New Partnerships!

November 8, 2014 - New Partnerships!

So, Shirley and I returned home and Fall activities got underway.  Shirley was teaching and enjoying her fabulous granddaughter, Madison Drew, while I was getting ready for the wedding of Caroline and Ryan!  Caroline and Ryan have been friends for many years and that friendship blossomed into a grand love and desire to journey life together.  I am so happy to have Ryan for a son-in-law!

August and September were full of last minute renovations in Taber House including ceiling fans, new chandeliers, knobs on the cabinets in the house, final touches on the new island in the kitchen, and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.  Don't ask me WHY Taber House needed new ceiling fans and new chandeliers BEFORE the wedding.  It just did!!!



October brought the hosting of the Bridal Tea here at Taber House and Joanna and Ryan's sister, Jenni, did an unbelievable job hosting almost 40 women at a sit-down tea in the back yard.  Shirley created a wonderful cookbook for celebrate their wedding by combining recipes from friends and family all over the United States.  A CD copy of the cookbook was given to all the contributors and participants!  A good time was had by all!

A great "cake" created by her Auntie Joyce for the tea!

One of the tea tables!

A great apron fabricated with her grandmothers' recipes and created by her sister, Joanna.

November brought the wedding and even more fabulous events!    The ceremony was held at First United Methodist Church and officiated by our good family friend, Rev. Faith Whitmore.  Caroline designed the tulle canopy in the 1925 sanctuary (the building is almost 100 years old but the congregation dates to 1849!). 

My favorite picture!  Her gown was by Zac Posen....her veil was stunning!  Sanctuary, First United Methodist Church.

Her "Auntie Joyce" and I created Dorothy's red shoes for her out of her best single girl heels!  Goodbye, single life!

Love this picture!  Starting out their life in their favorite pew in the church!

The fabulous Taber Women!

 Joanna sang "Because" which has been sung over the years at many Harrison weddings.

A fun dinner dance was held at The DoubleTree Hotel.

Dennis' prayer that he wrote in Berkeley at Pacific School of Religion. Caroline and Ryan used it as the blessing at their reception before dinner.

And...their official wedding portrait!

AND, this picture just happened this week!  The top photo shows Burgis and Rosa Mae on their honeymoon in the Spring of 1942 and the bottom photo is Caroline and Ryan --- Yosemite National Park.  See Glacier Point and the waterfall in each picture?  Amazing....73 years apart.




NOW -- we can tell you about the Cruise!  We had really intended to post while on the ship, Carnival Magic, but the very first day that we attempted my 2012 iPad broke!  It seemed like a sign to enjoy the cruise and post when we got home.  We'll do better on our next adventure which is in the mountains of Idaho at the end of May!  It's going to be a doozy!

Catching Up....Remembering a Great Man

Maundy Thursday, April 2, 2015

This might be the longest we have gone without a post but there are good reasons: life, life, life, life as our little brother likes to say!

Our trip last July, 2014 took an unexpected turn as I was called to my father-in-law's bedside in Lowell, Kansas to be with him on his journey home.  The experience was amazing and my sweet sister came to be with me the last few days.

Burgis was such an amazing man --- father, husband, special friend, grandfather, father-in-law, great-grandfather, mentor, spiritual guide and community leader!

He served in WWII in Northern Italy and the Caribbean, had a long career with B. F. Goodrich in Miami, OK and listened to God's call to service in the Kansas Yearly Meeting of Friends (Quakers) and in his local meeting, Lowell Friends Church.  He retired with just as much panache by volunteering for many years with Meals on Wheels, the Thrift Store, the Rural Water District, and as community board member spearheading the building of a wonderful skilled nursing center where he later was a proud resident.

His life was not without difficulty.  His beloved wife, Rosa Mae, passed away after a short illness in August, 2004, his daughter, Pattie, died after a valiant battle with breast cancer in 2008, and his son died after a 17 month illness with prostate cancer in April, 2010.  He was a hero to many for his courage during these losses and his bright and shining testimony to God's perfect timing and love.

Burgis left this life on Sunday, July 27, at the age of 94 1/2 wordlessly speaking to those in Heaven whose faces were shining before him and welcoming him home.

It was was my joy and honor to care for his well-being in the last few years of his life.  His legacy encompasses his son-in-law Duane, his daughter-in-law Kay, six grandchildren, their spouses and many great-grandchildren as well as a host of relatives and friends influenced by this gentle man's life.

Time for School

Repainted this table and chairs this summer.

Kay and I got to Wichita on the afternoon of July 22nd and Kay left the morning of July 23rd for Lowell, Kansas to help her father-in-law. I will let her share about this important visit. I will join her on Saturday before we continue our journey together.

World Map on the ceiling

While I was in Wichita this week I worked on my classroom for the new school year which begins soon after our trip ends in August. Here are some pictures from my room. I am ready to begin year 37 of teaching! Wow, where do the years go!

Pratt, Kansas

Kay and I left Denver on Monday July 21st with a few tears. After a day of winding through Colorado and Kansas we arrived in Pratt, Kansas for dinner with our brothers and their lovely wives. A great meal was had at Cafe D'est where nephew Matt and Lindsay joined us to visit. After dinner we enjoyed visiting at the Comfort Inn and Suites for several hours sharing about " Life, Life, Life, Life" as brother Lynn always says. On Tuesday, July 22nd, Lynn's birthday we met at Medicine Lodge where Lynn is working on the hospital there and received a wonderful tour from the Hospital Administrator Kevin. We left after lunch promising to meet again in 10 days in Topeka.

On the road again

Hello from Denver, Colorado!

Kay and I left Vegas on Thursday morning and headed to Colorado via Arizona and Utah. A long day of travel through some amazing venues ended when we arrived for the night in Grand Junction. After a short night we left early for a trip through the Rocky Mountains and our final destination of Denver! My husband Paul had driven in from Wichita and son Drew had flown in from Monterey for the weekend to visit Kendra, Josiah and Madison Drew! Of course the first request was to hold Madison and then naps were in order for almost everyone. After a grilled supper, thanks Josiah, we visited until it was time for us all to "Sleep Like A Baby"

Viva Las Vegas!

 Tuesday July 15 The first task of the day was to mail the cookbook letters!  WOW – that was a big relief to both Kay and I.  We dropped it in on Tuesday morning and had our first response on Wednesday evening via e-mail from Reg and Anne Gomes who live in Oakland, California!  They sent us a great picture as well as a spectacular recipe!  I’m sure they win a prize but not sure what it is!

Reg and Anne

The travel from Monterey was filled with visual delights of California agriculture with Kay providing armchair commentary.  She admitted that after only two years of retirement she could name all the trees but she did point out Driscoll berries and had insights on the growing and packing of many of the crops.  Seeing the farmworkers harvesting strawberries made me aware of the labor intensive requirement that brings fresh food to my table.  

From cool Monterey with a morning temperature of 54, we entered the California desert with a temperature of 112!  We arrived around 6:00 and settled into our Treasure Island hotel room on the 19th floor which had a wonderful view of the Strip without having to walk outside in the heat. As Kay was looking at the Strip she realized that she hadn’t been there for 24 years!

  

 She had been to the Las Vegas airport many times for flight connections and meetings but not to the strip since she and Dennis participated in the Desert Southwest Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in 1990.  At that time they stayed in dorm rooms at University of Nevada at Las Vegas but the Bishop’s Banquet was held at one of the casinos where she remembers clergy playing the slot machines as they were in line for the buffet– hmmmmm.  

Our task that evening was to eat at the The Buffet at Treasure Island where we dined on gnocchi prepared to our specifications and a variety of decadent desserts.  We kept watching for ACTE II on America’s Got Talent that night but missed the first twenty minutes of the show.  Don’t forget to watch the week of July 21st to find out if they go to the live shows.  (Note from Kay: ACTE II is an opera duo with a dear friend, Ashley Renee Watkins.  Both Ashley and Olanna were voice students at The University of Oklahoma with Joanna.)

Wednesday – July 16

Wednesday morning brought warm sunshine and a day of shopping.  Our first adventure was to Popcorn Girl.  This small little store was featured on Food Network and has become a favorite of the Meissner family on their frequent trips to Las Vegas.  From dill pickle to spicy hot wings to lemon meringue pie, the flavors continue to amaze the taste buds.  After sampling different types we settled on Denver style (white cheddar and carmel corn) and a variety of small sample bags for the Meissner reunion coming up in Denver.  

A roundabout car trip took us to Las Vegas’ Premium Outlets where the next few hours found us hunting and gathering.  With coupons in hand (thank you, AAA) we perused shops finding more clothes for Madison (Kendra, get another closet ready.), a Germany World Cup jersey for Drew and oh, yes, themed clothes for the sisters.  Of course we always shop at Dress Barn and they should really be sponsoring our travel.  The salesclerk recognized our Dress Barn outfits when we walked in!

After a brief stop at Whole Foods for Linner (lunch and dinner) and The Container Store so we would have matching Tea Stands.  We found our way back to Treasure Island for a great performance of Cirque du Soleil’s Mystere .  While this was my fourth viewing since 1995, it was Kay’s first experience of a live Cirque show. Kay was only nervous during one section when the aerialist was employing a ribbon high in the air and bending her knees at all kinds of angles!  All Harrison girls’ knees “lock”  when they bend at certain angles and Kay was afraid they were going to make her come on stage and participate!   Silly sister!

After the show, no Vegas trip would be complete without playing the slot machines.  With Kay’s luck and Shirley’s support we managed to lose $20 in an hour.  We were up and we were down and only played the one cent and quarter slots.  We tried four machines and came back to our winning machine and lost the rest of the $20.  Kay was convinced that someone was going to sit down at “our” machine and win a fortune after we left --- but I convinced her it was time to go to bed!

Monterey in July is so Cool!

This is going to be a unique entry in our blog --- Shirley is driving so she is dictating her blog entry while Kay types it into Microsoft Word.  Kay loves doing this because she is adding her own editorial comments!  LOL

After a flurry of packing we headed out to cooler Monterey to arrive in the nick of time to watch the World Cup Finals – 
Germany vs. Argentina.
 Drew hosted us in his new, lovely apartment where anxious minutes were spent in overtime waiting for Germany to score and WIN! 

 To celebrate their win, we went to Fisherman’s Wharf with Drew and a friend and ate at Fisherman’s Grotto where I am told they have the best clam chowder ever! (Shirley loved our Grandfather Harrison so much that she inherited his allergy to shell fish.)  Our table overlooked the Monterey Bay where we watched seals, sea otters and a few humans in the cold water.  Our discussion was lively and the view was breathtaking.  

Kay had hunted and hunted for a hotel room that was less than $400/night since we were there in “high season”.  She convinced me that it would be ok to stay in something called a Ramada Ltd.  We were anxious to see what this was because we had images of pushing furniture against the door.  We were delighted to find a small, old motel with about twenty rooms.  Instead of a pool, it had a serenity garden where the Innkeeper urged us to relax in the Rubbermaid lounge chairs.  Boxed flowers adorned our parking space and we had a fireplace with a duralog ready to go!  By the way, we did push the chair in front of the door!

 

The next morning (Monday, July 14) I chose to experience the Monterey Bay Aquarium for the first time.  I got to experience what my husband, Paul, does scuba diving but I didn’t have to wear a wetsuit!  The highlights were the feeding times of the octopi and the sea otters with a relaxing lunch at Cindy’s Café where we shared fish and chips along with deconstructed tamales with mushrooms and cheese grits.  

Time was spent on Cannery Row where I purchased a Hairy Otter shirt for me to wear to school.  

The kids will love it.  I also found a fabulous coat for Madison Drew to show where her Uncle Drew lives.

Drew arrived to visit after a day of work at NorthstarBiofuels where he is the laboratory supervisor.  This is a startup company in Watsonville, California which has started producing biofuels from  recycled biologics including beef tallow, oils used in frying, etc.  He was proud to show us the crystal clear product they are now producing for sale.

Dinner was spent at Baan Thai in Seaside where we feasted on yellow curry, mussaman nua, an spicy fried rice.

It was hard to tell him goodbye but I knew I would see him on Friday in Denver when he will meet his namesake, Madison Drew, for the first time.