Crime in Gridley

By Jerry
Yesterday, I mowed my yard between showers and knew that today I would need to go to the "Barn " (lawn Shed) that we have behind out house to do some maintance on my riding lawn mower. When I got home from volunteering at the hospital this afternoon, I went to the Barn w/o tools since all of my tools are already there on my work bench. I have a very large bright red Craftsman tool box with a drawer on the bottom. When I went to get the tools...everything was gone...box and all the tools. I really have no idea when they were stolen. It could have been sometime between November and now. I felt "violated" !!!!

I have applied for Elderly Stimulus financing uder Section 23.18 (d,c) of the federal stimulus package. I learned of this great progaram while watching Shawn Hannity. So if you were going to send items for repair my way, you will have to wait until my ship comes in. Senator Burris' ffice has assured me that I qualify...Wish me luck Thanks for letting me vent!!! Besides I was tired of the dogs!!! Jerry

I Want to Know

Would you rather:
Have a foot massage or an ice cream cone?
Give up indoor plumbing or give up your car?
Spend 8 hours hiking in the woods, or 8 hours in a shopping mall?
Be 16 or 60?
Be totally deaf,or full-time in a wheelchair?
Go to Israel or Hawaii?
Wear shoes too tight or go a day without your glasses or contacts?
Take a walk in the rain or swim in a lake?
Be 4'1" or 7'9"?
Run a mile or sit in a folding chair for 2 hours?
Find a lizard in your salad or have a fender bender on Veteran's Parkway?

(Dave and I made up these questions for our potluck group and enjoyed hearing everyone's answers. The last one...there was a lizard in an Applebee's salad in Bloomington this winter, and having a fender bender on Veteran's is a daily occurrence.)

What??

What does a Mom of 5 boys need to make her summer exciting??

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Sorry, but I'm tired of Kohlrabi although it was most interesting and made my mouth water.

We had a busy weekend with a grandparents day at Zac, Noah, and Mile's school. Each class performs with songs, poetry recitation, skits, etc. followed by room visits. It is always fun - an annual event and I think we've made it every year. The children, of course, are somewhat "squirrely" on that day as they are so excited with all the grandparents there. We took the boys and met Janice for lunch afterward.

We then spent the night at the Hilton Garden Inn where we went to dinner/theatre. An added benefit there was that there were three Proms that evening at the facility, so as we were eating dinner, which was just off the main foyer, we were entertained by the steady stream of young people entering the building in their formal attire. Oh to be young again!

Saturday, we stopped to visit a high school classmate of Jerry's for a couple hours then went to Vernon Hills where we went to Owen's first communion. He looked very charming in his black suit and tie. He was very excited about his big event and enjoyed all the attention from both the Christensen and Michaelis families.

Today I'm going to help a lady piece a quilt together - might replace her in doing that for the world relief quilts, but I want to see how difficult it is.

Kohlrabi Post #2

This morning Mike and I went to the annual spring plant sale, put on by the horticulture department at Clemson University. It's the first time we've gone - Mike was looking mainly for some shrubs and perennials. I wandered to the one small area that had annuals - and there was a sign, kohlrabi plants $1!!! The lady said that all I need to do is grow them a little longer and then each one will be edible, without ever transplanting. She also said that the leaves are edible, cooked like turnip greens. Did any of you ever cook the leaves?

Anyway - I will soon find out the joys of eating kohlrabi, and will be sure to let you know the results. :-)

Gall Bladder and Fire

What's a bad one feel like? I've been having stomach pains since my "chest pains" and this morning woke up with chest pains, stomach pains. After I puked I've felt better. "Everybody" says "It's your gall bladder". Could it be? Guess I better go back to the doctor.

Maybe it's because Retta and I didn't eat supper till 10:00 last night. We were going on a date night last night, but stopped at the home (former) of a young couple who periodically attend our Sunday School class. Ryan and Alisha (expecting) and their 2 small children lived with Ryan's parents Tony & Dyphne and Tony's elderly mother Jesse. Yesterday afternoon, someone set fire to their home for "unknown" reasons. Alisha, the children and Jesse were inside the house.

Jesse died last night due to severe burns experienced in the fire and everything was also lost in the fire. After praying with them, Retta and I diverted to a local church who collects clothes, etc for those in need and aquired clothing for the family to get them by for a couple days. We went back and spent some more time with them and then finally made it out to "Logan's" for a very late dinner. Please keep this family in your prayers as they deal with this tradegy and the fact that someone else purposely caused this great pain in their family. EDK

HERMAN MILLER

We are spending the night at the Hilton Garden Inn in Oakbrook. I am sitting in the ergonomic Mirra chair by Herman Miller. It's not too comfortable right now, but I will try to figure out how to make the necessary adjustments and it will probably be so comfortable that I'll fall asleep as I type. Anybody ever hear of this Herman Miller company??????

Please Pray for Kayleen

Many of you know my in-laws, Ron and Kayleen H. This week, Kayleen was diagnosed with breast cancer. She will be facing surgery on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. We don't know very much at this point, but prayers for recovery and for decisions about a treatment plan would be appreciated.

Kohlrabi

I got my groceries at Meijer today and while I was in the produce section I diverted from my list and bought something unusual - kohlrabi. When I saw it there I couldn't pass it up. It brought back many memories of Grandpa and Grandma Klop planting them in our garden in Gridley. There was nothing better on a summer day than a nice crisp slice of kohlrabi and a glass of sweet tea.

I was excited to get started on a garden this year since we have the space for it, but I'm just not sure where to put it at. Hopefully by next summer we'll have our 'homestead' more established and I'll be able to find the best spot for it. So I'm dedicating this summer to research.

Which leads me to my questions for you... who all out there has a garden, what do you plant in it, and what do you do with it (eat it fresh, freeze, or can)? What have you found to be your favorite, easiest, or most prosperous plant? Please share!

Yeah Amber!

Who would have guessed you can take piano lessons over the phone? That’s exactly what Amber and I have been doing for the past few months. She has almost learned all the pieces in Book I and just finished the first piano theory book in about a week! I’m very proud of her!

APRIL IN ILLINOIS

We just had a quick spurt of pea-sized hail - but now, 10 minutes later, the sun is shining. You can see the small ice on our deck covering an old rug that blew off the lattice and a pile of shingles that blew off the roof a couple weeks ago.
Here you can see a light showing of small white hail among my beautiful first-year tulips.

CONCERT

We went to a performance by the Gridley Community Choir tonight at the old Gridley High Gymnasium - now the EPG Jr. High Gym. It was beautiful music directed by Eric Zehr and Lowell Litwiller. The choir had about 60 singers from Gridley.

The first half of the program was Christian Easter-related songs including He Rose Triumphantly, I believe in a Hill Called Mount Calvary, We Shall Behold Him. The audience joined in the singing of Just as I Am, and Revive us Again.

The second Half of the program began with a Color Guard bringing flags down the aisle and a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. The Choir sang The Star Spangled Banner followed by A Tribute to the Armed Services during which veterans and/or families of the appropriate branch of the armed forces stood. They sang a few more songs ending with Let There Be Peace on Earth and The Blessing of Aaron.

It was truly a blessed evening - both spiritually and patriotically! Love you all - wish you could've been here.

Spring Crisis!

Well, I haven't been running like some of you, or even walking actually, and as hard as I try, I can't seem to stay dieting for more than a week or two at a time. Now it's time to get into the "next season" closet, and I'm NOT looking forward to it. This picture came out of an "Over the Hill" book Gloria gave me...maybe I'll post some more soon.

Stepping in to say "Hi!"

Hello everyone! We hope you all had a happy Easter. We celebrated both Easter and Zion's first birthday - fun times!

Love to all,

Cathy

ENJOY SPRING GARDEN PRODUCTS WITH US! THE SECRET TO GARDENING!

Here it is--middle of April and there's nothing like fresh garden produce. Yep, we're enjoying the tasty fresh radishes and the related spring garden atmosphere. The big, absolute enjoyment is fresh STRAWBERRIES!!! And the berries of themselves are BIG--like, if you placed your thumbs together it would be about one and one-half inches wide. And FLAVOR--absolutely the best especially with Mim's homemade shortcake topped with cool whip. You all come visit us and we can partake together (Reservations are open). The secret to the best in gardening is to simply go to the Farmer's Market. There are no back aches, grunts, groans, strained muscles, aggravations, irritations--just carry some cash with you.

ANYBODY THERE??

Here I am again, reporting the events of my exciting life. Yesterday I spent most of the day sorting, pitching, and recycling clothes. I ended up with two garbage bags for Goodwill and will probably have another bag of Jerry's things when I get to them.

Today is a gorgeous day of sunshine and 60ish temperatures. I went for a 20-minute walk around the walking path in the park this morning. I HAVE to lose the 7-8 lbs I've gained during the last year. My blood sugar is up on a daily basis so I know the AIC count will be up when I go for testing in late May. However, if I start walking EVERY day and QUIT eating candy and other junk, I might lose weight and get the counts back to normal. That's my goal. The secondary motivation is that maybe my clothes will fit comfortably again.

Jerry had fluid drained from his hip yesterday -- feels much better today and is walking well. Interesting. We're hoping to get the test results by the middle of next week. He's outside "servicing" the riding mower right - can't wait to get that thing going!

Oh - he just came in the house singing "I dreamed I was there in Hillbilly Heaven . . ." (I might get in trouble for that one!)

Larry the Lobster

All this talk about Flat Stanely has reminded me of Larry the Lobster. In 2004, while on a business trip to South Africa for 10 days to investigate the purchase of leather seating components from that country, one of the ladies from Auburn Hills MI brought along "Larry the Lobster". Larry was a school project for her 4th grade neighbor. Larry was to be handed off from person to person and then the person who had Larry was supposed to photograph Larry in his environment, email the picture detailing the photo and the location back to the teacher and then hand Larry off to someone else for his next adventure. Below are some of the pictures we took of Larry.

Larry left South Africa with Thomas on an airplane bound for Germany. This week I've wondered where Larry ended up, if he traveled more than the other lobsters in the class and just how surprised the teacher or students were with his travels. Thanks for listening (or should I say reading)!! EDK

Flat Stanley on the move

Flat Stanley sure does get around, although he is wearing different clothes (guess he needed a change). I just now met him on www.Answersingenesis.org in an article "Flat Stanley goes to the Creation Museum." Not only does he get around but he appears to be blessed with eternal youth! Mim--still interested in kids and education.

Brett finished!

Brett finished the Illinois Marathon with a time of 5:21:18. He struggled a bit in the second half and ended up slower than he had hoped, but he finished. Coach Paul and Coach Terry both worked with him to keep him going. Here is Brett and Coach Paul crossing the finish line on the scoreboard screen.

We Did It!

From Illinois Half Marathon

Angela and I both finished the Illinois Half-Marathon in Champaign yesterday. It was a beautiful day for running - a little cool to start but bright sunshine and a good crowd. The course wound through Campustown, Urbana, and Champaign so I had lots of time to think of the great memories I have of going to school there. We ran by my Freshman dorm, Everett Lab (home of Elec. Engr.), and Jason's house. The highlight may have been finishing on the 50 yard line at Memorial Stadium!

The night before the race we ate at Papa Del's pizza which always makes me think of Larry. Mom & Dad took us to visit him while he was at U of I and we got Papa Del's carry out and ate back at the Brown House. It was my first experience with Chicago-style pan pizza and I could not believe how thick it was.

Oh, and I ran into Tim, Cathy, and Jen waiting for Brett (who was running the FULL marathon!). Hopefully we'll get an update from them here also.

Busy Day

Well, I'm feeling great. I'm not sure if it's a result of the Nexum I'm taking for reflux or if it's a result of having two days off last week and this week being out of the plant on a business trip to GM Shreveport LA for 1 1/2 days and having Friday off. The off time has helped with the stress I'm sure.

We had a busy day today. Retta and Amber went to a jelly bean hunt put on by the Children's department at church. Chris and I took some drywall, insulation & tiles back to Lowe's that were left over from our water damage project. While there, we stocked up pool chemicals and got supplies for several projects around the house.

After the girls got back, we hauled our old couches and a bunch of "stuff" up to church for our missions garage sale that will be held next Saturday. After that, Retta and I worked on the pool, cleaning the filter, skimming the surface and pumping in a bunch more chemicals with hopes of it being clear by the time it's warm enough to swim. It won't be long. It actually hit 90 here yesterday afternoon for a few minutes.

I ran the weed eater and then we installed a new storm door on our back porch and put a dog door in the new storm door. That was about enough for the day and now we are relaxing a bit prior to bed.

Obviously by the activities we got done today, I'm feeling better! Oh, and I got my cholesterol results. Believe it or not, my cholesterol is good, but my Triglycerides are too high so I've started a medicine to bring them down. EDK

Tornadoes in the South

Once again tornadoes were headed straight toward us and, thanks to the Lord, we were spared. We were glued to the TV to watch the progress of the storm and, armed with a windup radio and windup flashlight, were ready to head for our walk-in closet.
The storm then traveled to Atlanta and South Carolina, Mark and Ann areas. At 9:00PM Ann called that she and Mary Lee were sitting in the dark and without TV had no idea of what danger they were in. So we watched the weather channel to alert her if necessary. Thankfully, it wasn't. Tomorrow's weather is expected to be beautiful for Easter Sunday. Then possible storms again the next day! Incidentally, after a three year drought (but not nearly as severe as that in Ann's area) Alabama is for now considered to be drought free.
Hope you all have a blessed Easter. Medlens will be in Birmingham with Lindsay and Johnathon (yes, the "h" is in his name). So for one holiday Mary and Joey won't be having the twenty or so Medlens plus Lynn and me!

Happy Easter Everyone from Catherine

I enjoy the computer here - only thing I can handle is the Klopfenstein news. I was sorry to read of Jenny's pregnancy problems, Jerry's hip problem, Eric's house and health problems.

The good news, Perry's new book coming out - 150 delivered to Roanoke church. Gloria's safe trip to Jamie's in Houston, with her new dog, for Easter. She will start her new job at Salvation Army Safe Harbor shelter, which moves to a brand new building the 15th of April. Also Staci's migraines are better with new medication.

As for myself, I'm doing OK. My lady doctor said, "I'm doing good for my age, 82." I wish many times Ralph could be here with me, which he was for several weeks. Also thankful he could help make the change from condo to this small apartment. Not a day goes by without some kind of remembrance of him.

GOOD JOB DONE

I know we've discussed this topic before, but I'm feeling good right now because I just cleaned the refrigerator! Hate that job, but it's always surprising what you find. I do believe in "going green" these days and try to do my share of recycling, but I don't think the "green" stuff I found in the fridge qualifies in that category. And I was surprised to find expiration dates of 2007 & 2008 on a few items, but they are now emptied, rinsed, and in the recycling bins! I need Heat here occasionally (there's that word I don't know how to spell, but am just going to leave it without checking today) to check the dates for me - She does that when she's here and lets me know if I need to throw it away.

Are there any words you have a mental block against and have to look up everytime you use it? Mine are occasional vs ocassional and occur vs ocurr. Probably more, but those two come to mind right now. Any other mispellings in this post are just careless errors!

My Own Update

Well, I'm feeling kind of left out. Nothing interesting in my life to update you on! I'm on spring break this week and it's wonderful--

Do you want to know that on Tuesday I ironed ALL the clothes that were hanging in the laundry room? I'm still feeling pretty good about that accomplishment. How about that I also cleaned the whole house and got every bit of laundry completely clean and put away? Not really impressed?

I know - here's an update. Here are the pansies we planted last fall. They have really come out beautifully with the warm weather. The second picture is of my favorite plant. Only one of them in the whole bed.

Thanks for all the more worthwhile updates--Happy spring!

HIP UPDATE

Since everybody's giving updates, here's ours. Jerry saw the orthopedic surgeon yesterday. As most of you know, his hip has not been healing properly and he has moderate to severe pain (though not constant) and walks with a limp. Well . . . now the Dr. thinks it is probably a lowgrade bacterial infection and has ordered tests to confirm (or rule out) this theory.

Jerry had blood drawn yesterday, has a bone scan scheduled next Wednesday, and after the bone scan they will asperate the prosthetic area and test the fluid in an attempt to identify the exact strain of infection. If, in fact, that is what it is, it will require a fairly offensive administration of antibiotics and more surgery to fix it. If they do not find an infection, we're back to square one!

Our Dr. would not do the surgery, but would call in someone who specializes in this treatment. It's a possibility we would go to Rush in Chicago, but don't want to get ahead of ourselves in planning anything - just waiting now for a proper diagnosis. We have been googling the condition and it is not an easy fix!

Water Update

Here's the update on my water situation:

Apparently you're not supposed to have a lake under your basement floor.
This is what was left after the dewatering systems guys were here today.

They couldn't find a drain tile so with all the water there either isn't one or if there is they couldn't find it and it's stopped up somewhere. I really don't want them to have to cut up more of the basement floor.

The plan. Get another company to look at the tile or lack thereof situation. The thought is either try to unclog a drain tile if they find it, put in a drain tile, or put in a sump pump.

And my update

I reach 23 weeks pregnant tomorrow. After a blood pressure scare last Monday, I've been doing modified bedrest for a week. It seems to be working. My BP is labile (fluctuating) and is averaging higher than it was, but hasn't crossed the "magic numbers" of 140/90. I'm being monitored very closely now. I have another appointment tomorrow with a big blood draw--testing for underlying conditions that make my pregnancies so high risk.

It was confirmed a week or so ago that we're having a boy and a girl. At the time, they were estimated to be about a pound each. They both are very active and healthy--no heart or kidney problems or anything else to be concerned with.

I'm hoping for at least 5 more weeks and would love to get 10 or more. I'm not due until August 4, but the chances of actually reaching that date are slim to none.

Finally an update!

Here is the much anticipated update! I went back to UAB on Thursday morning and finished my stress test. I didn't have to walk on the treadmill. Instead they did a chemical stress test. That was quite fun. For those who have been through it, you know what I mean.

After spending two days at home (Thursday & Friday) resting on Doctor's orders, we ventured off to the airshow in Tuscaloosa on Saturday with the Geyer Family. Enjoyed a long hot day watching the planes fly, including the Blue Angels, took a 2 hour nap on a blanket on the taxi-way grass and enjoyed supper at Dan and Shelly's house. I don't recommend taking a 2 hour nap on the taxi-way without sunscreen. I've got a bit of a sunburn. The whole while I suffered from chest pains, dizziness, and tension. Sunday was church in the morning, a long Sunday afternoon nap and evening church, supper and to bed early. Today I actually returned to work, and although my boss confined me to my office, I still had chest pains and dizziness.

This afternoon I went to a new doctor (general practitioner) since I didn't have a local doctor. After listening to my symptoms and based on the preliminary results of my stress test, they do not believe my symptoms are heart problem related. The final report from the stress test should confirm that. With that said, I am still having chest pains and dizziness. Therefore, he has put me on the "purple pill" for heartburn to rule that out as the cause and I will be going for a breathing test next week to rule out my asthma as the cause.

Overall, I need to loose about 80 pounds, exercise and learn to deal with the stresses my job is putting on me. My boss has offered to join a local gym with me and we can hold each other accountable to working out 3 times a week. So, we'll see what the final results from the cardiologist are and how I feel after a couple days of heartburn treatment.

Thank you all for your prayers and concerns as I've worked through this ordeal. It means a lot to have a family who loves you, supports you and prays for you. EDK

Another update?

Waiting for a report from Eric...and Jen, how is the pregnancy/blood pressures/bedrest going? How many weeks along now? How many pounds do you think the twins weigh now? Give us the latest news.

Eric?

Eric, we need an update on your tests, etc. Be assured some in N.Alabama are praying for you also. Aunt Mim

HERE IT IS!!!

Finally - here is my finished project!!

Front view.

From the backside!!

A hug from Stanley before he goes home!

SAM'S CLUB

Well, I had quite an experience today. I went to Sam's Club for the first time on my own. Today I had a one-day free pass to shop and to possibly become a "member". If I spent $100 I would get a $40 gift card, the cost of the membership, so untimately I got the membership for free. I'm still trying to figure out if it was really free, or if I paid for it, but it's too complicated for me. As the ladies were explaining my options, it was a little confusing. I'm sure they had a good laugh as this little old gray-haired lady left the store!

It didn't take me long to find $1oo worth of stuff - and then some!! I got cases of pop, green beans, gum, peanut-butter crackers, laundry detergent, garbage bags, meat and a few other things. Got my enrollment in Sam's Club - so all you stockholders can thank me for your dinner tonight.

I'll have to learn how shop there effectively - impulse is too costly! It must be planned ahead and that's something for me to do. As I left I felt like I was at Aldi's - they just put the food in the cart and I had to take it to the car without any bags! By the time I'd lifted the heavy cases off the shelves, into the cart, out of the cart and onto the counter, and later out of the cart and into the trunk, my arms and back were aching. That might also help me not to buy too much in the future.

Resting

Well, as some of you are on "Facebook" know, and those who we've talked to last night and today, I'm home resting today. For those who don't know, let me fill you in.

I've had bouts of chest pains on and off for several weeks, nothing severe, but not normal either. Yesterday morning I woke up and my chest really hurt. I went to work anyway and as the morning went on I could tell that things really were "off". My chest hurt all the time and I kept getting flushed. I told a few other folks at work, ate an aspirin and called Retta who took me to UAB downtown for evaluation.

After 8 hours in the ER, two Nitro pills, and the first half of a stress test, I went home. This morning I went back to UAB, finished the stress test and am now waiting on the results. I have been sent home to rest. I stopped a work to get my car keys, car and laptop and was reprimanded for even stopping and told not to work. So, I slept from 1 to 5. It was kind of nice.

On a positive note, after 5 years in Alabama I finally have a local doctor, and I think I might be committed to improving my health. I go back to the doctor on Monday afternoon to find out the results of my stress test and if it's not my heart, what else it might be. I have been exhausted the past few weeks, get easily winded, and just don't feel well.

Thanks to you who prayed for me last night and today. We really appreciate it. EDK

PS: Stacey thanks for the comment about your migraines on facebook. It gives me something else to talk to the doctor about on Monday. It has me thinking.

Two New Members

You already know from his posts, which have had a lot of comments, that Casey has joined. I'm really enjoying hearing about some of the nuts and bolts of what goes on in Gridley.

Also, Adrian has joined and I'm looking forward to hearing from her as well.

Keep those posts and comments coming. Haven't heard from some of you for awhile - what's going on as we move into spring? You don't have to have huge pieces of news to post.

We have had RAIN almost daily for a couple of weeks now. Our drought has now moved down from exceptional, down from extreme, to only the severe stage (the middle of five stages of drought). (I'm using the actual weather service colors.) Who would have ever thought that being in a severe drought would make us feel like it's going better! The lake is down only nine feet as of today. Boat docks are actually back in the water.

QUIT TAPPING ME!!

Nathan spent the night with us. He was so good all evening. Grandpa put him to bed and he went right to sleep - after teasing Grandpa about monsters being in the closet!! About 2 am I felt tapping on my arm and heard Grandpa saying "Nathan's calling you." So I went over and laid down with him, rubbed his back a little and he went back to sleep and I went back to bed. About 5 am I felt the tapping again and Grandpa said "Nathan's calling you." So I went back to his room and he said "I want to get up". I said, "it's still dark and we have to sleep some more" so we went back to sleep. About 7 I felt tapping again and Nathan said excitedly "Grandma, it's light outside. We can get up now!" So we did and we've been playing with cars, marbles, and plastic ice cubes ever since! And who knows what fun things we'll find to do today.