Saturday, August 27, 2005

You can reach Sue at (314) 452-3685 or (314) 726-2032. You can write to her c/o Rose Holt, 905 Barnard College Lane, St. Louis, MO 63130


Hi, it's Rose with a brief update. Margaret called this morning to say Norman's medical problem, the one that landed him in hospital on Monday, is congestive heart failure. Fortunately, it is treatable with medication. He will probably come home on Monday. There is also the possibility that he has developed diabetes. More about all this as Margaret updates us.

On the other 'bad news' front, Robbie's mother is still in the hospital but seems to be doing o.k. The problem with her sounds more like hospital/medical ineptitude and inefficiency than some kind of life-threatening injury.

Sue is at the lake this weekend with various friends and family. She and Doug drove there together yesterday morning, and Stef and family went after Jacob got out of school. When I talked with Sue and Stef this morning, they were on that beautiful deck enjoying their morning coffee and some great weather.

We have some great photos to post as time permits. The uploading of each one is slow, hence the delay in getting them 'blogged.'

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

You can reach Sue at (314) 452-3685 or (314) 726-2032. You can write to her c/o Rose Holt, 905 Barnard College Lane, St. Louis, MO 63130



A quick update. This has been another whirlwind period. For those who haven't heard, Norman is in the hospital with pneumonia. He went in through the ER on Monday night and was admitted. He is receiving lots of IV antibiotics and will probably go home on Friday.

In other breaking news, Dan, Stephanie's husband, had some kind of allergic reaction, and he, too, was taken to the ER in an ambulance on Tuesday. Fortunately, he was treated immediately and released. Stephanie is now equipped with some kind injection treatment should Dan have this happen again.

Still other news, not good, is that Robbie's mother was in a serious accident and is in intensive care in Arizona where she lives. Robbie is Catrina's husband. We got this news only this evening, and haven't heard any updates yet.

Monday as Shirley was traveling from their apartment to the Chicago Midway Airport by train, a couple took her purse by opening her suitcase while the three of them were on an escalator. Shirley confronted them, but they still escaped. Fortunately, Shirley had her airline info and identification in a pocket so she was able to get on her flight to St. Louis. She has spent the last two days cancelling and replacing all the things she lost. The man of the thieving couple had only one foot. Chris, when he and I called for Shirley at the airport, immediately likened her situation to the Fugitive. Rose, who was still in Chicago, spent her train trip to Midway on Tuesday looking at men's feet. Alas, the thieves got away! So far, all they managed to accomplish was buying a tank of gas (big bucks these days!) on Shirley's debit card.

On a lighter note, last week at the lake was one wonderful time. Sabrina, Dave, Brett, and Alex were there all week. Rose came for a couple of days. Joe Felin and the great dog Pepper came for dinner a week ago Saturday. Jana and John were there the first weekend. Margaret and Norm came on Tuesday and stayed until Friday. Maddog was there off and all for the entire ten days. Doug, Suzanne, Lucas, and Josie came for this past weekend. Needless to say, it was a full and richly rewarding time. I enjoyed it immensely! The new wave runner is a running machine and was well broken in by the time we left.

On Sunday I went to Catrina's for a dinner she and Robbie had in celebration of Margaret and Norm's wedding anniversary. I went home with the Abbott's where Chris called for me on Monday.

The plan for the coming weekend is that Dan and Stef, Nathan, Jacob, and Nicole will spend the weekend at the lake. We will go there on Friday. Doug and Maddog will be there both nights and will participate in a "Toys for Tots" golf benefit on Saturday.
This is a photo Sabrina sent us of her mother. The date is incorrect.

















Norm's sister Emma and their niece Joyce














Erica, Lizzie, and Amanda

Monday, August 15, 2005


Brayden and Jalen Posted by Picasa

Jalen who loves music  Posted by Picasa

Brayden Posted by Picasa

Jalen and Brayden Posted by Picasa

Jalen and Brayden Posted by Picasa
Scott called just now to clarify my account of his and his sons' near-miss disaster. In both cases it was a full tree that fell over. The first tree narrowly missed their tent while the three of them were riding out the storm at the campground clubhouse. Later, during a second storm while they were IN THEIR TENT, another tree broke off nearby. Fortunately, it splintered high enough that their tent was in the triangle formed by the trunk of the tree and the broken part. Had the break been lower or higher, they would have been crushed. Both trees were about 2 1/2 feet in diameter--no twigs, for sure! [Jalen, in his account to Sue, told her, "They were 80 to 60 feet high!"] Scott said a man camping nearby came over after both incidents. The first time, he told Scott it was a miracle they were spared. The second time, the guy helped Scott get himself and the kids out of the tent, then went back to pack up his own family and get out of there. Jalen has declared he is NEVER going camping again.
You can reach Sue at (314) 452-3685 or (314) 726-2032. You can write to her c/o Rose Holt, 905 Barnard College Lane, St. Louis, MO 63130


It's Rose here with a brief update. We've had several people ask about the blog, why there have been no entries for so long. All I can say is that we have been extremely busy here in the heartland.

Sue spent several days at the lake for the annual "Kids' Week" gathering. She and I returned to the Lake last Friday evening (August 12) where she is now with Sabrina and Family for this coming week. On Saturday Jana and John, newly-wed over the Fourth of July Weekend, came for two days. Jana is the daughter of Bobby, our nephew who died suddenly and far too young 13 years ago. Bobby was the son of our brother Bob. Jana and John both live in the St. Louis area where she works for a recruiting firm and he for Cooper Industries.

The wave runner proved to be a popular 'toy.' John is a great guy with kids, so he and Sabrina's sons, Brett and Alex, spent a lot of time in the lake running about about on and behind the thing. Jana and John went out on it and got lost just as a big rain storm moved in. Luckily, they found their way home safely because Jana knew the mile marker where the house is located.

Brother Joe came to the Lake to have dinner with us Saturday evening. We had a great catch-up visit with him. Joe told us Brother Donald was in a car accident recently and, luckily, escaped uninjured even though the car did not. All the airbags inflated which may have been the saving grace.

Margaret and Norm will spend some time mid-week at the Lake. The anticipation for Margaret's fried chicken is running high.

Shirley was in Louisiana for her family's annual reunion. I came home from the lake in time to call for her at the airport. We have had stormy, rainy weather here for two days now which has provided some much-needed water for the area. My drive yesterday, which normally takes 2 1/2 hrs (for everybody but Chris' Shelly!), took me almost four because of the rain and some accidents. Margaret called me as I was driving to tell me she had heard reports of huge slow-downs on Hiway 70. I was in one of them when she called. There was so much traffic yesterday that I actually had to wait in line to buy gasoline at Kingdom City--even with the price at an all-time high. It is one of those curious ironies that I, who have had small cars my entire life, should buy a gas-guzzling SUV at the precise moment gasoline prices skyrocket!

Chris and Shelly and two of their friends went to Chicago this past weekend where they stayed in our apartment. They went to a Cardinals-Cubs game on Saturday and got to see the Cards win one. [Truth is, the Cards rarely lose but did drop three of the four against the Cubs in this most recent series.] Chris and Shelly are great bikers so they took their bicycles to ride on the Lake Michigan stretch of park which runs miles south of our apartment and is breathtakingly beautiful. It is also very, very flat! I took my bike to the Lake where it is also breathtakingly beautiful AND breathtakingly hilly! There are now biking/hiking trails alongside the roads at Sue's house which make the riding safe and provide some of the most glorious biking I've enjoyed yet.

Scott called last evening to report a harrowing experience he and his sons had. They were camping at a park in Kentucky when a storm came through. Scott took the boys to the camp clubhouse to wait out the storm. When they returned to their site after the storm passed, they discovered a huge tree had fallen, narrowly missing their tent. Later another storm came through. The three went into the tent to escape the rain. A huge limb broke off a tree nearby and fell OVER THEIR TENT. The great fortune, truly a saving grace, was that the limb formed a triange over the tent, otherwise they would have been crushed. Scott said he put the boys in their truck, gathered all the wet gear, threw it in the back, and headed home. When he called 15 minutes later, he was still quite shaken. I am shaken now, just writing about it!

We certainly appreciate receiving family news to post here. If anyone provides e-mail updates for us, I'll post them even in Sue's absence. Sabrina has photos which she has promised for blog-posting, and I'll add some from Jalen and Braden's recent visit when I get time.