ong time Town of Oneida resident and in-law to the Poquette family for even longer, Dan Van Lanen went under the knife on Saturday to remove and examine a cyst that was growing on his kidney. Van Lanen a claims handler at Humana Insurance in De Pere complained of urinary tract problems of late and sought help from his physician. Through testing they found the abnormality and decided it needed to be removed. Doctors that have removed the growth have sent samples to the lab to check for cancer however the surgeons said after the surgery that the growth did not look as if it was cancerous.
Van Lanen who turned 60 last summer is expected to be able to leave the hospital on Tuesday provided there are no complications between now and Tuesday.
Peg Van Lanen, Dan's
spousal unit seemed optimistic that everything will turn out as expected in the case and Van Lanen would be back on track to return to work in a few weeks.
Peg Van Lanen also said she can't wait to return the favor whereby Dan had taken care of her when she had broken her leg. If you recall Dan with the help of a couple of his children were forced to carry Peg up and down the stairs when she was unable to walk. (Newsletter June 15, 2003) They had placed her in a blanket and dragged her down the steps, unfortunately her unsupported head bounced up and down wildly, crashing on every step they took.
LAMERS XMAS PARTY HELD AT KAT'S HOUSE
In the old days drivers would roll in the last day of school before Christmas, come in the office and crack open a cold one. But now the notion of consuming alcohol in the bus station seems foreign with all the ramblings of mothers against drunk drivers and such. I guess it's almost to the point where an honest school bus driver can't even get drunk and drive home from his own Christmas party without being ostracized from teachers, local officials and the like.
The Kat through the kindness of her heart has given drivers the opportunity to go back in time and once again have a good time consuming alcohol with other drivers and still drive themselves home. Friday night December 15 the Kat opened the doors to the Pickett domicile and accepted 5 other Lamer's drivers, one retired driver, and one who recently left Lamer's for an exciting career at Stein's Garden and Gifts in for a night of merriment and an ornament exchange. Everyone brought a dish to pass and it seemed like everyone had fun.
Drivers look on as the Kat prepares a modest lunch for everyone.
KAT CANCELS GARAGE CLEAN UP
In an effort to keep the Kat a bit more organized and help get ready for Christmas Jean Poquette Hansen and Trixie Sobieck graciously offered to sort out the clutter in the garage and ready it for guests. The Kat suspicious of the duo's motives from the start cautiously accepted the offer for the clean up in her absence.
Saturday December 16 was the day chosen to meet and begin the massive task.
At the last moment the Kat decided that too much of her beloved and precious collection was at stake to be trusted to the two members of the Axis of Evil and withdrew her blessing for the clean up. When Jean Poquette Hansen called Friday night to finalize the plans she was told of the change. It was apparent in her voice she was at first disappointed then later her disappointment turned to rage as she bluntly stated on the phone "That's just not right!"
Will the miracle happen?
Hansen, a veteran of keeping a clean house and disposing of unnecessary clutter has been an integral part of "the miracle of Christmas" experienced annually at the Pickett home.
Jean Poquette Hansen
It is now thought that Hansen an unforgiving sort, will never offer her services again for the miracle. Kat has even considered offering to take her place in the pumpkin carving picture promotion for next year to win back her approval when she heard of Hansen's outrage.
The sudden change of heart by the Kat now puts the garage space in jeopardy as to whether it will be ready for the seasonal event Sunday Night. Two of her offspring will be on hand Christmas Eve day to assist with the preparations but will it be enough? Or will it be too little too late?
To find out if the garage clean up was ever completed attend the Christmas eve gathering at the Pickett home. I don't know if I mentioned it but the new Birthday page is up, click Birthday to see it. That's all the news that is news, see ya.
Dan Van Lanen
A katandmick photo
A katandmick photo
December 24, 2006
MIRRICLE HAPPENS - GARAGE CLEAN!
W
ith Christmas bearing down, and just hours to go before the countdown would reach zero to launch Christmas Eve, The Kat with the help of Bunky and Peggy and the boys successfully pushed every bit of clutter out of sight. The garage which was judged to be the worst of the areas involved in clutter abatement came through amazingly well with everything either removed and sent off to various locations never to return or put on shelves and stored properly. Only one small pile of clutter remained in the corner surrounding an abandoned exorcise bike that once cranked excess pounds off of the Kat, not to say that the Kat is fat of course, just big boned.
Guests began to arrive about 5:30 with the Meeusens arriving first followed by Tony and Zeus who was sporting a new pair of thongs. A few more guests trickled in as the minutes progressed and by 6:00 PM a steady flow of guests elbowed their way through the maze of people heading for the Christmas tree to relieve themselves of gifts they had brought. The dinner bell rang shortly after that and a line formed around the massive collection of food that was gathered on the island in the kitchen.
Wine flowed freely and the merriment increase with the uncorking of every bottle.
The Calendars, a more handsome edition with the introduction of photo paper, were handed out and a showing of Turkey Bowl VII made the night complete with of course a separate monitor in the garage for people to see in the smoking section. A technical snaffoo at the Treml house did not allow reproduction of the edited show so therefore no DVD copies of TB VII could be distributed at the event making for an angry crowd. We were however able to mate his computer to the television and feed the video so everyone got to see the show in spite of the technical problems with burning. A angry mob with pitchforks and torches gathered at the door demanding DVD's and Scott had to calm them down insisting he would have the production done for them as soon as he was able to burn copies on his computer.
The Axis of Evil each received a large gift basket of miscellaneous items harvested from the entire selection of clutter before cleanup began in the garage. This was of course payback in part for the white elephant prank played on the Kat at the Fat Club Christmas Party. Each wrinkled their upper lip as they tore open the bag looking to see what Santa had brought them.
The unwanted gifts were all taken home with the unwilling recipients with the exception of Jean Poquette Hansen who had mindlessly left everything behind including her purse and
real gifts probably in a effort to catch Santa coming to her house.
CLARA SNELL RECEIVES EARLY XMAS GIFT
This year Christmas Eve Party goers were treated first hand to a revelation before the news had gone to the publishers of this Newsletter. Clara Snell and Brandon Pickett announced their engagement as Clara showed off her new engagement ring to all that were interested. Most congratulated the couple as Joanne lade loudly commented "It's about time."
It seemed that Snell couldn't be happier and took
Jean Poquette Hansen
a spot in the sun room where she could mingle with her new family. Brandon who seemed oblivious to the whole fuss of the engagement was busy distributing calendars to those who ordered them. Snell and Pickett have being seeing each other for a number of years already although no mention of an engagement was ever
uttered before. Speculation over the engagement hovered over the recent announcement that Snell was about to start a new job with a prestigious accounting firm on the near east side of Green Bay and would be making a bundle of cash. Party goers theorized that the time was right for Pickett to make his move before the goose that lays the golden eggs moves on to another nest. When the theory was tossed around for discussion Snell chuckled but did not dismiss the notion as being out of the realm of possibility.
JESSICA TO GET REALATORS LISCENSE
Jessica Poquette is on the verge of attaining her realtors licence and is expected to take the test soon. Poquette who is now working at a cash short term loan firm says "I want to help people who are in financial trouble to own their own homes." It seems that Poquette was on the boards herself once and can speak from experience when it comes to money management.
Clara Snell
The miracle happened with only a small pile of clutter in the upper right hand corner where a buried exercise bike once solely occupied the space
Poquette spoke in a phone interview and was unable to attend the Christmas Eve celebration at the Pickett household. Poquette said that if she is successful and makes
bundles of money taking advantage of the poor she will not forget all the little people who helped get her there. She said she would pay special attention to her mother Jean Poquette Hansen who took the extra time to bath her when both of her hands were not working. That's all the news that is news, see ya.
