Marathon man and family in Florida heat

Hot, hot, hot. Our nephew Adam Jerdee finished his annual marathon at Disneyworld despite the highest temps for the event in recent memory. Congratulations Adam! See details in the Jerdee blog below, right. He's joined here for a pre-race photo by Kim and Landon.

Ready to visit Mom in The Northland

Hi Mom!
It's me, Solveig. I'm in California getting ready for a trip to Minnesota. I will see you Monday, February 4. We have one week to get in trouble, so start planning!!!
I look forward to meeting Benita and putting a couple of puzzle pieces in place. And I certainly hope Marsha invites me to lunch one day!
It is cold here. Maybe it will be warmer in February in Minnesota. I wear a thermometer on my zipper pull (look under my chin) because Bill says if I'm going to whine, I might as well be precise. 
Solveig

Note to Solveig: As you see from the photo taken yesterday, there are still plenty of puzzle pieces left for you. We have been trying, it is really hard. It is a map of Mom's new neighborhood. The edge pieces and the interstate were the easy parts. Now we are putting together the many lakes of Bloomington. There are a ton. "Penn Lake?" Who knew. It would help to have a map.

Sosie: By the way, your gloves are clearly inadequate for present conditions. Suggest you modify your proposed outfit.
Stan
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Dear big brother,
Thanks for the warning re the wimpy gloves. I am digging thru my emergency gear and have spread these out in the kitchen counter for your review. Herein, top and clockwise:
1) Face mask that can be spotted in a snowdrift. 
2) Pair of thermal, leather-palmed mitts clutching Toe Heaters. 
3) Scary hand warmer in red-flannel bag that involves fuel and matches and lengthy instructions. 
4) One-time Sports Heat Hand Warmer. 
5) Warmest Wool Socks made from wool and angora rabbit fur in Nelson, Minnesota.

Neighbors make fine escape

This morning we lodged inquiries as to the whereabouts of two respected neighborhood couples, the Storys and the Gerkens. We received a prompt response from sunny Florida, thanks to Sandy's considerable communication skills.
Herewith:
Stan,
Got your message today. Things in Ft. Myers are going well. We toured the Edison & Ford Winter Estates this afternoon and as luck would have it Henry & Clara Ford came by and agreed to a photo with all of us in front of the main house.
We are enjoying the FL weather, it has been about perfect ... Actually warmer then normal for January (no complaints from us). We haven't forgotten our friends "up north" ... Abbey Point comes up in our conversations quite often.
Not sure a week here will be enough, but I guess that is all we get.
Hope all is well with you and Kathleen,
Tom & Sandy, John & Mary

Classmates chill in Maple Grove

Squeezing close to get everyone into the shot (not just to stay warm)

Ramona Sly, Stan Rolfsrud, Kathy Faust, Kathy Skadsberg,

Paula Hanson, Terrie Widstrom

Braving January temps, six Wallweeds from the Alexandria Class of 1965 gathered in Maple Grove tonight to renew friendships and enjoy Happy Hour half-priced drinks and hors-de-ouvres (Sorry, Senior discount does not apply -- no other special offers -- put your coupons away).
Ramona Sly, the youngster in the group, celebrated her upcoming birthday; she'll cross the great divide tomorrow. Our waitress did not sing the birthday song, but she did take this dandy photo of the club members getting closer to each other.
It was hoped that Charlie Stark would be there to report on his recent West Coast trip where he and his wife enjoyed lunch with 65ers Karl and Sue (Gorham) Tegland, but Charlie had been called away on business and wasn't able to attend.
A debate on where the world's largest cross stands was settled by Paula Hanson. Stan Rolfsrud asserted that he had seen the biggest cross (19 stories high) along a freeway in Texas, but it turns out that there is now one that is nine feet taller in Illinois, according to Paula's hand-held device that answers all questions. We did not ask her device where the world's largest ball of string is located because we got sidetracked naming the states in the four corners (New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Arizona).
Classmate updates were shared. Vacation destination recommendations as well.
We did not talk much about aches and pains other than the flu. Grandchildren somehow didn't make the cut either.
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Here's a file copy of what Kathleen thought at the time was the world's largest cross when we stopped and she took a picture of Stan beneath it.

Official Christmas photo, finally.. .

This reminds us of the days when you brought film to the mall and waited a week or so for the results. (You could pay extra for "overnight.") Maybe you ordered "doubles" in matte or glossy, maybe you sprung for the extra-large images that you intended to frame but never got around to doing. When you did pick up the package, you might not wait to bring home to share, but rather tore it open on the spot or in the parking lot and started to relive the experiences the pictures retold -- or maybe the disappointment of blurred images.
We sort of went through all that with some of our Christmas photos this year. They finally arrived this week, not because the drug store was slow, but because the camera had been left behind, trapping the digital images inside. Since then, the camera has been retrieved, images downloaded, and we finally get a look at what a great time we had over Christmas. Here is the official photo of everyone, utilizing the time delay feature in Jennifer's camera.

Saturday shenanigans

Smoothie Smile. 
Emily wipes away traces of this morning's breakfast
before settling down to some serious construction. 

On its way.
Powered by gravity, marble rolls
down the structure.

The Duluth Trading Co., purveyors of work boots and plumber's no-crack tee shirts, said their box of Amazen Marbles chutes and ramps was just the thing for Christmas. They were right. We finally got around to opening the box of construction materials today and got to work building an engineering marvel that sent marbles bumping and rolling along a path on a circuitous route to the table top. We cheered every time a marble hit bottom, happy enough that gravity still works.
Building block creations is fun for a while -- so is making chocolate chip coookies and playing Go Fish.
Earlier, Emily had a chance to go ice fishing today with Luke, but it fell through. (the chance, not the ice). She's was a bit ambivalent about the experience anyway. Not sure yet about handling a flopping crappie. "I like fish," she explained. "But I like them all ready at Cub."

Click to enlarge and fully appreciate the amazing gap.
Emily's fang has finally been removed

We sang the songs their mother loved

We just returned from the Emogene Olson Bragstad Jacobson funeral in Roseville, a celebration of life if ever there was one.
Born in predominately Norwegian Jackson County in 1922, baptized there at Our Savior's Lutheran, she attended Waldorf College and graduated from St. Olaf in 1943. She taught school, then married a minister, the Rev. Robert Bragstad, in 1947. Her sister, Beatrice, married a minister too, Dr. Joe Knutson, who would become the president of Concordia College in Moorhead.
Emy is survived by three sons, John, Claude and Glen (Stan met John at Concordia); as well as a daughter, Regene.
Twins Glen and Claude have a tax planning firm and are friends with Stan's brother Virg. Stan hadn't talked to their big brother John for years and, whaddaya know? He's now a marriage counselor. His web site promises "Real Help for Real Problems: Serving Stillwater, Woodbury, White Bear Lake, Hudson, WI, and surrounding areas."

John Bragstad

The Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, formed by Emy and her late husband in 1957, was packed today with Lutherans in fine voice. It's a good thing. Emy loved a robust hymn sing and for her funeral she chose some of the best that the Red Hymnal has to offer:
"I Know That My Redeemer Lives,
"Great Is Thy Faithfulness
"Children of the Heavenly Father
"My Hope is Built on Nothing Less
"O Day Full of Grace"
Her eldest, John, also a Luther Seminary grad, delivered a thoughtful remembrance.
After the service, lunch was served by honest-to-goodness church ladies, and the traditional green bean and mushroom soup casserole appeared prominently among the open-faced sandwiches and krumkake.
On the way home, we shared a copy of the program with veteran funeral soloist Bev Rolfsrud, 92, at Kell Avenue in Bloomington. She lit up while going through the many musical selections, singing and humming a few of the familiar lines here and there.

It's The Berger!
Old friends gathered to honor Emy
and enjoy a plateful of tradition.

And of course she knew well all the traditional numbers Emy had chosen for her prelude, alternately presented on organ and piano. At one time or another Mom's performed them all and has taught many others to sing or play them, thereby bringing these enduring tunes forward, and helping to provide a continuous spiritual backdrop to so many lives:
"Sheep May Safely Graze"
"Behold the Host Arrayed in White
"Lift High the Cross
"The King of Love My Shepherd is
"Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling
"What a Friend We Have in Jesus
"Away in a Manager
"Thy Little Ones, Dear Lord are We
"Now Thank we All our God
And of course, "The Doxology."

The postlude was the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah, played on violin and piano, truly a magnificent Amen to the celebration of a long life well-lived.

Sisters

In the kitchen at Jennifer's house. Strictly organic, of course.

Emy Bragstad

Our thoughts are with old friends John, Glen and Claude Bragstad, on the passing of their 89-year-old mother, Emogene Bragstad "Emy" Jacobsen. She was a sweet lady, always bright and supportive. A pleasure to be around.
Stan got to know her three sons when he lived and worked at the Minneapolis War Memorial Blood Bank in the late Sixties and shared overnight blood dispensing responsibilities with them.

Emogene Bragstad "Emy" Jacobsen Grandchildren June 23, 1922 - January 5, 2013  Loving Mom, Grandma, & Great-Grandma  Of Roseville. Preceded in death by first husband, Pastor Robert Bragstad, and second husband, Harold Jacobsen.  Survived by children, John (Susan) Bragstad, Claude Bragstad, Glen Bragstad, and Regene Dykstra (Ron); sister, Margaret Knutson (Glennys) of Austin; 8 grandchildren; 6 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.  Funeral service 11 AM Friday, January 11 at PRINCE OF PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH, 2561 N. Victoria St., Roseville. Visitation at MUELLER-BIES FUNERAL HOME-ROSEVILLE, 2130 N. Dale St. @ Cty Rd B from 4-7 PM Thursday and at church from 10-11 AM Friday. Memorials preferred. MUELLER-BIES 651-487-2550 Emy's twins, Claude and Glen, file photo.