Spring has sprung
        The grass has riz
        I wonder where
        The flowers is?
-unknown source- (but I used to recite it to my kids when they were little. They might remember)

        For me, besides being May Day, May 1 was a very special day as my best friend, Miggs, celebrated her birthday on the 1st.  When Vern and I got married, we added his brother Mel’s birthday to remember on the 1st. Now, both of those people, who meant so much to us, are gone.  Now, it is back to being May Day
…..
        When I was enrolled at Green Lake Elementary, all the kids in the school made little baskets of strips of pastel-colored paper for our Moms. We would pick dandelions (and sometimes a few pansies from yards) on our way home and have something pretty to give Mom.
        On May Day, long, variously colored streamers were affixed to the top of our flag pole in the school yard, and each class got to dance around it at various times during the day… the “grand-right-and-left” weaving a pattern against the pole. When your class was the one dancing, all the other classes were allowed to watch from the windows…. your precious moments as performers.
        Kindergarteners needed lots of leading and unsnarling, but by the time the 6th graders took their turn, it was always flawlessly performed, and the lesser grades knew that when they were 6th graders, each year’s succeeding practice would make their own final dance at Green Lake’s Maypole sheer perfection.

        Both of Vern’s parents were born in May… David Leander Nordstrand on a farm named “Favassen” on the shore of Lake Savern near Hog Boda (High Town) in Varmland, Sweden, and Ida Viktoria Fogelstrom on a property called “Matsos”, on Foglo Island… one of the islands making up the Aland group, which are about half way between Sweden and Finland in the Baltic Sea.
        Vern and I visited both of these beautiful places when we traveled the Scandinavian area in 1982. Our son John found Favassen (his grandfather’s birthplace) when he traveled Europe during the summer of 1969.  Hildy’s family visited both places the summer of 1997 when Heather competed in the Deaflympics in Copenhagen.

 
 David & Ida Nordstrand

Their son Melvin; my niece Suzie Burke (Florence’s); my nephew Duane Pfister (Jack’s) my uncle John Gierhofer (Mom’s brother); and my longtime friend Margaret (Miggs) Medley are numbered with the May babies.
        That was a very good month. Over the years, it produced a lot of fine people.

        My niece, Suzie, and her daughter, Kirby, took what sounds like the vacation of a lifetime, starting with a couple of days in New York City, where they tried to see everything, but say there is a lot left to see “next time”.  From there they boarded a three week cruise down the east coast, through the Panama Canal, and up the west coast to Vancouver. 
        I have stolen a few lines from Kirby’s note to me after their return home:

"I had a great time on the cruise.  They treated us like royalty for three weeks - it would be hard to find fault with that!  Seeing Cartegena, Columbia was significant for me.  I bounced through most of our tour since I was so excited just to be there.

I spent the day we sailed through the Panama Canal - which took most of a day - racing from bow to stern on the HUGE ship.  I had to see EVERYTHING!!  I took dozens of pictures since I wanted to record it all since I don't expect to have that opportunity again.

We saw Costa Rica and Guatemala pretty much back to back which is a startling contrast.  Costa Rica is a secure, liberal country with problems but systems in place so the people argue and debate and try to fix the problems.  Guatemala is precarious and on the verge of total collapse.

They've gone almost six years without major political upheaval and the tour guide tried to impress us with how stable that makes them - even as he admitted they are on the verge of another upset.  However, I liked Guatemala more - more character and texture, more history and grassroots efforts to repair the damage"

and

"One of my favorite anecdotes about Mother was almost a week in to the cruise when they were serving sauerkraut and sausage in a buffet on the Lido deck (pool deck) where we hung out in the mornings.  Mother decided she wanted to have a beer with her sauerkraut.  By this time the very helpful and considerate wait staff already knew us well enough not to bother asking if she wanted the special offer which was cheaper than a regular beer.  They brought her the special - a bucket of beer.  This was five beers in a bucket of ice.  Mother starts explaining to me how she will carry this down (which means I will carry it down) to the cabin and store the extra (she won't drink more than one) in our little refrigerator and drink them over the next two weeks.  Now, I'm thinking how we are continually surrounded by wait staff who WANT to bring us drinks and that Mother doesn't actually drink beer that much (except with her sauerkraut) but for the next two weeks she'll still march herself down to the cabin and get a beer so she makes sure those things don't go to waste.

Meanwhile, we are sitting in the hot sun and cool breeze of the tropical area we are sailing through.  We are camped out in our usual spot beside the pool, and the band.  We met the Music Director that day - a very friendly man - and enjoyed listening to the band as they sweated and toiled through an hour's set in the hot sun.

Suddenly Mother turns to me, a big smile on her face, and announces, "I know what I'll do.  I'll give the beer to the band."  She did.  They loved it!  And that's how we became good friends with the band!"

        This last bit brought me a chuckle as I thought how much Suzie can be like her Mom, my much loved sister, Florence.  She always looked for the “specials” and enjoyed beer with sauerkraut and sausage…. I do, too.  I think we all can trace it back to the Pfisters.

        Ryan spent a couple of weeks visiting his Aunt Sheila in Beijing, China, as her guest.  They went to see the Pandas that are the special attraction in that country.  Ryan took lots of pictures, so we will all be able to enjoy his trip.  He brought home some lovely treasures and he sounds like he really enjoyed doing “bargaining battle” with the street vendors.  I can hardly wait for the pictures! Meantime, we are enjoying the gorgeous table cover he brought us which is hanging on our wall as a decoration.

        Dave often comes to pick up his father and me to take us for a ride. This time his cousin, Ralph, joined us. Dave came in saying we were going to drive away from town for 45 minutes and at that time we would turn around and come home.  45 minutes out brought us through Marymoor Park and just to the edge of Redmond, then into the wide valley across which we could just see the little town of Duvall.  He had brought along chicken burgers and I had added a bagful of chilled root beer and bottled water, so we had a picnic on the trip. He was able to show us where he and Anne do the rowing they both enjoy so much.
        I was pleased to learn that Ralph will be taking the training to join them, and that he has already been included in a couple of the Sunday hikes their group has made.  He is fun to have around.
        Dave brought us another set of pictures to show on our Digital Picture Frame.  I am getting to recognize the various members of the busy group of folks that are their friends.
        Next time he came, many of the pictures Ryan took while visiting his Aunt Sheila in Beijing, China, were on the new “clip”.  Great shots of the Great Wall that was built so long ago and runs over mountains and valleys for at least a thousand miles!  After seeing the pictures, I’m ready to re-read its history. 
        There are wonderful shots of the Giant Pandas and moon bears (brand new to me).
        What a great experience for a young man to pack into his memory box.

        Memorial Day, our neighbors, Cliff and Sandy had a Block Barbecue Party in their back yard.  Vern didn’t feel up to going, so I loaded up my wheelie walker with my casserole of Cowboy Beans and “trucked” myself down the alley to join the fun.  It was great.  There were about thirty of our neighbors… some of whom I had never met, plus my good friends, Joyce and Clydean, the Colima family, Bill Gough (who no longer lives on this alley, but who walks over every day to feed the neighborhood “tramp” cat he fed for years before moving away), the Untersteiners  (Krystyna U makes the most wonderful pastries.  This year it was puff pastry filled with whipped cream and apricot preserves.) 
        Great food and lots of friendly conversation.  Peter Colima walked me home and helped me (and my wheelie) back into my house in nothing flat!  So glad I went…

        John and Nancy drove to Idaho Falls, Idaho, for the sad occasion of her Uncle Paul’s Memorial Service.  Uncle Paul and Aunt Eleanor have been a good part of the fun in John and Nan’s life.  They have spent time with them at the cottage on Lake Coeur d’ Alene, as well as some good times in Utah.
        Looking for a “different” way to drive home, they were directed to an alternative route that brought them along the very way taken by the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804 - 1806, along the lovely, sparkling Clearwater River and over the Lolo Pass… There are historical markers all along this route telling about where they camped, how they met Sacajawea’s brother, how they finally found timber to build their boats, and how the natives helped them all along the way.
Sure beats any freeway I know of.

Paul seems fully recovered from his surgeries and is back to work full time. All our big family is very grateful to be able to say this.  It has been awhile.

And, on that cheerful note, I will say Goodbye for now..

Thought for the day:
        “A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing.”                                                                             -William James-

Dixie/Dorothea, Senior Editor

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