CD Now Available

Several of you have asked me to let you know when Andrew's quartet's new CD came out. It was released Saturday night at their reunion concert, and it is available at the Calvary Quartet website. Click on the store, and it's the featured CD at the right. I hope that those of you who are interested will be pleased with how it turned out.

GRANDMA'S SPECIAL BEEF STEW

Friday I bought a package of stew meat and made a roaster of Mother's special beef stew recipe. We will have the left-over this evening. This recipe is in the Klopfenstein Family Favorites book and if you haven't ever made it, I suggest you try it. It is SO easy and delicious. It is also in the original Klop recipe book which I still use ocassionally even though it is totally falling apart.

And just in case you don't have either book: here is the recipe - let me know how you like it.

approx. 2 lbs stew meat
1/2 cup tomato juice
3/4 - 1 cup water
1 T salt
2 T sugar
3 T tapioca
onions, carrots, potatoes and celery, cut in chunks - enough to fill your casserole (I use a small roasting pan). Mix all together and put in pan. Cover and bake at 250 for 4 hours (do not open in meantime). YUMMY!

I made bisquick biscuits to go with it - also yummy.

HARD WORK

Ummm - this is becoming much more WORK than it is FUN!! We are, however, making good progress. We have about another three weeks before the "professionals" come to do their part so we don't have to rush, which is good because we CAN'T rush. We have finally picked out and ordered most of the necessities: carpet, floor tile, shower tile, counter top, toilet - still working on faucets, window treatments and other smaller items.

Heather came and helped us paint one day. She's a good sport and a good painter.

I had a Dr. apt. one day and when I came home, Jerry was taking out the tub/shower. He was covered in white dust from head to foot - looked like the abominable snowman! He also removed the counter top and put it in the garage. That and a few other items will hopefully find new owners at the Gridley Community sale this Spring.

Yep, the tub's gone and the area cleaned up waiting for the plumber. I have picked out some tile I love and the saleslady helped me plan a pattern of different sized tile pieces, embellishments, etc, and I can't wait to see how it looks.

We have the closet and three walls of the bedroom painted - looks good, but I think I'll wait until the entire project is finished before showing any "finished" pictures. We finally got the bathroom walls all smoothed out and primed and will probably paint in there today.

We're glad we did not have the huge snow storm last night. There might be an inch on the ground, but not the 4-8 as predicted. We plan to go to Downers Grove to watch Noah and Miles play basketball tomorrow - we need a break from all this.

Father-Son Cake Bake

It's that time of year again. Time for our annual Cub Scout Cake Bake. It's something that Sam and the boys look forward to every year, but they're also glad when it's finally over. It's a lot of work. This year they had 3 cakes to make and our brother-in-law Dennis Brummitt came over again to help out. They made one Saturday night, one Sunday night, and one Monday night. I did a good job staying out of their way and running for extra supplies when needed.

Formulating a plan
Uncle Dennis had lots of helpers

Ben's finished cake. The hockey skate was made out of Rice Krispies and covered in fondant frosting. He won 1st place for Sports Themed Cake.

Thad's finished cake. It involved quite a bit of engineering. Once it was completed the side walls caved it, so the guys got this idea to use styrofoam and meat skewers to hold them up. Then they frosted the styrofoam to look like pillars. It turned into quite a project but it paid off, as Thad's cake won 1st place for Judges Choice and also for People's Choice.

Will's finished cake - he didn't win anything but had fun and was a good sport about it.

Here was a creative one - with 50 boys voting I was surprised this didn't win for People's Choice.

When the judging was over everyone got a chance to sample the cakes. After seeing what went on in our house with the baking, Sam didn't have the stomach to sample any of the others. I tried a few and they were actually quite good. Even the kitty litter cake.

Facebook - Grrrrrr

I don't know what it is about Facebook, but we do not have a good relationship. I thought I had commented under Ada's status, in response to Linda's comment, but nope, no comment shows up from me. I won't go on about Facebook, but just say that I mostly just read what others are doing and leave it at that.

Linda responded to Ada and Jerry's remodeling project, and suggested that maybe a visit and a meal at Toluca would be in order in the future. So I thought:

Is anybody interested in another Klop run/walk some Saturday this summer, and then a big dinner together at Toluca? Would anybody be up for that?

Judy

WORK IN PROGRESS

We're slowly making good progress with our huge project. We're tired of living with the mess, but just keep thinking of the finished job. It's going kinda slow as we have other things to do such as Jerry's volunteering and my quilting. The ladies at Sunrise have two big quilts ready for me to bind another waiting to be marked and put in the frame. One step at a time, we're getting it done.

Jerry is standing on the bathroom counter while using the joint compound to fill the rough spots made while stripping the wallpaper. In some places it came down real easily, in other places it was very difficult to remove and left a rough wall.

I'm did all the painting on the door and window trims.

We are living with bedroom furniture all over the house. More furniture is in front of the door leading to the deck. We have moved most of the clothes into the front bedroom closet, the guest bathroom closet, and the office closet. I feel like we're always hunting for something.

Today, we put the first coat of primer in the bedroom and feel good because we can finally see something positive happening. Just before Jerry took this picture, I said to him "go get the picture and take my camera." He got a good laugh from that - then got the camera and took my picture. . . :)

Another "Sick" Story

Not to overdo the "sick" stories, but I also had mono, in the 9th grade, about 12 years after Ada had it, and missed six weeks of school and was hospitalized over a week. (And no, I wasn't kissing anybody either.) Mary got it also and missed about five weeks. We stayed home together and kept each other company.

I remember very well getting a big box of gifts from Morton that I believe Aunt Alice engineered with her friends, and Mary and I opened one each day. There were all kinds of things that young girls would enjoy. One gift was from a lady named "Wilma Ward" and I thought she wrote her W's the most beautiful way, and tried to copy it. Sending that big box of gifts was a really nice gesture and I've always remembered it.

The Peoria Choir was in Alabama for their annual visit, with two huge over-the-road buses, and since Mary and I couldn't be a part of things, they came past our house on Sunday afternoon as they were leaving to go back to Illinois. All sixty or so piled out on our front yard and sang several songs. The neighbors didn't know what to think!

DAYS GONE BY

Some of you may remember that in 1960, shortly after Dad died, I contacted mono and missed school for the entire month of April and was in the hospital for 19 days. (and no I did not catch this disease from kissing anyone) I saved all the cards I received, and this afternoon I was cleaning out a drawer and found the little sack of cards - so I've been reading them and getting a few chuckles. Of course everyone wanted me to get well soon, but I thought I'd share a few more interesting excerpts with you.

Return address on one envelope: L KLOPFENSTEIN, 4343 FRANKLIN AVE, WESTERN SPRGS ILL: Lynn is working to-day so it is an unusually quiet Saturday for us. Had hoped to rake the yard, but it is too cold for that. So we're taking it easy inside. Since Mark and Ann have had a taste of playing outdoors I can hardly keep them in - even when it is cold out. Mark is such fun to watch as he makes the wonderful discovery of all outdoors. He can't get into the sandbox because his legs are too short, so he falls into it to get where he wants. Then at other times he follows Ann like a little puppy! Ann is baking sand cakes most of the time when she is out. And she always brings them to be tasted.

One old lady friend of the family informed me that "I cleaned the basement and feel good that it is done."

From Aunt Aldine: This was such a pretty day - I raked the yard but I can't hardly move tonite I'm sore in the shoulders. We had a track meet after school here with Eureka. Jim runs high & low hurdle. He got 2nd in the Highs tonite.

From Uncle Joe: Dear Ada. I was to see you 2 times Thursday. I was up to see Della and to your room. I walked in to other side of your bed and you were sound asleep. I thought sleep was better than talk or visit. I then went down to Lorene, then after that I went up to your room again so you were still asleep. So I left wrote a note give it to nurse at desk to give you when you wake up. Maybe next time you will be awake. Our love and wish you a speedy recovery. Uncle Joes (that is so sweet, isn't it?)

A friend from school informed me that a poem I had written had been submitted along with four others into some kind of contest. (I guess I didn't win the contest as I never got a prize. I find it hard to believe that she entered my poem as I was never any good at poetry.)

It was really interesting to see who sent cards - many relatives, friends of my parents, and my friends - some of who sent several cards during my illness. It's good to be loved, isn't it?

Teacher at Gridley?

Alice is on track! Reta Bane (note spelling) is the individual who was teaching at GCHS and married Ralph Rinkenberger. Genealogy files confirm this. Yes, indeed, the whole affair was very romantic and exciting. They both were a little older than average. They, and the community, were all smiles at the development of this marriage. They were married June 5, 1949.

Casey's question contains dates about ten years later. I'm not sure that the issue is settled with the information on Reta Bane. I'm wondering if the news article quoted isn't mixed up in some fashion.

Teacher at Gridley?

Question - in the Gridley Village Times, Yesteryears section it states:

50 years ago February 2, 1961 Mrs. Ralph Klopfenstein of Gridley has been hired by the Board of Education of the Gridley Community Unit District No. 10 to replace Mrs. Lane as the English teacher.

Is that true, was Catherine a English teacher?

REMODELING BEGINS

We began remodeling our bedroom/bathroom on Monday. We plan to remove all wallpaper from rooms and paint both rooms. Also will get new carpet in bedroom, change to tile in the bathroom, remove the tub/shower combination and put in a walk-in shower, and get a new counter top.

This is a "before" view from the bedroom into bathroom.

This shows the faded wallpaper above the sink and the separation of the counter top from the wall - definitely time to do something about it. Much of the wallpaper was splitting at the seams.

Jerry takes down the first section of wallpaper. It was a little difficult at first, but once we got it figured out, it went pretty quickly. Every section was scored, sprayed, and steamed.

We're always a team - we took turns spraying and removing the paper

and cleaning up the messes.

The paper in the bedroom is gone - yeeaaahhhh! We'll try to give you weekly updates.

Nick Overseas

Just read on Linda's FB that Nick left for Afghanistan today for a year. Melissa also wrote about it - he is a helicopter pilot. That was news to me - so thought it might be to some of you also. He will be in our thoughts and prayers. Thank you to Nick for helping to protect us and our country!

SNOW REMOVAL

We thought you'd enjoy seeing what Casey is doing at 11:30 pm. This is the best I could do with my little camera - in the dark - through the window. Don't know if Casey knew we were watching or not, and I have to say I held my breath everytime he ran that big tractor toward the garage 'cause it looked like he was going to run right through the garage door!

Good Job, Casey, thanks. I hope you get some sleep tonight.

A Couple Pics from MI Since Ada Asked

This is the driveway I drove out of this morning. Thankfully it's wide enough at the top that I could back around to go out forwards instead of having to back down.

I thought about grilling out for lunch at work, but this is what the grills look like!

SUN'S OUT!!

Just thought I'd share the snow at our house, and would love seeing your snow pictures also.

Our driveway has a 3-4ft drift diagonally across the length of the drive. We expect Casey to clean it up for us when the wind ceases.

Our front porch has snow almost to the top of the railing.
The deck has a drift almost 36" high.

Judy was correct - our furnace is out! We are staying reasonably warm with the fireplace, a small space heater, and warm clothes. The sun is shining now and that is supplying warmth also.

2011 Snowstorm

Dave just called me with an update...he is on the day shift, thankfully, this week. His shift is from 7 am to 7 pm for snow removal. His route was Interstate 55 from Blm to Chenoa. He called last night about 6 and said his plow was in the ditch. He was waiting for another truck to come pull him out, and he would be sleeping at the shed all night (in his truck). He called at 8 pm and said he was still waiting and it would likely be hours, as there were 8 snow plows stuck in the snow. I finally heard from him that they were abandoning the plows and were being picked up and returned to the shed. Now I got a call this morning (7:45) that his plow has made it back to the shed, and he was heading out for Day 3. It is dangerous out there.

I hope all of you are safe and sound, warm and toasty inside. I know Jerry and Ada braved it home and made it just before the heavy snow and white-outs started. Angela and Jerry were without heat for a time, as Facebook reported.

Enjoy your day!

Rhoda's Kitchen Project

Since we seem to share projects here I'll let you click here to see my latest home project rather than adding the pictures on this blog.

I need to quit watching HGTV! I have lots of ideas but lack in skill, time, and tools.

One thing that did help me on this project was the palm sander I took when cleaning out Mom and Dad's shed in AL this summer. Don't worry--I asked before taking it!

Yes, we also ate outside today...

Be'ins you specifically asked, yes we also ate outside today in sunny Southwest Florida.

We couldn't resist posting a picture of the beautiful post-sunset tonight here at Marco Island. It was actually prettier and longer lasting than the sunset. And, Kathleen being in the photo makes it even more prettier. This was taken from our living room, looking out over our balcony, the beach and the Gulf of Mexico. During the day we regularly see dolphins jumping and swimming close to the shoreline. Oddly, that occurs pretty consistently around 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. We also see the large tour boat going to and from Key West.
CLEVE

Hello!

Emma will be jumping rope later next month (I believe Feb. 18th) to help raise funds for the American Heart Association. Last year, she exceeded her personal goal and is excited about doing the same again this year.

If you are interested in donating to this amazing organization, please contact us via email (djallenson@yahoo.com) or by donating online at Emma’s fundraising site:

https://secure2.convio.net/amha/site/Donation2?idb=1125584806&df_id=1861&FR_ID=1442&PROXY_ID=1858864&1861.donation=form1&PROXY_TYPE=20

Please note that all donations need to be turned into her PE teacher on Feb. 18th.

Thanks so much for considering donating to the AHA with Emma’s help!

Take care,

Dave and Jodie

JACKSONVILLE

We had an early birthday dinner with Kelsie and her friend tonight at the Cheese Cake Factory. Delicious food and we loved spending the evening with Kelsie. We each had our own cheesecake for desert - yummy. And, by the way, we had dinner on the patio - in January - in Jacksonville. Anybody else have dinner outside tonight? :)

Final sunset at Indian Rocks

The above series of pictures was taken just a few minutes ago as we sat on our patio over looking the Gulf of Mexico. We will be leaving tomorrow morning to see Kelsie in Jacksonville as we work our way back north. We have spent all or most of January for the last five years at Indian Rocks Beach, Fl. We leave with a ton of special memories of those years and the family and friends we have visied with while here. Hilda and George, Enid and Lila have been with us in past years and we treasure their friendship. On each trip we have met with Vic, Jean, and Marguerite as they share wonderful memories of their younger days in Gridley.

It is with mixed feelings that we have decided not to return to this area, but to seek out another exciting place to visit in future years. We have a ton of fond memories of this place, every visit we have made has either been pre or post hip surgeries. This is the first year that we could walk together for long distances down the beach. So it is with heavy hearts and excitement of the future that we bid a fond farewell as the sun sinks below the western horizon. Our love for each other continues to grow daily and this place shares a special place in our hearts.

Posted by Jerry

LAST TWO DAYS

We're down to our last two days at Indian Rocks Beach. We've spent a lot of time reading, walking, and driving around. It's been quite chilly, but as you can see - nothing keeps the man from enjoying the surf on a sunny day.

We had a little excitement Monday. There was a big shooting in St. Petersburg - the gunman shot three policemen, two were killed. The shooter was "holed up" in an attic, and it was a big deal and on tv all day. Sounded like a war zone (on tv) when the shooting actually excalated several times. About mid-afternoon, they began bulldozing the house down and found the man dead.

On Tuesday, a big storm front went through about 6 pm. Again, all three news channels had constant reporting as to where and when the storm would hit as it came inland from the gulf. We watched the sky get black and the waves pick up. The lights flickered once, but we were ready with the candles we bought earlier. We eventually had very heavy rain, wind, thunder/lightening. Sorta like a spring thunderstorm at home but they sure made a big deal about it here. There was some damaged property over in St. Petersburg and a few other places. I told Jerry -"my bathroom will be the place to go when the tornado comes" and he said "no way, I'm going out to watch it!"

I always think I won't pick up any more shells, but as I'm walking along the beach, I just can't resist a few. These are pretty typical and I'll add them to my shell bowl at home. The sponge is interesting and something I don't have.

We'll be leaving Saturday morning for Jacksonville, then on to Anderson, then home. Looking forward to cold weather and snow. Planning to cook on the grill tonight, and going out to a nice place tomorrow night.

Grandma K's - Now Jamie's - Beautiful Living Room Painting

Hi Ann,
Here is a picture of the picture. It was painted by a little-known artist whose name escapes me. The frame is from a company located in Chicago that is still in the framing business. I will have to take it down to get the artist's name and the name of the frame company in case anyone is interested.

I'd be curious to hear people's memories of the picture and any history they might know about it. I have loved it since I was a child and I remember sitting and staring at it, imagining being in that beautiful world.

Thanks for posting for me!
Jamie

Grace's Chorus Concert

Here's a video of Grace's chorus concert from last week. This was a combined chorus of the two middle schools and high school. Grace is in the third row behind a girl in a white shirt just to the left of the accompanist - you can just barely see her - again, clicking through to YouTube you can make it a little bigger.

Birds of a feather do flock together!

I can hardly compete with having the Gulf of Mexico outside our window but I'm guessing I can compete with number of birds in our back yard. This morning I counted at one time fourteen robins pecking in the grass for whatever. Robins in Alabama were more solo and rarely were there more than two visible at one time. At the same time this morning four killdeers were scavenging. Also had an uncountable number of nervous grackles that the other birds totally ignored. On Saturday Mike and Ann brought us a crook to hold two bird feeders and a bag of sunflower seeds to entice smaller birds outside our dinette window. Now two days later we have yet to see a bird at the feeder, but they will come when they realize how welcome they are. If you haven't been reading Ann's blog, do so to see some really great pics of cardinals in the snow plus other winter birds.

3rd Anniversary

This marks post 1271 on the EJK family blog, and this weekend marks the third anniversary of its existence.

Thank you so much for participating! Love to all, Ann

INDIAN ROCKS BEACH

We're enjoying our time in Indian Rocks Beach. Our condo is right on the beach. Jerry loves to sit and read/sleep. I'm trying to walk the beach a couple times a day and picking up a little speed and distance each day. Jerry usually goes with me once a day. We have plans to meet Vic, Jean, and Marguerite for lunch in Clearwater tomorrow.

Next door to us is a couple from Illinois - graduated in '68 from ISU - a couple years after we graduated!! They are friendly in passing, but we haven't actually down and visited much.

We've used the charcoal grill on our patio a few times. Last night we grilled t-bone steaks and were just about done eating our steaks, baked potatoes, and salad when the lights went out. It was about 7 pm and very DARK here on the beach. We had nothing to create light. We couldn't even see to finish eating. We waited awhile - our neighbors had company and they were still cooking out. We walked out to the street and it was dark as far as one could see.

We are just the second drive from a busy corner where the bridge comes across the waterway. There were many flashing lights - police cars, fire trucks, etc at the corner. Just like any small town people, we had to go see what was going on. There was a crash between a car and a van. Our first thought was that maybe that caused the outage, but later decided that the outage had probably caused the wreck. Anyway they were letting traffic through, so we got in the car, drove over the bridge into Largo, bought some candles, and came back. So for about an hour, we read by candlelight - isn't that romantic?

The electricity came back on just in time for us to listen to Byron's sermon - the wonders of the Internet!!

The Painting in Grandma's House

Got a question for you. I was thinking the other day about that large painting that hung over the couch in the living room of Grandma K's living room in her "new" house. It used to fascinate me, and I would study it for hours, because the scene was so beautiful, and the way the artist used a knife to slap paint on thickly was such an interesting technique. I also remember that it had a large, ornate, beautiful frame.

So the questions, plural, are: Whatever happened to that painting? Do you remember it, and if so, what about it? Also - I was thinking that maybe Marty painted it? or maybe Grandma and I just used to talk about Marty being an artist and therefore I've associated it with him.

And what exactly was the scene? It's kinda weird to remember so much about a painting and yet not really remember exactly what it was.

RAINY MORNING

We arrived at Indian Rocks Beach Saturday afternoon and found our "home" for two weeks. It is an older building with 8 units. We have two bedrooms, two baths, kitchen/living room combination, and best of all - a beach front patio. SO . . . for two weeks we will be literally "beach bums"!!

I've stocked our cupboards with food from Publix - we generally eat "in" once a day and "out" once a day. Sunday morning we walked to our favorite restaurant for breakfast. Then we came back here for some Bible reading and tuned in to Clark's sermon.

In the afternoon we went to the local flea market - we love going there. Jerry's at his favorite spot listening to the music by the same guy that was there last year. As I've probably mentioned before, his favorite thing is "people-watching". So as he sits and listens to music, I can shop and shop and shop. (NO, he is not taking advantage of the beeer garden - just the music!) Angela - I did NOT buy any sheets this year!
For the next two weeks, it's purely "what we want to do when we want to do it"! Unfortunately today we want to go walk the beach and it's been raining steadily since about 6 am so we're forced to sit in the house. Hmmm . . . there are a couple nice malls around here . . . .

LUNCH AT JASON'S

We couldn't resist having lunch at this restaurant where we enjoyed a delicious BBQ Poor Boy sandwich. We were almost done eating when Jerry noticed a group of very large young men come in and sit in various places in the deli. A table of them was right next to us - so, of course, Jerry had to ask them who they were. They were football players from all over - Illinois, Michigan State, Penn, Missouri, Notre Dame and various other universities. They are here for a training camp preparing them for the NFL draft. Interesting.

We visited the oldest home in Naples where I took this picture of Jerry with the Klendworths by an orange tree on the grounds. Were going on a dinner cruise with them tonight.