Fun Week...Post Views..22,652

      Well, it WAS a fun week until something abruptly happened on Blogger and 5 hours of work was GONE,  just plain GONE....

With much dismay I will see how quickly I can  redo it.  I am totally spaced out what happened?????

     On with the FUN.

     Wednesday, Jan 27 was Gemma's 9th B-day.  She was born with  a disconnected esophagus and laryngeal cleft so liquids would seep into her lungs.  She spent her first month of life in the neonatal unit and endured several surgeries her first year while being fed with a feeding tube in her stomach.

Daddy and Gemma in the NICU.

Meeting Grandma G for the first time at 2 months old.

Happy 9th B-day, Gemma!!

        That afternoon my friend, Kahana, and I went for lunch at an Hawaiian restaurant near where I live.

Kahana ordered strawberry/guava drink

I ordered POG..
passionfruit/orange/guava juice


(Wikipedia)
POG is a tropical juice drink created in 1971 by a food product consultant named Mary Soon who worked for Haleakala Dairy on Maui, Hawaii. It consists of a blend of juices from passionfruit, orange, and guava (hence POG).
POG is produced by Meadow Gold Dairy, a subsidiary of Dean Foods.

She had loco moco....
large bowl of rice topped with a hamburger patter, fried egg and lots of brown gravy.
        Comfort Food
 Hawaiian version of  Midwest mashed potatoes, pot roast and lots of gravy...Oh Ya!



The small blue dish has kimchi....fermented cabbage with a spicy sauce.....
TOO spicy for me  


I had Kuala pork with yakisoba noodles

A painted coconut
A man's necklace of Kukui nuts

Hula Boy restaurant is a one mile walk from my house, SO....
when my Indiana sisters come to visit later in the summer we can hula there and back.


Later in the day I went to Freddy's to buy some light colored clothes for my surprise trip!!










Thursday was our annual Red Hats "planning day" for the year's activities.  We do this while enjoying a potluck brunch at the club house.  I decided to try a spinach, artichoke egg bake. I've never made one nor have I cooked with artichokes.    
It turned out quite yummy.  The Red Hat ladies thought so too.  
New favorite recipe.





My friend, Jo, knit her own hat..
figuring out the pattern as she went..

     After a good brunch and a long sit, with the rain changing to sunshine, it was time for a walk.  I strolled around the park then decided to walk to Fourth Plaine intersection about a mile up the road.  
     Passing the Burnt Bridge Creek creek, now filled with water, I noticed a duck out for a swim.  I quickly took out my phone camera for a picture or 20.  The duck must have heard me cause after a couple clicks she swam upstream as fast as her little webbed feet would let her.  It quacked me up....
    Continuing on with the walk I crossed a driveway about a fourth of a block up.  I heard "Grandma. Grandma! What are you doing here?  Mom and I are coming to your house in 2 minutes." OH!  I get in the car with her to return home.  Just as we get there Deb sends a text. "We are coming to your house in 1 minute."  OK, I text back, as we look at each other from different cars.   


A fun surprise visit from Deb and Micaela.






AW....where are the cookies and candy??

Smiles from baby Berklee!



    
     Friday morning I enjoyed a 30 minute Face Book phone call from a young lady friend who has recently moved out of the country to live for a long while. 

      This was my first such phone chat.  Great fun and satisfaction to be able to communicate this way!

   
     Saturday Gerry completed the Spartan Race for the first of  his Rady's Children's Hospital fund raiser goal of $25,000 by the end of the year. 

                                  
                                       taking a break 










stats for the day...



    Click on link for more information.

http://give.rchsd.org/goto/MachuPicchuNICU2016

     
     I spent most of my Saturday after water aerobics working on a previous version of this post that was abruptly wiped out.  But I will not dwell on that.   Did other fun things like laundry, cooking, and cleaning out heaps of paper stuff caused by our "paperless" society. 
     After Sunday morning worship team practice and service I met my physical challenge in the  afternoon..
     Then set in front of the TV watching a movie and peeking in on our absurd presidential campaign..and that is all I'll say about that.

   

    Count down to my SURPRISE TRIP...Oh Ya!!

     This has been a good "fun" week in the life of Grandma G.

    "Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.  Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."  (Psalms 37:3 & 4)

Gerry Schmidt Children's Hospital Fund Raiser...Post Views...22,579

(This is my son, Gerry Schmidt's, post concerning his daughter, my granddaughter, Gemma.....)

(Wed. January 27, 2016)

How great is THIS? Gemma is NINE years old TODAY! Here I am with her in 2007 and today. Happy Birthday, Gemma!

Check out the story, the goal and how you can help:
http://give.rchsd.org/goto/MachuPicchuNICU2016
...

3 days to the Spartan Super in Temecula to raise money for Rady Children's Hospital San Diego NICU.
________________________________________

Grandma G Blogging..

Today is Friday....one day to the Spartan Super!

Here are some background pictures and story.

Grandpa Lou and Gram G were able to travel from Wisconsin in  March to go visit Gemma and family in Carlsbad, CA

 Big Brother, Jude

Gerry, Jude, Gretta, Gemma

Gemma
today!!













     

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Gerry at Machu Picchu, Peru 2010

First Fund Raiser

Training for Spartan Race.....

Click on link at start of the blog for more information.

This has been a good NICU fund raiser day in the life of Grandma G.

"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."

(Matthew 5:7)

CHEEeeeezzzz...What Will Happen Next? .POST VIEWS...22,527

You Gotta love those Wisconsinites......

They know what is of value.....

Trailer with $70,000 worth of cheese stolen in GermantownPosted: Jan 23, 2016 10:42 AM PS

GERMANTOWN, Wis. (AP) -- Police in Germantown are looking for suspects after a trailer containing about $70,000 worth of cheese was stolen from a trucking company.
Police say the trailer was taken early Friday from D&G Transportation. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the 54-foot-long trailer and the semi-tractor used to steal it were found Friday night in the Milwaukee area.
The trailer was empty.
Anyone with information is asked to call Washington County authorities.
(article from news website)

_____________________________________
POSTED ON TUES. JAN 26.......
MARSHFIELD (WAOW) -
A shipment of cheese, worth tens-of-thousands of dollars, is missing in Marshfield. (WI)
The semi trailer full of Parmesan cheese was reported stolen from WOW Logistics January 14^th, and officials said there are few leads.
"You know my experience in cheese theft, admittedly, is limited," Marshfield Police Department Lt. Darren Larson said. "I have never been in a case that involved theft of cheese, certainly, [not] to this extent."
This was no small steal. Whomever hooked their truck to this pile of Parm drive off with about $90K worth of cheese.
Lt. Larsen said the Parmesan could be making its way into the black market. "Certainly it's entirely possible," Lt. Larson said. "Where there is a demand, there is generally an illicit market."
Stranger still, the heist comes on the heels of a similar incident in Germantown, where cheese was reportedly stolen from a separate semi. Police believe the two thefts are unrelated.
"We have found nothing evidentiary that would connect the two cases," Lt. Larson said.

Newsline 9 reached out to WOW Logistics for comment on the incident, but the calls were not returned.
(article from news website)

          Cheesehead Papa Lou and son, Burt
______________________________________

 Just when Gram G thinks she knows what she is doing, she doesn't.   I was so convinced the 20 by 25 filter was the right size I took off the wrapping and wrote the replacement date on the filter. Went to replace the old black one.....Oops, too long....seems 20 by 16 is the correct size...Or is it 16 by 14???  Anyone need a 20 by 25 furnace filter???

     On Monday we were blessed with an all day sunny, warm day....
After a chiropractor session, a trip to Freddy's, lunch outside and two short piano lessons there was time for a walk around the park...lots of early spring blooms...

Must have been hard work to be the first daffodil of the season..

                                                    Snow on the mountains.....

A bit of novelty........


Can you see what they are and how many??







Ever wonder what to do with old shovels?

Who said Seniors are not creative??

Lunch time outdoors....







 SO..annoying to pull weeds in late January.

     Tuesday the rain returned.  I went to water aerobics.  There were 9 of us ladies there....more than there has been for awhile. 
           Afterwards I talked with Nancy about an upcoming trip the  "Terrific Traveling Trio" is taking later in February.  It is somewhere I have wanted to visit for many years.  I found a voucher a few months back that provides a "good deal" to make that happen.   Later at home, Jo, the remaining third of the TTT, called to ask a few questions.  Soon I was on the phone making the reservations for our stay. There are a few details to work out yet but we are on our way.....so to speak....you'll have to keep checking on this if you are curious to find out who, what, when, where, how and why. (I think that was the formula they taught in high school for good descriptive writing.)   
      That evening I also checked about another trip that is coming up really soon.  Preparation is happening for that.
      I am trying to get back to piano practice.  Right now I am living on wishes.  I wish to play well but just want that to happen without practice. Think it goes that way?? Guess its human nature that its hard to get back to something once one neglects for awhile. However I have a new song I am working on and need to get it to be an actual song.  Excited for that so need to make it happen.  Oh yah..
       

     On Sunday, Josh, a Wisconsin grandson, celebrated his 21st B-day.  In the spring he graduates from the University of MN and has his sight on med school.   



These past few days, except for Monday, have been rainy but mild in the mid 40s.  To me its like a several month Wisconsin May.  I am starting to realize that life here can continue at a steady pace all year round.  "Back North" life is like a mountain climb.  All summer and early autumn is a mad rush to prepare for the 7-8 months of cold weather surrounding the bitter, insane cold, ice and snow of January and February.   The drawback for me is that in my mind I'll decide certain work projects will be done when "winter" sets in.....only "winter" never sets in.   Therefore, certain work projects are still waiting to be done...It is nice that my body core does not have to shiver for 7 months of the year. 

HOWEVER......since the Sunday 6.8 magnitude earthquake in Alaska there has been earthquake prep talks on the local news.

Today, January 26, is the 316th anniversary of a magnitude 9.2 earthquake off the coast of Washington/Oregon.  We are cautioned to make emergency prep and have food/water for 2 weeks.  They did say, though, that its under a 10% chance that the "big one" will strike in the next 50 years.
      
I am working on getting my prep ready. 

 Grandson,Cory, rock climbing near Anchorage.  He and his girlfriend attend college there.  I have not heard if they felt the tremor. 
________________________________________       

The Cascadia Subduction Zone is still active and will generate more major earthquakes in the future. Scientists have found that at least seven earthquakes around magnitude 9 have occurred over the last 3,500 years, an average of one every 500 years. But recent research has shown that many magnitude 8 quakes have shaken the area in the intervening years, bringing the average time between quakes down to 270 years.

Because there hasn’t been a major earthquake in the Cascadia subduction zone for 300 years, many people who live in the area are unaware of the danger or unprepared for a quake. And many buildings in cities on and near the coast, such as Portland, have not been retrofitted to survive a major jolt.
(webpage...Betsy Mason)
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This has been a good 4 "what will happen next" days in the life of Grandma G.

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging." (Psalms 46:1-3)