tent. Ben's dad offered him a place in a field on their 80 acres. Ben got to know this man and his son Joel over the years that he would set up his tent. Joel became Ben's foster son (not legally) and is still referred to in those terms today. Joel is the minister of the mega Four-Square church where Irene participates.

Somehow Joel has taken over a 16,000 square foot partially built home, I should say mansion (castle). I guess the neighbors were delighted when Joel bought this place and started to fix it up as it had been an unfinished haven for drugs groups and other assortment of low life.

Well Ben meet Irene, they fell in love and got married. Now both have a companion to share they waining years.

On Saturday, November 28, 2009, we decided to head back to Danver as we heard these might be snow storm. Its no fun making a 7-8 hours drive in the snow. The snow never materialized.

Before we left we stopped at Old Town Albuquerque for a walk through the area on a brisk morning. Stan was feeling under the weather so mostly he waited in the car while I chatted with the Native Americans lining the sidewalk on their blankets in front of a building. They had jewelry for sale all laid out in front of them that sparkled in the chill. Their faces lite up early in the morning to talk with the few of us tourists out looking at their wares.

One guy saw my Black Dog sweatshirt and was reminded of his yellow lab that he dearly loved. We talked about the meaning of various fetishes of jewelry that he had carved. Arrow heads for direction and protection. Bears for courage, good luck, and protection. They were interesting as was the guy selling them. So I parted with some money and put them in my pocket. Waiting for some good luck to come my way.

One the way back to Denver, we listened to rock and roll then some polka music. The road goes on and on through long expanses of grass land.

Colorado has much the same terrain until you arrive at Pueblo with more rolling hills, trees and mountains to the west. By the time we went through Colorado Springs dusk had come and gone and there was nothing but night with the red tailights glaring as the traffic packed in with fellow returning vacationers.

It was a good trip to see Irene, her new husband Ben and her son Bob to spend a slice of time with their family.

9/11 Memorial climb in Denver

2009-09-09T08:44:00.000-07:00

Some 343 firefighters from throughout Colorado and Wyoming will participate
in a memorial stair climb Friday, Sept. 11, at 1801 California. The
memorial will be from 9 to 11 a.m.

Participants will climb the building's 52 flights of stairs twice to pay
tribute to the 343 firefighters who were killed when the World Trade Center
collapsed due to terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Started by Denver Fire District Chief Dave McGrail in 2004, the memorial at
1801 California is thought to be the only one of its kind in the nation.

Gene and Sylvia Swanson's 50th Anniversary

2009-08-09T00:25:00.001-07:00

Gene explains my Grandmother Anna Swanson's frustration in trying to put on a girdle in hot humid Kansas City weather at their wedding 50 years ago.

Jodi Cyphers Wendi Swanson Shelli Kelly and Christy Freemyer singing How Great Thou Art. They are Gene and Sylvia's daughters

Jodi Cyphers Wendi Swanson Shelli Kelly and Christy Freemyer singing Children of the Heavenly Father

Gene and Sylvia wove together love and affection for their family and touched people in their lives with kindness.

I wanted to give them a remembrance for the occasion. Here is a sample of the quilt which came from fabric from my mother, their Aunt Frances.

Green Bay Wisconsin 7-22-09

2009-07-23T20:17:00.000-07:00

Hail Storm 7-20-09

2009-07-21T03:46:00.000-07:00

We had a big hail storm about 10 pm last night, 7-20-09. It hailed icy marbles to beat the band. Jack our dog and I ran downstairs. Stan found our wind up flashlights and crank radio and joined us.

The hail blew from the north and pelted the front windows. It tore our healthy flowers and vegetables that were just at their peak of production to shreds. There was a tornado warning in the area but we didn't hear about it as the power flicked off at the first burst of wind. It seemed to last about 15 to 20 minutes but was like a freight train rolling over our heads.

We peeked outside once the hail had subsided. In pitch black you can't see much except the three inches of hail piled up with leaves and pine needles. Our land line phone still worked so we checked in with neighbors and Jamie who was just getting a milder storm about 3 miles away.

It was eerie seeing the community all dark with flickers of flashlights dotting the area as neighbors ventured out to the survey the damage.

Evergreen Gate

2009-07-12T12:23:00.000-07:00

Stan and I took a ride to Kittridge on Sunday morning for breakfast is Kittridge then on to Evergreen for a walk around the lake. It always gives a kick to see the sign on someone's lawn to "Keep the Gate Closed". There is no other fence there.

4th of July 2009

2009-07-04T08:59:00.001-07:00

Today is the 4th of July 2009. Happy Day to all of you to celebrate our freedom.

The old guy is a person I met at our Polka Club. I thought his character fit in for today. We found the VW Punch Buggie in our neighbor. I finally finished the 4th of July quilt I was making. Now we need to go on a picnic.

Spinning yarn from Alpaca wool at the farmers market in Golden Colorado

Zydeco is wild music from New Orleans - real Cajun style on a squeeze button box type driving sound.

Leroy Thomas and the Zydeco Roadrunners played from a while at the Golden 4th of July celebration.

4-17-09 Denver Big Spring Snow Storm

2009-04-17T17:50:00.000-07:00

It's Friday 4-17-09. The weather pros warned us the big spring snow storm was coming. I went to work this morning and stood in the chilly rain while I waited for the bus to pick me up to sweep me off to downtown to work. I watched the rain out my office window. The streets were wet as were the sidewalks most of the day.

Stan called to let me know the snow was building up in Lakewood. I walked 3 or so blocks through more cold rain to catch the bus home. The bus came right away at the stop thank goodness. As we drove west the rain turned to gentle snow.

Once home I watched snow tumble down for an hour or so. It seemed nice enough out there so I put on my boots, grabbed the snow shovel to shovel the front walkway. The pine trees boughs were heavy laden with snow. I pushed about twenty shovels full off the sidewalk close to the street. The snow was about 8 inches deep with a couple of inches of slushy wet snow on the bottom of the pile. This stuff is heavy and harder to shovel then expected.

Our snow blower would only pack up with slush if we tried it on this stuff.

So I just watched it fall through the living room window. Big FGs (Fat Globs) as we used to say when we went skiing and saw this kind of action. It has been snowing about 2 inches for the last 4 hours. There is about a foot on the lawn now. The grass should be really green in a couple of weeks.

I went out to take a few photos to capture the softness of the scene. The birds were chirping. A few cars were driving up the hill in front of the house. When I was out shoveling I noticed a car had ran off into the ditch up the street. It was finally pulled out by the tow truck. It took him about an hour to maneuver the vehicle out. Many cars were backed up behind this accident.

We will probably be holed up here are a couple of days until the sun comes out and melts the snow next week.

Warren's Vacation

2009-04-14T15:28:00.000-07:00

4-14-09 Warren Boyles is visiting us from Tasmania, Australia. He stopped in San Francisco first then to Denver Colorado and up to Rocky Mountain Park by Estes Park.

Alan Swanson's 70th Birthday

2009-03-01T17:15:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to you.!.

Alan Swanson celebrated his 70th Birthday on February 28, 2009. He was born in 1939 in Greeley, Colorado on February 27. His parents Harold and Frances Swanson must have been so proud to have their first baby boy. What a joy to bring in this new life to their farming community.

He grew up learning the hard work and toil it took to work the land and feed a family. Early on his older sister Nancy worked in the fields doing whatever it took to help out their parents. When he was about 5 or so, Nancy about age 8, was driving a tractor pulling a hay-sled through the field to pick up the bales of hay. Alan was evidently hanging on the back of the tractor and slipped off on to the ground. The sled ran right over top of him. If it weren’t for the small ditch that he had fallen into the sled would have crushed him instead of badly bruising him. Can you imagine a parents concern at the thought of an accident like that with their son.

Our Dad was a great gadget person. He liked to tinker with stuff and you could hear him whistling in delight as he fiddled with things at his desk. I imagine that Christmas he started Alan with an American Flyer train set was one of those whistling, fiddling, times.

It was probably about 1950 and Alan was around age 11.
The plywood board provided the base for the track. The engine had smoke billowing out of the stack. Cars were very interactive for the time. There was a bright-red cattle car that stopped at the cattle yard. The little red Herford cows scooted out of the car using electric current and probably some kind of vibrating magnet to move them down the ramp into a corral.

There was a snazzy Pullman car that lit up and another car that delivered milk cans with the same idea as the cattle car. I am 7 years younger than Alan and delighted in watching the train and playing with the small parts. Sometimes Alan let me work the controls.

We lived in this old farm house on a farm that we rented from Royce J. Tipton. The upstairs bedroom floor became the space for the train set and all its glory mostly in the Winter around Christmas time. The rest of the year the cars were boxed up and the plywood propped up against the wall.

Another time Alan was a teenager about 18 or 19 working with some farm equipment. He was reaching for a light switch by standibg on a a plow. The plow slipped and tipped over slicing partially through a couple of fingers on his right hand. No one was home except me, his little sister. I was about 10 or 12 at the time.

I remember going to the hospital with him that day. He drove letting me know that I had to drive if he passed out. His hand was bleeding up a storm. I sat on a chair next to the desk where the doctor was looking at the damage. The doc asked me if I was his wife. For heaven sakes couldn’t he tell I was a kid and this was my brother. Boy some of the things we remember about situations.

The doc proceeded to fix up Alan’s fingers connecting, the parts as best he knew how. Today and throughout his life Alan still can’t exactly lay those fingers out straight.

Alan was just a good person. We spend a lot of time as a family going to church with lots of singing and harmonizing in the choir. Alan continued that love for music in high school performing often in a barbershop quartet with three of his best friends. They looked so dapper in their white sport coat and black shirt and tie. Imagine in the 1957 era finding a black shirt at the local Hibbs department store. I think our Mom probably had to die a white shirt black.

Hello Mary Lou

From the First Hello

He went off to college to Colorado State University in Fort Collins to study agronomy. He had this very cool car, a 1958 robin egg blue Chevy with a continental kit. It was a chick magnet for sure. Being the responsible person he was, he came home every weekend back to Greeley to help his Dad with the farm chores and to milk the cows.

College life changes you and opens new horizons. He married Cathy Miller, a pretty gal from Oakland California, in a charming ceremony in the chapel on campus. He joined the military service as was mandatory at that time as a second lieutenant in the Army. I remember visiting him and his young family, Lisa his daughter and infant Charlie, with our parents to Williamsburg, Virginia. How proud our Dad was at this visit to share time with his son and family. It was during Thanksgiving and we all had dinner at the mess hall on base. Small interesting pleasures.

Vietnam lurched on the horizon and Alan trained in South Carolina to lead soldiers through the jungle. Choices we make lead the pathways in our lives. He opted not to re-enlist and instead moved his family to Gilroy, California working in insurance.

Life goes on and Alan’s love for the climate in California never changed. Things just didn’t work out with Cathy so they divorced and several years later Alan meet the Janine, the love of his life. They blended their families and lived as we say – Happily ever after.

The love for singing, trains and zest for live continues today. At his celebration several of his friends from his barbershop groups treated us with a few songs. The beautiful sound of perfect harmony resonated through the high cathedral ceiling in Alan’s home.

Wail til the Sun Shines Nelly

In his garage for the past couple of years Alan has been working on an eight foot model train module called Cloverly with displays and sets reminiscent of our farm community. There is a station for Swanson Farms, a grain elevator similar to the one close to where our Mom grew up on 5th street and a cement truck sporting the name of Joe Gibson’s contracting. This truck is a reminder of our Grandfather’s business building homes and setting concrete sidewalks along the streets of Greeley using horse and cart of course not a truck. It is very interesting to bring in the past with current technology.

Alan’s son Charlie joined in the fun with his wife Rochelle and three of their children, Justin, Maren and their cute little brother. How fun it was to see the family resemblance in Charlie. The transfer of business acumen seemed to be carried forward genetically from our Dad, Harold and Grandfather Carl Swanson. Those traits must be ingrained in the genome.

Our cousin Bill Morris and his wife Sharon also joined in the celebration. The house was filled in family and friends celebrating with Alan on his special day. Their cute little white dog, Abby added to the fun with her perky ears and a sweet disposition.

Alan Swanson

Alan treated us to a tour of the Sacramento Railroad Museum where is a docent.

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Anya's Christening

2008-12-13T06:29:00.000-08:00

We flew to Boston to visit Anya, who is now 6 weeks old, for her Christening on Sunday December 14, 2008. Maybe she will wear the Christening dress that John, her Dad worn some 33 years ago and her Grandpa Stan wore 68 years ago. It is old silk, yellowed with age and the hint of musk from ages past. We gave it to Rachel and John when we visited Boston in May for John's graduation from Tuffs. It was scooted under their bed for review months later when the baby arrives.

Now the baby has arrived November 1st and her things have pretty much taken over the house and time of her parents. She is the sweetest little thing and is alert to all sounds and movements around her.

Jamela, her aunt saw her for the first time. Jamela used big sweeping sign language movements in a singing type voice that Anya watched with delight.

Anya sleeps sweetly in your arms and responds quicky to let you know if she is unhappy about something.

It rained a lot for a couple of days. Not that drizzley kind of thing that you can walk in, but the pouring down rain that is not much fun. The first evening we had dinner at a quiet neighborhood restaurant called the Paddock. Food was good and inexpensive. The place was quiet as we were about their only customers. It gave a chance to get to know the family now that Anya is here.

The next night we went East Boston to Santarpio's. We waiting outside in the chilly, brisk evening breeze for a table. Anya was wrapped tightly in her car seat tucked in with a blanket and car seat cover. It wasn't long in the line until we were ushered into the back room to crowd around a table. Anya had a place on one of the benches. She ate first while we all waited for our garlic and cheese pizza along with wood-fired sausage and another pepperone pizza. The place was a delight. The people made the place. Filled with many Italians from the community, laughing and having fun. One family of seven next to us ordered 7 pizzas. The waiter, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, brought them out all stacked one on top of each other. They finished off most of the food as did we. Pretty good, pretty fun.

We are staying near-by Anya's home at LaQuinta. The place is filling up as many people from the north and west moved to hotels as an ice storm drove out the power with all the downed tree Friday, John went into work but was sent back home out the power was out. His work in Chelmsford is just a half an hours drive from his home in Somerville.

The sun is out this Saturday with sky as clear and calm as a summer's day.

Anya's First Week

2008-11-06T07:17:00.000-08:00

Anya is having a good first week.

She was greeted by her Aunt Carmel and cousin Nicole at the hospital. Carmel made her the cutest little crocheted baby blanket which is geting lots of use. Her Uncle Mark visited too, but we missed the photo.

Grandpa Mike stopped into visit also and provided more love to his little Granddaughter.

Rachel and John had some time for more pictures along with Grandma Joyce and Grandpa Stan.

Anya came home from the hospital on Monday, 11-3-08 and was greeted by their dog, Mulligan. All went well.

On her forth day, Tuesday - 11-4-08, it was a lovely day in Somerville with the leaves still tinged from autumn. Time to go for a stroll to accompany her parents as they voted. Obama/Biden won, as we now all know. McCain/Palin was the other choice.

Hopefully, for Anya the country will remain under strong leadership for her future and the future of others.

Baby K's Arrival 11-1-2008

2008-11-02T02:50:00.000-08:00

Baby K arrived 11/1/2008 at 2:22 am

Anya Vivian Kropewnicki
9 pounds 20 inches

We arrived from a 6 1/2 hour flight from Casablanca Morocco to JFK on Halloween, 10-31-2008. We had been checking in with John for several days via email and a quick phone call from Fes and then again right before we left Casablanca. Rachel was to be induced on 10-28, however the baby decided to wait and was happy to remain in the womb for a few more days. The doctor was happy with this arrangement.

We arrived in Boston about 10 pm on Friday the 31st. John called to say that labor was progressing well and it would be a few more hours.

We let ourselves in his home. We snuggled into his extra bed upstairs, now decorated with soft green and browns. Cute stuffed rabbits were hanging from the mobile over the crib and Rachel had prepared all needed supplies of diapers and the like on the changing table.

We settled in and quickly fell to sleep waking about 2:30, which would have been our awaking hour from the previous time change in Morocco. Just as we were talking with curious concern about the progress of delivery, John called to say the baby girl had arrived. He was holding her speaking to us on the phone while the doc was completing a procedure with Rachel.

Then the most lovely sound in the world came from the back ground - the sweet cry of a new baby. Our first granddaughter, Anya calling out to us through the phone.

John and Rachel are thrilled. Rachel is doing well although exhausted.

Anya was barely 12 hours old when we went to visit her in the hospital. She is lovely with smooth cheeks and her little tongue moving back and forth like a spoon. Her eyes were bright with little scuffs of light brown hair on her head.

She sports a monitoring device on her ankle to ensure she stays in the floor with the parents in the Bain Birthing Center at Mount Arburn Hospital in Cambridge. If any babies are taken off the floor the hospital is locked until the baby is found.

Soon she had many visitors. Her Aunt Sarah, Rachel's sister, and Sarah's fiance Chris came to welcome Anya into the world. Sarah couldn't wait to hold her and change her diaper, one of many changes those first few hours. Diane, Rachel's Mom, came in and richly greeted her daughter and new grand daughter. Mike, Rachel's Dad, and Debbie soon followed with more hugs, oohs and aahs. When we left, Anya was held by all, wrapped tightly to swadle her in a receiving blanket.

Anya certainly is welcomed into the world with a family of caring, loving people.

Being a Grandma is great. Holding her little fingers while John changed the diaper - Priceless.

Joyce

DNC - Democratic National Convention 8-25-08

2008-08-25T17:57:00.000-07:00

Today the DNC - Democratic National Convention came to downtown Denver.

We walked through the 16th Street Mall searching for action. The crowds filled toward the Weston Hotel when we spotted Joe Biden walking the street. He was surrounded by crowds of people and cars full of secret service.

The city was all decked out with planters over flowing with petunias that sparkled on this warm summer day.

Many people wearing blue shirts sported badges asking if you needed help.

The corners were loaded with police, some with riot gear. Horses had plastic riot masks to protect their eyes. Groups of police were spotted on bicycles. I guess while I was down at the Weston some protesters were at the Federal building across the street from my office. I'll check there first tomorrow.

Eager delegates filled the city.

The drive home on the bus was long and tedious. It took about half an hour just to go through 6 - 8 city blocks. There were buses backed up for blocks along with tour buses, limos, town cars with blacken windows and a few bicycle rick-shaws.

I didn't get down to the protesters that were corraled in chain link fence at the Pepsi Center, but saw a plane pulling the Osama (not Obama)sign while waiting for my bus this morning. There were trucks with gigantic signs on their sides with just disgusting photos and sayings that even I can't describe what they said. (Or I wont describe them).

I spotted a group a McCain supporters gathering in a parking lot with their McCain signs and T-shirts.

Here are some photos you might enjoy.

Day 2 - 8/26/08
The city was quiet. Protesters had been arrested and carried off to a holding cell. The court yard at a federal building on the street behind my building where there was such a ruckus yesterday was quiet as a cemetery. The park benches and round picnic tables where I had enjoyed having my lunch on previous summer days were gone. Only a couple of armored guards stay watch on the walk-ways. The street was lined with police cars.

The delegates were getting in the zone of the convention. Checking their blackberries for important messages and talking on their cell phones.

I ride the bus to work each day. It was surprisingly more crowded. Probably due to the high fuel costs with prices hovering around $3.60/gallon and more visitors to the city clogging the transit systems. A young man dressed in a t-shirt and jeans carrying his back pack sat down next to me. Next to him was an acquaintance that came on with him. Probably his long lost cousin. This man was mid thirties well dressed in a crispy white shirt, khaki pants with a blue blazer neatly placed on his lap. As I read my book and unconsciously listened to their conversations, I found the well dressed man was with the convention in some capacity that involved being on stage for a panel discussion and lots of activities that involved partying past midnight.

Waiting for my bus in the afternoon at 15th and Larimar I noticed just one of those parties going on in Otto's a local restaurant. People lined the street in front of the place with limos parked along the curb. Journalists sporting heavy camera equipment wheeled questions while juggling the camera and urging out conversation.

From the 8th floor at my office, we all rushed to the window and saw groups of police ready for action. Sirens blared as the motorcade came through the streets in large Tahoe/Yukan type SUVs. Must have been Bill Clinton coming to town. Our office is a few blocks from the Brown Palace where he was staying.

Day 3 - 8/27/08
The Sixteenth Street mall offers so many sights and sounds of the conventioneers. Men dressed in suits and ties mingle with the flip-flop and shorts crowd.

Police patrol the area in force keeping everyone in order. Several SUVs with police in riot gear cruised through town about the time Obama was ready to arrive. Patrols on horse back marched through the city. Some could be found in alley ways taking a break from the hot 85 degree day.

About the time I thought I couldn't walk another block, I passed by a group handing out free water, compliments of the Democratic National Convention.

Protesters carrying signs wove through crowds on the busy streets. Vendors selling buttons, T-shirts and bags lined the side streets. Restaurants spilled over with people enjoying outdoor seating with plates full of luscious food.

It's an experience to be in Downtown Denver during this time.

Day 4 - 8/28/08

The city is aglow with anticipation of Barack Obama's acceptance speech as candidate for the Democratic party for the highest office in this nation for President of the United States. This evening he will accept the nomination in front of eighty thousand supports at Denver's Invesco Sport arena and tens of millions more tuned in to this historic occasion. He is the first African American to be selected by his political party as a candidate for this high office.

This is the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's historic speech "I have a dream". John McCain, Republican Candidate, took time out on this day from running brutal campaign TV ads to publicly congratulate Barack Obama on this accomplishment with repeated TV spots.

While I waited for my bus a young man was wheeling a stroller with a baby and his young son walking beside him. I over-heard the man say to his son, "Remember this day. It's an historic occasion for all of us." The impact of this day to build strength for Americans like that man, an African American, will expand for years to come.

Denver proved a great host for this event that has filled the city for the past four days. It had been a hundred years since Denver last hosted the Democratic National Convention in 1908. A lot has changed since then and a lot remains the same.

The cities light rail and buses system sweep people from place to place in record speed. Corporate offices reach toward the sky. Lofts and apartments are embedded into the city landscape that have revitalized it as a community. Coors stadium brings in crowds to watch and cheer for baseball played by our home team, The Rockies. Since The Rockies moved to this stadium downtown, the lower downtown has become the center of charm and fun, filled with restaurants with big TV screens on every wall and laughter from people.

It is curious to compare to that convention in 1908 when the streets were probably dirt and most transportation was probably by horse and carnage. There may have been key people who owned Ford Model T's but they are dwarfed in comparison to the stetch limos and giant SUVs that traveled the key political people and celebraties around the city this week.

I would assume that Larimer square was their in 1908 with soda fountains and clothing shops that still stand today update with the trendious of wares. Larimer this week has flags from every state stung across the street in celebration of the DNC.

People are still the same busy, struggling to make life better for our family and friends. Eager to express themselves in this land of democracy and experience the opportunities that await us all. From early beginnings this is a week that marks the opportunities for men and women in America to do and become our hearts desire.

I didn't have the occasion to see or meet any celebrities. My co-workers had more luck meeting Joe Biden on the street and talking briefly to Michelle Obama at one of the meetings at the convention center. I found out that although the public could not attend any activities at the Pepsi Center unless you were a delegate or had a special invitation, the public could attend any of the presentations and caucuses at the convention center.

The closest my friend Helen and I came to celebrities was to have our photo taken with a cardboard cut out of Obama. Its all good fun and brought vibrancy to our city.

The homeless disappeared for this week. Maybe the DNC or the city bought them a home for a week or paid for all day movies tickets. I'm sure they'll be back dotting bus stop benches and standing on street corners selling the homeless news for a dollar. I miss that guy that always stood on the corner of 16th and Stout calling out "Help the homeless." I hope he had a home this week.

4th of July Denver Colorado

2008-07-04T13:16:00.000-07:00

I popped out of bed at 5:30 with plans to do some cooking while the house was still cool in anticipation of a picnic in the park on the 4th of July. I started some bread dough to make cabbage burgers, a favorite of our family and easy to eat at a picnic. Yum Yum.

I read the paper for a while and noticed that Washington Park near Denver downtown had some music at about 11. That would be about right. I hurriedly made some chocolate cupcakes, deviled eggs, put the beans that had been soaking all night in the crock pot and started the mixture for the cabbage burgers by browning up some ground turkey, then added cabbage and chopped onions. By that time the dough was ready after giving it a couple of punches and a rest. I rolled out the dough, cut it in squares and filled the center with a heaping spoonful of the turkey-cabbage mixture. The sides were pulled up and pinched close, then in the oven they went. After frosting the cupcakes and loading the food in the picnic basket we were ready to go.

I thought how fun it would be to have colorful 4th of July plates. To my surprise, there they were in the picnic basket from last years 4th of July picnic.

We left the dogs at home as it was going to be hot one at around 95 - 100 degrees. No use making them uncomfortable in a crowded park.

We drove to Washington Park and noticed that the park was very quiet with normal activities of people walking their dogs with some staking out their territory for picnics. Coolers were rolled in or hauled in wagons. Up went the volley ball nets around each gathering until the open space started to fill in.

We settled at a heavy cement picnic table under a grouping of glorious catalpa trees. Those are the trees that have delightful white flowers in late spring and big leaves that provide so much shade on hot summer day. This was near the portable band shell that was being set up for the evenings concert.

It was so quiet and peaceful in the park. We enjoyed each others company and watched from a distance at the goings on from other families and friends gatherings.

It was not even noon, but we couldn't wait to dig into the food. It was yummy and really hit the spot especially the cupcakes. Jamie took a walk over to the lake. Stan and I enjoyed the military planes flying over our heads in formation.

The cell phone rang. It was Jamie letting us know that the action was over in the children's park. A quintet was playing and kids were lining up to parade their decorated bikes through the path. Little kids had their bikes all decked out in red, white and blue crepe paper steamers on their handlebars and woven in the wheel spokes. It was all so cute.

As the temperatures creep up to the 100s we gathered our gear, stopped off at the grocery for some ice cream and headed home to enjoy the rest of the day inside with the air conditioner blasting.

Windsor Colorado Twister - 5-22-08

2008-06-02T03:19:00.000-07:00

A high powered tornado sailed through the south eastern fields heading toward Windsor Colorado on May 22, 2008.

Devastation certainly touched this community. Stan and I took a drive to Windsor for an afternoon of polka dancing at the American Legion in the old part of Windsor's downtown on Sunday June 1st.

A little over a week after the tornado, aftermath of the damage was apparent from Greeley at the Promontory intersection by the large State Farm office of Highway 34 to the 10th Ave business highway on the western outskirts of Greeley to the Windsor downtown, tornado damage to property and landscaping was apparent.

A dump site at the edge of town was set up for the mounds of tree damage. We saw a pick-up hauling an open bed fenced trailer pulling another trailer packed with youngsters who were spending their Sunday afternoon cleaning up limbs and trees for the community.

We drove down the old missile site road to see trees stripped of branches and new spring leaves and the ripped up dairy farm. A tremendous amount of work has been completed to clean up the areas since the storm. Windows are boarded up and much of trash has been hauled off. We saw a few cars caught in the storm with windows blown out. A few by the Allstate insurance office downtown looked like they had crashed through the storm and were thrown in front of the office. The office was untouched, but 3 cars had sustained considerable damage.

The storm was relentless in its path. After crossing the farm area it hit the east outskirts of downtown Windsor through a business and a residential community. At the edge of the subdivision, windows were boarded with the structures in place and some were blown away like candles on a cake. It was like a ghost town. The community has really stepped up to put the place back together. One of the damaged homes had painted a message on the boarded up garage - Thanks Windsor.

We talked to a lady at the dance whose friend was in one of those homes. She was lucky, as only a couple of windows were blown out. She was staying with her sister in Fort Collins while she waited for the OK to have the windows fixed and move back in. Some business were not so lucky. The windows and doorway of the Severance museum just one block from the American Legion was blown away as were the insides. Only the new brick building stayed in tack.

The granary or factory (not sure what is was) lost about 50% of the bricks on the tallest part of the building. There was evidence that people were stacking the fallen bricks.

Count your blessings and help others when the time comes. You never know what life has in store for you each day.

Here are some notes forwarded to me from a My Uncle Daryle:
Many of you have called to inquire about what has been going on out here weather wise – as CNN had huge coverage yesterday of this area of the Colorado. Ironically, Weld County has some of the highest incidence of tornados in the country but they are generally baby (less than F-1) or nominal twisters, with little damage. This maybe the first F 3-4 ever to hit the front range in history of weather according to news casters.
The tornado just west of Greeley and going through part of newly incorporated Greeley (where State Farm reg. offices and ConAgra/Swift offices are located at Promontory Point) was at least a mile wide. Steve and Ingrid’s home is just SE about 2 miles of Promontory – and the storm traveled from SE to NW (very unusual – even in this country). Ingrid was away from the house – heard about bad weather and was rushing home to get a young 13 yr old lad into the house that was doing some yard work for them. As she came up the hill on 83rd Ave about 1/2 mile from home she noted a huge black cloud on/near the ground near their home.
She did not recognize it for a tornado, as many others didn’t either, because of its immense size. She could not enter the gated driveway because power was out by then; so she jumped out of pickup and over fence and ran up driveway to house (she then noticed huge rotation in black cloud near and west of house, but still didn’t grasp what was going on because of its size), in fierce wind and hail. When she got in house the young boy was already in and said I think it is a tornado – they looked out west windows and downhill and it was much more obvious as it now appeared completely on the ground and she soon realized that two homes and two barns across the section to the West were completely gone.
I went out there later in the afternoon (as I had some minor eye surgery earlier in the morning) – and it was apparent as we drove through the fields west of the house that the edge of the twister was only about 1/3rd mile from the house. Huge transmission power line poles ½ mile from their house were twisted up like corkscrews. The 2 neighbor’s (to west) homes, barns and most outbuildings were all gone – with another nice home and large machine barn (Steve’s Uncle) badly damaged about ½ mile North. The Lundvall family owns about 3200 acres of farmland on the edge (now incorporated into) of Greeley – the path of the tornado was mostly S/N slightly West through 3 miles of their land.
Two different sets of improvements were destroyed for most part – crops ripped out of the ground ½ to 1 mile wide, at least 8 large pivot sprinklers destroyed – fields full of trash (debris of metal & plastic, carpet by the ton, some 4 wheel equipment from several miles away, etc.) & tons of large cottonwoods along draws and Greeley Loveland Ditch are blown down and shredded, electrical irrigation panels and fuse boxes destroyed, etc. Steve’s dad’s home about a mile north of above had minor damage to roof and 8 large trees knocked down.
From there it crossed Hwy 34 and continued into Promontory where State Farm took a big hit and Swift lost the roof to their corporate offices – from there into Missile Silo Park where the fatality occurred and from there into Windsor (about 7-8 miles NW of Greeley, where most CNN reporting was from) and on towards Fort Collins and Wellington.
It appears to have been on the ground continuously for 35 plus miles – then redeveloped as the storm entered Laramie, WY to the NW about one hour later. While there were numerous other sightings (perhaps 5 or 6 in area) – this one seemed to be the “biggy” and created the majority of damage.
Looking at the damage, one is amazed that there were not more fatalities. When Ingrid and a friend drove up to their neighbor’s house to west to inquire if everybody was ok – they noted him exiting debris of what was left of the house with things in his arms (salvaging). He said everyone was OK – they were all in basement when it hit – their two dogs and three horses were gone.
There is not one piece of lumber left of the barn – not even the plate on the concrete; but the trailer with snowmobiles was sitting there as if not touched, but a large boat and trailer was overturned. All had been in the barn as well as livestock.
If you noticed the interview with a dairyman name of Rick Hertzke; (400 cow dairy - they lost a lot of cows and calves and said they would not rebuild) – he is a fella I have played senior softball (all-tournament type player)with for several years. They obviously won’t rebuild because they are in the city growth path and their land is under contract to a developer. Just thought I would give you a little personal insight into this regional nightmare for a good number of folks.

Dr. Roy E. Friesen, Broker
REFCO Realty, Inc.
2103 28th Avenue
Greeley, CO 80634-6514
royrefco@comcast.net

Herndon Virginia - May 25, 2008

2008-05-27T05:41:00.002-07:00

Middleburg, VA May 25, 2008

Mary Anne took us out to visit her horse, Oakley. She is a real beauty with a shiny black coat and a white star on his head. He is about 12 years old and is training with Mary Anne to be a jumper.

We drove to Middleburg and Upperville, Virginia to the Hunt Country Stable Tour. What beautiful countryside, with rolling hills filled with grass and dense forest. The sky was filled with blue and temperature was perfect for Sunday afternoon outing.

We stopped off first at the Historic Goose Creek Bridge were they had just finished with a re-enactment of a Civil War Battle. It was a delight to mingle amongst the folks dressed in civil war costumes. One lady had a heavy cotton dress with buttons carved of wood, just like they would have had in the 1860’s. We crossed over the Goose Creek bridge which was built between 1801-1803 during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. It is one of the last original four arch stone bridges in Virginia. In the past a toll house stood to the east of the bridge with rates of 3 cents for a horse and up to 12 cents for a carriage.

During the Battle of Upperville fought on June 21, 2863 this bridge was a choke point bringing conflicting forces from the under Union General Alfred Pleasonton in direct battle with Confederate General J. E. B. Stuart. The Union army won that day forcing the Confederates to retire to high ground to the west.

Driving through country road, some paved, some not we went to the Trappe Hill Farm, home to Thoroughbred mares and foals, yearlings, race horses in training and hunters. Horse business is big in this area and the grounds are breathtaking. There was a bucket of carrots to feed the horses. I had to join in right along with the little kids holding out their hand with a carrot. The horses gladly obliged by using their lips to lap up the little carrot pieces.

A building next to the stable held a workshop of Jean Clagett artist sculpting horses, hunting dogs and of course the fox. It was interesting to see the process. The artist had used the bronze foundries in Loveland, which I had toured many years ago. On that tour I watched as the foundry was connecting all the bronze pieces of long horn steers. That sculpture was over ten feet high.

The setting for this farm was very tranquil next to a pond with yellow iris reflecting in the water and tall willow trees draping over the water’s edge.

Next stop was Rokeby, home of the famous Mellon homebred champion thoroughbreds. The grounds were immaculate and stables had glistening brass nameplates and hardware for each horse. There was also a dairy farm where they made the most delicious cheeses that we had the opportunity to taste. The brown swiss produce about 8 gallons of milk a day. There was a month old calf we were all petting who I understand drank about 1 ½ gallons of milk a day himself. The place was so over the top with manicured grassy fields on rolling countryside with tips of red barns, silos and house scattered through this ten thousand area spread.

This was a delightful end to our eastern journey.

Alexandria Virginia - May 24, 2008

2008-05-27T05:41:00.001-07:00

Mary Anne, Stan's niece, picked us up from our hotel on Saturday to take us to the Virginia countryside. Mary Anne moved from Atlanta this year to be close to the vibrancy of the big city, history and multitude of cultural activities.

We rode along the Potomac through tree lined highways and rolling hills. The scenic outcroppings gave us a glimpse of deep hillsides overlooking the Potomac river below and Maryland on the other side. Mary Anne surprised us to Great Falls National Park on the way to her home. We climbed up rocks to experience the splendor and power of water rushing over the falls.

Mary Anne's dogs, Sinbad and Skyler, provided us with a friendly greeting. Her townhome in Herndon, Virginia, is traditional for the area, filled with contemporary elegance. From the spiral staircase to the antiques collected from her Grandmother, Alice (Stan's Mom) and other great finds over her lifetime, her design experience is evident throughout the home. Nearby shopping is within walking distance. Her horse Oakley is boarded just 20 minutes away in the countryside.

We took the rest of the afternoon and evening to stop off for a delicious lunch at the Internet Cafe in Herndon, then off to Alexandria.

Charming shops line King street to delight the varied interests of all. This weekend had the added spice of motorcycles, mostly Harleys, lined up along both sides of the street. On Sunday, "Rolling Thunder" would overtake Washington in a caravan from the Pentagon to the White House when over 500,000 motorcycles drive through town. This was to honor all fallen military over this Memorial weekend. You could just imagine the sound of that distinctive Harley Davidson engine as it roared. We got a glimmer of that sound as the cycle's deep purr echoed through the streets of Alexandria.

We stopped to talk to a few of the men, many of them had served in the military. One guy, Dan O'Connor, surprised us when we started talking about Harley's when he unzipped his left jean leg and showing us his prosthesis branded with the Harley Davidson emblem. We asked to take his photo and he obliged. I wanted to get the best picture with him facing the sun instead of in the shadows, so I asked him to turn around. What was I thinking? Dan was holding up his prosthesis that he had taken off for us to see. Now on one leg, in the middle of the sidewalk, I ask him to turn around. He did and we all smiled. This retired Marine had not lost his leg in the war, but in a car/motorcycle accident. He is on the Freedom Team running marathons and travels all over the country.

Street musicians played along the walkway down to the marina along the wide Potomac River. Jeff, a young seven year old trumpet player attracted crowds as he played familiar tunes. We saw the trumpet propped on a stand and were surprised when he walked over, picked it up and played away. What a talent for a youngster. According to his Mom he has been playing for three years.

Walking on cobblestoned side streets lined with inviting majestic doorways of row homes built centuries ago brought back memories of stories our friend Ruth told of Madeira Island off the coast of Portugal. She was born in Portugal and told of the hilly cobblestone streets she knew as a child when they visited the Madeira. Children would sit in baskets and slide down the well worn stones for a round of fun.

The shops along the main street were unique and a delight. One had antiques and mostly chandeliers. Another held paper from all over the world that would wrap a package to delight the grumpiest. A evening came, lights on the trees and shop doorways brighten up your spirits.

We took a quick trip downtown to see the monuments in the evening light. They were stately and spectacular. Jefferson and Washington monument were inspiring.

Arlington National Cemetery - May 23, 2008

2008-05-24T04:12:00.000-07:00

With one more day to tour the Washington DC area we selected Arlington National Cemetery. We took the hotel shuttle downtown and hopped on the Metro for a ride to the outskirts of town. It was a beautiful spring day with not a cloud in the sky. We wore our jackets from time to time, but mostly rolled them up on our backpack.

Our shuttle guide tipped us off to buy the tour bus ticket at Arlington to save on walking up and down the rolling hills of the cemetery. The tour bus senior price was only $6.25 each and worth the price. I always thought I was in pretty good shape until I took on this walking so far these last few days. My knees, feet and joints are really taking a beating. I'll need to figure out how to get back into shape when I return home next week.

Today flags were placed on foot in front of each grave to commemorate Memorial Day this weekend. This is the only time that anything is placed at the grave sites throughout the year.

We stopped to view and show our respects at John F Kennedy's graveside. It was touching to reflect on his tragic murder that Nov in 1963. Such a fitting place of rest on the crest of the hill over looking the capital with Washington's Monument towering skyward. His saying about "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" was engraved in granite.

A humble grave, marked only with a white wooden cross was his brother Bobby Kennedy who also gave his life when gun shot through the crowd stopped his life of service.

The sea of white gravestones lined up in precision for over 290,000 servicemen and their families rest on in Virginia just across the Potomac River for the hub of our nation.

We silently viewed the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldiers. The honor of the sentinel to dutifully keep vigil around the clock. The

There was a ceremony to place the wreath with a school group followed by "Taps". We saw a couple of the boys later in the day, dressed in boy scout uniform who had participated for their elementary school in Miami, Ohio. They were eleven. That ceremony will have an impact on their lives and civic and community involvement for years to come.

We saw the horses lined up ready to carry the coffin of a fallen soldier to their final resting place. Off in the background we could hear the 3 shots fired followed by the bugler blowing the long notes of "Taps" for another interment.

We took the short 15 minute walk along the highway with tall grasses blowing in the breeze just outside Arlington to Iwo Jima memorial. It is bigger than life as it sits on an open grassy knoll. The polished black granite base is over 10 foot high with inscriptions of all campaigns beginning with honors for marines from Revolutionary War through the Persian Gulf War. At the base of the sculpture are large jagged boulders that typify the rough terrain at the Iwo Jima summit. The marines' faces depict the strength and courage as they raise the flag symbolic of awaiting victory.

We walked across the freeway overpass to Roslyn and found the Manhattan Cafe right on the other side. There was a variety of delicious food to pick from. The rye bread on my sandwich was extra yummy. You know the kind of bread with density and texture that is much different from the mushy Wonder bread that collapse when you press on it. The setting was lovely. On a hilly outcropping surrounded by trees and a grassy knoll. There was a sculpture garden below the cafe filled with three, ten foot diameter spheres. These were complemented by two more large sphere in the median. It was charming and a relaxing place to stop.

We hopped back on the Metro. It mostly costs $1.35/ride. If you don't add enough money to the fare card, when you are ready to get out of the station and run your card through the gate, the gates wont open until you add more funds. It works pretty well. If there is an overage, just keep your card and add more funds the next time you ride.

We went downtown to go through the Smithsonian Air and Space museum. There are many museums off the national mall that extend for miles. They are all free, or should I say that tax liability you all paid on April 15Th, helped pay for Stan and my way in the museum and surrounding grounds.

Museums are crowded, filled with school children, tourists and more people than you could imagine. Little high pitched voices and pattering feet all dressed in t-shirts of the same bright color. We walked through some of the exhibits peering over youngster's heads. There are aircraft hanging from above added to the fun.

We finally had walked our legs off and opted to go back to the hotel to crash and nap.

It was a fun experience and a good time to go with pleasant weather and a near-by hotel. More restaurant offering would have been nice that didn't involve shuttles downtown and Metro rides back, but after all this in not my own neighborhood and a little inconvenience is well worth the experience.

Washington DC Capitol - May 22, 2008

2008-05-23T03:58:00.000-07:00

Today we visited the nations Capitol in Washington DC. The hotel shuttle dropped us off about 8:30 in the line that gave out tickets starting at 9 am. Our ticket was for the 10 tour. We rested on a park bench to watch the people and eat granola bars and M&Ms as no food or drink is allowed once you go through security.

The lawn in front of the Capitol is being set up for the Memorial weekend concerts and folklife festival. It will be crowded and we are happy our visit will be over by that time when we visit Stan's niece, Mary Anne in Herndon Virginia.

Time for our tour. We walk up the steep hill to the security screening. People who didn't read through the instructions toss food and water, including plastic empty bottles into the trash bin near-by. They take you through in groups of 15 or so and provide headsets so you can hear the guide.

There are many groups going through at the same time. We saw the grand rotunda in all it's splendor. The guide explained the history of the dome with all the statistics of weight, size, who had painted the ceiling and how and the stories behind the marble and bronze sculptures.

The next room was more of the same except the dome was smaller and trim on the ceilings was real gold. There was a spot on the floor where you could hear someone whisper across the room.

I remember that place where it was shown to me over 40 years ago when I went with my junior high school class in about 1962. That was just after Ike was President and Nixon was his VP. JFK has just been elected. I remember going through the White House then and picking up some brochure about Jackie and seeing her signature with such a flare with the big J swooping down below the next line. After some practice I picked that same method for may signature that trails on still today. Teenages we were so silly in how we make decisions and defining moments that change our lives.

Back to the whisper heard clearly across the domed room. In '62 the room was filled with only our group and we could hear the whisper clearly. Today in 2008 the room was crowded with other tourists and school groups and we couldn't hear the whisper due to other noise.

As we were leaving, Senator Kerry walked through the crowd. He is tall and distinguished. I was surprised to see him pass through. Outside the capital you could sort the groups of people. Tourists, school groups and suits. The men and women in suits were immaculately dressed in black or navy with white starched shirts and ties. You knew they were up to serious business.

We heard that the best lunches, when restaurants are not available is in the cafeterias of the government buildings. So we when into the House of Representatives office to find out. More security and a great cafeteria lunch for under $10 for us both.

Washington Monument - May 21, 2008

2008-05-22T04:14:00.000-07:00

We popped onto the 8 am shuttle to downtown DC. We had a vague plan of what wanted to do in the 3 days in the downtown area. Memorials we the treat for today. We got of at Washington Memorial. As we were walking some other visitors gave us a tip and pointed where to start first to wait in line at the base of the memorial for tickets to the inside of the memorial. They also pointed out that was one of the key places for restrooms, another important fact.

Time slots were quickly gobbled up for the day. We picked up 11 am which left us plenty of time to see the other memorials in the area. On a map everything looks close together, within walking distance. It is in reality, but the distances are greater than it appears. The area is beautiful, well kept and inspiring. It was partly cloudy and sometimes warm, but mostly the jacket stay on.

We strolled over to the new World War II memorial first. This was very tastefully done with a walkway with bronze relief panels on either side telling the story of the Pacific and Atlantic campaigns. On the Pacific side the panels started with 12/7/1941 with families crowded in their living rooms around tall radios listening to the news of the war. The Atlantic side told of the Germans and the devastation Hitler had caused. Both side reflected the nations effort from the farmers who kept field full of grains to women who expended their motherhood responsibilities to work in factories supporting the war effort. Stan's mom Alice worked in the American Chickle Co, your know the company that makes Chicklet gum. The factory had stopped their normal operations to pack sea rations for soldiers.

We strolled along the reflecting pool toward the Lincoln Memorial and watched families of geese and ducks teaching their little ones to swim. We took the path to the Vietnam Memorial first. I was stunned at the impact all the walls of names had on Stan and myself. This memorial really does capture the essence of the lives that were lost right to mind to the present. The wall is so shiny it can't help but catch your own reflection as you walk through the panels. This was a long war from 1959 through 1975.

Bunches of school children filled the areas not really connecting to the moment or the reality of what those names were about. A docent was expressing his frustration with the young visitors to their supervisor because of the poor supervision by one of their chaperons. Rowdy kids didn't seem to know the intent of the wall.

Then a quick stops to view Lincoln seated in his marble chair in stately elegance. More youngster's learning history. One teacher lined his students on the steps and they were called on to recite prepared information about Lincoln and other historical fact. Other school groups sat in circles off to the side as teachers explained historical information.

As we were coming off the stairs a couple of larger helicopters circled overhead. We wondered who might be on board. The power ot the office of the President came to mind and the impact one person has on decisions made while in office.

Next to Lincoln was the Korean War Memorial. Large scale soldiers were depicted on patrol through the fields. One saying on the wall summed it up for all wars.

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE.

We walked along the reflecting pool back to the Washington Monument. There are benches along the way to stop and rest a bit. The marble benches surrounding the monument fill up quickly as park rangers walk along and tell us the rules. No gum chewing, sharp objects, and the like. We are taken in groups of about 10-15 through security and then to ride the elevator up 500 feet to the top. This obelisk is a marvel. There is lots of history about how it was built as well as stunning views of the city on all four side. You could walk down the 800 or so steps on special tours. We enjoyed the elevator. It slowed down along the way to view the 195 memorial stones that were gifts from each stand and other countries and cities. This provided more insight into Washington's key place in history.

There are not many obvious places to eat around the national center. We stopped at one place for a non-discript hot dog and veggie pita. Then on to the White House.

You can tour the White House is you set up security clearance well in advance. We took a few pictures through the fence and then walked across the street to the White House Visitor's Center. More security. Stan's pocket knife was held while we were inside, then returned on our departure. We watched a short movie about some of the key points of the White House, the decorations, galas, china selection and oval office. There were photo displays that overlaid many presidents and their families. It was well done and interesting.

The maps are easy to follow and we walked to the Metro (subway). Our legs, knees and feet really had a work out. We stopped at a Caribou coffee shop just outside the Metro to catch up on relaxation. Down the escalators to the Metro. It was a delight, clean, crisp with easy to follow directions. For $1.35 - $1.65 each we easily came back to our hotel.

Later we rode the shuttle back downtown for dinner. We had thought about the Mexican food restaurant, but stepping into to a roar of chatter from young professionals and a glimpse of the $25/plate entrees sent us out the door. We settled for Chinese food a couple of blocks away.

We rode the Metro back. It stopped at the Nationals Stadium, the new major league baseball team in Washington. Our hotel was a few blocks away. This neighborhood is emerging from decay into the next change. Boarded up gas stations, Wendys and other business sit next to high rise apartments being built on whole city blocks. A police officer on a bike waiting with his buddies at the 7-11, one of the only operating business, stopped to chat a bit. He wanted us to know the type of neighborhood we were in an to caution us. We had kind of figured that out, but good to know.

Train ride to Washington DC - May 20, 2008

2008-05-20T16:46:00.000-07:00

Stan and I put Jamela back on a plane to Denver while we journeyed on a train to from Boston to Washington DC. From the airport for a couple of dollars each, we caught the Silver Line - T (subway), which is really a bus. It took us right to the south train station. We had the "opportunity" to buy a ticket for a couple of hundred dollars each on the fast fast train (Acel?) or wait an hour and buy one for a hundred dollars that included our senior discount. The difference in time was about one hour. Well, we're on vacation, so an hour here and there isn't really missed. We opted to wait for the slower train.

While waiting and hour or so for the next train we were treated to a couple of violinist playing classical and popular music in the waiting area. The acoustics in this expansive station was amazing. I tried to encourage Stan to dance a waltz with me in the open area, but he declined. No courage in front of streams of commuting strangers. The musicians had no hat to drop in a dollar. Either these guys dressed in tuxedos just wanted to play at 7 am in the morning in the station for the love of it or there is a program for the arts in Boston that brought them there.

We boarded the train, heaved our luggage into the overhead rack and settled in for the 8 - 9 hour ride to Washington DC. The train was surprisingly clean, quite and roomy. We could really stop off and stroll through in all the major cities; Providence, New York, Trenton (well maybe not), Philadelphia, Baltimore and then Washington. We will need to plan that next time.

The time whizzed by for a few hours. There were people carrying on business as if they had no concern that others overheard their conversations. They settled in making a couple of seats their office with laptops, blue tooth ear pieces and blackberries. They plugged into the power strip just below their window. I overheard talk of "need to take a deeper dive into the data" and plans for meetings and dinners with key people; verifying positions with this guy or that. I thought I was still at work. Work speak becomes the jargon of the day.

It seems that this is the new industry for America - services. We sped through city after city of decayed old factories with windows broken out and empty parking lots taken over by grasses and weeds. Not a pretty picture. I wondered what those factories could have been; machine shops, textiles. Sweat shops of the past, long moved to other lucky countries. Now the sweat shops have moved to people's laps as they type, type, type away answering emails the second they arrive, reviewing masses of information, editing here and there just to get the words just right. Receiving calls quick as a flash through ear pieces that require no holding of the phone receiver as they confirm receipt of emails so instant responses are discussed. They multitask over to the black berry to text another message in parallel to someone on a conference call just so extra details and strategies are known for bigger impact.

The progress of the train slowed down as we started picking up more passengers from non-scheduled stops. It seems one of the more expensive quick trains had a broke down so those folks were on the slow train with us. I would be a little concerned had I purchased the high price ticket and then had to jump on a train with the slow pokes.

I finished my book in the dimly lite train. It is called Tenor in Love about some of the key women in Enrico Caruso's life. I started it on my daily half-hour bus ride to work and continued while waiting on stand-by at the airport. Reading is fun when the book is interesting and you can read a lot of pages at a time to fill in the story.

Stan started to read the Water for Elephants which is suppose to be good and interesting. He mostly lost interest and enjoyed watching the city and country side out the window. I gave him my knock off I Pod to listen to some tunes. When he cycled through the random music and came across a polka tune he whistled and tapped the beat on his tray table. Music does touch are heart.

He was on the edge of his seat as we passed from Connecticut into New York telling me about every bridge and building he knew as a young man living in the area. Rye Beach, New York was a place he had gone as a youngster on school outings. It was also the scene of that movie - Big - where Tom Hanks found the fortune teller.

As we crossed the Hellgate bridge over the East River Stan was enamored. The bridge really has a flare to its design. In Astoria he pointed out the swimming pool he would go to as a kid. The area was overgrown with trees now some 50 - 60 years later, but the pool was still there. Stan would hop on a bus with his buddies with his swim suit rolled up on a towel to have fun on a summer day. Can you imagine today kids would definitely need a backpack, water, cell phone, Ipod extra cash and of course an parental escort for a trip like that. Times have changed.

My memories of the corn fields in Colorado and Warroco swimming pool and roller rink in Island Grove Park don't hold a candle to Stan's experience with big city life.

As the train sped through New York, looking as the masses of houses with tiny tiny back yards crowding into neighbor's gave him confirmation of his decision as a young professional to move to the open spaces of Colorado. Glad he did too, or I never would have met him. No wonder we have such a big yard today.

We arrived at Washington DC about 5:30 or so for about a 9 hour trip. I would do it again. Glad that we packed a lunch and some snacks. They have things to buy, but they are limited. My brother Alan knows how to travel by train and he lines up his plans a head of time. I just jump on the train and off we go.

Union Station is a site to see. The architecture is amazing. It is so huge that a camera just can't capture that essence of the space. We caught a cab just outside the station and drove to our Hotel which was about a mile from all the sights. There is a subway and hotel provides drop off service to the major sights through out the day. I just picked a Best Western Capital Skyline though the Internet. It is handy, affordable and we were ready for a good nights sleep.

Arboretum - Boston May 19, 2008

2008-05-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

What a peaceful day walking through the almost deserted Arnold Arboretum in Boston. The place was a glow in Rhododendron in hues of pinks, peaches to brilliant raspberry red.

We walked through the trails up granite stairs to the hint of fragrance as soft as a petal. At the top of the stairs we caught a glimse of the tall lilacs in lavenders, white and deep plum. The clusters of flowers were so big they looked like grapes hanging from the branches. The scent was so inviting you just had to bury your nose in the lush blossoms. We happened across an old gent up the hill painting lilacs on canvas that looked were so real you could touch them. I remarked on the lovely fragrance and he only replied that all he smelled was terpintine.

Every tree was stately and tagged with the official species name as well as the common name. The bark on the cork tree drove deep into crevices. Vines clung to the tall oaks winding in beauty.

The dogwoods were in bloom in trees two stories tall. What beauty for the eye to behold.

John's Graduation May 18, 2008

2008-05-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

Today is the day.

John Kropewnicki graduated with a Masters degree in Computer Science from Tuft's University.

Graduation was in the open grassy court yard surrounded by interesting collegiate buildings. The band played Pomp and Circumstance along with many other songs while the graduates marched in. Meridith Vieria was the commencement speaker. She said we don't know how we will get from A to B, but you always need to be ready to change your path when your gut feeling tells you to move on just as she did when she was quiting 60 minutes.

The ceremonies were followed by separate activities for the various disciplines. Engineering department had luncheon on the rolling back lawn. On the walk around campus before lunch, John took the opportunity to sit on the University President's lawn next to three foot tall tulips for a quick picture.

In early afternoon we went to the math and computer science presentation of the diplomas. It was intimate and enlightening to hear about the focus of studies for these young achievers. There were technical descriptions that I could only hope to understand from for the titles, let alone understand what the in depth studies were about.

We had a graduation party in John's driveway the evening before. Many of his friends from kick-ball, Rachel's co-workers and her family joined in the celebration.

What a happy day for us all.

Somerville, MA - Walking the neighborhood

2008-05-16T08:28:00.000-07:00

May 15, 2008

The three of us, Stan, Jamela and I, hurried to the airport for an early morning flight to Boston only to be stopped in our tracks by very pokey luggage check and hour wait in the security line. We scurried to the gate by the exact 8:30 take off time hoping the plane had been delayed, only to find the plane had long gone. Trudging to the customer service area to re-book another flight we found many of the same people who were caught a half hour or so in the maze of folks walking back and forth in the swirl security ropes. They too had missed their flights.

Oh well. The flights to Boston were booked solid for days. The only hope was for an opening in stand-by. We settled in to make various DIA gates our new living room where we could relax, read the paper or a book and watch people. The 10:30 plane filled and off we moved to another gate for the 12:15 flight.

We got to know the most interesting people who were also waiting. One young gal was wanting to get to Boston in the worse way so she could visit her family who she missed dearly in New Hamspire. Another had traveled a couple hours from the spring snow storm in the Colorado mountains only to miss her flight to Orlando. She was so looking forward to visiting her friends who had just moved to Jacksonville. A couple dressed in spike studded jackets and various facial piercings and ripped beige and black wide horizontal striped stockings missed their flight too. He carried a drum case, she a guitar or was that a cello. Maybe if things got really bad they could entertain us while we waited.

Back to the waiting area. At the 12:15 flight the announcement was made that this flight would be delayed for another two hours. It seems as the plane approached the gate, the walkway had kind of jammed into the plane and caused some type of damage that would take about 2 hours for the glue to dry. My, are they holding these planes together with glue now.

In about 15 minutes they found another plane, thank goodness. We all hurried to a different gate to watch as people boarded in masses. There were 10 stand-bys called and we were still waiting. We made plans about how we would do the logistics if one or two of us were called and the other had to wait in the stand-by lines again. After more waiting the attendant called for us and another guy to walk down the walk-way to the plane. Some how they didn't exactly have the correct count on board, I guess they ran out of fingers and toes so we had to wait right at the plane's door to see how many seats were available. There it was. He announced that there were three seats in various parts of the cabin and we could board. The other guy had to go wait for the next flight.

What a relief to sit down anywhere on a plane that was going to Boston. I forgot about my sandwich or a book to read that was packed in my carry-on as I had hurriedly tossed in the over compartment. It took us almost 6 hours of waiting to finally get a board. I bet that we will not be late again and will leave plenty of time for the security check in process.

John picked us up right away. We were so happy to see him.

He and Rachel have a little dog, Mulligan. The dog is a beagle type with soft flippy ears and a sweet disposition. Stan and I walked him around John's neighborhood the next morning while John tended to some business. The spring flowers were all abloom. The azalea in their bright pinks and rose were a blast of color.

That afternoon Jamela, Stan, John and I took a trip on the T (local subway) on the Green and Blue line to the Aquarium stop and jumped on a fairy to George's Island. Rachel was working on Friday. It was a brisk day. I wish I had left on my sweater with the wind breaker that I had wore while walking the dog in the morning as these Boston spring days can be deceiving. I can't say that I was shivering cold, but my hands were plenty chilly and a cup of tea and hot chocolate hit the spot. After a warm treat at Starbuck, which are on every street corner in Boston, we boarded the fairy. The sight of the city as we left the harbor was breath taking. We cozyied up inside for a brisk ride to one of the many islands in the harbor.

Georges Island is manned by more state park rangers than people on the fairy on this quiet cloud day. We opted to a self guided tour to mill around the place. This was Fort Warren, built in 1870 with rows of cannons perched at the top of the hills staged to protect Boston Harbor. The sleeping and cooking quarters were made of large blocks of granite. Inside were arched ceilings with bricks meticulously placed to lock in the arches. During the civil war this Fort was used for about 2,000 prisoners. It was interesting to walk up the curved staircases through darken encasement up to the grassy roofs where the cannons were kept. The grounds were beautiful with thick lush grass and stately old trees.

We went on the next fairy and hours or so later back to Boston and more hot chocolate. John seemed to know where we were going as we walked through the city streets. We wondered around for a while looking for a pizza place through short curving streets wide enough for one car. This was the North End, or so they say. We came out onto a two car street with shops all around. A few more blocks walk we found a place for pizza. It was about 3 in the afternoon and we were pretty cold and hungry. We ordered a large pizza to share. This area is known for the Italian food and great pastries. Wow. They are not kidding. It was the best pizza I've had. The crust was just perfect; thin enough to be crispy, with enough body to be extra delicious. The cheese was not the cardboard tasting Colorado stuff, but was yummy. They provided a dish of freshly grated Parmesan to top it off. To die for.

As we left the restaurant, I notice a bunch of people waiting in line at the bakery across the street. John said this area was known for great cannoles and marzipan (sugary almond paste). We waited in line a while, but decided to try the more touristy shop called Mike's Pastries. What a variety they had. Although we didn't buy any marzipan, it was eye candy with colors of the rainbow formed in delightful shapes.

We picked out a couple of canolies to share and some chocolate dipped crispy cookies. They wrapped them in a box and tied it with a string, just like you imagine from the old time bakeries. Off to ride the T again to our last stop where we can munch on our bakery buys. We used a Charlie Card to pay for the subway. You load the card with some money and then click each person through. This is named after the Charlie from that old Kingston Trio song - Will he ever return. You know the one about the Boston subway ride Charlie was taking?

John treated us to the famous Duck tour through the streets of Boston. The tour starts at the Museum of Science, which has many things to see while we waited for our tour. We enjoyed people coming and going up and down the staircase, as each step activated a different tone. As people used the staircase it sounded like a melody. The cannolis were delightful, by the way, filled with just the right texture of vanilla and chocolate cream. We watched people spin pennies around a funnel with the same concept as black holes. I used up all my pennies on Cannolies.

On to the Duck tour. By six in the evening it was raining pretty hard. Of course, those unbrellas I brought along were still packed in the luggage next to the sweater laying on the bed. We climbed in these amphious vehicals toward the front that was covered kind of with a tarp with windows and snoggled together to keep warm. I could feel the heat on the floor, but was glad our seats were not in the back where they had army blankets on the seats to bundle up in as the area was more in the open. The tour guide was a kick and talked speedily the whole time with hardly a breath between sentences. You could see the buildings he was talking about through the drizzle. He went through places we have never gone before. As we passed through crowed streets people on the Duck chimed out Quack Quack as people on the street answered back Qwack Quack. There were no Qwack zone where you could only quack with our hands. It key was to alert one of the people walking to give you a hand quack back. We did and we all laughed hardily.

At the end of the tour we went into the Charles River for a big loop around. He asked if someone wanted to drive the Duck. John raised his hand, but then encouraged Stan to take the wheel. He did and felt like a star.

What a fun day.!.

The next day we cooked and prepared for John's graduation party. Luckily it was a beautiful warm spring day for an outdoor cook out. A couple hours before the party we all piled in the Jeep to take Mulligan, their Beagle to the dog park. This was in Middle Fells about 5 - 10 minutes away from their home. The place previously was full of quaries and known for lumbering. It was too rocky to farm and in early days no one wanted to live there. It was called Fells as many of the trees had fallen down. It is a gem in the middle of metro Boston crowded streets and multi-level homes with rolling meadows and a stream near-by for dogs to take a swim. This is a gorilla or casual dog park where friendly dogs run through the tall grasses in earnest finding pleasure in playful frolicking through the country side.

Spring Party 5/4/08

2008-05-16T08:27:00.000-07:00

Rudy drove carefully into our driveway with a smile beaming across his face and a twinkle in his eyes. His wife Lorraine sat elegantly beside him as he backed the car into our driveway. They were fifteen minutes early. What a delight to see them in a 1929 Ford Model A.

The car was restored to the nines with shinny black fenders and a smoky tan body. It gleamed in the spring time sunny day in May. Not a spec of dust would dare settle on this gem. We rushed to the rolled down car window to greet them and compliment Rudy on his pride and joy. Lorraine told me he restored it from the ground up from boxes of scrap. I heard Rudy tell Stand it was just like his first car that was also a ’29 Ford Model A.

The rest of the guests trickled in and stopped short to admire the car and its beauty. Cameras came out of pockets and pause to catch this moment in time.

The group chatted happily as they moved to the back yard for an afternoon picnic. It was such a peaceful quiet sunny day. Two days earlier large snow flakes had fallen most of the day with chilly breezes in unpredictable Colorado weather. But not today. It was delightful.

Most of the 25 to 30 people knew each other from our dance club. Stan and I had planned the picnic on a Sunday dance day. Women were in flowing dresses and men in crispy ironed shirts added to the festive mood. We had planned this event for a couple of weeks and had started the baking and cooking on Friday. There was tasty food galore, featuring chicken tortilla soup, cabbage burgers and a bowl full of potato salad using Stan’s mom Alice’s recipe. There was plenty of chips and guacamole seven layer dip along with veggies. For dessert I made my Mom’s favorite picnic dessert, German chocolate cake, a cherry and peach pie using some frozen peaches from last years bountiful crop. The crowd mingled drinking mostly wind and a few beers.

We had three picnic table and numerous chairs we had collected over the years that were ready for the guests. Two of the picnic tables had scene better days. Back on the late 70’s we had a similar gathering of relatives in our back yard when we first moved back to Denver in 1976. The yard filled with my parents, Aunts, Uncles, cousins and their children from my Mom’s side of the family. My Dad had driven from Greeley to Lakewood in his pick-up with a picnic table. He hadn’t said he was even coming, but somehow knew I would need it. It sure helped provide more seating and table space.

That year we had moved our kitchen table and chair outside too. That old maple table with early American style chairs has long since been replaced as our kitchen table. However, unable to toss out usable things, the old kitchen table and chair have been neatly stored in our backyard shed just for these spring parties. People never seem to complain about the outdated style when they enjoy an afternoon in our yard.

The other redwood picnic table has a history of its own. It had belonged to Stan’s Dad, John, and was a discard from the New York Parks Service where John had spent his career. The table was designed so the benches were bolted to the table’s frame. Alice and her second husband Mitch, had delivered the word and hardwood on a drive they made in the 70’s from Florida to Denver. That is a long way to haul wood. How could we ever part with that table. That year Stan sanded down each piece of wood and put the table back together. It was our key backyard dinning place for years. It weathered away as did my Dad’s table over the years. One year I added a coat of redwood stain to both to perk them up.

By the late 80’s John, our son, had bought himself a home in Longmont. Time to fix up the park service table again. Apart it came, sanding began to each board. The wood was so dense and soon was smooth as a baby’s skin. When they were finished the table moved to John’s backyard. By the mid 90’s John’s company sold out to Brook’s automation and moved the company to Boston. Back came the park service table to our yard. It was put off to the back of the yard with Dad’s table and all the other accumulated piles of wood, compost pile and the like.

But on this party day in 2008 all the table came out to the middle of the yard. No time this year to stain and sand, so Stan using his creativity came up with the idea to cover the seats to smooth rough spots for people to sit in their dancing clothes. Both old tables got the bright red covers from a role of fabric that had been stored at the apartment.

Everyone smiled and had a great day.

Christmas 2007

2007-12-30T13:03:00.000-08:00

We started off the Christmas season Dec 2nd with a fun dance at the Polka Club. There are over 200 people in attendance dancing to the music by the Jim Ehrlich band. It was a nicely dinner catered by Boston Market. A pleasant surprise that all went smoothly and we all had some fun.

It was harder this year to stop the everyday train from speeding down the track. On Saturday Dec 8th, Stan, Jamie and I took a morning to deliver “Baskets of Joy” to a few of those senior folks in our neighborhood that are less fortunate than us. Early on a brisk snowy morning, we picked up a list of names and fruit baskets from a huge warehouse east of town. The place was a buzz with activity. Volunteers were lined up on both sides of tables in assembly-line fashion to fill thousands of gift baskets and wrap them in festive gold cellophane and ribbons. We hurried back home to Google the addresses and plan our deliveries. Stan made phone calls to let the seniors know we’d be coming. The first house had a bronze sign beside the front door about being an historic landmark as a former Colorado governor’s home in the 1940’s. A charming lady stood in the doorway dressed in her red and white hand knit sweater to cheerfully accept the basket. Her husband, a recent cancer patient, lingered just inside. The next homes were as expected, filled with such grateful people happy to be remembered, but living in marginal situations. As we tramped through the narrow streets of an old trailer park, we wondered how the homes could possibly retain warmth on such cold winter days. Singing Christmas Carols at each doorway lifted our spirits and removed the pressures of normal life events.

Stan and I topped off that day at Hal and Jean’s afternoon sit down chili supper for 20 or so friends from the polka club. We watched the snow gently falling in their backyard as we cozied up to chat and share experiences. We enjoy the weekly polka dances, picking the bands that most fit our taste. Stan mostly polka dances like he’s on a marathon and I do best I can to keep up until he flings me back down in my chair to rest.

I started reading Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follet around Thanksgiving time when Oprah added it to her book club recommendations. It is a 971 page turner. Stan picked it up when I was about 200 pages into the book and speed right past me. I started vacation 12/17 so I could read in earnest. We both finished it on the 12/27. It is interesting to read the same book at the same time. We could compare where we were along the way without letting the cat out of the bag for the next exciting adventure.

John and Rachel came on the 20th. Their flight was so overbooked on the 19th that they took the offer for free tickets and waited a day. That gave me time to catch up a little.

I made a few batches of cookies between reading and tree decorating and we all had plenty to eat along the way. On Christmas Eve we took Rachel to the St Joseph's catholic church for midnight mass. The service and singing were all in Polish. It was a treat for Stan as he sang along to Polish Christmas carols that he knew as a child. I'm sure it was a very different experience for Rachel.

We all visited the Hammond's candy factory where they make candy canes from scratch. They day we were there, they were making coal for bad little children. The flavor is cinammon and turns your mouth blue when you eat it. Poor little bad kids.

We had a big snow storm on Christmas day to add to the festivities. After we shoveled and snow blew out driveway, we all jumped in the van along with the snow blower and spent some time shoveling the apartment.

Rachel and John left on the 26th. Stan and I were shoveling 10 or so more inches on the 28th. My idea is to hit the snow when it is soft and powdery before that moisture or ice set in. It's more fun that way. Did I say Fun.!. Yes, invigorating.

1/10/2007 Running of the Bulls Denver Style

2007-11-27T07:47:00.004-08:00

Helen Fischer

Joyce Kropewnicki

Couple from Northern Ireland

On a warm January Wednesday between snow storms my friend Helen and I ventured out at lunch time to watch the Stock Show parade down 17th Street in Denver. The snow was still piled high on the curbs from the two previous weekend snows.

As we waited in the sunshine for the parade to start, we struck up a conversation with a young couple visiting from Northern Ireland. They wanted to know what we were all doing lined up along the roadway. They had heard we had large quantities of snow and were surprised the streets were so well cleared off. In Ireland they said the snow would still be piled up in the road way. They were traveling through Denver on their way to Aspen to get married. They had known each other for three years and had planned this secret ceremony. They had to do some finagling to arrange for a church wedding as the Catholic Church in Aspen only wanted to marry members. With proper conversations with their priest in Ireland and the one in Aspen it was all arranged. The bride had kept this secret from her family including the purchase and fitting of the wedding gown which she had tucked in her luggage neatly hidden from her groom. There wedding was to be on Monday, January 15th which turned out to be one of the chill stopping days when the next Arctic blast hit Colorado.

Finally, the horseman came trotting down the street containing a herd of long-horns. Not quite the running of the bulls as you hear about in Spain, but bulls in the street nevertheless. The rodeo queens pranced by waiving wildly. Then the Belgiums and draft horses pulling great carriages and stage coaches. The Western Aires trotted by, criss-crossing in formation with flags flurrying. Freshly painted old time tractors buzzed along with one barring the brand name Oliver.

A couple of years ago, my brother Alan took us to the Stock Show. It's one of those things you don’t go to unless out of town visitors set it up. My favorite was watching the teams of horses pulling fancied up wagons in competition with others. We walked through the cow barns and came across those shaggy cows. I snapped a photo of Alan. He had sent a photo years back with the same type of cow along side a road in Scotland.

No wonder Denver is known as a cow town.

1-10-2007 Harold Swanson 11/1/1913 - 1/10/1988

2007-11-27T07:47:00.003-08:00

Harold Swanson

Frank - Hanna Swanson Family - 1900 Loveland

Anna and Carl Swanson - 1912 Wedding

Anna, Harold, Clarence (Swede) and Carl Swanson - 1917

Harold and Clarence Swanson and with cousins Russ, Lenoard, and Leroy Johnson
at Frank Swanson's home in Greeley

Harold and Clarence playing with cousins Russ, Lenoard, and Leroy Johnson- 1922

1938 - Swanson Farm -
Built by Frank 1901, then inherited by Ben and finally bought by Harold Swanson

Harold and Frances Swanson - 3/7/1935

Swanson Farm in 1985

Frances Harold Swanson with Nancy and Alan

Harold and Frances Swanson - 50th Anniversary 1985

John Kropewnicki and his Grandpa Harold Swanson

Today is my Dad, Harold Swanson’s, death day. I want to remember him.

He led an interesting life. He was the first son of a Swedish family that had settled in Colorado. His mom, Anna Swanson emigrated here at age 16 from Sweden. His father, Carl Swanson’s father Frank O Swanson has also immigrated from Sweden to America as a young boy. It was interesting to check the Ellis Island web site and find their names on the manifests. It must have taken a lot of courage to leave their home land and venture to a new world to make a life.

Frank and his family settled in a farm between Greeley and Loveland before they bought almost a couple hundred acres a farm northeast of Greeley. Anna and Carl settled a mile from Frank to raise their family. It was a tight Swedish community that worked, socialized and went to church together. Harold spoke Swedish as a young child, but as soon as he entered school he was told by his parents that he would learn and use English. When I grew up we used very little Swedish; only for prayers before meals and a few words I heard from time to time from my Grandma Anna.

Harold went to College High in Greeley and was really good at basketball. He was a handsome man and was lucky to meet my Mom, Frances. Harold’s brother Swede was dating Ruth Johnson who had a locker next to my Mom at Greeley high school. Ruth invited Frances to a church get-together and there she met my dad. It must have been challenging for Frances to integrate into this tight Swedish community as she was Irish/English and had a much different background.

They married in 1935 and lived happily ever after with the normal bumps in the roads couples encounter from time to time. My mom looked gorgeous in her gown on her wedding day with a great cascade of flowers flowing from her arms. She had barrowed a veil from a friend and during the reception the gossamer fabric caught fire from one of the candles on the table. It was quickly extinguished, but certainly started off the marriage with passion.

My mom showed perseverance and was happy to follow the rules set by Frank, Carl, Anna and Harold. Harold and Frances started out in a small house in the yard where Anna and Carl lived and then moved to rent the farm we called Tipton’s, after the owner’s name.

When Harold first started farming he and Carl used horses. It must have been a hard job to harness up the horses, work the fields all day and then care for the horses at the end of the day before he could come to the house for supper. I don’t remember horses being used in the fields, but do remember the harnesses and other gear that hung in the old barns on the walls. Tractors were used as there were always a lot of machinery lined up in the yard and the sheds. In those days the farmers weren’t so specialized and Harold grew all kinds of crops such as corn, beans, potatoes, barley, alfalfa and sugar beets. Each crop required different machinery. Harold also managed a herd of Holstein dairy cows he milked twice a day at 4 am and 4 pm. The cows eagerly lined up at the milk barn door to be milked first by hand and later years with high tech milking machines.

I grew up at Tipton’s until I was about 11. There was a pit toilet in the yard, but we had an inside bathroom that must have been added before I was born. My mom took care of the house, raised chickens and fed the baby calves. There was always something going on. There was a big tree trunk about three feet tall by three feet wide in the yard by the chicken coop. This was used to cut off the chicken’s heads when it was time to butcher. There was a great vat of hot water that they used to pick off all the feathers. I’m sure my sister Nancy remembers more of that work than I do.

All farm crops and milk were sold to local co-ops or produce companies. The family lived on the eggs, meat from chickens and an occasional steer. Dad was always very generous and took care to tithe his pay and his crops. He would often drop off sacks of potatoes to his brother’s family, the preacher and other friends/relatives.

He had a great work shop stacked with cubby holes filled with all kinds of parts to fix tractors and machinery. He was a Case man and always bought that brand of tractor. In the winter months he would go to town and stop by the Case implement shop. I would tag along and knew he enjoyed visiting with other farmers and the shop’s owner, Tom Faye.

In about 1957 when I was 11 we moved around the corner to the farm that Frank had owned and subsequently parceled out and passed on to his children. Dad and Mom bought 80 acres from our Uncle Ben Swanson. It had a great barn and a big old two story house. Dad wanted to make it great for Mom, so this was one of the few times I saw him take an interest in the inside of a house. His domain was the farm, yard, machinery and cows. This time he hired out a remodel to put up new wall paper in all the bedrooms, open up the parlor and the dinning room into one great room and buy some new living room furniture from Rucker’s. There was always a piano in the house and this time it was in by the front door. He loved music and my sister became an accomplished pianist. He would often ask her to play when we had guests. She had already married her husband Bob by the time we moved to this home.

If you looked back on crop prices, this must have been a good year. We had things, but lived very modest conservative life. This was about the same year we got a new car. Dad drove the same car for over ten years until there was nothing left. He bought a brand new 1955 royal blue Chrysler. He was a great planner and strategically thought through all purchases. During this car buy Desoto had a tri-color car he was evaluating at the same time. You could choose white, black and turquoise and order the color in a variety of placements on the car. He fretted so much over this color scheme deal that finally he picked this pretty blue Chrysler. Best he made the selection he did as the Desoto color scheme cars got dated real quickly. He could have waited until 1958 and bought an Edsel as the Goldsmith’s (who lived up the road from us) did, which also would have gone out of favor quickly.

He liked to tinker with things. I could tell if he was content and happy as he would whistle a little tune as he worked. His hobby was movie pictures and he was known as the guy who always took pictures during family parties, church picnics and trips to the mountains. He would splice the reels together and show then when family visited. He would run them forward and got a kick out of reversing the projector or speeding up the action. It was always a great laugh.

We had most everything we needed and some of what we wanted when we grew up. He made a nice life for us filled with family values, strong religious connection and a passion to give to others. He was a 4-H leader for over 25 years and coached the kids about crops, showing animals and their baseball team. He gave me my heart’s desire at ten in a black horse named Queenie and all the outdoor tom boy time a girl could ask for. He made sure we all went to college and took an active interest in each of his kid’s families as we moved away to start our own lives.

It’s nice to think about him today.

1-10-2007 Harold Swanson 11/1/1913 - 1/10/1988

2007-11-27T07:47:00.001-08:00

Harold Swanson

Frank - Hanna Swanson Family - 1900 Loveland

Anna and Carl Swanson - 1912 Wedding

Anna, Harold, Clarence (Swede) and Carl Swanson - 1917

Harold and Clarence Swanson and with cousins Leonard, Leroy and Russ Johnson
at Frank Swanson's home in Greeley

Harold and Clarence playing with cousins Russ, Lenoard, and Leroy Johnson- 1922

1938 - Swanson Farm -
Built by Frank 1901, then inherited by Ben and finally bought by Harold Swanson

Harold and Frances Swanson - 3/7/1935

Swanson Farm in 1985

Aunt Shirley Gibson Wayman (before she was married) Harold Swanson with Nancy and Alan. Shirley liked to go to the mountains for a ride with the rest of the family

Harold and Frances Swanson - 50th Anniversary 1985

John Kropewnicki and his Grandpa Harold Swanson

Today is my Dad, Harold Swanson’s, death day. I want to remember him.

He led an interesting life. He was the first son of a Swedish family that had settled in Colorado. His mom, Anna Swanson emigrated here at age 16 from Sweden. His father, Carl Swanson’s father Frank O Swanson has also immigrated from Sweden to America as a young boy. It was interesting to check the Ellis Island web site and find their names on the manifests. It must have taken a lot of courage to leave their home land and venture to a new world to make a life.

Frank and his family settled in a farm between Greeley and Loveland before they bought almost a couple hundred acres a farm northeast of Greeley. Anna and Carl settled a mile from Frank to raise their family. It was a tight Swedish community that worked, socialized and went to church together. Harold spoke Swedish as a young child, but as soon as he entered school he was told by his parents that he would learn and use English. When I grew up we used very little Swedish; only for prayers before meals and a few words I heard from time to time from my Grandma Anna.

Harold went to College High in Greeley and was really good at basketball. He was a handsome man and was lucky to meet my Mom, Frances. Harold’s brother Swede was dating Ruth Johnson who had a locker next to my Mom at Greeley high school. Ruth invited Frances to a church get-together and there she met my dad. It must have been challenging for Frances to integrate into this tight Swedish community as she was Irish/English and had a much different background.

They married in 1935 and lived happily ever after with the normal bumps in the roads couples encounter from time to time. My mom looked gorgeous in her gown on her wedding day with a great cascade of flowers flowing from her arms. She had barrowed a veil from a friend and during the reception the gossamer fabric caught fire from one of the candles on the table. It was quickly extinguished, but certainly started off the marriage with passion.

My mom showed perseverance and was happy to follow the rules set by Frank, Carl, Anna and Harold. Harold and Frances started out in a small house in the yard where Anna and Carl lived and then moved to rent the farm we called Tipton’s, after the owner’s name.

When Harold first started farming he and Carl used horses. It must have been a hard job to harness up the horses, work the fields all day and then care for the horses at the end of the day before he could come to the house for supper. I don’t remember horses being used in the fields, but do remember the harnesses and other gear that hung in the old barns on the walls. Tractors were used as there were always a lot of machinery lined up in the yard and the sheds. In those days the farmers weren’t so specialized and Harold grew all kinds of crops such as corn, beans, potatoes, barley, alfalfa and sugar beets. Each crop required different machinery. Harold also managed a herd of Holstein dairy cows he milked twice a day at 4 am and 4 pm. The cows eagerly lined up at the milk barn door to be milked first by hand and later years with high tech milking machines.

I grew up at Tipton’s until I was about 11. There was a pit toilet in the yard, but we had an inside bathroom that must have been added before I was born. My mom took care of the house, raised chickens and fed the baby calves. There was always something going on. There was a big tree trunk about three feet tall by three feet wide in the yard by the chicken coop. This was used to cut off the chicken’s heads when it was time to butcher. There was a great vat of hot water that they used to pick off all the feathers. I’m sure my sister Nancy remembers more of that work than I do.

All farm crops and milk were sold to local co-ops or produce companies. The family lived on the eggs, meat from chickens and an occasional steer. Dad was always very generous and took care to tithe his pay and his crops. He would often drop off sacks of potatoes to his brother’s family, the preacher and other friends/relatives.

He had a great work shop stacked with cubby holes filled with all kinds of parts to fix tractors and machinery. He was a Case man and always bought that brand of tractor. In the winter months he would go to town and stop by the Case implement shop. I would tag along and knew he enjoyed visiting with other farmers and the shop’s owner, Tom Faye.

In about 1957 when I was 11 we moved around the corner to the farm that Frank had owned and subsequently parceled out and passed on to his children. Dad and Mom bought 80 acres from our Uncle Ben Swanson. It had a great barn and a big old two story house. Dad wanted to make it great for Mom, so this was one of the few times I saw him take an interest in the inside of a house. His domain was the farm, yard, machinery and cows. This time he hired out a remodel to put up new wall paper in all the bedrooms, open up the parlor and the dinning room into one great room and buy some new living room furniture from Rucker’s. There was always a piano in the house and this time it was in by the front door. He loved music and my sister became an accomplished pianist. He would often ask her to play when we had guests. She had already married her husband Bob by the time we moved to this home.

If you looked back on crop prices, this must have been a good year. We had things, but lived very modest conservative life. This was about the same year we got a new car. Dad drove the same car for over ten years until there was nothing left. He bought a brand new 1955 royal blue Chrysler. He was a great planner and strategically thought through all purchases. During this car buy Desoto had a tri-color car he was evaluating at the same time. You could choose white, black and turquoise and order the color in a variety of placements on the car. He fretted so much over this color scheme deal that finally he picked this pretty blue Chrysler. Best he made the selection he did as the Desoto color scheme cars got dated real quickly. He could have waited until 1958 and bought an Edsel as the Goldsmith’s (who lived up the road from us) did, which also would have gone out of favor quickly.

He liked to tinker with things. I could tell if he was content and happy as he would whistle a little tune as he worked. His hobby was movie pictures and he was known as the guy who always took pictures during family parties, church picnics and trips to the mountains. He would splice the reels together and show then when family visited. He would run them forward and got a kick out of reversing the projector or speeding up the action. It was always a great laugh.

We had most everything we needed and some of what we wanted when we grew up. He made a nice life for us filled with family values, strong religious connection and a passion to give to others. He was a 4-H leader for over 25 years and coached the kids about crops, showing animals and their baseball team. He gave me my heart’s desire at ten in a black horse named Queenie and all the outdoor tom boy time a girl could ask for. He made sure we all went to college and took an active interest in each of his kid’s families as we moved away to start our own lives.

It’s nice to think about him today.

1-9-2007 Frances Swanson 5/20/1913 - 1/9/2004

2007-11-27T07:46:00.005-08:00

Frances Swanson and daughter Joyce Kropewnicki

Gibson sisters
Mildred Morris, Frances Swanson, Shirley, Wayman, Gerry Grossaint
(Audrey Travis not pictured)

Harold and Frances Swanson - 35th Anniversary 1970

Frances with 1963 Chrysler

Frances Swanson - Age about 10 1923

Frances Swanson - High School

Nancy Kihlthau Alan Swanson Joyce Kropewnicki
Frances and Harold Swanson
50th Anniversary 1985

529 5th Street - Home where Frances grew up

Gibson Family
Audrey Harry Gerry Mildred
Vern Frances Daryl Shirley
Edith and Joe Gibson

Joyce and Alan singing hymms with
Frances at Allyson Nursing Center
90th Birthday - 5-20-2003

Frances Swanson at the Meridian retirement community 2002

Country home in Greeley at 21873 Weld County Rd 64

I hope to always remember my Mom's death day, January 9th, 2004. She was such a special person to many people. I read an email that talked about the dash between the dates a person lived with a reminder that the dash is what gives meaning to the life they led between the time they were born and when they died.

Frances surely touched many people who knew her. She gave willingly of herself so others could succeed and find happiness. She gave her time to teach young girls to sew in 4-H club as well as sewing many clothes for her daughter's Nancy and Joyce. She made my wedding dress without a thought as to the importance of the day or the gown. She made a wedding gown for Marlyss Johnson trimmed with beads hand sewn with care.

She wanted her children to be educated and encouraged each one of us to go to college and/or complete a degree not knowing full well when a difference it would make in our lives, but knowing that we needed one.

She was a good friend to her sister's and many of the women in her local club. They shared time and ideas together building comradely that lasted for decades. She always wanted to do the very best and mentioned that she was concerned her sewing stitches were not spaced evenly enough when she worked with the quilt ladies in the basement of the Presbyterian church. Those stitches were always perfect.

She gave time and energy to her family. Her husband Harold often was demanding and Frances was right there to help with whatever he needed. She helped with her mother-in-law Anna Swanson in her later years and always planned to make extra food so Anna would have a warm meal each day.

She was a good listener and always had time to hear whatever you had to say. She was missed in her later years when she had Alzheimer's and couldn't quite remember the interesting things she did or experiences we had together. She is missed and remember especially today.

January 5, 2007 Another Snow Day in Denver

2007-11-27T07:46:00.003-08:00

This is the third week in a row it has snowed a lot at least once a week. The weather man carefully predicted another morning of a quick moving storm that would dump 5 – 8 inches of snow then move out of the area by noon or so.

Sure enough when I opened the door to walk to the bus there was about four or five inches of new fallen snow. I had wrapped my scarf inside my coat, zipped up and put on the little used hood. As I walked the short distance to the bus stop the snow pic-pic-picked at my hood like a wood pecker finding a place to roost. At five in the morning the neighborhood is so quiet only the sound of falling snow can be heard.

I found my spot in the street to wait as there was still three foot mounds of plowed ice and snow piled by the stop. I situated myself in the direction so that the wind would blow to my back instead of my face.

It reminded me of a snowy blizzardy day when I was a little girl about 6. I walked a little over half a mile to and from the four room red brick school house that held grades 1 through eight. It was one of the worst storms ever and I was walking hunched over trying to make it back to our home. We had probably been let out of school early and my parents didn't know I was walking. No cell phone in those days. This was a deserted dirt road miles from the town of Greeley with only a few farm houses every quarter mile. In those days there were no high tech coats, boots or gloves. As I recall, little girls wore dresses to school every day. I probably had a thin wool coat some hand knit mittens and a scarf or hat. That was about it.

As I was challenged by the elements, a rickety pick-up truck drove up beside me. An old guy opened his passenger side door and said, "Git in I’ll take you home." Boy I didn’t know this guy from the man in the moon. He kept insisting and I kept to my position that was drilled into me to not take rides or talk to strangers. He drove off disappearing quickly into the storm. I made it home through the same perseverance that has followed me my whole life. I’m sure hot cocoa was waiting for me along with some dry clothes.

The next day after school, my Dad mentioned that encounter with the guy in the pick-up to me. He asked why I hadn’t taken a ride home with the neighbor, who he knew very well. I explained I didn't know him and reminded my Dad of the rules about strangers.

My brother Alan remembers a bad Colorado blizzard in 1949 when I was about three. He said the drifts were so high that the cows were able to walk over the six foot fence. He an my Dad had to shovel the snow by the fence to keep the cows in the corral. No wonder he lives in sunny California now.

Back to today. The sidewalks in downtown are just starting to be cleared off by the early maintenance crews. People are bundled with extra long scarves wrapped a couple times around their necks. They have hats and hoods for double protection along with boots of all sorts. This morning Colorado is looking like we live in Alaska. I’m sure the sun will be out tomorrow.

Christmas 2006

2007-11-27T07:46:00.001-08:00

Stan, Joyce (Jack our dog) and Jamie Christmas Eve dinner

Christmas Dinner 2006

John Snow Blowing

Snow at the Apartment 12th Ave & Zephyr Lakewood

Stan and John playing tennis

Jamie Swanson

24 inches of new fallen snow

St Joseph's Polish Church in Denver

We had a nice Christmas between snow storms. John came late Christmas day and joined us for the second Christmas dinner of his day. He had spent time with Rachel's brother, mother and sister earlier in Boston before he caught a plane out to Colorado.

Jamie, Stan and I had a quiet Christmas eve dinner of a stuffed rolled up fillet of fish with egg sauce. John had asked for the same recipe that we had eaten for many years and had served it on for his Christmas eve dinner he and Rachel hosted for her dad, his friend Deb and Rachel's mom and sister. That was nice that they could start the Christmas eve dinner tradition.

For years when I was a child, we gathered at my grandma and grandpa's home for Christmas eve dinner. There were all kinds of Swedish delights and some not so delightful. Potato sausage was always a hit, but I never did understand the pickled herring or lutefisk. All the Christmas cookies that Anna had made over the month before Christmas were stacked on tiered cookie plates. It must be that fresh butter and whole milk that made things so yummy.

As a child we were awaken early on Christmas morning to go to church to Ulota at 4 am. Not sure why this early hour was necessary, but I don't remember missing many of these early Christmas morning services. At Christmas time there is always a melding of traditions for us. On Christmas day Stan and I went to St. Joseph's Polish church in Globeville to an all Polish service. This church is located about where I25 and I70 cross. It was like I was on vacation in Poland. Not one word was spoken in English. The words of the songs and responses were on a large screen in front of the church. It is interesting to hear the words and see them at the same time. It sure makes it easier to hear the patterns of language. Stan was so touched hearing these traditional Polish Christmas carols sung in Polish. It brought him right back to his childhood and special memories during the Christmas season.

We enjoyed our time together, but with so much snow shoveling and roads closed, cabin fever sets in easily. We always had plenty of food to eat although shopping at grocery stores was a challenge. The dairy, fruits, vegetables and meat aisles were stripped down due to distribution delays from the snow storms.

John and I worked on a puzzle and finished it in a few hours. John brought his new Nintendo Wii and we all played tennis, golf and baseball in the living room as if we were in the sports field. We watched movies and shoveled, shoveled, shoveled our driveway, apartment and Jamie's place. It sure was a different holiday.

Snow in Lakewood 12/26/2006

2007-11-27T07:45:00.003-08:00

Stan ready to snow blow

Jack

Keith Rennison and Stan Kropewnicki

After two foot of snow fell in Lakewood last Wednesday 12/22/06, the city in settling in to snow blowing and sun shiny days.

We woke to a beautiful morning of quite still snow cascading around the yard hanging heavy on the tree branches. These are definitely FGs (fat globs of snow) on the trees as we so endearingly called them in years past when riding up the ski lifts after snow had freshly fallen.

The neighborhood was quite, with not a car on the road. Even the paper delivery was suspended for a day while we all waited for the snow to stop.

We blew the snow out of our driveway first and dropped by our daughter Jamie's apartment to pick her up. Stan waited in the street while I went to get her out as there was no place to park with the deep snow. Her door way was drifted with about three foot of snow keeping the door from opening from the inside. She, I and the dog Sydney tromped through the deep snow to the van just glancing at her car piled high with snow.

The next day we started on the apartment. A snow blower was not the right tool for the job except down the path in front of the doorways. Several tenents had already shoveled out their cars and made a path wide enough for us to park in their spot when they left for work. The city snow plows had gone down most neighborhood streets by that time at least once so we didn't have any trouble driving through this area.

After working for a few hours at the apartment we finally went back home to try to find someone with a front end blade. All the snow removal companies listed in the yellow pages were booked solid. One of the tenants called to let us know that someone with a blade on a pick-up stopped to ask if we needed some help. What luck.!.

He started right away. Stan dropped me off at Walmart to pick up a few things like milk, eggs and bread. The store was packed and all but three carts at the doorway were being used. I took one and quickly filled it while Stan dropped back to the apartment to pay for the removal.

Next day we tackled Jamie's car. Her landlord also showed up to help us shovel it out. He is a strong guy of 75 and shoveled twice for every one of mine.

We all cozied back up in the house for another day. The sun was out melting some of the snow and brighting up things. We took a ride to Golden and stopped by the river. It was beautiful with the sun glistening on the snow and ice in the water. There were several sculptures along the path way. We had visited this same area at night and it has the most beautifully decorated tree with bright blue, purple, red and green lights on a tall pine tree. Other trees along the rivers bank were decorated in clear lights making is one of the most enchanting settings.

We stopped by the local Safeway to pick up last minute items for Christmas dinner. To our surprise the store was remarkably empty of staples like, milk, fruits and vegetables. It is amazing how we depend on so many kinds of items at our local store that we buy when the desire hits us. With highways and airports closed, the trickle down impact was felt.

Now that all the snow is blown from driveways and parking lots, its time to have a relaxing lunch with a friend.

Denver - 12/21/2006 It is still snowing

2007-11-27T07:45:00.001-08:00

Welcome from snowy Colorado.

Denver and the region are getting the decade snow storm.

It started on Wed 12/20/06 about 5 am and is still snowing on Thursday morning.

I planned my vacation just goofing off around Denver for a week.

Little did I know that goofing off would mean literally working from inside home. Good I stopped off and picked up some essentials at the grocery store on Tuesday. You know those essentials to make Christmas cookies, extra flour, chocolate chips and nuts. Yum.

By 9 am yesterday we realized this was no storm to be reckoned with. We called Jamie, our daughter, to tell her to call in to work and let them know she would not make it. She just started a couple weeks ago, but this snow storm puts all loyalty aside. About that same time all the schools and business were closing - yes even the malls. A little later her work had also called to let her know that telemarketing was postponed for a day.

The streets had but a few cars and the snow plows stayed home as blowing snow doesn't plow. A few venturesome neighbors were out during the day shoving and snow blowing snow in the wind. Stan said it was probably to get out the house as it sure wasn't doing any good in the removal department. By late afternoon we couldn't even look down that street the visibility was so low.

Well, we have our work cut out for us today. It is still snowing heavy flakes, but the wind has subsided. Stan will start the snow blower and work on the driveway. What about the apartment? We can't even drive over there and Jamie said snow was building up around her door. She has a snow shovel, but it is inside the door. She’ll figure it out.

Stan turned on the Christmas tree lights outside just to add to the charm. The photo I took at the corner of the house is toward the five foot fence. It looks like at least 2 foot or maybe more fell during the night.

Merry Christmas.
Joyce

Christmas Stockings 2006

2007-11-27T07:44:00.004-08:00

Jamie Swanson and Joyce Kropewnicki

Qwest provides opportunities for employees and their families to volunteer in a variety of projects each fall.

My daughter Jamie and I took on the challenge and signed up to cut and sew Christmas Stockings. We worked for a few hours on a warm November Saturday with about 15 other volunteers cutting stocking shapes out of 3 bolts of red and 1 bolt of green felt. Our goal was to finish 250 Christmas Stockings before the morning ended.

Arnettia Butler and friends

Arnettia Butler provided an energetic atmosphere to work in the Qwest Zuni building. She had been volunteering to head up this worthwhile Qwest Pioneer project for seven years. About 400 stockings were promised to the Salvation Army to be given out to needy children in the community Christmas week. Any extras would be given to other groups distributing gifts to needy children.

Jamie settled in with a team that was marking and cutting out the boot shapes from felt that had been rolled out the length of a couple of tables. Other tables were filled with red or green felt as people joined in the fun.

I found a spot and plugged in a long extension cord, then set up my sewing machine in preparation of sewing the stockings. Some of the volunteers had already spent a previous Saturday sewing up about 250 stockings. As I sat down to fill some bobbins with red thread I heard the whirr of the sewing machine beside me. She was already buzzing through a stack of bright red stockings. Two people on my other side set up their machines to face each other so they could have a chat as they worked. I heard the click-click-click of the needle behind me at another table as stacks of cut outs built up into piles of sewn stockings.

Another group of people set up their machines in the room next door. One sewed stockings using an antique portable Singer. By the end of the day the person next to me had sewn over a hundred stockings. Soon all the bolts of felt had been cut into stockings and quickly sewn up.

It was so exciting that I decided to take 12 back to my office to decorate and fill. Arnettia signed us up for the 9 – 14 age group, stating that there was always a need for that age. My co-workers were more than happy to take on the challenge.

We talked about what we would buy and how we would attach soccer, basketball, footballs and games in cellophane packages with books, pens/pencils and young lady personal care kits tucked inside the stocking. There was always room for pair of mittens or gloves, decorative socks and a candy cane or two. It was rewarding to buy gifts or gifts cards for the children and to imagine their joy to know someone cared for them at this time of year.

Angela Norris

Clayton Roberts

Paul Murray

Vickie Gardner

Kris Williamson

Sandi Rounds

Ray Grey - Creativity Unleashed

Carrie Brunsting

Sherri Gambrell

Marilyn Dieckhoff

Laurie Valadez

Charlane Plucheck

Sandy Reavry Collecting Stockings

Linda Terpenning

Helen Fischer

Everyone had a different approach to decorating and all stockings were cheerful and creative. Enthusiasm caught on and 15 people decorated and filled 25 Christmas Stockings for needy children ages 3 to 14. What joy those children will have when they receive these gifts and what joy we received in giving.

Stockings for young children

Stockings for Boys

Stockings for Divas

Thanksgivings at the Kropewnicki's

2007-11-27T07:44:00.003-08:00

Shopping for a Thanksgiving Table Cloth in India - 1993

Joyce Stan John Jamela and John / Trish Danielle Webb - 1995

Time to make cinnamon rolls

Stan Jamela Joyce Rachel John - 2004

Pies are Ready

Joyce, Sydney the Dog and Jamela

Stan Joyce Jamela - 2006

It is fun to make Thanksgiving dinner. Get up early start some cinnamon rolls, make a couple of pies; usually pumpkin and apple and cherry depending on how many people we have visiting.

I always like to put on the brown toned table cloth we bought in India with the images of flowers, elephants and what could pass for turkeys, but really are peacocks stamped around in circular rows.

I remember the day I bought this table cloth in 1993 while on a tour of the factory in India. The tour guide showed us the wooden blocks they loaded with ink and then pressed on the fabric for the repeating designed. I picked out this tablecloth not knowing that it would become such a part of our Thanksgiving tradition. The shop was stacked to the ceiling with tablecloths, bedspreads and all other assortments of delightful hand stamped and sew items. Once I made my selection of a strip of fabric that included the 60 inch round circle for the table cloth and 8 napkins printed with the same stamp, the shop keeper asked if I wanted the workers to sew up the napkins and tablecloth for no extra cost. As I do sew I debated for a moment if I wanted to sew them up myself when I returned from the trip or have them do it. I opt'd for them to do it thinking of all the other projects that I have good intentions of finishing some day.

We sure have enjoyed using it. In 2004, Rachel joined us from Boston on Thanksgiving. This was truely special as it was the first time John had brought his girlfriend home to our house. We had met her early in Boston in August, but bringing her home to Colorado was really special.

When we traveled with the Friendship Force we met some friends in Austrailia. Trish and John Daniel Webb joined us for Thanksgiving in 1995 while they were travel the US. John's college roommate Chris also joined us that year.

Years ago before the tablecloth showed up our family would gather at my Mom and Dad's house in Greeley. Some times we would join them for Christmas dinner instead of Thanksgiving. I does become quite an ordeal for the person hosting a family dinner even if everyone chips in to help.

When the kids were older we loved to ski and took several Thanksgiving trips to ski on fresh powder at Loveland. The turkey went in the oven with the timer set as we drove up an hour or so to catch some of the new snow in hopes there was enough to cover the rocks. By the time we returned home the turkey was ready to feed to a hungry family.

This year there were three of us, Stan, Jamela and myself. We took our standard photo before the dinner with our dog Sydney squirming on my lap impatiently waiting for us to finish up with this silliness. We had lots of turkey and trimmings leftovers which we'll enjoy eating for a while.

It's all about sharing some time together and remembering special memories from the past.

Sunrise in Denver 11/2006

2007-11-27T07:44:00.001-08:00

Sunrise in Denver

I was thrilled when my office moved downtown. I could pop on the bus right outside my house on the corner at ten after five and be to work by quarter of six.

In the winter it is still dark but friendly as the city starts to wake up.

At about 6:30 in November the sun just starts to peak out along the horizon. It puts on a red-orange blaze as it crests at the edge of the buildings. A few more minutes and the soft pastel peach colors creep under the layer of clouds that rest like thin skin around the earth’s atmosphere.

It’s a gift to see such beauty on a chilly November day.
Joyce

Adeline Stafford Celbrates 80th Birthday

2007-11-27T07:43:00.004-08:00

Adeline and friends in Czech costume

Rudy and Lorraine Okoren

Dance Dance Dance - Adeline with Ernie Ortiz

Adeline and Red Hatters

All Hat and Feathers

Anneliese Ring and George Johnson

Adeline and friend in Czech Costume

Jim Ehrlich and Delores Billingsley

Adeline Stafford

Adeline Mares Stafford celebrated her 80th Birthday on Saturday, November 4, 2006 at the Lakewood Country Club with over 130 friends and relatives. On a warm fall afternoon this beautiful setting, nestled like an oasis close to 10th and Wadsworth, was festively decorated. Each table was set with colorful purple napkins and centerpieces held the charm of pictures of Adeline’s family and ancestors.

Adeline is proud of her Czech heritage and many guests wore Czech costumes with those vibrant colors and great billowy sleeves trimmed in lace. Others wore their Red Hat outfits with the intricately adorned hats and bright purple or red dresses. All had a great time and were honored to celebrate this occasion with Adeline.

The afternoon was a delight from the scrumptious dinner with delicious apple strudel to interesting stories and dancing. Greg and Deb Hach Beveridge, of the Polka Playmates band, explained they got their start years ago when Adeline needed a band for her Czech-Solvak Lodge years ago. Adeline is the champ at encouraging people to be their best. As a result of this support, the Polka Playmates are booked for over 120 engagements a year.

Jim Ehrlich, of the Polka Mates band, also entertained with toe tapping songs that beckoned you to get out on the dance floor. Ernie Ortiz joined in with his deep baritone voice to sing Tiny Bubbles, reminiscent of Adeline’s trip to Hawaii. From polkas and waltzes, to the group dances of the circle Schottische and line dancing to the Alley Cat and Never on a Sunday, guests were smiling and having fun.

Music and dancing have long been a passion of Adeline. Most Sunday afternoons she dances with the Polka Lovers Club at the Denver Kicker’s sports club house in Golden as well as joining friends at senior center dances throughout northern Colorado.

Adeline has lived in Lakewood for over 40 years. She is a retired elementary school teacher with over 30 years devoted to teaching children in their formative years with her kind, thoughtful, direct guidance. She acknowledged several of the key people in her life most notably recalling her 3rd grade students at Deane Elementary with aid, Martha Shiverdecker.

Adeline remembers her upbringing in Wilson, Kansas and was instrumental in continuing her heritage by organizing and making of two quilts representing her Libal and Mares family tree. The quilts are now in the Wilson Kansas Opera House Museum.

Halloween at the Polka Club 10-28-2006

2007-11-27T07:43:00.003-08:00

Halloween - 2006
Erich Salent

Sandy Hardcastle

Stan and Joyce Kropewnicki

Annelises Ring and Al Weidman

Adeline Stafford and Dorothy

Elaine

Witches, gypsies and goblins - Oh My.!.

The Sunday afternoon excitement at the Polka Club of Colorado was brought to a new high. Meeting friends to dance polkas, waltzes and rumbas each week brings out belly laughs when Halloween costumes are added. Many people were so well hidden behind their creations, we couldn't guess who they were. When they removed the masks we found out from the hundred or so people at the dance, we probably didn't know them anyway.

The Rhinelanders band played until all had danced their legs off and removed hot bunny suits and long haired wigs. It is always a delight to dance with the great trumpet and accordion playing with the just right beat. The long alpine horn filled the room with sound.

There were gracious ladies towering above others as toy soldiers with great tall hats and billowy purple witches flying on brooms around the floor. The sixties hippies commanded the floor next to the 50's poodle skirts and leather jacket crowd.

A face painter was on hand to help the less adventurous spark up their look. It was great fun for all.

Veterans

2007-11-27T07:43:00.001-08:00

Veterans from the Polka Club of Colorado
Dorothy and Ed Pugh

Dee and Tom Hayes

Erich Selent and Dorothy Price

Hal and Jean Mund

November 11th – Remember our Veterans
by Joyce Kropewnicki

Each year on November 11th we have a reminder to take an opportunity to thank a Veteran for their military service. At the Polka Lovers Klub we have a chance to mingle with some of those individuals who served our country. When Jim Erlich plays the circle dance he often uses the military theme songs between the waltzes. These are more than just filler tunes and have deep meaning to men and women who have served.

I wanted to take a few minutes to offer my thanks to all who served in the military and kept our country free. The following are but a few of the people I briefly visited with about their service and their affection for dancing. The time they spent in the military had such an impact on their lives. Many know the exact day month and year they served with details to match, some so private and some indicated below. To other Polka Lovers Klub members, who I didn’t have a chance to visit with, we thank you also for your service.

Tom Hayes – Army from 2/66 to 2/68. He started in Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri then Ft. Eustis, Norfolk, Virginia and finally Ft. Riley, Kansas. He served in Vietnam for thirteen months unloading ships in Saigon. He worked fourteen-hour days with one day off every eleven days.

Tom could dance to western music, but didn’t take up the polka until he and Dee had been married about eight years. They went to a polka fest and got up and gave it a try. Every since that first try they have enjoyed dancing polkas and waltzes together for the past 30 years.

Hal Mund – Air Force 5/13/1952 to 5/13/1984. He was career military, retiring as a full bird colonel after 32 years and saw combat as a fighter pilot in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He flew 198 missions in Vietnam and flew many kinds of planes with an F86 the most notable.

Hal has been dancing since he was a young man of 14 when his mom taught him. She gave him this great advice that carried through to today; 1) Take the strong lead, 2) Be smooth with your steps and 3) Never leave a woman on the floor, take her back to her seat when the dance ends. Hal and his wife Jean have so much energy; they are up dancing every dance.

Ed Pugh – Navy 1943 to 1946. He served as an officer in World War II on a destroyer for three years. He was a deck officer in the deck division making sure maintenance was in top shape on the USS Wainright DD419. This was during the occupation in Japan of the north invasion force which lasted two to three months. After his ship sailed out of Pearl Harbor, he saw a near-by ship hit by a kamikaze bomb.

Ed learned the polka and other ballroom dances when he mother took him to dance lessons as a young man. His wife Dee (Delores), of 30 years, and Ed are serious about dancing and try not to miss a week to dance together on Sunday.

Chuck Johnston – Navy 1943 to 1945. He was land based in Norman, Oklahoma for ten months and then Miami Beach, Florida as a turret gunner on a torpedo bomber. Chuck learned to dance long before he was married and often visited the Tracadero Ballroom at the old Elitches Gardens which was in north Denver around 38th and Tennyson. He loved the waltzes the most. His son played the accordian in a band and Chuck surely enjoyed hearing him play. Even though his son has passed on, Chuck still enjoys sitting close to the band on the side by the accordian.

Erich Selent – Army 1962 – 1965. He started his basic training in Ft. Knox, Kentucky, trained in finance in Ft. Benjamin Harrison, Indianapolis Indiana then stationed in Ft. Carson, Colorado for the remainder of his duty working in finance. This was during the Vietnam War and Erich’s name came up three different times on the list to go over. Each time his Captain kept him working at Ft. Carson.

Erich learned folk dancing as a young man in Chicago Heights, Illinois at a polka club that played German music. His mother and aunts danced with him so he could learn. In the service he danced at the USO clubs to juke box music. It was mostly rock and roll at that time. One of his dance partners exchanged lessons. She taught him to do some western line dancing to the Alley Cat and he taught her the polka.

Les Muller – Army 11/1940 to 11/1945. He started his training in Ft. Crook, Nebraska then on to Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri. He was in the infantry and taught auto mechanics to other soldier for two years. During World War II the Air Force was connected to the Army as the Air Corp. They asked for volunteers to become pilots. Les accepted the challenge and had trained for six month to become a pilot when the war ended.

Les grew up in Nebraska. In high school he would go about ten miles to Wilber, Nebraska to the polka dance every Saturday night. The music is similar to what we dance to each week. Les has enjoyed dancing since he was 16. He and his wife Marie of 63 years enjoy Sunday dancing at the Polka Lovers Klub. They have been dancing together for over 65 years starting with square dancing at Peony Park in Omaha.

George Johnson – Army 1953 to 1956. He was stationed in Frankfort, Germany, and assigned to the security division as a cryptographer. Before the service he was a carpenter and appreciated the interesting details of carvings in the buildings, architectural designs and European culture.

George always loved music and played tenor saxophone in the marching band and orchestra. He was not brought up dancing, coming from a southern Baptist background in Birmingham, Alabama. His first wife was what they called a German war bride and she taught him to dance when they returned to the states. Three or four of their couple friends got together and took dance classes. George took a liking to ballroom dancing especially the waltz and started teaching dancing.

Rudy Okoren – U.S. Merchant Marine 10/1943 to 10/1946. As a young man of 19 he was responsible for steering six different ships in and out of the ports and at sea along with other duties with the deck crew. He was on tour for six or seven months at a time. He danced with Lorraine during the war when he came for brief visits during his 2 or 3 day leaves.

Rudy and Lorraine have been married for 58 years and dancing together for over 60 years. Rudy taught her to dance while they were still in high school. On leave they learned to polka in the Slovenia Tavern in Globeville, Colorado which is around I25 and I70. Lorraine went off to college near Long Beach, California and would see Rudy when his ship was cold docked in the area.

During World War II everyone helped. Men joined the service and women joined the work force in droves. At that time, Lorraine’s’ mom worked in a factory making tents and she knew of other women who manufactured bullets. Materials were in short supply at the time and everything went toward the war effort. Cars, trucks and tractors not used in the war effort drove on bald tires with rationed gasoline. Leather was used for soldiers first. Shoes that couldn’t be resoled by the family using that old iron cobbler’s kit due to the leather shortage were filled with cardboard to fill in the holes. Socks were always darned and never thrown out as long as a little more thread could fix them up.

Stan Kropewnicki – Army National Guard 1963 to 1969. He had basic and advanced infantry training at Ft. Dix, New Jersey. When he moved to Colorado he was reassigned to the 157th artillery for the Colorado Army National Guard.

Stan started dancing as a teenager at family and neighborhood parties in Maspeth, New York. He remembers his dad was in the Navy in the early 40’s during WWII while his mom worked packing C-rations at the American Chicle Company which had diverted making Chiclets gum for assisting in the war effort. He is happy he found the Polka Lovers Klub for Sunday afternoon fun.

Sundays dancing the polka and waltzes are always a delight. One afternoon while chatting with Dick Piekarski between polkas, he found out that they had both graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School, an all boy’s school, in New York; Stan in 1958 and Dick in 1960. What a small world.

Dick Piekarski – Army 1960 to 1970. After graduating from West Point, Dick was stationed in Okinawa, Japan as an artillery battery commander. He also served in Vietnam on an air base as an infantry adviser to the South Vietnamese Army. Dick felt service to his country is very important. Vietnam was a tough war all around. There were a lot of resources; money and service people’s lives put on the line in chaotic circumstances.

Dick always had rhythm and picked up dances easily. At West Point he was taught those refined ballroom dances and other skills to use in social occasions. Ann and Dick always bounce up and dance the “Beer Barrel Polka’ in honor of his parents who passed their love for the polka to their children.

Polka Festivals and Other Fun Events 8-2006

2007-11-27T07:42:00.002-08:00

The Denver Kicker’s soccer club joined the Polka Club on August 13, 2006 for a fun Sunday of polka dancing, games, good food and friendship. This event went from noon to eight with non-stop dancing to Steve Rock until four and then to Dick Zavodny’s band until eight. There were games for the children along with face painting for the kids and some brave adults. Hal and Jean Mund danced non-stop to every number from noon to the last song at eight. Dick always brings out the best in entertainment and music. The old world sound thrives when he plays the button box accordion. We enjoyed double button box fun when Emal Krikat stepped on stage from the audience, put on his button box and joined the Zavodny band for a few Polkas. You can hear Dick spin polka and waltz tunes every Sunday from noon to four on 1570 am radio. It’s a delight and prepares you for a fun afternoon at the Polka Club.

Earlier in the summer I stopped to talk with Pete Marta one sultry Sunday when temperatures crept into the high nineties. The Rinelanders were playing great music with Roberta’s clear trumpet melodically inspiring tapping feet to get up and dance around the floor.

June and Pete Marta had just returned from their leisurely ride in July up to Minnesota to enjoy the drive through our great county and participate in a couple of large polka festivals. They stopped off in Ellsworth, Wisconsin to join the dancing with 12 bands over a week end. The next four-day weekend they danced to their hearts’ content to all 40 bands at the Big Joe Polka festival in Medina, Minnesota. Pete said all the bands were exceptionally good this year. He found out the bands were not paid for their performance. One band said that was the best investment in their future they could make. They increased their bookings by doing five times as much business in one year as they had done in the past five years. Pete said there were over 2,500 people participating. The dance floor was about twice as big as the Kicker’s Club and filled with excited, friendly people who love to polka and waltz.

It seems a daunting task to dance to every band, but Pete and June took on the challenge. There is a 10 minute break between bands each hour when the bands switch. With good music, its fun and every band brings a new interpretation to the old favorites as well as dusting off some old lesser known numbers.

I stumbled across the Big Joe Polka Show on RFD TV, 9409 if you have Dish satellite. We watch the show once a week or so and noticed the happy smiling faces of June and Pete dancing swiftly by the cameras. June was seen over several shows always in a different outfit. I confirmed with her that she had changed clothes several times a day to freshen up and add to the excitement.

Quick stepping Audrey Jurgens can also be seen on the Big Joe show dancing her peppy steps. She told me not long ago that her grandkids are so excited to watch her on the Big Joe show that she feels like a celebrity. Big Joe’s tag line is “Happy Music for Happy People” which pretty much covers how polka music makes you feel.

Wes and Ruth Loftessness occasionally take a jaunt up to Greeley to the Ebony Center to hear some local bands. They both recently celebrated their milestone 80th birthdays just 23 days apart, Ruth on June 13th and Wes on July 9th. They have been dancing all over the mid-west from Wichita, Kansas to Mitchell, South Dakota for over 60 years. Wes and Ruth can be seen dancing the waltzes and two steps. With Ruth’s knee replacements, she leaves Wes to the dance lively Polka’s with whoever can keep up with him.

Birthday Polka and Watching Tango March 2006

2007-11-27T07:42:00.001-08:00

Birthday Celebration March 26, 2006 I celebrated my 60th birthday. After a week in Mexico on the beach in Akumal it was time to get back into the groove. We invited some friends to join us at the Polka Club for a Sunday afternoon of fun.

Most did not particularly know how to polka and their waltzs were a little rusty, but they gave it a try. It was great fun.

Watching Tango - Friday March 31, 2006, Stan and I decided to celebrate our 33rd anniversary by finding a different place to go out to dinner. When looking for dancing places, I read about the Mercury Cafe in the paper. They have different dance classes a few times a week. Friday was Tango night.

We called for reservations which is comical as there is always room for early birds. This place is on the outskirts of downtown off 21st. The building sits almost alone looking a lot like a warehouse, but for its brightly decorated exterior. Stan and I shook our heads wondering if dinner was a good idea as we peaked through the windows at a mostly empty dining room. After opening the door, we walked through the bright green plastic curtain to be greeted by a friendly young man with straggly dread locks hanging beneath a bolo type hat. He seated us in an almost empty room into church pew seats. Different, of course. I decided we were in Philadelphia dining for the evening.

There were small shelves at each booth that held antique obscure lamps from the 50's era with lampshades in odd geometric shapes covered with large print drapery cloth. Some tables had silky shades others six inch fringe dangled from the edges. Our lamp had the bust of a black woman. The booth next to ours had an oriental figure. The walls were painted hues of reds with two foot rose outlines fading into the ambience. There were interesting paintings of landscapes hanging above the piano along the back wall. Small cards were tucked along side the paintings which I assumed indicated the paintings were for sale.

Our waitress was happy and friendly and brought us out homemade rolls dense with rich butter and whole grains. The food was on the edge of organic although Stan ordered a deliciously thick hamburger served on one of those dense homemade dark buns. I have fettuccine with spinach dripping in garlic and olive oil. We saved room for a tall piece of chocolate cake with creaming frosting to die for.

Stan immediately noticed our waitress was the only one who wasn't covered in tattoos. Others had trees on their arms and their low cut necklines revealed designed tattooed into their chest that complimented their jewelry.

A stone face man walked by carrying an accordion and sat down in front of the piano. As the evening progressed he played quiet tunes you would hear if in Europe or Russia. His face remained stoic as he played songs of his past. I'm sure his mind wondered to other days where these songs were so appreciated and brought light to the soles around that heard them. It was a delight for us and brought the evening together.

We ventured upstairs to the dance floor. Beginning Tango lessons were just completing and intermediate starting. We cozyed up in the theater seats to have a watch. People were lining up for the next lesson, but a mere five bucks each. The peppy instructor talked a bit, then they practiced leaving one leg stationary and moving the other forward a couple of times, to the side some more and back a few steps. Now the other side. They all walked around the circle slowing to the count of four. They picked partners and tried it together. I got lost on the next steps which looked simple with the crossover back and forth. It looked elegant and some dancers were really getting it.

The real dancers were showing up for open dance. They brought their shoes in bags and sat down in the tiered creaked theater seats and put them on. Some dancers have hurried out onto the floor to start their maneuvering as if a trace. One man stood beside his partner as he waited for her to strap on her shoes. His face was expressionless. She got up they clenched the serious stance and floated off with the music. I noticed when they came around again, her eyes were closed in another land. There were no smiles or frivolous movements for these seasoned dancers. They took this dancing as seriously as if they were taking a CPA test.

I can't wait to try it out again. Philadelphia seems like a lot of fun.

Dancing at the Polka Club 5-14-2006

2007-11-27T07:41:00.004-08:00

May 14th is a special day as we celebrate my husband Stan’s birthday each year. Marking off another year becomes poignant when you’ve had some health issues such as Stan’s heart attack last May, 2005. Since then we live life with a purpose and cherish each day and plan activities accordingly.

In mid-December we found a notice in the Denver Post announcing weekly Polka dances in Golden. This was but a hop skip and a jump from our home in Lakewood and fit right into our plan to live life with more activity and fun. At our first visit we stood in the doorway of the club with the peppy music beckoning us to join in the fun. Stan was already tapping his foot with a flood of memories from his upbringing in Mespeth New York of polka parties set up anywhere there was space using basements, garages and local school gym floors. The aunties, moms and sisters would whirl the young boys around until they beat and the love for the music was deeply embedded in their sole.

That first time visiting the Polka Club, I knew we had found just what we were looking for. As it was the Christmas party with reservations only, we were asked to return. We did week after week to find it an invigorating experience.

May 14th was Mother’s Day which was celebrated as Hat Day at the Polka Club. From cowboy hats trimmed in flowing netting, straw hats with ribbons to wide brimmed delights with flowers and bows it was a jovial site to see. The hats brightened up the day as we all danced around to the great music of Rich DeChant. It was an interesting mix of polkas, waltzes and slowed down two step played with a piano accordion, sax and drums. The polkas are fast to pep up your spirit and keep your heart a beating.

It was a delight to see families gather on this charming afternoon. Our daughter Jamie joined us. She tried out the polka for the first time and was delighted at the opportunity to take a spin around the floor with Harry probably one of the most patient instructors.

Another family with young children dressed in their Sunday best joined their parents, Rudy and Lorraine Okoren for the afternoon. The grandmother and grandfather danced with the grandchildren and to my surprise all the children danced the polka really well. We saw one of the young girls dancing with Bill, who is one of the most energetic dancers. They covered the floor in lightening speed. Her youthful energy and his expert dancing skills brought a smile to all the watching faces at this sight.

10-11-2006 Gloucester, MA

2007-11-27T07:41:00.003-08:00

On our last day in Boston we took a ride on I-95 to highway 128 to Gloucester, MA. It is a charming town skirting the ocean shoreline. Bakeries, pizza shops and the every present Dunkin Donuts were easily found along the city streets.

We stopped by the well-known Fisherman's Monument to sailors lost at sea. One of the plaques recognized over 5,000 people.

There was a man in his sixties and two women placing decorations on the memorial. He asked if I would take their photo. I asked if they had lost someone at sea. He said that his son Mark, age 30, was captain of a ship in Alaska that was lost while towing a vessel into shore. Mark was caught in a storm that came up from nowhere. His son was a good captain and loved living in Alaska. Mark had died in that storm two years ago on 10/11/2004. The father, mother and aunt live in the white mountains of New Hampshire and come to this place every year to remember Mark.

The man was so happy that someone was interested to talk about his son Mark. He said that two weeks before the accident happened, he had a feeling that he should take a visit to Alaska. He followed his instincts and had the most wonderful visit with his son. After the accident he went back up to Alaska and flew over the city of Seward and the ocean where they thought Mark had gone down. They never found a trace of him, his ship or the ship he was towing.

The man had returned to Alaska and was having a beer in a local bar. As the waitress was about his son's age he asked if she happened to know him. Mark was such the life of the party and she knew him well.

There are such pretty views around Gloucester. The New England homes and changing leaves just add to the beauty. We drove around the coast with large mansion sized cottages lining the road. Both sides of the road offered sights; from interesting homes with wrap around porches to the ocean waves crashing against the rocks on the other side.

We stopped in the middle of town and took a walk down to the dock. They were building a ship by trimming out red oak planks two inches by eight inches thick for the hull of the ship.

The ride back to Boston was just delightful. The sun was out and the trees on either side of the road were sparkling with colors. Those deep red-oranges and bright reds will be missed.
Joyce

10-10-2006 USS Constitution Boston

2007-11-27T07:41:00.001-08:00

The best way to travel in the metro Boston area is by subway or buses. There is a handy one about a block from John’s house. We drove instead down toward the Bunker Hill Monument which is in close proximity to the USS Constitution. The streets do not run in an ordered manner but in a haphazard way that the communities were built hundreds of years ago. Street names change from one side of the street across the intersection to the other side. There are highways systems overlaid through the towns so getting to the other side of these is a challenge. There is a small distance between streets so even with a detailed street map is it difficult to follow exactly where you are. Stan drove by dead reckoning toward the monument and I tried to follow along with the map as best I could. We were close but one way winding streets can be deceiving. We parked on a side street with a building that looked familiar from our previous trips to visit the USS Constitution. When we looked around it seemed to be the best place to park and walk a few blocks.

Stan loves to visit the USS Constitution, which is the oldest ship in the navy seeped with history about its strength that tagged it with the name Old Ironsides. The visit is always a great way to rekindle US Spirit and reminders about freedom. In previous visits we learned that a tour through the ship was closed on Mondays. Now it was closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays during the winter months due to funding cut backs and availability of personnel. Seeing it there in the harbor is still a remarkable sight. There is also a private USS Constitution Museum on the same site which has a wealth of knowledge, movies and models of the ship to spark your interest.

In this same ship yard is the USS Cassin Young, a World War II destroyer, which we did walk through. It is maintained by the National Park Service. It was built in 1943, then assigned to the Central Pacific. It first experienced combat in April, 1944, attacking a Japanese stronghold in the Caroline Islands.

On the main deck we could meander through the hallways to see the quarters, galley, sick bay and radio room. There was a Kitchen Aid mixer about four feet tall with the mixing bowl at least thirty inches across. That can mix a lot of dough to feed hungry sailors.

After enjoying a bagel sandwich in the nearby shop we walked out to the park near the Korean War memorial. The grounds were beautiful with mounds of colorful mums lining the walkways. There was a guy practicing his bagpipes in the grass with his young son listening and smiling from his stroller.

Wedding Quilt for John and Rachel 10-6-2006

2007-11-27T07:40:00.002-08:00

My mother Frances always liked quilts. She loved fabrics and had bookcases full of patterns. She enjoyed going to quilt fairs and looking at the many combinations of colors that were put together making each standard pattern unique to the person who made it. She worked for years hand sewing pieces together from scraps of fabrics; some with meaning that had been her daughter's dresses and some just scraps of color that fit into the crazy quilt pattern she was developing. She finished but a few, but had ideas for many.

I have this same interest in quilting, but from a standard point of machine sewing them until they are finished. I have lots of fabric from my mom and more I have collected myself. I have finished a few by now, but none have meant so much to me as the one I made for John and Rachel as their wedding quilt. I am mostly a square and triangle pattern person and steer away from applique'. For the wedding quilt I wanted the double wedding ring pattern that required me to learn the skill of machine applique'.

I found the pattern from Eleanor Burns "Eggs in a Basket" quilt book. Eleanor has a great method to skip the hard steps and through planning will help you put a quilt together in no time. With the best steps from Eleanor it still took me from July 12th to Sept 14th to finish this quilt, working at least an hour or so a day and the good part of every weekend.

I wanted white or off-white with pastels. I had chosen white eyelet, but found the fabric would never hold up for many years and switched to a white weavers cloth as the background. I selected 8 pastels including a couple of peices in beige that blended pretty well together, but were strong enough colors that the pattern was not lost.

About a hundred or so groups of six small trapezoid shaped rectangles were sewn together. They were then sewn onto facing and turned inside out with a hemostat. I couldn't believe that when the time came, Stan, my husband, actually had one in his tool collection. It was tedious as they all had to be straightened out and ironed flat to freezer paper. I had arches all over the place. I made a few too many, but who is counting.

The arches were placed on the white fabric and machine sewn down with a blanket stitch with invisible thread. Then the small corners were added and the bigger squares were sewn together to make the quilt. Add some thick batting for those extra cold Boston winters, hand tie the top and middle batting to a big sheet, finished the edges and voila - Wedding quilt finished in about two months.

I didn't tell John that I was making a quilt. He kind of guess it when I gave them the big box. I had already made Rachel and him a few quilts so this was a bit of a surprise.

They were so happy when they opened the box. Rachel put it out on the bed to take a look at the pattern. She said she so appreciated this gift. She asked if I had talked with John about it. She told John that she had really wanted me to make them a wedding quilt, but wasn't sure that John had told me about her request.

Even though John had said nothing about Rachel wanting a quilt, I recieved the message somehow and was thrilled to see how happy they were.
Joyce

October 2006 Witches and Subs

2007-11-27T07:40:00.001-08:00

10-7-06 Brunch and Witches

After the fun filled wedding festivities we topped off the weekend with a brunch in Salem MA with Diane Fischer, Rachel's mom. She lives on Webb street in Salem in a home built in 1886 a block or so from the ocean. The winding staircase to her place lead to a charming home filled with family enjoying those wonderful back east bagels, fresh fruit, juice and a sliver of wedding cake. I had a spinach bagel which was soft chewy and flavorful. The newlyweds seem right at home enjoying their commitment to one another.

Diane's place is a short walk across a park to the Salem Witch Museum. For blocks people are gathering for the annual influx of visitors and locals to Salem to celebrate the Halloween season. The line to visit the museum stretched around the block with a 40 minute wait. We opt'd out to walk around the shops on Essex Street. Vendors with all kinds of T-shirts, magic wands and other such witch delights lined the streets. People in costume acting out scenes from the witch trials in the 1600's stopped entertain the crowds. It is a crazy time of year and fills the city.

10-10-06 Portsmouth New Hampshire
We took a ride up to New Hampshire about 50 - 60 miles outside of Boston to Portsmouth New Hampshire. I put in our traveling music in the CD player and realized that I had recorded that same song that John had selected for his Mother/Son dance at the wedding. Now I had more time to listen to the words of "There are places I Remember" by the Beatles. What a special words for a son to share with his Mom on his wedding day.

As you exit to Portsmouth, the first right is an exhibit of the United States Ship Albacore, an experimental submarine used from 1953 to 1972 to test control systems, dive brakes and sonar equipment. It was the first true underwater hull of cylindrical shape that had become the standard for submarines today. It seems small and a visit through in the inside showed how close the quarters really were.

The town has several blocks of fun shops and restaurants. We enjoyed the varied arts/crafts made my local artists and interesting imports. We stopped and had great sandwiches at the Works. The weather was in the 80's and made for a nice time strolling around.

We kept on north on highway 103 that hugged the coast and within a few miles were in Maine passing through Kittery. The leaves were exploding in color and glimpses of the ocean with sail boats moored in the inlet required a quick stop for a photo. We pulled over at a grave yard and notice ancient white stones from the 1800's. A grounds keeper was repairing the rock wall. A lady was planting flowers around a newer looking grave.

We sat on the benches enjoying the view of the ocean and the well tended flower garden filled with monarch butterflies skimming from plant to plant. We asked the women, Marjorie, if her was responsible for this beautiful garden. She said that it was a group effort by members of the community. We talked about Portsmouth and the places we had visited there. She said that she sang in the choir at the church, which we saw they were now re-furbishing the outside. Marjorie told us they are spending a million dollars to fix it up. I remember one time we visited a couple of years ago Stan and I went in to hear an organ concert that was going on at noon that day. She said she also sang in the choir for the church across from the grave yard, which I noticed was had a sign in front that said, "1st Congregational Church - 1714".

Marjorie had just buried her husband Robert in June after a lengthy illness. She was filled with grief and was planting some iris and daffodils. She said he was in the Navy for 35 years and they had been married for 47 years. We gave her a hug and wished her happier days. She said they had lived right on this bay their whole lives. What a lovely setting this made as a resting place for her husband.

A block or so down the road is Fort McClary, one of several forts in Maine. We stopped to take a look and enjoy the peacefulness of the day. This fore was for nearly 275 years to protect the Piscataqua River. There were a few old building that remained. The setting was lovely on a grassy hill that opened into the cove. A couple of lighthouses could we seen in the distance.

Down the road a mile or so we came to Sea Point Beach in Kittery, Maine. You park your car and walk a quarter of mile less through the rustic neighborhood with homes set back into the woods to the ocean. Stan found the perfect rock to rest on that was more like a recliner built for him. The tide was going out and had left remains of seaweed. The beach was mostly sandy, but there were parts that were lined with rocks that had been tumbled by the sea. Neighborhood people were gathering with their dogs who knew it was time to fletch balls in the ocean's current. This must be a daily routine as the dogs frolicked happily with each other.

Joyce

September 2006 Road Trip to Boston

2007-11-27T07:39:00.001-08:00

9-28-06 Road Trip to Boston
Stan and I are taking a road trip from Denver to Boston. John and Rachael will be married on 10/6/06.

My job moved downtown so I pop on the bus each day instead of driving for an hour in the rush. It seems the right time for us to give the Jeep to John and Rachael, so it wouldn't be collecting dust in my garage. Plus it makes a great wedding gift.

Driving across the country is entering a different zone. On Thursday, 9-28, we started on I-76 heading toward Boston. Denver development stretches eastward toward towns such as Kersey and Keensburg that were only a side in the road a decade ago. Now they are filled with housing developments, large swatches of land spring up like weeds to hold mega Targets, hospitals and schools. No wonder the farmer's are fighting for the municipal water demands.

Signs along the road to Sterling are telling: Correctional Facility. Don't stop for Hitchhikers.

After passing through Ft. Morgan the housing booms quiets. There are rolling hills of sage brush mixed with prairie grasses. Cottonwood trees follow the bank of the South Platte. Mega farms replace the developments. There are multiple barns filled with turkeys or chickens that help keep a nation fed.

We stop at most rest stops until we get in the driving groove. Stan and I switch to music or radio every half hour to add variety. I found this simple peppy country song about "I'm going to get on the ole turnpike" to start the day. Then switch up with rock and roll, classical or tango every 15 minutes. Stan is mostly talk shows, polka tunes or silence.

Around Kearney Nebraska the stress of preparing for the trip lift to move us into the present to notice the day. The skies are robin egg blue with pools of lakes here and there along the roadside that reflect the light aqua colors. The country side is wide open with a few trees or farmhouses dotting the landscape. You can see the horizon from this expansive view that shows off the curvature of the earth. Contrails from planes crisscross the sky through billowy white clouds.

We zipped through Omaha towards the end of the afternoon on a tip from a fellow traveler at a rest stop to buy gas in Iowa. We should all buy gas in Council Bluffs, Iowa as it is $2.14/gal. Ohio was good too at $2.04.

We drove on the first day to Des Moines, Iowa. My mom's family was from Iowa. There are terraced fields of corn planted on rolling hills. The green grass in the median indicated a high rainfall as I can't imagine irrigating the crops on the hillsides. If Colorado farmers could count on rain for their crop the water tug of war with the cities would end. My brother Alan confirmed that the Iowa farmers just plant the corn and it grows from rainfall. Rainy years the crops are great. Low rainfall could mean no crops. This year the state is wall to wall corn. The farms are well-kept with no broken down cars strewn about.

We have heard that people from Iowa polka. The closest we came was to notice a vanity license plate from Polk County Iowa that said "I Polka". I guess Stan will need to wait to dance his polka's in Denver when we return.

Highway I-80 is a trucker's paradise. There are hardly any cars and the semi-trucks rule the highway as they move goods across this great nation of ours. On the road banks, there are smatterings of new growth sumacs with leaves that have turned hues of red. The trees are just starting to change with hints of gold and yellows emerging at the tips of the branches.

Day 2 9/29/06 We headed to Chicago which everyone calls Chicago Land. Must be a mid-west branch of Disney Land. Traffic is appalling after the leisure jaunt through Nebraska and Iowa. Stan and I resorted to playing the license plate game and then naming of the capitals. Good he had that road atlas handy as neither one us could remember Oregon. Better visit there sometime - it makes it easier to remember Salem is a capital when you see the places too.

There were construction zones along the south part of Chicago. It took 30 minutes to go about 10 miles. It seems that they are rebuilding the toll gates to make it faster. Traffic was backed up for miles and miles to pay a 60 cent toll to the toll gate operator who made change slowly and talked to everyone as they went through the gate. Not very efficient. We all sure burned a lot of the $3/gal gas waiting in line to pay our 60 cents. Progress I suppose.

Grey white skies fill the air with a chill in the air that requires all those layers of clothes we tossed in the car at the last minute. If there is sun up there you never see it and moods change accordingly. No wonder we like Colorado with its mostly blue skies day after day.

We just kept driving until be stop at the eastern side of Toledo. Our experience there does warrant a Holy Toledo remark. There are interesting barns and corn growing along the highways, but when you get off it seems to be a different story. Advertised hotels are abandoned as if there was an apocalypse. The exit we took was dominated by truckers. Its all good.!.

There were only two restaurants. One called the Iron Skillet served extra greasy food with everything on the aluminum skillets, hence the name. The truckers congregated around the counters. It similar to what you would find at Johnson's Corner around Loveland although Colorado now has that smoking ban statewide. The smoke was thick as you walked through to non-smoking. No smoking bans in Toledo. We noticed an abundance of people around us carrying an extra two hundred pounds or so. It must have been the $8.99 all you can eat buffet that perpetuated the weight. The economy might be a bit depressed also.

In the morning it was raining and added to Toledo's gloom. We stopped at the motel restaurant to grab some breakfast. We were the only people in there. The crowd must be back at the Iron Skillet down the street. I had seen our waitress the evening before when we decided to try the Iron Skillet instead. I was checking out the deserts in the glass cases. She was trying to sell me on staying there to eat. She said "The lemon cake is good, I've been looking at is all week."

We were surprised to see her again so early. She said someone had quit so she was called in. At 36 she had this job, 4 kids ages 17, 14, 7 and 17 months and was going to school. She said she had a good husband that helps with the kids when she is called in like that. She is studying for her GED, and then wants to be a nurse. Everyone has hopes and dreams.

We stopped back at the Iron Skillet/convenience store to pick up some coffee for the road. A guy in a van noticed our license and remarked, "I lived in Colorado in the 60's." Then he followed with, "on Larimer Street on Skid Row." If he would only see Larimer now, with all the upscale restaurants and trendy night spots. I guess skid row moved to Toledo.

September 30, 2006
We had quite a cultural experience in Toledo as I mentioned. We were wondering where Holy Toledo came from. There is also Holy Cow, Holy Mackerel, Holy Sh--. It just boggles your mind to realize the trivia you don't know.

Along I-80 each state; Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and PA run their own toll roads. You pick up a ticket as you cross the state line and deposit your toll, about $3 - $5, as you leave. The country side in Ohio and Indiana flatten out, but still lots of corn that is probably irrigated. Big barns and silos along the highway indicate the ruralness of our nation. From time to time we saw large dairy farms with the progression of milking cows in the corrals next to the milk barn on to large fenced pens that hold younger animals with the youngest in their own white plastic looking Quonset huts.

The trees have changed from the majestic lone pines and cottonwoods to stands of trees so crowded that individually they are trunks with some leaves on top, but grouped they are a dense forest with under brush so thick you would have trouble walking through it.
Seems like that is about how people are too. In Nebraska and Iowa individuals stand alone with casual interfaces with neighbors and friends. As the population increases the interfaces are less chosen and more required due to the denseness of the people.

Stan remarked what a diverse and beautiful rich geography we have in the US. When we told his friend George from the Polka club about our road trip he said, "What an experience you will have. Each day will be a new view for you. It will be a lot more interesting than the inside of an airplane."

New it is. We saw a tanker truck that puzzled us. It had a couple of chickens as logos with the tag line "Inedible poultry". What on earth is in this big vat of chicken - Maybe lips, feet or feathers? Oh as my Uncle Daryle pointed out, the feet are shipped to China for upscale Chinese restaurants as a delicacy.

Outside of Chicago on the radio we could pick up what sounded like Polish. Outside of Cleveland it was French probably coming in from Canada.

There is a faint hint of color on the leaves with some oranges and deep reds cresting on the tips of the trees. In northern PA and NY the fields are full of vineyards.

We paid a 75 cent toll at the edge of Buffalo NY. This was the entry into one of the bridges to Canada and to the city of Niagara. Buffalo is smart to collect that fee for a two block toll road from every car entering this great attraction. It was still misting off and on and the eastern chill kept us in layers consisting of sweaters, jackets and now gloves. We hugged the river and found the entrance to Niagara Falls State Park. We parked for $8 and walked a short distance to the Horseshoe Falls. The breeze held a chill and on went the hood of my jacket. We were told the Canadian side of the Falls is prettier. It is hard to beat these views. There were a few tourists, but not what I would say crowded at all at this time of year.

We got on the $2 trolley that takes you around although walking would have been great on a warmer day. It went through part of the quaint town along the river back into the park to the American Falls. This view was also interesting. You could pay a few more dollars to the Cave of the Winds, which is not the same as the cave around Colorado Springs with stalactites and mites. It was a cave you went through to walk along the base of the falls on a wood catwalk. There were also boats that took you out close to the falls. All passengers dawned bright blue rain gear for the trip. Some were wringing out their T-shirts after the trip. We skipped that.

There is a monster tall rectangular casino on the US side. Most other buildings are a respectable size. Across to Canada there are high rise hotels and a domed casino right along the waters edge. We crossed the border to Canada which is the longest un- guarded border between two countries in the world.

We found a mediocre motel within walking (3-4 blocks) distance to the falls. It is another world on the Canadian side. They have figured out how to make it a Disneyland type experience along with inflated prices. This much commercial approach to tourists takes away the pristine nature of the falls.

We ventured inside the mammoth casino to take a look. In the lobby there is a two story glassed in dome that holds a sculpture version of the Tesla coil with water falls cascading into a pool. It was impressive. Upscale shops line the walkways and the crowds were prolific. Inside the casino the noise from the slots was deafening. There were 1 cent slots to hook you in. There were odd games of dominos that mostly Asians played along with variations of poker and 21. We kept our hands in our pockets and observed for as long as we could stand the noise.

The casinos probably keep the railings along the falls less crowded with tourists. What a lot of money we saw exchange hands mostly, back to the house not the players.

The next morning it was warmer and the drizzle had stopped although it was still cloudy. We walked down to the falls. The Canadian side is beautiful as you have a panoramic view of the falls cascading toward you instead of beside you. You can see all falls;
Horseshoe, American and Bridal Vail from one vantage point.

The sun wasn't coming out for a long time so we crossed back to the US and stopped off at the New York Power Authority exhibit about the hydro electric plant. Stan was in heaven. There were very few people (I mean almost empty) visiting this very well-done hands on exhibit. One couple we talked to were visiting from Colorado. He worked for Public Service. It was interesting to learn the progressive insights by Robert Moses that were made to provide energy for both US and Canada along this powerhouse river while still maintaining the tourist appeal.

We heard about a cabbage festival in NewFane a small community about 15 miles north of Buffalo. We followed the seaway road which skirted Lake Ontario, the quaint neighborhoods and apple orchards. The grass was spring green with nice set backs for the homes. Porches were decorated for fall with bright orange pumpkins and scarecrows.

We didn't find anything called the cabbage festival, but stumbled across an Apple festival in NewFane held by the historic society. There were barns full of farm implements and tables of working two cylinder antique engines. One was an old sewing machine head pulling a miniature saw mill cutting a log. Another engine ran a fourteen inch Ferris wheel.

There was hot apple cider for a quarter and music played by a blue grass band to include instruments like antique accordions, spoons and a wash board. "You are my Sunshine" never sounded so good.

October 1, 2006 More New York
Around 10/1/06 after we left the local apple fair in NewFane with the antique working corn shuckers and women selling apple butter who I thought were dressed in authentic period costumes but were Amish and were dressed in their normal every day clothes, we stopped off in Rochester for the night.

I think we were about a day a head of schedule. Next we had planned to stop off at Stan's cousin John and his wife Mary Ellen to pay a visit. They live in Chestertown, NY close to Lake George in the middle of the Adirondack Mountains pretty much in the middle of no place. John was born six days before Stan and for years they were close cousins until they both grew up and moved on. Stan's Mom, Alice and her brother, Stan (John Jackowski's) father lived about 15 miles away from each other in New York and moved to Florida and lived a block away from them. Stan hasn't seen his cousin for 15 or more years and infrequently before that once they were adults.

It was too early to pay them a visit so we stopped off at the finger tip lakes (several are about 30 miles long and 2 - 3 miles across) around Geneva and Seneca. In Geneva we took a break for lunch and found this most charming cozy restaurant when we walked around the block call Four Petals. Judy Domcek ran the place and served fresh sandwiches on soft bread in a tiny place with high ceilings and interesting treasures on the walls. The Boston cream pie which you all know is really cake filled with vanilla pudding was to die for. Judy lived there all her life and loved to cook. She made deserts for all the restaurants in the area. I can see why they bought them from her. They were delicious.

She had walls of strawberry, wild raspberry and black berry jams and canned peaches that she made right in her shop. She said she always teaches her girls (employees) to make jams and deserts so they have a skill to take with them their whole lives. I'ld stop there again if I were in the area.

We drove through the country side and found signs that marked the trail for wineries. We stopped to visit several, one of which caught my eye call Swedish Hill. Their wines had that extra hint of vanilla and spice with the sweetness to take the edge off that puckery taste.

We were having way too much fun when one of the car windows went pop as if it had come off the track. Once we get over the shock of the window being half down on a road trip while you are in the middle of nowhere we came to our senses that a car full of things with the window open in a parking lot is not going to work out in the best of places.

Stan borrowed some duck tape from a trucker to keep the window up just long enough to get to Syracuse. He popped into a Holiday Inn to clip out the Jeep dealerships from the yellow pages. It was about 4 o'clock. One guy we called said that it would be Friday before he could get to the job (I'll be at the wedding by that time), but maybe the body shop could help us. Nick at the body shop said if he had the part he would fix it and gave us some cryptic directions to his shop. We drove toward his shop not really knowing where we were going and having maps with limited details of streets. Well, by the time he called to say he had the part we were on his door step. He had us out of there by 5. Another guy was having the very same thing fixed on his Jeep. I guess the windows give out at about 55K - 60K miles. John and Rachel will need to fix the next one.

Well we were back on schedule and certainly used up that extra day.

Now the leaves are all a glow. The groupings of green along the roadside have turned to shades of red-orange, bright yellows, rusts and reds with each seeming to call out the vibrance of their colors. It took the next morning to drive through this splendor in the Adirondacks to Stan's cousin. What a lovely place hidden away in the mountainside on a 50 acre plot backed into the national forest. We had such a nice visit and seemed we had known these people forever.

10-5-2006 Rehearsal Dinner

2007-11-27T07:38:00.002-08:00

10-5-2006 Rehearsal Dinner

We made it to Boston. I drove through the Big Dig
under the city of Boston while Stan navigated and we made it right
to John's house in Somerville. I learned that hearing Stan say,
"This Way. This Way." doesn't really tell me anything
on busy highways. Left or Right are really required
when you have seconds to change lanes in busy traffic
and crossing highways.

While John and Rachel were working on Wed, we had a
chance to empty out the car and tidy it up a bit
before they came home. Although we hadn't reached
Jamela by phone, we had verified with the owner of Pet
Peeves that the dogs were dropped off at doggy day
care (actually week care) as scheduled. They have
such a good deal for dogs. The dogs are in an old house
and have their own bedrooms with cage type set ups for
their naps lined with blankets from home. When naps
are over they and their dog friends (about 20 of them)
run down the stairs to the outside fenced area to
play. Eat - Play - Nap.!. Is must be a dog's life for
sure.

Anyway our daughter, Jamela did arrive at the Boston
airport in time so our concern for her first time
finding her way around the airport and being there on
time was unfounded.

We went to the church, Our Lady, Star of the Sea, in
Marblehead for the rehearsal on Thursday late
afternoon. Rachael grew up in the church and was
baptized, confirmed and now will be married in this
beautiful setting filled with intricate stain glass
windows and rich wood sculptures of Saints. It will be
a beautiful place for a wedding. The ocean is a block
or so away and the changing colors of the leaves just
add to the charm.

The rehearsal seemed pretty straight forward and
simple, but add a 100 people, organ music and a high
emotional experience and the situation changes.
Rachael and John have done a great job of organizing
all aspects of the wedding. Rachel has a great
talent for planning and coordinating the many vendors
and pieces to the wedding day puzzle. Her attention
to detail is amazing.

The out-of-town guests were all delighted at the
welcoming baskets filled with goodies to delight the
taste buds and information brochures about the area.
Mike, Rachael's dad, scurried around town delivering
these baskets to the guests to make sure each had theirs at the
right time. We all feel like kings and queens.

The rehearsal dinner was terrific. There were about 30
or so attending a six course Italian meal at the
Paradiso, a charming restaurant by the train station in Swampscott, MA.
This was real dinning with scrumptious food to fit all
tastes. There was plenty of time to get to know the
families and relax for the occasion.

My brother Alan and his wife Janine are here from
Sacramento, CA. They are enjoying a leisurely month
long trip from Boston down to NYC, Washington DC,
Virginia and South Carolina. Now back in Boston for
the wedding then on to Vermont and Canada. It's nice
to be retired so they can take all this in. Alan
loves trains so riding the well-planned train systems
in the east is an added pleasure.

Stan's niece Mary Ann and David are here from Atlanta,
GA. Mary Ann is such a life of the party.

Geordie Jones, John's long time friend and best man is
here from Chicago. Jake Kern's, also John's grammar
schoolmate, is here from California with his Mom,
Renee. These kids practically lived
at our house when they were growing up.

Chris Los, John's college roommate will be coming from
Washington DC with his wife Julie. It will be good to see these boys
together now that they have all grown into handsome
men.

Rachel's sister Sarah and her mom Diane look a bit
alike and we took lots of snaps. Rachel's brother Mark
looks like her dad.

Weddings are always such interesting events, where all
the families mesh together finding common ground and
living the excitement of the occasion.

John said after the bride and groom dance together, he
and I were to dance the mother/son dance together. On
My.!. I'm not sure which of us has more left feet.
In his home he has this great large bedroom with a
hard wood floor. We rolled up the rug and practiced
in our stocking feet. John's been taking lessons. I
still like to watch my feet just in case feet aren't
where expected. Stan joined in with a polka.
After a few times hopping and skipping around to
the beat, John said, "This really wears you out."

Well that's why they call it
exercise and a way to have fun at the same time.

I'll let you know how the dancing went at the wedding.
Joyce

10-06-2006 I Do I Do I Do

2007-11-27T07:38:00.001-08:00

October 6, 2006 John and Rachel said their vows to
tie the knot nice and tight.

A few traditions were skipped or modified to make the
evening a fun event to remember.

A couple of hours before the wedding, the wedding
party and parents all gathered at the beautiful
setting for the reception at Glen Magna Farms to take wedding photos in
the gardens filled with arches, lush green foliage with
paths lined with rose bushes in full bloom with
delicate pink roses. It was chilly to say the least
with the nearby ocean breeze letting us know fall was
in the air.

We then hurried to the church following Rachel's
brother Mark through back streets of Marble head in
as there were streets filled with cars on this Friday
afternoon. The church was filled with about 100
people. We were a few minutes or more late. The
priest commented to Rachel, "I wasn't sure you were
coming." Rachel quietly whispered to him, "Traffic."

The love and affection that Rachel and John have for
each other was apparent as they both repeated their
vows. A touching moment for us.

The church full of guests all scurried through crowded
meandering streets with changing names to the
reception. The place was an old farm mansion with
great stately pillars on the outside and sweeping
spiral staircase in the entry. There were several
rooms filled with tables for guests with the porch or
veranda available for dancing. People filled the
space and mingled around as waiters carried appetizer
delights such as thumb sized delicate flaky pastry
filled with pear and brie, cheese stuffed mushroom
caps, bacon wrapped scallops and thinly sliced chicken
on a stick with mustard sauce. I need my own waiter
with the silver plate full of delights from here on
in. This was such a relief from that stuffy reception
line that was eliminated as it gave Rachel and John a
chance to mingled with the guests and welcome each one
personally.

We all settled down for a scrumptious dinners of melt in
you mouth beef tenderloin, chicken with asparagus or
mushroom stuffed ravioli. Rachel and John cut the
cake with respectful bites to each other. The cake
was then moved to its own room to be served to the
guests at their leisure along with fresh fruit and
coffee.

John and Rachel\'s first dance was a pleasure for all
to watch and their practicing paid off with all the
added turns and dips that delighted the guests. It
brought a tear of emotion to both Stan and Sarah,
Rachel\'s sister who caught the moment together from
across the room.

Rachel danced with her Dad who had the dancing feet
of a pro. He told be later that he learned ballroom
dancing as a young child and that fact that he really
enjoyed it showed. John and I danced to a heart felt
song about life by the Beetles. It was so special
that he selected that one. Then the crowd filled with
a variety of music. When the guests stopped for a
break to each some cake, Stan too the opportunity to
have the DJ play a polka tune. To an almost empty
dance floor he hopped and stepped around the floor
with me and then his niece Mary Ann.

It was truly a wedding to remember.
line that was eliminated as it gave Rachel and John a
chance to mingled with the guests and welcome each one
personally.

We all settled down for a scrumptious dinners of melt in
you mouth beef tenderloin, chicken with asparagus or
mushroom stuffed ravioli. Rachel and John cut the
cake with respectful bites to each other. The cake
was then moved to its own room to be served to the
guests at their leisure along with fresh fruit and
coffee.

John and Rachel's first dance was a pleasure for all
to watch and their practicing paid off with all the
added turns and dips that delighted the guests. It
brought a tear of emotion to both Stan and Sarah,
Rachel's sister who caught the moment together from
across the room.

Rachel danced with her Dad who had the dancing feet
of a pro. He told be later that he learned ballroom
dancing as a young child and that fact that he really
enjoyed it showed. John and I danced to a heart felt
song about life by the Beatles. It was so special
that he selected that one. Then the crowd filled with
a variety of music. When the guests stopped for a
break to each some cake, Stan too the opportunity to
have the DJ play a polka tune. To an almost empty
dance floor he hopped and stepped around the floor
with me and then his niece Mary Ann.

It was truly a wedding to remember.

-Joyce