At ages 96, 94 and 91, and with their spouses gone, sisters Becky, Linda and Solveig decided to move in together at the Wexford in Blaine.

One night Becky went upstairs and drew a bath. She put her foot in and paused. She yelled to the other sisters, "Was I getting in or out of the bath?"

Linda yelled back, "I don't know. I'll come up and see." She started up the stairs and paused. "Was I going up the stairs or down?"

Solveig was still sitting at the kitchen table, having tea and listening to her sisters. She shook her head and said, "I sure hope I never get that forgetful, knock on wood."

She then yelled, "I'll come up and help both of you as soon as I see who's at the door."

Emily visits the newspaper office. (Photo by Melissa Gilman)

Hey! Wake Up, it's Wednesday!

Grandma just couldn't wait this morning and jumped into her new beetle car early to go and pick me up so Mom wouldn't have to bring me to Shakopee. Sometimes Grandma just can't help it. Mom works really hard at the big office in Eden Prairie so she appreciates when Grandma gets crazy for me. Big field trip to Jordan is scheduled for today. Grandma and Grandpa are directing the redecorating of the town's newspaper office and I get to go along. They say it will be a real neat replica 1940s Norman Rockwell newspaper office theme. Retro, way before I was ever born.

Did you kow that Grandma and Grandpa actually used to live in famous Chaska, Minnesota? Grandpa was the hardest working editor of the paper there years and years ago and still is involved in its management. Well, Money Magazine, which I don't read, says it is the very best place to live in Minnesota and the 8th best place in the whole wide country. Wow. Maybe we'll move again. Have a look at our paper at http://www.chaskaherald.com/

No plans for summer softball yet

Despite excellent progress, there are no plans yet for Briggs Rolfsrud Siitari to sign up for summer softball leagues in Mankato. This photograph was taken by her Uncle Stan when Briggs was a slaphitter for Mankato East, shown here playing in the state high school tournament during her senior year in high school. Sharp-eyed bloggers will spot Briggs' brother, Ford, scouting from behind the backstop.

Steve Rolfsrud writes:
Dear Family and Friends:
No, Briggs won't be playing softball any time soon.
But her former high school softball teammate, Ty Ries, now living in San Francisco, and Ty's mother, Carol, stopped in this past weekend. This was the weekend of the Lake Nokomis triathlon that Briggs and Ty had both entered.
Unfortunately Briggs had to cancel. We haven't heard yet how Ty did.
Lately, Briggs has been having some very good days and then some not so good days, including nausea and pain, probably related to overdoing it a bit at times, thinking that she was further along than she is.

Ups and downs
But today was a good day again. So as long as she paces herself better she should continue to improve. She did make it to Bill's parents' home in Buffalo for the weekend, but laid low most of the time while there.
She had been talking about going back to work in the next week or so, as she sees her orthopedic surgeon this week for a follow-up exam. But based on the recent ups and downs she may need to take it more slowly.
Bill is doing great--and will be heading back to work shortly.
Thanks for checking in.
Steve

St. Paul Katie's back in action

After two months without her poker table, St. Paul Katie lost no time getting back into action. Our temporary live-ins closed on their new house on Wednesday, moved out of our basement, and Kathleen threw a poker party tonight. When this photo was taken she was still in the money with Shel Anderson and Mike Suel sitting on the big stacks. Kristi, Nancy, Dave and Sherri were already in the loser's lounge, enjoying their Pinot Noir and loose meats. Our former neighbor, Sheri, was back in town for a visit after two years on the East Coast for Michelin, so she had some fun with her old pokermates. Kristi and Shel Anderson, left; Kristi and Sherri, below.

News flash!
And tonight's winner is. . .

First: St. Paul Katie; Second place, Mike Suel - right; third place, Da Professor - left, and, below, losers shall remain nameless:

Meanwhile, in Rapid City

The Clary clan got together yesterday afternoon. These are relatives on Stan's mother's side, as in Beverly Brown Rolfsrud, as in her late brother Ralph's descendents. Left to right, back: Megan, Kristin, Dalton, Steven Front: Julie, Phyllis, Kevin, Nancy.

Host Nancy writes: "Kevin and the kids are here for a couple days. Not represented are Louis, who hides when we get out the camera, and Pat, the photographer. Julie's older kids, Chris and Sheryl, weren't here. Chris is in Minneapolis, and Sheryl was working here in Rapid."
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Recently our Jennifer Kathleen Blethen spent some delightful times with Nancy and Pat in Rapid City -- see earlier posts on this blog.

Ben & Jerry's?

Rena Rolfsrud Veeder and the Rev. Ben Veeder had two sons, Gerald and Ben. Last weekend they flew from their homes on the East coast to the Rolfsrud Reunion, along with some family members. Gerald worked for 32 years for Carolina Freight Carrier Corp. in Cherryville, North Carolina. Ben is an ordained minister and served parishes in a variety of locations throughout the country. Ben & Jerry's Dad, Ben, was also a minister and once served a congregation in Deadwood, South Dakota. Erling Rolfsrud brought his whole family out there to see his sister on a summer vacation, back in the 50s. The eight of us rode in style... a 1958 Edsel station wagon. Didn't Chevy Chase do a movie about that? But we digress.

That's Gerald's daughter, Pamela Maze, with her daughter, Caitlyn Rebecca, in the upper left photo. Caitlyn Rebecca is Rebecca Rolfsrud's great great granddaughter. Her mom has a master's in school psychology. On the right are Nancy and Gen, Gerald and Ben's wives. Below, Gerald and Nancy's daughter, Teresa, looked over some sage with JoHanna Weltzin. Lower right, Ben and Jerry's group got ready for its closeup.

This is Gerald Veeder, left, with his daughter, Teresa. The man in the middle is David Veeder. Here's where it gets complicated. David Veeder is Gerald Veeder's two-way cousin. David is Agnes Rolfsrud Veeder's son. Gerald is Rena Rolfsrud Veeder's son. The reason they are double cousins is that sisters Agnes and Rena married two brothers, Ben and Sidney Veeder in a double ring ceremony on May 29, 1930. They have confused family geneologists ever since. David and Gerald share genes from two distinct pools. And, while we are at it, to make things more confusing, there are a long line of Ben Veeders -- five I think. So the Ben Veeder you see in the top photo is the son of Ben Veeder. He is also the father of Ben Veeder -- who -- only has daughters, Heather, Megan and Dalynne.

Getting the Big Picture

John Rolfsrud directed attention to points of interest from high atop a hill near the Rolfsrud Ranch. Pointing in the opposite direction is Linda Rolfsrud Letnes with her grandson, Antonio. Al Jerdee and Theresa Crozier joined the climbers. Theresa loves history and will be attending Mankato University in the fall.

Here, Alexis, let me fix that for you. . .

Anja Erickson adjusted Alexis Lovehaug's collar Saturday in a gesture of new-found friendship. They are the latest additions to Nils and Rebecca Rolfsrud's family tree and drew plenty of attention at the reunion. They are both about the same age, eight months. Below, Anja is the daughter of Shana Letnes Erickson and the granddaughter of Linda Rolfsrud Letnes. Alexis is the daughter of Michele Lovehaug and is the granddaughter of the late Louise Rolfsrud Haugen. Husbands/fathers Erik and Adam are not pictured, but proud grandpa Ron Letnes is visible on the far left.