Twin Granddaughters!

Welcome to the world, our new twin granddaughters: Reese & Ava Hastings!

They were born at Altru Hospital in Grand Forks on January 15, 2011.

While they are currently in the NICU, they are doing very well and should be out very soon. We can't wait to spoil them with love.

Irma Jean Larson

Irma Jean Larson, better known as Jeanie, longtime resident of Pine City passed suddenly on Sept. 28, 2010 at the age of 78. She was wife of the late Clifford E. Larson. She recently survived major heart surgery and died later in rehabilitation.

Irma Jean Larson was born in Alma, Wis. on May 11, 1932 to her parents Alfred & Alice Zittel. She grew up in Alma before moving to Pine City in 1946, where she met and married Clifford on June 13, 1949. They lived in Pine City for their entire 55 year marriage.

Jeanie worked several jobs during her lifetime, such as a waitress at the 61 Way Café, where a dime was a big tip. She worked as a welder at the arsenal where she became one of their top welders. She laughed about the time she worked at The Pine City Mercantile where employees were not trusted with the money. They were required to send the money to the office via tin cup fashioned on a pulley and a string. Her youngest daughter now owns that building, and runs her own business there. She also worked at the town bakery before landing a job with Ma Bell.

Her final career was working for Northwestern Bell and AT&T as a telephone operator for many years before retiring in 1990. When she started her job with Ma Bell, it was located on the second floor above the present day location of The Pizza Pub. Back then, she used an old fashioned (wired) telephone switch board. She always joked that they weren’t supposed to listen in on phone calls, but when an emergency call came in they couldn’t help but listen.

Jeanie always had a smile on her face, and people loved being around her. If you were to stop in to visit, she would be sure to offer you something to eat. If you were lucky enough to stop on the day she baked cinnamon rolls, you would never forget it because they were the best in the world.

She adored her family, and simply loved when we could all get together. Whether it was a holiday, family reunion, camping trip, or cruise vacation, she loved having us together. Irma Jean thrived on her grandchildren as well, and loved reading, movies and watching TV. She also loved viewing nature and the changing season’s right outside her home on the water’s edge.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her son Clifford (Butch), her husband Clifford Earl, her brother Dave, and her sister Marjorie.
She will be lovingly remembered by her four sons and daughters-in-law, Kent and Darlene of Isanti; Dirk and Cathy of Roseville; Eric and Patti of Golden Valley; Peter and Cindy of Grand Forks, ND.; her two daughters and sons-in-law, Holly and Dirk Kienzle of Bismarck, ND.; Marni and Ron Steltz of Braham; her 17 grandchildren; her 11 great-grandchildren; her sister, Isabell Stuber of Shawano, WI; her brothers and sisters-in-law Alfred (Sonny) and Marvella of Alma, WI; Anthony and Marge of Winona, MN; her many nieces, nephews, and friends.

At Irma’s request, it was her wish to be cremated, and there will be no services.

Life

Life as we know it has changed once again. We lost someone very precious to us, and the sting will linger on for a long time to come. She lived a long life...some say on borrowed time. She's had her bouts with medical issues, and pulled on through. She was one of the strongest people I know, and admire her for it. There are people in your life that make lasting impressions. They shape you into the person you are. Parents do this everyday of their lives, and we owe them for it. We pay them back in love. Rest in peace Irma Jean Larson. A day won't pass that I won't think of you. I Love you Mom!

Air Show 2010

Another Air Show has come and gone. The weather was cool, and cloudy...but the show went on. They changed things up a little, and the parking was a fiasco.
The USAF Thunderbirds were great, even though they had to do the 'low show' because of cloud cover. There were quite a few stunt aircraft doing tricks, and it was fun to watch. I had to sit out on the ramp all day in case of a crash...but we managed to have fun.

Family Weekend 2010~!

Here's a pic of my girls!
Brandi, Willow, and Cindy.

Family Weekend 2010 came and went.
We had a big tropical party in our room, and drank some rum punch!

Great to see everyone, see you next year!

Ski Cold Smoke!

My winter vacation is coming up soon! Ski Montana 2010 is almost here. I can almost smell the fresh mountain air! My old friend Clint will be joining me on the slopes after quite a few years hiatus. Now all we can hope for is some fresh powder so we can get in some 'first tracks' on the mountain! Clint, I'll see you at the airport in Billings!

Now this is skiing Bridger's "Cold Smoke!"

We've had some good times at Bridger Bowl! My absolute favorite area is the South Bowl and the lower Fingers when there is fresh powder on the mountain. There's a blue beacon on top of the Baxter Hotel in Bozeman. When it's flaring, it means there's snow falling at Bridger Bowl...and the race to the mountain begins at first light in the morning!

Christmas Jammies!

A new Christmas tradition was brainstormed by Cindy this year. Matching or color coordinated pajamas! 

Pictured are Pete, Cindy, Peter J, Brandi, & Brandon. 

Since Willow couldn't celebrate Christmas with us, we took a photo with her a couple days later.

10 Days until Christmas! Please donate!

Only 1o more days until Christmas. Please, stop by my virtual RED KETTLE and make a small donation to The Salvation Army. Thanks very much, and Merry Christmas!

PS...I posted a new link on my blog page. ;-)

Please help me help The Salvation Army!

Banner Ad for Red Kettle

Please help me by donating to The Salvation Army this season. The Salvation Army is my favorite charity. They offer help and hope to EVERYONE! From the victims of disaster, addiction and homelessness to youth, families and senior citizens. Thank you for your support!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing all family and friends a very happy Thanksgiving holiday! Missed being with the whole family this year! On a related note:  I'm trying to set up a FAMILY WEEKEND for February 2010 now. Stand by for further details.

Happy Halloween!

Wishing everyone a fun and safe Halloween! Been watching scary movies all month, and topped them off today with a trip to the theater to see "Paranormal Activity". Good movie, but certainly not the scariest movie I've ever seen. Good evening!

Willow and I carving pumpkins this year:

New Telescope!

I was bitten by the astronomy bug well over 30 years ago. My brother Eric got a refractor telescope for Christmas when we were kids. I'll never forget my first look at Saturn's rings through that scope! That scope was his prized possession...and he wasn't big on sharing. I used to sneak it outside when he wasn't around...and try my luck at finding planets.

A few years back...I finally got my own telescope. It was a Bushnell 4.5" reflector. I have used this trusty scope for many years...but decided I needed more. I sold that telescope, and moved up to a new Meade LightBridge 10" Dobsonian Deluxe. It will be delivered soon! 

Labor Day Weekend!

We had a great time at the lake over the Labor Day weekend. We were joined by Tammy & Marty, and had a relaxing time. We chilled by the lake at Polk County Park all day Sunday for a picnic and some Jet Skiing. The weather was nice, although a bit breezy. "The Sandbar" was packed, as it's the last weekend at the lake for many...and the celebration commenced.  Brandi and Brandon stopped in to say hello on their way through as well. A nice weekend to close out our summer, as we will probably winterize very soon.

Weekend at the lake

We had some visitors join us at Maple Lake last weekend! We hosted Dirk, Holly, and Jana Kienzle! Thanks so much for coming...we had a blast! Willow joined us as well, and had a great time with Uncle Dirk!

Random Pics from Summer Vacation 2009

Cindy and I spent a week at our "Larson-ritaville" retreat at Maple Lake to start off the vacay. We then headed down to Coon Rapids, MN to pick up our Grand daughter Willow. We took her to the zoo, fair, parade, and to a family pool for some swimming. We stayed at G G's house in Pine City, where Willow got to watch a deer (fawn) milling around the place. She loved seeing the farm animals and the rides at the PC Fair. She even talked me into going on the Carousel and Giant Slide with her. She had a great time at Jeremy & Jenny's too. She got to swim in their indoor swimming pool, and play with her cousins. It was a fun week.


A visit to G G's house. Here is Willow with her Great Grandma Larson. She really doesn't like her picture taken anymore....can you tell?

A visit to Jeremy & Jenny's in MN. Pictured are Samantha Lindman, Cindy Larson, Kaley Larson, Jeremy Lindman, and Jennifer Lindman.

Pine City Fair and Parade: Here is Willow and her cousin Lauren Steltz on the curb waiting for some candy.

A fashion show! Here's Willow, Lauren, and Ella putting on a dress-up show for us at G G's. (Great Grandmas)

Those smiles say it all....FUN! The girls had a great time together.

Here's Pete and Willow hangin' out in the upper loft at G G's place.

A visit to Como Park Zoo, here's Willow & Cindy watching the Orangatans.

Having Fun at Work

We took a couple cars, smashed them up and lit them on fire.

It's a mock-car accident drill.

Here's a picture of me on the ground, taking care of an ejected patient in a field.

Using the Jaws of Life to extract a patient.

Willow's New Pics!

It was back to the portrait studio with Willow this week, and she was really good with it. We dressed her in a couple different outfits...including this fairy costume. The pics here are low res...but you get the idea.

Chickenfoot

New band! Sammy Hagar and some friends have formed a new band called Chickenfoot.


They sound like classic Sammy, and a little Van Halen-ish. Check them out:

http://www.chickenfoot.us

Camping Season Returns!

We've opened up Larson-ritaville for the summer camping season. We took Willow, and the dogs for an overnighter last weekend to de-winterize. While Cindy wasn't feeling good, she had some down time to relax and rejuvenate while I kept busy with chores.

One small problem from winter, the water filter housing froze and broke. The antifreeze must have gotten a little diluted, and I've changed over to a different filter housing that I can remove instead of winterize. Should be much easier now.

The weather is still quite cool here, but we are looking forward to a couple more trips in May.

Handpresso Wild DomePod

Handpresso is an authentic portable espresso maker. I currently have two in my coffee making arsenal...the newest being called the Handpresso DomePod. The first unit uses espresso pods, like those you can find at Starbucks. With the newest machine, you can use your own ground coffee.

The fine people from Handpresso in France were kind enough to send me both units to review. I reviewed the first on http://www.singleservecoffee.com/ last year. I've been putting the new version through it's paces, and will post a review soon.

The new Handpresso allowed me to use fresh home roasted espresso beans, and it was really good. The cost of these units has dropped from $150 down to about $100 each. You can take them anywhere, as long as you have access to hot water. The have a built in pump which allows you to pump up the pressure to 16 bar.