January Recap

Maty went to "Cat Heaven"...

(thank you to Shannon for sending us this book, we have read it so much that Meredith has it memorized)

...and Ernie found "Heaven on Earth" .

The kids took cross-country ski lessons.

I worked at both of my part-time jobs...the lab at Kronenwetter Clinic and at Meredith's preschool. I am now officially a paid substitute teacher at St. Mark's.

Jason worked, went ice fishing, and cheered the Hawkeyes to a victory at the Orange Bowl.

We are gearing up for a little home improvement project in February. It's time to replace both of the upstairs bathroom's vinyl flooring with ceramic tiles. We are also going to replace the tiles around the fireplace.

R u ready for Feb-ru-ary? We are!

A Sad Goodbye to the Best Cat Ever

Matilda Mae Majernik

also known as Maty, Ma, Tilds, Orangy, Baby Tilds, Orangalide, Catola, and Maty Mae

May 1996-January 2010


"They will not go quietly, the cats who've shared our lives.
In subtle ways they let us know their spirit still survives.
Old habits still make us think we hear a meow at the door.
Or step back when we drop a tasty morsel on the floor.
Our feet still go around the place the food dish used to be.
And, sometimes, coming home at night, we miss them terribly.
Although time may bring new friends and a new food dish to fill,
that one place, in our hearts, belongs to them...and always will."

Poem by Linda Barnes

The Birthday Girls

Meredith and I celebrated our birthdays on December 29th and 30th. Grandma Ruth was here to help us celebrate. Of course, the infamous birthday cake had already arrived from Clarion, via the help of Kimmy Sue. And no, we really didn't eat the tail off of the fish but it was suggested a couple of times.

Meredith was in 7th heaven when she opened the gift she'd been patiently waiting for, a pink Nintendo DS. That night we met the rest of the Majernik's out for pizza, games, and cake at Sam's Pizza Palace.

The next day, I awoke to find the gift I'd been patiently waiting for, an iPod touch, from Jason and the kids. Now if you catch us all at the right time, you will find me playing with my new gadget, the girls playing with their DS's, and Jason with the computer in his lap. It's pathetic, really.

I was treated to breakfast at the Mint Cafe by my dear friend Charity. Mom gave me the most useful gift of all, cold hard cash, and with it I bought myself this...



And thanks to all my wonderful friends; Colleen, Diane, Fay, Heidi, Kim, LeAnn, Lisa, Nancy, Shannon, and Terri; for the calls, emails, texts, and gifts. You made my day!

The celebrations weren't over just yet. We gave Meredith a real birthday party on Saturday. There were 8 girls in all, a mixture of family, friends, neighbors, and preschool classmates.

We both had the most wonderful birthdays, especially Meredith. She was just so happy to turn the big #5!