Grandpa's wood shop is busy

Jude putting the finishing touches on the bookcase he and Grandpa made

If you want a great colored picture, call Faustina

Agatha, Miss Goldie Locks!

Grandpa and Grandma think Jude resembles him, Jude is not certain!

Faustina, putting an oil finish on her book holder

June 25, I am pretty sure Mom and Dad were married 80 years ago today!
Grandpa's wood shop has been busy the last few days.  First Jude made a bookcase and then Faustina made a book holder.  Grandpa helped a bit!!
Terry and I thought and prayed about going to IN tomorrow to take in the memorial services for our friend Tom but we decided there is just too much going on now and it is too far so will catch up with his wife Phyllis later.  I have not seen an e-mail but a friend, Colin, was not expected to live until the end of the day yesterday.  The sadness and hurt go on.
John/Mary and family will be here tomorrow.  I think they will be in town for a few days.  I went to the grocery store last night to get the BOGO's that ended at midnight.  The little gal who carted the groceries out thought I had enough food for a long long camping trip.  I just said the when little/big grand kids come to town you need to be stocked up!
At men's group last night we met with some young men.  Oh my, it is so refreshing to hear young men express their desire to serve the Lord and be what Jesus would want them to be.  As a more mature guy now, I need to hear that from our young strong men.
I am fighting a war on weeds in the lawn.  Sometimes I think I am winning and sometimes I think I lost!  More work ahead but really, those darn weeds are a tough fight!
I heated the FP up once and now it is done.

A warning

We received more news about Tom, who died over the weekend.  He was dealing with his blood disorder and was feeling good.  He and his wife Phyllis, had their home up for a walking garden tour.  He spent several hours working in the yard and did much spraying for weeds etc.  It appears that the spray got into his lungs and caused his sickness and death.  I am not sure we have all the facts but I take it as a warning that a person has to be careful.  How much, if any, did his blood disorder enter into the picture, I have no idea.
I THINK I dealt with LuLu for the last time!!  I received a copy of the hardcover and the dust cover was great.  When we removed the dust cover we discovered that the name of the book was not on the book spine.  So, if we put it in the bookcase without the dust cover you would see my name but not the book name.  In dealing with LuLu yesterday they said their publisher has a limit of 42 characters on the spine and my book has 44 characters.  We finally settled on taking my name off and starting the name with "Innocent" instead of "The".  They are sending me another book with the changes.  Done, I think.
Actually, I am done with the FP this morning too.

I am beginning

I am beginning to understand when old people say that all of their friends have died.  Of course I am not there yet but we received news this morning that Tom, who was on my tennis team last winter, died yesterday.  He was dealing with a blood disorder but it did not seem like it was a life threatening sickness.  I believe Tom was 71 and up until early winter he was playing tennis several times a week and was walking 3+ miles a day.  Need I say that life is short.
Another friend, Colin, has been battling cancer for some time.  There was a note last weekend that he can no longer carry on a conversation and can not talk on the phone.  He is around 65.
So life goes on but the hurt and sadness lingers.
I saw two of the kids yesterday, talked to another on the phone and received a very nice card from the fourth so it was a good day.  I am a lucky dad.
We will see John and family this Friday and also Aaron and family will be in town but don't know if we will see them.  It is great-grandpa's 100th birthday party.
As I sit and type it is dark and wet at 7:15 AM.  We are having wonderful rains.  The tiny garden is growing fast.
We will pick up Faustina and Jude at noon today and Faustina and Grandpa will do a small wood project.  She has no space in her bedroom for a bookcase.
I should add that I received a book in hand Saturday.  That means it is real.  LuLu has sent a paperback and hardcover and they will arrive Tuesday.  The Saturday book was a hardcover.
No more FP!

It is Done

Above is the picture on the cover of the book.  The book is complete and for sale on LuLu.  It is in e-book, paperback and hardbound with a dust jacket.  I am disappointed that LuLu sets a minimum and allows a person to go anyplace above that.  IF the minimum is set then the author gets $0.!!  I felt their minimum was way too high but what can a person do, not much.  Anyway it is done and I will be ordering a bulk order to give to grand children, children and siblings.  It has been a labor of love which turned into a long, difficult, expensive but fun journey.  If I knew what it would entail before I started I am not sure I would have done it but maybe.  I really wanted the grand children to have stories of Grandpa as I know they have no idea of living without TV, without a bathroom, without electricity and on and on.  Lastly, I am grateful for my childhood but am equally grateful for the modern way of life today!!!!
To Terry, who supported me, helped me and gave me hundreds of hours of editing, you are the best.  BUT my way of writing and saying things is different to say it mildly.  So IF you happen to read the book and notice weird things or incorrect ways of saying things, it is me--not Terry!!

Time Marches on

It does  not seem possible that we are now in the last half of June.  It seems that we took some friends to the airport a couple of days ago for their 14 day 50th anniversary trip to Europe and they will return tomorrow!
The book, it is finished and I am waiting for a copy to be sure they did everything right. I had to set the prices about a week ago and their minimum was much much higher than I thought it would be. 
Terry and I drove to Hudson WI last Thursday and played tennis for the first time in a LONG time.  We had never played indoors and on a hard surface.  It was very different but we had a good time.  My back, well it kind of did okay.  After tennis we had lunch at a brew pub in downtown Hudson, a fun place with good food.
Terry has worked hard on one closet upstairs so that is cleaned out, has a fresh coat of paint and is now neat and orderly which is a first.  Terry did a great job.  AS I have said in the past, there are MANY more tasks ahead!!
John and family will arrive next week and be here for a few days.  John and the boys will then go to the Boundary Waters and after that they will take in the Saunders gathering on the farm in ND.
Aaron and family will be in town for great grandpa's 100 birthday this month.  Leo had said "Grandpa will turn 100 and then he will die!"  I am sure he is right but hope it doesn't happen soon.
Terry planted a small garden and it is growing like crazy.  She put some herbs in pots on the deck and I think in two weeks they have at least doubled in size. 
We enjoyed a nice visit from Deb and Dale yesterday.  They came to town for a daughter's birthday.  Deb is retired but Dale is now back on the school board for a short time but to me it sounds like they will get to go south for the cold months maybe by the time they turn 70 (!) if Dale doesn't stop accepting things to do. Deb did say she does not want to be away from Grandma for too long of a time.  Grandma is 94.
My FP is ready so I will sit down and read who won the NBA title and how the Twins did.

Progress????

Terry's sailboat went to sixteen year old twins who love to sail

finally, a wall instead of a green canvas

58 growlers in the wood shop

This went to Terry's grandson Tom

There is progress on Niles Ave.  Home projects, well they have not started yet but they will.  We have had a laser Sailboat in the backyard for 4 years.  Finally got it on Craig's List and it went to a new home Saturday.  These two 16 year old twins, Christine and Hunter, were delighted to get it and they seemed like the perfect kids to enjoy it.  We did have to put up with several texts about "Hi, I am on the ocean and can not get the boat but I will send someone.  Can I have you Pay Pal to deposit the money!!"  I guess that goes with Craig's List.  The bike, with a carrier, went to a new home.  I was beginning to think we should start a bike shop with the number we had.  Still am trying to sell two other bikes.  I have not been happy with the growlers on shelves in the wood shop so decided to hang them.  I could see a broken shelf with glass everywhere some day.  With the ones we picked up coming north this year there are 58 hanging.  Not to worry, they all have been empty before they find a home in the shop.  There has been a green canvas for a wall every since 1977.  In the early days I would drive the car in on the ramps and change oil etc but not more.  The wall will be great for the wood shop.  It also looks nicer.  Terry had done much work in the house.  She claims she is ordering my messes but says she can make bigger messes than I.  NOT possible as I have a special talent for "messes".  Regardless we have MUCH to do in the house with material, cards, boxes full of things, pictures and the list is very very long. 
The house, well there have been some things done.  I have sprayed the yard and yesterday Terry and I put in three window AC units.  Guess what, today it is cool again.  We have rabbit world here and I would like to find a rabbit relocation device but not sure there is one!
I THINK I send in my last revisions for the book yesterday.  DONE, I have my fingers crossed. Will there be a book in hand by July?--we will see.
I need to spend a day in the wood shop as it is in disorder, once that happens things will be good to go.
I interrupted my blog to have bacon/eggs/toast and now my FP is gone so that tells me it is time to dive in and begin the process of changing chaos to order in the shop.

Happy Birthday to my birthday girl, I love you but this is a tad late (May 27th)

In addition to birthday cake twice at Aaron/Amy's Terry found this unique clock at the Frank Lloyd Wright Center

Terry received this beautiful best ever arrangement of flowers from her daughter Kim

At John/Mary's Terry had birthday cake, got a Trinity shirt and her 2015 edition of the Trinity review

Terry does not celebrate birthdays, rather she celebrates "birthday month" but sadly it came to an end on Monday.  I would say she did fairly well during the month.  I will have to ask her to see if she agrees.
I have given in and come to the conclusion that I am not young any more and I am soft!  I worked much of yesterday outside and in the garage.  I gathered about 8 cubic yards of yard waste and drove it to the compose pile, I uncovered the sail boat that we have in the back yard and then scrubbed it and washed it.  We have listed it for sale so thought it needed some care in case anyone calls. I worked on my knees for about an hour pulling weeds.  I climbed into the garage attic and got down 4 large pots.  After all that, this morning I ache in many places and actually hurt in more!  I know I am out of shape but really, it is not necessary to be so so bad.  I guess I will swallow my pride and admit that age does not build more  muscles and it does yield a young and resilient body to one that is not so eager to work hard.  But, I will be outside again today.
Now that I am in St. Paul, I am using one of my favorite coffee cups.  As I sip on my FP this morning I see that the cup has a green and a red tent.  I am reminded that the last time I tented was 2011 and it was a wonderfully fun time with Terry but now I have yielded to an enclosed camper where you can turn on the TV, turn on the AC and then in the morning plug in the toaster!  Times change. 
Talking about change, I realized yesterday that I do not change fast enough.  In the garage/wood shop there is a green canvas dividing the two.  The garage floor is about 14 inches higher than the shop and I used to have car ramps that you could drive out on and change the oil etc.  Well, I have not done that for a long time but the green canvas has hung there, dividing the two forever.  I could have used that wall space a long time ago.  What can a person hang on a piece of canvas other than a painting which I am not into.  So yesterday, perhaps years late, I cut the canvas down and will now put up a wall that I can use for my woodworking.  Change, I need to be more in tune with it.
FP gone.

Maybe???????

We have now been in St. Paul for 3 days.  There has been some work done (Terry more than I) but really the settling in and putting away is far far from complete!  Maybe I am ready to start in earnest today.
We had a relaxing weekend.  On Friday we were able to see Faustina, Jude, Benedict, Agatha and Veronica for a short time. 
We enjoyed a short visit from Brian, Terry's youngest son, yesterday as he stopped on his way to work in Two Harbors MN.  Travis moved out before we arrived home and have not seen him yet.  I think he plans to stop by Tuesday.
We ventured to Costco to get some food.  We try to empty things out before we leave.  Of course when you do that the bill is HIGH. 
The computer is in the den and I sit in front of the window facing the street.  As I watch kids walking to school and think about grand kids, it brings me back to the days of little kids being rushed to school and me doing the same.  It only reminds me that life is short and a person needs to live each day to the fullest!
It may be time for Terry and me to sit down and decide which projects to tackle first.  The lawn, the flowers, the garden, the stairs, the north bedroom, the sun room, the bathroom,well the idea is that somethings need to get done and what is the most important?? Terry did work on the garden and flowers but there needs to be more in terms of planting.  We did go to the Farmers' Market on Saturday so we have several things to put in the ground.
I just lifted my American Legion coffee cup up and oops, the FP is gone and so am I.