Mind=Blown

Overheard at the gym-

(Man), "I only saw one statue of Mary on my

trip to Europe! It was in Budapest."

(Woman), "One is enough."

I presume that these folks celebrate Christmas,

like a boss!

I also presume that if they do not have a derivative

of the name Mary in their own name, they surely

know someone who does. Women AND men.

I am proud to say that I was named after the 

Mother of God.

I always want to think the best of people always, but

sometimes it is hard.

(The photo is from Lourdes. Because of the graciousness

of an atheist, I was able to visit this amazing place.)

Last Call

This will be the last week of

Corde' Perfusion LLC.

Bruce, Sandy, Mike & Dave, had

a good run for eleven years together.

I always thought that it really was a

miracle, that a small business like theirs

could make a go of it.

Now, those days have come to an end.

Well done.

Very well done.

38 Years & Counting

In good times and in bad. Check.

For richer or poorer. Check.

In sickness and in health. Check.

Our anniversary coincides with Dave's

retirement from a career that he loved.

I came in for a lot of criticism, because

'you didn't have to work.'

In truth, I would have preferred to work

outside the home. Work was hardwired into

me, after all, but we don't always get what

we want. 

Ye olde ball and chain, were always those 

three little words, 'I'm on call.'

The silver lining is this-

a lot of lives were saved, because he could

pick up and go at any hour of the day or night.

And yes, I would do it all again.

Edina-Morningside Nursery School

The scene of many happy memories.

All of our children went to this school, ages 3-5 or 6.

It was a short distance from our house and it was easy

for me to imagine that it was in a small town-like

Moose lake, Minnesota, where my Tomczak grand-

parents lived.

I was fortunate to know the feel of a small town and

feel a nostalgic pull always.

It was not a 'crack the whip' kind of school. Rather, it 

felt like a throwback to the 1950's and Mr. Rogers-like.

Yes, the scene of many happy memories.

Win-Win

On November 27th, 2015, Dave will retire from

a 40 year career as a Clinical Perfusionist.

Perfusionists fly under the radar, in a highly

technical role, during open heart surgery.

He will NOT be retiring from repairing

cars

lawn mowers

snow blowers

bicycles

and anything else that he can put his capable

hands to!

Here, he is tuning up a little girl's bike. Her

mother bought it on Craigslist for $20.

Enter Nextdoor.com, where she asked for someone

to tune it up.

I love it when everybody wins.

The Chancery

About once a month when I was growing up,

my dad would mention that he had to go to

the chancery office, for a meeting. Chancery is a

fancy word for "main office." It was located on

Dayton Avenue, by the Cathedral of St. Paul.

He was the Superintendent of Gethsemane 

Cemetery in New Hope. It did not pay much,

but he was the perfect person for the job. His

actual employer was the Archdiocese of St. 

Paul and Minneapolis.

I always wondered about this building.

I had never seen it until this photograph 

was published in a local newspaper.

A Mystery Wrapped in a Mystery

This photograph was taken in 1935.

My mother, the second from the right,

is 13 years old. I look exactly like her.

Despite many efforts to restore this picture,

nothing has worked so far.

Last May, 2014, I was putting away groceries,

when this photo, which is supposed to be in

my office, fell from my waist and fluttered

to my feet. It was not mangled in the slightest.

How?

Why?

What Remains

As this is not on our cabin property,

it is easy to overlook.

When we bought our place in 1981,

there were modest cabins on either

side of us. Today, there are very large,

homelike dwellings.

I like to imagine the thought and care

someone put into building this humble

stairway-now to nowhere-

in the 1920's.

Winston

Those eyes.

That snout.

Those ears!

Winston belongs to David's girlfriend Ari.

He is sitting in Grandpa John's chair at the cabin,

whilst a Scrabble game is in progress. Like a good boy.

Lovely Children

The Cubs. 2015 Edition.

Abbe, 33

Kathryn, 31,

Mary Kristin, 27

Jonathan, 25

David, 21

The occasion is a sibling reunion at

our cabin. I get a ridiculous amount

of pleasure knowing that they all

get along.

Black Capped Chickadee Eggs

The hatch failed because a wren wanted

to take over the nesting space and the

mother left.