Missing blog

I wrote a blog about leaving today for the Covenant Women's retreat at Covenant Pines. Now it doesn't seem to be on the internet. Sigh. Anyway, I'm planning to have a great time with about 200 other women (or more) studying the Bible, worshiping, meeting in small groups, playing games, eating in the new dining hall, enjoying the lakes and trees, and generally chillin'. Be back Sunday afternoon--probably won't post till Monday.

Till next time,

Suzi

Women's Bible study today

It was great today to meet with women from our new church plant, hosted by women from our church parent. We all gathered for a time of singing and worship, were treated to snacks, coffee and tea, and met in small groups.

It is hard to get to know people just saying hello and good-bye on Sundays. I am especially glad our new friend Beckie was able to join us. She's here from Oklahoma, and doesn't know how long she'll be staying, but I'm glad she can connect with lots of women here, especially if she does decide to stay.

There's something special about sharing with other Christian women, praying and studying God's word together.

Till next time,


Suzi

Three study groups

I am now involved in three Bible studies/small groups. I have BSF on Monday nights, and tomorrow I am planning to go to a Thursday morning book/Bible study using a book by popular Christian author Beth Moore. It will be a chance to get to know the women of my church in a better way. Sunday nights will be a time for Tim and me to study together at our good friends Tim & Judy's house.

All of this is forcing me to be more organized. Last night I actually spent some time working on my BSF lesson, instead of waiting till Sunday to get it done. I will need to spend some more time tonight on it as well.

Now, if only I can apply this discipline (which I'm not sure I have yet) to my house, life will be perfect (almost!).

Till next time,


Suzi

Exhaustion

Exhaustion prevented me from blogging yesterday. I went to work for a couple of hours on Sunday, didn't get to bed till after midnight, then was up at five. We had meetings at the office and I had to set up for meals (lunch and dinner) and make a run to pick up lunches. Had BSF at 7 pm and collapsed into bed when I got home at 9:15 or so.

Today I'm much more rested. Homecoming evening was as fun as the morning, seeing old friends, looking at old pictures, and catching up. The food wasn't bad either.

There were lots of folks I wish had been there, but now I have a booklet with people's names, addresses and e-mails. It's so great to have lived long enough to be in a shrinking world with technology bringing us closer together.

Till next time,


Suzi

Memory lane

This morning Tim and I attended two lectures that Bethel was sponsoring for alumni who wished to attend on this homecoming weekend. Since we are planning to go to our class reunion (25 years!) tonight, we decided to check out the lectures held this morning, too.

It was weird, but fun, to grace the halls of the place I called home for four years of my life--a place where so much of my adult life and values were shaped. A lot is the same, but much has changed, too. We ran into some old classmates--and I found out that the editor of the Bethel Clarion who got me on staff as a sophomore copy editor is now teaching business at Bethel. We swung by the office of our friends' son who is a computer technician at Bethel now. He wasn't in, but we read his funny Dilbert cartoons and left a note on his white board.

The presentation at one of the lectures was power point--so different from our days at Bethel. The next one was on an old overhead projector--so we felt more at home there. Both presentations were excellent--and Tim ate up being back in an academic environment. He really should be a teacher--he loves learning, lecturing, feedback and discussion so much.

Tonight will be more reminiscing at our class of 1980 dinner. I guess I wouldn't want to go back to those days, but I'm grateful for my college years, for all I learned during that time, and the people who shaped my life. I'm especially grateful for the sacrifice my parents made for me to go to a Christian college for four years. Now, 25 years later, I am finally working in a field that suites my major. Thanks Mom & Dad!

Till next time,


Suzi

Fall is here

Cooler temperatures have arrived and we are enjoying them. It makes yard clean up a lot easier if one is not sweltering in 80 plus degree heat and humidity. Still, the first frost hasn't come yet, so I stocked up on kleenex last night. Between Christina's sore throat, Mark & Tim's allergies, and my occasional sniffles and gunk in my eyes, we are fighting over the last tissue box. I loaded up with six (boxes of tissues, that is).

I went to Cub Foods yesterday in our neighborhood. They didn't have power, but were operating on a couple generators. But due to the outage, lights were out every other row, and they weren't selling meat, dairy or frozen goods. It was a little eerie inside. Last night Christina wanted to shop for clothes for the homecoming dance, so after that we stopped at a Cub near her shopping area.

On our route around town today, we noticed clean-up had begun, but there were other trees that we hadn't seen before that were down/unearthed. It will take a while to get everything back to normal, and of course those large trees can't be replaced overnight.

Lots of firewood is available all around town, however. We have a gas fireplace, but we do take some wood camping. Too bad we've only gone once this summer! Anybody want some branches/logs/leaves/stumps?

Till next time,


Suzi

Bein' neighborly

It's amazing how people can come together after a storm. Robbinsdale is a pretty neighborly town anyway, but after last night's storm people stopped to chat and help.

On my walk this morning, people were surveying the first daylight vantage point after last night's 80-mile hour winds blew through town. (I know Tim's blog said 68, but I heard this higher report at the local municipal airport.) Trees were down everywhere--not just down, but uprooted. A huge tree next door to a friend's house was unearthed--this was an oak or something large like it--at least 30 feet tall--blocking two neighbors' yards. Central Point Energy arrived to inspect the damage--apparently it had exposed a gas line.

As Raven stopped and stooped to do his business in one yard, a little elderly lady peeked out her doorway. I showed her my bag--a sign that I was cleaning up after my dog. She spoke to me, but I couldn't hear her, so I steeled myself for a lecture. Surprisingly, she greeted my dog kindly and spoke about the storm. She was worried about her daughter. Her daughter lived in an area where many trees were down and she was afraid her family might be hurt or at least inconvenienced without power. The house next to the elderly lady had a large tree down--it was dead, so there wasn't too much surprise about its toppling. I encouraged her to give her daughter a call and not just wait for the phone to ring.

We continued our walk. A little girl, all dressed up in a Pocohantus denim dress with a pretty pink backpack, spoke to us of how the storm started when she was at church last night. I asked her where she went to school, then informed her that school was cancelled for the day. (My kids still had school, but the Robbinsdale area public schools are closed due to the fact that only two of them have power today.) A neighbor man came over, then the girl's mom came out. We talked about the storm ("where were you when the lights went out?") and the mother had to rethink her day. Fortunately, she works from home, so day care was not an issue today. I'm sure for many parents it is a huge issue--and especially if parents' didn't have power, they may not have heard that there was no school today.

On to the neighbors' with the unearthed tree and exposed gas line. Several ladies and children had gathered there--some finding out at the bus stop that there was no school. I met a friend who had half a cow in her freezer (beef, that is). I invited her over to put her goods in our mostly empty freezer, and loaded her up with all the ice we had in our ice-maker in the upstairs side-by-side.

The noise of chain saws in the background tells me people are at work to clean up. We are getting a very very very (lots more very's could go here) small taste of what Katrina victims experienced. I am so glad my daughter and her friend got home just after they had spotted funnel clouds. We huddled in the basement for at least an hour watching the weather. There was only one reported death that I heard of so far--a 52-year-old man (only about a mile from here in Minneapolis) was going out to pick up his wife and daughter when a tree fell on him and killed him. So sad.

It could have been much worse. I pray that those in hurricane Rita's path are scurrying out of their neighborhoods to safety.

And I'm grateful for the myriad of blessings we have--home, family, neighbors, electricity, food, transportation, and lots of other things.

Till next time,


Suzi

Clouds are rollin' in

I guess today is not the first day of fall after all, but the last day of summer. It was a hot one, too, but I think tomorrow things are going to change. Clouds are rolling in and there is a severe thunderstorm watch.

Today my sister-in-law Dawn was working at the tax office where I've helped out during tax season. Tim's uncle, who started the business that is now Dawn's husband's Jeff's (my brother-in-law) stopped in. He was not speaking coherently and Dawn was afraid he was suffering signs of a mini-stroke. After making several calls, she took him to Tim's parents, and they drove him home. We may go pick up his car tonight. I certainly hope he gets medical attention quickly--his wife doesn't drive and isn't in very good health herself. Fortunately, they live in addition off the house of their son and daughter-in-law.

Clouds are rolling in--things can change at a moment's notice. One year ago today my sister's mother-in-law passed away suddenly. We need to always be ready for whatever may come--and we need to number our days. One day the sun may be shining, and the next we could be experiencing a hurricane (well, not in Mnnesota--but blizzards are possible here). I will try to be grateful for every day.

Till next time,


Suzi

Even techies have trouble sometimes...

It's the last day of summer today. But tomorrow temperatures are predicted to reach 85 degrees. I rebelled against autumn's advent by wearing white sandals and a pastel blouse to work (you know, you're not supposed to wear white after Labor Day.) Allergy sufferers are looking forward to the first frost, and I guess I'm not sad to say good-bye to summer. I enjoy the change of seasons, and fall is a beautiful time in Minnesota.

At work, I celebrated my three month anniversary. Hard to believe I've already been there that long. I'm finally able to print from my computer at work, but it's only a temporary fix. The techie spent an hour on the phone with me and about two hours fiddling around with it trying to get my connection to our shared office computer to work from my laptop. Finally he got me to print through Nicole's computer, and since we share something with Minnehaha Academy across the street, a techie from over there will have to do the final fix. I was relieved to know that it wasn't me specifically who was at fault with the computer problem.

We'll enjoy the last warm days here--tomorrow I'll be in the air conditioning at the office. Cooler days will be here soon enough. Then we'll have lots of time to spend with computers, printers, and the like. It's good to have technology working on cool, windy, rainy days.

Till next time,


Suzi

Back to BSF

Tonight will be my first evening class at Bible Study Fellowship--we are studying Genesis this year. I hope I can stay awake at this time of day! I'm used to morning classes--from 9:30 am to 11:30 am. This is from 7-9 pm. It actually started last week, but I was in Chicago (eating Greek food downtown) so I had to miss it.

My discussion leader called last night--she sounds very nice. I wonder if it will be different going to a class with mostly working women--maybe everyone will be very professional like. In my day class there were a lot of moms of preschoolers, because they offered a class for preschool children (they studied the same Scripture we did each week!). The evening classes are for women (or other classes for men) and their school age children. I'd love for my kids to go with me, but after going to a Christian school all day I suppose they won't want more Bible study at night (when they have their own religion homework). Still, it's a very good program.

I got my lesson in the mail and I finished it yesterday. So, I'm starting off okay. This week I'll try to get an earlier jump on things. (I say that every year.) My first challenge will be staying alert--didn't get to bed till late and woke up pretty early.

Till next time,


Suzi

Raven had his own blog?

Found this at Rodney Olsen's The Journey. Maybe my dog doesn't blog, but this certainly is a dog blog quite a bit of the time.

Till next time,


Suzi

My son, the homeowner?

Last night we went looking at a couple of houses with our 20-year-old, Luke. Our sister-in-law is a realtor and we have two accountants in the family (and Tim's one credit short of an accounting degree).

Well, we all fell in love with this cute little two-bedroom house about 10 minutes' drive from our home. Luke really likes it too--and the price is right.

It looks like he will pre-qualify and the closing date is tentatively set for mid-November.

Yikes! Am I really old enough to be the mother of a home owner? It does make sense, though, when you look at the rent rates these days.

I am now steeling myself for the day when he says he is getting married........

Till next time,


Suzi

Cool mornings, warm days

I love September. The days are still warm, but the nights and mornings are cool. I'm wearing long pants and a jacket now for my walks with Raven, but after I went to the grocery store this afternoon I almost wished I had turned the air conditioning on. The elementary kids are back at the school across the street, so we are into our morning/afternoon traffic pattern again. It's not really that bad--it is only jam packed on our little street from about 8:45-9 am and 3:10-3:30 pm. If Raven and I are out walking that late in the morning, it's fun to visit the kids. I try to make sure they are dog lovers before we get too close--some of them bound right up to him, though.

Well, I better get running. I'm blogging late today so I need to get supper on soon.

Till next time,


Suzi

Chicago--the same--and different

Now that I've been home for a day I've got a bit of perspective to assess my trip to Chicago. There was a mixture of old and new--some things the same, some very different.

This was my first out-of-town business trip--ever. I marveled as I listened to other women passengers at the gate, waiting for the plane. They were planning, strategizing, and using business terms I'd never heard of, relative to their particular job, I suppose. I was more comfortable watching the mom with her baby or even the ladies' tour group who was on their way back from Ireland to Minneapolis. People were flipping out their cell phones, blackberries, palm pilots, laptops, ipods, mp3 players and cd players.

Once in the air, however, we were all equal. All electronic devices had to be shut off. People either nursed their water bottles, sipped the beverage provided (we also got a small bag of chips--thank you American Airlines!), read their magazines or books, looked out the window, slept, or chatted with their neighbors.

As soon as cell phones were allowed on again after landing, people were back at it. They called loved ones, informed their rides of their arrival, or checked messages. I have to admit I flipped my phone on immediately to tell Tim we were almost at the gate.

Anyway--back to Chicago. I lived in the Chicago area at two different times in my life--during my junior high and high school years and in graduate school. My first and very pleasant encounter upon my arrival this time was seeing my sister Lori and her son Richard--waiting for me as I got down to baggage claim. We went to a very fun restaurant/deli type place where I ordered a delicious reuben sandwich. I had planned to buy dinner, especially since Lori spared me the $30+ cab ride it would have been to the hotel, but she snatched the bill from the server before I could sing "My kind of town, Chicago is....." (actually we were in Skokie).

After dinner, Lori had to get back to finish up some work at the office, so I had another pleasant encounter with my past--more recent past, that is. My friend Lana who works for the Covenant headquarters (where my meetings were to be) met me after dinner and we had a nice visit in the atrium/corridor area of the mall where Lori and I had supper. Lana was a short-term missionary in Ecuador in 1998 when our church team spent almost two weeks in the mountains northeast of Quito. It was great to catch up and also reminisce about our time there.

Seeing the area of our meetings brought back lots of memories. The Covenant headquarters is in the neighborhood of North Park University--where my husband Tim attended seminary for one year--the year we started dating. The neighborhood was rather questionable when he lived there, and I walked past the corner where he always walked me to my car at night (for safety reasons, of course). I visited the Sweden shop--his sem apartment was right above the store. The shop had expanded, and some of the restaurants on the street had changed, but many were still there--including a Swedish restaurant where we had lunch in the busy, diner-like atmosphere.

Devon Street goes on for blocks and blocks as a sea of Sri Lankan businesses--a well-known street in Sri Lanka. Our group drove past Lake Shore Drive--Lake Michigan looks the same--miles and miles of beach, sailboats and friends and lovers out for strolls.

Water Tower Place looked the same--and of course the old water tower is a historic landmark where the Chicago fire ended. The Water Tower shopping area is in stark contrast to the old site across the street. We saw many older churches, too, in the same blocks with high end newer department stores.

When I flew back to Minnesota, I could see the little skyline of St. Paul--the capitol building proudly shining on a hill down from the St. Paul cathedral. As the plane turned, I could see my home--the Minneapolis skyline. (Well, we're closer to Minneapolis than St. Paul.)

Chicago is great, and a nice place to visit, as they say, but there's no place like home (another cliche, but true). Even if I talk more like a Minnesoootan now than a midwestern Chicago native, I'm glad to hail from the northland.

Ya sure ya betcha.

Till next time,


Suzi

Back safely!

Well I made it to and from Chicago safely and without complication (except for a possible side trip to Sioux Falls on the way home due to some rain clouds--but we ended up not having to be diverted.) Chicago was amazing, overloading, fun, had fantastic food and people. Lots of information in our business meetings and hot weather. The hotel was nice with a great breakfast buffet, but I didn't sleep too well being away from home, even though the bed was very comfortable.

Christina called on Monday night asking when I was coming home because "Dad wasn't feeding us" and "Dad's not a very good Mom." It was nice to be missed. Raven went all day without going out on Sunday (till evening) but it seemed he survived without any accidents.

Tomorrow morning I won't have to call to check to make sure the dog is walked, lunches are made, and kids are up in time. I will be here in person to carry out all the above.

I know they can get by easily without me, but it's good to at least think I was missed and nice to be back in familiar territory.

Till next time,


Suzi

Last blog for awhile...

This will be my last blog for a little while--tomorrow (September 11!) I'll be flying from Minneapolis to Chicago, but I will be safe and sound at the Comfort Inn in Skokie. I'm looking forward to seeing my sister and nephew, seeing an old friend from a missions trip some years back, and meeting lots of new people. Besides meetings, our time will be include dinner at a Greek restaurant and great food (but probably not on the airplane). I'll take some snacks so my blood sugar doesn't get too low (not a problem I usually have!)

I stopped at the office briefly today to post some things on our company website that probably shouldn't wait till I get back. Trying to straighten up a bit around here, pack, stock groceries for my family (who will probably eat out anyway), and try not to worry too much about plane travel on this fateful anniversary.

Deep breath. Ahhhh. It will be nice to get a little break from the day-to-day stuff, but I know I'll be happy to be home again. Windy city--my home for many years (at least suburbia)--here I come!

My kind of town, Chicago is..... oops there I go breaking into song again--think that's the second time this week on my blog.....

Till next time (probably Wednesday),


Suzi

Delivering sheet rock

Well, my plans for yesterday at home all changed with one phone call. Tim, who was at the first of four planned jobs for the day, needed sheetrock delivered ASAP to a house where his friend Ed the rocker was in need of six more sheets. Since we still have Tim's Tundra pick-up, and technically I was available, I was willingly (?) pressed into service.

A trip to Home Depot got me what I wanted. I helped a rather small man put six sheets on a rolling thing, then he helped me toward the check out. A man with a load of lumber tried to juxtaposition himself behind/beside me in line. Meanwhile, a Home Depot employee came blaring by with his forklift. We tried as best as we could to clear the way--there was also a man in front of me with a long roll of carpet who was having a discussion with the cashier about a problem with his purchase.

Finally I paid and one man was found to help me load up the Tundra. He found another guy, and they loaded the six sheets into the truck. I was on my way.

I was a little worried about finding the house, and Tim didn't have exact street names for me, but did finally call with an address. (I had, first right turn, second left turn, bear right as you come to two Y's--see the house with the builder's sign out front.) Luckily Ed was outside when I arrived. He directed me to a parking spot and immediately, singlehandedly, started unloading the sheetrock, lifting each sheet easily over his head.

The hard part was over. I thanked Ed, he thanked me, and I thanked God that the rain from early morning had stopped. I rewarded myself with a trip to Taco Bell and a stop at the grocery store. Mission accomplished.

The stuff I had planned to do is still waiting for me today. Wonder how I can plan to be sidetracked...

Till next time,


Suzi

To nap, read, or do housework.........hmmmmmmm

Today's morning walk was in daylight--after the kids left for school. I've noticed even on my early walks the past two days that traffic has picked up as fall schedules are now in full swing.

Today school buses were evident, and Raven stopped to sniff a couple of children waiting on a corner while they petted him (after I told them of his friendly nature). One little girl refrained--for all his kind ways and good looks, Raven still is part German shepherd and can seem a bit intimidating for the uninitiated.

It's a cloudy/rainy day, so the temptation is to curl up with a book or take a nap. But if Tim is reading this, I better say that I decided instead to vacuum the house, pay all the bills, recycle or file all the paperwork, sweep the floors, dust the furniture, clear out the garage, and get rid of all the clutter.

And bake an apple pie. Oh--I did that already (not today, but there is still some pie left). Maybe I do have time for that nap after all.

Till next time,


Suzi

Back to reality

Monday was the fair, Tuesday I only worked six hours, so today was back to reality. The day started off with a sick daughter. Well, at least her brother could drive himself to school--when Mark is sick, we have to figure out how to get Christina to school. When I got to work, I was alone most of the day and the printer wouldn't work. At days' end, I ran into some e-mail snafus and possible newsletter errors (after the fact--it's already finished)--but I think we discovered that the errors were not really mine after all.

I felt a little sad there was no one at the office to wish me a bon voyage on my upcoming business trip (Nicole did leave a nice note for me, though). I haven't heard anything about my upcoming BSF classes either--they are supposed to start on Monday night while I'm gone, and my teaching leader hasn't called me yet.

Tim has been swamped again. He is threatening to drag me off to work with him tomorrow. I always have things to do on my days off which don't normally include drywall work, so we'll see how things play out. In the meantime, I'm grateful for a short work week (though I really do love my job).

Till next time,


Suzi

Relaxing over the weekend

Tim and I relaxed this weekend. It felt good to be home and not pressured to be anywhere or do anything. I decided to bake apple pies since it was cool in the morning. Tim decided to read. We both took naps.

On Monday, we had time to play. We took our friend Thomas and our son Mark to the state fair. (See Tim's blog for his take on the day.) It was an absolutely perfect day--though it did get a little warm. We walked through art exhibits, took in all the smells of the food and animals, watched piglets sucking at their 600 pound mother's feeding apparatuses, watched bungi jumpers and skateboarders take amazing risks, ate wonderful egg rolls as we listened to jazz/blues/rock.

Today it was back to work, and I was very happy to finally get my online newsletter in a PDF format. Then Luke met me at the office and we went off to meet Thomas for a quick trip to Subway and then a too quick ending to his visit at the airport. We hope to spend some time with his son Timothy during the course of his year at Macalester College in St. Paul.

It will be a short week for me with the Labor Day holiday--and next week will be different, too. I'm heading to Chicago on Sunday for two days of training for work at our denominational headquarters. Flying out on September 11 has me a bit nervous, but I'm told it will be the safest day of the year. (I may have blogged about that earlier.)

Traffic has picked up, since school is officially back in session. It is a new season, though the calendar says summer doesn't end till September 21--the lazy hazy days of summer end with the fair and fall kicks in with backpacks and school buses.

Before we know it, Christmas will be upon us. I'll enjoy these last warm days for as long as I can.

Till next time,


Suzi

Old friends

Yesterday we picked up an old friend at the airport--Thomas, who I mentioned in yesterday's blog. We haven't seen him in about 17 years, and only recently have established e-mail contact, as his son will begin studying at Macalester College (or is it University now?) in St. Paul. This weekend he'll be busy with parent/student orientations, but it was fun to spend some time together yesterday afternoon and evening, and we look forward to showing this New York City dweller the Minnesota State Fair on Monday.

This year seems to have been the year of reconnecting. As I wrote about before, I went to visit my old college roommate Joy and other roommate Bobbie joined us. With Joy, Bobbie, and now Thomas, the years seemed to melt away as we caught up with what's been happening in our lives since our last meeting and sharing memories of old times.

The old song is really true: "Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold."

I love my "silver" friends, but I treasure my "gold" friends as well. There's something about sharing a part of our personal history that is priceless. I'm sort of a nostalgic sap in a way--I hate to lose contact with people (our Christmas list has over 100 addressees in it).

Our 25th reunion for Bethel college is coming up in a few weeks. I'm sure I'll be a sentimental sap at that time, as well. "Memories, may be beautiful and yet...." (oops, my kids hate when I break into song.....)

Till next time,


Suzi

Safe in Indiana

Mark, his grandparents, his cousins and aunt and uncle arrived safely in Indiana yesterday for a car show. They had some minor problems with their motor homes, but Terry (Tim's cousin who's been working with him) was able to walk them through their issues so they could safely complete their destination.

Mark has already looked at a moped he'd like to have. It would be great to ride to and from school--oh, that's right--he's supposed to take his little sister with him. Bummer. Maybe he could pull her in a trailer behind him? We'll let Mark dream for another day before we tell him the sobering news--sorry, no moped. (But maybe I could ride it to and from work--till the weather gets cold, anyway........)

Today our friend Thomas flies in from New York. His son Timothy is starting school at Macalester in St. Paul. We hope to get together with them both and plan for a day at the Minnesota State Fair on Monday.

Guess we couldn't all fit in a moped to get to the fair.....

Till next time,


Suzi

Quiet in the house

Today I'm home from work. I took Christina off to school, Mark is traveling with his grandparents to a car show, and Tim is at work.

There's a musty smell in our house--due to a plumbing leak (now fixed) that resulted in water collecting in the ceiling of Mark's bedroom. We're working to dry things out with fans and open windows, and I'm planning to get the dehumidifier down there.

The musty smell is a reminder for me to pray for those dealing with so much worse than a little inconvenience of a damaged ceiling. The folks in Katrina's path face the unknown--including possible sickness, homelessness, and being separated from friends and family.

I'm grateful for my dry house and thankful for even the opportunity to turn on a working stove, have running water and indoor plumbing, and the ability to walk outside on dry sidewalks and streets. My heart goes out to those in the south who at this moment have none of those things.

Till next time,


Suzi