[Ruthie’s birthday is New Year’s Day. Her sister Rita’s is New Year’s Eve. Rita sent Ruthie a Diana Krall CD for her birthday. She also sent her the birthday card below. Rita is a nurse, so she knows about anatomy.]
[On January 2, the Super completed the quilt her grandmother began 73 years ago . . . ]
[On January 3, we celebrated Christmas upon the arrival of Grandson Tom from Purdue . . . celebrated in the sense of opening presents (the Super could contain herself no longer) and eating and drinking ourselves into a stupor.]
[Let’s begin with boy undies – Duluth Trading Post undies, that is, guaranteed to last until the next ice age.]
[Woo-woo! NowI can make coffee in my new undies!]
[And other stuff . . . thank you Aunt Toodie and Uncle Mo for the Smithsonian finery!]
[The Super scores a homerun with Jami. Look for it on her person soon at Cherry Street Books!]
[And here we’re in a stretch where we really tried to get Jami to cheer up a bit!]
[Page break . . . ]
[Well, so much for trying to fit into certain attire by the April cruise . . . ]
[Above and below, thank you Aunt Toodie and Uncle Mo!]
[A final blitz to the finish . . . ]
[And now the nether regions of the tree are devoid of presents.]
Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people once a year. ~ Victor Borge
Up next: Better get moving on Hawaii before the next trip comes up!
The Journey Begins
Thanks for joining me! This is the follow-up to the original, “alexandriacardinals.wordpress.com,” which overwhelmed the system’s ability to handle it any more. Thus, this is “Part 2.” As the original was initially described:
10-26-07-4
“It all began in a 5,000 watt radio station in Fresno, California” . . . wait a minute, that was Ted Baxter on the Mary Tyler Moore Show! Let’s see . . . oh yeah, it all began in 2003 when retirees, i.e., old people, in Alexandria, Minnesota, who had no desire to become snow birds, went looking for mid-winter entertainment here in the frozen tundra of West Central Minnesota. We discovered girls’ high school hockey, fell in love immediately, and it remains our favorite spectator sport to this day. Initially, and for several years, reports on these games were e-mailed to those who were actually snowbirds but wanted to keep abreast of things “back home.” It was ultimately decided a blog would be more efficient, and it evolved into a personal diary of many things that attracts tens of readers on occasion. It remains a source of personal mental therapy and has yet to elicit any lawsuits.
~ The Editor, May 9, 2014
p.s. The photo border around the blog is the Cardinal girls’ hockey team after just beating Breck for the state championship in 2008. It’s of the all-tournament team. The visible Breck player on the left is Milica McMillen, then an 8th-grader – she is now an All-American for the Gophers. The Roseau player in the stocking cap I believe is Mary Loken, who went on to play for UND; and the Cardinal player on the right, No. 3, is Abby Williams, the player we blame most for making us girls’ hockey fans who went on to play for Bemidji State.
***********************************************************************************
Photos contained herein are available for personal use. All you have to do is double click on any of the photos and they will become full screen size. You can then save them into your personal “My Pictures” file. They make lovely parting or hostess gifts, or holiday gifts for such as Uncle Ernie who wants to see how his grand niece is doing on the hockey team. If any are sold for personal profit, however, to, for example, the Audubon Society, National Geographic, Sven’s Home Workshop Monthly, Curling By The Numbers, or the World Wrestling Federation, I only request that you make a donation to the charitable organization of your choice. You have two hours and fifteen minutes. Pencils ready? Begin!
**********************************************************************************
Love your Christmas — no matter what day you celebrate. Beautiful tree too!