Day 76, "Every picture has a story"

The day was August 21, 2009 and it was Henry's birthday.  Mary/John invited us over for his party.  Gail really did not want to go as she was not feeling well but she said she would go for a short time.  It was the last time she went out of the house.  Today, December 30, she would have been 73.  I am sure the Lee family, in the Twin Cities, is remembering Mom/Grandma today as they enjoy life but remember the past as well.  

It is Thursday, December 26th, 1957.  I can hardly wait to get out of bed.  Dave and I had an entire day planned as Christmas was over, we had new games and there was no work to be done.  Well Dad had said we needed more hay for the cows so maybe we had to take the hay rack down to the alfalfa field by Rollof's and get a load of hay but that actually was not all that much work and it was kind of fun to pitch the hay into the hay barn through the north doors.  However most of the day could be GAMES.  We already had most of it planned.  We would start out with Monopoly as that could go all day.  If someone went bankrupt we would just lend them money.  Kind of like real life, right?  Then there was Touring which was our favorite card game.  That usually did not take a long time but we could play as many games as we wanted.  Of course there was Parcheesi which included NO skill but was a lot of fun.  We also knew that we could talk Mom out of the kitchen so we could play ping pong on the kitchen table.  Then there were the 30-06 empty shells that Dad no longer used.  With each of us having 10 we could use the kitchen table leafs and make a backstop and then line up the shells any way we wanted.  We would then throw marbles on the linoleum living room floor and see who could topple the others shells first.  Oh my, it was going to be a grand day.  No school for another week and a half so it would be day after day after day of FUN.  Dave and I both woke up about the same time and we knew Mom was already up.  We debated if we should try to talk Mom into breakfast before we milked the cows or wait until after.  Sometimes Mom was kind of a push over!  As we dressed and hurried downstairs we reached over and broke a piece of hard lefse off and carried it down for a pre breakfast snack!  Mom encouraged us to milk first and promised she would have pancakes, chokecherry syrup and venison for breakfast when we finished milking.  That sure sounded good to us.  As we opened the entry door to venture out to the barn we realized that it was kind of stormy so we knew we would not have to get the hay.  After feeding the cats and getting the cows milked we came in ready for Mom's feast.  She did not disappoint.  Such was our day.  It was games and more games and we even got in a march around the kitchen table as Mom played the piano.  Dad was, as usual, sitting in his chair with his nose in a rifle magazine.  A self taught gunman for sure.  The day went quickly and the games were the best.  Such was a day in the 2 week stretch of Christmas break.

As I sit at the computer and sip my Kona coffee (2018 now) with Irish Cream in I think back on 2018.  We are now enjoying the second to last day of the year and the very last Sunday.  Among the many many happenings for me here are some:

• I wrote in my calendar on January 9th that I needed to arrive for surgery by 9:15.  My hamstring was detached from my pelvic bone by about an inch or so.  Dr. Joyner said he would have to put screws in the bone and then reattach it.  It should have been about an hour surgery or maybe less.  I came out of the 2+ hours surgery around noon I think.  Dr. said the leg was a mess.  It had been injured a month earlier and there was much scarring and in general it was a badly in need of repair.  There was an hour or so cleaning things up and an hour or so putting things back and reattaching.  Before surgery Dr. had said, "If you want surgery just know that the rehab will be long and difficult".  He was so smart!  After 30+ PT sessions and 12 weeks I could kind of walk normally and I was on the mend.  Today I can say my left leg is good to go for whatever I would like to do.
• January, February and March were tennis months and it was agony to head the team as I healed.  By the end of the season my team was getting better and I even got out on the court for a couple of times in May before we headed north.  This fall I started playing tennis in October and presto, in mid December, all of a sudden my game was back and maybe better.  The Dr. said it would be a year and I do think it was 11 months.
• Terry and I did not do a lot of traveling this year but the highlight of the little travel we did do was our trip back to MN.  We spent a night at the Grand Ole Opera Hotel in Nashville which was fun and then traveled to Memphis to take in Graceland.  Those two events were very fun.  
• In terms of fun for the summer, spending time with my siblings in September was IT.  Judi, John, Joan, Ron, Marlys, Dave and Helen, we all gathered in Jamestown ND and had a wonderful Friday night-Sunday morning.  Good food, great stories and great conversation was enjoyed by all.  We missed Glorine who could not make it.  With our ages ranging from 68-82 there was not a lot of running and jumping but oh my it certainly was entertaining.  Can one tell I am getting a bit old?
• In terms of what was 2018 like nothing compares to the house projects on Niles Ave.  Most of the summer was devoted to fixing, making, changing and upgrading.  The biggest thing was putting in new stairs from the first to second floor.  That changed the entire house.  We also installed 2 fans in the ceiling of the living room/dining room.  Terry and I painted the living/dining room which changed the house in a good big way.  The living room floors were redone which made them look very nice.  The sun room and bedroom upstairs were finished and the floors redone.  The list could go on but the end of that story line is 2094 Niles is becoming kind of a nice house.  I will make NO comment about the kitchen yet!
• On our way back to Naples in the fall we had a great time in Madison with Amy/Aaron and kids and then in South Bend the entire Lee clan took the day off to spend with us in Amish country.  Very special.  We bypassed Terry's family in GA as they were out and about traveling to different places.  We missed visiting Josh in his first year of college BUT we will make up for it in 2019.
• There were many many more moments in 2018 but enough for now.  I am looking forward to 2019 to see what comes our way.

So I rest for the year of 2018.  Tomorrow Terry and I will have Carmen and Betty Seats over in the afternoon.  Terry has mentioned about going to the Naples Pier for New Year's fireworks but I am not sure.  It starts at dusk and the paper this morning say one should arrive by 5 for good parking and they are expecting up to 10,000 people!!!  We may not make it as my limit for crowds is about 10 or so!  We will see.

My FP just went the way of GONE so I will close.

Day 75, "Every picture has a story"

Here is Grandpa Lee (my grandpa) holding Helen.  Grandpa was born December 29th,today,  in Norway in 1881 which would make him 137 years old today.  He died in 1958 at the age of 77.  For a long time I thought he died young because he died 7 years before Grandma.  He was a wonderful grandpa.  I should add that Grandma and Grandpa Lee were the model of what one would want grandparents to be.  They were active, loving, interesting and much more.  As I remember them I think they just were hard working people who loved family and felt they were so blessed to have a farm and live the life they did.  It seemed that he was always happy and even though my Dad had a laugh that would shake the Grand Canyon Grandpa's laugh was better!  As you can see his hands were huge and the story is he, and his brothers were all well over 6 feet and very athletic.  Sometimes I wonder what thoughts went through his mind as he and Grandma moved off the farm into Cayuga.  It just seemed like Grandpa and the farm were one but at my age, 10 or so, of course I would not have been aware if he had any sadness.  I do not know the year they moved but I do know that he died in the fall of 1958.  One of the strange things about Dad was he talked as if he was so close to his Dad yet from my perspective he did not want to be that close to me.  I might add that Helen was a little cutie!

Here we are in the last Saturday of 2018.  Terry and I do not have any plans for the day.  I maybe will finish my book which is one of these that you can read and not have to think.  Tomorrow we will go to an open house down the street and then Monday we will have friends over so they can watch their Michigan State football team on our new 65" TV.  His name is Carmen!

I have played tennis today and finished my FP coffee so all is good.

Day 74, "Every picture has a story"

This has to be the Christmas card that Janet and John sent out in December of 1958.  For me, the story is about what our home was like when Janet/John or Glorine/Ronald came home.  It made NO difference what mood Dad was in when the car would drive into the driveway he would light up and be the happiest guy in the world.  I mention this because Dad could be a moody person when we were growing up.  There would be days that he would not say a word and we would wonder why?  But all that would evaporate into thin air if either would come home.  AND I should say that ALWAYS my older siblings were so special to me in so many ways.  Oh my I could, but will not today, make a LONG list of special things they did for me.  Maybe I can bore some people in the days ahead with some of the things they did.  Ronald and John were 11 years older than me so the things they did and the things they brought to my life were always special and for some reason things that Dad never did.  I guess that is the perk of having older siblings, doing things dads may not have time for or things dads just did not do back then.

Yesterday was a frustrating day to say the least.  Terry's I-phone had been acting up for some time and mine was not a whole lot better.  Well yesterday mine just kind of semi-died.  Terry was still not feeling that great in the afternoon so I took both phones and went to Verizon with the idea I may just look.  Well I did more than look.  I ended up with 2 new I-phones (not the $1000 ones!) but the process was so so so long.  I am guessing it took at least an hour to decide and then get everything in order.  AFTER that the guy said it would take about 2 hours to transfer everything on the old to the new so I left.  Now the kind of good part!!!  I stopped in Bonehook brewery to use up some time😋.  I had not been there for at least a couple of years so I ordered a flight of 4 different beers and then watched the afternoon wear on as I watched TV with no sound!  I finally got bored so went back to the store after an hour and a half.  The phones were ready, well kind of.  After at least another half hour in the store I finally walked out.  I think Terry and I will be happy with the new phones but it will take some time getting used to them.  I had to pair my new phone with my hearing aides (Us old men need that) and then for some strange reason I could not access my e-mail on my phone so had to figure that out.  During some of that time I almost wished for the old black phones that you had to dial up but decided that not being possible I should forget it.  So by 9:00 last night I had a new phone but the TIME put in, most of the afternoon, was well I guess worth it but barely.

Tennis today at 9:00 with some guys who are maybe a bit below my level but it will be fun.  One of the guys said he was so excited to play with me.  Maybe he just said that to make me feel good but even if he did his goal was accomplished.  I have hope and expectations that Terry will feel good today.  I so hope the Dr. gets back to her about her Sunday MRI.  It just seems that there is something in her side/back that needs to be addressed.  Usually the Dr. is so good about getting back so I am guessing he took off the time between Christmas and New Years.

I had my FP in the cup with Elspeth's picture on it so each time I took a sip I smiled.  On to things of the day.

Day 73, "Every picture has a story"

I admit this picture is out of season for us now BUT it has a story.  First of all those darn chickens that Mom allowed to roam the yard.  Of course they pooped ALL over the place and as I went bare foot most of the summer I did not LIKE that!!!  By the way I think it is Joan and Dave in that picture.  It looks like we have REA's electric service BUT I did not think we had it that soon.  I am guessing Joan and Dave are about 7/5 or8/6 or maybe they are 9/7 but I thought we did not get electric service that early.  It certainly looks like we have service but NO yard light yet.  I guess the picture shows me wrong.  The real story is the granary which looks as dilapidated there as it was 30 years later!  The farm burned in the early 80s and this picture has to be taken in the early 50s.  IF any of my siblings know the correct dates they can let me know.  I also wonder if those are spring chickens or the hens that gave us so many eggs?  I can still taste Mom's fried spring chicken as it was the best.  Butchering them and cleaning them was NOT a favorite activity.  Chopping the heads off, dunking them in boiling water and then cleaning them---the sight and the smell still lingers!

Oh my goodness tennis was fun yesterday.  I played with some good players at 7:30 and was in no way embarrassed so that was fun.  I could give my honest opinion but will hold on that.  Terry has not felt good for a couple of days now and I am hoping she feels better today.  It acts like a bug she caught some place.  Not awful but still not feeling up to par.

My FP is gone and I need to shave before my 9:00 tennis so will sign off.

Day 72, "Every picture has a story"

Aaron, Travis, John and Cynthia at Como Park in the arboretum with Christmas flowers as a background.  Not sure of the year but it had to be around 1990 or so.  It was one of the few times we did an outing like that and as I look back we probably stayed home a bit too much.  Even as the kids were small and most families were visiting other families so the kids could play we did little of that.  I am not sure if that was a good thing or bad but either way it is a bit late to debate, right?  It almost looks like John gave his shirt to Cynthia!!!

Well it is the day after Christmas and what is one to do as a follow up of Jesus' birthday?  Yesterday Terry and I hung around home until 3:00 when we drove over to friends.  The host couple have a home north of Duluth MN and the other couple have a home in the western part of the Twin Cities.  It was a fun time as there was much talk of times past.  That comment makes me sound old, really.  One of the ladies grew up in SD not far from where my family farm was so interesting talk for sure.  The guy does a lot of hunting in SD.

Today it is back to tennis and maybe for two matches.  The 7:30 match will be with guys who are at least at my level.  The 9:00 match not so much but both should be fun.  After that I have about 200 pages left in a book and I think it may already be over due.  At $.25 per day I had better return it SOON!  I have to finish it as it is the book that will be reviewed the first Saturday in January.  

I had the last of the Costa Rica coffee this morning.  There were 3 small packages and they were mild, medium and dark.  I drank the mild last and it was the least of the 3 but still good.  Sometimes I wonder if my FP makes ALL coffee good but I am not willing to try Folgers yet!  There may be time for 10 pages or so before tennis.

Day 71, "Every picture has a story"

Christmas at the Saunders farm in 1974.  From left to right John, Aaron, Travis and Lisa Saunders.  It is interesting to note the bales, not the BIG bales as this was before their time but small round bales.  Every year Grandma and Grandpa Saunders would put up their Christmas scene in front of their home for all of the travelers who drove past on Highway 11.  It appears that 1974 was one of the few Christmas days when there was no snow.  I would say most of the time there would have been a lot of snow by Christmas.  

Terry and I spent a quiet Christmas Eve last night.  Went to Flemings for their happy hour and enjoyed a bit to eat and a drink.  NEVER had I been out of the home on Christmas Eve in the past but times change and it was a very fun time with Terry.  Afterward we went to 7:00 church and enjoyed the many Christmas carols and the message.  We came home and opened presents and then shared about Christmas Eves of the past.   Of course I thought of the Lees in South Bend and the Lees and Adkins in the Twin Cities.  I could almost feel the excitement of the grand kids as they opened presents and enjoyed lefse.  

It was Thursday, December 27th of 1957.  Christmas had come and gone with little excitement in terms of gifts.  I had known that it would be kind of bare this year.  Mom and Dad had seen the hail storm wipe out their money crop, wheat, just the day before we were set to harvest.  It had been a VERY sad day and so so difficult for Mom.  I know she saw in those beautiful windrows of wheat many things that she wanted for her family.  Really, I don't think Mom ever shared that she needed or wanted things but she may have just kept those things to herself.  Anyway there were a few presents to open like a new 2000 piece puzzle that I was sure would get put together on New Years Eve.  I had a faint hope of new ice skates but I knew that was a hope beyond the horizon for sure and it turned out I was right!  Anyway Christmas was past but there was still most of Christmas vacation left to enjoy.  Dave and I had been playing cards and making things with his electric set and my Lincoln Logs but today we needed to get out.  The plan was to hike up to the lake and skate.  Way back in the fall, during harvest, we had a flat tire on the combine so as Dad fixed it Dave had the foresight to save the old tube.  At some time in the fall he thought far enough ahead to use a jar lid to trace and cut several layers of rubber from the tube.  He then glued several layers together and presto, we had a hockey puck!  Today was the test day.  We had snow for Christmas so we knew there would be snow on the lake.  With long johns on, shoes and overshoes, caps with earlappers and mittens we headed out to the granary where we kept the shovels in the winter.  Dave got the lightest aluminum grain shovel so I settled for the old rusted one which, I am sure, weighed twice as much.   We thought of asking Ricky to join us but no phone and our tin cans tied together with wire would not quite reach the half mile.  Instead of walking through Bert's pasture, which we did in the summer, we chose the road which was easier to walk on.  When we reached Ricky's place we walked past and then down the snow covered road onto the lake.  We were correct in thinking there would be a lot of snow.  With shovels in hand we used the better part of a half hour to clear a hockey rink for play.  At that point we sad down and took off our overshoes and shoes and laced up our OLD skates.  The overshoes would serve double duty today as they kept our feet dry on our walk and now they became goals at each end of our rink.  Dave and I skated back and forth with the skill of professionals .(i may not remember what our skills really were!)  About the time I was going to tell Dave my toes were getting cold he, with the swing of Wayne Gretzky, hit the puck towards the far end of the ice.  We watched in amazement and disbelief as the rubber homemade puck slid along the ice and one by one the layers of rubber fell on the ice.  I guess the glue Dave used was not to be used in below zero weather!!!  That was the end of our hockey game but really I was not too disappointed because my toes were REALLY cold.  To this day I wonder if NEW skates would have helped.  Dave retrieved the several layers of rubber and we trudged home after getting our skates off and shoes on.  If I remember right I think that may have been the end of our hockey careers. 

Terry and I are looking forward to an afternoon with Minnesota friends.  Terry is bringing a fruit salad and it sounds like Dale is preparing a Minnesota pot roast.  Actually the only thing I am sure of is there will be no lutefisk or lefse.  I may not be very true to my Norwegian heritage.  I don't miss the fish so much but the lefse, oh that would taste good for sure.  I did have my FP this AM with some Irish cream so life is still good.

HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY BENEDICT

Ben is 7 today.  If you ask him when his birthday is he will say, "I have the same birthday as Jesus!"  Have a great day Ben and keep being the excellent boy that you are.  Love, Grandpa Lee and Terry

Day 70, "Every picture has a story"

The year was 2014 and Terry and I were on our BIG 14,000 mile camping trip.  We had been lucky enough to secure a campsite in Denali National Park for 3 night.  The second day we were there we put some lunch in the car and headed over to the visitor's center with no real plan in mind.  When we arrived we found out that there were openings on a 65 mile round trip into the center of the park so we grabbed it.  It was a spectacular trip as things turned out.  We saw huge elk, a Dall Sheep, caribou and much more BUT the real deal was this picture.  About half way into the trip we came upon a grizzly bear along the road.  I quickly snapped on my 300m lens and clicked away.  I do not think I would ever want to come close to that paw!

I woke up in the dark cold room and could hear Mom downstairs in the kitchen.  A dull light came into the room through the frost covered windows and made the tips of the nails in the ceiling look like tiny laser bulbs.  I thought, that would make a gorgeous Christmas tree but it is not really very nice in my bedroom!  As I lay in bed thinking about the day I blew tiny buffs of air into the cold cold room and thought to myself "do I really want to get out of bed or just lay here under the goose down comforter all day".  Then it dawned on me, it was Christmas Eve Day.  We would open presents tonight but really they looked pretty sparse this year.  Dad had actually said there may not be ANY as we had snow upon snow upon snow and then more.  Dad finally got to town yesterday but I was not sure if he picked up any gifts.  I did know that as of 3 days ago it looked like we may not see ANYBODY until spring as the roads were almost impossible to find let alone be open.  BUT yes, I had to get up and get downstairs to see what Mom was doing and there were those cows in the barn needing hay and needing to be milked.  I should have timed myself as getting out of bed and dressed in a bedroom that was well below freezing was a challenge but one that I almost enjoyed.  In a flash I was dressed minus my shoes and on my way downstairs.  Of course as I hurried past the gun cabinet I had to reach out and break off a piece of hard lefse that Mom always stacked in the hall.  Downstairs I could see that Mom had finished the dishes that were left from the night before and she had the milk pails ready for me.  I did not even have to think about Dad milking as he still was fast asleep in the bedroom, which did have heat!  Mom promised me breakfast of venison, pancakes with chokecherry jelly and milk when I finished with the cows and the milk was separated in the entry way.  I pulled on 2 pair of socks as the one pair had holes in which the second pair covered.  Shoes went on, overshoes went on and I was ready.  Mom always made me wear a hat but I refused to pull the earlappers down.  I felt that gave me SOME feeling of independence!  I reached up and took the kerosene lantern off the nail and struck the farmers match on the rough side of the washing machine to light the lantern.  I was off to milk the cows.  It had snowed a bit over night so the path I had made yesterday was half covered.  Part of my entertainment yesterday had been to go out to the barn and back several times shuffling my feet so I made an open path for the dog who spent much of the winter in the barn.  Back in the 50s, on the farm, there was NO such thing as an indoor dog!  Even though the sun was not up yet the new snow was shiny and bright as it seemed to twinkle as I walked.  Upon opening the barn door Tiny, our dog, jumped for joy and wanted a proper greeting from me.  After a few minutes of meet and greet I hung up the lantern and milk pails so I could open the hay barn door and get some hay for the cows.  With the cows munching hay and the cats patiently waiting for a squirt of milk I settled in to milk the 5 cows.  First there was Lumpy.  She got her name as she had this lump on the right side of her face.  I felt sorry for her but she did seem to be OK.  She was the easiest cow to milk but she also gave the least milk.  I decided to use the milking stool that Dad always used when he milked which was not all that often.  It was simply a piece of wood about a foot tall with a cross board to sit on.  At one time I wondered if Dad liked that because he had to balance as he sat and that was good practice.  I did not milk a cow like Dad.  He had the slip and slide down method while I had the grab and squeeze method.  I have no idea what was best but I do think in a contest Dad would have won but maybe just because he had more experience!!  After a dog dish full of milk and the cat dish full of milk I came to the last cow.  I had, at this point, one pail about full and I always left Big Brown to the end.  Why?  Well she liked to kick and more than once she had kicked the milk pail over so I always started milking her with an empty pail.  This morning I decided to be extra careful so I put the kickers on her.  There were simply two cuffs connected by a chain.  One cuff was put on a leg and then the chain was stretched over to the other leg and that cuff was  put on.  She could then move her legs a bit but I did not have to worry about her kicking the milk pail over.  She was not naughty but just a bit restless.  Regardless I finished milking here and was ready to go back to the house but wait, Tiny wanted a bit more milk and those darn cats always wanted more.  With the lantern and a milk pail in one hand and the second milk pail in the other I headed to the house, now in bright sunlight and blinding light off the new fallen snow.  Inside the entry way I hurried to pour the milk in the separator and get things done as I was getting hungry for that venison patty, maybe 2 on Christmas Eve Day!, and Mom's delicious pancakes with that homemade syrup.  I so enjoyed that syrup I sometimes thought it was a waste to use it on pancakes.  

I knew what the rest of the day was going to be like.  I would have to go sledding down the hill near the out house and then maybe I could get Mom to draw a fancy picture on the blackboard and I could cover the chalk with kernels of corn.  Of course that had to be on the floor but I would want Mom to have it near the cookstove where the floor was warm.  There were no special gifts this year, that I knew.  I did know that there would probably be a new card game or a new puzzle which was always fun.  I thought maybe there would be a new plastic gun that shot ping pong balls but I really did not see any package that looked like that.  Perhaps the highlight would be our short trip to Grandma and Grandpa's after we had supper.  I just hoped that we would not stay too late as IF we did I would most likely fall asleep on their bed and the would have to get into a cold car to travel home.  As I finished my breakfast I wondered if Christmas Eve Day would live up to the excitement that I felt waiting for it.  For a young country boy who was used to making fun out of not much it did live up to expectations.  

I have 2 matches of tennis lined up this morning.  I usually do not like to play twice but our pro wanted someone to hit with him as he gave a lesson to a couple from Germany.  I have NO idea why he asked me but I was happy to say yes.  At 10:30 I will play with 3 of the guys who will be on my winter team.  

Other than tennis it is read a book as it is due soon and then Terry and I will have a bit to eat this evening before we go to 7:00 church.  A Christmas Eve that is very different than the 50's or the 60's or early family time.  BUT life moves on so now it is kind of low key but I am looking forward to spending it with Terry and having a nice quiet time.  I may even get up on Christmas Day and forsake my routine of FP with cream.  On Christmas Day it may be time for a change and a little of that Irish Cream in the FP just to make the day more special.  As for today, my FP is history and it was so good.  It may be time to get dressed for tennis and go over early.

Day 69, "Every picture has a story"

This is a tale of change.  In the summer of 1970 we purchased a slightly used new car for $3800.  It has 10,000 miles on it and had been driven by a salesman.  Today you can purchased ONE wheel for $2,450 on this special edition Porsche but if you think you need 4 wheels of course it will run you $9,800 for the four.  I would strongly suggest that IF you want to purchase this Porsche you get the 4 wheels!!!  By the way, the car that goes with these wheels will set you back $170,000 but what the heck it comes with the wheels!  I was looking at $$$ from way way back today.  In 1969 I signed my first teacher's contract for $6,000.  That meant I was committed to teaching 4th grade at the North Dakota School for the Deaf and also helping coach football and basketball.  Well I have always thought that was a low salary even for that day BUT I see that today that salary would be the same as $41,666.  Now, after 49 years, I know that my salary back then was kind of fair.  I could add that our rent for the year was $95 a month but that was an on campus apartment with a bedroom, a huge bath, a huge living room and NO kitchen.  Well to be honest it was on the second floor of an old girls dorm on the campus of the School for the Deaf.  Try making a nice home for your family with NO kitchen!

Well yesterday was an interesting day.  There was a mixed doubles tennis event at the club.  I mostly do not do those things but really IF one does not enter you are kind of OUT socially.  Well you may have noticed that I said event and not tournament.  Why, well here is the telling story.  The prize for first place was a 7 day trip to Hawaii but NO nights!!!  I suspect the winners got maybe a gift certificate for $20 or so.  Anyway I had to play with another lady as Terry is not playing tennis at this point.  We won on a forfeit, lost 1-5, won on a tie breaker 8-6 and then lost again 3-5.  I just can not get into the mixed doubles and do not know if I will do it again.  

I am writing this morning on the second to last Sunday of 2018.  I have changed my story about Sunday.  I used to say I would enjoy Baileys in my coffee but now realize that I have been using a brand name so this morning I enjoyed Irish Cream in my coffee and to top it off I am enjoying Kona coffee.  

We are in the high 40s this morning so for Naples that is cold.  In my world it is not but when Terry gets up she will mention how cold it is outside.  

We have changed our plans for Christmas Eve Day and Christmas Day.  We were going to have a special meal Christmas Day but now we will be going over to friends for the day so will cut that meal out and that will affect Christmas Eve as well.  It will be a light meal Christmas Eve and then church at 7:00.  

We see where there are now piles of roof tile in driveways so we think our roof here will get tile on soon.  It has been redone and water proofed for some time now but there was a delay on the tiles until now.  Maybe be early January the roof will be finished.  

Oh my we are enjoying our new 65" TV.  All Terry has to do is touch Netflex on the remote and it comes up on the screen.  Do you think we may be tempted to watch too many movies?  No, on to my Christmas memories of long ago:

It was the Christmas of 1962.  I knew it was going to be different this year.  Ronald and Janet had been gone for a long time.  Sure, they may come home for a visit during Christmas vacation but for sure they would not be home for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.  Joan had also been gone for a few years and I was sure she and Ron would be in Fargo with their family.  The real bummer was Dave had graduated the spring before and almost as quickly as one could click your fingers he was gone and out of sight.  That meant Mom, Dad, Helen and I were the lost souls of the Lee family.  I knew that Mom and Dad would be OK but I also knew that they would light up like a real Christmas tree when they found out when Ronald/Glorine or Janet/John would come home for a visit.  What would Christmas be like with just the 4 of us?  Helen and I had school through Friday, the 21st.  That gave me the entire weekend to think about what "used to be".  During the weekend I intentionally did not get out of bed early in the morning.  Part of that was the breakfast I knew would be waiting for me when I got up.  Mom had gotten to the point that eggs etc were out and cold cereal was in, not for me.  I would lie in bed, looking at the frosty tips of nails in the ceiling and think about now and what was.  I thought about the Santa Claus Days in Lidgerwood, oh they brought back great memories.   I remembered the times we would climb into the COLD car and drive to Grandmas and Grandpa's after we opened presents.  I thought about the puzzles and games we used to get that carried us through the entire Christmas  vacation.  Well this year would be VERY different.  Helen and I had many conversations about family that were far away and maybe we actually enjoyed feeling sorry for ourselves!  What the heck I didn't even have a girl friend!  I had enjoyed a girl friend in my freshman year of high school but she had decided to get into more INTERESTING boys as I had it figured out!  Well I thought maybe we would visit Grandma Lee in Cayuga sometime.  Grandpa had died several year ago and she was by herself.  Saturday came and went, Sunday came and went and then Monday, Christmas Eve Day arrived.  Well before that I even, kind of, wished for the good old days of Bergen Church Christmas Programs.  Actually I pretty quickly dismissed that idea!  I had told Dad and Mom that I would really like a clock radio.  I would like to get up to  my own alarm and then there was the summer time baseball games.  I used to listen to the St. Louis Cardinals downstairs but now, as of 1961, we had the Minnesota Twins and I could listen to them IF I had a radio.  There was a package above the kitchen cupboards that kind of looked like it could be a radio but I was not sure.  Well Christmas Eve dinner came with the boiled potatoes, lefsa and lutefisk and then the presents.  There were not that many and it seemed kind of empty without most of our siblings but then as I had learned to do, it was make the best of things.  Later as Ronald died, Janet died and the farm burned that became an essential physical and mental approach that ONE had to take on.  I opened my package and there was a cream colored radio with a clock.  I was so excited and actually ran upstairs to plug it in and set it on the night stand (actually a chair) next to my bed.  I found out later that when the temperature in my room got down to well below freezing the clock would lose time!!!  Well to be honest maybe I lost time then too!  That was Christmas of 1962.  I do not remember a lot about the last ten days or so.  I do remember we did have a holiday basketball tournament and our team won in easy fashion.  As a sophomore I was not in the starting lineup but I got to play a lot.  Christmas of 1962, a time to remember.

My FP Kona coffee is past it's hot temperature but I still can savor the taste of the Irish Cream so I am good for a while.  I am hoping and expecting this Christmas to be one to remember as well.

Oh my after today we only have ONE Friday left in 2018!

Day 68, "Every picture has a story"

I am guessing this was taken in 1953 or so.  Of course the main object is HELEN BUT the story is about the shed in the background.  Dad would park big red (truck) in the right side and the car in the left side.  Helen is standing near the house as I think you can see cement and maybe a tub about half way up on the left side of the picture.  Could that be the famous galvanized bath tub that we used every Saturday night in the winter?  NO trees in the background as they came later.  BUT back to the shed.  It fell victim to a storm that took place  a year or two later.  Joan, Dave and I were at Wood Lake School when the storm hit.  IF it had taken the school we may have been toast, so to speak but it did not.  After it had passed we ran outside and looked towards home.  No trees so we could see our farm from the school.  We saw the house but the wind charger on top was gone.  We raced home to see the wind charger lying on the ground all twisted and the shed was flattened.  I do not remember how or when the shed got cleaned up but know it was several years.  I still can almost feel the pain as I stepped on a board with a nail sticking out as I explored the wreckage some time later.  I hopped into the house with the nail in the foot and the board still attached!  Mom, the nurse and doctor, gingerly pulled it out and then it was sit still with your foot in Epsom salt.  After a bit I was good to go but still NO shoes!  Of course the wind charger never was put back up and the shed, it never was replaced so from that time on the car and Big Red had no garage.  Maybe that is the reason one spring  Big Red's radiator was the home to a family of mice!  I think the next time Dad's car enjoyed an inside presence was when he cut a hole in the hay barn side of the barn to park the car.  Come on Dad there was really no good reason to cut up our sweet old barn!  There are times I think about myself and my siblings.  The upbringing we had and how we all did as adults.  As for Dad, I know he was incredibly smart as he could pretty much do anything.  A photographer he was.  A electrician he was.  A hunter he was FOR SURE.  A welder he was.  A blacksmith he was.  A mechanic he was.  A farmer he was NOT.  

We had a storm yesterday afternoon.  I am guessing we had an inch or more of rain and it was very windy.  I rode over to the courts this morning at 6:00 and one of the courts had the fencing down so that court will not be playable until that gets fixed.  As for the courts, they were dry enough to play on but it is still very very windy.  Karl, who arranged our court for this morning, canceled it last night based on the forecast.  Yesterday I played at 9:00 and as the match went on the wind picked up.  By the time we ended one needed to be aware of the wind as it would do tricks with the ball.  

My FP is some coffee that Terry's friend Heidi gave me after she was in Costa Rica.  It is very good but bottoms up with the last sip.

Day 67, "Every picture has a story"

Way back in in the fall of 1959 Cayuga, Cogswell and Forman schools joined.  Everyone in high school was bused to Forman and Cogswell and Cayuga were left with their grade schools.  The new school was named Sargent Central and they became one of the largest, if not the largest,  high schools in the area.  In the fall they fielded a 9 man football team and were part of the Wild Rice Conference which included schools from Lidgerwood, Hankenson, Fairmont and others.  The next school year  they joined the conference with towns to the west like Kulm, Ellenday, Ashley etc.  In that first season of football they dominated the conference and went undefeated.  Well the word was they had a monster line that averaged 225+ and for high school that was huge.  When I was a senior I was 180 and above average weight wise on the team.  Well all one has to do in order to realize that times have changed is look at the picture.  Here is an 8th grade team from Massachusetts that have linemen averaging 6 foot and 260!!!  In the school year of 1960/61, as an eighth grader, I was 5' 11" and weighted about 160 and I towered over all of my classmates.  Times change for sure.

Here is Terry's table when her ladies arrived Tuesday.  A great mix of store bought and home made goodies with another table of water, wine and coffee.  No wonder everyone who came had a great time.

9:00 tennis today.  I played yesterday and my game was half a notch below the previous day but still better than it was last year before I got hurt.  Yesterday was fun as one of the guys is  a bit below the rest of us who play.  Well in the last half hour of our play he was unbeatable and it was actully not disappointing to lose.  Almost every shot he hit was a winnner down the line, down the middle or a lob over our heads.  Afterwards he was so excited and it in turn was exciting to see.  I am hoping that I do not enjoy losing again for a long time!

We received some rain last night and I think we are supposed to get some storms late today.  We need the rain so that will be good.

Cynthia sent a text yesterday and said Mr. Shear, who lived on Niles Ave, died.  I am guessing he was in his upper 80s.  He was our mailman for several years.  He scolded the boys for walking on his lawn when they delivered the morning paper so sometime later Travis had to take his little Kodak camera and play detective.  He shot pictures of Mr. Shear walking on lawns as he delivered the mail!!!  Leave it to Travis for sure.  I think the Shears lived in the Niles Ave house for more than 60 years.  Well one can guess when happened when they sold last summer.  A demolition crew came in and pretty much gutted the house and then after redoing it put it up for sale.  I actually did a small paint job for them way way back.  After they moved last summer it put me at #4 in terms of length of stay on Niles between Cleveland and Cretin.  I am guessing there are about 35 houses in that span.  I am guessing Judy F, our neighbor, may be the longest as she has lived there 54 years.

It is almost 7 and I may have to bike over to the courts to see if they are playable.  Sometimes they are wet at 7:30 but by 9:00 are OK.  NO sun today so that may not be the case.  Anyway I need to to something as my FP is long gone and I just have a faint taste of ham, egg and hash browns left in my mouth.

Day 66, "Every picture has a story"

Janet in 1955 ?

Helen in 1967

Joan in 1959

As you can see the picture today is 3.  All 3 of Mom's daughters were high school homecoming queens and Mom was so proud of that.  Janet went to Lidgerwood High School as there were no buses in those days and even though Cayuga had a high school it would have meant driving to and from each day.  I don't think Mom and Dad ever had more than one car.  I know when Ronald played legion ball in Lidgerwood there were times he drove the truck in to play!  Joan was in the first graduation class of Sargent Central and was the homecoming queen.  Helen, the baby of the family, was in the graduating class of 1968.  As for the boys in the family they did a lot of things but not on the "famous" side.  For me, the closest I every came to fame was, as the captain of the football team ,I got to crown Nancy at half time and even kissed her on the cheek!  I am not sure but I MAY have been the only boy to kiss her in HS!

Terry's party was a smashing success yesterday.  One gal could not make it because she was not feeling well and another had major car problems and could not get home until she bought a different car!  I think she got home after dark.  Well she could have gotten home without a new car but really, $6000 to fix her old one did not make sense.  Anyway Terry had a fantastic spread of goodies and drinks.  I had planned to go out and about during the party but one of the women had parked in our driveway and I could not get the car out.  So what did I do?  I holed up in the guest bedroom and read wood magazines.  I could tell by the high volume of chatter that everyone was having a great time.  I even was able to sneak some goodies after about half the women had left.  

Tennis at 10:30 this morning.  I have been playing well the last few times.  One guy on my team sent a text and said he felt I was playing at the level of my play before I got hurt or better even.  He said, "Welcome back!"  Nice to hear of course.  So what may happen today, maybe a big let down!

No I would like to get a few things done and then go over to the courts a bit early.  My FP was OK but not great today.  I made 2 pots yesterday for the ladies and I don't think they drank any so this morning it was warmed up FP which, of course, is better than Mom's instant Folgers any day!!!

Day 65, "Every picture has a story"

And the games went on!  It was Christmas time in 1978.  The presents had been opened and the fun was underway.  It is interesting to note some things in this picture.  First the lovely orange carpet on the kitchen floor.  Indoor/outdoor carpet, with rubber backing,  covered every room in the house when we bought in 1977.  Over about 3 years the carpet, room by room was taken out.  The orange in the kitchen was one of the last to go.  Well actually the green on the stairs going upstairs stayed until about 2014 or so, ugh!   A person can only guess WHY Travis is holding his nose!  A second thing to note is the boys had the living room, the den, the basement and all of upstairs to play and where did they play?  In the kitchen by their mom!  A side note is the fancy air pot by the stove.  A sign of the 70s for sure.  Well if I want to be honest it could have been a sign of the 60s and our family was just a tiny bit behind times.  Christmas vacation was a time of games, fire in the fireplace, roasted hot dogs and smores and of course outdoor fun in the snow.  One may notice Travis' hole in the knee.  If I remember money was kind of in short supply and so clothes were handed down, patched and then patched again!  If you could see the entire stove you would probably be able to see a stove top that had been fixed MANY times.  A new stove did not come into being until way way later.

Today is Terry's big party.  I will play tennis at 7:30, hit Costco at 10:00 to get my broken left hearing aid back and then be home by 10:45 to help Terry (Sometimes I am more in the way than a helper but I try)  with  last minute things.  I leave about the time the ladies arrive and then return, for sure, after the last of the ladies have left.  If there are any ladies here when I return I may have to drive around the block until they leave.  Reminds me of the time I so wanted to stop by the bakery and get an apple fritter so I said, "Lord if you want me to have a treat please open up a parking space in front of the store"  I only had to drive around the block 7 times!  Lucky me!!!

I played tennis yesterday and it was amazing.  IF I could only play like that everyday my life would be so much fun!!!  It always surprises me, this tennis game.  Some days a person plays and the court is too long or too narrow.  Then on other days almost every shot is inside the line or past your opponent and life is good.  

I was up kind of early this morning.  The eggs, toast, ham and hash browns are long gone and my FP is almost history so will close.

Day 64, "Every picture has a story"

This picture was taken around Christmas time in 1968.   NO deer head in the picture, great!  I remember because I had purchased my first camera and when we were home I asked Dad a lot of questions about it.  I post this picture because the book review Terry and I went to yesterday morning made me think of Mom and Dad.  I loved Mom and Dad with all my heart and feel they did a great job of raising their 6 children.  BUT I thought, as I listened to the book review, of the thing that I did not get from them and it most likely would have made a huge difference in my life.  Well there is NO promise I would have been a better person and of course I know not if it was true of my siblings but here goes.  I could almost say I needed praise but that sounds a little to trite so I will say I would have benefited from encouragement.  That was who my being was when I was young.  I played football, basketball, baseball and track.  I do not remember Dad ever encouraging me or telling me I did a good job or correcting me or ANYTHING.  I loved to sing and decided to not sign up for high school chorus my senior year just because I WANTED someone to tell me I should.  I know, that is about as weak as it gets but it is the truth.  I wanted Dad to play ball with me and teach me how to throw a curve ball but never.  I mean I would not have expected Mom to do things like that or to say anything and of course she did not.  I remember going to the athletic banquet at the end of my senior year and Dad did come but when they talked about me being captain of the football team and of the basketball team and doing well in track Dad did not smile or look at me.  I am not complaining or saying Dad and Mom were bad parents as I stated I loved them but today it made me wonder "what if' Dad had encouraged me or praised me just a tiny bit???  I may have been a big sports star (just kidding).  I then looked back at how I interacted with my children and I wonder if I have fallen short as well.  I may never know and I am NOT about to ask them at this point in my life.  I look at my siblings and am in awe of what they have done and what they are doing.  One can go down the line from Ronald, Janet, Joan, Dave and Helen.  Oh my they have done so much and have accomplished so much.  I do not know If they had encouragement from Mom and Dad.  I do know that Dad was so so into Ronald and son in law John and for that I am not jealous in the least but today gave me MUCH to think about.  I should comment that this is one of the few pictures that you will find Dad smiling and I am not sure it is because he has his youngest son home for a while!  I do think that smiles from Mom during the Christmas season were not very abundant after Ronald and Janet died.  Oh my but life can be so difficult at times and yet so joyous at times as well.  After saying these things I, if it were possible, would not change my childhood for another.  Given it was not perfect but then who can say they had a perfect childhood?  Mom and Dad, the farm, the country, school and the list goes on, it was a great way and a great place to grow into manhood.  However I would like to forget about the boiled wheat for breakfast and for some reason the Spanish Rice that Mom made was terrible!
Some things I enjoyed the most when growing up:

• Ronald and then Ronald and Glorine coming to visit
• Janet and then Janet and John coming to visit
• All my sports in high school
• times of work and play with Dave
• times with Dave and Joan
• having Helen as a little sister
• the creek and all the fun it provided
• the cows and the barn (I know that may sound funny but)
• the Ford tractor 
• the big red truck
• the hunting and MY 22 from Ronald
• deer hunting out west (hunting around home not so much!)
• I still can taste Mom's pheasant dinners and her spring chicken dinners
• the Bergen Church fall festivals
• biking up to the lake for a swim
• fishing with Dad
• etc. etc. etc.

It is Friday, December 31st in 1955.  New Years Eve Day is almost as exciting as Christmas Eve Day.  It actually may be more so as we do not have the church Christmas Program with the goofy things we had to wear!  Regardless today is ALL fun.  It is Friday and we have been out of school for a week now and with the cold and snow the only work has been getting a rack of hay from down south and then feeding and milking the cows.  Even, at the age of 7, ,I now have some responsibility in milking and then bringing the milk in to be run through the separator.  Oh my that thick cream that comes out is oh so delicious on cream/bread, Mom's pancakes and even the mush we have!  But today is going to be a very fun time.  Dave was good enough to bring in the 5 gallon pail of kerosene and fill the stove in the living room.  I still have problems carrying the darn kerosene into the house without spilling a bit.  When that happens, oh my the odor is not one Mom is happy with.  In later years Dad got real progressive and put a 55 gallon barrel outside on the north side of the house so we did not have to carry the smelly stuffy in the house.  The kerosene is stored in the granary and we usually would have 3 or 4 55 gallon barrels delivered at once.  We would put a pump in a barrel and then fill 5 gallons cans and carry to the house.  I digress.  Here is it 5:30 and even though the day has been fun I can hardly wait for night.  We have sledded down the hill by the outhouse.  Dad spent much of the day with Halvor as they would spot a fox and track it down to shot it.  Often that would be an all day or at least an all afternoon event.  Seldom did they come home empty handed.  The fox would be skinned and then Dad would take the hid up to a man named Crandle and get money for it.  Not sure the money paid for the expensive of the day but that is another story.  Later in life Dad lamented the hunting fox on snowmobiles as neighbors would do.  He felt that was NO sport.  The cows have been milked and we have enjoyed a great supper that Mom fixed.  There was still some lefsa and then we had vision burgers over the cook stove, a feast for a king!  Even though Dave and I had captured the kitchen for a while in the afternoon for our ping pong game we had to have another one after supper.  Leaves would be put in, the table would be turned a bit and we were good to go.  As I stated in my book, "no corner shots on the oblong table!"  It always had to be kind of a comprise as when ping pong was happening everyone else had to be in the living room  That was NO problem for Dad, who always read gun or photography magazines and Mom who may play a bit of piano or most likely would knit.  Joan and Helen would have to find a way to have fun.  As we ended the ping pong we would slice potatoes and fry them on the cook stove.  After that it may be a game of Touring (a card game) and THEN the big event.  We would again make the table as big as possible and empty our new puzzle.  It was then puzzle time until the 500 or 100 piece puzzle was completed.  I was excited because as long as we worked on the puzzle we did not have ANY bed time!!!  Often, long after Mom and Dad had gone to bed, we would triumphly put in the last puzzle piece and then we could hardly wait until morning to show Mom and Dad.  I will NOT get into how we determined WHO got to put in the last piece.  All I will say is my older brother and sister somehow usually were able to FIND the last piece on the floor or so they said!  

That was our New Years Eve activities for several years.  Mixed in there was Lincoln Logs and electric sets that provided 100's of hours of fun.  There was the big slate black board that Mom would draw pictures on and we would cover the chalk lines with kernels of corn, the Parcheesi games, the Monopoly games, the marble and empty shells where we lined them up and then would see who could knock all of the others down first.  Of course we also had MANY little cars to play with.  Gradually, as we grew older times changed.  But for that year of 1955, and before and some time after, life was good with family and activities to enjoy with siblings.  

The December days are going fast.  I think Terry has most of the items for her party.  As of now I know not what I will do during that time but will think of something.  Maybe I need to go to the gun store where they have $50,000 guns to look at or $15,000 pieces of wood that can be made into a custom stock.  Mine you I said TO LOOK only.  Maybe I can find someone to play tennis with in the afternoon.  I do not do that very often but then I would have to come home all sweaty and there may still be some women here and that I need to avoid.  I will see but I am not worried.

I did have my Sunday Kona FP with a splash of Baileys which always gives it a taste that is over the top so to speak.  Time to close for the morning.

A nice rain last night

Day 63, "Every picture has a story"

Perhaps this picture could be labeled "happy feet"!  Those of us who have had the "fun" of raising children know that as their little feet grow we go through shoes after shoes after shoes.  Then when they start to walk and ride the trike or play outside it seems like there is a need for a new pair of shoes each month or so.  I remember John, Travis and Aaron RUNNING up and down the side walk in front of  710 3rd street in Devils Lake.  They would have both hands on the box of their Tonka truck and the truck would be backwards so the dump on it would not lift up.  Going from west to east was downhill so when they came to the end of the block it was stop by using the toe of their shoe.  One can imagine how long a pair of shoes lasted, NOT long.  I could not think of a way to encourage them to not use their toe!  By the looks of those cute toes the shoes must have protected the feet!

Yesterday was full of excitement but all ended well.  It was time to make holes in the wall behind the TV to hide the cords.  It was exciting to be able to drill a hole and then use a hole saw to cut a nice circle about as big as the screw down on a quart jar.  I admit, I did use the lid for a pattern.  After the hole behind the TV was made and one also near the baseboard I was ready to string the cords into the wall.  BUT wait a second.  I had the TV swung way away from the wall to make the holes and there, before my eyes, the bracket started to come away from the wall.  I thought, if the bracket comes off the wall this TV is going to FALL right to the floor.  Luckily Terry was close by to hold onto the TV and all was saved BUT there I had a bracket half away from the wall.  Perhaps I should add that in my excitment to save the TV words between Terry and I were a bit elevated and to my discredit I admit.  Now it is time to admit I made a mistake.  I had used toggle bolts to fasten the bracket to the wall and several of them had not been put in far enough to have the wing on the end swing open so you can draw it back against the board.  So for several the wing was simpily wedged against the bit hole in the half inch wall board and not against the back of it.  A BIG NO NO NO FOR SURE.  Well with the TV resting on the couch I loosened all the toggle bolts and pushed them into the wall until I heard a click which meant the wing opened and then drew all of them against the back of the wall board as they are meant to be!!!  I hope nobody ever asks me how I could have been so "wrong" (I DID NOT WANT TO USE THE "S" WORD!).   After about a 2 hour delay the TV was up on the wall again, the cords were hidden behind the wall and the TV was straight with the cabinet below it.  I then mentioned to Terry that it would have to be a miracle if things worked right after we turned it on.  After all I had to disconnect about a dozen cords and reconnect them.  Terry took the cable remote and the TV remote and said, "We have a miracle!"  All is well that ends well.

We have our second book critic lecture this morning at 10:00 AM.   After that we will make a stop at Costco to pick up some things that Terry needs for her Tuesday party.

I do not know how much rain we received last night but I know it was a lot.  I woke up about 3 AM and it certainly sounded like a storm.  I did ride my bike over to the courts at 5:30 this morning and the courts still had water on them.  I am guessing there will be no 7:30 play but maybe by 9.

I think yesterday may have been the first weekday since we came in October that I did not go over to the courts at all.  I did not have any tennis scheduled but usually I just ride over anyway for a short time but yesterday I did some things around here and then that TV adventure came into play.  

Time to sip the last of the FP and then do breakfast dishes.  Not much to wash today as I had English muffins with bacon, egg and cheese so only a few things to clean up.  We will leave for the book lecture at 9:30.

Day 62, "Every picture has a story"

After stopping in Cartago CA which is on CA highway 395 we ventured into Death Valley National Park.  With a temp of 116 that day we did not stay too long.  California has more national parks than any other state.  On that trip, in 2013, we took in Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Joshua Tree, Yosemite, Lassen and Pinnacles which is the ONLY national park that I would say is not worth going out of your way to see.  As far as Terry and I could tell it was made into a park through political channels and serves as a get away for people in central CA.  On another trip a year later we took in Redwood National Park and Channel Island National Park which is a series of islands in the Pacific Ocean.  A person could make a entire long vacation seeing all the parks in CA.  Among our favorites are Sequoia and Kings Canyon as those HUGE trees are just beyond belief.  I forget but on one tree they said how many houses could be built out of the lumber in the tree.  Also one had a base circumference of 125 feet!  How about the for a footprint?  We do need to take in the Arch in St. Louis which is now a national park.  I think it became one last February.  AND of course those 2 in Hawaii and one in American Somoa which are still on our radar but not tomorrow.

I do not have tennis planned for today.  I THINK I may take care of the wires/cords from the TV mounted on the wall.  I need to make a hole in the wall behind the TV, bring the cords through the hole down to a hole near the floor and then bring them out to the back of the machines in the cabinet.  At this time seeing several cords coming out of the TV and going down to the cabinet does not look too great.  We did clean the floors yesterday.  I do my best by taking my court shoes off in the garage but still that darn clay seems to find its way into the house and make the entire floor home.  I am not sure the floors are all that much better but I do believe they are brighter and as I emptied the water we did get up a lot of dirt.  Terry also got some Christmas cookies made yesterday for her Tuesday party but I think she will make some more.  I still have to decide what I want to do the day of the party.  I really need to get FAR away from a party of 20 women!!!

Breakfast is over, the FP is gone and it is now on to some work.

End of the fall tennis season

Day 61, "Every picture has a story"

This is some of the tennis team and wives from last spring.  The picture is old but the TEAM is the story.  I picked up a racquet for the first time in 2011.  By 2012 my competitive juices were alive and well but not really any place to use them team wise as our club had no 2.5 (low level of skill) team.  In late 2014 I approached our club pros and inquired about starting a team.  They were all for it.  So the journey of team tennis begin in January of 2015.  We took our lumps and then some that first year.  In winter of 2016 we were kind of middle of the pack and then in winter of 2017 we hit the HIGH and won the league.  Well when you are on the mountain top you need a new challenge so in the winter of 2018 it was on to 3.0 competition.  Well that darn torn hamstring prevented me from playing in 2018 BUT I still managed the team and we were on the UP swing towards the end of the season. Now with 2019 coming up I have high hopes of finishing in the upper half.  When one gets to the 3.0 level you often are playing against 3.5ers who are on the down rather than 3.0ers who are on the up!  On to yesterday which was our last fall match.  We played the other Tarpon Cove team which actually was a 2.5 playing at the 3.0 level.  We won all 3 matches in convincing fashion which was supposed to happen BUT one never knows.  The closest match was mine on court #1.  I played with Rich who is in the middle of health issues related to dementia.  Rich is a good player but oh my it is INTERESTING playing with him.  We won 6-2 and 6-3.  To be fair to Rich he has not played since last winter so he was rusty but he still has the physical skills of a good player but by the time winter comes around I may play him on court 2 or 3 as the mental part of the game just is not there anymore.  It was a fun afternoon as the club brought over a nice spread for treats and drinks.  Players hung around for a good time to chat and talk about the fall and what is coming up for the winter.  

I am in the middle of deciding about my winter team.  I am struggling with a couple of players who really are good enough to be on the team but from a personality standpoint I am not excited to have them on the team.  WHAT IS ONE TO DO???  I do not want my personal biases to be a negative for the team but on the other hand I do not want any cancer on the team either.

Oh my I need to get serious about some things that have to be done before Terry's Tuesday Christmas party.  Perhaps there has been too much tennis and too little work over the last couple of days.  I will try to be better and maybe it will work as I am finished with my FP and think I am ready to greet a new day with energy.

Day 60, "Every picture has a story"

The date was October 2, 2014 and actually the picture shows it was taken at 5:07 PM!  The start was in 2012 when we pulled our tiny camper home.  We decided to take in MN state parks.  There are 67 so we set in for the long haul.  During 2012, 2013 and early 2014 we took in a total of 63.  We camped in many but for some we just stopped and visited for a time.  Then in late summer of 2014 we headed west, then north and then west again to Alaska.  The last 3 state parks could wait.  After spending 5 weeks in Alaska, interrupted by a flight home to see Terry's mother on her death bed, we drove onto the ship of the Alaska Marine Highway and headed to Bellingham Washington.  We headed down the coast while taking in several national parks and then at Ventura CA we headed west towards MN.  We took in several more national parks but as we drove into CO we got a message from brother Dave that he had finished the guitar he had made for me so for sure there needed to be a stop in Jamestown ND.  As we drove onto I 94 headed towards St. Paul on October 2nd we decided to end our 15,000 mile camping trip by taking in the last of MN state parks.  We had 4 left and they were pretty much in the same general area.  From Jamestown to St. Paul is about an 5 hour drive so as we departed from Dave and Marlys home at 9:00 we felt we could visit all 4 and arrive home before dark.  First it was Crow Wing State Park and that was easy to find, then Kathio State Park which we had to drive into town to find the park center and then Father Hennepin State Park.  Now it was about 4:15 and we had ONE last park, Lindbergh.  We drove into the park about 4:45 and were disappointed as the visitor center was closed.  We looked inside and then walked towards the shelter near the center.  Each park has a place with a park stamp you can use to stamp a MN park book.  Here we were, ready to stamp the 67th and last park into our book.  Before we could do that the door opened in a house near by and a ranger walked towards us and asked if he could help us.  The center was closed but he would be happy to open it.  We told him our story of visiting parks and this was our last one.  His face lit up and he said he had not had the honor of being the last park in someone's book.  He personal stamped our book after he opened the center.  It seemed like he was almost as pleased as we were happy.  In doing the parks one gets a free night of camping after #25 and another free night after 50.  Then when you send in proof that you have visited all 67 you get a plaque and a pin.  It was a fun 3 years of camping and I would say MN state parks are a treasure to all who visit.

I am geared up for the last of the fall tennis this afternoon.  The weather should be great, cool, and the compeition should be fun as I am not sure Tarpon Cove vs Tarpon Cove has happened in the past.  I will be playing court #1 with Rich who has memory issues so it should be FUN in more than one way.  Really the matches should be very one sided in our favor but in tennis, as in so many sports, you never know what might happen.  The home team usually brings drinks and individual snack but we will have the kitchen bring over crackers, cheese, chips and drinks, pretty high end, right???

Well there are several things that need to be done before Terry's "ladies only" party so may get some of that work done this morning.  The party will take place next Tuesday but better early than at the last minute.  I know, that is not my usual MOO to be honest!!!  For an explanation MOO, to me, is mode of operation.  Makes sense, right?

My favorite cup holds one last cold sip of FP so I am out of here.

Day 59, "Every picture has a story"

I sat on the seat and carefully held the knife blade to the stone.  Really, I did not need it to be very sharp but over the last several days it had gotten much use.  We were kind of in the "in between" stage of farm work.  Well it seemed as if Dad always had some idea of how to keep Dave and I busy BUT at this stage of the summer, June, there tended to be some days when we could avoid work if we worked at it!!!  Dad would often get in the car and head to town and IF Dave and I could avoid contact before he left often we were on our own, no work.  June was the best time for that.  The wheat and oats were up to the point where you could not drive in the field picking rocks.  It seemed that our land was so good at growing rocks, better at that than growing grain many summers.  Anyway NO rock picking for the rest of the summer.  Then there was the 30 acres on Jim's land down south that was summer fallowed for the summer.  We would go over that a few times a summer with the Ford and drag but that was a quick job.  SO  today, as Dad was gone, I had time to myself.  I had a board, about 12" X 6' in the shop.  It looked like a war zone as there were marks from top to bottom and side to side but that was good.  With a bit of pride I have to say most of the marks were kind of in the middle of the board!  I took the board outside and set it up against the plow hitch and then marked off 15-20 feet.  I would then expertly take my pocket knife out of my right pocket, that is the pocket Dad kept his knife in, and extend the 3" blade.  With the arm of a baseball player and the skill of someone who had done this many times I would hurl the knife towards the board with pace that would be the envy of any young boy on the farm.  Almost without exception the knife would hit the board with the blade in perfect position and I would smile with delight at my skill.  BUT of course there were times when I had to sit down and sharpen it so there is the story of the stone!

Tennis today at 7:30 but I am not sure I will play.  I have asked a guy on the team who just arrived a week ago.  Last year he had some memory issues and it sounds like they have gotten worse so now when I send a message to him it goes to his wife as well.  I have not seen him play so I will let him play in my place this morning as I will be using him on the team tomorrow and I am not sure which court to put him on and who should play with him.  Today will give me some answers

Enough as I need to get over early to talk to the tennis pro as he was going to talk to the kitchen staff yesterday about our after meet snacks tomorrow.  I will leave one cup of FP for my return at 9:00.