Sue and Norman

Margaret and Sue

Sue, Margaret, Rose

Wanted to post some news about Fat Jack. He's my friend that I worked with at Midwest Recovery. We had many, many good times together. It was the most interesting and likeable job I ever had, and I'd like nothing better than to be able to go back and work with Jack and Marvin, the owner of the company, again. Of course, things and times have changed. Marvin has retired and, according to Jack, he and his wife travel a lot. I'm not able to go back to work, and neither is Jack.

Goldman took me over to Belleville yesterday evening to see Jack. He's been recently moved to Willowcreek Rehab Nursing Facility on Main Street in Belleville, Ill. He went there from St. Anthony's Hospital in Alton where the doctors told the family that they didn't think he would be with us much longer. They told his son and daughter this almost two weeks ago. He was still needing some breathing assistance yesterday with some apparatus, but was able to sit up on the side of his bed and eat his dinner. He can still be rightfully be called 'Fat Jack'. There are those of you who probably remember his singing at Den's funeral and at Den's and my wedding. The breathing apparatus was interfering with his talking yesterday, but I'm hoping he won't need it much longer. Chris is going to take me back to see him again tomorrow for our Thursday outing. Chris and I will have dinner somewhere between here and Belleville.

I had a great email from my longtime friend from GMAC. I oft-times called her Lizbeth. She had to move to Chicago to keep her job with GMAC after 28 years or lose her retirement benefits. Her husband is self employed and stayed here. They travel back and forth when they can.. I've probably put all this in the blog before but GM used to be such a great company to work for that it's hard to believe how they are now. Now Liz is down to 30 weeks before she reaches her 30 years and will lose all her benefits if she retires now. She says rumors about the future of the company and the employees are flying. Some employee downsizing and some office closings. Not what she wants to hear, for sure. Sad, sad to hear.

Liz has two sons, Josh and Tommy. I know I've written about them before, but they are men now. I've known Liz and Dave since before these guys were born. Josh is in his last year at Logan Chiroptactory School. He passed his Comprehensive Boards last week so now he has his student license and will practice on real patients on a daily basis. The pain I get in my leg may be from arthritis in my back so I'm going to ask my primary care physician if seeing a chiropractor might help and possibly see Josh.

Tommy is a senior at Mizzou. He began his radiology program in June and loves it. He works in a hospital a lot and finds the classroom BORING!. He and his girlfriend of six years recently broke up, and he's finding that playing the field is pretty interesting.

Their family dog recently died. Dave works out of their home here in St. Louis and Max (the dog) was his constant companion. I'm not a dog lover but I know how hard this loss is for Dave, but it does free him up to go see Liz in Chicago. I like for her to come to St. Louis so the three of us can do something together. Liz says she keeps up with me and mine through the blog so I hope I have more frequent emails from her.

Joe is going to get one of his kids to send pictures of Dave's 44th birthday celebration which was last weekend. Margaret just called and asked me to ride over to the commisary at Scott AFB with them in the morning. I'll get Rose to get some pictures of them when they pick me up. I hope Donald and Vita are taking a lot of photos in Europe and send us some. Mark and Karen leave either today tomorrow for their trip to Italy. They know how much we enjoy pictures.

Peggy, nurse in neurology

Sue

Sue

Rose

I'm behind again in my postings but so is everyone else. I have to go way back to a week ago Saturday. Rose and Shirley went to Chicago and Goldman and I dropped them at the airport. We proceeded to St. Charles where Goldman helped Shirley's nephew and wife, Michael and Leslie, move into a place over there. It was a hot day and not a good day fot that chore. I went along just because they weren't sure they all knew each other and, of course, wasn't able to be of any help but do think I managed to keep out of the way.

Chris and Shelly and I went out to dinner that evening and Chris spent both Saturday and Sunday nights with me. He (and other people) are insistent that I can't spend a night alone and I am sure I would have no trouble at all. Everyone takes such good and protective care of me. Chris went in to work late Monday morning so we could go to a Costco drugstore to pick up a prescription that I needed. He took me to one of his and Shelly's favorite plkaces for lunch and I agree with them - It is a great place. I hope we go back soon. He's not too good at making coffee in our pot though. He was glad there's a a Starbucks nearby. Shirley got home Monday afternoon and Rose got back Tuesday afternoon.

The Hollensbes had me over for dinner on Thursday. Suzanne works near here and picked me up on her way home. Doug had already fed Josie and Lukas when we got there and we hardly saw the kids while I was there. When I went in Lukas's room to say good-by as I was leaving (he was playing on his computer as he had been all evening), he looked up and said "Bye, I love you, Granny." He wasn't prompted or anything. It almost made me cry.

I guess Donald and Vita met up with Caitlin in Florence last Saturday. Janet says Caitlin will be there until around Christmas and then finish her up at Gonzaga in Spokane with a degree in Public Relations. Mark and Karen leave this week for their bicycle tour in Italy but I'm not sure if they'll be in Florence any time. They'll be with a bicycle tour group part of the time and have promised to keep in touch. I think Donald and Vita are going on to France for several days.

It was a baseball weekend around here. It turns out I was the only Cardinal fan in this household. Both Rose and Shirley were rooting for the Cubs - the underdog - but to no avail. Rose went to bed last night thinking the Cubs had lost that game too but had a surprise awaiting her this morning. The Cubs are so far behind it certainly didn't hurt to let them have one win to sorta save face, so to speak.

Joe's David celebrated his 44th last week and I've asked Joe to send me some more details about the occasion. He told me on IM but I am forgetful. I know they went to a show at Branson and also had a party but need more news. They sat by a guy from Idaho Falls at Branson. Our small world. (Goldman thinks Pete must know everyone from Idaho.) Joe sees Sean and runs into Aunt Virginia's sister and they both say Aunt Virginia is doing fine.

These are photos from town where Pete and Janet have their second home. I've understood from them that it is desert country normally--hot and dry.

We had this lovely e-mail from niece Jana:

From: jjemoore@gmail.com
To: MarthaBoaz@aol.com
Sent: 9/10/2009 10:45:52 P.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: (no subject)

hi aunt sue - i've been reading the blog - sounds like you had a good time with jalen and braden. we've been busy here - seems like something is going on every weekend. opening day for kstate football was over labor day and we had a blast tailgating then irish fest on sunday then john's grandparent's house on monday. this weekend ellie has a birthday party to go to and we are going to verticut and seed our lawn and get my flower beds ready to plant perinails.I don't think we have a free weekend until late october!!! Did I tell you that we started a blog? the address is jjekmoore.blogspot.com

A lot time ago, my mom suggested that I keep a journal of all the cute things ellie does. so i did in a word document on my computer then decided to transfer it all to a blog so john and i could update it at all times and others could read it too. we try not to put too much on there though b/c then we don't have anything to talk about when we see his family - they already know it all!!!!

Kaitlyn had her 4 month check up and she is doing great except for her weight - she only gained 1 pound since her 2 month check up. we started her on cereal and are giving her formula during the day starting next week. hopefully she can put some meat on her bones!

Tell Aunt Rose and Shirley hello for us - we do miss them. Have a great weekend - are you going to the lake?

==========

Here is the web address for the John and Jana Moore Family Blog: jjekmoore.blogspot.com

Love,
Jana

O.K. So we lifted these off of Facebook. They are: a photo of our lovely niece Sandi from Portland, OR AND Sue's son Mark and his wife Karen who live in St Louis and were riding 200 miles in Columbia, MO last weekend, raising money for MS.

I want to start off early this morning cause I type so slowly it may take me a long time, and I have a lot to write about! Let me go to Idaho first. Pete called Saturday with his weekly report and check-in. It was the weekend of Janet's 55th high school class reunion, and I heard from Janet after the weekend that a good time was had by all'.

Pete wanted to brag some about his granddaughter, Caitlin. I'm bragging about my great niece. Caitlin is a junior at Gonzaga University majoring in public relations. She is finished with her preschool year school tour and settled into Florence. She was meeting Donald and Vita in Florence last Saturday--her Great Aunt and Uncle. We've added this beautiful picture of her.

Caitlin's mother, Nancy, was born the year I lived out there with Pete and Janet. I babysat Nancy and Kelly while Janet taught piano lessons. It was 1959 and I wasn't old enough to drive in Missouri but was old enough to drive in Idaho. They had a 1954 Ford with a clutch. I not only learned to drive, I learned some new words! I still use some of these words and expressions. It was Pete who was the teacher, not Janet. She's probably been exposed to this language too.

Fall is coming. The leave outside are falling and turning. Yesterday Karen and I went to the Boat House in Forest Park for lunch. We didn't sit outside because the wait was too long, but it may be one of the last few days nice enough to do so. She and Mark biked in the MS150 in Columbia this past weekend. Mark did a total of 200 miles and Karen did 160 total. They're off to Italy next week and are taking thir bikes and to bike with a group part of the time they're there. They're doing a biathalon this weekend. I'm not even sure how to spell it!

I'm back today with an update on some other family members. Also, still waiting on updates from others!

Rose and Shirley both have to go to Chicago this weekend. It's going to be a beautiful weekend here, but don't think anyone can go to the lake with me. If I'm wrong, just call me. Ding and I are going out tonight for our Thursday night dinner. I was up to 20 minutes on the exercise bicycle this morning and am going to try to ride it again. When I try to walk any distance for exercise, I get pain in my left leg now. Before it was my right leg. Don't know what they'll try next.

Margaret is seeing a specialist on the 16th about the problem she is having and awful pain in the ankle that she broke before. She saw one specialist on Tuesday and she said that, except for the pain, she would have been tempted to break the other one just to see him again. He was a real cutie. He says the problem is largely arthritis, and it's bone against bone since the cartilege is all gone. Sabrina went with her on Tuesday. She says she usually takes one of the girls since her memory isn't quite what it used to be. I know how being in the doctor's office can bring up anxiety that gets in the way!

The specialist will give her some options. It may be some medication, but perhaps the inevitable will be total ankle replacement or something like that. Meanwhile she says she's gimping around. She says she's thinking of all the money she might be winning if she could go to the Casino!

A quick addon before I go to bed. I wanted to tell this cute story about Brayden but had to ask Scott's permission before I posted it. Brayden does read the blog and, remember, he does NOT have any girlfriends.

A little girl named Olivia sits by Brayden on the schoolbus everyday. He has told me several times that she is NOT his girlfriend. Josie Hollensbe is the six year old FRIEND of his that lives here, and he always likes to play with her when he is here in St. Louis or when they're both at the lakehouse. They are all six are and all three just started first grade. Scott was talking to him one day about their upcoming lake trip and started to ask him something "Brayden, have you told Olivia. . . . . ?" Before Scott could finish his question (and this wasn't going to be what he was going to ask Brayden about), Brayden responded "Yes, Dad, I've told Olivia about Josie!"

I'm not sure how to end this since Brayden will be reading this and WILL NOT want me to imply that either of these two girls are girlfriends. They're just FRIENDS, really great friends..

I'm behind on my updates but so is everyone else. I'll go back to Thursday before the holiday. Mad Dog picked me up in the afternoon and we hurried down to the lakehouse to get ahead of the holiday traffic. He went over to see his Dad and brought back Steak and Shake for dinner. It was the only quiet evening. Doug arrived with a carload of 'stuff' on Thursday, part of which they called a carport. Anytime we had any rain, Doug, et. al., would jump in and erect it so we could sit outside and wouldn't get rained on, though it didn't rain much. Mark Lary and Karen arrived next, I believe. Then I'm not sure who came next. Goldman and his girlfriend, another Suzanne with her three, Ethan, Tim and Mattie, were slowed down by the holiday traffic as were Suzanne Hollensbe with Lukas and Josie. But we waited dinner for them. Scott and the boys popped in sometime in the middle of the night as did Beth, an old friend of Scott's from Kansas City. They were so late I got up next morning to make sure they were there. I was so sound asleep I didn't hear the last ones come in, and I think Brayden and Jalen slept with me. I think I counted everyone. If I've forgotten anybody, I apologize.

Saturday the action started. Those who've been there have seen what we call the "Red Thing". It's this big inflatable tube that will hold three people. A rope attches to the bottom of it and to the back of the boat. Three kids have to take turns riding on it. There's always a waiting line, so to speak. Once I counted nine kids in the boat with Scott and Doug. There were seven of my houseguests and two neighbor kids. The old Bayliner boat doesn't look so good but it sure serves the purpose. It had riders as long as they could find drivers.

Fishing was good, too. Doug cooked up a mess of crappie Sunday affternoon and also had enough to take some home in the cooler for his parents. I don't know how many of the kids fished, but I know Doug made at least two trips for minnows. He probably cleaned them all too. The kids just took credit.

Mark and Karen brought an inflatable kayak. It's huge and I guess the size of a real one. It will easily hold two edults. At first the kids seemed reluctant to get on it but soon they were, again, standing in line. Mark and Karen must have made it look fun. One time Josie, Mark and Brayden were on it. They got Mark to sit 'in the middle'. This was so Brayden could set in back and steer. I hope there are some pictures of all this. Mark took some and maybe others did too.

We did lots of eating and snacking. Karen and Mark rode their bikes 27 miles Saturday and 58 miles on Sunday. They're getting ready to ride in MS150 in Columbia next weekend so were just getting a little exercise. Karen came by this morning here at home to pick up some stuff she'd forgotten and said she thought she had gained 5 pounds over the weekend. I don't see how that was possible with all her exercise. I don't think she has weighed since they're back.

We did do a lot of eating but not at the table. It was filled with computers What smart kids we have today!! My computer was on a shelf because there wasn't room on the table where I usually set it when we're not using the table. They all know how to use the computers and also know how to share. They use these little hand held things. They rig up stuff to the TV. I tell them I had to walk 10 miles in the snow to change channels. Then I tell them the truth. Some of that time we didn't even have a TV. They don't believe me either way. It's "Oh, Granny".

As we used to read in the Marshfield Mail "A good time was had by all." Now let's have some pictures and other updates to confirm it.

I need to get my posting caught up with the pictures. Last Thursday, the 27th, Mark Lary took 'me out to the ballgame'. First we went to lunch at a nearby place called Winslow's Home. It's just up on Delmar and not far grom home. The food was great, and I'd like to go back sometime and just look around. They had lots of things on display but we were short on time. When we got to the ballpark Mark dropped me off as close as he could get and parked while I waited. Needless to say, the Cardinals lost, but I had a great afternoon. I was able to walk back to the car with no problem, and the walk wasn't very far for me. Maybe I'm better than I thought.

I no sooner got home than Ding picked me up for our usual Thursday night dinner. He's still on his raw food diet so we went to the Olive Garden to eat. I missed Karen in the afternoon and Shelly in the evening. We'll have to have an excursion without the guys soon.

On Friday Rose and I picked up Brayden and Jalen halfway over from Louisville. They were more excited about seeing the Hollensbes than seeing us three old ladies, so the boys and I spent the night with the Hollensbes on Friday night. We all went to Skyzone with Aunt Rose on Saturday. As Rose, Suzanne, and I watched at Skyzone, we couldn't figure out what was so exciting about jumping around on trampolines, but all four of them loved it. Again on Sunday we took the boys halfway to Louisville and I bet they slept the second half of the trip. They were exhausted from all their good time.

They've just found out that Aaron, Den's son, was born with one kidney and that kidney has been overworked for 34 years. He will need a transplant within the next two years. Let's all keep him in our prayers.

Sabrina and Dave and their boys and two of the boys friends went down to the lakehouse this weekend. Sabrina said they had a wonderful time but would have had a better time if I had been with them. I hope she didn't say that just to make me feel good. I didn't go because Brayden and Jalen were going to be here. Otherwise, you couldn't have kept me away.