Sunday, July 26, 2009

NEWS FROM DIONE

Sunday, July 26, 2009

We are headed to North Carolina next week for about a week. We'll see our spiritual teacher in Fayetteville and then go on to Wilmington for a short vacation.

Mollie went to her first rock concert last night with a friend - it was in Cincinnati. It was really cute and she had a great time. She is going to a dance/birthday party next week at the Oakwood Country Club. Two of the girls from her school are having the party and those are formal affairs w/ most classmates attending. It's very nice that she can attend these kinds of things.

Cora returns from Austria on Aug. 1, and her other good friend Claire just returned from a ballet intensive in Chicago, so she will be with her best friends again. She has also spent some time with her closest friends in Yellow Springs this summer as well as practicing piano and saxophone, and working on her novel. She has about 65 pages finished at this point - and the goal is to reach 100 before school starts. It's slow going, but she works on it almost every day.

Mollie starts school on Aug. 19 and I start on the 24th, so the summer is winding down, but we are going to keep enjoying it!

We are starting to harvest tomatoes, summer squash, basil, oregano, cilantro, parsely, beets, carrots, kale, fennel, and potatoes from our garden. We'll also have corn, zucchini, parsnips, cantelope, french melon, beans, butternut and acorn squash, lima beans, brussel sprouts, onions, leeks and cucumber if all goes well. The berries, asparagus, and apples will take a year or two before we reap some harvest. Oh, also, we are harvesting garlic now and it's so yummy!

I hope you are doing well and look forward to your summer summary - hope I can get it downloaded...Take care

Love,

Dione

MARILYN'S SURGERY SUCCESSFUL!

Marilyn says her surgery was "a peice of cake!" It was done laproscopicly,without any incissions, thus doing minimal damage to her tissues, so she was almost immediately up and around, and even went for a walk the day after she got home. And, she says she feels much better than she has in a long time. How terrific! She can do about anything she wants, but will take it easy for awhile. She and Issy are planning a trip across North Dakota to Minnesota with their trailer soon.

Lila was next to her prep room in the hospital getting a kidney tube replaced, and was out the same day.

Susan, Carol, and Julie were there.

DENNIS

Dennis also had successful back surgery and is recuperating at home. He can't lift much, but will go back to work this week.

DAD

We talked to Dad this morning, and got a good report. His voice is strong, and he says he is doing well most of the time. He says the crops are looking good outside his house, and the hills are green from all the recent rain. The grain is about ready to harvest. Abbie comes to visit him regularly, and adds "some spark to his life" he says. He really seems to appreciate and enjoy her. How very nice!

Cheers,

Bill and Marie

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

RAIN AT THE RANCH!

Four and one-half inches of rain in July! Amazing! Unfortunately, there was lots of wind and some damage in Sidney, Fairview, and Dickinson, including tornadoes. There was very little damage to the crops. And, of course, it was a god-send for the crops in most respects, particularly the pastures, which got green and beautiful. One consequence, however, is a flood of mosquitoes that force everybody to cover-up!

The Fairview Summer Festival was last Saturday, with the usual large crowds, a kiddies parade that included Shawns kids, and lots of other action. Dad didn't go because of increasing difficulty with walking and the heat.

Mavis, Marilyn, Issy, and Dad went to Bismarck for Lila's birthday. They went out to a Mexican Restaurant for dinner, and had a very nice time, Mavis says!

Dennis was to have surgery on his back yesterday in Rapid City. We have had no reports yet on how it went. We certainly wish him well in recovery!

All three of Marilyn daughters, Susan, Carol, and Julie, as well as Mavis, plan to be in Bismarck tomorrow (July 23) for Marilyn's heart surgery. We will certainly be thinking about her, and hoping for the best.

We are enjoying late July in Tucson, despite record temperatures of 109 the last few days. Yesterday, we did our regular trek to AJs Fine Foods for breakfast, and got some walking in the shade of La Encantada Mall. Very pleasant because there had been a nice shower that cooled things down.

Cheers,

Bill and Marie

Friday, July 17, 2009

BEAUTIFUL PLACES




The photos are from our room at Salishan Lodge, and the nearby beach, on the Oregon coast, where we enjoyed a couple of days while en route back to Tucson from a great visit with Dara and Madelyn at Bremerton, WA. We traveled 8700 miles altogether, and were on the road for nearly seven weeks. It was a great experience, with delightful family and friend visits all along the way!

MARILYN'S SURGERY

Marilyn will be going to Bismarck for heart surgery on July 23. We certainly wish her well and hope fervently that the surgery enables her to live a better quality of life after it is over!

Bill and Marie

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

GREAT FAMILY VISITS!





We were delighted with all of the family visits along the way, having just enjoyed seeing Sherry, Wes, Nicole (see photo, with boyfriend) in Pullman, WA, and Dara and Madelyn (see photo of their house) in Bremerton over the Independence Day holiday. At the moment we are on the Oregon coast (see photo of Haystack Rock and the Pacific Ocean at Cannon Beach), beginning our trip back to Tucson.

It has been a real pleasure to see how well everybody is doing, and to catch up on all the family news. We had a delightful evening with our friends, Connie and Bob Walker in Spokane, who are also doing well.

Now, after more than 6000 miles on the road, we are ready to go home for awhile!

Cheers,

Bill and Marie