half way

I'm half way...
to half way.

if...

If pigs could fly...my KU Jayhawks would be sitting at the tail end of an undefeated regular season today. But...pigs can't, and my Jayhawks aren't. In all seriousness, I'm not sure that anyone saw the season that we've enjoyed anywhere on the radar. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that my 'Hawks would be 11 and 1 at the end of regular season play...its been well over a hundred years since we've had this kind of a record. I remember a time in KU football history when it was of epic accomplishment just to make it to the Fiesta Bowl...and this year, we'll most certainly get a respectable bid of some sort...
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Truth be told, my Nebraska childhood prepared me well for last evening. Except for the heyday of the early seventies, I can remember many a childhood Thanksgiving with the hype built up for the big game...only to miss that last ditch Hail Mary or kick just a bit wide of the endpost. Oh...what a quiet ride home from Grandma and Grandpa's house!
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It was a great season and a great ride...and the fall of 2007 will certainly go down in the record books as one of KU's best. Kansans pulled together in a way previously known only to basketball... which, by the way... is about to unfold in all its splendor. But...for the moment...our hats are off to the young men on the football field. THANKS guys...for a GREAT season.

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Rock Chalk Jayhawk...

Go KU !!!

happy thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving...from the heartland!!!

O Lord that lends me life,

Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.

~ William Shakespeare ~

happy thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving...

we have so very much for which to be thankful.

R&R: Salt Lake City

At long last...the pix from our recent trip to Salt Lake City...

We stayed in a hotel downtown that was a few blocks from the convention center where Ed attended the conference, and also a few blocks from Temple Square, which is the headquarters of the Mormon Church. Most everything on the Square (except the Temple and a few other areas) were open to visitors.

Sunday morning (11/11) I had the pleasure of attending a live radio broadcast of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Wow!!! They sang a 30-minute program of patriotic music in honor of Veterans Day...VERY moving! The final piece on the program was a tribute to each of the branches of the armed forces, hence, the flags at center stage.
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On the Square is a 21,000 seat auditorium built for large national Church functions that take place in the spring and the fall. Of note, is that there are no internal supports in the structure...so there is not a bad seat in the house! The guide said that the building uses a 'rear cantilever system' to support it. The image below was taken from the very back row in the house.
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There was a very cool mirrored light well that presented a kaleidoscope effect when looking up into it.
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Below is a view taken closer to the top...

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On top of the building is a very beautiful park. The guide mentioned that it was open to the public until 9/11, but is now available for enjoyment only at supervised functions, or with a missionary guide.

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The next two images were taken in the Joseph Smith Memorial building, where we had dinner one of the evenings while we were there. There was not a cup of coffee nor a glass of wine to be found, yet coca cola products were widely available. The decorative details in this building were spectacular...
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...a beautiful chandelier with backlit stained glass above it...

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The next few shots were taken inside of the Cathedral of the Madeleine down the street from Temple Square...

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...angels soaring high above on the arched ceiling...

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...the pipe organ and stained glass at the rear of the Cathedral...

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A friend of mine from the School of Nursing was also at the AMSUS (Association of Military Surgeons of the United States) conference. Janet is a Naval Reserve, and presented the work below at the Monday evening poster session.

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The day before we left, I went to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts and was fortunate to be able to see an Andy Warhol exibition. Among his VERY well known images are Marilyn...

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...and the Campbell's soup cans...
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Inside the exhibition booklet was a very poignant Warhol quote...

What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you can know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.

The Philosophy of Andy Warhol

(From A to B and Back Again), 1975

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All in all...a GREAT trip! Lots of sleep, and lots of fun...and we're already looking forward to our next adventure, whatever that may be.

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Have a great weekend, everyone!

westward, ho!

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First of all, I would like to offer my respect and gratitude to all of the Veterans in my life...Dad, Ed, Chad, Donnie, Bob, Janet, Darrel, Jerry, and countless other men and women to whom I am humbly grateful for your service.

As many of you know, we're in Salt Lake City for a few days... Ed is attending a military medical conference, and I'm playing. It's absolutely beautiful here! SLC seems very clean, easy to navigate, has a low relative humidity, and very friendly people. The photo below gives you the general idea, but is not one that I actually took myself...
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I had the wonderful opportunity this morning to attend a 30-minute radio broadcast by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. WOW! I'll post some pix when I get home and get them downloaded. To a full house, they sang a tribute of patriotic songs in honor of Veterans Day. My favorite piece of the program was actually a bit off the patriotic mark, but was incredibly moving...a version of Highland Cathedral, a traditional Scottish melody...complete with kilted bagpipers and percussionists, with the MTC singing back-up. The MTC has been doing a Sunday morning broadcast every week since 1929...count 'em...that's some 4079 broadcasts!

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Well...enough for now...I'm headed upstairs to de-soggify, as it has been raining for several hours. More later!

whew!

Whew...what a week! My 'to-do' list is about a mile long today...its hard to imagine what will get pushed to next week at the moment, but I can't see that there's quite enough of me to get it all done! I take comfort in knowing that will all still be there for me when I return next week...

Just a few random thoughts on Friday...

> I had the wonderful opportunity to sing with a group that performed the Faure Requiem this week. Wow. What a beautiful piece of music...VERY moving.

> You just never know what is in a person's head. Last night at about 9:30, I was standing in the kitchen with Ed and we were just chatting about our day, he showed me a card and a pair of drumsticks he received from his students on their last day of clinical. As I looked at him quizzically, he said that he's going to use them with the drum set he's going to get. To this, I say ROCK ON, DUDE! I had no idea he was thinking about this, but he had mentioned it to his students earlier in the semester, and they rememebered and rewarded him with a nifty pair of Zildjian sticks at the end of the term. I think its pretty neat...but I don't think that Snickie is going to much like it! I'm not sure what the time line is on this, but I'll be sure to post a pix!

> Congrats to Jenn and Mike (if you're reading this)...you both know what for! and...June be sure to wear your helmet if you need to (you know what I'm talking about!).

> It's only the ninth of November, and already Snickie is running to splay herself on the heat vent whenever she hears the furnace kick on. How pathetic is that? Check out little heat seeker, below...isn't she adorable?
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> I ran across a very cool new website this week... freerice.com ...check it out! FreeRice is a website that provides rice to end world hunger through the corporate sponsorship of lots of big names...in the process of visiting the site, you just might improve your vocabulary! : ) I've made it to level 42 (of 50), so I've still got a LOT of room for improvement! I've also provided the link in the right hand alley of this page in the event that you're looking for a little diversion when you visit The Ronneblog.

> TGIF!!! Have a great weekend y'all! : )

what an evening!

We were very blessed in spending this past Friday evening (11/2) with family and a few close friends as Ed was one of ten nurses across the state of Kansas and metropolitan Kansas City awarded a Heart of Healthcare Award. What a remarkable group of nurses... and what an honor for Ed to be counted among them. A few of the emcee's closing remarks really hit home for both of us in that the ten that were honored that evening are icons for the countless nurses in the profession who are equally deserving of the award...and while we were were there enjoying the evening with our family and friends, there were nurses that were hard at work triaging in an ER, admitting patients, gently holding a hand and soothing a fear, and helping someone to make the transition to another phase of life.

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Below are a few images from the event (thanks, dad!). You'll notice that dad is not actually in any of the photos, because he was behind the camera.

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Below...Ed and I along with Mike and Chris, and Ed's Dad, Don.

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Ed and I with Gigi and Jason Mateo, the owners/operators of Integral Care Provider, the nursing agency that Ed works for....

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Many of the folks that were seated at our two tables...

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The Ronneboys and men...aren't they a handsome bunch?!?

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I was hoping that the story in the Kansas City Nursing News would have been posted by the time that I posted this blurb...but cest la vie! Mayhaps tomorrow. Thanks to each of you who were there to make it such a memorable evening...you know who you are!!!

hohc award

Heart of Health Care Award

Award Recipients, 2007

what ever happened to thanksgiving?

Sooo…. I haven’t yet fully accepted the reality that the average trick-or-treater at our door last night was a late middle school aged, NON-costumed, pillow case carrying adolescent... traveling in a pack of 8 or 10 like-minded individuals who just stood expectantly on the doorstep with half-full goody bags thrust forward and nary an utterance of ‘Trick of Treat’ (...and in many cases even less of an utterance of 'thank you'). How scary is that!? Still reeling from the wont for the cute little costumed tots of years gone by, we were ever so rudely awakened at 5:01 this morning by a clock radio blaring a rousing chorus of “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas.” Has the world we live in gone absolutely MAD?!? What ever happened to Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year…enjoying the beauty and bounty of the earth…and embarking upon a season of gatherings with family and friends as we slide into the frigid and dark throes of winter. For each of you reading this, please know that I am truly thankful for you. I feel so very fortunate to have family and friends that support and inspire me…and whom I admire so much. In this season of remembrance and thanks, I am humbly grateful…