No. 81, February 2009
Journal
Happy Valentines Day 2009
It is a beautiful day out, although we did have an inch of snow this morning, but the sun is nice and warm and most of it melted. We had above freezing temperatures all week, so the yard ice melted and it is now safe to walk to the mailbox and to the garage. Before, it was one sheet of glare ice. Many people sent snow pictures, even my friend Yvonne who lives in London England, they had the first snow in many, many years.
But we have not had the brush fires that they experienced in and near Melbourne Australia. We visited that area 8 years ago when we traveled to Australia and New Zealand. That was a good trip.
And we all watched television when the airplane had to land in the water of the Hudson River in New York and all the passengers were saved. Not so lucky was the commuter plane near Buffalo, New York, all 50 people burned to death.
Marianne's twins Cassidy and Elena will be 7 years old in a few weeks, March 1. We got invited to the party at the YMCA. Pizza, birthday cake and time in the gymnastics center. Instead of birthday presents, she requested collecting new children's clothes, pajamas, socks and underwear for the children at the Emergency Homeless Shelter.
Russell's ear hurt so badly, heat seemed to alleviate the pain. Finally went to a doctor who said there was an infection and gave him some antibiotics.
When the weather was warm, I actually walked around the subdivision twice. Should do it more often, but no energy.
Sturgeon Fish Spearing season opened today on Lake Winnebago, our big lake about 20 miles south of us. There is 25 inches of frozen ice on the lake, the fishermen have shanties they pull out on the lake, did holes in the lake and try spearing the big fish when they swim by. The fish are big, weigh 150 pounds and 6 feet long. I don't know what they do with them when they catch them.
We have been reading books when we are hunkered down in the house when the weather is so cold. Russ with his large print cowboy westerns. I order cheap books from Abe.com, old favorites I read 25 years ago. Right now I am into Andrew Greeley, a Catholic Priest who wrote fiction.
Foot ball is finally over for the season, the Super Bowl was in Tampa Florida, against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals. We were rooting for the Phoenix team, they had not been near a Super Bowl since 1947 when they were located in Chicago.
Went to a funeral of a neighbor lady, Dianne Dorshner, 73. She was only sick about a month and died of a muscle disease that moved through her body very fast.
We go dancing once a week, last week was a Valentine's Day Food fest, and it was pot luck and so much good food. We hardly had the strength to dance after we ate. Another Sunday we went to a church at Symco, they had a polka service, all old time hymns played fast to a polka beat. They they had a chili luncheon with home made pie. Russ ate 3 pieces of pie.
And we watched on January 20, the inauguration of our new president, Barack Obama and vice president Joe Biden. It looked very cold there in Washington D. C. and millions of people were there freezing.
Monday is President's Day, February 16 and a Federal Holiday, no mail service.
And that is all the news for this month of February, 2009
Russell and Delores Miller
copyright 2009, Russell and Delores Miller