We had a great dinner today, Joan is a good cook!  Of course, the girls are upright after the meal.  Below you will see the condition of they men (plus one gal) after all that turkey!

I was in Minneapolis yesterday and planned to stay overnight so I invited my niece and nephews that live in town to join me for dinner.  We had a good time and look forward to getting together more often.  From left is Jay Hickok (Coon Rapids), Kelly Ojanen (Maplewood), me, Will Ojanen (Egan) and his girlfriend Samantha (St. Paul).  Nephew Chris Ojanen was not able to attend, maybe next time.

Emily was Rizzo, one of the Pink Ladies in her high school production of Grease last week.  She sang two solos, "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee" and "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" which is my personal favorite in the entire show.  The students in the photo with Emily are classmates of hers; most of them have been in all the plays together since middle school.  They are a very talented group of kids.  I will miss seeing these kids perform after attending a lot of their shows over the years.

Brother Al reports that on his last day of hunting he got this 10 point buck.  He looks pretty happy, doesn't he?

He caught a picture of a wolf at the gut pile which you can see in the photo below.

On Saturday evening I attended the Zumbrota-Maezeppa High School production of Grease.  Emily had the part of Rizzo, of course she was the best actor and singer on stage all evening.  Pictures are to follow soon thanks to Emily, (I thought I forgot my camera and found it on the bottom of my purse when I got home!)

Today we attended a performance of the opera Tosca at the Ordway in St. Paul.  The sets were quite extraordinary and all key players had very strong voices.  It was an enjoyable afternoon.

Mom and Dad were married on November 11, 1950.  This would have been their 55th Anniversary.

I bought a pair of Nike Sandals in June of 2004 and I have worn them almost daily since.  I can't remember when I have had such comfortable shoes.  As they say, when your feet are happy, your whole body is happy.

It was about time I went shopping and to my dismay, they have changed my model of sandal so that it doesn't look the same.  I want something I can wear to work, not something that makes me look like I am going snorkeling.

I found a wonderful shoe made by Chaco and although they have many retailers, I found that these awesome $95 sandals were on sale for $66 at www.moosejaw.com .  And not only was that a great price but they have a wonderfully entertaining business.  My package arrived with stickers on it that said "Sealed with a Kiss", "Don't be surprised if you have seen this box before, we recycle" and "No Knife, Use your Teeth."   Inside the package was a temporary tattoo and a bumper sticker.  I ordered the shoes on Sunday night and here it is Wednesday and I have my shoes!!!

I tried on the first one and I felt like I had a little cloud on my foot.  I reached for the other one and to my dismay, it was also a shoe for the left foot!!!  When I called them, their auto-answer system forced me to listen to a bit of a speech by Winston Churchill.  The customer service rep was charming but they got hit by the windstorm that did damage earlier this week and were on generator and he couldn't get into the computer to take care of my problem so I have to call back tomorrow.  But when people have a unique and entertaining way of doing business, it is a pleasure, even when they screw your order up.

UPDATE!!!

Moosejaw is not only going to send  me two right shoes, in appreciation for my understanding they are giving me 15% off the order and throwing in a t-shirt to boot!

Yes, here are all of our First Grade school pictures.  I look at this brood, especially the bottom row and know that my Mom had to have been a saint and for sure she is one now!!!

For those of you who don't recognize us, on top from left: Me, Donna, and Jane.  Bottom row: Alan, Bob, Tom, and Glen.

Thanks Dad, for sending the photos!

Dad gave me this photo last weekend when I was visiting in Cook.  He is planting his garden with his little helper Jay Hickok, son of Donna and Harvey.  Whenever Donna and Harvey would visit from Little Canada, Jay would become Grandpa's little helper for the weekend.  Once they moved to Georgia, Jay's "Handy Man Training Sessions" didn't occur quite as often but I know they were special for both Jay and Grandpa.