Happy New Year!

Happy New Year fom Kathleen and her brother, Dan.

Today's report on our youngest

A week ago Stan and Jennifer enjoyed lunch at the Day by Day Cafe in St. Paul.
They agreed to live One Day at a Time.

Her cheerful spirit is quite contagious.
Two weeks ago, our brave daughter Jennifer underwent surgery for breast cancer. She had endured months of chemotherapy leading up to it.

Jennifer searched hard to find the right surgeon.
She found her, thinks she's the greatest: Dr. Margit Bretzki.

The surgeon was quite pleased with the procedure and its outcome, and now we are too.
--
We enjoyed Christmas with all three girls and their loved ones; it was great seeing Jennifer in the midst of traditional activities at our house. She even had enough energy to stay up late, after others had left, to have cheesy scrambled eggs and a movie with her mom.
Jennifer saw her much-admired surgeon again today and was judged good to go for a couple more weeks before checking back.
It has been a Happy Holiday in the truest sense and we're most grateful.
We'll continue to take this one day at a time, thank you all for your support and good wishes.

But wait, there's more!

Organizing continues in a century's worth of family miscellaneous in Marysville (see post below):
A diligent and persistent Solveig writes of today's surprises and sends along photographic proof:

She writes:
After the amazing umbrella fun with Ella and Will, I didn't expect anything today. I returned to the "back-bedroom boxes" and got into sorting: Historical/Significant/Valuable; Trash; Donate; Recycle; and Shred. As you might recall, the Shearer newspaper people don't toss Evidence or Records or, well, Paper.

I'm a good hour into the not unpleasant, but laborious activity when JACKPOT!!

Yup, $60 tax free, all mine, surprise cash. Energy renewed, I continue, knowing this is today's surprise, thank you very much, Aunt Marilyn.

So imagine my surprise when I open another innocuous envelope and find $81.37!

The third envelope on the lower right is labeled "$5.00 odd money," and contains a $2 bill and six Kennedy half dollars. Oh, and another half hour into the project, $3.50 in an unlabeled envelope.

The evening's not over. Who knows?

On adventure in Marysville,
Solveig

Today's find

It’s raining in Marysville, Ohio where Solveig and Bill continue the organizing and rehabbing of the grand old Queen Anne housing Bill’s family estate. As they left for lunch, Solveig reached for an umbrella and pulled out one that said “McKinley Hobart” on it.

As they walked, Sosie enjoyed the smooth feel of the wooden handle and wondered, whose umbrella? Where were they in their life? After they ordered our fish and clams, she googled "McKinley Hobart campaign umbrella." 1896. Inauguration, March 4, 1897. Last one sold on EBay for $600.

They will be there for another 12 days before returning to California. Will there be more surprises?Any baseball cards?

"Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread. . ."

The neighbor grandchildren paid close attention to Stanta's every word. Lucy, 5, used to be afraid of Santa.
Not any more. With the confidence and courage of a new kindergartener, she convinced her brother Cameron,
age 3, to join her for a candid conversation with the old gent. Photo supplied by Grandma Sandy Story.

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,  
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;  

Clement Moore

Snow Cats

Stan Rolfsrud

Today's News

We got a couple of inches of snow this morning, the Day After Christmas -- the first reasonably fluffy snowfall of the season. Our faithful volunteer paper carrier and neighbor broke trail to get us the news; Stan's now deep into the NY Times crossword. City plows have made the first sweep over a tricky mix of ice, water and snow that promises a residue of worry if we don't get sun to promptly burn it off. We get a lull this morning, then more precip this afternoon.
What's a four letter word for warm inside? Starts with C.
Not cocoa. That's five letters.

Merry Christmas from all of us

Maxwell, Dan, Marcy; Stan, Katie, Jennifer, Emily, Missy
Christmas 2015

The people at Fruit of the Loom say you shouldn't give underwear to just anybody for Christmas. If you're family, apparently, anything goes.

Sure, we got tons of ordinary stuff at our annual gift exchange this afternoon, but we had some highlights too. Our new legal adult got a bottle of Muscato -- from his mother. Emily's artwork was printed onto a pillowcase and given to her aunt Jennifer.

A couple honorable mentions: Kathleen went out of her way to score a special toilet paper holder being admired (photo at right) by Emily, Diane and Missy. It was Missy's must have item, now her bathroom is complete.

See a very useful item in Minnesota (below) for someone who wants to walk outdoors whenever possible. Notice the nose hole and the side breathing vent. Excellent. 

Now hopefully he won't be mistaken for a terrorist.

and children of all ages. . .

Anne Drees was on Stanta's Very Good list tonight. He liked it a lot when she squealed like a little girl at his arrival. He was kept busy with Mrs. Claus tonight, making the rounds in the neighborhood on the most pleasant evening in memory. Then home again to get ready for tomorrow's events.
We're excited.