Loud

Our family is loud. I really like that it is loud, because it makes me appreciate the quiet when it comes. I & Mike were fortunate to be able to visit most of the Munds/Ryans/Grahams/Mulloneys for Turkey Day. It was lovely and reminded me of the lake...minus the mosquitoes. This only adds to my recent yearning to be close to family.

Catching up
I have a temporary teaching position (that I am avoiding by writing this post) at a local college in Western NY. I like it. I wish I could get more completed on other stuff, but I have this experience that should help me. At least I keep telling myself that. Next year, I'll move back to Buffalo to finish the PhD, hopefully in 1-2 years, with lots of effort, less sleep and tons of caffeine.

I hope everyone is well and preparing for the holidays in their own way.

Dawn

Mom (Aunt Ardyse) again

The last update on Mom (Ardyse) was in April.  At that time, we thought we were going to be able to get her in for knee replacement this fall.  Well...things have changed.  She has had two hospital stays recently.  Prior to this, Mom has not been in the hospital since I was in grade school and she had her gall bladder removed.

It seems that she has terrible circulation in her legs, complicated by swelling.  This makes her at a high risk of infection should her skin be compromised, which it was - twice.  She spent a total of 7 days in the hospital (2 stays) with IV antibiotics.  The outcome is that she might not ever be able to have knee surgery, while she will always have to where a compression sleeve on her legs.

Mom is bummed on a few levels, as are we.

As always, keep her in your prayers.  We keep you in our prayers as well.  God bless!

Mom/Aunt Ardie

So...Mom's knees are finally finished.  About three weeks ago her really, really bad knee stopped her in her tracks.  She was moved into action and has started to discuss knee replacement with an orthopedic surgeon.  If anyone has any words of advice for Jean, Sue, Stacie or me, please feel free to jump into the conversation at any time!

Other than that, the Ryans are about to take a trip to Sedona, AZ.  Looking forward to some sunshine, warmth, healthy air and gorgeous vistas! Whew...what a winter!

The scoop from here

Here's what's happenin' in my part of the neighborhood...

Molly is in India learning all about yoga, anatomy, the connection between body and big S, little s spirit, and the ins-and-outs of building a yoga business.

I'm gearing up for grades to go out next week.

Pete is playing outdoor soccer on our very first travel team...after all these years!

Jamie's busy as usual.

How are Uncles Gary and Jim?

For that matter, what's up and interesting with the rest of the family?  Anybody read anything interesting lately?  Anybody got any great suggestions for eateries in Sedona, AZ?  Anyone want to get together this summer for a dip in the lake?

Let me know!

PS  I love Mary's name!  You got it all goin' on, girl!

Hello Mundses,



I appreciate your regular invitations to blog. Just so you know... I'm not much into it.



I'm mostly an introverted person who likes to rant and rave to myself (and others within hearing distance) about politics, the state of the economy, why our society is so lost / immoral, and most of all that I will NEVER catch up with all my good intentions in life.



So, I wouldn't be much fun to read anyhow.



I welcome your messages to my real email (which Liz has) - if you really want to get ahold of me. I used an old Google account to log in - the email at aamodtcompanies is no longer functioning.



Everyday details - though significant to us individually - are too much info for me to track, except for my nearest-dearest loved ones. (e.g. my wife Sonya and my son Randy.)



I mean, does it really matter to the world if I went out this AM and cut a trailer load of hickory and ironwood to stoke our woodstove? Or that I had venison burritos for lunch? I think not.

Today I am assisting Randy in applying for financial aid at the couple colleges he is focusing on (he's a HS senior). Now there's enough info exchange, details and deadlines to keep a person busy, forever...

Maybe after he is moved away from home, and working on his PhD in aeronautical engineering, I'll go out and get myself a "real job".

So if it's all the same to you, I probably won't be a regular on the Munds Only blog, fine idea though it is (for extraverts at least).

I'll write again in a year or so! Wah-wha-wha... have a nice day!

John

diary entry

Dear Diary,

This has been a ridiculous week, what with the funeral, a 2-hour school delay, another 2-hour school delay turned snow day, a 3 hours curriculum mapping session with my "team," a trip to Loveland for a gardening seminar, Molly leaving for India, choir recording sessions, Mom-Son dance and a jazz concert.  I should mention that last weekend I spent 4 hours with my team preparing for the meeting, and at least 4 hours last weekend and 4 hours yesterday (yay, snow day) doing lesson plans and objectives.

Today was the gardening seminar.  I go to Loveland (2 hours south of here) to Granny's Garden because it is an awesome school garden and "Granny" aka Roberta Paulo is willing to share her knowledge.  The seminar started at 9:00 this morning.  I drove the sun up, which was good.

I thought about being too busy, or as the expression goes, "being spread too thin," so I started to list the things that I love and would not give up.  In fact, I would rather sing, be on water, listen to music, grow a great garden, write, be healthy and strong, and take a walk in the woods.

When I came home, the dishes weren't done.

Love, Liz

Insight From A Funeral

My grandfather passed way this January and I found myself morning the loss of an opportunity more than the loss of a person. When I was 10 my father passed away and since then I had little contact with his family. I never felt very upset, or that I was missing out on anything until the birth of my daughter two years ago. This great event in my life has left me wondering what my legacy will be and what my father's legacy should be. So I booked a flight to Cleveland and went to this funeral, and what I discovered was much greater than I had hoped.

It was an odd feeling seeing people who had a strong resemblance to my father. I felt as if I was staring into a face I haven't seen in 23 years. While at the reception following the funeral I meet so many people that I had only heard about. I saw traits in my relatives that I could see in myself and my siblings. It was nice to reconnect.

While it was nice to have this connection, I still feel the same about my childhood. I am very grateful to my mother (Stacie Mund-Sweeney) and all the hard work she put into making sure that we felt loved. I am also proud to be a member of the Mund family. My Nana, Aunts and their families welcomed my siblings and I into their homes during the summers and helped fill the gaps in my heart that where left by the passing of my father, and to them I say Thank You.

Love Always

Melissa Mathews

Children

My daughter has wanderlust, and she is able to satisfy it in a way that makes me wish I was 22 again.  Today she is in New Orleans, playing in the "carnival" before-mardi gras atmosphere that is flowing right now.  The pictures should make my skin crawl, but she is young and her boyfriend is large (albeit dressed like a blondie).

Molly's wanderlust will take her to India next week; it is a bit of a leap from New Orleans.  Molly will be attending a "yoga academy" in Goa (sp?) for one month.  She has purpose.  She has a plan, but my heart and my fear and my mama's eye focuses on Cape Town just a few years ago.  She was so far away and so unhappy.

Fast forward to this summer:  Molly has accepted a position with a summer service-learning camp out of North Carolina that will go to South Africa.  Actually, I am excited for her to participate in this opportunity because she will be able to face her past from a new angle.  I think and hope that Africa will take on a new face this time.

On another note:

I don't need to establish the connection, but there is one; we know the family in more than one way.  Please pray for the DiMichaelangelo family, whose daughter took her own life on Friday morning.  Her brothers, Gian, Sonny and Armando survive her.

I cannot think of it at all without thinking of her mom.  Without thinking of her bedroom.  Without thinking of going to church on Sunday morning with the family.  Without thinking of making the grocery list.

I pray for Annette and Laury, her parents, and for any parent who must ask questions about the whereabouts and torments of their children.

Books

Even though I am in graduate school working towards at PhD, I try really hard to find time to read for pleasure. Mike and I don't have cable and don't watch a lot of television, though I am watching "Bones" Thursday nights on Fox. I like it. Otherwise, I don't watch tv very often. I just finished a book called "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro. Oh my goodness, it is very good and thought provoking, but quite sad as well. I really can't say much because it is difficult to describe without giving away a lot of information. They made a movie based on the book that came out last year, but I have yet to see it.

Melissa started me on a series by Diana Gabaldon usually called the Outlander series. It is fantastical, but a good read as the author is very good at researching what she is going to write about. I recommend it entirely.

While in Chile, I finished a book by Barbara Kingsolver called "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" about a year of eating locally. During the fresh veggie months, Mike and I buy our produce from a CSA (community sponsored agriculture). We really like it and have been exposed to different veggies that we hadn't had before. Like the delicata squash which is super yummy. This book is really good at informing the reader of the routes possible toward eating more locally, and organically if possible. I only wish I had the room to buy local meats.

Anyone have any good book ideas? I'm always on the lookout for good reads.

If you want to keep up to date with other Munds, be sure to subscribe on Google Reader or whatever reader you use to get your RSS feeds. I like Google reader because I use Gmail a lot for school. I think Yahoo has a reader option as well. Since you read the blog, you already have a google account and can get the reader very easily.

Connections

It is a strange discovery.  Molly is dating the son of one of the partners from Schwartz, Shapiro, Jamie's first employer in Columbus.  Tom Geer was tall, and his wife had a cool name, Tess.  That's about all I remember about them.  Fast forward to February 2011, Molly has been dating Charlie since last summer - and she went to high school with him - we had no idea there was a link.  Now we are back-tracking to remember the faces and the conversations and the visits to Dad's office, on missions to collect paperclips and rubberbands.  Was Charlie there with his dad?  Did I know Charlie when...?

I am connected to a wonderful group of women at my workplace.  I teach, as most of you know, at a Catholic grade school.  My teacher friends make this cradle Catholic - 16 years of Catholic education - feel like a newbie.  Did you know that Catholic moms group together to share recipes?  Check out "Bless Us, O Lord."  I've provided the link.  The author is a mom at our school.

John Lenarz and I have connected on email this week.  And Lisa facebooked me!  Yes, the connections are taking place.

John reports that the Lenarz sibs are busy settling Uncle Jim into his apartment after his release from the hospital.  They are having to inject some of his meds, but that's ok with them as the agreement to do so allowed Uncle Jim to come home.  Uncle Jim, in the meantime, is happy and energized at home.  Love you, Uncle Jim.  My prayers are for you and your awesome family!

Liz

More family news

Again, great to hear from Dawn!

Mom/Nana/Ardyse called this week, as John Lenarz had called with news about Uncle Jim.  Evidently Uncle Jim had a health issue during this week which ended with a surgery on his intestine.  Unfortunately, he had a large chunk of his inards removed, which leaves him with an exterior bag to deal with.  The Lenarz kids are discussing his at home care - schedules, man-power, etc.  Sounds like a good place to focus some prayers.

As for the Ryans, we are shoveling the snow off of the ice.  Molly, Charlie and I took a hike in a metro park yesterday.  It turned out to be a somewhat silly idea, what with hills and remains of an ice storm.  Even the park volunteers were walking the roadways rather than the trails!  We looked so rugged, and we followed it up with a hearty helping of lasagna and wine.  Of course.

Until the next adventure...

Liz

P.S.  Cannot seem to light a fire under other family members.  Maybe you guys would have some success.

Snow

Buffalo is supposed to get a significant amount of snow tomorrow. A lot of schools pre-emptively closed, including UB. I can't say that I mind because I haven't had a snow day since high school. I also have a considerable amount of stuff to catch up on. Other than the weather, things are going well here. Mike is working at Luvata, a copper/brass production company. He is currently a lab tech but hopes to learn more with time and move up. He is crazy, as usually, and generally rides his bike to work. He probably won't tomorrow. He is thinking about going back to school, but hasn't decided yet.
As for me, I got back from 3 weeks of field work in Chile on 24 January. Talk about epic travels. Getting from our field area to Buffalo took 2 days: overnight bus ride, 8 hour flight to Miami, customs, waiting, 3 hour flight to LaGuardia, waiting, 1.5 hour flight to Toronto, waiting, 2 hour drive to Buffalo. At the US/Canada border, our van was x-rayed because we brought samples back. I've never experienced that before. I've just been trying to catch up since getting back. I am a grader for the large intro geology class. That means I get to read ~300 homework assignments every week. Oddly enough, this is better than interacting with students right now. I'm not teaching a lab, which is good because I need my day time hours to commit toward two classes I am taking and moving forward with my research. The research...ugh. It has been off and on because of very limited funding. Only when I got the fellowship with the Smithsonian last summer was I able to collect the data I need to test my hypothesis. It turns out I need to collect more precise data with a more expensive instrument. Go figure. My friends and I are considering playing the lottery to fund our advanced degrees :P. While I was very lucky to go back to the field and collect more sample and generally visit an awesome country, I have no money to do the analysis at this point. Any ideas? Who wants to do a bake sale?
As you know, my paternal grandfather died about two weeks ago. I was lucky to see him at the wedding. I was also very fortunate to meet an entire branch of family that I only knew of vaguely. The tough part will be to develop meaningful relationships with them. I have a hard time with that, even with people I keep in relatively good touch with.
By the way, this is a great idea!

Updates

Yay Dawn!!  Glad to see that you've blogged-on.

The Ryans have just returned from a NY get-away weekend with the Diehards.  We were able to stay at Beck and Bill's family condo at the top of the black diamonds.  It was really awesome to be able to strap on the skis,scoot out a few feet, and shoosh on down!  The lift would bring us right to the back door.  PERFECT!  Plus, it snowed like crazy on Saturday, so all was well.

Pete and Ross skiied their brains out.  They skied at least 7 hours on Saturday and 4 hours on Sunday.  They had lots of time on the terrain parks and slopes.  Charlie took a two hour lesson on Saturday morning and then, amazingly, kept up with the rest of us for the rest of the weekend!  Molly looked like she never missed a beat.  Skis like a beauty queen.  Jamie and Nancy Z-Spicuzza hit the tubing hill.  Hilarious stories about "rolling out" at the top.  (???)

Hope everyone had a safe and happy weekend.  No school for me today!  Love those ice storms.

hello all

Returning to Ohio in the AM I will be attending the funeral of Patrick Sweeney Sr, Not the happiest of times but then again I will see mom

love to you all

Details

Hello Family!

Many have received an invite to "author" on this blog.  That means that you can add to the front page, like I am now.  If you choose to just "comment," then your comments are added to the post, are hidden from view, but can be accessed by clicking on "read comments" or something like that.

This blog site is fairly simple, but it does take some navigating practice.  Once you have logged in, you will find a "New Post" button near the top right hand corner.  This is the link to the posting page.

Here's my advice.  Just keep poking around.  You'll get it!

Today is just the beginning!

Why not blog, relatives of mine? Here is the idea...This is a place for us to share our days, our thoughts, our special events, our coffee breaks. It is a shame to miss this opportunity to keep in touch (and look really cool in front of our kids!), so join in! Can't wait to hear from you and to share with you... Liz