I am REALLY going to try and update this blog more often...once a week??? My nephew, Andy, is so good about updating his baby daughter Kayley’s story every day.

As my family and friends know, I am a conservative. I have voted Republican since LBJ. A couple of years ago, I became disenfranchised with President Bush and the Republicans in Congress. I was not happy with their spending, spending, spending, so I switched my voter registration to Independent or Party Undeclared. Arne has been behind Barack Obama all year. He attended a rally here in Phoenix last spring at which Obama spoke. He believes Obama is the leader we need in Washington. I haven’t been convinced. I listen to his speeches and while he talks about Change, I only hear more of the same, spend, spend, spend.Picking Joe Biden as his Vice-President enforced my thinking that there would be no change with this ticket. I was never excited about McCain as a candidate but last Friday morning I became very excited about this ticket. Sarah Palin excites me because she’s smart, articulate, energetic and non-Washington. I may even get involved in the campaign to elect McCain/Palin.

(Arne took this picture of me with Joe Biden in Oct.'07 when Joe was speaking at Iowa Wesleyan as a Presidential candidate. We had gone back for Homecoming.)

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August 11, I had outpatient surgery to remove a growth on my left eyeball. It was a long 10 days waiting for the biopsy results but the results were worth the wait as there was no evidence of cancer. Praise the Lord! My first week of recovery went pretty good but on Aug. 20, my eye was really painful. I went to the doctor the next day and it turns out that my eyelid was pulling up the new growth and the eye couldn’t heal. The doctor put in a contact, which was removed four days later. My eye is EXTREMELY sensitive to light. They both burn and I have to put drops in every 30 minutes. On Aug. 25, the doctor told me the eye was healing slowly and the sensitivity was part of the healing process. I don’t go back to the doctor until Sept. 9. I’m not a patient person anyway and this is really testing my patience. :-)

Erik and the girls were here for a week, August 3-10. We spent three days at Arizona Grand Resort . Taylor spent a full day with us and the kids, Erik included, swam from 10 AM to 8 PM. I finally went down one of the slides on the last day. I don’t know why I waited so long as there was really nothing to it for an old roller coaster rider like me. :-)

This picture is of Grandpa, Kadin and Gracie before Erik and the girls headed back to New Mexico. I'm always sad when they leave and I look forward to the next time I see them.

Great Adventure

After spending July 15-21 at The Villages in Florida, Arne and I decided we want to move there. We picked out a lot and a house to be built. Now we're trying to sell our Terravita home. Arne has been working really hard and actually, we're doing things we should have done a year ago. :-(

Many people have questioned our decision to do this. Why would you want to leave family and friends to move across country to a place that's hot and humid? Well....initially I had those same questions and that's why I wanted to spend time there during the summer. I don't think it's any hotter or more humid than Arizona this time of year. We've been here almost 30 years and are ready for a change in climate. While I love the desert, Florida has a lot of green and lush foilage. Besides, Arizona is much hotter and humid that when we first moved here.

As for family and friends, I will miss them but Arne has said I could come back at least four times a year. I only see Erik, Kadin and Gracie that often now. Fortunately, Southwest has direct flights to both Albuquerque and Phoenix.

Rain in the Desert

We went to church this morning but the rest of the day I've been inside, staying warm and dry. I watched the Patriots disembark in the pouring rain. This is Super Bowl Week and the FBR Open. Things are crazy as people and hotels rent out rooms at prices three times the regular price for this time of year.

On the political side, Barack Obama won the South Carolina primary handily. Of course, the Clintons brush it aside as just being a "black" state. I hope our country is ready to elect the RIGHT woman or black candidate. Hillary Clinton is NOT the right woman candidate. Our Arizona senator John McCain is doing well on the Republican side.

After voting all of my life for Republicans, I am now an Independent. I have been unhappy with the big government and spending of the Bush Administration. I've been reading "The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama, recommended reading by Arne, who has already re-registered as a Democrat so he can vote for Obama in the Primary. After reading "Because They Hate," I favor a candidate who is strong on national security.

I'm back!

I didn't do a very good job of keeping up this blog in '07. Perhaps I can do better in '08!

To finish up 2007...

In September, Arne and I flew to Galveston, Texas and boarded Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas for a 16-night cruise through the Panama Canal and ending in San Diego. We had a great time. Arne took classes and I did lots of reading.

In October, Arne and I flew to Iowa where we spent a night on the farm with Mark. I took a walk over to the "old place" where I grew up. It was SO QUIET! I could actually hear the voices of Larry, Jan and Marla.

As  I walked around the buildings. I was reminded of so many events from my childhood...climbing up the backside of the corn crib, spying on my siblings as they played "house" in the empty crib bin.

Walking behind the crib, I remembered the basketball hoop on the side of the barn and the horse tank where we cooled off on a hot summer day...the tree in the middle of the drive that Mom planted when Kevin was born in 1959.

From the farm, we drove down to Mt. Pleasant where we attended Iowa Wesleyan College's Homecoming. We saw many friends with whom we had gone to college, including Jesse, Ron and Jan, who were in our wedding party 44 years ago.

Happy Anniversary

On June 22, Arne and I celebrated 44 years of marriage. It doesn't seem that long since I walked down the aisle of the Emanuel Lutheran Church in Dayton, Iowa, on the arm of my father, to my waiting young Marine.

Very Hot!

There is a Severe Weather Warning in effect for much of Arizona due to the extreme temperatures. We are currently 109 but I'm sure it's warmer down in the Valley.

We have no plans for this holiday. Arne is clowning at the hospital and I delivered meals to five shut-ins. Will probably watch the fireworks on TV. I always enjoy the show from Washington, D.C.

I have been remembering the 4th of July celebrations from my childhood. My family would drive to Gowrie, Iowa, where a good friend's grandmother lived. Most of the houses would have an American flag flying out front. The town had a patriotic parade in the morning. After a lunch of my mother's delicious fried chicken and potato salad, we'd go to the carnival. It was always a fun day. In high school, I was in marching band and we would march in the parade. I played the clarinet. Played is probably not the right word as I often just pretended to play. I wasn't very coordinated when it came to marching AND playing the clarinet. :-)

God Bless America!

On this Independence Day, I give thanks to God that I live in this great country. I am so proud to be an American! Does that mean America is without faults? Of course not! It is not a Utopia. But no other country in the history of the world has given promise to so many people, liberated so many people with the lives and limbs of our soldiers, nor given so much financial aid. We are a generous people.

The motto "E Pluribus Unum" was first used on our coinage in 1795. Translated from Latin, it most closely means "Out of many, (is) One." or "From many, (comes) One." This country's population has grown through immigration. My mother, Mary Jensen Kalkwarf, came to America from Denmark in 1924 at the age of 7. She came across the Atlantic Ocean with her parents and four sibilings. My grandmother was pregnant at the time. Because my Uncle Henry came down with measles, the family had to spend two weeks on Ellis Island in New York City harbor. I have visited the Ellis Island museum and marveled at the idea of coming to a strange country with five children and a sixth one on the way! It must have been a long hard journey. And then to be separated from your husband for two weeks while you and the children are in quarantine. Denmark was going through rough times but five years after arriving in America, this country was in a Depression.

My mother once told me that she refused to speak Danish after they had settled in Humboldt, Iowa. She said she learned English by listening to others. She did not attend any ESL (English as a Second Language) classes nor were there any government sponsored programs to assist her in learning the language of America, as is the case today. My grandparents learned by this method also. How proud my mother must have been when she became a United States Citizen!