Sunday, February 28, 2010


This photo was NOT taken today, but it was shot during the month of February. It might be difficult to see but it was SNOWING when I took the picture.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, February 28, 2010 - FULL MOON ALERT (that's why I put the snow picture up there). When you read which full moon it is, you'll understand:

Feb. 28, 11:38 a.m. EST -- Full Snow Moon. Usually the heaviest snows fall in this month. Hunting becomes very difficult, and hence to some tribes this was the Full Hunger Moon.

I didn't get the full moon information in here this morning -- not really sure why. Sometimes, I have a problem uploading pictures not because of this website but due to a goblin inside my computer. Or it could be.........Norton!

That's all folks. Hope you enjoyed the full moon. Since it's cloudy here, I can't even see it. bye, djb

Saturday, February 27, 2010


Here's Andrew and Jarrett standing next to Grandma and Grandpa (and a bunch of other folks, too) on February 27, 1996 -- the famous 50th Wedding Anniversary in Casselberry.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, February 27, 2010 - HAPPY 64th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY TO GRANDPA & GRANDMA!

Earlier this morning, I started working on my website, only to find that I had broken links and unrelated links and it was like a sausage factory gone bad - rotten links everywhere!

As I worked diligently trying to fix everything (fighting a VERY slow moving computer), all of sudden out of nowhere, I got a little bit of a blank space in front of a picture. Oh no....please no.

..........OPTICAL MIGRANE ATTACK!!!!!!!!!!!

This one wasn't nearly as bad as the last one I had but it still necessitates removing myself from society for a certain period of time to sleep while it resolves itself. What a royal pain.

When I got up, the sun was shining brightly - reflecting off the snow - and it was horrible and awful. If a person has to wear SUNGLASSES inside their own house, that's not right. Of course, when I get my prescription sunglasses, I won't mind it.

It's not easy getting used to my new glasses because I can't see to read with them, so I only wear them when I'm not reading. Think about how much you read during the day when you don't even realize you're doing it. That would be ALL THE TIME.

Must go. I just realized that I'm writing about myself instead of the boys. See how confused I am. Just the other day, I proclaimed myself "almost" normal. Now, I'm NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! djb

Thursday, February 25, 2010


Here's Jarrett's evergreen tree in the cemetery. When I go into town, I usually drive by to see how their trees are doing.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's Andrew's blue spruce earlier this winter. Now, it's totally surrounded by tons of snow!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, February 2010 - A couple of days ago, when I stopped by to drive by the boys' trees on the way to shop Elburn first, I noticed that the heavy snow that had fallen two days previously was still stuck in large globs on the branches of both trees. At first, I was just going to leave it and I did....

...but after I went to the gas station, post office, grocery store, I decided to come back and use my snow scraper brush to knock the snow off of their branches because it bugged me and I am obsessive compulsive.

Of course, when I went back I had to go into the cemetery from Keslinger instead of 47 because I didn't want to get stuck again going up the hill. {It's a good thing I'm a flatlander!}

I had to climb over huge mounds of snow that had been plowed off the road to the sides -- that was fairly easy. The snow near the trees was probably 6-8 inches deep. Not too bad because it didn't go inside my boots and freeze my feet (that was my main concern).

So, I whacked all the snow off and I think the trees were very glad to get that heavy, wet stuff off of their precious needles. Job well done. Thank me.

One of these days, I'll take a picture of how the trees look now. Pretty much the same. see ya later, djb

Monday, February 22, 2010


Here's the front yard at 6:40 a.m. (including Andrew and Jarrett's candles) covered with a beautiful blankie of freshly fallen snow. It's a winter wonderland, for sure!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

SNOW on trees and everything else. It is absolutely stunning to look outside and see snow covering the entire world. (6:35 a.m.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, February 22, 2010 - The sky is falling, the sky is falling. Wait a minute, Chicken Little, it was just snow. No big chunks of anything dangerous.

Although, I just heard on the radio that it's a very heavy, heart-attack snow. That's one reason I didn't go out and shovel the driveway. It'll all melt soon enough.

After hearing that the Bergs had been visited by many robins this past week and and actually for a few weeks now, we know that they'll be coming here soon. I think Julie said that she did hear a robin chirping (one of the advance team) the other day. oh boy!

Better go. Thought you'd enjoy seeing the SNOW pictures. see ya later, djb

Friday, February 19, 2010


Here's a copy of the front of Andrew's Driver's License. They have the wrong date for the expiration, it should be 02-15-07 and not 05-15-07. Someone made a mistake, I think.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's a copy of the back of Andrew's driver's license. The words: "I hereby make an anatomical gift, effective upon my death" totally creep me out.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, February 19, 2010 - Two days ago, I decided to clean out the little zipper compartment that holds my pertinent stuff in my purse because I got a new insurance card so I wanted to get rid of the numerous other ones that were cluttering up the space.

I keep Andrew's license and Jarrett's ID card with me at all times. After the accident, I put both cards in my purse. For some reason, while I was culling the old stuff the other day, I started looking closer at Andrew's driver's license. Imagine my complete and utter surprise and shock, when I noticed the date it had been issued: 03-05-02. EXACTLY one year before his death.

He had his most prized possession for precisely one year before he and it expired. How bizarre!

And the other strange date that I noticed was that he had signed the organ donor document on the back of his license exactly one MONTH BEFORE THE ACCIDENT 02-03-03. After the accident, he was only kept alive by the miracle of modern medicine, so he was basically nonfunctional after the crash and couldn't have made an informed consent to donate his organs.

For some reason, these dates struck me as odd and interesting. Why did he sign his license on that date after he'd had it for almost a year? Oh, sorry Andrew. No WHY questions allowed!!! Maybe you think I'm wacky -- maybe I am. Okay, I am. later, djb

Monday, February 15, 2010


HAPPY 24th BIRTHDAY TO ANDREW!
------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, February 15, 2010 - Today on Andrew's birthday, we can finally register a "weird/cosmic sighting." Oh boy, I love when strange things happen! (When I originally typed this, it was NOT huge, when I published it, it looked like this -- so this is ANOTHER strange occurrence - I LOVE IT.)

Just a short time ago, Diane was turning off of Crystal Bowl Circle
(my favorite walking circle) onto that road that goes to Laurel then turns into Imperial Drive to Bergs' house when she saw a yellow ball with a SMILEY FACE on it bounce in front of her car as she was driving.

Of course, it startled and surprised her, but she realized that she had to take a picture of it because it was so cool and who would believe THAT! So she drove back to the spot where it should have been lying in the road but it was NOT THERE and nowhere to be found!!!

There were no kids or dogs or any person in a physical body -- if you know what I mean. We figure that it was Andrew letting her know that he was happy she remembered his birthday and giving her congrats on her engagement to Marc. It couldn't possibly be anything else!

HAVE A GREAT DAY! Get out there and spend some of the those Presidents! see ya later, djb

Sunday, February 14, 2010


You're the best mom ever. Happy Valentine's Day * Love, Andrew Burkholder
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I heart you mom. Card that Jarrett made at home for me one Valentine's Day.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, Valentine's Day, February 14, 2010 - These cards from Andrew and Jarrett are also on their website. Oh yeah, their website. ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRG

There's some kind of negative technical situation that involves my Andrew and Jarrett website publishing to Yahoo. Yesterday, I spent many hours downloading and installing programs that were supposed to help me with my problems. HA!!

I'm sure if I knew exactly what I was doing, I could fix it. Once again, I sent a HELP email to Yahoo. Of course, I haven't heard back yet. Last time, it took more than 24 hours to get a response. I'm sure it has something to do with Norton. haha

I've done everything they told me to do but it's still publishing the entire website up to the Yahoo server -- that would be nice if it wasn't ALREADY THERE. I only send a few changes every few days and it's wasting a lot of time when this happens. Annoyed doesn't even really being to describe how I feel.

Tomorrow is Andrew's birthday. So, I guess I'll get his pages ready to publish. That will take about 5 or 6 hours to complete. Yesterday, I mistakenly linked his birthday page to the NIU shooting anniversary page. They were both similarly named and I chose the wrong one.

Maybe I need a vacation. heart ya later, djb

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Earliest Earthquake Details - I do not recommend being awakened by an earthquake. This is the first report from the USGS which has now changed the event to a different location near Pingree Grove. I'm going to leave this on here because I think it's interesting that somehow they're able to figure out exactly where it happened. Maybe there were two? The current (correct?) info is on my blogger page.

Magnitude4.3
Date-Time
  • Wednesday, February 10, 2010 at 09:59:34 UTC
  • Wednesday, February 10, 2010 at 03:59:34 AM at epicenter
Location41.978°N, 88.597°W
Depth5 km (3.1 miles) set by location program
RegionILLINOIS
Distances
  • 6 km (4 miles) WNW (292°) from Virgil, IL
  • 8 km (5 miles) E (94°) from Sycamore, IL
  • 8 km (5 miles) N (1°) from Maple Park, IL
  • 35 km (22 miles) NW (315°) from Aurora, IL
  • 77 km (48 miles) WNW (282°) from Chicago, IL
Location Uncertaintyhorizontal +/- 12.8 km (8.0 miles); depth fixed by location program
ParametersNST= 11, Nph= 11, Dmin=171.4 km, Rmss=0.86 sec, Gp=151°,
M-type="Nuttli" surface wave magnitude (mbLg), Version=6
Source
  • USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event IDus2010snay
  • This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.
  • Did you feel it? Report shaking and damage at your location. You can also view a map displaying accumulated data from your report and others. ~USGS website
I sent in a report to the USGS stating my location and describing my situation because I love reading about natural disasters -- mostly from afar, but this was a little too close for comfort and VERY SCARY. It made me immediately realize how freaking scared those poor people in Haiti must've been. I can't even imagine the level of their fear. God bless them all.

This is now the fourth earthquake I've been in while living in Illinois. Gotta go. This is too much
see ya, djb

Sunday, February 7, 2010


Here's Stephanie, Colleen and Jaqui at Schmidt's Towne Pub in Elburn on February 4th - aren't they simply gorgeous! They're the best!!!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, February 7, 2010 - New Orleans just scored a touchdown after an interception. Hmmm, doesn't look good for the Colts. But don't you think the Saints should win? After all, they are the SAINTS. The ring tone on my phone is "When the Saints Go Marching In" -- for obvious reasons. Get it???

Anywho, we had such a WONDERFUL time seeing the girls the other night. I just love being around them. Their energy is so contagious. Colleen, once again, got everyone together. She's a regular Pearl Mesta. If you know that name, you ARE old. We usually also get to see Jeannette but she was studying for a test.

It absolutely warms our hearts to see Jarrett's friends and classmates after ALL this time - plus the fact that they come out to see us. It's so sweet.

In less than a month, it will be SEVEN YEARS since Andrew and Jarrett died. That's hard to fathom. When I start thinking about the accident and all that, it might as well have been yesterday. There is really no time. In fact, time has stood still in some ways.

Better go watch the game. I also just heard that our Lt. Gov. candidate who was just elected quit the race today. Now, it won't be any fun. He was going to make it very interesting. I wonder what really happened to make him quit. That's the story I want to hear.

No more robo calls. See ya later, djb

Tuesday, February 2, 2010


Hey, Jarrett, want to play some horse? The basketball hoop is down real low (for Rachel) so you'd definitely be able to dunk a few.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, February 2, 2010 - Whenever I hear about Groundhog Day, I have to laugh. They seized on that idea and ran with it. Even though there's no scientific evidence that it is true. People just want to have a party, I guess. Not a bad idea in the middle of winter.

Yesterday, I saw a bunch of birdies out front looking for food in the dirt. I'm sure there's something out there they can munch on. I have to put some bird food out in the feeders sooner rather than later. My timing has been way off on the bird feeding this year. I'm not sure what happened because I love to see them in the trees.

Granny told me that they've been seeing a lot of robins stopping by in their yard scratching around in the grass looking for something or other. We're pretty sure they don't have any worms living in the sand. Maybe bugs? They do seem to like the wild cherries. Maybe they found some of those in the peanuts.

We'll be seeing the robins pretty soon because as soon as they're spotted in Florida, they come here in about two or three weeks. Interesting, isn't it? yes, it is. bye, djb