Unforeseen riches!

I forgot to mention that we received another quarterly check from LuLu for the sales of our book.  I smiled so proudly when I deposited the $22.87 check into the account.  THEN I noticed that with such a large check the monthly interest increased from $.01 to $.02!!!  Terry and I are on our way to unforeseen riches.  I will not print our balance but you can guess by the amount of interest that the balance is HUGE!  We have had a lot of fun with the book.

The first Sunday of Advent 2016

It is again Sunday during the holidays so it is only fitting that one can pour the FP into a little of Baileys and enjoy, remember and look forward.

• It is December of 1969 and Grandma and Grandpa Saunders come for a quick visit to see their very first grandchild.  At one point in time John decides to welcome Grandpa by wetting through his diaper onto Grandpa's lap!  I remember Grandpa not being real sure he is old enough to have a grandchild (he was 52).  Of course over the couple of days John is seldom in his crib but always in some one's arms.  Nobody had any idea that John would be the first of many many grand children and great grand children.
• It is the winter of 1956.  Friday, December 21 is the Christmas program at Wood Lake School.  For some reason I was chosen to tell the Christmas story of the birth of Jesus.  Remember this is a public school!  I have read and reread and reread the story over and over and over again until I know each and every word.  Some students sit around me as I begin the wonderful story of how Jesus was born and came into the world to save all of us.  Later Mom tells me that she thought I would never end as she told  me I went on and on and on.  After the program there are treats which for me are the highlight of the evening.  Once again, as we head home, Dad refuses to start the car to warm it up.  Helen sits between Mom and Dad in the front seat and Dave, Joan and I huddle in the back.  By the time we arrive home, after the short drive, there is a tiny hint of warm air in the car.  I am not sure if it is from the heater or from the 6 bodies in the car.  I kiss Mom and Dad good-night and scamper up the stairs to undress and dive under the feather tic cover.  As I drift off to sleep I think of Jesus in the manger and I wonder if he kept warm enough!
• It is Thursday, December 24th of 1959 and the weather is cold cold cold.  It is seldom that I look forward to doing chores in the dark of winter but this night is different.  As I trudge out to the barn I know that most of the cows will be inside.  That means that the aroma and the heat from them will welcome me when I open the door.  Chores tonight will be short.  I need to check the water tank, the calves need hay, five of the cows need to be milked but that will not take a long time.  I wonder why we have Shorthorn cows because they give very little milk compared to Holstein cows.  The chores will go fast because after I am finished there will be lefsa, lutefisk, boiled potatoes and then presents.  I am hoping that one of the presents will be a new puzzle.  I love to put puzzles together on New Years Eve and stay up late late late.  One of the problems in doing that is we always fry potatoes on the cook stove and then the buttery grease on our fingers stain the puzzle pieces BUT it is fun.  I hope against all hope that I do not get socks for Christmas.  Sure I hate to fold over the sock toes that are too long and those holes that Mom missed make for uncomfortable walks but really, socks for Christmas!  I hope there are some more games to play as that Touring Card game is almost wore out.

Yes, holiday memories are good.  As I start to look north of 70 maybe, just maybe, I need to dial down those memories a bit and dial up the current activities!  We will see.  For some reason the FP went down smooth and fast--oh yes that Baileys will do it every time.

Wake up Carmen, it is time to hit the fitness center and practice that serve with the idea that it will become an asset and not a liability.

Happy Thanksgiving 2016!!!

I wanted to start this holiday season in style so before I filled my Alaska cup (a gift from Terry) with FP I poured a bit of Baileys in rather than the usual cream!  I am now good to go for the entire day.
I received a nice note from sister Helen and a nice note from brother Dave.  I am thinking sister Joan is making lefsa, taking care of Ron and spending time with those 4 little ones and those 4 big ones!
Thanksgiving and Christmas are times of the year that I spend quiet times thinking, reflecting and reminiscing about the past, present and future.  This year again my senses have been dulled by the death of a friend and tennis teammate.  John was in his low 80's and had lived a very active and full life.  As an MD he traveled to third world countries to give of himself and in his spare time he did woodworking and many other things.  Times like this I can not ignore the fact that this is the last Thanksgiving that I will be south of 70!  I often struggle with the fact that my body and mind are not in the same place.  I am not sure if that is good or bad.
This morning I have made the decision, for today, that I will take life and run with what God has given me.  Now there may be a question as to what that is but I intend to find out before it is too late. Terry and I will spend a quiet day but will enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal mid afternoon.  I am not sure if I enjoy the meal the most or the leftovers the most.
I do think of how different this Thanksgiving is from the past 60 or so.  It seems to me that growing up on the farm it was usually cold and snow on the ground.  It even seems that it was kind of fun to do the chores in the barn because it was warm there!  In Devils Lake I KNOW it usually was cold.  I remember very well one Thanksgiving we headed to our parents on Wednesday night after school.  About 10 miles south of Devils Lake the roads because glare ice and the ditch looked like a good possibility.  We found an approach, turned around and headed back home.  In St. Paul one of the goofy measuring sticks was by Thanksgiving it would be freezing in the garage.  How about that for a  Thanksgiving memory!  Here, as I tapped my phone this morning, it showed the temp to be 66!  Warm enough for a walk, a tennis match and perhaps a sunset at the beach.  Life is changeable as one grows into maturity!
Just a few things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving:

• my wife Terry who is terrific
• my kids who are all growing into maturity with success and grace
• my grandkids who daily give hope to a new generation 
• I am thankful to be looking at north of 60 in January
• to live in a country and have all (actually more) that I desire and need
• for FP with a little kick in it!!!!

There are many many more things too but enough for now.

Oh my, only 2 more Sundays left in November!

I woke up this morning and wanted to be sure I was in Naples and I decided I was because:

• The temp was a CHILLY 60!
• I remembered yesterday when I got in the car to go to the store and realized that I did not have any shoes on!
• As I was getting out of bed I recalled that on the weather last night they made a big deal out of the forecast that said Monday morning it would be in the high 40's!
• I rode my bike to the tennis courts yesterday to practice my serve and it was sunny and hot!
• When I went outside this morning I picked up the paper instead of unlocking my wood shop!
• I heard the pool cleaner start up at 9:00 AM!

Yup, I am in Naples for sure!!!

I am happy to be starting in on a new week.  I lost count but I think we made about 8 visits to the doctor or to a medical place for MRIs.  Terry had a  nerve block on Tuesday to kind of start the week and then finished with a flurry with a Kyphoplasty Treatment on Friday AM.  She was very sore yesterday and when she would get up to walk she was extremely careful.  I think the walking was not so much the issue as was the getting up and getting down again.  She will have an appt with a doctor tomorrow and the a follow up appt the Monday after Thanksgiving to see how the Kyphoplasty went.  They will take an x-ray and then talk with the doctor.  At this time we feel that she received very poor treatment in the Twin Cities and we most likely will not use the pain clinic again in St. Louis Park.  I think they treated the pain rather than the cause.  Well perhaps we should have known a pain clinic would do that.  We are so so thankful for the doctors we have here as they seem to be among the best.

Tennis, it continues to take up time and I guess that is good.  We came out on top last Monday by winning courts #1 and #2 which means after 3 weeks we are 7-2 with the second place team right behind at 6-3.  We play them the Monday after Thanksgiving without one of our best players and then we play them again the last match of the fall which is December 19th.  For sure much can happen in between so we will see but these first three weeks has been fun mainly seeing the confidence winning some matches has given some of the players.  I pretty much have the winter lineup in place.  I feel I will have 6 players capable of playing well on courts 1,2 and 3.  I will have 3 players that will most likely rotate into the 3rd court.  One of them will improve and do well, while one will just be "not very good" and the third guy is a good player but he is 83 so his movement is slow.  Enough about tennis.

Terry and I will have a quiet Thanksgiving Day.  We will stay at home, make a special meal and relax.  I may be just what the doctor ordered!  Then I will enjoy leftovers for several days.

My FP was gone a long time ago.

Happy birthday Travis, we love you.  Keep up being a great guy, a super brother and a son to be proud of.  Love, Dad and Terry

new transportation

For the past several years we have loaded bikes into the car or the camper and hauled them south or north but we never really use them on our trips.  So it was time to leave bikes in St. Paul and also leave them in Naples.  I went on Craig's List yesterday and pulled up 1000+ bike posts!  This seemed like a good fit.  I felt it was in good shape and was at a decent price so there it is.  I will ride it to the tennis courts for the first time today.
I will not play tennis this morning.  We have a match this afternoon and I have found that playing the morning of a match is not a good thing for me.  Next week, Thanksgiving week, we do not have a match so it will be 2 weeks before our next match.  We have our last 3 at home which is kind of nice. Really all the clubs have nice courts but it just is fun not to drive.  Most away matches are 20-30 minutes away.
Our weather continues to be super.  I think it is supposed to be sunny and 80 for our match this afternoon.  I walked out last night to see the BIG moon.
Terry continues, at a snail's pace, to improve I think.
No, it is time to get dressed, down the last drop of FP and head to the courts for a short time.  After that it will be stretching in the fitness center.  My back, so far so good.

November 9th, the end of political items on TV

As I sit here in Naples FL I am reminded that I am blessed.  My health, it is OK, and I am happy that Hillary is not going to be our next president.  I am sure if she had run against Dennis the Menace I would have voted for Dennis!!!  Am I pleased with Trump?  He is kind of a loose cannon but we will see.
Tennis, we won our Monday match 2-1 so we now stand 5-1 after 2 weeks.  What does it mean?  Not a whole lot except it is nice to have some success, even if it is for only a short time.  At the end of the fall season where will we be?  I am not sure but for now I will say it is fun!
The weather man made a big deal out of the fact that for the next several days the lows will be in the high 50s!  What the heck is that?  I am enjoying the low 80s now and for the next few days.
It looks like Terry and I will spend Thanksgiving as just the two of us.  That is not bad.  Terry is still dealing with a lot of pain so I think I will fix dinner on the 24th and we will just spend a quiet day, the two of us.  Actually I am excited about it.
Oh my goodness.  Dr. John L. was told that his last few months of fatigue is due to Pancreatic cancer and we all know that it is not a good sign.  John told a friend that at the age of 55 he had a major heart attack and now 30 years later it may be his time.  He said he is failing fast.  He is thankful for the extra 30 years but oh my goodness living in an "aging" community has its down times for sure.
Terry had an MRI of her left knee today and will have an MRI of her left hip tomorrow.  We are trying to get to the bottom of where all this pain is coming from.  I do think that she is getting better each day but is it so so so slow.
Help, we have too much food.  Friends brought over food a couple of days ago and tonight our next door neighbors brought over a meal.  Terry is not eating much so I guess it is up to me!  Help, I do need to lose weight.
Enough for now.  I hope that family and friends are having a great November.

Happy Birthday Veronica

Happy birthday Veronica, we miss you and love you.
Grandpa Lee and Grandma Terry

Still more to do

Terry and I arrived in Naples a week ago yesterday.  I am getting a bit better but I still am not all here!  I think much of it is due to Terry's health.  She is battling pain pretty much all the time which means NO activity.  I am hoping that we can get some new answers this coming Friday as we see a pain doctor here.
I played tennis Monday-Friday.  My team had it's first match Monday and for the first time in many matches we took all three points.  There are 3 matches each meet.  We call them court 1, 2 and 3.  It is supposed to be that the stronger players are on court 1 and the least skilled are on 3.  I had not played tennis since May so I played court 2.  My partner, Rusty, and I lost the first set, got our feet under us and won set 2.  That meant there would be a 10 point tie breaker with the winner having to win by 2 points.  We had a good start and were ahead 5-2 and then lost the next 3 points.  We surged ahead again at 8-5 and as Rusty was about to serve I turned to him and said, "This is a really important point"! After I said it I wondered how Rusty took it.  We did win 10-5 and after the match Rusty asked me why in the world I said that!!!!  Well!  This Monday we play a team that won their 3 matches so it will be interesting.  The fall league is very different than the winter.  Many teams scramble for players as they often come in October and then go again the month of December.  Our pro described the fall league as kind of a spring training.  Anyway I am back into tennis and for now my back seems to be good.
Our home here is still not put away as I am not used to taking charge of that but slowly things are being put away and it will get done.
The weather, not into it yet.  I played a bit of tennis yesterday PM and it was HOT.  I think it was in the mid 80s with some humility so different than St. Paul in November.
This summer I read zero books as I was into the wood shop etc but I have already read 2 books here so that is good.
No tennis this weekend and then our second match on Monday.
Enough for now.

Happy Birthday Cynthia

When Cynthia was in the first grade the gym teacher asked if anyone had been to a soccer game. Cynthia raised her hand and said, "I have been to 100's"!
On this day 36 years ago you came into the Lee family to make Mom's dream come true and to even out the family--3 boys and 1 girls!!  Love you Dad and Terry