We say goodbye..

To Ann Keele Ellis:

Juliah Ann Keele Ellis

Juliah Ann Keele Ellis, 81, went to meet Jesus on Friday January 24, 2020 at the Methodist Hospital in San Antonio , TX.

She was born February 6, 1938, in Ballinger, Tx to Audie Randle Keele and Ela Erma Wyche Keele. She moved to Bronte in 1978 and made this her home. She was a cosmetologist, stay at home mother and enjoyed sewing/quilting. She was a Baptist.

Survivors include her two daughters, Brenda Ellis of Bronte and Vicki Moore of Midland. Grandchildren: Skyler Ellis-York of Ft. Worth, Kaitlin Moore, Evan Ferguson and Kevin Parks all of Bronte. Great Grandchildren: Gracyn Nicole Bishop and Paige Riley Bishop of Bronte. Sisters Lola Jones of Bronte, Louise Newman of Kerville, and Sue Jones of Grosebeck. Numerous Nieces and Nephews.

She was loved and adored by many and everybody who crossed her path became family. She had a heart of gold and a smile that could brighten up any room. She was an amazing Mother, Grandmother, Sister, Aunt and Friend. She may be gone, never forgotten and her spirit will live on through every heart she touched.

There will be visitation Wednesday, January 29, 2020, from 5 pm-7 pm at Shaffer Funeral Home in Bronte, Texas. Services will be Thursday January 30, 2020 at 10 am at First Baptist Church in Bronte. Services are under the direction of Shaffer Funeral Home.She will be laid to rest at Fairview Cemetery in Bronte.

Online condolences can be made at www.shafferpioneer.com

Ann at the 50th BHS Class Reunion

RIP, Ann.

Love and Peace,

Marilyn

HOLIDAY NEWS AND UPDATES

I haven't written here in a long while. Mostly, due to the events happening in our country politically. They put a damper on my enthusiasm for the holidays, and for writing anything other than emails and Christmas cards.

Thanksgiving was held at my daughter Carajean's home on Lake Travis. Her daughter Ashlyn came from OKC with her cat, Olive. Olive had recently undergone surgery and needed medication a couple of times a day. Carajean's dad, BOB BURTON and his wife Ann were also there. Ann is highly allergic to cats, so I volunteered to keep Olive over here. I sent my sweet potato/apple casserole (which I'm now discovering very few in their family like sweet potatoes), was glad I didn't have to lug an oxygen tank over, and was delighted to get plates full of all the turkey and trimmings and desserts brought to me!  Meanwhile, Olive made herself at home.  She explored most everything she could jump on, and even slept on my bed briefly. I held my breath as she decided to check out my totem table (this is a little blurry). I really enjoyed this furry little companion! However I missed the domino games with the BURTONS.

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DENNY HILL usually spends the Christmas and New Year's holidays in Warsaw, so I asked if he planned to do so again this year. As usual, I got what I asked for -- interesting news from DENNY.

"Marilyn, you asked if I was spending Christmas with some Polish family?  

"Christmas in Poland lasts effectively for 3 days:
  24th is Vigilia
  25th is first day of Christmas
  26th is second day of Christmas

"So, for example, tonight, the 24th, I am invited to spend Vigilia with Aleksander Wysochi(*)...it will be the 3rd consecutive time I have spent Vigilia with him. He cooks a special dinner for us, which consists of a number of courses, starting with the mandatory shot of cold vodka, before the special marinated herring with his 7 spices which he has prepared 3-days before...then a soup most likely with mushrooms and small pierogi...likely a cup of borsch, then of course the carp, salad...and who knows what (there have to be 12 dishes...for the 12 disciples)...and one empty place setting for the unexpected guest...that is their tradition, even if you are an atheist.

(Me: I think most of us will agree that we prefer the traditional holiday dinner of turkey - or bird of some kind - and all the accompanying side dishes like dressing, mashed potatoes, and even green bean casserole! I freaked at the idea of carp!)

"Thankfully on the 25th I have a day to recover from the Vigilia. Then on the 26th it begins all over again, with a more or less normal Christmas feast, and I am invited to the Nurowski's along with the Trautmanns. Ewa and Kasia, Pawel's wife and daughter are already working on it. 

"There is a little interval to rest up to get ready to survive New Year's eve, but I will cross that bridge when I come to it. (Thankfully, if you recover from New Year's eve, then it sort of is over, January 6 being the next time to worry.)

"(*) He lives a few blocks down the street from me. Aleksander is a 67-year-old Polish actor, mostly on stage, but also in some movies. Now he is retired from acting, and makes his living by sometimes dubbing movies or computer games, but actually has his own business training people in the business environment who need to become better at presenting themselves or their products. He uses his stage acting skills to teach them how to get their message across. Interesting and nice guy, who helps me with my Polish by speaking very carefully and not too fast, so I can understand."

DENNY later told me he spent an enjoyable New Year's Day watching commercial-free concerts of classical music and operatic tributes to Pavaroti on Polish TV. He neglected to say how he survived New Year's Eve.

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JUNE HASH CURRY Family - Christmas '19

JUNE (the lovely silver-haired lady in the front row) celebrated Christmas with her family. Even sons Kevin and Michael, who have been living in Mexico for the past year. Kevin was kind enough to write an article last year about their experiences moving there for my other blog: "To Take or Not to Take". 

As some of you may know, JUNE has experienced back pain for many years, having surgery and many attempts by doctors to relieve the pain with no success. In December she wrote the following regarding a new device her doctor wanted to try:

"I have such good news concerning the device for my back. I am scheduled to have the wires inserted for the testing part of the procedure done on New Year's Eve. Then after 8-days of seeing and feeling whether or not this device will help my spine with the enormous pain relief I need from it, I will either go back for the full surgical procedure of installation, or we will know after the testing whether or not to take out the wires and call it a no-go. If this doesn’t work I will have to go back to the last surgeon and have more drastic surgery further up my spine, which he doesn’t want to do at my age and I really do not want to have." 

This past Saturday I asked her how it was working, and was delighted to get this: "I am nicely wired up and in the fifth day of testing the device. It is working beautifully and I cannot wait for the permanent surgical procedure."

Please keep JUNE in your thoughts and prayers that this is the relief she needs so badly. There might be some of you who experience back pain as well, and therefore, will benefit from knowing about JUNE's new device.

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Not everyone had the best of times during the recent holidays. A few days ago, NANCY THOMPSON BAKER called me and told me she had 14 family members for Christmas dinner. She then went on to tell me that since then, her and Jake's son Russ and his wife Kathy had a house fire that destroyed or damaged nearly all of their belongings. What a blessing no one was hurt. Thankfully, they had rental insurance. In the meantime, they are staying in a motel and wearing temporary clothing NANCY and daughter Phyllis picked up for them at Goodwill.

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While we all have counted our blessings in recent weeks, we must turn our attention and our prayers to the horrific wildfires going on in Australia. The devastation, loss of lives, homes, and wildlife should make us more and more aware of climate change; and urge our lawmakers to pay attention and do something in the way of laws or regulations to help the worldwide effort to curb it.

Our prayers must also be continuous for the thousands of U.S. military who are being sent to the Middle East to join others in protection against the terrorist organizations and the Iranian government's threats due to the recent attack carried out against their top General by our current president and his administration. 

May God bless us all in this new decade.

Peace and love,

Marilyn

WEATHER, ANTELOPE, ELK, AND GOOD ITALIAN FOOD AND WINE

Another "hodgepodge" of information from the BHS Class of '57.

To try to keep up with the weather across the U.S. lately is a big job (almost as hard as keeping up with politics!) I think of people - classmates, friends, and relatives who might be in the line of fire. (Pun intended.) Most of my family and friends on the West coast have moved East, but I remembered ROBERT HOLLIS and his family still live in California. Because of the deadly wildfires, I reached out to him, and received a welcome reply:

          "The closest wildfires to us (we live five miles from Disneyland) are about 75-miles away from us. We have only had hot winds and 95+ degree weather at our house. All is well with the Hollises. I am getting along walking more carefully with a cane, but the heart doctor says he will see me again in six months. [I wonder if he (Doctor) alerted the Lord that he expects me to live at least that long.] Take care. Enjoy your changing weather and thanks again for checking." BOB 

When I received that email, I asked BOB if I had missed something regarding his health. He responded thus:

"2002 heart problem. Three stents and a pacemaker. My second pacemaker was installed in 2009. I'm still upright and smiling...and riding a stationary bike 30-minutes a day--at least five days a week. Keep smiling, Marilyn. You are doing a good job with the class of '57 info."  I am happy that BOB is doing well healthwise, and that they are not near the terrible wildfires.

In regards to last month's post about the animals visiting DENNY's yard in Port Jefferson, NEIL BROUSSARD sent the following:

"Saw the pictures DENNY sent of his deer. Thought you might like to see what we have here in San Marcos. (Texas) These are more rare than albinos. They are not found in most places but we do have a few here. Haven’t gotten a picture of the Buck yet."

(This makes me wonder how on earth they see a "white tail".)

Then this morning, NEIL sent the following:

"I took it (the above photo) in my back yard. Wish I could get a picture of the Buck, but he’s too skittish. I have about fifteen or so show up in my yard. Here’s the only shot I got of the Buck. (Is this a black whitetail, too? He's a beauty.)  

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My son Matthew recently sent me news of antelopes (tan-and-white colored creatures with spiraling horns also known as blackbucks) spotted in the Austin area. This was taken in Lakeway, which also has deer roaming throughout the neighborhoods. They have become such a nuisance one can be fined a hefty amount for feeding them. It's not unusual to have a deer cross the highway in front of you. Officials believe the antelope (there are many) have escaped from a Hill Country exotic animal ranch.

(Blackbuck Antelope by David De Gendt for KXAN)

I found a cute blog written about the "wildlife" in this part of Texas. She has taken photos of the antelope as well. She is not a native Texan. A City Girl in Texas

And then there was this: "There is a large herd of wild elk in South Austin near Circle C Ranch. Yes, you heard correct: ELK. They have been out there for many years. They live in the Greenbelt near the golf course." A new toll road has gone in near there, and folks are warned -- even signs posted -- that elk may be on the road. I was surprised to hear that elk are native to Texas!

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I remarked in my last post that I hope DENNY HILL makes it back to the U.S. okay. Obviously, he did. And before he left Rome he sent me the following review of his week there.

"I was rather surprised when I realized that it has been 10 years since I was last in Rome! (On my last sabbatical in 2009.) Of course it is the "eternal city", so in some sense nothing has changed.

"On the other hand, I have noticed some significant changes: for example Termini (the main train station) has been modernized, and now there are many surveilance cameras, more police, and the pickpockets and scam artists, who were preying on tourists seem to have disappeared. Likewise those thieves who stole your luggage in the train from Leonardo da Vinci to Termini are gone...probably due to having cameras in the Leonardo Express, and now you have to pass a security check before getting on the train, and show your ticket.

"However, the strikes, general chaos, and struggle to live here remain in place.

"About food: as we know there are only two cities in all of Italy where you can pay high prices and get bad food...Rome and Venice. So since my hotel is only two short blocks from Termini, I was expecting to be ripped off by falling into tourist trap-type restaurants. But just around the corner from my hotel, only one and a half blocks from Termini, I found a small restaurant, claiming to serve 'local food', and went there almost every night. It is 'La Lvpa', Via Marghera 37/39. Very friendly atmosphere and Italians eating there. Really good food and wine at not so terrible prices.

"It made me wonder why it is that the exact same cannonical Italian dish is so much better here than the **** you get in the US, with the same name, passing as Italian food. Aside from the simplicity, which is the key to Italian food, my conclusion is that it is the liberal amount of good olive oil. For example a scalopine al limone which I just ate, after a primo of a true spaghetti alla carbonara was amazing.

"Hope to survive my Alitalia flight back."...Best, DENNY

Glad you did, DENNY. And thanks for the review for those who may be planning a trip to Rome!

Peace, love, and good eats,
Marilyn

HODGEPODGE

Fall has officially arrived, although until yesterday, here in Austin you would never believe it. This year was the hottest ever in the history of Austin.

"We average about 14 100-degree days per year (period of record dating back to 1898), but more recently, that number has been much higher. The average over the last 30 years (1989-2018) is 27 days of triple digit heat. The most ever (90) happened in 2011. Last year, we had 52." (CBS Austin)

I haven't found the total number of 100 degree days yet, but it is record-breaking. The month of October thus far:

Sun

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

9/29

Actual Temp

98°

77°

Hist. Avg.

87°/65°

9/30

Actual Temp

99°

80°

Hist. Avg.

86°/65°

1

Actual Temp

99°

78°

Hist. Avg.

86°/65°

2

Actual Temp

98°

77°

Hist. Avg.

86°/64°

3

Actual Temp

97°

75°

Hist. Avg.

86°/64°

4

Actual Temp

96°

75°

Hist. Avg.

85°/64°

5

Actual Temp

97°

72°

Hist. Avg.

85°/64°

6

Actual Temp

99°

72°

Hist. Avg.

85°/63°

7

Actual Temp

85°

68°

Hist. Avg.

84°/63°

8

Actual Temp

87°

63°

Hist. Avg.

84°/63°

9

Actual Temp

96°

69°

Hist. Avg.

84°/62°

10

Actual Temp

99°

78°

Hist. Avg.

84°/62°

11

Actual Temp

82°

47°

Hist. Avg.

83°/62°

12

Actual Temp

65°

54°

Hist. Avg.

83°/62°

13

Actual Temp

82°

56°

Hist. Avg.

83°/61°

14

Actual Temp

89°

71°

Hist. Avg.

82°/61°

15

Actual Temp

96°

74°

Hist. Avg.

82°/61°

16

Actual Temp

76°

56°

Hist. Avg.

82°/61°

17

Actual Temp

77°

54°

Hist. Avg.

82°/60°

18

Actual Temp

85°

51°

Hist. Avg.

81°/60°

19

Actual Temp

96°

66°

Hist. Avg.

81°/60°

20

Actual Temp

95°

65°

Hist. Avg.

81°/60°

21

Actual Temp

82°

63°

Hist. Avg.

80°/59°

22

Actual Temp

83°

50°

Hist. Avg.

80°/59°

23

Actual Temp

87°

54°

Hist. Avg.

80°/59°

24

Actual Temp

86°

49°

Hist. Avg.

80°/58°

25

Actual Temp

59°

44°

Hist. Avg.

79°/58°

Can you believe the heat? Although yesterday was so cool, I actually had to put the furnace on, today it will be 70 degrees and tomorrow 80. And they keep saying "there's no such thing as climate change". I thought Arizona was hot. I remember folks telling me, "at least it's a dry heat!" Unfortunately, we cannot say that about Austin.

I heard from GENE ROUTH. He sent the following message:

"Woke up this morning (Thursday) to 10 inches of snow. Fall/Winter is definitely here. Hope this finds everyone doing OK. See you next year, God willing."  GENE and Lenna

GENE also sent the following beautiful snow scenes at their home:

Beautiful to look at, but I'm glad you don't have to drive anywhere in all that snow. Bet the mountains of Colorado are treacherous as well.

The tornadoes that hit the Dallas/Ft Worth area and moved north into Oklahoma last week missed BOB BURTON's place in Flower Mound. JUNE HASH CURRY said the storm didn't do any damage to their home in Edmond, Oklahoma, but gave them much-needed rain. It also gave us two (2) inches of rain here in Austin. We've had such a drought of late, even the pounding on my metal roof was a welcome sound and I slept like a baby. 

Does anyone remember the snow days in Ballinger? NANCY THOMPSON BAKER said she didn't remember guys riding in a car down the park hill. They would pull an old car hood behind them with someone foolish enough to ride on it like a sled! I remember making them let me out of the car before they began that dangerous trek downhill. Also, does anyone remember riding on icy country roads on those snow days? At one time someone in the back seat had a rifle - probably a 22 caliber. The car slid off the road into a small ditch, and the rifle went off, tearing a hole in the back of a seat. It's a wonder no one was seriously injured or killed during those foolish rides. (I sure wish I still had that "pea coat".)

Nancy sent the following a couple of weeks back: "I haven't told you about our new dog named BOZO. She was found out on a country road starving.... you could count her ribs. She makes a good companion for BRANDY (another rescue dog) and our cat, BEARCAT - continuing the "B" names. BOZO escapes every chance she gets and we have chased her down MANY times. She's a Chiweenie, small and not well-behaved. She learned how to escape the yard gates quickly, and sneaks out every time I go outside."

I found this online and NANCY said "That's an exact picture of BOZO except she is dark brown and has a pink collar":

DENNY HILL has been in Rome the past week. I got a late answer to my email last night asking him what kind of plane he was flying on. (At one time he was going on one of the Boeing 737s that have been recalled. He didn't give me the type of plane, but the airline he's traveling on was on strike all day yesterday!): "Alitalia...direct flight from JFK to Rome. Meeting over today, gave my talk, and now have one day, Saturday, to walk around.  Fly back on Sunday, and teach two courses on Monday."   Busy guy!

As you can see, I took up a lot of space on some things (on weather) that may not be too interesting. I really would like to hear from more of you. The good, the bad, the stuff in need of prayer work! Unless some of us plan on living to the ripe old age of 100, we may not be around too many more years to share our news.

Peace, love, and good health,

Marilyn