Family

Family has been on my mind much in the last few weeks.  John/Mary and family stopped in early July, Aaron/Amy and family stopped later, family reunion in the Black Hills, Travis over for lunch last Friday and then John/Mary again this week for short periods of time.  Pictured are the kids from the reunion in the Black Hills. 
I have not blogged this past week.  I left our computer on the sidewalk in SD as we left for home a week ago and we just received it in the mail Friday so not much done this week.  How could one leave a computer I do not know but for sure it was not difficult!!
John and Henry returned from the Boundary Waters Friday and then Mary, Liam and Audrey came back as well.  Saturday noon saw them leave for a wedding near here and then from the wedding head back to South Bend with an over night stop at Aaron/Amy/s.  They will arrive home July 31 after having spent 4 weeks+ on the road seeing places, seeing people and having a grand time.  Two year old Audrey said her favorite part of the vacation was playing with princess sticker!!  Oh my to be young again---wait I am happy with my age.
We are in the middle of a very warm humid spell here with temps in the low 90's and humidity very  high.  When I venture out into the garage for woodworking it is pretty much sweat, wipe, sweat and then feel salty and whatever.  I am almost ready to put up the last of the storms I have made and then it will be on to other projects. 
Terry has a dr appt tomorrow for her back and neck as she has issues with pain so we are hoping that tomorrow can be the start of something good to relieve pain and discomfort.  Well nothing will happen tomorrow but maybe answers to some questions can start things on a good track.  She does an unbelievable job of managing daily pain but really something needs to be done and we are hoping tomorrow can be the beginning. 
As we welcome August tomorrow we also look forward to 3 family birthdays, Aaron, Jude and Henry.  Their ages will be 38,2 and 8 in that order.
Terry and I are getting to a point where we need to make decisions about what and when for the next few months.  We have many many projects to do, some places we want to visit and decisions to make about when to head back to Naples.  At this point I am still a resident of MN but Terry has been a resident of FL for some time so one can not be in MN more than 1/2 the days minus 1. 
I plan to post more entries in the coming days as there are many wonderful pictures from the reunion.

A time to remember--family is priceless

Here are some pictures of the Lee reunion.  Terry is standing at the front door of the corn palace in Mitchell, some of the Lee relatives and Liam's knee that needed 3+ hours in the emergency room in Rapid City and 4 stitches before going home.
We are spending the night in Chamberlain SD.  We should arrive home by mid afternoon tomorrow.  For the weekend reunion we talked a lot, ate way too much, enjoyed a great power point presentation of Joan/Ron that Dave put together, enjoyed grandchildren very much and all in all had a great time. 
The picture of the group was taken on Friday and another one was taken on Saturday when about 8 more people arrived. 
It was a time that was planned for 18 months, a time that went by way too fast and a time that one really needs to digest, appreciate and give God thanks for so many blessings.  Of course we remembered mom and dad, brother Ronald who died at the age of 27, sister Janet who died at the age of 27, Gail who died in 2009 and we welcomed in-laws and spouses Judi and Terry. 
We rejoiced with Joan/Ron and helped them celebreate 50 years of marriage and joked that our next BIG gathering may be in 2015 when Dave/Marlys can celebrate 50!
Terry and I were so blessed as many signed a card to congratulate us on our marriage and to welcome Terry into our family. 
So with memories, joy, sadness and many more emotions we bid farewell this afternoon and are excited to return home tomorrow as John/Mary and family will stay the night with us.  On Monday it will be OK now what project is next.  Well actually it will be that way after my much anticipated dr appt on Tuesday and of course tomorrow and Monday the prep will be interesting!!
Back on central time it is now bed time.

wait and wait and wait

As I sit in the Hampton and WAIT for certain relatives to wake up and call I will write a bit!!!  These pictures are from July 2 when John/Mary and family stopped for a bit.  Why did I not get a picture of Henry I do not know.
Looked at the weather for Rapid City and it is supposed to be 91 and 87 for the two days so not as hot as it is now.  Terry can not believe that our reunion takes place in a town named "Johnson Siding"!
When we made reservations for the week we thought we would be working on things all of Wednesday but I guess it will not happen until maybe Wednesday afternoon and we arrive Tuesday afternoon.  We may take in Mt. Rushmore today as we only have about a 4 hour drive today and that will put us into the campsite too early.  We have an efficentce place as that was all they had when we made reservations about 6 weeks ago so we will see if we can turn around in it. 
No, I may have to walk or drive over to the other hotel to ----they just called so got to go

Hot

Terry and I are resting in Mitchell SD and are about 275 miles from Rapid City where we will arrive tomorrow.  We got on the road by 10:30 today and 2 stops and 5 hours later we checked into the Hampton Inn.  After getting settled we spent about an hour at the corn palace which was interesting.  Helen, Joan and Ron are also in Mitchell but at a different hotel so will see them in the morning before we head out.  Most of the day the car temp read 97, 98, 99 etc. so it was and still is hot. 
We are looking forward to seeing everyone and spending time talking about "the good old days" and really for the most part they were good and for sure they are old!!  I am talking about the times, not the people.  It will be fun to celebrate Joan/Ron's 50th on Saturday afternoon.  Will anyone else in the family make it, maybe Dave and Marlys but they are the only chance.  We are hoping John/Judi Mouw can make it as it would really be neat to have all six of us kids, Ronald, Janet, Joan, Dave, Carmen and Helen represented at the reunion.  John recently injured himself so not sure he can come.  A dr. appt Wednesday will tell the story.
Time to watch the last of "For the love of the game" and then sweet dreams until tomorrow.

A time to work and a time to rest

As we prepare to take some time off from our home projects I leave some pictures of our garage which is almost completely finished.  Pictures 1 and 4 show the west side before and after, pictures 2 and 3 show the front trim as some of it was ready to go on and then what it is now, 5 shows some trim that was completely redone and 6 shows another west side that has the new windows on.  The garage does not need storms but it adds green to match the house and we are very happy with how it looks. 
It is now on to SD, Rapid City and the Black Hills to celebrate family.  Terry and I will spend tomorrow night in Mitchell SD and take in the corn palace, then on to Rapid Tuesday.  On Wednesday we will connect with Joan, Ron, Helen, Dave and Marlys to get ready for the reunion.  On Thursday we will spend all day with the Lee's and Adkins in Custer State Park and then the reunion on Friday and Saturday.  It will be home again on Sunday as John/Mary and family will be here and then I get the honor of preparing for a wonderful Tuesday colonoscopy on Tuesday.  After that it will be back to projects!!!  Maybe when we are gone our windows will be put in but not sure.  Terry asked if we should have a picnic near Mitchell SD tomorrow but the weather says a high there of 103 so will skip that. 
So now it is pack, check, look, think and make sure all is in order for the trip.  Bikes are in the house ready to go and suitcases are getting ready so time to party!!!!

A woodworker should know!

Got to get it finished
I have gotten so much done today
I want to get all four on the garage by the weekend
Maybe I should try this new way
Well, I am a bit tired
All those thoughts went through my mind last night as I wrapped up a productive day of making windows for the garage.  Then in a nanosecond the second window that was completed except to just trim a little became a flying object beyond me to the back garage wall and lay on the floor in 4 sorry pieces waiting for the scrap pile!  Now it is set up the saw with the perfect blade height, get the palm router out and set it to the right settings but first of all go get more wood as I had used my last piece. 
What can a woodworker take from the experience?

• don't work when you are tired
• the joint held up great and that is good!
• be thankful that the flying object went to the wall instead of into me

So here I am another day and more work than I had thought but all is not lost. 
The rain continues to come and come.  In the last few days we have gotten 1.75", 1.95" and 1.90".  This should be enough to keep the tomatoes growing, the grass green and the trees happy.  We are scheduled to get HOT weather starting today so one probably can sit on the deck and watch the zucchini, tomatoes and other veggies grow.  Oh I forgot there is no time to sit and watch as projects need to get done and that is fine.
We had Travis over for lunch yesterday and that was fun.  Had not seen him for a couple of weeks.  We enjoyed cheese burgers, a salad with garden greens and grilled zucchini.  I think it was a feast.
No, a new day is here and I best be getting to the lumber place for more lumber and then out into the wood shop before the temps hit 90+ for the day.  It sounds like the rain has stopped.

A thing of beauty!!!!!!

As Terry and I from St. Paul, Helen from Holiday Island, Arkansas, Joan/Ron from Salt lake City Utah, Dave/Marlys from Jamestown ND, Glorine from Rapid City SD (Glorine was married to my brother Ronald who died in 1964) and maybe John/Judi from Lake Park MN (John was married to my sister Janet who died in 1966) prepare to descend on Rapid City SD for our first ever Lee Reunion the building you see played an important part in our lives.  I thought there were no pictures but it is fitting that we have one now as we gather for the reunion.  What is it you say??  It was the glorious THREE holer on the farm that was our only bathroom until sometime after I left home in 1965.  Perhaps Dave or Helen could tell you when mom/dad decided to get half way modern and put an indoor bathroom in the house.  The picture shows weeds etc. around it so it must have been taken after the farm burned because when in full use there was a path worn to the front door and no weeds were growing there.  If you knew nobody was coming you could sit on the middle hole, (actually my favorite hole was the north one) leave the door open and view some of mom's flowers in an area to the east.  Oh so many Sears catologs were looked at in there and then in the end (no pun intended) the pages were all used up.  The yellow pages were used first.(those are not yellow pages from the phone book as we had no phone)   In the fall there was a bit of heaven as the soft wrappings from peaches were available for a short time.  I never did know if the small opening in the south wall was there by accident or if dad left it there so you could see as you sat if someone needed you to hurry up.  I am guessing that as siblings, spouses and cousins reminise next weekend there will be some stories centered around this "oh so important" part of the farm.  Thanks for the picture Dave.
Work around here continues to progress.  The 12 shutters were put up Monday.  They went through the routine of scrap, wash, prime and then paint.  Terry did 99.5% of that work and then I put them in place.  I am excited as I will put the first storm window on the garage today.  I think it will look nice and when they are all up the garage will be white with green trim to match the house.
This morning we woke up to a temp of 59!  It felt so nice and cool as the summer time temps have arrived here in flying colors.  Mostly in the mid 80's but this weekend it looks like it could be in the mid 90's.
Went to start the 91 F150 pick up yesterday and the battery was dead.  I was surprised as the truck gets very little use.  I looked at the battery and it was a 72 month one.  It was purchased in May of 05 so I guess it lasted what they say.  Mark (Terry's son) who works at a Car Quest place told us that the2 things that are hardest on batteries are the heat and going long periods of time without use.  Well we have had heat the last few weeks and of couse the pickup sits most of the time so I guess it should have been no surprise.
I broke down yesterday and bought a palm sander that hooks up to a vaccum so that there is little dust.  I went to my favorite store, Seven Corners hardware, and found the one I wanted and of couse it cost way too too much.  I could go on vacation at Seven Corners as there is isle after isle after isle of things.  An example would be pliers.  They do not carry 4 or 5 but as I counted one time they had 35 different ones and with that why wouldn't one want to spend a vacation there??   Clamps---they must have 60-70 different ones and everyone knows that a woodworker never has enough clamps.
I thought of Grandpa Saunders yesterday as I read about the idea that our economy is headed towards trouble because we went off of the gold standard.  That happened a long time ago and Grandpa said that in the end that would NOT be good.  We will see if he was right but for now it seems the govenment can just print as much money as they want.
No that new storm is waiting to be painted so that it can get put on this afternoon.

Thunderstorm!!

As I sit here to write it is 11:15 PM and I am on night watch for severe rain and maybe hail.    I know that we have already had a lot of rain but no hail up to now.  It appears that the worst may be over.
This past week has been busy as usual. 
Terry and I did get in some OK bike rides for 3 days and a long walk another day so that was good.  However our focus continues to be projects.  At this time no major ones in terms of money but in terms of work--pretty major.  Terry has done much work on the 12 shutters that will be up soon.  They have been off the house for some time.  The garage is DONE--I mean really DONE.  I am in the process of making storms for looks as we will paint them green and then the garage will match the house.  We can not afford to do anything major in the kitchen but we will paint it and that is in process.  I do and always have hated the metal cupboards but they stay for now but with a coat of paint.
We have had lettuce and zucchini out of the garden which has been fun.  We made a salad with them in when we went to friends house for dinner last night which was fun.
A week from tomorrow we will leave for Rapid City for the Lee Family Reunion.  We are looking forward to that and hope that some of the ?? people can show up as more than one in the family is dealing with health issues.  All of the  kids and grand kids on my side will camp in Custer State Park before the reunion and Terry and I will be able to spend one day with them. 
Terry's daughter and her family have been in town since  Wednesday.  We saw them for a short time Saturday and then spent some time with them today at the Minnesota Zoo.  Her daughter, Kim, and her husband Dave both competed in the Life time fitness Triathlon Saturday.  That is a race where this time around they swam .93 miles, biked 24.6 miles and ran 6.2 miles.  Sounds like a lot of work to me but they do well and enjoy it.  I think they will head back to home Tuesday.
I just checked the rain gauge as the storm seems to have passed and we received .95"and that is after getting .75" last night.  We did need the rain so that is good.  No watering this week!!
It is nearing midnight and the storms seem to be over so it is bed time.  I write that and the thunder is almost deafening but it still is bed time I think.

The beautiful--the old and the new

The flower is one that Cynthia and her friend planted in my front yard last year.  They weathered the winter and have come back in a beautiful way.  The windows, well you can tell which is old and which is new.  The new ones are just great and number 1 on my wish list is to find money someplace to replace the 8 old ones on the first floor.  It is not bad to have a wish list, is it???
As I write John, Mary, Audrey, Liam and Henry are in their travel van on their way to the Twin Cities.  We expect them to arrive about 2, in time for for a late lunch.  I think the menu is baby back ribs, potato salad and other goodies.  We get to enjoy them for about four hours before they venture over to a friend's house.
Yesterday was a day of little work but busy.  In the morning Terry and I did some errands and then stopped over at Travis' for lunch.  That was fun.  In the afternoon with the temps at 100 little was done.  I did walk over to Jerry W and take him for a walk about 7:30.  I will be doing that almost everyday as he needs/wants to get out.  He is now doing PT twice a week and we hope and pray his recovery is speedy.  As I walked-actually ran-home the rain came in force as I was 10 feet from the front door.  We only got .18" but it was enough so that I will not have to water today.  It is so much better to have God water things than have Carmen water things. 
I think it is about time to dress, finish my french press coffee and then get some things done before 2:00 PM