DRY CREEK THANKSGIVING 2009

Hello Folks,
Well we geared up for Thanksgiving and now it came and went!!!

A wonderful spread, as per usual, was set out for the enjoyment of all and sundry. Andy Trotter with about a dozen high school students put it all together, this time since Rachel Trotter was still in Dublin, her sister Hannah (Mason) helped her Dad out.
An interesting piece of trivia: How many years has Andy been putting this feast together for us?
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Answer:
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almost 30 years!!! THAT IS ALOT OF GENERATIONS OF KIDS THAT HV HELPED HIM...YOU DO THE MATH....


Amazing to see ones own kids growing up to be helping in this endeavor. I think 8th. grade is the youngest who get involved....


I guess, Thanksgiving marks the beginning of a string of major happenings in our community. Then comes Convention (always a major thing for us), Christmas and New Year and then Open House in April marks the end of the school year more or less....


We've been off for 4 days if one counts the week end, kinda nice to catch up on sleep, reading and housework...well, not housework, not really,...hahaha...queen of the housework I am certainly NOT...just a necessary evil, as they say.

The kids put together like 20 pies, 2 varieties of pumpkin, apple, PECAN, and cheese cake (New York style I think)....turkey, Alaska cranberry relish (very good!), canned cranberry, corn, yams, and yam pie with the dreaded marshmallows on top that the Brits DO NOT LIKE....and neither do I for that matter, but you can always scrape them off. THERE WERE PLAIN YAMS THAT WITH A LITTLE BUTTER WERE HEAVENLY!!
......straight out of their foil wrappings....reminded me of when my Dad used to sit with us as kids in our home in Argentina and we roasted sweet potatoes in the fireplace....memories...

The Mexican touch of "asado" was missing...Luie Chavez and his family did not come. Actually there were a few families who were either missing or went AWOL, don't know why, but still we were about 100 folks I guess...


Ice cream was served of course and coffee.


Carolyn Geyer and a multitude of little people made cute center pieces and cones dipped in chocolate and filled with candy for the tables and napkin rings in he shape of turkeys etc....very nice...lots of time consuming stuff....but that is her cup of tea, so don't feel sorry for her....

Little kids (pre k and k) sang some appropriate turkey songs all dressed up in their brown-bag turkey outfits, most of the singing was done by their teacher, but it was funny to see them suddenly struck dumb and just being cute....they do the funniest things when they are that young, like stick out their tongues, make faces, or squat and not budge from that position, or just smile and wave unabashedly at familiar faces in the audience (like at their doting parents for example)...some of them jump up and down and yell......quite funny.

The  big kids put on their number, very nicely sung and one of the pieces even composed and performed on the piano by our own  budding composer Kathryn Nerbonne....


Rob had a blast as usual. He loves visiting and shaking hands with everybody. Multitudes of people are his cup of tea (not his mother's I'm afraid), but he thrives on this...the more the merrier, with him!!!


He had told me he did not want to go up to sing with the choir. He has been singing in music class with the middle school group since the beginning of the school year. But just before the meal he announced that he was not gonna go up...OK, I said, fine whatever you decide...no pressure.

Well, when our music director called out for the kids to come up, he just hopped up there...sooo funny. I never know what he is gonna do...so was ready to yank him back if anything unforeseen happened...but he behaved like a little man...all dressed up in his 3 pc. suit. His voice his changing so he does not want to sing too loud, but I could see his mouth moving and he got the hand actions right...so I thot he did quite well. Then when it was finished he just came back and sat down at his seat like Mr . Cool Cucumber....what a ham!


Well, it is getting time to shut this down.


Just as an aside, I am cooking community dinner tomorrow, not one of my favorite things to do...cooking for so many leaves one rather worse for wear...hopefully all goes well. I think we are making Greek Jyros...which are basically a round layered sandwich with all sorts of goodies inside, they are served on a platter and cut into wedges....messy...but good...iced tea, and frozen orange yogurt dessert...pasta salad and, and, ....ahhh...can't remember.


Pat is leaving for his yearly piano trip to Barrow...the home of the Polar Bear...hope he does not meet one!


Pat Lou called today and it sounds like he is pining to come home. May also called yesterday and  is having a great time in Ireland, sounds like she has made herself quite at home and will survive nicely without Rachel who has been her sidekick for ever . Rachel came back for Thanksgiving...


Seems May was asked to perform one of her solos that she sang for us here for a past  thanksgiving. I found the sheet music and faxed it to her, then she found a girl who was visiting who accompanied her on the piano. Glad she was able to do that. She had been studying voice performance with JoAn for most of her junior and high school and now does not get as much opportunity since she is out of school...


Bye now and have a good week end...

Gri

"If people were meant to pop out bed we'd all sleep in toasters."  By Garfield (who else?...)

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=527095&l=bce114a923&id=1585591801

Rob's been counting down the days until Pat and May return from Europe...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8U2JfMmxZ1A

"Retard"?...

FROM ANOTHER BLOGGER...."WORDS"

THIS TAKEN FROM "THE GARDEN OF EAGEN"...

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=182687437830

KUDDOS FOR KEYBOARD TOWN PALS!!

Hello Donna and the KBTP family,

What a wonderful little piece of software! My Down Syndrome son who is 12 immediately was taken by the warm and charming characters (rather reminiscent of Sesame,  so familiar to him, in a way) and wanted to sit down and watch the whole thing through.

Once that was done he had no problem following directions (with me by his side as a prompter) and was able to finish one hand (left) in an hour long session.

I will say that for a Down Syndrome individual or an individual with impaired cognitive and motor ability, it might be a little too fast...I remedied this by pressing the pause button until he was ready for the next piece of info. Not really a problem but something to consider if there is a re-issue for a special needs version.

Also we took an hour on just one hand...which we actually had to break into two sessions because of attention and fatigue issues.

We practiced one hand, watching the sessions over until I felt comfortable with it and then went to the other hand, following the same daily pattern.

Result: IN ABOUT A 10  DAY PERIOD OF TIME, MY DOWN SYNDROME SON HAS LEARNED ALL HIS FINGER POSITIONS WITH 98% ACCURACY. HE CAN NOW TYPE AT 5WPM.

This does not mean that he has the speed but the basic "how to" is there...and I credit KBTP for this.

Now we use another typing program, for the practice, speed and the games. He asks for KBTP almost daily and we now use it as a brush-up program or just for fun...

The interesting thing is that he asks for KBTP almost daily and goes through it at a much faster speed than at the beginning. Also, when he is on the other typing program and just doing his lessons, he tells himself where to put his fingers for each key USING KBTP CHARACTERS...isn't that cool...!

He is writing 10 - 12 sentence paragraphs on subjects that interest him. Writing will probably never be his forte so typing is a wonderful option for him. Once he writes his creative writing he proceeds to type it!

I would like to add that my operating system was not being very cooperative with the KBTP CD version and two wonderful people stayed with me and my trials until we made it work. Thank you Donna and Dan for your patience.!

Now I am waiting for a Mac version of the CD so that my son Robin can keep on using it on his MacBook at school.

Thank you again for a wonderful program!

Keep up the awesome work!

Gri and Robin Buongiorne




Here is Donna Kunz response to my letter...she is the CEO of the company I believe...
>>
Hi,

Thanks so much for the beautiful letter.  But I was not expecting to scroll down and see Robin smiling holding the KTP box. I was really blown away. It is a great picture. 

 

With your permission we will post this letter and picture on our site.  I will let you know when my web designer gets it up. Please ask Robin to type us his own letter and we will post that as well.  How cool is that!

 

Donna
---------------------- and again,
Hi,

Everyone loves your letter and the picture of Robin holding the KTP box and smiling. Thanks so much for putting it on Amazon.  That is really helpful.

We put it up on the website.  Go to Media Page and click on the Articles.  It is the first one. I also saw the blog.  Terrific.  We are going away for Thanksgiving so when we return I am sure your check we be here and I will mail the MAC version.

The best part is that Robin is typing and expressing himself.  If you ever have updates about how he is doing or something that he wrote, please keep us posted. Followup is something teachers appreciate.

Thanks again,

Donna

"

>>

Thankfulness

By Anonymous

Start the day with a thankful attitude. It's in the Bible, Psalm 92:1-2, TLB. "It is good to say thank you to the Lord, to sing praises to the God who is above all gods. Every morning tell him, 'Thank you for Your kindness,' and every evening rejoice in all His faithfulness."
One of the first marks of rejecting God is forgetting to thank him. It's in the Bible, Romans 1:21, TLB. "Yes, they knew about Him all right, but they wouldn't admit it or worship Him or even thank Him for all his daily care. And after awhile they began to think up silly ideas of what God was like and what He wanted them to do. The result was that their foolish minds became dark and confused."
Give thanks in every situation. It's in the Bible, I Thessalonians 5:18, NIV. "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
In giving thanks to God; don't forget from where our blessings come. It's in the Bible, Psalms 103: 2, NIV. "Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits."

Copyright © 2009, Bibleinfo.com

BOTTOM LINE: BE THANKFUL....IT'S IN THE BIBLE...

Famous Quotes Widgets

Famous Quotes Widgets

HI FROM THE LAND OF THE FROZEN CHOSEN...RECENT EVENTS...

Hi Folks

Well our annual cattle run came and went. This time I ventured out myself, clad in my snopants and other cold weather equipment...Robin had been invited by our cowman Tommy G and I wanted to make sure that he wld be safe.

It was really a great experience! Not too cold, and nice enough that I was able to take some pics and clips without freezing my fingers off. It is pretty self explanatory. Annie got to ride a big black horse which I call Black Knight, he does put one in mind of those LOTR Friesians...without the feathers. It was good for her to get the experience and all the young folks did well I think...nobody fell off or was hurt. Thankful for that!

Rob started out at the back of TG's truck and then got to ride Jared's big red sled with some of the younger kids. Eventually he got a ride with Kelly on her snomach. Kelly was very sweet and attentive and made sure Rob was safe (she is one of my Spanish students in 9th grade).

Cows kept wanting to go the opposite way but we got them across the highway, always rather a nail biting experience, where one hopes no semis come tearing down the highway just as we are crossing. All went smoothly....now we are all being treated to the cows bellowing for their calves since they have to be separated and weaned.

A good time was had by all!

Our chickens are starting to lay again...yaaaiii..

Some late visitors are coming and going, but don't know who all they are really....pretty much back to normal winter farm routines and school....

Some folks are out visiting family in the L48 still. ..'course May, Rachel and Pat have all left to visit in the UK and Ireland. May has called a couple times, Pat called once and talked to May who was still here. I missed some of those calls, either in school or in town...

May is keeping busy or being kept busy as the case may be!! haha...mulching gardens, working in he kitchen getting stuff prepared for their yearly convention...Ray says she is rather homesick but I'm sure it will pass. I miss her badly and keep thinking she is gonna come in the backdoor as she usually does, all bundled up from her traipsing around the snow outside, with a cheery : "Hello Mother"....

Glad that she is getting this chance and hope she does and sees as much as poss.

Pat has finally met Beth's family and there are some cute pics of all of them on FB. Wld be nice to meet in person...one of these days.

Big Pat has returned form his Glennallen and Sapa piano trip and all went well. Weather is still holding to a pleasant temp. for Alaska at this time of the year...still not using our real heavy stuff...

Nov. will be a busy therapy week for myself and Rob. We've already had the OT, PT, SLP and of course his new Sped. Margie Grant  who is a reall answer..giving me new ideas and things to do with Rob. Rob is now starting to type with both hands. He is using a great little program I found and which has won several awards. KEYBOARD TOWN PALS...based on a Sesame type character approach. so far so good. He needs speed now and I think this will really start him being more interested in creative writing. Handwriting continues to be laborious for him, but typing is something that will motivate him.

 Hope u all hv a great rest of the week!!

Here a short clip!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yhn-7ctFGI

here snow, there snow, everywhere snow, snow...

Well, when it rains it pours as the English like to say....well, the Spaniards do too, but they say it somewhat differently...
Has snowed 14-in. so far...and our young boys are madly trying to keep the roads, paths, decks, porches and other areas which do not need to be snowbound, clear of snow....hard to do with the fine drizzle, well....just drizzling....
Snow covers a multitude of - left-over-trash-that-we-forgot-to-pick-up....and so everything is nice and white...that is one of the pros..
One of the cons, is that it can get rather messy in the school vestibule with a dozen small and medium sized bodies leaving all THEIR winter gear, just where you want to leave YOURS!! oh well...here comes the mop lady (Sara J) to mop up the wetness of 12 pairs of packs....oops stepped in the snow puddle with my socks...ugh...wet for the rest of the class....
But on the whole a good time is had by all...well...the kids at least...

Rob took out his bright orange snopants and bright orange mad bomber hat and has been rolling about in the stuff for the past week....as are all the rest of the junior population.

The flame orange for Rob is done on purpose. Against the white snow I can see him clear across the horse paddocks where he likes to ride about on the horse wagon. During summer months he is equipped with a radio tracker belt and walkie talkie, but now we manage very well with the flame orange. Found it at the Cabelas hunting online store.


Here's Rob doing his sno angel on the fresh snow outside the schoolhouse...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGjMeR4UBOM


Pat Lou left today on his first leg of the journey .. May leaving Tuesday...Both off to the Old Country. Pat to visit his sweetie in the UK who is finishing a degree and May to Ireland. After her return she plans to join the AF...Pat is still unsure of what he wants to do, probably something in the Emergency Medical arena, since he got his EMT 3  certs. as has May...decisions, decisions...was life this complicated when I was growing up? Can't remember, I certainly don't recall having as many choices...

Big Pat is off to southern coastal Alaska tuning and repairing pianos all along the way. Hopefully weather and road conditions will make for a propitious business trip. Don't like  him having to leave at the worst time of the year...but this is when clients and schools want their ailing pianofortes doctored, it seems. He stays with friends, communities and customers along the way, sometimes exchanging bed and breakfast for a tuning. Seems to have worked so far.

BUT, that means that self, Annie (16) and Rob must handle all the rather labour intensive chores at the cabin. Wood boxes, stoves, water hauling. Now that Rob is older he can help his sister with some of this which will be a break for my ailing shoulder....will make me appreciate my DH more...he does so much...and so does May....she supervises Rob's self help skills and helps with his showers etc. When she leaves Dad will take over with some of those, but for this week Annie says she will pitch in...we shall see....

My school days are coming along nicely. I enjoy teaching SStudies to Micah (mild CP) and Rob, we are doing Colonial America from BJU using a Gr. 2 textbook. Finished the Continents and Oceans Unit, and they enjoyed that. The rest of the academics I do with Rob alone, and Micah is taught his by his mom...lucky boys I think. Both boys then takes Art, Music and Science with another teacher...gives us both a break from our boys and they get a new teacher ....they need a break from us too!! . Is working well so far.

HS Spanish is also doing well. My 8 students seem to be enjoying it and, of course, I do too, always enjoy coming back to my roots, don't get much of a chance of practicing my Spanish.  We have not had many traveling Spanish preachers lately...one does tend to get rusty.

Some of the boys are trying to get the ice rink ready for hockey and skating. It is rather large and does not seem to be freezing as fast as they would like...this is something that kids all enjoy. I never did learn how to skate but am trying to teach Rob...his balance is pretty good so I think he will probably catch one soon.

May and Pat were invited to a costume party at one of the family cabins last night. Pat came up with an Arab costume complete with dagger, turban and Tunisian cape...looked quite the part and May dressed up as a Viking warrior. She has so many daggers and swords accumulated these past few years that she found it hard to decide which one to use. May loves the Tolkien Middle Earth mythical stuff....so has quite a collection, some she purchases and some she makes herself. Pat is actually wearing a genuine Tunisian akhnif, a wool hooded cape worm by the Berber herdsmen...the gun is his air-soft gun...looks the part don't u think? His little bro def. thinks so...

and here is May in her Middle Earth/Viking costume she created herself. Made the sword and leather trappings. She is sporting her new longbow and the arrows she just finished fletching. May has really enjoyed her longbow this summer and is getting quite good with it....I find squirrel pellets taped to backwoods spruce trees...ugh...but they really can be pests, very destructive and a nuisance with the trash...May is much in demand in camp as a squirrel exterminator...when the pop. get to be a nuisance.

May will be sorely missed...she does so much for me...but I know she will have a lifetime experience and am praying that her time in Ireland will bring her a larger outlook in life and make her new friends.

Will seem weird not having the 2 big kids with us....

Annie has been featured in the North Dakota Center for Distance Education Program. She is taking an advanced course in drawing and her instructor Annette Marchand has been encouraging her to do her best...some of her work is featured here at this link:

http://www.ndcde.org/news/current/09-10-26/Anne_Marie_Buongiorne.aspx

it has hit 3 degrees...getting colder....

Well folks, this is Alaska Nightly, signing out...

Have a great week!