We had a midweek mini-family reunion. We’re a farflung group who can’t get together much. But Jami and Danny came down from “the Harn,” stayed overnight, and the next morning just missed the arrival of brother Cam and cousin Beth from the Cities ubering Aunt Mary Kay and Uncle Tom from Desert Mountain, Arizona. The following is a recounting of the events for sister Gretch in our nation’s capital . . .
[Danny fortunately is, among other things, an electrician. So, here he replaced our old exterior lights as I took them down . . . ]
[An old one . . . ]
[A new one . . . ]
[By gosh and by golly, we’re up and running . . . ]
[Woo-woo . . . ]
[Then they joined us for our usual Wednesday night fine dining at the golf club, evenually deploying a couple trays of Happy Birthday cupcakes for the assembled masses . . . ]
September 13
[The next morning they had to return to the Harn . . . ]
[So, away went “Smartie” . . . ]
[Within a half hour, the uber from the Cities arrived. After an hour or so of chatting in and about the new house, we all went to the golf club for lunch (weren’t we just there?). Here I capture Cam’s better side.]
[The Arizonans enjoyed reading about the club’s past under the glass table top. Tom and Cam had both played in the Resorters several times in the past. From l-r: The Super, Mary Kay, Tom, Cam, Beth . . . ]
[After a leisurely lunch, we suggested a visit here . . . ]
[The Arizona Obert’s have art galleries in Arizona and Cam is a gardener extraordinaire, so we were pretty sure all would enjoy the museum . . . ]
[Fortunately, John Buck’s art was still on display just off the lobby . . . ]
[But first checking out the merchandise “aisle” . . . ]
[Hmmmmmm . . . ]
[Then through the boat and resort displays . . . ]
[This work by Myron Sahlberg has become synonymous with the museum . . . ]
[A longtime area feature . . . ]
[Cam checks out the lake cabin display . . .]
[The final room – for the big boats . . . ]
[Then out the back door to the gardens . . . ]
[Cam could name all the plants; the rest marveled at what an entertainment and wedding venue this place has become . . . ]
[Waiting for the sun that never arrived . . . ]
[Family photo time . . . ]
[Relatives abound . . . ]
[Fellow residents of Victoria Heights back in the glorious days of the glory days . . . ]
[And then we all said good-bye until next time . . . ]
You keep your past by having sisters. As you get older, they’re the only ones who don’t get bored if you talk about your memories. ~ Deborah Moggach [In fact, we three brothers make her gasp for breath in laughter.]
The Journey Begins
Thanks for joining me! This is the follow-up to the original, “alexandriacardinals.wordpress.com,” which overwhelmed the system’s ability to handle it any more. Thus, this is “Part 2.” As the original was initially described:
10-26-07-4
“It all began in a 5,000 watt radio station in Fresno, California” . . . wait a minute, that was Ted Baxter on the Mary Tyler Moore Show! Let’s see . . . oh yeah, it all began in 2003 when retirees, i.e., old people, in Alexandria, Minnesota, who had no desire to become snow birds, went looking for mid-winter entertainment here in the frozen tundra of West Central Minnesota. We discovered girls’ high school hockey, fell in love immediately, and it remains our favorite spectator sport to this day. Initially, and for several years, reports on these games were e-mailed to those who were actually snowbirds but wanted to keep abreast of things “back home.” It was ultimately decided a blog would be more efficient, and it evolved into a personal diary of many things that attracts tens of readers on occasion. It remains a source of personal mental therapy and has yet to elicit any lawsuits.
~ The Editor, May 9, 2014
p.s. The photo border around the blog is the Cardinal girls’ hockey team after just beating Breck for the state championship in 2008. It’s of the all-tournament team. The visible Breck player on the left is Milica McMillen, then an 8th-grader – she is now an All-American for the Gophers. The Roseau player in the stocking cap I believe is Mary Loken, who went on to play for UND; and the Cardinal player on the right, No. 3, is Abby Williams, the player we blame most for making us girls’ hockey fans who went on to play for Bemidji State.
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Photos contained herein are available for personal use. All you have to do is double click on any of the photos and they will become full screen size. You can then save them into your personal “My Pictures” file. They make lovely parting or hostess gifts, or holiday gifts for such as Uncle Ernie who wants to see how his grand niece is doing on the hockey team. If any are sold for personal profit, however, to, for example, the Audubon Society, National Geographic, Sven’s Home Workshop Monthly, Curling By The Numbers, or the World Wrestling Federation, I only request that you make a donation to the charitable organization of your choice. You have two hours and fifteen minutes. Pencils ready? Begin!
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One thought on “Because Gretch Wants to Know . . .”
Wow — Such lovely photos of everyone plus the lush, and I do mean LUSH gardens. So green and all the plants and trees look so healthy. Too bad you didn’t bathe in the sun that day but still looks like a fun visit.
alexandriacardinals2.wordpress.com 
Wow — Such lovely photos of everyone plus the lush, and I do mean LUSH gardens. So green and all the plants and trees look so healthy. Too bad you didn’t bathe in the sun that day but still looks like a fun visit.
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