Daybreak

Ode to Joy from Germany

Our cosmopolitan German friends, who love following activities in the USA, don't have a Thanksgiving Day as we do, but they send greetings anyway in this very interesting note.

Hello Stan and Kathleen, 

Hearty greetings to Thanksgiving Day! Hopefully you will get enough electricity to cook a nice meal. (Just kidding...). Nature is powerful.

Watching our news now we know how that huge amounts of snow are developing. It's because of the water/humidity coming off the areas of the Great Lakes. 

Since 1871 in Germany the air temperature will be recorded. This year happens to be the warmest one since that date. This means less snow in the Alpes, not nice for skiing/snowboarding. (In Austria and Switzerland). The people there use artificial man-made snow to prepare the ski piste. Global warming maybe?! 

How are the children doing? Preparing for Chrismas? We are watching the political affairs...Russia is only 2 hours away. 

25 years ago the wall had been torn down, there has been a nice, great party on this event. A miles long row of white lighted balloons has been fixed on the line, where the former border between East and West Berlin was. At midnight that day the balloons have been released and have flown to the skies...that has been a beautiful view. The same time Beethovens Europe hymn Ode an die Freude ( Ode to the Joy") "Freude schöner Götterfunken..."had been played by a classic orchestra at the Brandenburg Gate. Very touching, the song text had been written by Schiller.

We wish you a happy Advent season. The first Advent day is tomorrow. Time to drink tea today in the afternoon as we have grey sky. It's around 0 celcius, 32 Fahrenheit here in Hanover. We will take a look at your blog today.

Love, Ingeborg and Thomas

Lucky breakfast pick

Hashtag Giddy-up and Run Slado Run paid for breakfast this morning at Canterbury. Katie made the lucky pick on an Exacta Box at Tampa Bay Downs.

An evening with the Irish

Celtic Thunder press photo

Five lads from Ireland packed the State Theater in downtown Minneapolis last night, bringing Christmas greetings from the Emerald Isle. They're Celtic Thunder and they're in Des Moines tonight.
Black Friday crowds had thinned, we parked for five bucks, wending unimpeded through the skyways and pausing over the Nicollet Mall to enjoy Fireworks, which seems to be the poor substitute for the now defunct Hollidazzle Parade.
Early for everything now, we gazed at the intricate, gaudy interior of the restored State Theater, nodding knowingly and commenting, of course, that "they just don't make 'em like this anymore."
Three chatty beer-drinking broads eased into the seats next to us, ready to party and enjoy the Irish hunks made popular by PBS. The virile good-looking quintet has great voices, but the program was too much Santa and not enough Celtic for us. Katie O'Rolfsrud melts for the Ava Maria, and she did again last night.

In honor of Ron Letnes, Stan took this discreet,
forbidden shot of the interior of the State Theater.

Local musicians provided a marvelous, rich backdrop to the performers, a full-orchestra led by the animated Celtic Thunder conductor we so loved to watch, dancing and wringing every drop of Irish soul out of the local pros, introduced as "The State Theater Orchestra." The Thunder arranger mixed cellos and drums, french horns and electric bass, strings and rock and roll in a creative holiday musical montage. Twenty-six numbers later, the boys donned kilts for their finale, and everyone stood and sang a rousing pub version of the Rugby Anthem "Ireland, Ireland, Forever Standing Tall." It was great fun.
Outside, it was a warm evening by Minnesota standards, so we took the sidewalks, now singing bits and pieces, imbued with the Christmas spirit, trying to think of a Christmas song we hadn't heard.
All we could come up with was "O Tannenbaum." (Yes, they did include "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.")
Katie is still singing as this is written.

Wired

Jennifer's good buddy Greg came over today on her day off and they got a bunch done, the best of which is the new kitchen is wired! Thanks Greg!

A Florida Thanksgiving Dinner before sunset

Photos by Virg

Virg and Kim hosted Becky and Al and others at Thanksgiving Dinner today in Ft. Myers, Virg proclaimed Kim's Dinner a complete success, which doesn't surprise anyone.

Meanwhile, a couple thousand miles west, Steve writes from Tucson:
It looks like we are not missing much in the weather department in Minnesota. Not to put too fine a point on it, but we had the doors wide open all day with the 85 degree day and calm winds. I have three friends coming out for a week of golf and then I will be back in it--hopefully after the polar vortex retreats a bit.

Happy T-Day to you and Kathleen

Thanksgiving, 1937

Here's Mom's group 77 Thanksgivings ago. Our 94-year-old mother will be dining at Kell Avenue in Bloomington, Minnesota today. We'll be dropping by shortly to look at all the preparations and share some gratitude with the gang. We'll be sure to show Mom this picture and see if it triggers anything. Mom was 18 in this photo, standing behind her little sister Kay. Her brother Richard and her parents are pictured, but not her brothers Bayard and Ralph, nor her sister Dorothy. Cousin Faith thinks her Mom (Richard's wife Esther) might have taken the picture.

We don't know where Mom's 1937 Thanksgiving took place, (that's her on the upper right) but here's our cousin Faith's IDs: From l to r, Richard Manley Brown, unknown person, Jessie Wendelken Brown, Paul Manley Brown, Dora Foss Isakson, unknown - (could this be great aunt Florence Wendelken?), Frances Dorthy Isakson (Dumpling), Katherine Bonita Brown, and Jessie Beverly Brown.

Sleep tight, little ones

New snow fell on our fresh-frozen pond, locking our goldfish and others in for the duration. It is comforting to know that at these temperatures the warm water all goes to the bottom, where our fingerlings will drift listlessly for months, just above the hibernating frogs and turtles entombed in the muck. We hope there's enough oxygen down there for six months of winter. Time will tell.

Hail to the Bags Champion!

It took twelve hard fought afternoons and evenings at the Deer Camp to do it, but Wayne finally won the Haney Road Corn Bags Championship and today the trophy arrived. Here's Wayne's note:

I had mentioned we played bags during the season. Neighboring shack dwellers joined us as well. We had several tournaments and I was declared the champion. I had avoided bragging to this point, but after a package arrived this morning with the "Bags Champion of the Haney Road" inscription on a trophy, I just have to share the glory.
It will go to a shelf at deer camp and I will have to defend it next season. Until then, I now know what it must be like to win a Super Bowl. I'm now waiting for the call to be in the Thanksgiving parade Friday night.
Wayne