Archive for October, 2009

Hi Everyone!

The holiday season is upon us and it’s time to start thinking about festivities. I have been putting together a new Christmas site called Christmas Ways.

As I am getting older, I find that the Norwegian and Swedish Christmas traditions of my family are becoming more important to me and I want to be able to share these things with my children and grandchildren. The website has been created to provide visitors information on all aspects of Christmas, including the following categories:

• Christmas Around the World
• Christmas Books
• Christmas Crafts
• Christmas Decorations
• Christmas Food
• Christmas Gifts
• Christmas Health
• Christmas Memories
• Christmas Music
• Christmas Nativities
• Christmas Parties
• Christmas Traditions
• Christmas Trees

Come take a look – it’s still in it’s beginning stages, but I am adding a few articles each day.

Please feel free to contact us with suggestions or if you would like to submit an idea or article to the new site.

You can find it at: http://www.christmasways.com

Merry Christmas!!

Well, it appears that everyone has gotten over their bouts with the Swine Flu.

Unfortunately, while I am improving, I am still frequently coughing and tired all of the time.

I am trying to complete my projects but I am behind in my Sherburne blogging.

I hope you all stay healthy!

I have the first of my four children home from school today:

• 102.7 temperature
• Headache
• Sore throat
• Chills
• Coughing
• Stuffy nose
• Achy muscles

Any guesses as to what she has? Classic influenza symptoms, wouldn’t you say?

I called the school to let them know. I also asked the nurse what the percentage of children out sick is. She told me that she wasn’t sure that she was allowed to give me that information and she forwarded me to the district nurse, who was not at her desk.

I would like to get an idea of how prevalent the disease is in the schools my children attend. I personally wish the school districts would post their numbers on their websites.

I would prefer that we were given more details about the local area and our current pandemic situation. The hospitals do not even test unless the patient is hospitalized, so we have know clue what the real numbers of affected people are. I know that there was a student in my son’s class who was hospitalized for Swine flu and another on the children’s bus that was.

Remember–cough in your sleeve and wash your hands!

I can’t wait to see which child is next.

Addendum:

Nadynne Dzuira, the District Nurse returned my call. She was very helpful in explaining the procedures the schools go by. She said that there are definitely H1N1 cases in our schools as well as in all of the surrounding areas, but they have been told by the epidemiologists that they do not recommend closing schools as a disease-preventing measure. Schools should function if they can, but close if there are too many students and faculty out sick.

The schools are asking parents to keep their children home until they have been symptom-free, not just fever-free, for at least 24 hours.

One of our readers, Rhonda, found a little dog recently and she asked that I post this message in hopes of finding the rightful owner. The dog was almost hit by a car and was very scared, but came to Rhonda. I guess they do know who the animal lovers are!

If you have lost your dog or know some who has, please contact Rhonda. You will need to provide the following information:

• Describe the dog
• What color collar
• Male or female

Please contact Rhonda for more information at : rkh806@gmail.com

Ben and Joanna decided they wanted a creative video, something out of the ordinary. When Ben asked one of his groomsmen to put something together, there were no limitations to what he could do.

Here is the final creation:

Best Wedding Slideshow Ever from Olde English Comedy on Vimeo.

I had to attend a meeting tonight in St. Cloud. I had my camera with, just in case I saw anything good.

We passed by this field not too far before getting to Highway 95. There were several more cranes in the field, but I liked this picture of the small group getting ready to fly. Looks like our feathered friends are getting ready to migrate for the winter.

We have seen news stories over the past week concerning an 8.0 earthquake in Samoa and 2 major earthquakes in Western Indonesia, in addition to a major typhoon in the Philippines. I have friends who know personally of people suffering in those areas. If you would like to donate money to help them, see this site:

http://purecompassion.org/

Charity is the pure love of Christ and God blesses us as we bless others. If you aren’t in a position to donate money, I am sure your prayers will be well-received!