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| posted by Kate (from my scrapbook album), After the manicure! |
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Our Houses In EGR
Enjoy???
This is a blog Joe found. Sarah is pretty sure Dad wrote it. If he didn't, Billy has a twin brother that Grandma never told you about...
http://www.woot.com/Blog/ViewEntry.aspx?Id=16831
BTW, Dad you should write this guy and let he know you can get to a clean carcass without nearly all that cooking! Your years of experience might be appreciated by no one as much as this fella.
http://www.woot.com/Blog/ViewEntry.aspx?Id=16831
BTW, Dad you should write this guy and let he know you can get to a clean carcass without nearly all that cooking! Your years of experience might be appreciated by no one as much as this fella.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Oldie
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Weekend in Raleigh
Mary and I spent the weekend in Raleigh with the Fields, Bickleys and Dalenas. Mary and I volunteered one morning in Mary Grace’s Class as they worked in centers. With 24 kids it is one busy place and they are happy to get any assistance that they can. I had lunch with Riley as her class eats in their classroom and Mary ate with MG in the lunch room which Mary said was very loud.
I did a listening center where I read a story & then had the kids complete a worksheet. There is a huge variation in the level of the kids. One kid could read most of the work sheet questions and another had trouble completing a drawing.
It was fun & I’ll do it again. When you go in to the school you have to register in the office. There is a terminal where you enter your name, Birthday, Social Security #. You smile & it prints out the photo pass to stick to your shirt, I thought that was pretty high tec.
Maria was putting Kate to bed on Sunday night and she was messing around upstairs. <Maria called out”Kate Fields get in your bed or I am going to come up there and lock you in your Room”
Kate Replies “It won’t do any good because the lock is on the inside and I can still get out.”
It is hard to get past her as she is always a few steps ahead.
When John woke up Sunday morning he looked in the monitor at Evelyn who was sleeping in a bedroom on the second floor. He said to Sarah, There is somebody in Evelyn’s Pack and play. Kate had crawled in and was laying next to Evelyn stroking her hair. That was a total surprise.
It was fun too to get a nice taste of Spring, it was warm sunny and the trees were in bloom.
Great weekend
Bill
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Soup for a chilly day
Hello!
This is Rikki here and I was thinking of everyone today as the temperature dropped down into the chilly 50s. I know that isn't cold for many people, but when it gets below 60 in LA, it is big news! In the spirit of cold winter days, I thought I would whip up a batch of my favorite soup and then share the recipe with everyone so that they could maybe make their own chilly day soup.
I love this recipe because it can have pretty much anything added to it and still turn out great. I basically go through the fridge and toss everything in the pot that looks a bit wilty or sad. The spicy turkey gives it a great kick as well. Plus now that we have a food processor (Yay!) the prep takes about 5 minutes tops.
From my kitchen to yours, here is Turkey Lentil Soup.
1 lb dried lentils
1 tb olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 cup celery, sliced
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 cup water
a bunch of vegetable broght
2 bay leaves
1 tb chopped rosemary
1 package spicy turkey sausage
black pepper
salt
red wine vinegar
In a large pot, heat oil until hot. Remove the sausage from the casings and brown in the oil, adding the carrots, celery, garlic and onion after a few minutes. Cook until the onions turn translucent and the vegetables are tender. Add tomato sauce, water, veggie broth, rosemary, bay leaves and lentils.
Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and let simmer for 25 minutes or until veggies are slightly soft. Add salt and pepper to taste, along with a dash of red wine vinegar.
This makes a huge batch but is so yummy I'm sure you won't have a problem eating it all!
Enjoy!
Rikki
This is Rikki here and I was thinking of everyone today as the temperature dropped down into the chilly 50s. I know that isn't cold for many people, but when it gets below 60 in LA, it is big news! In the spirit of cold winter days, I thought I would whip up a batch of my favorite soup and then share the recipe with everyone so that they could maybe make their own chilly day soup.
I love this recipe because it can have pretty much anything added to it and still turn out great. I basically go through the fridge and toss everything in the pot that looks a bit wilty or sad. The spicy turkey gives it a great kick as well. Plus now that we have a food processor (Yay!) the prep takes about 5 minutes tops.
From my kitchen to yours, here is Turkey Lentil Soup.
1 lb dried lentils
1 tb olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 cup celery, sliced
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 cup water
a bunch of vegetable broght
2 bay leaves
1 tb chopped rosemary
1 package spicy turkey sausage
black pepper
salt
red wine vinegar
In a large pot, heat oil until hot. Remove the sausage from the casings and brown in the oil, adding the carrots, celery, garlic and onion after a few minutes. Cook until the onions turn translucent and the vegetables are tender. Add tomato sauce, water, veggie broth, rosemary, bay leaves and lentils.
Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and let simmer for 25 minutes or until veggies are slightly soft. Add salt and pepper to taste, along with a dash of red wine vinegar.
This makes a huge batch but is so yummy I'm sure you won't have a problem eating it all!
Enjoy!
Rikki
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Found this picture
I was doing a bit of homework, and when I clicked on my Gmail tab, the Block e-mail opened. I noticed this picture sent from Barbara and thought I'd upload it to the blog!
Update on us!
Just a nice, relaxing Saturday for me (Hailey) and Steve. We woke up this morning to reach for our iPods, iPhones, and laptops -- Phish tickets went on sale. We ended up getting a couple pairs for ourselves and some friends, so that's something to look forward to. Meanwhile, looking out the window reminds me of anything but summertime. The weather can't seem to decide if it wants to rain, snow, sleet, etc. I'll be glad when all of the snow is gone, and we can look forward to nice summer sunshine.
Steve and I went to a job fair -- err, career fair -- yesterday. It was small, but it was angled to capture business students. The IRS was there! Scary, right? :) They were promoting positions as IRS agents, etc. It was surprisingly the organization there targeting masters level students. It seemed the majority of the companies were looking for more undergraduate/entry-level work. Regardless, it was nice to head over and see who's hiring and what they're hiring for. Steve and I put in a couple resumes, and I suppose this week, he'll fill out some of the online applications. It's really funny how in this technological age, at job fairs, they hand you a business card with a website on it and ask you to go online and apply... Hmm... Whatever happened to face-to-face resume drops?
Update on my schooling: I know I posted it on Facebook, but for those of you who might not check Facebook as often, I was accepted into Michigan State's Epidemiology program. It's a Masters program that has 2 tracks -- after the first year, I could choose whether I wanted to do a PhD and have the rest of my college paid for by university grants/assistantships, or I could finish the Masters and head off to look for work. They have a longstanding relationship with the Michigan Dept. of Community Health and the NIH, and about 85% of their graduates choose to work for one of the two. I applied to do research on cerebral palsy and Guthrie cards (the little blood spots on filter paper that they take from babies at birth) or environmental contaminants and male reproduction (sperm mobility/motility). So, that's option one.
Option 2: this is the big one. This is the reason I quit my job (besides the fact that my boss was completely neurotic and drove away almost 75% of her employees in one year). I started the process to applying to the Masters in Occupational Therapy (MOT) program last year -- about this time, actually. It is now a year later, and I have just received word that I'll be moving on to the interview process. I volunteered with the Autism Collaborative Center last summer, and I fell in love with the idea of working as an occupational therapist with children with autism. It seems like such a great, fulfilling line of work and a growing, necessary field as well. The frustration comes from waiting so long -- we were supposed to find out in late January, and here it is -- mid-March, and we're still not even to interviewing. I am not holding my breath. I am, however, hopeful. Last year, there were 300 applicants, and they chose about 34 to move on to enrollment. This year, I'm not sure how many total applicants there were, but there are 42 of us being interviewed. I met with the interim director of the Autism Center (the center is heavily tied to the OT department -- most of the staff work at both the center and for EMU). I decided to be a bit "sneaky" and explain that I couldn't start working for them until I knew where I would be next fall, because it'd be unfair of me to start working now and then quit in April when I find out I didn't get in. So, she made it quite clear that she would move the process along. About 3 hours later, I received an e-mail letting me know I'd be moving on, and my interview will be on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.! Sometimes, I guess it pays to be sneaky...
My job will be volunteer coordination. I will be managing the volunteers and placing them in groups as well as recruiting new volunteers from social work, special education, occupational therapy, and speech/language pathology. I think it'll be fun, but the organizational freak inside of me is a bit petrified. I personally think the system needs a complete overhaul to be an organized, well-oiled machine, but I keep reminding myself that it's only part-time, and this is not my career!
Well, signing off. It's the Big Ten Basketball tournament, and today, our favorite teams play. Mine is Ohio State, and Steve's is (obviously) Michigan State. :)
Enjoy your day, Block family. I miss you all. xoxoxo.
Steve and I went to a job fair -- err, career fair -- yesterday. It was small, but it was angled to capture business students. The IRS was there! Scary, right? :) They were promoting positions as IRS agents, etc. It was surprisingly the organization there targeting masters level students. It seemed the majority of the companies were looking for more undergraduate/entry-level work. Regardless, it was nice to head over and see who's hiring and what they're hiring for. Steve and I put in a couple resumes, and I suppose this week, he'll fill out some of the online applications. It's really funny how in this technological age, at job fairs, they hand you a business card with a website on it and ask you to go online and apply... Hmm... Whatever happened to face-to-face resume drops?
Update on my schooling: I know I posted it on Facebook, but for those of you who might not check Facebook as often, I was accepted into Michigan State's Epidemiology program. It's a Masters program that has 2 tracks -- after the first year, I could choose whether I wanted to do a PhD and have the rest of my college paid for by university grants/assistantships, or I could finish the Masters and head off to look for work. They have a longstanding relationship with the Michigan Dept. of Community Health and the NIH, and about 85% of their graduates choose to work for one of the two. I applied to do research on cerebral palsy and Guthrie cards (the little blood spots on filter paper that they take from babies at birth) or environmental contaminants and male reproduction (sperm mobility/motility). So, that's option one.
Option 2: this is the big one. This is the reason I quit my job (besides the fact that my boss was completely neurotic and drove away almost 75% of her employees in one year). I started the process to applying to the Masters in Occupational Therapy (MOT) program last year -- about this time, actually. It is now a year later, and I have just received word that I'll be moving on to the interview process. I volunteered with the Autism Collaborative Center last summer, and I fell in love with the idea of working as an occupational therapist with children with autism. It seems like such a great, fulfilling line of work and a growing, necessary field as well. The frustration comes from waiting so long -- we were supposed to find out in late January, and here it is -- mid-March, and we're still not even to interviewing. I am not holding my breath. I am, however, hopeful. Last year, there were 300 applicants, and they chose about 34 to move on to enrollment. This year, I'm not sure how many total applicants there were, but there are 42 of us being interviewed. I met with the interim director of the Autism Center (the center is heavily tied to the OT department -- most of the staff work at both the center and for EMU). I decided to be a bit "sneaky" and explain that I couldn't start working for them until I knew where I would be next fall, because it'd be unfair of me to start working now and then quit in April when I find out I didn't get in. So, she made it quite clear that she would move the process along. About 3 hours later, I received an e-mail letting me know I'd be moving on, and my interview will be on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.! Sometimes, I guess it pays to be sneaky...
My job will be volunteer coordination. I will be managing the volunteers and placing them in groups as well as recruiting new volunteers from social work, special education, occupational therapy, and speech/language pathology. I think it'll be fun, but the organizational freak inside of me is a bit petrified. I personally think the system needs a complete overhaul to be an organized, well-oiled machine, but I keep reminding myself that it's only part-time, and this is not my career!
Well, signing off. It's the Big Ten Basketball tournament, and today, our favorite teams play. Mine is Ohio State, and Steve's is (obviously) Michigan State. :)
Enjoy your day, Block family. I miss you all. xoxoxo.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Cheap Labor
How did you guys know that post was Chuck? You didn't picture Deb shoveling snow and cussing the neighbors?
Nan, our book club discussed reading "Room". After your post, I am very glad it was shot down. Sounds like quite a book.
We are finishing up a week with Mike out of town. Another person we can curse for being in Florida. Though he is at his uncle's funeral, so I guess that would be inappropriate. I got the stomach bug and survived quiet nicely with all kids in school in the morning and Kate (and I) napping in the afternoon. I learned a great trick tonight. Give the kids a bath at 4:30, dinner at 5, by 6 they think it is bedtime and I give them the "privilege" to stay up if they do work. They have never so willingly helped out. dishwasher unloaded in record time. 3 loads of laundry folded quicker and neater than I ever do (Mike might argue that is not saying much). They were paid a penny for each piece folded. Since Riley always wants more than the gal next to her, she was racing like a grayhound. Now that I know what they are capable of, they should be able to finish up spreading the pile of mulch in our yard. A penny a pitch fork full should get our yard wrapped up under $2! Let me know if anyone would like their services. They book a week at a time and we will pay for airfare.
Maria
Nan, our book club discussed reading "Room". After your post, I am very glad it was shot down. Sounds like quite a book.
We are finishing up a week with Mike out of town. Another person we can curse for being in Florida. Though he is at his uncle's funeral, so I guess that would be inappropriate. I got the stomach bug and survived quiet nicely with all kids in school in the morning and Kate (and I) napping in the afternoon. I learned a great trick tonight. Give the kids a bath at 4:30, dinner at 5, by 6 they think it is bedtime and I give them the "privilege" to stay up if they do work. They have never so willingly helped out. dishwasher unloaded in record time. 3 loads of laundry folded quicker and neater than I ever do (Mike might argue that is not saying much). They were paid a penny for each piece folded. Since Riley always wants more than the gal next to her, she was racing like a grayhound. Now that I know what they are capable of, they should be able to finish up spreading the pile of mulch in our yard. A penny a pitch fork full should get our yard wrapped up under $2! Let me know if anyone would like their services. They book a week at a time and we will pay for airfare.
Maria
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Ryan Swimming
On a happier note (I wrote the blog on Room), Em and I went to Ryan's swimming class today. With a huge smile Ryan happily dog-paddled his way from one end of the pool to the other end where Em and I were seated. During the whole length of the pool he continually called out "Mama", "Nana" just to be sure we were watching and laughing too! Very fun.
Speaking of laughing, Bill's and Chuck's stories are hard acts to follow!! Great blogs!
Nan
Speaking of laughing, Bill's and Chuck's stories are hard acts to follow!! Great blogs!
Nan
Room
I finished the book called Room. (Read Amazon's descriptions and reviews for more info.) In all the hundreds of books I've read in my lifetime, I have never read such an intense, terrifying and emotionally wrenching book. At the denouement I thought I would be physically sick. After getting through that part of the book, it was still hard-going but rather interesting. I'm not glad I read it because it is still in my head. I actually had a nightmare about it. I would like to talk to anyone else who has read it to see if your reaction was similar to mine or if I just over-reacted to the story. It's hit the NY Times Bestseller list, so I guess this is a cautionary tale for this family of adventurous readers.
My Class
While Chuck was digging out of the snow I was taking a class. I saw in the paper the extension office was offering a morning class on how to grow Shitake mushrooms. I thought that would be a nice summer addition to some grilling recipes. The article said to bring two or three logs 4 to 6 inches in diameter and 4 to 5 feet long.
On one of my bike rides I saw a farmer clearing some land so I went out and got permission to do some scavenging. I took the smaller sized logs because they are so much lighter and easier to throw into the back floor of the car.
Got to the class and the instructor said the best log to use are oak, mine are maple. She then went into how you put the starter into small ½ inch holes that are then sealed with wax. Then she said you should see your first crop in about Oct 2012!!! So much for this summer Grilling.
I am not sure how well they will do in the heat of Raleigh but we will see. The logs will produce for 4 or 5 years but that too may be a function of the size. I will not speculate how long my smaller maples may produce.
Bill
PS Chuck did you tip the cabby or did he tip you?
Weekend
So we returned from the Big Apple (subject of an other post) ony to find our driveway completely blocked by a three foot wall of hard packed snow constructed by the city plows just doing their job. It seems we narrowly escaped to NYC last Sunday ahead of an eight to ten inch snow storm. Our Indian cabby, trying to be helpful, thought he could just drive through the snow barrier and zip up the driveway...WRONG. We tried to stop him but he would not be deterred. You guessed it...stuck in the snow with the front drive wheels spinning freely(actually it was drive wheel since the Dodge Minivan didn't have pos-a-traction(sp?). Now in addition to having to lug two suitcases up the snowy driveway, I had to help our well intentioned cab driver dig his vehicle out of it's entrapment. For those of you who have never lived through a winter in Michigan, as well as those who have supressed such memories, "digging" a vehicle out of a snow bank isn't just a matter of clearing snow away from the wheels....no,no,no my friends, it involves digging and removing the snow from UNDER the vehicle. You see that is where the "stuck" comes from....the frame of the van was resting comfortably on the snow bank while the tires were virtually suspended above the surface of the ground! In other words IT'S A HELL OF ALOT OF WORK...made all the more difficult by the fact that the temperature was at or above freezing which makes the snow nice and wet (aka heavy). After fifteen minutes or so of vigorous digging we were able to free the van and get the grateful hack back to his business. I am convinced he will never again attempt to "off road" a minivan again. For my part, I spent another half hour digging out the rest of the snow wall from the driveway entrance so we could get in and out until our neighbor(who plows the driveway) returns from a week in sunny Florida...the bastard. I dragged my weary backside up the driveway and straight on to the couch for a well deserved snooze! Oh, and by the way, we received another couple inches of snow overnight as a reminder that winter in Michigan is still going strong. Don't you wish you too could enjoy the "change of seasons" we Yankees will tell you makes living in the climate so "special"?
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Dalena Update
We had a very nice President's Day weekend in Jensen Beach, FL with John's parents - they spend the winter there and after a weekend in the sunshine, I can see why. We had gorgeous weather - low 80s with a nice breeze and were able to spend a lot of time in the pool and at the beach. Evelyn was a great traveler - she slept so long on the flight down, John and I were both able to watch a movie on the plane! Here are a couple photos - I posted some on the blockxfamily Picasa site too.
When we got back into town, we found out Deb and Chuck were visiting NYC. John, Joe and I had a fun dinner last night with them before they flew back to GR this morning - a real treat!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Fields Girls basketball game
Thought we would share a short slide show of last weeks game. Mary Grace wanted everyone to know "It is not a movie!" Guess she is waiting to reveal her official movie debut! Hope eveyrone is enjoying their day as much as we are here in sunny Raleigh!
Mike, Maria, Mary Grace, Riley and Kate
Mike, Maria, Mary Grace, Riley and Kate
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Visit with Mom and Dad
Today Jim and I went to the Georgia National Cemetery to see the new stone that was put in place on February 1st. It was a perfectly gorgeous day. We left some Gerber daisies next to Mom's side of the stone. Both Mom and Dad liked Gerber daisies and the colors reminded me so much of the colors that Mom often wore. Nearby a big hawk stood watch over us and then took off with it's broad wing span as we were leaving. It's really a quiet and beautiful spot there on top of a mountainous hill. Love to you all, Nan
Monday, February 14, 2011
Libby Dale note
In January the post office forwarded to me a letter from Libby Dale to Mom. I wrote back to Libby that mom had died in December.
Today I got the following note:
Dear Bill Etal,
I mentioned her today to friends , then you letter.
I was afraid of your letter news. I loved her, she was remarkable and had an amazing spirit. She will always be in my heart.
You have to be happy for her to have died the way we all pray for. I always think of all the hail Mary’s that my mother and Jane probable said over their years,” Pray for us at the hour of our death”. Even tho I was startled when she said she no longer went to Mass, I again had to admire her spirit and I guess you could say “independent thinking. You know she’s in heaven no matter what! But I will miss her being here. Please tell all your family, condolences and thank you for writing me.
Libby.
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