Round Robin – Diane October 12, 2008
Posted by Diane Bird in : All Posts , trackbackHello, Family… September 15, 2008
Some of you know what’s going on in my life from emails, or from the Magnuson blog, or from snail mail, or from actually visiting with me, so I don’t really know where to start. So many ways to communicate!
I started the year by announcing to Mike and Eric that I didn’t want to work in the golf course clubhouse this summer, but would be happy to continue to do the books at home. They’ve adapted well, though they spend an inordinate amount of time working the clubhouse. Fortunately, they can access the internet from there and have installed an HDTV, so boredom is minimal. Business at the golf course has been affected by the economy, just as everywhere else, as people try to minimize their spending. In the meantime, I am delighted with my freedom to do what I want when I want, and don’t feel the pressure of trying to get everything done in the house and in the yard and garden in addition to the golf course work. Playing in three golf leagues gave me enough of the golf course this summer. Yea for freedom!
Throughout the year I have been putting together a reunion of some of the women I went to school with, and we are meeting in Bryson City, NC, (southeast side of the Smoky Mountains) the end of September. We hope to have some peace & quiet, rest & relaxation, and walk, talk, eat and laugh a lot. We’re staying in a relatively primitive lodge in the mountains, avoiding the casinos and tourist-type entertainments. Unfortunately, our numbers have dwindled from an original 16 who wanted to come down to 6. Seems there are old parents to take care of, grandchildren to babysit, children getting divorces or being married, grandchildren graduating or getting married, and illness of all kinds in our age group. Those of us who were able to put those responsibilities aside for a week are going to be there.
Most of you know I love to travel. In June I visited Vicki at her home in Aptos, CA. We celebrated our birthdays and played a lot of golf. Vicki had the week nicely planned and it was a good visit. In July, I drove up to South Bend, IN, to help one of Mike’s sisters celebrate her 60th birthday. It ended up being a huge Bird family reunion with four generations represented (and a good time was had by all)!
Here at home, Mike and I keep up with our friends, often with impromptu breakfasts at the local “Cabin” where they serve plate-sized “cabin cakes” and huge servings of biscuits and gravy. Other times we just visit and talk, and sometimes take walks through town. I try to go to as many of Eric’s boys’ sports events as I can: baseball in the summer and football right now. Occasionally I take them out for a meal or “babysit” them at their house or ours. Lucas is 13 and Ian is 8. They’re fabulous!! Naturally!
Danielle sends us pictures of her two girls on a regular basis (Naomi is 4 and Leah’s 3). They are growing up so fast. Both are in pre-school this year (Naomi tells me all about it on the phone), so Danielle finally has a little time to herself. Heaven. She and Phil are having their kitchen completely re-done and hope to be done by Christmas. What a chore!
Marty works hard for a company that sets up online ordering for restaurants, loves his cars and works on his “TT” endlessly, goes on trips with his Audi club, and keeps us up to date fairly regularly. Now and then he motors down for the weekend, and we try really hard not to have computer problems for him to solve. He’s our guru.
Miki and Kevin met us for brunch recently in Bloomington. They are happy together and good for one another, I think. Both work stressful jobs, Miki as managing editor of Indiana University Press and Kevin as a teacher in the IU Law School, so they plan trips away on a regular basis, where they manage to relax and recuperate.
What can I say about Eric? When he’s not doing a perfect job on the golf course he is with his boys, coaching their ball teams or being a volunteer assistant for something in which they are involved. He gets rave reviews on how he takes care of the greens and fairways, and makes us proud.
I’ll think of more stuff to say as soon as I sign this, but one must stop somewhere!! Maybe next time I’ll have pictures to send around.
Love to all of you, Diane
P.S. Let’s put our email addresses on the Round Robin 2008 list. That will make it easier to send this out to everyone over the internet, and if anyone changes their email address in the meantime, they can change it on the list as it comes around.
P.P.S. Hope to see you all in Omaha, summer of 2010… Magnuson reunion!
P.P.P.S. Anyone need hints for getting onto the Magnuson blog? Email me at dbird62741@yahoo.com
Comments»
We have not been using the Manguson blog, and that seems to me to be a great shame. One of the reasons is that the Round Robin has been started again, thus we are thrown back into the dark ages of communication. Now we email our contribution to the R.R., then we mail it along with the other hard copies via snail mail… and so the blog falls by the wayside. How much easier it would be to write those letters on the blog; to write them one time and be done until the “letter” comes around once again to our name on the list. As an interim measure I have copied the emailed letters into the blog today. Please let me know how I can help you access the blog and contribute to it. It’s easier than you think!