MCKENZIE

Hi there little Miss Mckenzie, Miss America there she is Miss America. One day they'll say there she goes Miss America. I miss singing that too you. Hey so how are you doing? Are you riding that bike like the wind? You have probably grown a foot and what are you 12 now? Oh I know you are 6 - 6 1/2 to be correct. Well you probably have some fun stuff planned this summer. Playing, Playing, Playing and more Playing. Love you soooooooooooooooooo muchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, NANA XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX (0) Comments

Posted: 6/13/2007 12:46:31 PM

NIKKI'S BIRTHDAY 6/9/07

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIKKI I hope you had a swell Birthday. You are 14 now WOOHOO!!!! How are you doing? Do you have a new boyfriend? Are you glad summer is here and you can goof off now? You probably have a jam packed summer. Always know your NANA loves you always and thinks about you every single day. Love, NANA (0) Comments

Posted: 6/13/2007 12:42:47 PM

FLORIDA

Well Rose, Susie and Trevor are back from Disney in Florida and had a great time. The best vacation ever! They also now have a time share those luck ducks! We haven't seen them yet so we can't wait to see them. We got the postcard of Nemo. (0) Comments

Posted: 6/13/2007 12:38:35 PM

POOL LINER

Our above the ground pool liner was shredded. During the winter my husband could see something was wrong when he saw traces of sand in the neighbors back yard. Anyhow we are back in business. Everyone came over to help and the new liner is in. One good thing is we don't have to work at getting the pool water clean this year. New pool liner and new water in the pool! We couldn't have done it without all of the help! Thank you - Dan, Kim, Urs, Rose, Susie, Trevor, Dan, and Dan's 2 daughters too. Thank you Thank you Thank you. And wasn't that a yummy breakfast? Love, GT (0) Comments

Posted: 5/31/2007 3:35:21 PM

SURPRISE SURPRISE - BABY BOY BLUE ON THE WAY

Well we have a new baby on the way. Never in the world did I think we would be seeing that happen from Kim and Dan no less. We are thrilled and can't wait to see the little guy. Nate is going to be one terrific big brother and bunches of help. Looking forward to see him being hauled around on the bikes to the grocery store and just having a good time. Has he got an exciting life ahead of him. Welcome to the world Baby Boy Rusk! Love, GT (0) Comments

Posted: 5/31/2007 3:30:47 PM

DISNEY - FLORIDA

Rose (Mom), Susie, Trevor, I hope you have a blast in Florida. How about that Mom of yours isn't she terrific surprising you with that limo? Well I know this vacation is long deserved by all 3 of you. Kiss Mickey for me and have a super time. I can't wait to hear all of the stories and see the photos when you get back. Love, GT (0) Comments

Posted: 5/31/2007 3:27:30 PM

TO - Nikki & Mckenzie

Nikki and Mckenzie, I want you to know there isn't a day I go by that I do not think about you. You are always in my thoughts. I see your pictures on the wall each day Nikki and smile at how beautiful they are. Mckenzie your art work on the blackboard is still here waiting on you. I know you are probably a pretty big girl now and you will have to update your drawings. I have been planting flowers and could certainly use you girls help ;). POGO misses you too. He escaped and ended up at the POND. You know the Pond there where you went to summer school Mckenzie and Nikki where he laid down last year in the water to cool himself off? Well he jumped in there swimming for the ducks and was in there for about 30 minutes. He went to a spot under the walkway and I jumped in and got him. We had mud all over us and we stunk too. Pee Yoo! Love you always, NANA XOXOXO (0) Comments

Posted: 5/23/2007 12:42:24 PM

NIKKI & MCKENZIE

Nikki & Mckenzie, I want you both to know how much I love you and miss you. I am not sure what is going on but I don't want you to think I have forgotten about you or don't want to see you. I very much do. I look at the chalkboard Mckenzie and love just looking at all of those numbers and letters. Boy are you a writer and I know you must be doing a great job in kindergarden. I bet you have made a bunch of new friends. Nikki I am working on a stain glass of a horse it is quite beautiful and I know you are going to love it. It is round and large. I will be putting a wooden frame around it. It will be waiting for you here at the house when you can come and get it. It is for your birthday 6/9. I look at your drawings of the horses every day and think about you. You are so talented. I hope you have made some great friends at your new school. I love you both so much and miss you more than you can know. I cannot wait until the day I get to see you both. Love you, Nana xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox Pogo gives you a big wet kiss too! (0) Comments

Posted: 4/9/2007 3:31:00 PM

MAZATLAN

We just got back from vacation and had a terrific time. We golfed 3 days. Well my husband golfed 3 days and I did 2. I twisted my knee on Monday so skipped Wednesday and was back at it on Friday. We had to have a caddy and what a great caddy. My husband is pretty good at golf but I could use some pointers. He was great though it was like having my own trainer as we golfed. Boy was that fun. There were a couple horse back riders on the beach asking people if they wanted to ride. I didn't but I thought of my dear granddaughter. Boy she would have eaten that right up. I wish she had been there with us. We went into town and visited the most beautiful church. It was truly beautiful. If I ever figure out how to post pictures I will do so. (0) Comments

Posted: 11/6/2006 6:55:41 PM

Running out of Clean Clothes

We are updating our laundry room. I told my hubby that since we are getting old we need that washer and dryer up off the floor a bit. I can see myself stooping over to put the clothes in the washer and never getting back up. They are stackables. I have also been asking for a sink you know to wash garden tools and just stuff instead of in my kitchen sink. So that is going to happen. The tile is up on the walls and grouted. The box he built to put the washer and dryer on has been tiled and he is grouting that tonight. We are painting the room tomorrow. We have paint that we bought and then I didn't like. Did you ever do that? I told him the room should be purple but he doesn't think we have that color. Whatever we have will do. So grout tonight, paint tomorrow along with putting the washer and dryer up on the box. Then we will tile the floor put in the washtub/sink and presto we got us an updated room. We usually go from room to room doing construction and never finishing so this will be good. I know this one will get finished since we are running out of clean clothes. Have a great weekend! (0) Comments

Posted: 10/6/2006 8:44:22 AM

BIRTHDAYS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE SEPTEMBER BABIES 9/1 Urs 9/2 Kim 9/23 Rose 9/25 Tina 9/25 Grandma Helen We dropped over at Urs's house and gave her a big MUM to plant in her garden. Also a nice perennial book. We are taking Kim out this Thursday for her Birthday at Clara's. A great pasta place. Rose we are trying to get a date that works for all. I don't know when I am going to see Tina. Everyone is getting together 9/24 to take Grandma out to eat. 9/24 Hey that is my wedding anniversary the BIG #7!! (0) Comments

Posted: 9/13/2006 1:55:34 PM

ABBA ZABBA

I have to thank my dear granddaughter Nikki who helped me with my website. I love the scrolling with all the grandkids. How cool is that! She is such a super young lady and I am so proud of her! Thank you Nikki XOXOXO (0) Comments

Posted: 9/13/2006 1:49:14 PM

LOST AND FOUND

I have a brother about 10 years older than me. He has been living in Florida and the last I spoke to him about 5 years ago he was moving to Texas. In the past it wasn't uncommon not to hear from my brother for years. Well I am getting older and obviously he is too. Since I could not reach him on cell phones or emails I went on the web and paid money to some website to send me a report on him. That wasn't a lot of help though. So I went on the web for Florida investigators. I found one and submitted a form with my information and information on my brother. I called and spoke to the investigator as well. The next morning in my inbox was an email from the investigator saying he thought he found my brother. WOW was I excited. He mailed me the information and also offered to drop by the address to just tell my brother to call his sister. What a nice investigator and at no additional charge. So the investigator was telling me that the address was an apartment but when he got there it actually was a gated community. he was at the gate trying to find my brother's name when the person behind him getting impatient just let him in. When he got around to the address who should answer the door but the person who let him in at the gate. It ends up that my brother is in Texas and was using this address as a means to get mail. He had also bought his last 2 cars from this person. He told the investigator my brother was doing fine and offered to pass the investigators name and number to my brother to call. Long story short I heard from my brother who is doing fine and is moving back to Florida from Texas. That was so easy and was relatively inexpensive and I only wish I had done that a long time ago. Love to my brother Steve XOXO (2) Comments

Posted: 9/13/2006 1:46:27 PM

Raining

It is raining cats and dogs here! The garden loves it! (0) Comments

Posted: 8/28/2006 1:11:54 PM

CARS

Last Friday we saw the movie Click. A pretty good movie that makes you think about time getting past you before you know it. Anyhow after the movie we went to the Chevy dealer. We had been talking about getting a new car or truck. They had a 95 covertible corvette that the sales man had to jump to get it started. That should have been our first clue. My husband at the wheel we get about a mile down the road to test drive. Stopped at a traffic light and the car is dead. This is all electric and doesn't even require the key to start it. You just need the key in the car and then you just press a button. Well the salesman forgot to give us the key. We could not figure out how to get out of the car. We were trapped, sweating and I was worried someone would rear end us. My husband was able to pry the convertible top off wide enough for me to crawl out of the top onto the hood. I then pushed the car to the side of the road. Some nice man stopped and helped which was great. Once off the main road my husband climbed out from the top onto the hood also. We learned that near the floorboard there is a releases for the doors. It would have been nice to know that before we left the lot. Well wasn't that fun! Not! The salesman realizing he didn't leave us the key sent one of the guys out looking for us. Back to the car dealer. That was not a car we wanted. We ended up buying a 06 red convertible! Now as we were transfering our things from one car to another because we did a trade in the car people locked both sets of keys in the car. Joy Joy Joy A half hour later they had a key for the trunk. Inside the trunk is a release to open the car doors. Home at 11:30PM. (0) Comments

Posted: 8/27/2006 2:08:44 PM

Splish Splash

We had some of the kids over on Sunday. We have an above the ground pool and Susie, Trevor, Nikki and McKenzie were over having a good time. It was suppose to storm but lucky for them it sprinkled lightly. The water was rocking! Rose, Charity and Grandma Helen helped with lunch. Grilled chicken, salmon, baked potato and salad. Grandma brought her world famous fruit salad along with olives and pickles. Rose brought a chocolate cream cake and Charity a spinach appetizer. No one left hungry. More later... (2) Comments

Posted: 8/7/2006 9:19:07 AM

Zuchinni Bread

My garden is going gang busters. I used musheroom compost and for the 1st year something is growing. I made 4 loaves of zuchinni bread last night out of 1 zuchinni. That zuchinni got a bit out of control. I also goofed on 2 of the loaves. I always seem to do something like that. Anyhow those goofs were better than the 1st too. Nate, Kim and Dan were over to borrow the shop vac and lucky for them they got to take one home. Dan was flapping Pogo's ears back and forth and he loved all of that attention. Nate got a tomato out of the garden and was eating it on the way to the car. I wish there was spell check. (2) Comments

Posted: 7/28/2006 6:02:20 AM

Friday is Horse Day

Friday Woo Hoo Today Nikki who has been at horse camp all week and has her Horse event today. Around and around the arena. I need to take a step stool for the little one so she can see over the barn door. She is getting too big to hold up like I have in the past. Nikki anyhow is really excited. The horse she loves and hopes to ride today is Hitter. She has Hitter on everything. That reminds me I need to get the camera ready. Her Mom has to work so she won't be able to go. I need to take a few hours off work this afternoon to attend and really really want to take the whole afternoon off. I will have to see how things go. T (0) Comments

Posted: 7/28/2006 5:56:13 AM

Blueberries

Last weekend we took 2 of the grandkids and went up to Michigan blueberry picking. There were bushes over 5ft tall. Just like I like them. We told the kids they had to fill there buckets before we went back to the hotel pool. We ended up with 7 buckets, about 40 pounds. We barely had room and thought we would have to leave one of the kids. I put the berries in sandwich bags and stick them in the freezer. It makes it easy to just grab a bag and pop them in. Ok back to the story. After the blueberry picking we went into New Haven and checked the downtown out. Typical touristy stores. We then went on to the lake and the kids swam in Lake Michigan actually they waded. The water was a big brisk. We walked the beach from one end to the other. When we scoped out the town previously we picked out a place to eat so that is where we headed. Picker something. It used to be a bank. After steak, fish, hamburger and chicken fingers it was back to the hotel. The kids hit the pool. Not the greatest of pools had I planned months ahead we probably could have gotten a nicer place but hey it was a one nighter. Heading back to Illinois we stopped at the Indiana Dunes. The girls weren't excited about the sand dunes but I had them go up a small one just for the experience. No I didn't go. They swam, ate ice cream and played in the sand. back to Illinois, work, etc. Weekends are way too short. (1) Comments

Posted: 7/27/2006 4:19:31 PM

Pogo The Great Escape

Our 135lb (down from 155 a year ago) rescued Great Dane Pogo escaped today. We live in a 2 story and the kitchen is on the upper level. The sliding glass door was open which was ok but the screen wasn't pulled over to block his way. My Granddaughter Nikki was over and asked me about it but again I thought the screen was pulled over. My daughter had just gotten back from getting us some lunch. I was in the office but heard all this commotion. When I went out in the kitchen I knew what had happened. My daughter got in her car to go find him. Pogo loves riding in the car. I got in my car and met her around the corner where she was out of the car trying to get Pogo into the car. He wasn't going to get in there for nothing. He got into my car though and boy was I glad of that. He isn't the friendliest dog to outsiders and because of his size he sure is scary. Well now he is in the dog house. Not literally. He is sleeping soundly now after his great escape. (0) Comments

Posted: 6/27/2006 3:23:24 PM

Weekend

I am glad to have the weekend finally here. Friday night is movie night for my husband and I. We are going to see RV at the cheapo movie. We like checking there first before spending big bucks at the big movie theatres. Saturday I am going to Indiana to visit my Mother's grave. I usually plant flowers but I want to pick up a flowering tree. That is if I can find an inexpensive one. Something will get planted. McKenzie our 5 year old grandchild will be spending the weekend with us and we are going to the Downers Grove Heritage festival. Ride a few rides eat some food and fight the crowd. more later..... (1) Comments

Posted: 6/23/2006 9:03:38 AM