cousin Paul

Was wondering what the latest is on Paul K.?

Cathy

P.S. Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to all!

COUSIN MARGUERITE ZUPANZIC

This will be of interest to my siblings and some of the older nieces and nephews who remember Aunt Florence and some of her family. You may remember that Marguerite had bad jaw cancer many years ago (maybe 15 yrs or so). She had major reconstruction done on one side of her face and has had problems chewing/eating since then. We spend some time with her when we are in Florida and also communicate with her on facebook.

I am copying a couple facebook posts from Charlene with new information about "Maggie" - always Marguerite to me. (Hope this works)

I am asking for prayer for my sister Maggie - she is at the MD Anderson Cancer center in Houston, Tx - tomorrow they are doing a biopsy to detrmine if she will need chemo and then Tuesday she is scheduled for extensive surgery and restoration in her mouth - she will be in Texas for a couple of months for radiation therapy - this is putting a strain on her children - today after attending church they were waiting for the shuttle to pick them up and a lady looked at Susan and said do I know you - I swear ann angel put that woman there - she was a woman from Largo, Fl. that befriended Sue many years ago and they lost contact and now live in Houston - Her mother also (a friend of Marguerite's also lives there - so now they have a support of angels sent to them and will be with Sue the day of surgery - God is so good - Pray - Pray - Pray!!!

Just got a call from Mag and she said the biopsy was negative - so hopefully if all goes well tomorrow with surgery, she won't need chemo and will only have radiation - on the other hand, her daughter Sue got up this morning with stomach flu -- hopefully it will be gone tomorrow - she is wearing a mask now while tending her mother - God Bless them both!!!

I will send an update if Char posts any news. I might even call Char sometime and perhaps she will have an address to which we could send a card to Marguerite. She must be in her late 80's, right? She's still quite spunky.

Christmas Decoration

With everyone starting to decorate for Christmas I thought I'd share a picture of this decoration that Grandma K. made. I don't remember when I got it or if Grandma gave it to me or Mom, but I'm glad I have it. For several years it was the only "tree" I put up in my Christmas decorating.Once I remember studying it for quite awhile to try to determine the order in which she sewed on the circles.

 

So Who Can Identify Them All?

Who can identify all the people in the header picture? I can't. . . Thanks to Judy for the pic!
If the background is too bright - let me know. I can change it.

Happy Day After Thanksgiving

I hope all of you had a blessed day yesterday.

Mike had to work, which was a disappointment; however, he's not had to work on Thanksgiving for about four years, so it was about his turn again. Andrew, Mary Lee, and I went to Mike's brother's house in Spartanburg as usual for dinner with their family. We had our annual skeet shooting tournament. Mary Lee was one of the best - got four out of four! And her mother unfortunately did NOT get a picture! Here are Andrew and his cousin Christopher (one month younger than Andrew, first-year medical student at Univ. of South Carolina) double shooting.
And Mary Lee with cousin Elizabeth, sitting on the golf cart waiting their turn.

MY NOT-SO-FUN DAY YESTERDAY

For years I have been fighting basil cell carcinoma on various places on my body including shoulder, leg, arm and most recently on my ear. This ear lesion has been surgically removed and chemically removed 3-4 times and still continues to return. Recently it has become very red and sometimes bloody. Last week the dermatologist I've been going to for several years biopsied it and sent me to a specialist in Oakbrook to remove the cancer with a special Mohs process.

Mohs Mocrographic Surgery is a state-of-the-art treatment for skin cancer in which the physician serves as surgeon, pathologist and reconstructive surgeon. It gives the highest potential cure rate - 99% - for skin cancer. If you are interested in more details you can go to www.mohscollege.org.

It was quite a deal. He used a local anesthetic, then began cutting away the tissue which he took to the lab to analyze. Came back about 45 minutes later and said he didn't get it all so he'd have to do more. Again 45 minutes or so, he came back and said he had to get more. I was getting a little tired by that time. Anyway, third time was good and they went on to the next step.

He took a strip of skin from the backside of the same ear and stitched up that wound. That piece of skin was put in some kind of solution while the nurse practioner prepared the top of my ear for the skin graft. She was also the one who actually attached it to the ear. Several times through these processes, the nurse injected more "numbing juice" in my ear. I really never felt any pain although was very aware of activity going on - some pressure and some ugly grinding/scratching noises.

The final step was to bandage the two areas - behind the ear, and the top of the ear. Two separate areas with different type of bandages. I will go back to my Dr. in Bloomington next week to remove the bandages and take out the stitches. They warned me it will look "awful" at first but not to be alarmed because within a few weeks it will be beautiful!!

There were three participants in this surgery. A nurse prepped me, administered the anesthetic, and explained what would be going on, generally kept tabs on me during all the waiting time, and applied the bandages when it was all over. The doctor did the "cutting" and analyzing. He was a very friendly man whose mother had spent her last years in the Meadows Nursing home so he actually knew where Gridley was. The third person was a Physician's Assistant and she applied/stitched the graft to the ear.

It is mildly uncomfortable today. Now I'm taking an antibiotic pill as a precaution, and tylenol for pain. The tylenol works for several hours before the light throbbing begins. One thing I'm not supposed to do is let the bandages get wet or the graft will fall apart!! So guess my hair will be pretty gross by next week!

Jerry was with me in the little room for the entire 5 hours. Janice came after taking the kids to school and was able to stay until we left. So . . . if it all works as it's supposed to, I should be all better in several weeks. They were tempted to take a picture of me in my helpless situation, but actually decided on their own that that might not be very nice! Sorry if this was way TMI. I'll let you know in a couple weeks how it's doing.

What To Do??

Once again it is bell-ringer season. Every door, going in and coming out, I hear the bell and see the ringer, some standing quietly, but some giving it their all. We have some really good ones at the local Walmart, including one who can really sing! But it is bothersome to me. I don't have change ready when I'm walking in and I forget to be ready when I'm walking out. I can either look the other way, or politely say Merry Christmas, but either way, I feel bad about it, but it's more because of that guilty, peer pressure type of feeling than anything else. I could fill my pockets with change every time I go out, but is it necessary? What if I put in one large bill to cover it for the season...wouldn't I still feel guilty walking past the poor soul standing there in the cold ringing the bell?

How do you handle it?

I Missed It Completely

Dad has had a couple of health issues and this week was referred to a specialist - turned out it was the same doctor who treated Mary Lee as a baby when she had several kidney/urinary infections in a row. I really liked him as he took such good care of her and made it clear that even though he was a specialist I was to call him any time I thought she might be getting another infection.

So one time when she had a high fever and seemed to have the same symptoms, I made an appointment and took her in. The doctor came in with a puzzled look on his face, said there was no urinary tract infection, and he wasn't sure what was wrong, but he would check her over. He even looked down her throat. He then turned to me with a smile on his face and said "I bet this is the only time that you will ever take your daughter to a urologist for strep throat."

FLASHBACK

Yesterday I was browsing through one of the many catalogs that are arriving every day in the mail. Suddenly I saw a picture of a shoe bag that hangs on the inside of a closet door. Whoosh! Huge flashback of my Aunt Ada's little bedroom closet, with a similar shoe storage bag on the inside of the door. I used to sleep in that bedroom as a young girl, and look and look at all of Aunt Ada's high heeled shoes. She had quite a collection of colorful, spiked heel shoes, that fascinated me. Well, I confess I didn't just look at them, I pulled them out and held them and put them on and walked around the room in them, always hoping no one, especially Ada, would come in and catch me. She was afraid I would scuff them, or break the heels.

I also remember a couple of formals she had. Once I was going to a dance in La Grange, and Grandma mailed one of Ada's dresses to me to wear to the dance. I remember worrying and worrying that it wouldn't arrive in time. When it did come, I think I realized it wasn't quite the right thing for my dance, but I had to wear it anyway and I remember dancing with one of the cutest guys there. I remember being a little puzzled about that, wondering if he liked that dress, or just why he had asked me to dance. HA! I'm sure some 8th grade boy didn't even notice the dress I was wearing!

Oh, it was fun remembering.

FIRST RUNNER-UP MISS LAKE COUNTY

As you may recall, Grace was chosen as Jr. Miss Vernon Hills last summer. Saturday night she was in the Miss Lake County pageant representing the city of Vernon Hills. She looked beautiful, was very poised, gave a great prepared speech, and had a quick response to an impromptu question. And, of course, was very graceful as she walked across the stage several times. Is that enough bragging from a Grandma.

I was able to go backstage for a couple minutes with Michelle

and we had this picture taken with Grace.

I took this picture from our seat about 2/3 back in the

auditorium. Here the girls are in their "daywear".

Here is Grace in the evening wear competition.

The pageant lasted about 3 1/2 hours with one break. It was a loooong time, but very enjoyable. I might that add that Drake and Owen were playing scrabble on their Iphone - figure that one out!! I'm lucky if I can get a call to go through from my simpe cell phone!!

Paul Klopfenstein

We had a brief prayer request in church this afternoon for Paul. He was is in a hospital in Branson MO following a serious surgery.

Just a few minutes ago, I called Patti to see what was the matter. She said that he had bad abdominal pain and checked in about 11 pm last night and they did emergency surgery to repair a ruptured bowel. She said they did a colostomy and that he has pneumonia. She was pretty distraught, understandably, and was packing to leave in an hour. I did not press her for more details as she needed to get ready to leave.

Joan Klopfenstein is driving her down there and Carolyn is going along. Mike Mangold from Eureka is a friend of Paul's and left earlier today to be with him. Joan works for Mike at the Mangold car dealership.

I thought many of you would be interested in this news and want to offer prayers for him. If I hear any more, I will let you know. Also, maybe Perry and Carol have more information, or will get more information once Joan and Patti get there. If so, they can share with us.

More Birthday Weekend Pics

Here are a few more pictures from the big birthday party weekend.

Great Aunt Rhoda meeting Emma. I told Lindsay that I always thought I was a pretty good aunt but now I'm definitely a great aunt.

Friends decorated Mary's house with signs and her husband shared his walking stick with her.

I made the Morton Pumpkin Festival pancakes.

Guests who would have won the "Guests from the Farthest Distance Prize" if there had been one:

Great Grandma, GrandMom, and Great Grandpa. Wow!!!

The Big 5-0

I had lots of surprises over the weekend - Joey and the girls surprised me with a party for my 50th birthday. Rhoda showed up on Friday night - and Aunt Ada and Uncle Jerry came as well! I already knew that Dad & Mom were coming. I was able to see a lot of people I hadn't seen in a very long time. Thanks to those who came and made the day special! And thanks to my husband for lots of work and effort to make it happen.

Overall, I think I was pretty psyched for this milestone. At my 40th Joey had a "hill" cake made for me. There was a path going up to the top and on it was written "Come on up; the view is fine." Well, the view is still fine . . . although Jaimie asked how it feels to be coming down the hill. : )

How about the family . . . any other milestone birthdays coming up?

(Photo: Our little granddaughter was dressed in her "grandma" shirt.)

. . .And We Don't Drive Model Ts Anymore Either

Ever since I can remember being able to read which would mean our first year in Decatur, every day except rare occasions I have held the newspaper in my hand to read it. As kids we would race to the yard to be the first to get the newspaper and by far one of the best times of the week for me is when I first get up on Saturday morning. I put on the coffee, step out the front door, pick up the paper and then read it.

I have a set order to read a paper. Typically I'm a section A to the end kind of reader, but the GR Press puts the comics at the back of section B so here on weekdays my order is A, C, B. Yes, that's one of my quirks. And don't start me on people who read the paper before I do and don't put the sections back together very nicely. OK, that's my second newspaper quirk.

Every time I've moved (pause for all the groans and comments people are saying or thinking about the number of times I've moved!), about the first thing I would do after finding a place to live was to order the newspaper.

Yesterday the GR Press announced that they are doing away with home delivery on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday!!! I am devastated. It is not the same to hold a laptop and read "the paper". I like the feel of the newspaper and the Press on-line doesn't include features that I like such as the advice columns or comics. The Sunday paper lists many sporting events for Saturday as TBA and the Saturday morning paper announces the teams who are playing.

I'm pretty sure I'm not getting dressed to go out and buy a newspaper on Saturday mornings.

I realize this is a sign of the times and many people don't subscribe to the newspaper anymore, but this is a serious change to my weekends and weekday life, and I don't like it.

I think of the Klopfenstein family as a newspaper readers. I always thought it was interesting to hear people talk about the Pantagraph--what a funny name for a newspaper I always thought as a kid.

So, who still subscribes to a newspaper or do you read your news on-line, or are you not a news reader?