June Archives Import

June 23, 2009

a few late greetings: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, JUSTIN & CARRIE HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WILLEM This morning I laid in bed listening to the morning news and weather. The forecast for the day is "mostly cloudy with scattered showers and afternoon thunderstorms." Sigh. So much for playing outside with the grandboys. But wait, you guessed it. I walked into the kitchen, looked outside and was greeted by clear blue skies, bright sunshine and not a cloud anywhere. Why do I even bother listening to the weather report? To the forecaster’s credit, we do live in the foothills of the mountains and weather moves in and out with alarming speed. So it is possible that the day actually will be "mostly cloudy with scattered showers and afternoon thunderstorms."

June 18, 2009 Good news: I’m coughing less and less each day. I may actually get this bug out of my system. Louise started obedience training this week. She’s a pretty smart little dog and so far catches on quickly. But she has a little independent streak in her. Every now and then she looks at me as if she’s saying, "Thanks, but I don’t think so. Maybe later." There’s some new stuff on the site: Home page: I’ve moved the reunion list to this page and we’ve heard from almost everyone! Exchange: a new recipe from Renee has been added (It’s good stuff!!) News & Events: all new stuff including a feature article on Anthony’s first race, a countdown to Dayna & Elliott’s arrival, and a countdown to "K4tog" Links: I’ve added an "Extended Family Addresses" listing (Wessels, Meyers, etc.) What is "K4tog" you ask? The major league ball parks each host a "Stitch-n-Pitch" night where patrons are encouraged to bring their knitting and crocheting and watch some baseball. Now for us Kole women what could be a better combination? Knitting – Baseball. It’s a win-win situation. So Mom, Rochelle, Renee and I are headed off to Toronto in late August for a whirlwind 3-day holiday centered around the Toronto BlueJays Stitch-n-Pitch night. And we have a name for our adventure – K4Tog (4 Koles knitting Together). Rochelle is organizing t-shirts for us to wear to the game and we’re all contemplating what knitting projects we’ll be bringing. We’re just a little bit excited about it. Dayna is going to join us for the ball game and maybe we’ll convince her to be our photographer/videographer. June 13, 2009 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HARRY! (tomorrow, the 14th, that is!) I had planned to update the site today, write a blog, edit some video footage, etc. But I’ve been fighting some sort of respiratory virus for about 3 weeks now. It has worsened significantly in the last few days leaving me coughing non-stop and completely worn out. Yesterday, my doctor informed me I was well on my way to full-blown pneumonia. Well, that explains why I feel so lousy! I am now armed with antibiotics to fight the infection, cortisone inhalers to reduce the bronchial inflammation, and orders to "lay low" for 4-5 days. Being sick is the pits especially since we’re enjoying amazingly fantastic weather. I would love to be outside at the zoo or the swimming pool with Linda and the kids, or doing yardwork. I’m a little too task-oriented to be patient about this sick stuff, but I get tired so quickly that I have to play by the rules if I want to get better. I have only 12 days to get myself completely healed. In 12 days, Dayna and Elliott arrive and I will not be sick! That’s my mantra right now: I will not be sick. I will not be sick. [pause for coughing fit] I will not be sick …. Now for a request: I’m looking for changes to addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. I’ve updated the Family Addresses list lately, but know that there are more changes coming. Remember to drop a line when contact info changes so I can keep it up to date. THANKS! June 6, 2009 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DALLAS! There are moments in life that even the best writer couldn’t script: A couple of days ago, Anthony was sitting on my lap, snuggled against me while Linda and I chatted. Anthony pulled away from me and looked up at me. "Oma, you make noise," he said. I asked, "Do I sound like this: thump thump … thump thump?" He listened again. Yup", he replied. "Well, that’s good," I said, "That’s how I should sound." Anthony snuggled back in and listened again, then agreed, "Yeah, that sounds good." June 1, 2009 Dilemma: I really like gardening … particularly vegetable gardening. But the truth is, I like to think I’m a good gardener, but I’m not really that successful. And Calgary is a lousy place to have a serious vegetable garden. Because of our cool spring temperatures and early fall frosts many crop vegetables are immediately ruled out. I have to stick to short season (90 days max), cool-loving crops. So again, this year I am growing lettuce, peas, kale, pole beans (which sometimes do great, sometimes don’t), edamame beans and a Nantes variety of carrot developed specifically for foothills climates. The kale, peas and lettuce are always successful. The beans and carrots are very dependent on the warmth and moisture we get. Tomatoes can be grown here … but you have to start with (very expensive) plants that require lots of watering and tomato food to have any flavor or size which makes a single tomato worth about $3.00!! As for cabbage or squash or corn or broccoli or cauliflower – nada. Actually, I can grow zucchini, I just don’t have adequate space. I do manage to grow a lot of mint and parsley – essential ingredients for tabouleh which I LOVE. I’m attempting some rosemary, thyme and basil again. I really like fresh basil leaves on a sandwich instead of lettuce, but I haven’t had a lot of success with basil. I welcome hints from anyone … just take into account our lack of humidity and heat. I guess my biggest challenge this summer will be keeping Louise out of the garden. Being part poodle, she’s a digger. We do have "invisible fence" installed around our garden beds, but she’s still too tiny to fit the collar. I’m anxiously awaiting Grace’s crop reports so I can garden vicariously through her! Or maybe Dayna, who only has a rooftop container garden but definitely has a green thumb! You should see her 2nd floor rooftop oasis. It’s fantastic! So … "Karen, Karen … how does your garden grow?" Slowly.