Go Huskers!

The Lincoln Southeast Band has been getting a lot of media attention due to their surprise gig in San Diego, where they will be representing Nebraska at the Holiday Bowl tonight due to the unfortunate fact that the UNL Husker Band was not able to get to California by bus. (The LSE band flew to San Diego on Sunday.)  There was a great story on the front page of the Lincoln Journal Star yesterday, and there have been some stories on television both in Lincoln and in Omaha.  Here is a link to a short video on the Lincoln Journal website  Lincoln Southeast Band .  Note:  You have to endure a commercial before you see the band.  The band has been busy playing for UNL alumni functions and tailgate parties.

Here a scan of the Dec. 29 article in the Lincoln Journal Star:

Click image to enlarge

Here is the front page photo from the Dec. 30 Lincoln Journal Star:

We are looking forward to watching Nebraska play Arizona in the Holiday Bowl tonight at 7:00 pm on ESPN.  We hope some of you will be watching too.

Go Huskers!

Jeannette

A man of few words

So  . . .  we've been waiting to hear from RJ about how things are going in San Diego.  So far all we have is this photo that RJ sent from his Blackberry.

I guess we can assume that all is well in San Diego.

Today is Christmas Day for our family.  Angie, Dave and I will gather at Kristi and Paul's house in Omaha to celebrate.  Kristi is making a pot of chili, and we are bringing the cheese, crackers, stuffed celery and chocolate peppermint tarts for dessert (see recipe below).

Jeannette

Chocolate Tarts with Peppermint Creme

2 Pks. (15 shells each) frozen mini phyllo shells

Small carton of whipping cream

4 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate, cut into chunks (shave and set aside about 3 tbsp of chocolate for final topping)

2 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp pure peppermint extract

Prepare phyllo (fillo) shells as directed on package for crisp unfilled tarts.  Cool completely.

Microwave 1/3 cup whipping cream and chocolate for 1 minute, stopping at 30 seconds to stir.

Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool 5 minutes.

Spoon a teaspoon of chocolate ganache into each tart shell.  Cool thoroughly.

Mix 2 oz cream cheese and 2 tbsp sugar in large bowl until smooth.

Beat 3/4 cup (remainder of small carton) whipping cream, 2 tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp peppermint extract in medium bowl with electric mixer until stiff peaks form.

Add 1/2 of the whipped cream mixture to cream cheese mixture.  Stir until well blended.  Gently stir in remaining whipped cream.

Spoon about 1 tablespoon of Peppermint Creme into each tart.  Garnish with chocolate shavings.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Very easy and festive.  You could also try raspberry or orange extract.

Second String

Dave received a big surprise phone call last night around 10:20 pm.  RJ, the band director at Lincoln Southeast, was calling to ask Dave to quickly write a marching band drill for the Lincoln Southeast Marching Band.  They had been asked to provide pre-game music at the Holiday Bowl in San Diego at the very last minute, because the UNL Marching Band would NOT be going to the Holiday Bowl due to the fact that the members of the band were scattered all over the state and could not get back to Lincoln.  The UNL buses were due to leave late Saturday, and there was no way that everyone could get back to Lincoln, so UNL cancelled the band trip.

The people who run the Holiday Bowl knew that the Lincoln Southeast Marching Band was due to fly to San Diego early this morning (Sunday), so the Holiday Bowl people called RJ to request that he put together a simple pre-game show to represent Nebraska.  No problem. While I was watching Saturday Night Live, Dave designed a big letter N drill for the LSE Band. Meanwhile, RJ rounded up "Hail Varsity" for the band to play.  RJ was to be at Lincoln Southeast High School at 2:00 am to meet the first group of students who would be heading to Eppley Airfield in Omaha on a school bus at 3:00 am.  A second group would be leaving later.  One hundred marching band members plus parents would be taking 3 flights to San Diego early Sunday morning.  Dave emailed the pre-game design to RJ in time for him to get a couple of hours of sleep before heading for school at 2:00 am. (Dave decided months ago that he would not go on this trip.  However, it was still fun to be involved in the inevitable last minute panic.)

We assume everyone made it to Omaha for their flights.  I shudder to think of school buses driving on snow-packed I-80 at 3:00 am, but no news is good news. Now we are waiting to hear from RJ, who will call us after they get settled in at their hotel in San Diego.

The exciting news is that the LSE band will get to perform at pre-game and at half-time as part of a mass band extravaganza.  I hope some of it will be aired on TV.

Stay tuned for updates.

Jeannette

Digging Out

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that we have 11.5 inches of snow on the ground and that we can expect another inch or so today.  Our wonderful neighbor, Joe, was out again this morning clearing our driveway and sidewalks.  All I had to do was clear the steps and porch and check to make sure that the pond water was still running.  It was.

Didn't we just do this 2 weeks ago?

(notice Joe in a red cap in the background )

 

Joe and his machine.

My work (after Joe cleared the sidewalk).

All done.  Come on in!

Welcome Mat

Now just ring the doorbell.

Notice two red dots.  They are the wings of a buried cardinal.

Here is the cardinal after I dug him out 2 weeks ago.

The cardinal before the snows came.

We're all dug out now.  I promised Jana I would feed her cat, Gracie, today, so Dave & I will go for a ride this afternoon to see if we can get to Jana's apartment behind Target.  People are driving up and down the street, so I think our 4-wheel drive Envoy will get us there.

Stay warm and toasty.

Jeannette

Merry Christmas!

It's 8 degrees Fahrenheit with blowing snow. Staying home is the best bet this Christmas. Eventually we will have to dig out, but there is no point in trying until the wind and snow stop.

 Our sidewalk and front steps have disappeared.

We think the pond water is still circulating underneath the snow, but we can't be sure.

That tiny opening is the water fall.

Just for comparison.

This is the pond before the snow storm.

We like the little train under our Christmas tree.  It really works.

We have two little train sets, so we've been experimenting.

The little buildings were given to us by Marty Davis when she closed down her Hallmark Store years ago.  Dave has been planning his train set up for the basement for a long time now.  This might be the year to make it happen.

Lots of snow in the background.

A better view of the backyard.

Pita finds the sun in the strangest places.

This was taken a couple of days ago when we actually had sun.

She is sitting on the bottom shelf of a bookcase trying to figure out if there is enough room to lie down.

Merry Christmas!

Jeannette & Dave

P.S. Our fabulous neighbor, Joe, is out with his snow blower clearing our driveway.  Now that's a true Christmas blessing.

Our Christmas Letter

 
Greetings Friends and Family,

Some of you already know about Dave’s ordeals during 2009, so I’ll give you the Reader’s Digest version.  In April, Dave was hospitalized for three days with blood clots in his lungs.  We feel very lucky that they did not cause a stroke or heart attack.  Dave was put on the anticoagulant Coumadin, and sent home to recuperate.  He was feeling pretty good, and even felt strong enough to judge a concert band competition in Harlan, Iowa on May 8.  The judges were asked to get up on a platform for a better vantage point.  However, there were no steps, so Dave declined to get up on the platform.  People there said they would help him if he would just step up on a folding chair.  Bad idea.  As he tried to step up on the chair, the chair held, but his quadriceps tendon tore away from his kneecap.  Dave knew that he was in pain, but he had no idea about the extent of the damage.  They set up a table and chair on the gym floor instead, and he actually judged one band before requesting an ambulance.  Dave was taken out on a gurney and transported to the Harlan hospital.  Their x-rays showed nothing, so he was dismissed.  Fortunately, Jon Peterson was judging choirs at Harlan and they had ridden together, so Jon brought Dave directly to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Lincoln, where they were able to diagnose the torn tendon.  Dave came home for a few days until surgery could be scheduled for May 19.  However, he developed a hematoma above his injured knee on May 17, so I called an ambulance to take him back to St. Elizabeth’s.  The surgery on May 19 went well, but the rehabilitation required that he spend eight weeks in a variety of institutions, first the hospital, then Ashland Care Center, and finally Homestead Rehabilitation Center here in Lincoln.  I kept a blog on the Caring Bridge website for four months.  You can read all the details at Caring Bridge if you are interested.  After Dave’s dismissal from Homestead on July 11, he still required several weeks of outpatient physical therapy at Lincoln Orthopedic Center.  The good news was that he was ready for band camp on August 10.  He was still wearing a leg brace and walking with a cane, and he had to have a tall chair toted to the practice field since he could not stand very long.  Dave got better and better as the weeks progressed and he was able to arrange Joe Curiale’s music and write the drill for the Lincoln Southeast marching band as well as attend most of the band’s morning and evening rehearsals.  He did give up teaching at College View Academy, but he kept his job teaching Marching Band Techniques two days each week at Nebraska Wesleyan University.  Dave doesn’t quite understand the concept of retirement, even though he celebrated his 70^th birthday on June 9.

My decision to take a one-year leave of absence from Nebraska Wesleyan turned out to be a good one.  I had intended to do some writing and spend more time in Schuyler visiting Mom and helping her with some projects around her house, but obviously my “skills” were needed helping Dave through his recuperation.  It was truly a blessing in disguise.  I finished teaching classes at Wesleyan right around the time of Dave’s knee surgery. Then I had to ramp up to be the administrator one last time for the Nebraska Wesleyan Kodály Certification Program.  I had been working all year with the University of Nebraska at Omaha so their music department could take over this specialized instruction for music teachers and make it a part of their master of music degree beginning in 2010.  We had the highest number of students this summer (23) and everything went quite well.  We spent the first week at Wesleyan and the second week at UNO to facilitate the transition.  It was very difficult to let go of something I had loved and nurtured for ten years, but for many good reasons the move to Omaha will be best for the future of Kodály training in Nebraska. 

By the middle of October Dave was back to being independent, so I was able to attend the Midwest Kodály Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for three days with Linda Hulsey, our Level II Kodály Methods instructor and current supervisor of music education for Omaha Public Schools.  She is a great friend, but also a key player in transferring the Kodály music education curriculum from Wesleyan to UNO.  We had a great time mixing business and pleasure.

Since Dave was doing so well by himself, I was able to spend ten days in San Diego in November, first attending the National Association of Schools of Music conference for music executives at the Hyatt Hotel located right on the ocean, and then spending six days including Thanksgiving with Pam Warnock at her home in Rancho Bernardo.  Pam and I went to the beach twice and also visited the San Diego Botanical Gardens.  It was really tough coming back to snow storms and below freezing weather here in Nebraska.

Dave and I have had a doozy of a year.  The silver lining in all this is that we were able to spend a lot of time together.  Besides all the time spent recuperating from surgery, we spend a week in a condo at Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri in October.  We had spent a week together in Washington, D.C. back in March attending the National Kodály Conference before all of the excitement began.  We still play together in the Westminster Brass Quintet, Dave on baritone and me on trumpet.  We celebrated big numbers this year, as well – my 60^th birthday, Dave’s 70^th birthday, our 30^th wedding anniversary and Zach and Tyler’s 12^th birthday.  And just when it looked like everything was back to normal, Dave had to have a tooth pulled one day and carpal tunnel surgery the next day (Dec. 2 and 3).  He has now recovered the use of his right hand, and we actually think we are almost back to normal.  OK, that’s never going to happen, but we are happy with the obstacles we were able to conquer this year, and we are hoping for a moderately uneventful 2010.  I am so confident that all will be well, that Pam and I are planning a trip to the Czech Republic and Hungary in May.  I will return as chair of the music department at Nebraska Wesleyan in mid-July, and Dave plans to continue as assistant band director as Lincoln Southeast High School until I retire in about 6 years. For now we are looking forward to attending the Bellevue East Band Reunion at the Varsity Sports Bar in Bellevue on January. Ya gotta have hope . . .

We wish you all much joy and many blessings in 2010!

Jeannette and Dave

After the storm

My best guess is that we received 12 inches of snow in the past two days.

We had heavy winds last night, so there were some serious drifts this morning.

Oh, dear!  This is going to take a while.

Good neighbor Joe cleared our driveway and sidewalks with his industrial strength snow blower.

I cleared the steps with a shovel.

 

This drift is 25 inches deep.

Our backyard winter wonderland.

This cute little black squirrel was eating the ends of the branches.

We are hoping for a calm night.  However, temps are predicted to be below zero.  Back to school tomorrow.  Thank goodness for four-wheel drive.

Jeannette

Backyard

It's still snowing.  We must be up to 10 or 11 inches by now.  We got around 2 inches yesterday, and I cleared about 6 inches off the driveway this afternoon.  Now I see about 3 more inches of snow piled on the front porch railing.  Even Wesleyan closed down at 1:00 pm today.  UNL, Wesleyan and all area schools are canceled for Wednesday.  I'm so glad we have a snow blower, and I'm glad we had some pork chops in the freezer.

The lights on the trees in our backyard look great in the snow.

Notice how the buried spot lights look like little holes in the snow.

Enjoying our winter wonderland,

Jeannette

O Christmas Tree

I put up our Christmas tree today.  This year I added a little train beneath the tree.  Kristi and Paul gave Dave this little train set a couple of years ago, but this it the first time I put it under the tree.  It really works, and is super cute!  Pita is intrigued with the little train, but she has an uncanny way of stepping over the train without knocking it down.  She just likes to sit under the tree.

Here are a couple of photos.

Notice the little train.

No flash, so you can see the lights.

We have two inches of snow on the ground.  Now a new storm is just beginning.  Lincoln and Omaha have closed school for tomorrow.  Still waiting to hear from Wesleyan.  Dave has to teach class at Wesleyan tomorrow. 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . .

Jeannette

Update on Dave

Dave's carpal tunnel surgery went well.  He went to an outpatient clinic in Omaha.  They were really running behind, so we had to sit in the waiting room for 2 hours, which caused some elevation in Dave's blood pressure. Angie stopped by the waiting room to visit a while, which really helped us pass that long waiting time. They usually put patients under anesthetic for this procedure, but Dave chose to stay awake to avoid respiratory and circulatory problems.  I was with Dave when the doctor injected his hand with some sort of deadening agent.  Dave told me later that they covered his face with a cloth during surgery so he would not have to watch.  He took his iTouch and earphones into the operating room, so that also helped.

Dave has no stitches in his hand. There are two small incisions, one on the palm and the other above the wrist.  The incisions are glued shut and covered with waterproof tape, which has to stay on for 10 days.  Dave can move his fingers, but he cannot walk with his cane or push himself up from a chair, so he is staying home this week-end.  He is planning to return to school on Monday.  He should be able to drive with his left hand.

Dave really has no pain, which surprised me.  However, we want to keep it that way, so he is following doctor's orders.  Fortunately, there have been a couple of good football games on today.  Now we are getting ready to watch the Nebraska - Texas game.  That should be a good distraction for Dave.

Go Huskers!

Jeannette

More doctors for Dave

Dave had a tooth pulled yesterday.  So far, so good.  No pain.  He went to school today and directed the band with no problems.

This afternoon he will have carpal tunnel surgery on his right hand at a clinic in Omaha.  This doctor will be using a new technique that will not require any stitches.  Dave should be able to use his hand right away.  We'll see.

The hard part is no food or drink from midnight last night until after the surgery at 3:30 pm today.

More later.

Jeannette

It really DOES rain in Southern California!

Today, November 28, is the first day it has rained in San Diego since July.  They have been on water rationing lately, so people here are thrilled to see the rain.

I was here in January 2007 and experienced one of the few times it ever froze in San Diego.  I seem to have a knack for attracting unusual weather.

Today will be a good day to stay home catching up on some reading and writing.  We plan to visit the Botanical Gardens and beach at Del Mar tomorrow.

Pam and I watched Nebraska defeat Colorado yesterday.  Yay!

Go Huskers!

Jeannette

Thanksgiving in San Diego

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my friend, Pam, and family at her home in San Diego.  Pam fixed the traditional turkey, mashed potatoes, creamed corn and cranberry sauce.  Her daughter-in-law, Kimberly, brought a green bean casserole and pumpkin pie.  It was 80 degrees, so we spent a lot of time outside enjoying the sun.  Pam's grandchildren, Skylar (4th grade) and Dylan (Kindergarten), provided the entertainment. We ate around 2:00 pm since Pam's son, Ryan, had to go to work at a hotel in Del Mar.  After the meal we walked to a friend's house just for the exercise and to say "hi."  The roses are blooming and everything is just plain gorgeous here.

The NASM conference at the Hyatt in downtown San Diego was very informative and I had a great view of the harbor from my 14th floor room.  I was there Sat through Tuesday.  On Tuesday, Pam picked me up at my hotel and we drove to the beach at Cardiff.  My top priority was to take a walk in the ocean.

Jeannette on the Pacific shore at Cardiff

Walking in the Pacific Ocean.

I found some great rocks in surprising colors.

BFF Pam

On Wednesday we had lunch at Cafe Merlot (Salmon BLT) sitting outside under some lush California foliage.  There is a little village of shops called the Winery, where we both found some good buys at a wonderful boutique called Cotton Cottage.

Today we will meet Pam's cousin's daughter, Shea, for dinner at the Fish House in Del Mar.  I am looking forward to some fresh talapia.

California is a good place to be in November.

Jeannette

Zachary and Tyler celebrate 12th Birthday!

We had a family gathering at Kristi and Paul's house in Omaha to celebrate Zach and Ty's 12th birthday on Sunday Nov. 15.  Angie, Jan, Dave & I were on hand for a lunch of Jimmy John's sandwiches and amazing chocolate cheese cake.

We got the boys to pose for a nice birthday photo as long as we agreed to let them add a couple of wild and crazy shots, as well.

Happy 12th Birthday, Zach and Ty!

Now, as promised, the wild and crazy photos:

Opening gifts.  Mostly games and books.

This was more effective in person.  Zach is shining the flashlight of his new Cabela's all-purpose pocket knife on his face for a spooky special effect.

 Ellie crossing her paws for a nonchalant look.

We enjoyed lunch and watching the boys open their gifts. Soon they were deeply engrossed in their new games.  Angie and I even tried Guitar Hero on their wii program.  Angie, Kristi and the boys tried all sorts of Extreme Challenges on the wii.  They especially liked rock climbing and racing.

It is amazing to us when we remember 12 years ago when the boys were born.  As I recall, Zach weighed 3 lbs 2 oz and Tyler weighed 2 lbs 8 oz.  They stayed in the hospital for several weeks, Tyler even longer than Zach.  I think it was 8 weeks for Zach and 11 weeks for Ty.  Now we are looking at two healthy, energetic, bright boys, and we could not feel more blessed. Zach and Ty are 6th graders at Russell Middle School, which is within walking distance from their home.  And they live only 40 minutes away from our home in Lincoln, so we get to see them often.

So, Happy Birthday, Zach and Ty!  We wish you many, many, many more happy birthdays, and we hope we get to celebrate with you every year.

Grandma Jeannette

Branson vacation

Dave and I just returned from a week's vacation in Branson, Missouri.  We have a timeshare at Emerald Pointe near Hollister with a wonderful view of Table Rock Lake.  We took Pita along and she had a great time.  Our condo has a kitchen, bedroom, living room and screened porch, so we have all the comforts of home plus a view of the lake.  We took in a few live shows in Branson, ate at some wonderful restaurants and did a little shopping.  There is no internet access at Emerald Pointe, but I was able to read my email on my Palm Treo phone.  The weather was cool and rainy most days, but the sun came out a couple of times as well.

Highlights . . .
Shows:
Country Tonite - popular country tunes, nice country band and some great dancing.

Cassandré - Our favorite show.  She has a band of eight versatile performers and she sings a wide variety of genres.  She told the audience near the end of her show that she earned a vocal performance degree from the University of Nebraska at Kearney about 10 years ago.  She sang with the Haygoods at Silver Dollar City for nine years, and just opened her own show in March.  Her husband is one of the Haygood brothers.

Six - Six brothers - all acapella.  They provide their own vocalized "instrumental accompaniments" to back up their amazing singing.  One brother specializes in percussive sounds, another in wind instruments, another strings, etc.  Very high energy and totally amazing vocal work.

Restaurants:
Candlestick Inn with a great view of Branson Landing.  Pork Osso Bucco turned out to be the same as Czech Kolena (pork knee).  Fabulous!

Andy Williams' Moon River Grill - his mother's recipe for Chicken Pot Pie is the best.

Montana Mike's Steak House - great steak and great atmosphere.

College of the Ozarks - all student run restaurant - still our favorite place in Branson.  Great fish and chips (trout). No student pays tuition.  They all work on campus an average of 15 hours per week.  The campus nickname is Hardwork U.

And now a few photos . . . . 

View of Table Rock Lake from our bedroom window.

Pita enjoyed her view of Table Rock Lake.

Nice screened porch with a view of the lake.

One of the few days we had sun.

Emerald Pointe on Table Rock Lake near Hollister, Missouri.

View of Branson Landing from the Candlestick Inn Restaurant.

It was pouring rain, but I got a nice photo of the fountains and fire show.

Frederick Remington bronze sculpture in the lobby of the Oakridge Boys' Theatre where we went to see Country Tonite.

The trees were nice, too!

The hardest part of being away from home was finding a comfortable chair for Dave.

The best shopping in Branson is at Grand Village.

They also have the best chairs.

Andy Williams' Theatre right next to his theatre.

I recommend the Chicken Pot Pie.

Already looking forward to our next trip to Table Rock Lake.

Jeannette