La realidad de las ilusiones

Beloved Gram

2010-05-11T20:54:00.000-07:00

(inset: Grandpa Harold & Grandma Bonnie on their 25th wedding anniversary)

Miss you so much, Gram. You were a blessing to have as a grandmother. Even though I wasn't your blood, you took me in and loved me the same. I used to love going to your house when I was "sick" (and I'd be just a bit less sick than I let on, just to come see you). You used to want to make me soup to help me get well, but would always make me egg-toast after I bothered you 'til you did. It was always so good, even if such a simple dish, because you always made it with love. (It must have been a lot of love, too, because you always reminded me of how much I ate!)

I'm going to miss you so very much, Gram. Nothing will ever replace your grandmotherly love. I know you are looking down on us from Heaven, and will always keep watch. I'm sure you and Gramps will always be with us. You have given me peace, even in this time of mourning.

Our bond of egg-toast will always be with me forever... and while it may be silly to some, the first thing I did when arriving home was to honor and remember you with an attempt of my own (thanks, Connie, for helping me through it!). It certainly wasn't the same as eating it with you and sharing the stories of when I stayed with you, and didn't taste quite as good as yours always did, but Maite and I enjoyed your egg-toast while thinking of you and the love you always gave.

I know a time will come when I see you again. No more pain. No more barriers. Only love, squeezes, and the biggest batch of egg-toast ever!

in loving memory...

Bernice Marie Strand
(Grandma Bonnie, Grandma Peep, but always our "Gram")
November 9, 1921 - May 7, 2010

Bumped, But Not Bitten

2009-01-04T20:11:00.000-08:00

Siesta Key, FL: At approximately 11:30am, January 4, 2009, Maite and Woody were waist-deep, wading in the shallows near their 'weekend escape' hotel on the Gulf side of the Siesta Key (near Sarasota, FL) when Maite felt something "brush" against her. After claiming this to her husband, who was standing next to her, Maite's story was discounted as "just your imagination." (The truth is that Woody's first thought was a jellyfish or something, but didn't want to make his wife nervous.)

The two began looking around in the very clear water for the mysterious guest and saw nothing. As they moved around in this search, the two were a few feet apart with their backs relatively toward each other, and were approximately fifteen or twenty feet from shore, when Maite spotted a large fish swimming immediately past her.

As she was about to say something to her husband, Maite was trying to get the words out to tell Woody about the large fish, but instead exclaimed in "ahh, ahhs." Woody turned around to find out what his wife was trying to say, and noticed the large fish as it had just swam past Maite and was now gliding through the water five feet away in a circular pattern around the two. He simply and slowly spun around watching as he calmly said, "Yeah, that's a shark."

Like a ball shot from a cannon, Maite splashed her way to the tiny beach area and Woody watched as the shark started to circle back before swimming back out to sea, likely started by the stampede that went on a few feet away.

It was only later at home that the married couple realized the gravity of such an encounter. Through a few simple searches, it was determined by both that, without a doubt, Maite had been bumped and circled by a four-foot bull shark, one of the most deadly in the ocean.

The shark was similar to the one below in both size (maybe a bit smaller) and color:

For more information about the bull shark, check out this article: http://www.slate.com/id/112116/

Thank God that the water was freezing and that neither of the couple actually went swimming, as the flailing of arms could have easily been mistaken for fish. You see, before the shark encounter, the two were standing in the water and sporadically saw fish jumping out of the water (likely avoiding the jaws of the 'large fish'). In addition, there were pelicans and other birds feeding a short distance away at the end of a pier. This feeding frenzy was likely what had attracted the bull shark to check out which other goodies were in the area.

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Graduation Pics. 12 December 2008

2009-01-01T21:40:00.001-08:00

Some pics after a while of not updating....

2009-01-01T21:26:00.001-08:00

Christmas 2007

2007-12-30T21:44:00.000-08:00

We had a great time celebrating Christmas in Fergus Falls and Eau Claire, and are looking forward to celebrating New Year's Eve with Klimek's in Barron. We just want to wish everyone a happy new year and thank everyone for all they have done with us. Enjoy some pictures from our Christmas celebrations. Some of the most celebrated events were the presence of uncle Louis sharing with us his feelings (that was a blessing from God), also Louanne and Louis' daughter, Leah, gave them permission to share with all of us the good news....well....a new baby is coming ! Congratulations to the happy couple! We also were able to enjoy some songs sang by Damara , Grandma Lila and here daughters and the kids, AWESOME!. Lanita, you were pretty as usual, Maite was not able to stop the baby girl Jordyn from crying, until she brought her to the pool .... Shana took pictures of everyone to update her blog and keep everyone informed, she does an extraordinary job..... Abby wanted to get uncle Woody into the pool and finally she did it and enjoyed it! Grandma Lila shared with us a great speech.....Everyone there was just feeling like at home, for Hotel La Plaza is almost our special place.

My Love, My Life

2007-10-25T19:39:00.000-07:00

Hey, my love! Are you here? I just wanted to say that I Love You, and will always be here for you! Here I can write it for the WORLD to see!!!

LOVE YOU TONSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!
- your husband

2007-02-15T15:02:00.001-08:00

Donde se inician los caminos

2007-02-14T20:13:00.000-08:00

Estamos encaminados, aislados de todo rumbo permanente, hoy me
he liberado de algo que me esclavizaba, no hay nada peor que sentirse prisionero
de la rutina, sin saber donde esta el motivo de que se levanten las alas al
caminar....

Hoy cae lluvia sin cesar y en Florida huele a intervalos de
primavera con espasmos de otoño, mas de mil personas diarias vienen a vivir a
este mini paraiso al que algunos llaman tercer mundo, denominado La
Florida.....un escaparate de Ciencia Ficcion, que hay de realidad en este pais
de los Estados Unidos? sin cable instalado todavia porque nos acabamos de mudar,
cuatro de los siete canales gratuitos disponibles hablan de Dios, mientras, los
niños en el colegio manejan su propio Dios, armas, drogas y el sentido de la
muerte estan tambien plastificados, quien tiene verdaderamente el poder sobre
este contraste?

Quien magnifica las cualidades de la vida?Aqui, donde la
individualidad es sede de aplausos, donde lo emocional es territorio peligroso y
no frecuentado, donde las prohibiciones e inhibiciones son reales y alarmantes,
donde todo puede pasar, ciertamente en un dia, un segundo, un milagro puede
abordarte, quien sostiene los ideales aqui? ideales de un pais que muere
lentamente, donde nadie es , como bien dice mi marido 100% puro origen americano
pues todos sus origenes son una mezcla de Europeo, Asiatico o Latino. Y este es
el imperio romano del siglo XX......

Estoy pensando si ahora por publicar esto vivire en plena
penitencia, pues dara sus consecuencias.

Mi otro extremo de vida......España, mi camisa blanca, mi lugar
de nacimiento, pais de pasiones desatadas sin limite. Lugar de risas y lamentos,
donde pocos pueden lograr un exito sonado,la gran mayoria de espanoles
subsiste con salario base interprofesional de 800 Euros....y aun así , todo se
lleva ........hasta enseñarle al vecino el nuevo lujo.

España , donde uno se puede compadecer de alguien en tres
segundos y desaparecer en cinco para siempre. America, donde lo grande sorprende
y lo cotidiano no existe. Mis dos tierras de contrastes se suman a la perfección
, y ahí, en el punto medio, me encuentro yo con mi pequeño mundo de ilusiones,
donde se inician los caminos.