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?

Happy Easter!
Vacant Tomb; Hardly Used

Happy Good Friday everyone!

I knew I was officially middle-aged when I got not one, but two, hosta catalogs in the mail!

I have wanted to keep track of the varieties of perennials in our yard, but find that even the metal labels tend to wear away or get lost. My cousin Ann has made a computerized database of where everything is in her garden... maybe I can get Joel involved in gardening this way?!

Hey thanks to Teresa for the hosta gift certificate. It was for a place outside Atlanta called Pine Forest Gardens, where they have dozens (hundreds?) of varieties of these things. I only remember the name of 2 of these, on the left is Fried Green Tomatoes and the one nearest the camera is Crusader. These should do well in our shady yard, last time I checked they were still alive. And I'm finally getting over being sore from digging 4 holes in the ground. Thanks to Ingrid for posting the picture.

John

I'm not the only one who thinks about plants: Dad planted his new hostas...courtesy of Secret--*cough* Teresa *cough*--Santa.

Check out this cool ad for Honda.. isn't that contraption cool?

Honda's New Accord

Just when you thought you'd heard it all! The new wave in teaching at our elementary schools - maggot art!

Maggot Art

Good job Liv, keep up the good work!

Congratulations to the Golden Gophers on their second National Championship in a row! Go Gophers!



Gophers repeat as national champions with 5-1 victory over New Hampshire

Well...I won my category (computer science) and got a math award from UW-Superior. I had a great time and am looking forward to being an alternate/observor at ISEF.
---Livvi'i

Hi all:

My cousin Ann and I went to a "palm weaving festival" today out at St. Boniventure Church in Bloomington. We thought we'd be making all kinds of wonderful things with our palms from church tomorrow, but it was hard! We ended up making a mini-crown of thorns, a rose, a fish, a cross, and a pinecone, but we will never be able to remember how to do them again (being too cheap to buy the manual or video). Most of the instructors were elderly nuns who are trying to keep this ancient art alive; when asked how to contact them with questions, one replied, "Just send me e-mail."

I found this picture on the Internet of the Sister spearheading this project with some examples:

Good luck, Liv!


Liv (or Livvi'i, as she likes to spell it) is heading off to Duluth today for the State Science Fair. Have a great trip, Liv, I know you'll do well!


-

Great interview, Mae! I shared it with friends (who are sci-fi geeks); we thought asking what HE was reading was good - interesting stuff, thanks for sharing it!

Here is a funny site that has flubbed subtitles for foreign movies..

If the enemy's bottom is attacked, it is painful.

Swedes in Space! :

Kind of interesting - spaceflights and experiments aren't ALL satellites and space shuttles!

I am so sorry to hear of the death of your schoolmate. I heard about it on the news and Pete told me that it was the boy that you knew. How sad. Some people can be so dumb to think that violence will solve something so trivial. His mom must be having a hard time since he was her only child. At least she has the comfort of knowing what exactly happened to cause her sons death. The guy that I graduated with who was found dead in the river, well his family will probably never know how he died. Which has to be so hard. Your life can be taken so fast. It's just a good reminder to cherish everyday as if it were your last.

Thank you Maria. Unfortunately Ben passed away this afternoon. We don't know too much information, but this is the article from the Pioneer Press yesterday. If you could keep his mother and friends in your prayers that would be nice. Thanks.
St. Paul police are seeking help in identifying three young men who chased and seriously beat a 15-year-old boy as he and several other boys left the Washington Middle School recreation center Monday night in St. Paul's North End.
The boy, who neighbors identified as Ben Doran, was listed in critical condition at Regions Hospital.
A family friend, who declined to be identified, said Doran, a sophomore at Como Park Senior High School, is the only child of his single mother. The family friend described the youth as a likable kid who loved basketball.
Doran had left the center and was walking with three other boys in the 1000 block of Woodbridge Avenue about 8:15 p.m. Monday when a car pulled up next to the group. Words were exchanged and the occupants of the car got out and started chasing the four boys.
"Three older kids caught our victim and assaulted him," said St. Paul Police Cmdr. Nancy Di Perna, who heads the homicide unit.
Investigators said the assailants, about 19 to 23 years old, beat Doran with their hands and feet and made statements indicating the attack was in retaliation for a previous incident.
The boy was able to walk as far as a block and a half before collapsing. A woman on a cell phone placed the first of many 911 calls to police notifying them about the attack.
Witnesses said the assailants got out of a newer silver or gray sports car with a white placard where the license plate would have been. The placard had a red script logo that said "Wayzata,'' possibly from a car dealership in Wayzata.

That sounds just terrible Liv. Why was he beaten? Was it some kids at school? It's amazing how things like that put your life in perspective. Your everyday problems seem so small when you think about people like your friend Ben. Hope he gets back to normal soon.

Prayers
Speaking of people you could pray for, a student at my school, Ben, was severely beaten on Monday evening. He is currently in critical condition, but is off life support which is good. Yesterday he opened his eyes and twitched during a nerve test, which is also good. I've been in Ben's classes since kindergarten, so if ya'll could keep him in your prayers that would be great.
Livvi'i

On Washington Avenue....

that was me. A colleague and I were on our way to talk about critical servers with some people from Academic Health Center. Afterwards I had Chick-Fil-A for lunch in (the NEW IMPROVED) Coffman.

Hi Everybody!
Mae's little Bobo (or should I say Koko's?) reminded me of my "Pinkie" that I took to college. (It was gray by then) and my roommate Ruta had the same kind of faded old gnarly puppy. My memory has faded somewhat, but it seems to me that at the end of the year the two of them got into the same box and stole away together.
Teresa, when your story started unfolding, I thought it was someone playing an April Fool's joke on you. That is really great! Is he the one that you had a diet coke with on St. Patty's day? John, I'm happy noone got hurt during your seminar. Janelle, you're a great workshop presenter as well... Wow, What a Family!! I saw you today, Joel, at the U., walking along Washington Av., undoubtedly on your way to present a seminar (9:50 a.m.) Peter gets to do seminars for car dealers all the time... now there's an audience for you!
Stevie had a great time in Chicago with Tom, as it sounds everyone but me gets to do!

Maria, I sure will pray for your cousin Jason. (I have a cousin in Indiana also, as do many of you.) Some of you remember my cousin Tom Hammerberg, who, with his wife Betsy, lived on Valentine, a block from J. & T. Her brother Daniel Fitzsimmons is a Blackhawk helicopter medical evac. pilot currently in Iraq. This gives us names of people we can pray for.
Our computer was down for quite awhile and then we were in Illinois, so I didn't get to invite y'all to Stevie's youth group fundraising dinner... It's on Saturday night at 6:30... call me up if anyone is interested. It's a mystery theater event, and you could pick your character if you're interested in dressing up and playing a part. Have a great week! Nancy

Yesterday when I got to work, Robin told me I had a "foreign-sounding gentleman" on the phone, so I quickly answered (still in my jacket), anticipating some kind of problem as I never get phone calls. Instead it was the head of the World Health Organization's Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety, wondering if I could come to Geneva in June to make a presentation at their meeting! I had met him in France and seen him for a few minutes in Chicago, and he seemed to think that he had mentioned this to me already, but it came as rather a surprise to me. He also said something about perhaps my doing some additional consulting for WHO. I was like, "Are you sure you have the right person?..." I guess I am now an expert on good and bad immunization websites. Deborah (the boss who gave me the opportunity to go to the French meeting instead of her) was very nice about it, fortunately. So we'll see what develops... I won't worry my mother about it for a while!

Well, I just found out that my cousin from Indiana was officially deployed to Iraq today. He is in the army and we are all very concerned for him. His name is Jason and if you could all keep him in your prayers, it would be greatly appreciated.

Bobo the Bear!



Like Citizen Kane's Xanadu, basements can be incredible treasure troves filled with amazing things. Recently discovered in our basement was a poor abandoned fellow we're calling "Bobo". We think his mother ran away to the Big Apple - does she still remember her little Bobo?




Uh-oh!



Looks like Bobo may have been adopted already....

Hey, what's up -- this is John. Hope everyone is well in the North Country. I won't bore you all with how green it is getting down here, how many flowers are blooming, etc.

I wanted to let everyone know that Lynda and I are coming to MN. I'm attending a conference downtown with a poster presentation. We'll be in town from the evening of 4/30 through the afternoon of Sunday 5/5. We'll be staying at the meeting hotel downtown (well, why not?) but hope to spend as much time with you all as possible.

Things are well here -- I recently did a long bike ride on my recumbent bike -- the Tour of Pike County Georgia (the main town is Zebulon, by the way). Also, this week I did my seminar at Emory U. that Ingrid mentioned. I think it went pretty well, at least no one got hurt...Lynda and I are planning 2 bike vacations -- to White Springs, FL in April (which has among other things the Sewanee River and the Stephen Foster museum -- although he was never there). And we just rented a cottage for 5 nights on Orcas Island, Washington for July -- we'll go up there and do some biking in the San Juan Islands after Lynda's early music workshop out there. See you all soon.

John

ZZzzzzz....

Woke up this morning ... seemed too light out, and the alarm clock was *BLANK*! Uh-oh.

Our power was out - probably for about 5 hours. Quickly scrambled to wake Liv and Norris. Liv got to the bus okay (on time, even!).

Power came back on around 7:30, and I got to work around one hour late ... BIKING, of course!

Hey thanks Tom for the bit of encouragment. I know that if you were here, I could definitely count on you. You are the best!

Anyways, my birthday spent with my parents and Pete was a lot of fun. We went out to dinner at my favorite restaurant downtown called Copelands of New Orleans. My parents got me my favorite flowers...peach roses! Then afterwards we just rented the movie "Trapped" and went back over to my parents house to watch it on the big screen. We were going to possibly go bowling downtown, but since my mom was still not feeling well, we decided to take it easy.

Then on Saturday, Pete took me out to dinner at Palominos downtown. We had heard it had really good food, but I dont think I ordered the right thing. Pete's pork chop was delicious though. Then he took me to the Sheraton hotel for the night. We always have such fun together. It's so true that your spouse is your best friend. I love you honey!

Then on Sunday we went over to Mark and Nancys for the afternoon to celebrate my birthday and Nancys. The weather was just beautiful and it was a perfect day to grill hamburgers on the grill. They were delicious by the way. We played several rounds of Yahtzee and Pictionary.

Despite my brothers absence, my birthday was a great time. Thanks everyone for making it such a special weekend for me.

I also wanted to add that when Pete and I were in Chicago we went and ate at Giordanos and I definitely agree with Tom that they have the best pizza ever. You guys looked like you had a good time.

Well, I suppose I should go home now from work. I have been here way too long. Take care everyone!

Hello,

So I rented a car, invited my roommate to join me, and spent two days in Chicago for spring break. It was great to see Tom! I'm sorry I couldn't make it up in time to see Teresa and Norris (unexpected car trouble) but hopefully I'll get to see everyone again soon. My roommate, Liana, and I spent some time at the art institute (and heard a lecture there), at Navy Pier (there's a great stained glass window museum there, and a ferris wheel), and the Sears Tower--but the highlight was definitely hanging out with Tom, eating Chicago pizza and listening to the blues. Click on the photo for a few more pictures:



Look, we're in Chicag-

Ancestors!

The other day, Liv noticed a deal on AOLwhere ancestry.com had free searches available on the complete 1930 US census. On a whim she entered her Great Grandpa Hans Asper's name, and found it (That was pretty easy, as there were only two entries - one in South Dakota, and another in Illinois). [note: Those free searches might only work if you are using AOL. When I tried it with a regular browser, it seemed to want me to buy a subscription.]

Digging a little more I went for Andersons and Petersons! (brings to mind another joke from Paul's joke book, about lakes in Minnesota). It took a little more time, but I did find Mae (May) and Fred! Here is a portion of their entries (click on the link for a blow-up):






You can search for more on Ancestry.com - I have the full pages downloaded, but they are pretty big - I can print them out and bring them to the next family gathering.

Maria, if I were in Minneapolis I would come- in fact, I would take the bus to get there. Happy Birthday!

Ingrid (and her roomate Leanne is that right Ingrid?) was in town last night and I thought we weren't going to be able to hang out because I had a conflict- but the conflict fell through so we got together and showed Chicago how to party! Well, maybe not like that exactly. First we went to Giordano's pizzeria, which is the best Chicago pizza as far as I am concerned. http://www.giordanos.com

Then we got coffee and waited around for some live music and headed over to the Blue Chicago for some real Chicago blues. http://www.bluechicago.com

Then we jumped on the redline (we needed the same train) and I headed back home and they went back to their hostel which Ingrid called, "spectacular!" She didn't stop raving about how wonderful it was and how nice their new roomates were. Ingrid took pictures so hopefully she'll post them.

Tom.

Thanks everyone for your birthday wishes. So far my birthday has been good. I came into work this morning and there was a bouquet of spring flowers from my co-workers and then Pete came and brought me lunch along with a bouquet of carnations and a balloon. However, my brother Tom hasnt been very nice to me. He isnt coming to my birthday celebration just because he doesnt want to drive downtown to the restaurant that I want to go to. He also told me that my birthday is such a chore for him and that I am being selfish cause I want to go to a specific restaurant for my birthday. Like he should talk about being selfish!! Anyways, I just needed to vent about it. My other brother is sick, but that's something that he cant help. I am just sad that he wont be able to be there. So, I guess it's just going to be my parents, Pete and I. I am glad that they are able to come and I know that the four of us will have fun, it's just the thought of my brother not willing to sacrifice one evening for his only sister. At least I have two other brothers...Tom and Stevie. But I am trying not to let my brother bother me and ruin my day. Plus, all the sweet things that other people are doing for me are making up for it.

       

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Happy Birthday Maria! How does it feel to be 22 honey?

Sorry to hear about your romantic bust-up, Tom. But now you are free to become the fourth Swedish Lutheran monk.

Norris and I are home from Chicago. My workshop presentation lasted until 5:30 on Wednesday and we were told not to try to leave the city at rush hour so we went out for a bit of dinner. However, we had to leave by 6:45 or we'd have to pay for another overpriced day of parking at the hotel, so eventually we took the plunge. Stayed overnight at a Super 8 in a cornfield in Wisconsin... quite a change from the Sheraton in downtown Chicago. Norris never felt well the entire trip, but every once and a while he'd croak out, "Spring break!"

Hi everybody!
You all remember in Paul's jokebook, the story about the Swedish maid who says to her employer, "You know that vase you were always afraid I would break? Your worries are over." Now Mark won't ever forget Maria's name, 'cause he's been there, done that.
Happy Birthday and Happy First Day of Spring, Maria! Have a great day on your birthday!
Cool pigs, Liv. Did you mean that you make them during driver's ed? Nancy

hey everyone- remember Jessica? well, she left me for another man. Okay, it's not that bad but we're not together now.
I just thought I'd let you all know. Don't worry, it's not that sad.
Tom

Hey bikers I started biking to work last week. I rode three times in February too. Its nice having daylight in the morning and evening. Tip for bikers- clean all the sand from the streets that accumulates on your bike after early spring rides and save yourself maintenance problems later on. Does anyone need a tune up , tire repair, etc. Let me know.

Hey what's-your-name-sister-in-law,

Don't worry, often times I am called Stephen and Peter before my dad gets to Tom. You are not alone.

Ste- uh, Pe- uh- Tom

Last night Pete and I went over to Nancy and Marks for a birthday dinner for Nancy. It was a great time and the food was delicious. Thanks Mark for making steak. We played several rounds of Yahtzee and I finally won a game!! Another highlight was when Mark forgot his daughter in laws name during our dinner prayer. How embarassing for both of us. It was such a shocker. All I have to say is that from now on he probably wont ever forget my name again.....hopefully. Cant wait to see you all on Sunday. Have a great day everyone!

Happy Birthday, Nancy and Maria!

Janelle and Matt

....Hmmm - I'm finally home and looking at our calendar for Sunday and I see we've got a conflict then. You might want to work around us - between school and Norris's work schedule, I don't know when we can make it.

COUGARS ARE GOING TO ROUND 2 IN THE STATE TOURNIE!!! We just shut out Shakopee!!!
In other news, I'm taking drivers ed. It is very boring. My friend Eliza and I make pigs out squishy erasers. Here is a pic:

Well, I guess we should be learning about why "safety belts" only work when you where them...
---Livvi'i
(Como rules, I think you can think about what that means for the Shakopee Sabers...)

Anything like Lutheran Monks? Postmodern Celtic Baptists


The first thing people do after entering the quiet sanctuary is pause at a table to light prayer candles for friends and loved ones, the tiny flames adding to the glow of nearby candle trees. ....

Happy Birthday MOM!!!!

Weather Milestone - I biked to work today for the first time in 2003!

   

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    Happy Birthday Nancy!!!

(Tom,re your monk friends, didn't someone say something about "There is nothing from outside of the man, that going into him can defile him..."?)

I went and brought some flowers to my mom last night and she didnt look too good. No, she isnt in the hospital. Just at home. As far as birthday celebrations, neither Friday nor Saturday will work for us. But Sunday anytime would work. Let me know. Happy Birthday Nancy!!!! Hope you have a great day.

Happy St. Patrick's day to each and all!
I celebrated with corned beef and cabbage at a friend's house... also green jello, green juice and green cake.
Maria, sorry to hear about your mom. Let us know how she's doing. Is she hospitalized?
Friday or Saturday would be best for us, but Sunday early afternoon would be okay. Call me!
Stevie's History day project was chosen to go on to the district competition on Saturday, but I don't know what time he has to be there. His group did their project on the Cuban Missile Crisis. It sounds like you're having quite an adventure, Teresa, and a new claim to fame to add to your list.
I have no school stories to tell... I'm on spring break! Fort Lauderdale, here I come! Nancy

Only a diet coke to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? I submit that a Guiness would have been more suitable- and Teresa (note the spelling), it would have made the conversation much less akward. (don't worry mom, I celebrated by going to class and doing my homework- and talking to you on the phone).

In defense of my earlier comments on coffee and to make clear how I personally feel about coffee, let me say that I just finished my third or fourth cup (who keeps track?) of this wonderful brazilian coffee that I purchased at the local fruit ranch. It is not that coffee is not "holy", it's just that for monks, it would seem that mystical visions of God would be enough and that caffiene and nicotine wouldn't be necessary stimulants. Although, vigils did start at 5:10 a.m. I should also mention that Father David always slept through vigils and lauds- always.

that's all for now, Tom.

Sorry to hear about your mom, Maria. Norris and I are in Chicago at the National Immunization Conference. We are having some interesting experiences. I was supposed to meet with a world famous virologist today with Deborah (the IAC boss) as she wanted to introduce me to him. I got an emergency cell phone message saying that Deborah's flight had been cancelled and I had to meet Stanley Plotkin at the bar by myself. The worst part was I only had a picture of him from the program (as he was the evening's special guest lecturer) and I couldn't find anyone who looked like that. Turns out the picture was 20 years old, but I did approach the right person and ended up having to make conversation with him for half an hour. It was pretty awkward; but now I can say that the man who developed the rubella vaccine bought me a Diet Coke!

Well, I just found out today that my mom has pnuemonia. Please pray for her. I am worried that she may have the deadly strain that was found in Canada. I guess several people have died from it and she said that her symptoms are similar. Also, I was wondering what the plan is for getting together for Nancy's birthday and mine. I know that workdays dont work too well since I get off work so late and both Friday and Saturday I am going to be busy doing things with friends and family. I was thinking that possibly this coming Sunday might work. Let me know what you all think.

Happy St. Patty's Day Everyone!!!!!!!

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Tom - I won't defend the smoking, but... *coffee* not holy?

My Monastery Experience- by Tom Anderson

well, the monastery was interesting. One of the first things I noticed was a book entitled "Swedish Yokes" on the coffee table. Some of you may have read it- edited by Paul F. Anderson. Yes, it's true. Also, there was a total of three monks at the monastery and since it is the only Lutheran monastery in the country, that means that there are three Lutheran monks in the U.S. They had a swedish connection and I drank coffee out of a 101% Swedish mug that they had.

They monks weren't so holy either. Two of the three smoked and drank coffee all day (between services). It was a great experience though and I did a lot of reading and praying. Here was our daily schedule:

5:10 (am) Vigils
6 Lauds
8:15 Terce
8:30 Eucharist
12:00 Sext
2:30 None
6 Vespers
8:30 Compline
bed.

The services were basically a liturgy that was chanted or sung. Alot of it was based on the psalms.
All around it was a good week and allowed me to not do school work for a week. So, now it's back to the daily grind.
that's all for now-
Tom.

Well, it seems like it's been awhile since anyone's posted. Well, I thought that I'd write. Part of my JROTC battalion is in Virginia at the moment, so I'm quite alone. It's sort of nice just "chillin."
I like your picture Peter, but I agree that you don't have your normal grin on, and that might be the problem.
Hasta luego, familia mia,
----Livvi'i

Well, I can see some likeness. Joel says it would look more like you with your usual smile. At least they didn't do what they did at a conference Sue and Loren Burket went to---provide computer-generated "aged" photos of everyone!

For our work party this year the management had a caricaturist come and do caricatures of everyone on staff. I wasn't at the work party, but they had the artist come down to work another day for those who weren't there. (wasn't that nice of them?) I just got mine back, and i thought it was kind of funny. Maria doesn't think it looks like me at all. What do you guys think?

Liv said it first on her blog... Now it is my turn!
Happy PI Day (3.14)

Anyone who wants to remember the digits of PI can always go to my website http://remember-pi.mrklingon.org

and get a program to help remember as many as they want!

Here's one of my new favorite blogs. It is done by Dave Barry, the author and humorist. It is pretty funny.

Dave Barry's Blog

Miracle
A miracle happened today, Elizabeth Smart has been recovered and is alive. After nine months of being kidnapped she's home. Amazing.
---Livvi'i

Everyone, i made a booboo and erased the template for the blog.. I'll get it back up shortly, but in the meantime, it may look a bit strange. Also, if I had a link to your site on the right hand side, please resend it to me so I can get it back up for you. Sorry ! oops..

Mae, I had checked out that lightningfield.com link yesterday before you posted it. It has a lot of good pictures on it, good choice..:) Now we just need to find a photolog for the Twin Cities and Atlanta. So, do you think that if you get your own digital camera you'll start your own photo blog?

I'm thinking about starting adding my daily photos to my blog more often.. I went to a cemetary by my work yesterday and took a bunch of photos of the statues of Jesus that they had there.. I liked how this one turned out:

I found this interesting site while looking at a bunch of Photo Blogs. This site revolves around Chicago.

The author/web developer describes the site like this:

Chicago ... through the eyes of its biggest fan.
Chicago Uncommon is the product of one woman's interests dramatically colliding. Passion for photography & web design crossed with an adoration of the Windy City developed into a massive collection of Chicagoland photography displayed categorically and shared with you.


I thought you might get a kick out of this Tom. They've got some pretty cool photos on here.

Chicago Uncommon Photographs

Also check out this site for more interesting photo blogs.

Photoblogs.org - The Photoblog Resource

Joel had pointed out the NYT article to me earlier, Mae. Gibson's father sounds like a outright kook. I have been wallowing in conspiracy theories for weeks, putting together IAC's piece on "Who's Who and What's What Among Vaccine Critics." I will say, based on my experience, that his father is somewhat unusual as Catholics are not usually big into promoting conspiracy theories... more often they are on the receiving end!

Joel, thanks for that article, it was even better than the other one. Sounds like Jim Caviezel is a devout Catholic as well, good to hear. I am looking forward to the movie, although it sounds like it may be a bit hard to watch due to the violence of Jesus death. I can't wait!

Ummm,yes. Yes he is...
Mel Gibson is a Christian - belongs to some little denomination... Catholic, I think they call it. Here is another article (from some Baptists) about the movie, and Gibson's faith.

Here's an interesting story about a movie that Mel Gibson is working on about the passion of Jesus Christ. Jesus will be played by Jim Caviezel (From "The Count of Monte Cristo", and "Angel Eyes"). Sounds interesting, and i never knew that Gibson was a Christian before. I wonder how this project will turn out, it seems that Gibson's intentions are pretty good. Read about it here:

Mel Gibson's Great Passion

Mom, I don't think the 15th will work for us for your birthday, how about trying to do one for both your birthday and Maria's? Maria is having a birthday with her friends on that Saturday, so we wouldn't be able to come. Have a great Monday everyone.

Hi Everybody! I enjoyed reading everybody's posts. Mae, I enjoyed your article! You're a talented writer. Maria, it sounds like you had a great weekend, altho' the thought of going out in the cold in the middle of the night makes me feel shivery & old. I wish I could have been a mouse in the corner - not the dead one, of course. Teresa, Yes, I'm still muddling through at the U... maybe I'll major in poetry. I don't know when we'll celebrate my birthday... I'll ask Mark if he's thought about it. How is Sat. the 15th? The first day of spring is Maria's birthday. If we celebrate separately, we get to have 2 parties, but it's a lot of fun to celebrate together too! It's late - I have class in the morning. Good night all! Nancy

Hey everyone! Maria just mentioned that we just went on a small group retreat.. To see the photos, click here

Hi Everyone,

Well Pete and I just got back from our retreat with our small group. It was a pretty good time, eventhough we didnt have any toilets! The pipes froze before we got there and there was only one running toilet and it was in a totally different building that we had to walk outside in the frigid cold to get to. The place was really junkie and everyone was complaining as to how it smelled like poop everywhere. We think maybe a mouse died and that's what was stinking up the place. But the company and food were wonderful. Each of us gave our testimonies and mine ran the longest...ONE HOUR!! I cant believe I talked that long. I still hadnt said everything I wanted to say though. We all really bonded and laughed a lot together. The beds werent too comfortable either, so Pete and I are pretty exhausted. I think we are going to go take a nap now. Hope everyone's weekend went well. Oh and let us know if Mae got on TV. Thats so awesome. Hopefully someone got it on tape so we can see it.

Just flew back from a Space Station...




... and are my arms tired? Well, no - though it was a white-knuckle "flight" out to the Imax theater at the Minnesota Zoo since we just got around 6 inches of snow.

Our neighbor Lisa got free tickets to the Space Station 3D Imax show, and Liv and I went with her and her daughter. It is a great show - incredible use of 3D, letting you tour the station and watch its first pieces get put together. A very impressive show. It included a VERY close up launch of a Russian piece of the station, and shots of Soyuz and Shuttle launches.

It was inspiring to see this international effort of cooperation, and to look down on the earth and see (as one of the cosmonauts noted) that there are no borders when you look at our world from space. Might make you want to take off today

Hi Everybody!
Yes, it's John posting. I wanted to tell everyone to look for Mae on Sat. Night Live tomorrow. She's an extra and may appear in a crowd scene involving a WNBA game. Now if I can just figure out how to program the VCR....

John

Mae: Thanks for sending us the link to your work. We are trying to get Norris to blog, but he is kind of anti-computer (and busy). So, we'll see if he responds to a Disney reference.
Ingrid: I didn't know being able to spell one's own name made one a "spelling whiz"!?
Maria: Thanks for your updates.
Matt: Good to see you posting. I'm sure Janelle did a great job, but we missed her frantic editing at work.
Nancy: We haven't heard about your exploits at the 'U' lately... have you adjusted or dropped out? What shall we do for your birthday?
Tom (Thom): Norris and I are going to be in Chicago from the evening of the 16th through the 20th for the National Immunization Conference. We'll be at the Sheraton downtown.

I have been busy investigating a number of "vaccine critics" and writing an expose, so if I "am disappeared" you'll know why.

I just wanted to let everyone know that Janelle did a great job presenting her paper Japanese War Bride - Race, Desire, and Post-Classical Hollywood at this year's Society For Cinema and Media Studies Conference. By the way, the unofficial theme for this year's conference is Mary Tyler Moore. Next year the conference will be in Atlanta!

This is a cool website: Lost Highways.

That's too bad Thom that you arent going to be home for spring break. We will just have to have a total blast on our game night without you then.

This weekend Pete and I are going on a retreat with our Bible Study Small Group through Evergreen Church and we have to give our testimonies. I am a little nervous about it since I have never formally given my life story. It should be a wonderful time though and I am anxious to hear everyone else's. We are also planning on telling eachother how our spouses proposed to each of us. We have grown really close as a group, but have never had time to talk about "the proposal." I am excited to hear those stories as well. We are going to this retreat center called Linisfarne. We get the entire center to ourselves, which will be nice. I guess it's only an hour or so away.

As I am sure most of you who live in Minnesota heard about Chris Jenkins, the boy who went missing on Halloween night and was found a couple days ago floating in the river. I am still in disbelief since I graduated with him and grew up with him since first grade. I just want to request that everyone pray for his family and friends. It's so scary when it hits so close. I really hope that they find out the cause of his death and punish whoever could have done such a horrible thing. He will always be remembered in my heart.

Here's a touching story about Mr. Rogers. We truly have lost a wonderful man..

More than a neighbor

Share your own Mr. Rogers thoughts/stories/etc at this address:

Mr. Rogers Memories

Did you know...
in the Qu'ran there is a book named after the Virgin Mary and that she is the epitome of women?
----Livvi'i

Hey, Tom, when is your spring break and when are you going to the Monastery? I have spring break coming up too and thought it might be fun to go to Chicago, and it would be fun if we could hang out. Did I spell Monastery right, all of you spelling whizzes? If you want to email me about Chicago (or anyone else about spelling), I'm at ingiaa@hotmail.com.

Some news from Atlanta (since I don't have any of my own)--Dad's giving a talk at Emory University this month and Mom recorded a medieval music CD this week. Go, 'rents!


Ingrid

OK, you are forgiven, Tom. I can see if you're always trying to remember which saint I most resemble, you could get confused! ("... now is she the famous mystic or the 'little flower'?...") Just remember it's spelled the same as Mother Teresa, whom I resemble in compassion and charity (or more likely in looks).

Tonight it is our turn to bring treats to choir practice, and since we're not going to have any during the weeks of Lent, we were advised to make it good. I stopped at my favorite Bosa Donuts on University Avenue this morning and picked up a douple dozen. Mardi Gras!

My saint's name is Teresa, like Teresa of Avila. So technically in the Catholic Church I was confirmed as Teresa Anderson...
---Livvi'i

Teresa, I have always been aware that I need to be careful and spell your name right, it is just that I am always confused as to which way was the most correct. For some reason, I got the Th spelling stuck in my mind as the correct one. I remember now, because your name is spelled the same way as St. Teresa de Avila, the Spanish mystic. (The Interior Castle- also a good book) I just forgot how SHE spelled her name. Anyway, I apologize again and ask your forgiveness. Well

Then,
That's all
Thank you.
Thom. (I was called Thom for a short time after a lab group of mine turned in a paper with that spelling in my freshmen year biology class)

I have been your aunt for 22 years, Tom, and you still continue to misspell my name! I will start calling you 'Thom.' Your retreat sounds interesting (I looked at the website even though the URL was wrong as you had also misspelled St. Augustine's name (so I guess I'm in good company)). Have you ever read "The Seven Story Mountain" by Thomas Merton? I would recommend it.

Mae, I saw that article in the NYTimes today. It's pretty bizarre isn't it? All the news that's fit to print.
Well, Pete, as far as the 20 page thing, I haven't written any. What I'm going to do is write one 40 pager and one 20 pager instead of three 20 pagers. Same thing basically.

Looks like your having fun in France, Theresa.

Tom

hey tom, how many of those 20 page papers do you have done already? 2? 1? Sorry I don't have any info on Egypt that i can send your way, we didn't buy the book that went along with the exhibit..:)Guess you'll actually have to do your own research.. hehe.. jk.

Hey Pete,

If there is any good information you get about Egypt send it my way. I will write a 20 page paper to write about it before the end of the semester...

Tom

Joel has helped me put up a few of my Annecy pictures. If you click on this picture, you will be brought to a page with a representational sample.

Maria and I went to the Eternal Egypt exhibit yesterday. Our many thanks to Norris to getting us into the show and giving us the audio guide. It really was a great show. The Egyptian art really took you back and made you wonder who it was that carved the piece, who had done the painting, what they looked like, when they died, etc. And that spooky music on the audio guide just made it that much better! My favorite piece was that of Mentuhotep II, who reunited Egypt under a strong central government. There was a sculpture of his head that was so lifelike, I could almost see him talking and breathing...

So thanks again Norris, we had a great time!

Thanks for your greetings. I am back from Annecy, Geneva, and Amsterdam. I should go to bed as it's about 4:00 am according to my internal clock (not that I ever got adjusted to French time). I met some nice people at the conference and the French didn't live up to their rude reputation. Everywhere it was "Bonjour, bonjour!" And I took lots of pictures, Peter.

Gracias primo.
---Livvi'i

Liv,

Tu siempre me has impresionado con su nivel de espanol avanzado. Creo que tiene algo que ver con sus maestros- o es nada mas de tu intelectualidad. Todos de nosotros sabemos que eres un genio.

Tomas

Roosevelt
Hey all. I was just about to ask if you knew about the teachers from Roosevelt coming to Como. I only met a Spanish teacher who was amazed at my Spanish teachers ability to teach free levels of Spanish at once, and get a bunch of them to pass the AP exam.
----Livvi'i

Yes, family, I have fond memories of Mr. Rogers... I think I enjoyed his show even more than "my boys" did. I especially remember frustrating them by singing, "O I like to take my time, I mean that when I have a thing to do, I like to take my time and do it right."
How long are you going to be "over there", Teresa? I enjoyed reading about all you're doing. I pray you have a safe trip home. I also send my greetings to everyone in Atlanta, Chicago, St. Paul, Shakopee, New York City, Bloomington, Annecy (?) and Minneapolis. Too busy to call your own mother?... tch tch tch... Have a great weekend, everybody! Nancy

A Roosevelt High -Como Park connection
A couple of days ago several educators from Roosevelt High School( alma mater of several of us Andersons) visited Como Park H.S.(alma mater of Liv) . Apparently CP was in a position ten years ago similar to what Teddy country faces today; a critical mass of unsuccessful students and a bad reputation. My colleagues were impressed with the CP of today. Maybe some of their successes can be replicated at RHS.

Mr. Rogers was my daily ritual (as well as peanut butter and jelly sandwhich) upon coming home from my morning kindergarten class. It is sad to see him go.

Well, Maria, I'm sorry to say I won't be home for spring break. I'm actually going to go to a monastery to pray and spend some time in silence during the week. It's actually a Lutheran monastery with benadictine influence. Check it out at http://StAugistinesHouse.org

We got permission from the U.S. government to travel to Cuba this summer for a week and so now we are awaiting a letter of invitation from Cuba so we can start the process of getting visas.

Hope all is well in Minnesota, Georgia, New York and Indiana (Ingrid are you still in Indiana?) oh, and of course, France.

Tom

Hi Everyone,

Yesterday I did write something on here, but I must have done it wrong because it didnt get published. Anyways, what I wrote was that I have a couple questions for several people who frequent this site. First off...Norris, are you working at the exhibit on Egypt this weekend, because I think Pete and I may be going on Saturday and we would like to see you, plus possibly get a discount on our tickets. Tom, when is your spring break? Just wondering because my parents want to have a game night with your parents and mine and we want to wait to have it until you are home.

Just curious, but what happened to the idea of going on an Anderson Family trip this summer? Has the entire idea been thrown out the window? I think it would be a blast. I know that going to Matt and Janelles wedding in California was a great family bonding time...especially for me being the newcomer.

Nancy we did get your phone message from a few days ago and I have been bugging Pete to call you back, but he claims that he's too busy. I hope school is going well for you and thanks for the call. It's nice to know that people are thinking of you.

Hope everyone is having a great week and enjoy your trip Teresa!!

Mister Rogers - You'll always be our favorite neighbor... 1929-2003



NY Daily News - Breaking News - Sad day in 'Neighborhood' as Mister Rogers dies

Andersons on the Moon!
Well, not really....

BUT there are Andersons in France! At least one we know of... Liv got a call this afternoon from the VISA company checking to make sure it was really RIGHT that someone was using our credit card in France. Interesting that they do catch things like this - Liv's guess is that the fact that charges were coming from the US and France simultaneously was suspicious. I guess it is good they are on top of this...

Teresa wrote today that, "We just finished the first day at the conference center... now just have to wait for the big dinner. The place is very fancy and in a beautiful location. It is interesting to have perspectives from around the world."

(feel free to write her there - she DOES have email!)

Everything went much better than I had anticipated. My flight out of Mpls was delayed about half an hour while they added more hydraulic fluid, so I was a little worried for a while, but we only arrived about 5 minutes late in Amsterdam. That airport is very nice and so it was interesting to wander around. The flight to Geneva was just over an hour and the airport there was small and easy to navigate. I walked through customs, staight ahead was my bag, and then immediately the person holding the sign for the cab. And the cabby was a glamorous woman (and not drunk). There were 3 of us from the flight. My hotel is right on a park and I have a wondow overlooking the lake and the mountains. My room is small, but the bathroom is huge (as big as the bedroom) and very modern.

I took a long walk around part of the lake today and everyone was biking, rollerblading, skateboarding, and walking dogs. I have seen a million dogs, including many "French" poodles.

Finding the cybercafe took me a long time though. The girl at the hotel said it was nearby in some cafe but I never found it. I had just about given up when I ran across this little place tucked in a tony street with antique shops and art galleries. It only has about 12 terminals, but it very classy (including quiet music in the background). Not like the English one with 400 terminals! You just pay a person after you're done (1.50 Euro for half an hour). I don't think I will ever find it again, however!

I hope you have a wonderful time in the alps! Take lots of pictures!