Hendersonville

Does Hendersonville ring a bell? It did for me as I drove past the Hendersonville exit, back and forth 4 times this past week. And each time I thought of Amy and David's beautiful wedding and the ceremony where their minister said we are a blessed congregation and it is important to share our blessings with those in need. That's when Ken leaned over in the pew and whispered it was time for us to get a foster child. It took us awhile to get licensed but the message at David and Amy's wedding resonated with us. I find it special how each of us touch each other's lives in simple but profound ways. And the really special part for me is our rich, colorful family history of shared connections. So driving past Hendersonville, all four times made me smile. Thanks David and Amy.
Lynn

Uncle Ken in Montana

Hello from Montana.

In Lynn's post she explained the reason for my last minute trip to Montana; we (Leeder Furniture = Lynn and I) are working on a two year project at the University of Montana.

Yesterday I spent the day skiing on Big Mountain which is north of Whitefish, MT. In general the weather has been cold and wet (except in the higher elevations = snow). It is hard to relate how impressive the scenery is in this part of the country.

The ski conditions were great. We were literally skiing in the clouds with very minimal visibility due to snow and the "fog". I am happy that I was able to have a good time and not need any bandages or crutches!!

On Friday, I went to the gun show in Kalispell; if there was a gun type made, it was there. They had pistols, machine guns (and machine pistols), shot guns, rifles, and cannons available. The place was jammed with people buying guns and ammo. Not sure if I feel safer or not, but know that there are plenty of guns up here.

Here is a picture of the furniture (desk, file cabinet, bookcase and bed) we have made for the University of Montana. The residence hall is under renovation (floor and walls). The furniture looks great, but it is hard to tell in these rooms. If we win this project it will be ~ 1500 pieces of furniture this summer and again another ~1500 in the summer of 2010.

We will keep you posted on the progress of this project. Today, we drove from Whitefish to Glacier National Park to Missoula. We will be here until Tuesday; that is when the school will evaluate our furniture against the schools specifications. We are confident that we have the "right stuff".


I hope to come back here soon and try my luck at fishing. I love to fish and the fish don't mind because I don't catch too many!

Here are some additional photos ... hope all is well.

Mr. and Mrs. Keepper go to Washington

Hi all!

Les and I just spent a fantastic long weekend visiting Kevin in Washington D.C.! He was a great tour guide and we visited all kinds of hot spots. Highlights included Mount Vernon, Old Town Alexandria, hiking (actually rock climbing) at Great Falls, and Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown. We went to the American History Museum and saw the special Abraham Lincoln exhibit as well as Julia Child's kitchen, the Star Spangled Banner, and Seinfeld's "puffy shirt." We spent an afternoon visiting all the monuments - very awesome - LOTS of walking. Culinary highlights included Ben's Chili, Zorba's Greek Restaurant and Kevin's bleu cheese bacon burgers that he cooked for us on Sunday night at his house that he shares with 3 roommates. Kevin literally lives in the kitchen, so he is currently apartment hunting and has tentatively found a 2 bedroom apartment RIGHT downtown 8 blocks from his job. We visited Technoserve (check it out) where Kevin works and got to meet some of his coworkers and get a feel for the exciting, fast-paced environment he's in! His office is on the 10th floor of a high rise 7 blocks north of the White House.

Eagerly waiting for baby news from Sara and Andrew!!!!

A Whole New World.....

It's taken a few tries but after reading Dan's instructions and hitting "new blog" I appear to be off and writing...oh good, I see a spell check icon.
As Letra said a bit earlier we're in HHI together. At the last minute Ken had to head to Montana, but he's able to mix a bit of pleasure with business as he enjoys the weekend skiing. Drew's spring break was a few weeks ago. He spent a few days at home and a few days at University of WI - Madison. This weekend he Fraternity's Spring Formal is taking place in Tennessee. It'll be fun to hear about it - Letra and I plan to stop on our way home in Oxford, OH to have dinner with Drew, then on to Greencastle, IN to drop Letra at school.
Ken and I are having a blast with Leeder. We're in the height of the selling season for summer installations. We've just passed final inspection for a nice state contract with WCU. If we're this happy when the orders come in just think how happy we'll be when the installations are done.
Thank you Dan and Kevin for setting this up!!
Lynn