Karen's Obituary and Funeral Service Schedule

Services for Karen Foslien, who died Tuesday, have been finalized. They'll be at the end of this article.

Her obituary is posted here: Karen's Obituary.

Here are the details of her services, direct from CaringBridge: (Venues are in Billings, Montana)

• Visitation (Michelotti-Sawyers Funeral Home):
  Sunday 8/1 from 3-8pm and Monday 8/2 from 9am-4pm
  
  
• Vigil (St. Thomas Catholic Church):
  Monday 8/2 at 7:00pm
  
  
• Funeral Mass (St. Thomas):
  Tuesday 8/3 at 10:00am
  
  
• Burial (Yellowstone Valley Memorial Park):
  Immediately following mass.
  
  
• Reception (St. Thomas):
  Immediately following burial.

Bob's home address is:

628 Kingfisher Ave.

Sheridan, WY 82801

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Karen Foslien 1949-2010

"Mom passed away beautifully with Dad and me by her side last night around 10:15."

This is today's report on CaringBridge from Michelle, Karen and Bob's daughter who has done such a great job of keeping us all informed.

Bob's address is:

628 Kingfisher Ave.
Sheridan, WY 82801

I'll post an appropriate remembrance later, as well as a link to the funeral arrangements and obituary, when I have them. For now, I just wanted you to have the facts.

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Update Wednesday evening:

"Services for mom are tentatively planned for Tuesday, August 3rd around 10:00am at St. Thomas Parish in Billings, Montana. A vigil service will be held Monday evening at a location still to be determined."

Amazing Grace

Here's a YouTube video which you might find interesting, enjoyable, and educational.

There's a bit of music education, and certainly some American history in this video. And the performer is quite a likable guy, to be sure.

Enjoy!

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Comment from Dianne:

Keith, thanks so much for sharing. Rick and I enjoyed it very much. We usually sing Amazing Grace on karaoke night when we are in Rockport. Now whenever we sing it we'll think of that bit of musical education and those 5 great black keys.

Tall Ships in Michigan

Dianne reported the following:

We had the Tall Ships docked on both side of the river in Bay City this past weekend, 10-12 of them. The Bounty (used in the Pirates of the Caribbean and other movies) had a continuous line (1 hour wait) to board. Took the 2 little grandsons (5 & 7)and had a great time but they weren't willing to stand in line that long. Maybe next time when they come back (in 4 years) they will be old enough to endure the wait.

Dianne and Rick

That's what Rick and Dianne are doing. What are you doing these days?

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Karen's Summer

Long-time guests at Rockport 35 RV Park know that one of the spark plugs of the park was slowed down a bit this past winter, as in December Karen was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma with Plasma Cell Leukemia. She spent the winter and spring being treated in Corpus Christi and at MD Anderson in Houston.

Then they returned home to Sheridan, Wyoming.

I'll not go into detail because it is all available for you to read. But the bottom line is that Karen is in the hospital in Billings and has been subjected to one discouraging news after another.

There's a marvelous website called Caring Bridge. It is designed for situations such as Karen's and provides a convenient way for the patient, often with the help of family members, to update all of us as to the condition. Karen's daughters have been doing that.

In addition, Caring Bridge provides a means by which readers such as you and I can leave messages of encouragement for the patient and their family. (That's called "Guestbook" in the navigation links.)

Once you get to the link which will appear shortly, you'll have to register and log in. But then you can have emails with updates sent to you automatically. It really is a wonderful service. Here's the link: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/karenfoslien/journal
If you get lost, do a search for "karenfoslien" and that should get you to her section.

You're probably wondering why such challenges are placed on such wonderful and active families. We all wonder. And none of us has the answer, other than, "It is not we who decides."

We hope that you'll join Pat and me in remembering Karen, Bob, and the girls and their families with thoughts and prayers during these difficult days.

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Pat and Her Tomato Tree

This Spring, Pat bought a tomato "kit" and planted two tomato plants in it.

They are now a foot taller than she is. They have well over a dozen tomatoes, ranging in size from that of a baseball to blossoms.

I'm really looking forward to some tomatoes which I can actually taste this year!

Mini-Reunion: 2nd St. North

This picture is posted first, just to get Marv and his shenanigans out of the way.

Ever wonder why all the ladies are so attracted to Marv, whether he's in Texas or in Michigan? I have, so I asked him. He told me that it was a combination of his good looks and intelligence and, therefore, there was nothing he could do to prevent the attraction and he just lives with it the best he can.

Just when I was wondering what all our friends were doing this summer, Dianne Carlson emailed an answer with pictures! Here's her note:

"Just want to share some news and pics of our recent Rockport 35 Second street mini reunion. Recently, Rick and I went to Grand Rapids to pick up our RV (some minor warranty work and kitchen island installation) which is 3 hours from where we leave and Dick and Lucille went along for a ride. Since Bev and Marv live in that area we decided to meet up with them for a visit. We talked with Bob and Gelene earlier that week and they were in Indiana for vacation/warranty work on their RV. Since they were only 100 miles from Grand Rapids, they decided to surprise us and meet with us also. We all had lunch together and a great visit. We’re all doing fine and looking forward to our return trip to Rockport in just a few short months. Take care and we’ll see you in Rockport."

Thanks for the update, Dianne! Maybe this will prompt others to report. All you have to do is click on the "Comments!" link below; that will address an email to me!

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Knee High by the Fourth

Today is the day for the annual corn-growth progress report. As you can see, the corn in our neighborhood has done quite well indeed!

In fact, I can never remember seeing it anywhere near this tall by the Fourth of July. I can remember many years when it was close to not making it to knee high on this date.

Earlier, we had plenty of rain, accompanied by hot weather. Corn likes that; I don't.

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