NEWS FROM THE CLAN

More photos from Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park above, including the tall Bojum tree (unique and very unusual) and an Australian Eucalyptus (very big tree, 8 feet in diameter and 100 feet tall). This Park is among the most beautiful and unique places in Arizona!

LILA

I talked to the nurse taking care of Lila in the Intensive Care Unit where she continued to be as of yesterday. She is retaining a lot of fluid, and her blood pressure is unstable. She continues to fight several kinds of infection, and will probably be in the ICU for another day or more. Then she will be in isolation because of the staph infection. There is great concern that the infection will get in the port used for dialysis--which means the port would have to be removed, and changed, causing problems with dialysis. The hospital phone number is 701-530-7000, but she cannot take calls while she is in the ICU. She has been getting hungary--a good sign!

BEET HARVEST

There was 7 inches of snow last week at Cartwright(!!), causing a four day delay when the harvest was only half over. They were starting again at 8:00 am on Friday, with another 8 days of work to get all the beets out. Will had an emergency appendectomy a few days earlier, so is unable to work. Mavis has been substituting. They have been working 16 hour days, from 4:00 am to 8 pm. Whew! That is some kind of schedule for a month!

MARILYN AND ISSY

Marilyn and Issy went to Minot last week on business, and stopped by the Pizza store (with Julie) where Ashley works, in Williston. She is assistant manager, and is doing very well. The Goebels have some Black Lab puppies that they are really enjoying! Brady has also been working as a restaurant manager in Minneapolis, and is doing well at it. Marilyn and Issy go to Dad's regularly to play cards with hime, something he continues to really enjoy!

DIONE, SAUL, AND MOLLIE

Dione says they really enjoy the blog and like keeping up with the family! This is a particularly busy time for them because they take Mollie to her school every day (an hour round-trip), and Dione has taken on some extra tasks where she teaches. She is also continuing to take courses to improve her teaching license status. They are also raising an organic garden that keeps them productively busy on weekends. Mollie is really enjoying her school and has made some great friends that she likes a lot.

MAUREEN AND MAT

Maureen is traveling to San Jose, CA, this week for a Community Leadership Institute, and will visit a long-time friend at Ripon--something she really looks forward to! Mat is enjoying retirement, as of October 10. We have not yet heard what he will do in his spare time!!


We had a nice outing in Scottsdale this last week, with some productive shopping to show for it. As much as we enjoy Tucson, it is always nice to visit a neat place like Scottsdale!

Cheers,

Bill and Marie