Turtle, the geriatric cat

Turtle, my geriatric cat, now pushing 16, doesn't have the same sweet and bright personality that dear departed Lucy did, but she's not so bad, really. She only acts up when I groom her, which I determinedly do daily to keep her looking lovely. She is reasonably social and likes to eat, sleep and sit side by side with me on the back stoop every night at midnight, watching the moon and listening to the crickets. She also enjoys watching cat and/or bird videos on YouTube on my iPad late at night, though "enjoys" may be the wrong word -- they generally appear to outrage her.
Postscript: Turtle died in October 2012, we are sorry to report. She contracted kidney disease very suddenly and was miserable, and I decided not to put her through a long decline, so we opted for home euthanasia. It was very hard, and I still miss her. Her ashes are buried in my Robbinsdale back yard next to Lucy.

Prodded by us, the Twins finally win

The Minnesota Twins have been terrible lately. But tonight, when Noah and I went, they beat the Seattle Mariners 10-0 in a game that was great fun. We always love going to Target Field, but it's even greater fun when they win, eh.

This Sid Hartman is a little quieter than the one I see at work every day!

Bluegill princess

Cousin Katie S. went fishin' with her grandpa, E.W. Sprick, this week near Wabasha, Minn. To no one's surprise, with such a great guide, she caught some very large bluegills. Nice work, Katie!

Sailor man Dan

Cousin Dan Broberg has taken up yet another challenging and exhilarating sport -- sailing. Here he is with some sailing team mates recently, competing for the Burton Cup on Lake Minnetonka. They didn't win -- this time -- but we don't doubt that with cousin Dan at the helm, or maybe it's the stern, they will eventually.

Two geniuses -- huh

We were remiss in not posting this stellar photo earlier this summer. That's Uncle Sid Hartman, or a facsimile thereof, posing with cousin Katie Hagberg outside Target Field in Minneapolis before a Twins game. Couple of geniuses, for sure.

And the 2012 Burnt Wienie champ is ...

... Mavis Sprick, of course! She won for some Dumpster-diving shenanigans behind the Lake City library, during which she rescued discarded books and got shooed away at least once. There were other good nominations: for Joe Kirkwood (live-trapping an angry skunk), Kate Kirkwood (locking out Katie Hagberg), Ben Pepin (leaving the water on and flooding his apartment), Tanya Cook (getting stuck twice in her driveway and losing her keys) and Moriah Miller (bikini top fail!), but in the end, Mavis nabbed the 2012 Coveted Burnt Wienie Award. And rightly so at the Lake City VFW family party held to honor Mavis and her pardner in crime and marriage, Elmer Sprick. Thanks for arranging it, Davy "Lamar" Sprick and Cyndi Sprick O'Donoahoe! And congrats, dear Mavis!

Marty, the Marine

He's now back at Camp Pendleton, in San Diego, Calif., but Marty Broberg, who just finished boot camp and is now in infantry school, was feted this month during a brief trip back home. Congrats, Marty, on doing so well in that tough place! (We're not surprised! :) )

Miller family portrait, 2012

How they've grown since last year! (Well, except for Chris and Mary, who still look young and fresh, don't they?) The Millers Seven are, from left, Hannah, 19; Moriah, 21; Avamarie, 4; Chris, 54; Elizabeth, 9; Mary, 29, and Zachary, 24.