...more coherent nightmares....

Years ago (hm - 21, actually), Paul described the sermon at Norris's baptism by saying "I've had more coherent nightmares."

I can only steal those words in order to describe the show that Norris, Jerry, Russ and I saw last night: Andrew Lloyd Webber's Starlight Express.

This is a show that combined roller skating, 3D movies, music and special effects to tell the story of... uh, a boy playing with his trains - racing them to see which is fastest. It's the love story between a steam engine and a railway car. It's the competition between Diesel, Electric and Steam... It's all that and more. The only stage show where I've been instructed to put on (and take off) 3D glasses.

Very talented skaters, good singing, and extremely athletic dance/skate-ing. I can't imagine how Andrew Lloyd ever sold anyone on this bizarre show. I don't expect to ever see anything like this again.

The power of the written word

no, I didn't do this one.....

Great story and illustrations, Peter and Maria! I have been famous for my flat tires in bad weather and bad locations, but now I see there are worse things than flat tires.

One in the hubcap is worth two in the bush....

Today Maria put a slightly different twist on this old saying....

Maria was driving back to work after going home for lunch. While driving she heard a THUMP THUMP THUMP sound coming from her tire. Thinking that her tire was going flat, she was concerned, but decided to drive the rest of the way to work since the tire didn't seem to be completely flat. She got to work and discovered the source of the thumping sound. It appeared to be a rope of some sort dangling out of a hole in the hubcap on her tire. She went to pull the rope out of the hubcap when she realized, horror stricken, what the "rope" actually was. It was a SNAKE!

Maria was too horrified to actually remove the snake herself (understandably), and so she drove all the way home with that sickening THUMP THUMP THUMP noise in the background. When I got home I jacked up the car, took the wheel off, and surgically extracted the snake.. Wow, that sure gave me the willies.. ewww.

pictures of our slithering friend to follow - >

Letter from Bloomington

Hi Andersons,
It's great reading what everyone is up to! I've been having a fun summer in Bloomington, doing my research and taking some time off for fun activities:



(Minnesota isn't the only state with lakes)

I'm also moving to a new apartment at the end of July and will have a new address:

809 S. Henderson, Apartment #2
Bloomington, IN 47401

I'm having fun with my new Apple iBook and its wireless connection that I bought off the remnants of my grant. The future is now!
Happy rest of the summer! It's great hearing about everyone's trips--
Ingrid

Thanks for the pictures and report of the trip, John and Lynda. It looks fabulous! And, Mae, we certainly hope you can come and visit in August. We always have an extra bed.

Norris worked until 3:30 am this morning, helping to rearrange the store. Local people might have read about Marshall Field's reinventing itself in the Saturday Mpls. paper. They are adding a lot more trendy brands, even to the extent of leasing space within a store to other companies.

Liv worked at another car show this weekend, but it was not nearly as popular as the "Back to the 50s" one, so they closed up shop early on Sunday. They had lots of breakfast biscuits 'n gravy left over.

Liv and I are leaving on Friday for Pine Ridge Reservation. Three adults, seven girls, two minivans, Wall Drug, Mt. Rushmore, and the poorest county in the United States!

Hi everyone,
Thanks again to Ingrid for posting our photos. Well, it was the most complicated vacation I ever organized, but it was worth it. A really beautiful area as you can see, and we had outstanding weather (sunny in the 70's) which is not the norm. The islands are great, and you can ride those ferries for free if you walk on or bike. We had an afternoon in Seattle on Fri. visiting the Dusty Strings music store where I got to try th Fluke ukulele, and the Pike Place public market. Then it was flying back to Atlanta on Sat. arriving home about 10 pm. If anyone has a chance to visit the San Juan Islands I recommend it.

John

Wow
I was just gearing up to say something about summer doldrums and how little there was of late on the blog, and then those pictures were added! Beautiful!

Three Pictures from John & Lynda's trip to Washington




"The first picture is a beach area we stopped on Lopez Island while biking."



"The view of the ferry boats shows one leaving Orcas (where we stayed) and one arriving early in the a.m."



"The final one shows us on top Mt. Constitution the highest
point on Orcas. We drove up and walked the last mile to the top."

AP Scores
I got my AP scores in the mail finally! I got a four on both Biology and European History! (The scale is 1-5. 4=Well Qualified. 3 is the lowest passing score.) A four on an AP test is equivalent to an E (Exceeds Expectations) on an OWL in Harry Potter.
----Livvi'i

Hey everyone, it's John here from the Lopez Island public library -- couldn't find a cybercafe. Lynda and I have had a wonderful day biking on this island. Now we have some time to kill before our ferry back to where we're staying on Orcas Island. Very beautiful vistas of water and mountains and island farms everywhere. Had lunch at a place called Agate Bay -- picked up a few rocks, but rock collecting and biking don't really mix that well. Taking a few digital pictures so maybe we'll have some to share.

John

Hi:

Here is a photograph of Koko as an orphan mutt on the doorstep. It's a joint effort: Norris posed him, I took the picture, and Joel adjusted the color electronically as the flash hadn't gone off. And of course, Koko looked cute. Do you think he can be the next Mr. Winkle?

happy birthday norris!

July 9, 2003
Happy Birthday, Norris! I hope your birthday is full of adventure! We're looking forward to seeing you on Saturday.
Maybe your dad will show me how to make those nifty pictures.

/\
( _ )

(This is Norris with a birthday hat on his head!! ) I guess I don't need any help after all, Joel... Nancy

Happy 21st, Norris!

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Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! Maria and I went up to Hayward, WI to the parent's cabin on Round Lake. It was a beautiful weekend up there, and we had a great time fishing, going to flea markets, eating at the original Famous Dave's restaurant, and watching fireworks on the 4th at the Casino. And the sunsets both nights were beautiful! Here's one of them!



I hope the rest of my family had a good trip to Illinois for Pete and Diane's 25th anniversary! Happy Anniversary guys!

Tom- Have you ever considered joining the Peace Corps?
Liv

Bloomin' Hostas!
From a picture that John passed on - a blooming "Fried Green Tomato":

From the Buford Avenue Missile Agency: Independence Day!
Independence from gravity! At least for a moment or two, I went down and launched three rockets - my small contribution to the black powder industry of the USA!

Earlier today, we watched the parade down Como in St. Anthony Park (marchers included an "Anaphylaxis and Food Allergy Support Group") . At the park Teresa and I played in the band (I got to sing, too) for the festivities. Especially notable is the fact that Kokomo got to come with us! He doesn't get out much, at least to such exciting places - but he was very well behaved. He sat on Liv's lap during our concert - finally he understands why Teresa practices those crazy drums (he usually hides around the corner from her when she is practicing).

Great to see more activity here! We're looking forward to hearing more! John and Lynda, I bet there are E-cafe's in Washington!

I must admit I impressed myself still being in 4th place of the posting stats while not having posted for a couple months or something like that. Here's the deal- I have two bachelor's degrees and no jobs. I might have some work coming up with a friend of mine who does construction work and so I'm hoping that works out. Otherwise I'm writing a novel about a man named Jack who has never left Pittsburgh but has a great National Geographic collection in his basement and he reads them and learns all about these far off countries and distant lands and then he goes around to dinner parties and lies to people about all the adventures he's had in foreign lands with the finest mysterious women of the world's cosmopolitan urban centers and lost corners.

Then, I meet Jack and we go on a trip to Mexico City and climb the pyramids and he cries.

That's the climax.

Well, without a job, I figured I might as well spend my time productively. I've also been helping a friend of mine record an album. Get all the details at www.jeremyerickson.com.

okay, hope everyone is well. Tom.

It's great to have so many new posts! Happy 4th of July!

Hay everybody - I'm back from almost 3 weeks on the farm - My folks are doing pretty well, but get discouraged sometimes. Mom has Paget's disease in her left shoulder... chronic pain, bone structure changes, etc., but no treatment decided upon at this time. Dad's femur has a fracture in it right below where his hip replacements were done, so has a lot of pain some days. He does a lot of reading and is very patient and never complains!
My sister Jan's house is almost ready for her to move in. It's really lovely. I'm so happy for her!
Mark, Stevie & I will be going down this weekend for my brother Pete and Diane's 25th anniversary celebration. It was fun catching up on each of you. Everybody in this house (except me) have been doing a lot of biking. I enjoy hearing about everyone's travels and trees. Happy Independence Day! Take Care! Nancy

Hey everybody -- John here,
I notice from the statistical analysis prepared by Teresa that I haven't been posting very much, so here goes.

Thanks to Ingrid for posting the pictures of the tree that fell into our side yard -- that should be all grass in that area. It was half of a double tulip poplar that fell from the yard across the creek. It missed our house, but damaged a crabapple tree and a cedar tree. It is actually a pretty massive trunk that fell, but it's hard to see in the picture because it was covered with ivy, so it just looks like a bunch of greenery. We have a lot of ivy in our yard and I always keep it off the tree trunks. Down here it will grow up and completely cover large trees. We have had tree services out to look at this -- our neighbor will pay for removal, but she has moved out of state and has the house for sale, so everything is moving slowly.

Lynda will be heading out to Port Townsend, WA next week for an early music workshop. I will join her for a vacation on Orcas Island in Puget Sound the week of July 13. I just shipped our bikes out there via UPS yesterday, so I hope they arrive. We should be back home the evening of July19.

I think we have made up for 5 years of drought in the past 2 months, and we are getting hit by the remnants of Tropical Storm Bill right now. Hope everyone is having a great summer.

John

Hi Everyone,
Sorry it's been so long since I posted anything. I've just been extremely busy with finding a new job and getting situated. It's much better at my new job. I am still doing the same things, just less work, more pay and the people are a lot nicer. The building is also beautiful and brand new. However, on my first day I found out that someone from my old job had called the vice president of my new job and told her all sorts of untrue rumors. Thank God she didn't believe them, otherwise I could've gotten fired. I was so upset and hurt. I couldn't believe someone would have the nerve to do that to me, especially when I worked so hard for them and did absolutely nothing wrong. I am in the process of finding out who exactly it was and getting to the bottom of it before it gets any worse.

Anyways, thanks everyone for all your anniversary wishes. Joel, I love that picture that you posted for us. Well, tomorrow evening we are going to Mark and Nancys for dinner. It will be nice to see Nancy again. Seems like she's been gone forever.

So does everyone have plans for the fourth of July? I think Pete and I may be going up to my parents cabin. It will be a nice getaway. My parents found out a couple days ago that the sale of my parents home fell through. It's tragic for both parties. I guess they recieved a letter in the mail stating that the Mr. of the family got cancer and that they can't afford it anymore since he will be undergoing chemo and they need to use that money to get him better. My parents are just devastated for him, but now dont know what to do since they are building a new house. Now they own two homes and arent sure if either one will sell. Please keep them in your prayers.

Hope it doesnt take me this long to write again. Take care everyone!

Anderson House Chronicles, continued. Chapter 2. The Tree.

Hello,

Dad wanted me to post these pics of a tree that fell in our backyard. More comments by Dad to follow!

Ingrid

Whoosh
Last day of June (I'm trying to fly a rocket every month

and almost missed out on June!), and a great day to fly!

Beautiful picture Peter!

Ok, here's a report on what Maria and I have been doing..:) We went to a Saints Game yesterday with others in our church small group. It was a beautiful day and perfect for being outdoors. We were in the sun at the hottest time of the day, and all ended up getting sunburned. Ouch!.. The Saints won 5-3!Here's the field from our seats:

| |

Stats
I get carried away (or should be) - here's a graphic to encourage MORE posting!

Each horizontal tick represents an archived week of postings. The vertical axis is number of posts.

My analysis is that warmer weather yields less time at the computer. But that means you all should have more to report! Let us hear more about what y'all are doing out there!

The Anderson Blog is now six months old! Thanks for starting it, Peter. I thought it might be interesting to count how many times each Anderson had written. Lousy epidemiologist that I am, I was planning on doing this manually, but Joel wrote a quick program and had it done before I could start. This is NOT to criticize anyone for blgging too much or too little (but it would be nice to hear from everyone once and a while!)

The envelope, please...

Peter 108
Joel 74
Teresa 42
Thomas 26
Mae 25
Nancy 24
Liv 23
Maria 19
Matt 11
Ingrid 10
Mark 9
Janelle 8
John 8
Lynda 3
Norris 3
Paul 0
Stevie 0

Baby Shower
Today Janelle, my mom and myself attended a baby shower for a co-worker, Robin. Robin and her husband Mike adopted a baby, Dylan Mario, from Guatemala. Dylan is 9 months old and "cute as a button." He was a very calm baby.
Hasta luego,
Livvi'i

Expecto Patronum*

Well, not much going on here - at least no trips farther than Forest Lake. Teresa is doing her final show tonight at Seven Brides for Seven Brothers tonight. We're all - except for Norris - reading Harry Potter this week. Liv got it first, then me, now Teresa. (I know one family that was doing this simultaneously with FOUR bookmarks). Thursday Liv and I parked cars for the Saints games (this is a fund raiser for the youth group at church) so we had a nice hour or more of Harry Potter discussion time. We can both recommend Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix highly. It is a lot darker than the earlier books, and you do need to read the others first.

I'm eagerly waiting for my copy of The Hidden Key to Harry Potter, a book which is supposed to show how JK Rowling is literary kin to CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien (they all have initials for first names!).

*Latin: "I expect a defender" - the spell that conjurs a defender; You have to read the HP books to get that. Artwork from a Russian website about Harry Potter.

Well its been a while since anyone posted anything so I thought I would just take a moment to say thank you for all your anniversary wishes. We had a great time this past weekend at the aurora stapes inn in stillwater (for more or our own pictures, Click Here). We stayed in the "Peacock Room" which was done in a peacock motif.



The wallpaper, chairs, rugs and everything else had peacocks somehow involved. The room also had a big whirpool to soak in, which was wonderful after a day of walking around stillwater. In the morning we had a big breakfast with the other guests, and they were all there to celebrate anniversaries or birthdays. The older married couples were happy to give some advice about marriage, kids and other topics..

Maria started her new job this week at Signature Title in Savage. If you could all keep her in your prayers as she adjusts to the new situation. I'm so proud of you Maria!

Welcome home MOM! Mom has been in Illinois for the past several weeks helping out her folks, and while we're glad she was able to help out, we're to have her back. It was good to hear your voice again last night! Have a great rest of the week everyone!

    _  _

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    |  Happy Anniversary Peter and Maria!  |

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Happy #1, Peter and Maria!

For any Andersons interested, the St. Anthony Park Community Band is playing at Lake Como Tuesday, June 24, at 7:00 p.m. As John B. has not shown up this year (yet anyway... he could still show up after missing all the rehearsals), I am the senior drummer with the director's 14-year-old son, Joe, breathing down my neck and telling me what I'm doing wrong. Our friend Lili from church (the alto who sang at the nursing home with us in December) wanted to play in a band so she is our bass drummer now--the first time she's played an instrument. I also volunteered her to sing on an number.

I am playing accordian for "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" in Forest Lake this week and next. Florian Keller is the musical director (same as for 'Fiddler'). Kind of crazy thing for me to do, considering I just got back from Europe on Sunday and started with tech rehearsal on Monday night (in fact, I have never mentioned this to my mother, so keep it under your hat). It's a very lively performance with lots of dancing if anyone is interested, but don't come to see me as I don't play much. Because the pit is so crowded, the harp player and I sit outside of it and so have a very good view of the stage, although we can't wriggle around or pick our noses.

Happy Anniversary, Peter and Maria! (one day early)

Have a great day!
Janelle and Matt :)

Log this under the "what not to do when you're fishing" file.

local6.com - News - Paramedics Pull Bluegill From Fisherman's Throat

After receiving some feedback on the blog, I've decided to go back to the old layout for now. When I receive some photos of family members that I can use, we'll set up a new banner for the top with some better quality pix. Have a great thursday!

Hey everyone, hope you're all having a great week!

Just a note about the blog.. i've changed the look a little bit.. let me know what you think!

I would like to make a new banner at top with pictures of everyone in it. The only problem is I don't have good pictures of everyone. if you could send them to me at onebigswede@hotmail.com, that would be great. thanks!

Stevie and I went on a parent /child adventure too. We didn't make it to Europe or California but all the way to Carver Park, 27 miles from our home. We packed our tents, sleeping bags, food etc. onto our human powered vehicles and headed to our favorite campground on thursday. The weather was great and our trip out there was uneventfull except for the fact that I had to pump up my back tire a few times because it seemed to be losing air. We fished, we swam, cooked foil dinners over a wood fire , had s'mores and fought off hordes of the minnesota state bird( aka mosquitos). Everything was fine until minutes before our departure friday my back tube gave up the ghost. A spare tube was the one thing I had plenty of back at home. So here we were stranded 27 miles from home on a very warm but beautiful June day. I called home and left a message for Tom to come and get us. I had no idea where he was or when he would get the message. Then while Stevie went swimming again I borrowed his bike and rode a couple miles into Victoria to see if there were any tubes there. I verified that there were no tubes for sale and returned to the campground. Repeated calls to our house confirmed that Tom was not there which meant that either he had'nt heard the message yet or else he had heard it and was already on his way to rescue us. Then I thought of Carsoup.com. They help people resolve their transportation needs . Why not us? When I called Carsoup and explained our problem to their top problemsolver he agreed to help. A short time later this professional delivered the required tube plus a spare and graciously hauled or camping gear back to civilization. With the bike repaired Stevie and I completed our ride at 9:00 P.M. Thank You Peter!

This is our last night in Geneva. It seems we've been gone forever! We look like we've spent the time on the beach instead of at conference in a big city. I have never been so hot in my life (including Disney World in July). Today we toured the Red Cross Museum and the European UN among other things. Our English-speaking tour guide for the UN was from Argentina and some of the people on the tour spoke something other than English as their first langûage, so it was interesting. Liv had the idea of buying all day bus passes so we spent a lot of time commuting back and forth. Nothing is air-conditioned except for our hotel room, but everyone else looks cool and collected on the buses and in restaurants. Home to Minnesota!

Bonjour ya'll. Mom and I had a very uneventfull trip to Annecy, France. It was very nice there. Everything was a lot cheaper than in Geneva. It wasnt cooler there, but I liked it more. There was a big market when we first got there and everyone had there little foofy dog and was buying fruit, veggies, meat, cheese and bread. We walked around the lake and saw some swans. Then we ate lunch at a good Vietnamese restaurant that was sort of in an alley/courtyard thing. We spent a lot of the day in a park. We sat in the shade and read. It was fun and uneventful.
Love,
Livvi'i

My presentation went okay, but the whole thing was strange--kind of a cross between a conference and a camping trip. I had to take a bus up to a beautiful pastoral area and then walk down a road to find the meeting which was held in a kind of old barn or garage! I was wearing a black dress, nylons, and dress shoes and sweating like crazy. We ate lunch first in another old building--neither was air conditioned. And after my talk, the committee pretty much decided they didn't want links to other websites on their site anyway, so to heck with criteria for choosing them!

HI! It continues to be very hot here. This morning I went and saw the University, it was very pretty. Then I went on a boat tour, that was very fun. There were very few people on board except for a whole class of seven year olds on a field trip. The man who sold me my ticket was very funny and nice, he told me where I could get the cheapest pop in Geneva, too! Then I got some lunch and went back to the room. I didn't do too much after that, but I found a very nice (and VERY cheap) clothing store across the street, H&M.
Livvi'i

Hi Everyone,

It sure has been a long long time since I visited this site. Lots has happened to you all and to me. I have been extremely busy with work lately. The last week of May I worked till 11:30pm almost every single night. I had been thinking about quiting for a long time because they work me too hard, yet I love my job and what I do. So, I started to look for a different job. It didnt take me long to find lots of title companies interested in hiring me. So, I have a new job working for a company called Signature Title. They pay me much more, it's a lot closer to home, it's in a brand new building and I am an a assistant to only one closer instead of two at Edina Realty. So, hopefully that will mean less work. They also promised me that I would never ever work past 7pm. So that will be heaven compared to my other job. My last day at Edina Realty is on Thursday June 19 and I start at Signature Title on the 23rd. I am excited, yet nervous at the same time. If you could keep me in your prayers, that would be a great comfort.

Pete and I are also approaching our 1 year anniversary. We are planning on staying at a bed and breakfast in Stillwater since I have never stayed at one before. It should be a fun time.

Glad to hear everyone is doing well. Take care.

It's Just One Harrowing Experience After Another
So we were on the bus to the international part of town and then suddenly the driver applied the brakes and we just barely didn't hit this womans car that was also applying the brakes and spun around and hit a fence. This old man in the back of the bus near us was lying on the floor, and we thought he was dead. They finally got him up and then he was standing and wasnt responding to anything that anyone was saying in French, English, German or Italian. So ....it turned out his hearing aids had been thrown across the bus and the driver almost threw them away. Then we got off as they were calling an ambulance. Well, that was it. Bonsoir! Livvi'i

Here's what Liv was writing about)

Thanks for the pictures of California. No sweatshirts needed in Geneva! Actually, we are quite sunburned after walking around all yesterday... again today it is sunny and will be in the high 80s.

Our biggest experience yesterday was the Jet d'eau, the 450' jet of water going up in the lake, seen in all pictures of Geneva. We were surprised to discover one could walk right out to it on a long pier and since we were very hot, we did so. The pier was narrow and made out of uneven rocks and once we got out to the end, gusts of wind drove sheets of water over us and we couldn't get back! There were other stranded people out there, hanging onto a metal fence. We finally made our way back, but it was scary and we were absolutely soaked. But we dried out quickly in the sun and wind. Afterwards, we said it probably SAVED our life, as we might have died of heatstroke otherwise.

California Dreaming....
A few pics:



Some Heroes!

Driving down the California Highway!

At Laguna Beach

One Magical Night at Disneyland

Hi from Liv and Teresa in Geneva. Our flights went fine, and we only went a little out of our way to find our hotel from the train station. Unlike California, it is hot and sunny here. The internet cafe (called "Internet Cafe"--catchy) is right across the street, but not as cheap or big as in London. Also, only has French keyboards.

Right now we're going to get lunch and visit some parks, including a skate park.

We're Baaaaa-ack!
Norris and I have returned - everything went smoothly, including the sun which went AWAY for a week. But we had a nice time at Disneyland, San Diego, Hollywood, and Laguna Beach. More reports to follow....

Our home away from home.

Bon voyage, Liv and Teresa!

Eat lots of chocolate and croissants!

Janelle :)

Norris and Joel have been in Anaheim almost a week and have seen the sun for ten minutes. It has also not hit 70. They went to San Diego one day and L.A. another day. Disney offered a five-days-for-the-price-of-two ticket, so they anticipated spending parts of several days in the two parks with plenty of time to lie around the pool at the Alpine Inn. Instead, they've been going on ride after ride and say they will be wearing the same sweatshirts on every picture.

Liv and I are leaving for Geneva tomorrow afternoon. My stint as a WHO "Temporary Advisor" is on Thursday, so we should have two days to sightsee on either side of that event. Hope we have better weather than the boys!

Not a painting


this was a photo of Liv and Norris taken after the graduation ceremony. It came out blurred, so I turned it into this "painting"

Now, Norris and I are off to the happiest place on earth, the Alpine Inn!!

Too bad the twins took a big whooping, but Hurray for Lew Ford who was (for me at least) the star of the game. Leeeeeeeeeeeeew! yes, and excellent muffins.

Last night, Norris, Stevie, Tom and myself went to a Twins game. It was fun being with my cousins! Thank you for the EXCELLENT muffins you sent along Nancy! They were great!
Livvi'i

Happy belated anniversary, Matt & Janelle,
I was passing your wedding picture around at our Clothes Corner today for story time... I was talking about thinking about good things, lovely things. (See Philippians 4). I realized at that point that your anniversary was in the recent past. I hope your celebration was lovely!!
It seems, Teresa, that you managed to crack a smile in the midst of tears.
Way to go, Norris! I hope I can reveal news soon about my new job.
I am fascinated by your pictures, Joel! Bye, everybody. Nancy

Happy 1 year anniversary Matt and Janelle! Maria and I will be joining that 1 year club soon!

Thanks, Joel, for the "hoppy" good wishes. :)

Janelle and Matt

Smiling through my tears...

Last night both Liv and Norris went on an evening walk with Koko and me. We were commenting on a very large hopscotch grid chalked on a sidewalk; it included about 40 squares and directions such as "fall down and break a leg." I was pointing out how the retaining wall next to the sidewalk had a smiley face drawn on every block, when I tripped over a small rock (the hopscotch rock?) and began a terrible, slow-motion fall flat on the sidewalk. I laid there crying and bleeding and being licked in the face by Koko until my children finally got me up and moved to the retaining wall. I was skinned up and covered with dirt, elm seeds, and chalk, but had spared my teeth. When we finally got going again, Norris and Liv couldn't help laughing because in addition to my dishelved appearance, I now had a smiley face imprinted on my butt!

Matt and Janelle!

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   `-...__________..-'-.._  \               .--'  \---/  '--.

      ``--------..`-._ ``` _                -------' '-------`

                   ``     / \   _ __  _ __ (_)_   _____ _ __ ___  __ _ _ __ _   _

                         / _ \ | '_ \| '_ \| \ \ / / _ \ '__/ __|/ _` | '__| | | |

                        / ___ \| | | | | | | |\ V /  __/ |  \__ \ (_| | |  | |_| |

                       /_/   \_\_| |_|_| |_|_| \_/ \___|_|  |___/\__,_|_|   \__, |

                                                                            |___/

Happy belated Birthday Mae and Ingrid!

I just got back from my trip to the Boundary Waters near Ely, MN. I went with a group of guys from my church small group, and we had a great time! We saw a moose, a beaver, several loons, and other assorted wildlife and beautiful nature scenes. Here's a picture from our campsite on our last night there: I can't wait to go back!



CLICK HERE FOR PICS FROM OUR TRIP

Congratulations to Nancy, too, for finishing her class! We are looking forward to hearing about that job.

With my officemate and Deborah both out of town, I have been spending a few concentrated days working on my WHO presentation. It's amazing how one can become an international expert with the help of Google. One person reassured me by saying I only have to know more than my audience. That reminds me of Joel's joke: Two guys are trying to escape from a bear. One stops to put on his running shoes and his buddy chides him, "Why are you doing that? You'll never outrun a bear!" His friend replied, "I don't have to outrun the bear. I just have to outrun you."

May Y'all have a happy (belated) Birthday(s)!

   ,---------------,

  (  Happy Birthday )

   `-_________ ___-`            ,~~~~

              V __             ( Mae  )

              .'  '.            ( and )

             :      :            ( Ingrid!)

             | _  _ |             `~~~~~~`o

          .-.|(o)(o)|.-.        _._      o    _._

         ( ( | .--. | ) )     .',_ '.   o  .' _,'.

          '-/ (    ) \-'     / /' `\ \ __ / /' `\ \

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              `\  /'                |      |

              /`-.-`\_             /        \

        _.-"`\._/V\_./`"-._       /   .--.   \

      .'/     \ /^\ /     \'.     |  (    )  |

     / /       \| |/       \ \    _\  '--'  /__

    / /         \_/         \ \ .'  '-.__.-'   `-.

(Happy Birthday from Wallace and Gromit, (no that wasn't
supposed to be Joel and Kokomo) )

Happy Birthday Ingrid! Happy Birthday Mae! Is it still May 18 somewhere in the world? International dateline or something? I hope both of you had a terrific day. Your apt. is great and what a lovely view!

Congratulations to Norris & Tom on their graduation! We had fun in Chicago... the Art Institute was my favorite. I hoped to put a picture on here, but Peter is in the Boundary Waters & can't help me do it!
I heard from Tom - He was in Miami and told me he got arrested for smuggling Cuban cigars... fortunately he was joking.
It sounds like a grand time in Cleveland... what a wonderful opportunity, Liv. I remember John Glenn's first space flight... we all admired the astronauts... watched on a t.v. in the gym. Yes, we had t.v. when I was a child.
I'm done with my class and now I just need to find a job. Ho-hum... So long everybody, Nancy

Movin' on Up!

Sunday
On Sunday morning we attended a lovely graduation reception at Eastcliff, the home of the University president. The president and his wife were both very gracious... in fact "Susan" hugged Norris and apologised for getting makeup on his suit. There were light refreshments and a jazz band. Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed seeing the inside of the house they'd driven by so many times. Unfortunately, Liv was still on the bus returning from Cleveland and arrived just in time for the long and very boring graduation ceremony at Northrup. THEN we all went over to the Carlson School for another reception with more light refreshments and another jazz band.

Joel and Teresa
(photograph by Russell with his good eye)

It's Photo Friday ! Each week photofriday.com has a new theme and you have to post a photo that has to do with that week's theme. This week is CANDY, and my picture is a sunset.. its EYE CANDY..:)



Pete's Photo Friday Page

wejpuH!


mughwI'pu' neHbe''a' Qelpu'? jIQuchbe'!

Nice apartment Mae! I love it!

P O R T L A N D, Ore. — Their mission: To boldly go where no county mental health interpreter has gone before.
The Multnomah County Department of Human Services was seeking translators who speak Klingon, the language of the belligerent bad guys on Star Trek.

For more go to:

How Do You Say ‘Whoops’ in Klingon?

Moving Mae

I got to go to New York last week to help Mae move and had a blast. Click on the photo to see some pictures of her new place in Washington Heights. The neighborhood is lovely! She has lots of room so visit her soon...

Ingrid

John H. Glenn
Oh my goodness. Last night John Glenn came to speak to us as our keynote speaker. He was really cool and we almost met him (by stalking him). We also turned three programs into signs that said "John" "Glenn" "Rocks." (The theme of the event is "Cleveland Rocks! Intel ISEF Rules!")
It has been a really awesome experience this week so far. Supposedly there is some really awesome band playing tonight, but none of the adults are at liberty to tell us who it is...hmm...
See ya'll!
Livvi'i

Nice turn-around time on the coverage, Matt. We've been enjoying your artistic photography, Peter. Here are two strange pictures I took of Norris with a roadside pink elephant... some of you may recognize this Wisconsin gas station from your trips to and from Chicago.

Twins 9, Boston 8

The Tangonans and Buenvenidas are in town! A bunch of us including Terrell, Jen, Dante, Olive, Janelle, Paul and Norris went to the Twins game on Sunday night.

Cleveland Rocks!
Wow. Cleveland rocks. This is so much fun. The city is gorgeous and clean.
Tonight is the pin trading mixer, which is loads of fun. Tomorrow night is the opening ceremonies and it's at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame!
The hotel we are in is SO posh (port out starboard home). It is very gilded and what not. I'll write more later!
---Livvi'i

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there!

@->------------

Congrats to the grads Tom (and Norris, too, of course)!

         ,-"-.

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              `.     ,' ) (@)__))___)

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                `---'           ^     

Here's another dive, that Norris did

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                       |_

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      |_______|____________

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                   `\~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

In honor of the Wild Victory last night I created another collage from my night at game 6 of the playoff series... Go wild!

Bright Blue Sun: The 800x600 Project

Congratulations Tom on your graduation from college. Of course now you'll have to enter the real world.. is this how that makes you feel?:



Or maybe you'll just drift to Cuba, Mexico, Europe and any other destination your heart takes you now?

We had a graduation card for you and were going to send it with mom and dad, but we didn't see them before they left.. So when you get back, we have a graduation card waiting.. Again, congratulations, and good job. Have fun in Cuba!

Hi Everybody! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SON! How well I remember this day, 27 years ago!
.... the day before Mother's Day!
We leave in a few hours for Chicago... "tom" "morrow" we are going to Tom's graduation.
Tom is talking about college and Peter making collages. It reminded me of the kids' class at the Ashram many years ago. When I got back the folder of art activities Stevie had done in his class, there was a page marked "collage". Instead of making his picture collage he had printed, "I don't go to collage."
Isn't that sweet!! Have a great weekend, everybody. Nancy

yo Pete happy birthday!!

tommorrow is my last day of college. can you believe it?

Happy Birthday Honey!!! Kiss Kiss Kiss

Happy Birthday Peter!!

                     (\

                     .'.

                     | |

                     | |

                     |_|

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                '--.._______________..--'           `'-._`'-._ 

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Wow! Very nice collage, Peter! I really dig it!

Here's an interesting site that I just joined - the 800x600 project. Basically you have to send in a photo collage of 64 photos 800x600 pixels in size. The collage must have a theme of some sort. My theme was "landfill". Check it out!

Bright Blue Sun: The 800x600 Project: Main

Hey everybody,
It was great to see everyone over the weekend. Thanks to everyone for the hospitality, to see Matt and Janelle's house, and even get in a little bike riding. We managed go out to the Riverside Coffee shop with Paul before heading to the AP around 1 on Sunday, and made it home eventually by 8:30. Have a great week everyone, and y'all come down and see us, y'hear...

John and Lynda

El Maravilloso Traje De Nieve!

Last night we (Teresa, Norris, Liv and I) went to the Mixed Blood Theatre's excellent production of The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit. It is a great show - the story of six friends who, one summer night in the barrio, chip in and buy a "wonderful Ice Cream suit" to share. The play follows all six on that night as they each get 1/2 hour to wear the suit. Mixed Blood has translated Ray Bradbury's play into Spanish and alternates performances between the English and Spanish versions - there are three performances left, Thursday, Friday and Saturday (English, Spanish, and English, respectively).

Thanks, everybody! Thank you for the food, Nancy, Lynda, Teresa, and all. It was great to see you, John and Lynda! Come back soon! Teresa, we missed you! Hope you feel better. Finally, happy birthday again to Teresa and Peter!

It was great to see you all!
Janelle and Matt

Thanks for all the birthday wishes. Sorry I missed the party. I blame the Speedy Market's customer appreciation complimentary undercooked hot dogs. Well, they say there's no such thing as a free lunch.

My dad is having cataract surgery tomorrow. He had a routine EKG as part of his pre-op physical last week and the doctor said she thought he'd had a heart attack since his last EKG. You know how my mom keeps my dad hopping, so I guess he didn't have time to be sick! My mom had a bad case of vertigo a while back which caused her to fall off her chair and lay on the ground for an hour, so they're both going to have some further tests next week.

Finally, for those of you who know my cousin Neal, he and Sherry are finally fulfilling their ambition of moving out of Rosholt, SD! Neal is the new administrator of the veteran's home in Lisbon, North Dakota, the only one in the state. It's a big step up for him and although Lisbon doesn't seem like a metropolis to us (pop. 2,000), it's 5 times the size of Rosholt. For the first year, they can live in a 3-story brick house that's on the national historical register. Now their only problem is selling their house in a very limited market--Neal suggested that maybe the Andersons would like to buy it for a retreat center!

We had a good time tonight just hanging out with the family, talking, laughing and enjoying the nice weather in Matt and Janelle's backyard. It was good to see John and Lynda too, its been so long!

Here are a couple of photos of us eating outside in their backyard (sorry stevie and matt, you got cut out.)

Tickling the Ivories

Norris did a tremendous job last night, playing for the Silent Movies at the St. Anthony Park library. Packed with loads of kids and their parents, Norris had a marathon 80 minutes of movies to play for, since it was an ALL silent night ( in the past they've interspersed a talkie between the silents). It is always fun to see the reactions to this stuff - kids who have never seen it, and are jaded video game/DVD/VCR junkies still can get into these films made before their grandparents were born!

John, Lynda and I visited Matt at work this afternoon and then went to "Art in Bloom" at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. And Mae, when your mom drove away she was carrying Bobo, so don't blame Koko if you don't get him back!

We're having John and Lynda at our house, 1745 Carroll Ave., at 5:30 P.M. on May 3rd. All Andersons welcome!

Janelle and Matt :)

Ascii Art

Ascii Art is a fun way to make pictures,

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      / \       ,'  (_)   //,','  `-' :

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and fortunately there are a lot of people who like to do it - that way I can go to the Ascii Art Dictionary to find pictures (like the ones I did yesterday). Then I use different editors to fix up the picture for posting to the blog. "Email Effects" from www.sigsoftware.com is a nice one - and you can use it for free.

Happy Birthday, Teresa! Hope you've had a great day. How does Joel do that cake-thing? It is so cool!
I just wanted to mention to you all that Stevie has been playing good tennis lately! He won at second singles yesterday at Powderhorn Park. (Nice to have a match so close to home.) Over the weekend he played 4 matches and all of them went 3 sets, so he was really tired out and also sunburned.
What a beautiful flower you're studying, Ingrid. Leavenwothia is lovely as is the Botanist. Do they grow here in Minnesota?
Hope to see you all soon! Nancy

Happy Birthday Teresa!!!!

                                  ,-----------.

                                 ( Good Cake!  )

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Scientist at large
I just got back from a collecting trip in Alabama. My labmate and I collected wildflower seeds from Leavenwothia, the genus that we study. Here's a picture of me in the field and of my flower. It grows in the cedar glades which you can see behind me--the glades are mostly cedars and limestone. I hope the wildflowers are as pretty in Minnesota!

Thumbs Up for The Music Man

All the Andersons had a great time at the Music Man's final performance Saturday. The cast gave a very spirited performance - it was clear cast, musicians and crew really did a lot of hard work. AND Mark treated us to ice cream sundaes! It was fun to see Roosevelt - it has changed a bit from our days there! It was also nice to see Mark's students and their appreciation of him. (And he didn't even buy them ice cream!)

tickets will be available at the door. I hope Joel and Teresa can make it too. Our new cell phone came today UPS. I dialed our number and it worked. Our cell phone number is 612-501-8652. I doubt that it will be turned on all the time so that will probably not be a reliable way to get in touch.

We're all very impressed with your writing, Mae. AdWeek seems almost like Vanity Fair or The New Yorker with you writing for it!

I think Joel and I might be able to attend on Saturday night, Mark. I assume we can buy tickets at the door?

BTW, Norris is playing the piano again for our library's silent movie night on Friday, May 2, at 7:00. It is interesting and FREE. The librarian made up flyers advertising the event that said, "Featuring the world-renowned Norris Anderson." John and Lynda will be here that weekend. John's poster presentation is on Thursday morning and they are leaving on Sunday afternoon, so we should all try to get together on Saturday night if possible. Ideas?

I enjoy reading what everyone writes. Thank you to all who publish such interesting things... I haven't greeted y'all for a long time. Class is going well. I've been studying, so I haven't had any big adventures lately. Thanks Teresa & Joel for a lovely Easter Day! Nancy

Attention: Roosevelt High production of "The Music Man" April 24-26 at 7:30 Mark, Nancy, Paul , Matt & Janelle are planning to attend Saturday. Tickets $6. anyone else interested?