I Don't Know If This Is...GOOD NEWS or BAD NEWS

The Lead In:
The house is for sale now. The move to Cuenca is approx. June 1. It would be terrific if we could get the house sold and have that out of the way. But, if it sells now, we have to find some type of temporary home.

The "Good News or Bad News?" Part:
If we have to find a temporary place...... (are you ready?).....we qualify for a "seniors home". I think this is hilarious. Brennie doesn't. Not at all.

What We Are Doing To Speed Up Our Return to Cuenca...

Investing in this highly speculative

but potentially very profitable fund.

A Little Bragging Here.....

If you are reading this blog, you are either:
1) an old friend
2) a new friend, or
3) not include in either category above....whatever that means.

Whoever you are, you may or may not know our son Alex

Nevertheless, here is a link to a NY Times article about the Americorp team he leads.
Incidentally, he is one of the youngest Team Leaders in Americorps and one of very few to become a Team Leader their first year in.

Link to NY Times web article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/07/us/07land.html?ref=us

Link to slideshow at NY Times website:
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/09/07/us/0907LAND_index.html

Link to a pic of our boy at NY Times slideshow:
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/09/07/us/0907LAND_2.html

The hardcopy article is on page A7 of today's (Monday, 9/7) NY Times. Yeah, I went out and bought it.

Some days are just really sweet.

The way Brenda remembers it…

Cake – Clarke baked it himself – carrot cake. We bought a 5 gallon tub of Spumoni ice cream to go with it. We couldn’t afford groceries but we ate ice cream for weeks.

Flowers – Picked from the neighbor’s yard. They were old and blind. The neighbors, not the flowers.

Music – We played George Winston on our stereo from his album called “Winter”. Little did we know we had just moved to a house in Minnesota with inadequate insulation. The winter of 1984 was one of their coldest on record.

Maid of Honor – Sweet Choctaw…the real reason I married Clarke.

Preacher – Clerk of Court from Sterns County. He was the biggest expense of the wedding, ($20)…and the only person in a land of Norwegians and Scandinavians who would marry a couple of heathens from Oregon.

Wedding party – Only family. Of course, we had to have the wedding early in the day while everyone was sober.

Guests – We knew not a soul in Minnesota so Clarke rounded up some neighbors. Ever the tactful guy he knocked on their door and said “I know you’re going to be watching it from the window so you might as well come over and get a good seat. Bring your own lawn chair.”

Clothes – We did not know until the morning of the wedding what we were wearing. I ended up wearing a wrap-around skirt, knee socks and birkies. The blouse was purchased from my favorite thrift store in Oregon…the same place I bought the slacks Clarke wore. He had gained some weight and couldn’t fit into his own. Yeah, he used to be skinny!

Memories – Priceless! The children did not turn out so bad either…

Clarke's version is below.

Sept. 1 - Our 25th Anniversary

We got married 25 years ago in our front yard,

lakeside, on Lake Koronis, in Paynesville, MN.

The whole wedding (absolutely everythng)

cost less than $50.

Twenty five years on a fifty buck wedding ....

you don't see value like that very often.

The only photos are the ones our family took.

The photos are below......as I remember it.
Brenda may remember it different.....
.....if so, she can do her own post.

The dog (Choctaw) was Brenda's maid of honor.

You can click on the pics to see full size.