Good-bye to March of 2019

Day 158, " Every picture has a story"

Oh my but time does fly.  The history of this picture. 

My end of the tennis season party is this afternoon so perhaps it is fitting that I look back at tennis and my team.  Not sure it is interesting to anybody but me but regardless this is today!

• Tennis has kind of been a rebirth for me.  In high school I was part of football, basketball, baseball and track.  Baseball was short lived as the program was discontinued after my freshman year.  Track was only in the picture my senior year as I thought Dad wanted me home after school in the spring for field work.  I lettered all 4 years in football and basketball.  The highlights were a conference crown in my junior year and serving as captain of both sports in my senior year.  My thought is this, I lived for activity and sports.
• In college I put in 20-30 hours of work each week and my activity consisted of pick up things and golfing.
• The end of my junior year of college I married and my sports activities came to a halt.   Golfing was too time consuming and costly and earning extra money to supplement my teaching salary was more important than playing ball for the night Owl lounge!  
• From 1968 to 2011 I remained VERY active but sports were out of the picture.  I am not sure that was the best but it was what it was and I have no regrets.  
• 2011 came and after Terry and I married she introduced me to tennis.  I played to the point of hurting my arm as I had NO idea HOW to play.  I also hurt my calf in my right leg.
• Finally in the fall of 2014 I had become tired of trying to get on one of the tennis teams.  It seemed to me that they were just so closed and perhaps a bit cliquish.  So in December I suggested to Myke, one of our pros, that I start my own team of 2.5.  She supported that and it was a go.
• I have my notes of that first 2.5 team in the winter of 2015.  Today, as my team gathers for the party, nobody from that team will be here!  Three of the guys are still playing at the 2.5 level, Three of them have moved to other places, two of them are unable to play because of health and one has passed away.  
• I remember back about our first season.  It was not really a blood bath but it was VERY few victories that winter.  Then in 2016 I added a couple of players and we finished in the middle of the pack.  In 2017 I added one more player and we won every match (that means we won at least 2 of the 3 courts each week) to finish in first place. 
• Well when you are the best of the bunch you need to move on to new challenges so in 2018 it was moving to 3.0 competition.  
• Now for kind of the good part!  In 2018 we won 5 of 30 courts.  That is 17%.  In the first half of this year we won 5 of 15 matches for 33%.  In the second half of this year we won 9 of 15 for 60% so I feel the trend is GOOD.  I also have added another good player for 2020 and maybe a second one as we will see.
• So the tennis story moves on and on.  It has been a lot of fun to feel the competition again and get the "on the field juices' flowing once again.  
• Now it is just a matter of time to see how long this goes.  In a second league that I played in my partner, we won 4 of 4 matches, was 82 so perhaps the end is not in sight yet!
• This has been the first year I have been able to play the entire season injury free.  I would say after a broken wrist and a torn hammy it was about time.  Maybe, just maybe, I have learned to play smarter!

The day will be taken up in preparation for the party at 4:30.  Everyone gets a door prize.  They range from 1/3 of a $5 bill to a free half hour lesson from the pros.  Whoever gets the third of the $5 will get the other 2/3s IF they agree to be on the team for 2020!!!

FP is gone.

Last Saturday of March 2019

Day 157, "Every picture has a story"

These are the two houses I have owned.  In a conversation recently a friend counted 9 houses he had owned in 54 years of marriage so I guess I am a bit abnormal.  I may add that there are probably many people out there that would agree!!!  

Some interesting things to remember:

• 710 was purchased in 1970 and 2094 was purchased in 1977
• 710 cost $15,000 and was sold for $32,000 8 years later
• 2094 was purchased in 1977 for $47,500.  If Zillow knows anything, which I am not sure of, it could sell today for $400,000.  
• We moved from 710 which was in DEVILS LAKE to 2094 which was in ST. PAUL.  I think that was a good move.  The logo of the high school in Devils Lake was a devil!
• We almost were not able to purchase 710 in 1970 because we had established NO credit.  We had borrowed NO money and had NO credit card.  Ron, at Gate City Savings & Loan, saved the day as our loan came through.
• When we moved to St. Paul we had to park our moving truck in the back yard of a friend as our house had not closed.  On closing day we were still $5,000 short so the papers had to be signed a day later.
• Before we sold 710 I had to cut a hole in one of the upstairs bedroom floor and then jack up the floor a bit as it was sunken in the middle of the room!
• At 2094 the picket fence came down after a couple of years as the boys kept breaking pickets with their soccer ball kicks!
• Tom and Thelma Ruth, who owned 2094, really gave us a good deal on the house.  They had raised 3 boys in the house and were so excited to see we had 3 boys.  They always had a dog and we had a dog.  When our realtor called Tom's number to ask about the house Tom said he would not talk to any realtor and he hung up which meant I had to walk down the street from where were were staying and introduce myself to Tom and Thelma.  Two hours later we agreed, in principle, to purchase the house.  Buying a house today would take a little different twist "for sure".
• Before we moved from 710 I landscaped the front yard by getting rid of the cement wall.  I also put in a new sidewalk going up to the house and a cement driveway to the garage in the back.
• I will end by saying 2094 has been a really gift in many ways BUT, to this day, it is a BLACK hole for money and time.  It was built in 1906 and at the time was in the middle of a corn field. Tom, who owned the house, kept it up BUT did NOT put any money into it.  He put sweat into which in the long run comes back to bite you, or me I should say.

Another perfect weather day in Naples.  Sunny, a slight breeze and a high temp of 80.  No tennis today and maybe not tomorrow either.  When I got out of bed this morning my body said, "Good decision to not play today!"

Some things need to be done today as Terry and I will host our end of the year tennis party at our place tomorrow.  A bit different this year as it will be players only, not wives.  That means the number will be maybe 10, down from about 20 last year.  A good decision, "for sure".

I am guessing that IF anybody reads this blog they may wonder WHY I use "for sure" sometimes and put it in quotes.  Well that is a saying from Elspeth when she saw that sister Audrey got a watch for her birthday.  She said, I want a watch for my birthday, "for sure"!  So she is the "for sure" girl.

My FP is finished and so I am on to some projects for the day.

Day 156, "Every picture has a story"

It was the spring of 1970.  We did not have a stroller for John so would take him around in the wagon.  The girls at the School for the Deaf just loved him.  Here Diana, Cheryl and Linda (can't make out the one girl) surround John as they think he is so cute!  John has lasted (he will be 50 this year!) and the wagon lasted for a long time but is history now.  At times I wonder how those girls fared in life.  Diana had no ears so it was a challenge to keep her glasses on and one can see there are not on in this picture.  At the time we lived on campus at the school but that summer we were forced to move off.  After a VERY difficult summer we were able to buy a house at 710 3rd street.  On campus we lived in old main with it's 12 foot ceilings and NO kitchen.  The one good thing about living there was in the winter I could hike down to the basement and walk in the tunnels to school without ever stepping outside.  If I needed to get to the business office I could also get there by the tunnels.  Several of the buildings were connected so one source of heat could be used by all.  A side note is at the time there were about 110 students there and today there is probably 10 or so!  The beloved wood shop is just sitting empty wanting attention.  No that may not be true as most of the machines have been taken away.

Terry and I had a nice day yesterday.  For a variety of reasons Terry has not been able to get on the tennis court for a LONG time.  Yesterday we went out at 1:30 and hit the ball for about 45 minutes.  It was a fun time.  Maybe Terry can now get back into it as she feels better than she has for a long time.  As for my game it is progressing (I think) a little each time I play.  As we approach April there will be different players on the court as many will head north for the summer.  

I decided to not eat breakfast this morning but "for sure" I am having my FP.  Will dress and get over to the courts soon for a 9:00 court time.

Day 155, "Every picture has a story"

How about that, I was young enough so there is NO bald spot in the back of my hair!  No the story is this.  Dad did encourage us to play games and have fun.  Here is the tether ball he set up.  I do not know if he made the cement in the tire or if Dave and I did that.  Anyway Dad came home one day with this game.  Here it looks like I am playing by myself but the game is supposed to be one against another and you wanted to hit the ball to wrap it around the pole.  I am impressed as I am OFF the ground with both feet!  I do remember having a lot of fun with it.  It looks like it was set up in the front yard as those look like the trees to the east of the house.   Kind of a fun picture I would say.

I had a fun time in tennis today.  Karl, Rich and I played with Nick whom I had not played with or against before.  Most of the time in an hour and a half we get in 2+ sets but today we got in 1 set in that time.  It was a close match that ended up 7-7.

It is Terry's and my 8th anniversary today.  Oh my it seems that these last 8 years have gone so so fast.  I wrote on the paper this morning that I am looking forward to 30 more years but perhaps that may not happen!  As usual I prepared a meal of potatoes and tenderloin steak.  I think it turned out very good.  Our anniversary is the ONLY time we splurge and have tenderloin steak.  Oh my If we had it more often it would break the bank "for sure"!

As one would know the FP is history for today.  

Again Happy Anniversary to my lovely wife Terry.

Not today, no bus ride

Day 154, "Every picture has a story"

As one can read it was the summer of 1982.  Deb, Al and myself decided we wanted to have t-shirts for our camp staff.  By the way the camp was named Servants of the Lord!  Get the SOL?  We had these shirts made for all the staff.  AFTER the fact I talked to one of our young staff and he said his dad had looked at his calendar and wanted to know WHY he had SOL written on many of the dates.  His dad had been in the Navy and there SOL had a different meaning!!!  We had no idea but of course the shirts, I still have one, have provided many laughs over the years and of course they also show how little we knew about the world at that time!

I got a bowl of potato salad from a neighbor yesterday.  Lee Ann and Joe know I like it.  Lee Ann brought it to our party last Thursday and then sent what was left home with us.  Well Lee Ann didn't think there was much left so she made a new batch yesterday and brought a bowl over!  So what did I do?  For breakfast this morning I had potato salad and toast with cheese on!  Yum Yum "for sure"!

A bus load of people are gong to Miami today to take in the tennis tournament there.  Terry and I have never gone.  It would be fun to see the professionals BUT buses are NOT for me.  I figure I spent the equivalent of 2 1/2 years of work riding on the bus when I was in grade and high school!  So for me ENOUGH of buses.  I do hope they not have buses in heaven!

I went on a 30 minute errand yesterday that turned out to be maybe an hour and a half!  Traffic and lines in the store were enough to drive a person crazy.  Today Terry has a business conference call and then an appt so we will be out and about after my 9:00 tennis.

We will be hosting our end of the year tennis party this Sunday afternoon.  I am going to have enough door prizes for everyone.  They will range from a $1 wrist band to a free racquet string at Pro Am and then also a free half hour lesson from our pros.  The ONLY real prizes are the string job and the lesson but the others will make it fun.

Enough for now.  A week from today we will be into April already.  Oh my where does all the time go?  I still have some FP left so will sign off and savor the last of it.  As grandson Liam may say, "It was an epic cup of coffee!"

No tennis today

Day 153, "Every picture has a story"

Picture taken at Mom and Dad's 50th anniversary party at Joan and Ron's lake cabin.  Some how I can not wrap my mind around the years here but am sure it was taken in 1985 as Mom and Dad were married in 1935.  I would say all of us kids look a bit older now!  Again I was hard for Dad to smile on any picture and not sure why.  Mom has the look on her face that kind of says to me, "I am just me."  IF I remember correctly we gave a quilt to them made by Gail and Joan had a photo album made for them.  At that point the farm had burned and they were living in Veblen.  

Terry and I will be going to a barber shop concert this afternoon.  A friend is in it.  We have gone in the past and it is very good.  Other than that the weekend is pretty free.

• An interesting note.  I read in the paper this morning about the Ferrari car.  A carbon brake job cost north of $40,000.  I guess that is not on my bucket list!!!
• Then there was an article on jackets made out of leather from old Cadillac, Mercedes and other cars.  I guess the jackets are unique and nice.  I decided not to buy one as they the cost of these unique jackets are $1500 and UP.  I decided to forgo leather and use my nylon Tarpon Cove jacket!

I had some Kona coffee as my FP today and it was the BEST.

Really

• As I slowly got out of bed I thought to myself "Not sure this body can play tennis today"
• I reached down to pick up the garbage under the sink as it is pickup on Friday.  I thought oh my this back is kind of sore
• When I dumped the 3 daily pills into my palm I thought "I hope they do the trick.  I really want my blood pressure and cholesterol to stay within the acceptable limits!"
• Then I picked up the hot water pot to fill with water for my FP and that darn right elbow caused a slight hitch as I moved it towards the faucet.  
• I sat down at the table with the WSJ and realized my left elbow was kind of sore.
• I sat down at the computer to blog and as the left hamstring rested against the edge of the chair I kind of questioned if it was 100% anymore.
• As I sat 3 of the toes on my right foot stiffened for a short time.  As I wiggled them the stiffness went away.  I thought I hope that issue with my right side is OK today.
• THEN I THOUGHT ABOUT
• Janet who died at the age of 27
• Ronald who died at the age of 28
• Roxanne who died at the age of 50
• Gail who died at the age of 63
• Grandpa Saunders who suffered from ALS for many months
• Luisa who died in her early 50s
• Dave with his oxygen tube 
• AND many others who did not reach old age or suffered from health issues and my eyes filled with tears of gratitude.  I decided that I would play hard on the courts this morning.

I think I need to make this day a good day!

Terry and I put on our 3rd villa pool party yesterday.  It was a fun time.  As always there was great food and much of it.  We had about 25 people which is what we expected.  There were several who could not come because of other commitments.  These darn retired folks are so BUSY.  We have not decided if we will have an April one.  Some who are down here for the season will be going back for the summer and want to be home for Easter.

As of right now I do not have a 4th person for tennis at 7:30.  I tried several guys last night and could find no one and now I have one name but not sure I want to try them at 7:00 AM!

I had a pot of FP Kona this morning.  Oh my goodness it is so smooth.  

The mountain top?

Day 152, "Every picture has a story"(not sure this picture qualifies!)

That was NOT my team member yesterday!  We ended the season on a high note by besting Belle Lago in all three sets!!!  The first time we played them we won one of three sets so yesterday was special in many ways:

• court 3 won set one and then won set 2 8-6 in a 7 point set tie breaker after a 6-6 score--you have to win by 2
• court 2 lost set one, won set 2 and won the match tie breaker 10-6--Rich and Karl changed sides for the second set and Karl said that made the difference
• I played court 1 with Ron.  He hurt his right foot in the first game but played on perhaps at 80%.  We won the first set 6-4, lost the second set 3-6 and then won the match tie breaker 10-8.
• Rich, who has early Alzheimer's, played with Karl on court 2.  Rich and his wife will be moving so I am thinking this was his last league match with us plus I think next year at this time he may not be playing any league tennis at all so for him and Karl to win was special.  They did their chest bump at the end as a play on how happy the women are when they win.  Don't know if women celebrate in that way but.
• my team went from 4 or 5 court wins last year to 14 this year so a GOOD year
• we won 5 courts in the first half of the season and while playing the same teams a second time we won 9 courts
• in the second half of the season we improved against 3 of the teams and did the same against the other two so satisfying for sure
• Lastly it is always fun to end on an UP note
• now on to 2020 but that can wait for several months

Terry and I have our 3rd villa party of the season this afternoon.  Again we will do a turkey so we have my work cut out as we bring all the tables, dinner ware etc.  It will kind of be a busy day.  Not sure if we will do an April party.  Will ask people this afternoon how many may still be here.  

Tennis at 9:00 today.  After the exciting team match yesterday my play may be a bit vanilla.  Let's hope that is NOT the case!

I saw in the paper this morning that NDSU won their first game in March Madness.  Nice to see them do well.  With two and a half years there memories are many.  

Some facts today about how crazy sports (baseball) are today.  Mike Trout, maybe the best baseball player in the majors, signed a new 12 year contract.  IF he plays every game for the next 12 years (of course he will not play EVERY game but) his pay will come to a little over $49,000 PER BAT!  Imagine walking up to the plate and wondering what you are going to do with the $49,000 you earn with that "at bat"!  Doesn't make any difference if you walk, hit a home run or strike out the money is in the bank!  You may even say to yourself, "I will earn more money with this "at bat" than a first year teacher will make in the entire year!!!  So go for it, dream to be a professional baseball player!

It is only 6:45 but I am finished with breakfast and also my FP is all gone.  Bring on the day.

Day 151, "Every picture has a story"

As I have said before this house holds many stories and even though it does not exist anymore perhaps it had many secrets as well!  We have rain today.  I just drove over to the courts and they are flooded so "for sure" there will be no 9:00 tennis today and I am guessing no AM tennis period.  It is supposed to rain much of the day.  BUT the story of OUR HOUSE TODAY IS:

As you look at the house east is to the right on this picture.  Because of my one hole golf course I can tell you that if you stood near the door you would be 100 yards from the road that comes from the south and goes north towards the lake.  If you were to walk out the door and go east you would see Mom's garden to the right of those trees.  To the right of that would be a grassy area about 30 feet wide (narrow for a golf fairway!) and on the right side of the grassy area would be the driveway into our farm.  On the other side of the driveway would be a large grassy area that was just that, tall grass and the place my golf balls would often end up!  All of this tells a person that the driveway was about 10 feet wide running from the road to the middle of our yard.  For some reason (maybe money) Dad never put any gravel on the driveway.  That was fine until the rains came and then it was one muddy trail!  About 2/3 of the way from the road to the yard there was a dip in the driveway which was about 10 feet in length.  That allowed water from the grassy area and the garden to drain to the south. BUT it was a GREAT play to play when it rained.  Get it?  It is raining today which made me think of it!  Often when it rained I would take my shirt off, roll up my pants, take my shoes off and spend time in the driveway where the dip was.  I would take a hoe and make little rivers.  I would make a dam and then let it slowly drain.  I would make little paths in the mud with my bare feet and watch the water swirl around and through the mud.  I am surprised I didn't become some kind of engineer!  I would spend hours, if there was enough rain, playing in the mud and enjoying the squeeze of the mud in my toes.  When the driveway became a mud hole we would have to drive on the south grassy side if we were going some place so as not to get stuck in the mud.  I would always make sure my rivers and streams took the water right through the grass so as not to get it too soggy!  As I look back on those days I guess it is a lesson in making fun with no toys.

It will be a day to stay inside and read or to work--maybe to read!  I did leave the car out of the garage when I returned from the courts.  After it gets good and wet I will drive it in and wipe it dry.  An easy way to wash it.  I am going to go out for lunch with some guys.  Del, who had a stroke over the weekend, is already out of the hospital.  At first it sounded like it was VERY serious but presto he is better.  He said they went through his leg, into his chest and then into his head to vacuum out the blood clot.  Oh my I am not sure if it was a miracle or if it was just modern medicine at its best.  Regardless he was actually standing at the courts yesterday watching his wife play tennis.

No it is time to take care of the breakfast dishes, drink the last sip of FP and then settle down for some reading.

Day 150, "Every picture has a story"

A fun project!  I am not sure of the year, maybe 07 but I could check the quarter on the bottom to find out!  Anyway Joel, leader of People of Praise in the Twin Cities at the time, asked me about building a lectern for our new building.  We were moving in shortly after Christmas.  We had been using an old one that was pretty much a box about 4 feet high.  He said he would like one that was kind of open so the person behind it was not hidden.  I drew up a plan and he liked it.  It is built of quarter sawn red oak and has stood the test of time.  BUT there was a concern.  There was little or not place to place a bible or papers if the speaker wanted to use them.  So

I make a matching table that one could set beside the lectern.  It was a very fun project.  Perhaps the most fun was being able to draw up the plans and then make it the way I wanted.  The good thing is both pieces of furniture are used almost daily at the People of Praise building as well at Trinity School.  Both have a quarter showing the date they were made.  "For sure" they will almost be worth at least $.25!

A cool start to the week.  When I step onto the court at 10:30 it will be 64 which is pretty nice for tennis.  My only league match for the week is Wednesday and that will wrap up the season for league.  It is kind of a light week but then what isn't when one is retired?  Terry has an apt this afternoon as well as a couple of others as the week goes on.  When I look at the calendar I realize we are not into the second half of March, wow.  Before you know it one will need to shop for Christmas, well not really!

I still have a sip of FP so will enjoy that and then get ready for tennis.

Happy St. Partick's Day 2019

Day 149, "Every picture has a story"

The Letterman's Club officers for 64/65

It was Monday, August 24, 1964.  As I drove into the parking lot at Sargent Central I thought back to that Monday of October 21 a year ago.  Our football team had been co-champions of the conference and had gone to the Twin Cities to watch the Vikings play the Colts.  Our superintendent, Mr. Thunem, had given us a free trip for our football wins.  On that Monday we had met with coach Hanson for the last time.  He said that he always allowed his team to vote for the next year's captain.  After the vote was counted I was IT.  I was so proud and happy as I loved football and felt that of all the returning players I could do the best job.  We would lose many of our team.  The class ahead of us had some very good athletes so we all knew the next year would not be the same but still we had 3 or 4 returning starters and some good kids in the grades below.  

But today was the start of my senior year of school or should I say "sports" as that was more my focus than studying!!!  We had a new coach and I was not too excited about that.  Mr. Hanson had left Sargent Central for another school.  Mr. Hanson had been my favorite teacher and was a great football coach.  Mr. Murray came on as the new coach and was only one of the many many disappointments as the fall wore on.  John, our quarterback, broke his arm and was pretty much out for the fall.  Dan, one of our big lineman, was out for most of the season.  Mike (not his real name) was a freshman and according to the county elevator scale weighed in at over 400!  I thought he may be a HUGE asset for the team but it turned out that he had a hard time putting one foot ahead of the other.  THEN coach Murray decided to replace John, with the broken arm, with a freshman quarterback, not a good idea "for sure".  

The season was a disaster from start to finish.  We won 1 game and lost 6.  There was NO reward at the end of the season.  Perhaps the highlight for me was getting to plant a kiss on Nancy's cheek as I crowned her Homecoming Queen!  There were some rewards for being the captain!

Fast forward to basketball and that was much more successful but ended in a 5th place district tournament  which was a disappointment.

Another restful day on day 2 of the weekend.  Yesterday I ran did some shopping and got some more books from the library.  Once again just some "mindless" books that one can pick up and put down at any time but entertaining.   

FP history, breakfast finished so time for a couple of swims and maybe finish my book.

Day 148, "Every picture has a story"

Yikes!!!  I am getting old "for sure".  Henry, my oldest grandchild has his driving permit!  Where have the years gone?  The story of this picture is this.  The year is 1961.  I had turned 14 in January and had been driving the Ford tractor for MANY years but of course I did not have a drivers license to drive the truck or car.  Well I admit I may not have been able to drive the truck, big red, as you needed to double clutch when you shifted.  You put the clutch in to take it out of gear and then put the clutch in again to put it in another gear.  With the front window cranked a bit open and the stick shift on the floor it was a fun drive.  But I was too young for that .  I even had a bit of difficulty in driving the International M up until I turned about 10 or so because it was not the easiest to reach the clutch.  But here I was in June of 1961.  I was ready to drive the car.  We had, I think, an old 53 Ford which was a manuel transmission I am sure.  Dave could set me right if I am mistaken.  Dad said it was time I get my driver license so we drove up to Forman.  I am not sure but I do not remember studying for any written test.  I could get my license at the age of 14 because I was on the farm.  Dad parked the car in front of the court house and then said he was going to walk north to the Farmers Union station.

The court house where I got my drivers license

I got out of the car and with the confidence of a young strapping guy who had driven for many years I walked up the long sidewalk to the front door.  Even though I was shy to a fault, for some reason I had the idea that this was going to be a walk in the park so to speak.  The department of transportation was on the second floor and I bound up the steps 2 at a time (I can't do that anymore but Mary Lee does it ALL the time!)  I opened the huge heavy wooden door and walked up to the counter where middle age lady who had a smile asked "What can I do for you?"  I took my sweaty hand out of my pocket and put a $5 bill on the counter while saying I was there to take my driving test.  She asked me to take a seat and the highway patrol would be there shortly but before she did that she asked if I had proof of my age.  I was 14 but at 5' 11" and a farmboy build I know I looked like I was a lot older.  I took my birth certificate out of my left pocket and gave it to her.  She looked at it and then looked at me as if I was NOT that person!  After she gave it back she asked me to take a seat.  As I sat there I begin to get the thought that maybe this was not going to be as easy as I thought.  After about 20 minutes this tall burly guy with the funny looking highway patrol hat on came out and asked if I was ready.  At that time in my life I was still unsure of my speech sometimes and I kind of stuttered back that I was ready.  As we walked down the stairs he asked me my name and then who my dad was.  When we got outside where the car was he asked me IF I had driven there as Dad was nowhere to be seen.  I said no that Dad had gone to the Farmers Union station.  I got in the drivers side and he got in the passenger side.  I put the car in reverse and backed out of the parking space.  The patrol asked me to take a right at the next street.  When we hit the next intersection he asked me to take another right.  Again at the next intersection there was a right and then we were at the stop sign on main street where the court house was.  He asked me to park in front of the court house where we had started from.  He took out his papers, scribbled some things on them and then signed them.  As he handed them to me he said, "Great job, you passed".  I thought what the heck.  I didn't do anything but way to go Carmen you now have your real license.  That fall I was a freshman at Sargent Central which was 25 miles from home.  I never drove to school as we only had one car BUT I did drive to the homecoming dance that fall!!!

A couple of day off from tennis.  I could have played this morning but my body said NO.  Terry and I do not have much planned for the weekend.  Maybe we will go out for St. Patrick's Day lunch but not sure about that.  As I think of it maybe not.  There is a parade in downtown Naples.  We have gone to it several times but will avoid the 40,000+ today!

I varied my breakfast a bit this morning by frying slices of sweet patotoes.  I did get them a bit over done but still they were good.  As usual my FP hit the spot at 7:30.  Enough

Happy birthday Mary

Happy birthday Mary.  We hope those kids and hubby make the day special.  Keep being the super person that you are.  Love Dad and Terry

Day 147, "Every picture has a story"

A picture from October of 2008.  Perhaps I have used this before but the story is.  The siding of the house above the story board was shingles.  I am guessing they were as old as the house.  They just would not hold paint.  I painted and painted and it would hold for maybe 2 years or so and then the peeling would start.  The house looked BAD.  Finally I purchased Hardi-board shakes and we primed and painted them before they were put on the house.  I purchased a pneumatic nailer, rented scaffolding and the work begin.  IF I remember right I put up 1100 shakes which meant I used 3,300 nails.  It was a LONG summer project but here I am as the last shake was nailed.  For the record I do NOT smoke cigars but the occasion was special and I do not remember getting sick!  That was 2008 and MUCH has been done since then.  The house is a pit for work and money as one could guess of a 113 year old house.  As time marches on I am beginning to enjoy wood working and other things MORE than house projects..........

I played tennis at 7:30 this morning and that is it until Monday.  My body needs a rest.  Terry had an appt today so we went to that but most of the day was spent reading and I did take couple of dips in the pool.  Next week I will rap up the tennis team and also Terry and I will host maybe the last pool party of the season on Thursday.

I split my FP between pretennis and post tennis this morning.

Day 146, "Every picture has a story"

I do not know the date of this picture but the story....  I don't even know the story BUT here is my take on the day.  Dad went through 8th grade but was a VERY self educated guy.  Mom went through 10 grade but she had MANY talents and gifts.  I am not sure how they did this but they actually passed these gifts and talents down to their kids.  In this picture I am sure brother Dave fixed this van up and painted it etc.  I know this was not the only van/car/truck he had redone.  I have done nothing like that BUT I would say Ronald, Janet, Joan, Dave, myself and Helen have all done many things that were a result of WHO Mom and Dad were.  I think it speaks volumes about who they were and how they raised their children.  I would also say that they were far from perfect BUT what family is perfect???

I played tennis twice today, at 7:30 and again at 9:00.  Too much for me BUT in the 7:30 court I took the place of Del who had a serious stroke.  Who could turn that down?  Tomorrow I play at 7:30 and then I will take 2 days off which my body says it needs.  No complaints!  We have temps in the low 80s, sunny weather and the pool is very inviting so life is good.

AND the FP was again very good this morning!

Kind of a low for the season

No picture today.  My energy is depleted for the day.  We lost the 3 courts today to the #2 team in the league.  I hope the guys had fun as the competition was good, the weather was HOT and the sun was bright!  The losses were disappointing BUT in light of a friend who suffered a major stroke yesterday the tennis losses seemed VERY minor!  I did have only 3 of my top 6 players so it was not a huge surprise but....  We finish the season next week away with my top 6 players so we will see what happens.  I played on court #1 and lost 1-6 and 3-6.  In games we had 6 games that went to duce and some of them went to duce 3 or duce 4.  We won 1 of the 6 so that kind of told the story.  We had fun and now it is on to the final week.
As one could guess the FP is long gone but certainly not forgotten!

I am a day late BUT HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMY

Happy 29th birthday Amy yesterday!  Well it may be a tad more than 29 but one can not tell by your looks!  We hope you had a GREAT day.  Keep being the super mom, wife and employe that you are and may this coming year be full of blessing for you.  Love, Dad and Terry

March 12th

Day 145, "Every picture has a story"

Yesterday I made myself a second pot of FP.  I only drank a cup so I put what was left in this jar.  The jar (not this one but a similar one) has the story for the day.  The year is 1962 and the month is early August.  We are harvesting the field west of the farm.  The wheat crop is OK this year.  Nothing to brag about but then nothing to complain about either.  As if complaining would help!  There was a nice breeze from the west as the morning sun peeked over the eastern horizon so there was little or no dew.  That meant that we could get a full day of harvesting in and maybe finish the field of wheat.  We were storing the wheat in the middle steel bin at the farm.  Dad had set up that darn elevator that was mostly used for hay as the loading for the bin.  We had the power takeoff on the Ford tractor hooked up to the elevator.  NO super iconic grain elevator as we had used so often in the past with that one cylinder motor that had such a sweet sound.  I am pretty sure that Dad had some how managed to send that to salvage which was a sad story.  Anyway the connection to that harvest day and this picture is this.  On the farm, when we were working harvest, we had 5 meals.  There was breakfast, a mid morning snack, dinner at noon, a mid afternoon snack and supper at night.  I am not sure we worked hard enough to deserve 5 meals but Mom served them.  For the mid morning and mid afternoon Mom would drive them to the harvest field in our car.  We would then shut down the combine and tractor while we sat for 15-20 minutes and snacked.  Mom would always bring a quart jar of coffee!  Get the connection here to the picture?  I never could figure out WHY Dad wanted HOT coffee on a hot day but that is what he had.  I remember tasting it more than once and trust me it was not good in my mind back then.  I am sure it was boiled coffee that Mom made on the stove.  "For sure" it was an upgrade from the instant Folgers Dad and Mom enjoyed later in life.  Anyway the coffe in the pint jar reminded me of "the good old days".

My focus today is our 1:30 match.  I am trying to drink water this morning as the temp at 1:30 is supposed to be mid 80s.  We will see what is happening.  For the 4th match this season I am on court #2 with Charlie.

I started a new book this morning.  Once again one of those books that has NO intelligence connected to it but kind of fun to read.  

My FP was finished long ago so will sign off.

A great weather day on Monday, March 11th.

Day 144, "Every picture has a story"

This is Travis in 1973.  We would usually put the play pen in the driveway and let him outside a lot.  He certainly is a happy cutie guy.  The boys loved to spend most of their time outside.  When they got to be old enough to walk they would play for hours with their Tonka trucks on the sidewalk and in the sand box.  I guess it would be correct to label them the "good old days"!

Not much today.  I did get our taxes mailed this morning.  It looks like a refund will be coming again which is nice.  I also finished my book yesterday so I may need to go to the library to get some more. I did come across an interesting thing this morning.  I went to write a check and found that I needed a new pad of check blanks.  I thought to myself I just do not write many checks anymore.  I remember back in the 70s and 80s ,which was before I started to use credit cards a lot ,I would get cancelled checks back from the bank and each month there would be 25, 30 or more.  This morning as I took the carbon copy of the last 25 checks out of the check book I noticed that I had used 25 checks since June 15, 2018!  That is less than 3 checks a month!  Times change I guess.  

I did play tennis this morning.  Tomorrow is the 70+ league and Wednesday my team has it's last home match of the season.  I am hopeful of winning 15 matches of the 30 we play this season.  That will be a HUGE impovement over the 5 that we won last year.  I will consider it a good season.  Tomorrow I will not have 2 of my top 6 players and it is against the second place team so we may not fare so well but we will see.  Everyone will be back for March 20th.

Even though it is well into the afternoon I have a cup of FP left which I will heat up and drink.  A nice PM treat!

Welcome Daylight Savings Time and I lost an hour of sleep!

Day 143, "Every picture has a story"

This is the first of the 3 cribs I made.  It went to Mary and John when Henry was born.  It was the spring of 2003.  John and Mary were expecting a baby in late summer.  I, perhaps, was a bit crafty and really NOT all above board but the story is this!  I knew that I would be retiring in the next few years and at that time I would want to do more woodworking.  I had a Sears table saw that had seen better days but it still worked.  As Gail and I talked I suggested maybe I could make a crib for them.  Oh, that would be a great idea.  Well I knew if they said "yes" I could come back and say well I will need a new table saw for that project!  It was agreed on!  Mary and John gave their blessing and it was a done deal.  I mail ordered a Powermatic 5 hp table saw that came in a couple of weeks.

It has remained the staple of my wood shop for the last 16 years.  

I would say the crib turned out OK but I would say with each one I made I improved my skill in making them.  This is the only one that had a side that raised up and down.  I think it worked most of the time!  Amy and Aaron's was the only one that was eventually made into a full size bed and the crib for Cynthia and Mike, I would say it was the nicest of the three.  

If I were to get a new table saw (which I am not planning to do) today I would get a Sawstop for safety reasons.  I have been lucky/blessed/careful as I have used the saw year after year after year with no serious injuries but there have been times that it has been kind of a close call.  I would say the first item in safety is "do not work with power tools when you are tired'  

The long story is I think all 13 of my grandchildren have used a crib that I made.  I have never really thought about that before but now, as I think about it, that is pretty neat!

We are now into the last of the two weekend days.  Terry and I remembered to set our clocks last night before we went to bed.  I finished the book, "The lost Girls of Paris".  It was an historical fiction and very sad but a great read.  I am now into a book that is one of those where you can stop, start, stop, start and not miss a thing!  I will finish that today.

Yesterday I put out the lineups for my tennis team for the last 2 weeks.  I did not get one of the guys in to play except for one match.  I went back and forth if that was OK.  Finally I decided that he is on a 2.5 team and plays a lot so it was OK not to play him much on my team.  I did not intend to have him play at all on the team but just before the season started he asked if he could be on the team.  He said he liked the friendship he experienced and the parties.  Well I have had NO team practises and there will be only one, end of the year, party but each year is different I guess.

AND

It was early summer of 1963.  I had finished my sophomore year of HS and was not looking forward to the summer.  I do not know what other classmates did but for me it would have been rare to ask Dad for the car on a Saturday night in the summer.  I did not have any special friends at the time so it looked like a LONG summer on the farm with Helen, Mom and Dad.  I mean I certainly loved my family but to spend ALL summer at home, not something to look forward to.  I had made my 90 yard one hole golf course in our yard the summer before.  I had so much fun making it and then playing on it but I needed MORE.  I knew the summer would be long as I missed my high school activities.  Football would start in August, a week before school but in early June that seemed to be way way far off!  MANY years later grandson Henry would say, "I idea"!  Maybe he coined that from Grandpa as I had a super idea for the summer of 1963.  Bert, our neighbor to the north, used the land between ours and his home as a pasture.  He would let his cows out into the pasture early in the spring and by early summer the pasture would be BARE.  I could go up into his pasture and make a three hole golf course.  How about that.  It would be easy as there would be no grass to cut so all I would need to do is make some flag poles and then have a way to make holes.  Before long it was a done deal.  I found 3 old broken handles from pitch forks and sharpened the ends.  I found 3 Folger coffee cans in the junk and I was in business.  I also found 3 old farmer handkerchiefs that Mom probably had forgotten about.  One afternoon, when Dad was away for some reason, I took my broken handles, my coffee cans, a shovel to dig and the handkerchiefs and I was off to make a golf course.  Did I ask Bert, of course not as he could not have cared less and besides his cows were already being put into his pasture on the east side of the road because his main pasture was so bare.  It took me the better part of the afternoon to pace off the holes, decide where they should be and then to dig the holes for the cups.  When I was finished I looked west, north and then east and proudly thought to myself, "Nice job Carmen, now have some fun!"  I do not remember how often I used my new golf course as my favorite was still the 90 yard course at home.  I did find that my 3 hole course had some hazards that I had not figured in.  One was the cow pies!  Even though the cows usually were herded south and then east over the road to the second pasture they often left their "sign" behind them and a ball landing in that was not so good!  Bert also had a trove of gophers and as anyone knows they make holes all over the place.  I lost more than one good ball in the gopher holes so that kind of dampened my spirits for the course.  BUT it was a grand adventure and one that brings many smiles as I think back.  "I IDEA" and lets do it!!!

The FP is gone and it looks like the blog is finished for the day so it is on to a book.

Day 142, "Every picture has a story"

These articles were in the Naples Daily News today.  It tells a HUGE story of people, who they are and what they are about.  Ca Ripken is in the baseball Hall of Fame.  He was a great player and holds the record of consecutive games played, 2600+.  He broke Lou Gehrig's record of conservative games played which had stood for 56 years.  A person could say that Ripken's record is one that will never be broken.  

Tony Dungy is in the football Hall of Fame.  He coached the Indianapolis Colts for several years and won a Super Bowl.  He played college and professional ball for many years.  

Both guys were outstanding in their field.  What is the difference and what is the story?  

Ripken will be in town to speak to an athletic organization that, annually, has a banquet and awards about $35,000 to area athletics.  This is the 30th year of the banquet and the leaders wanted it to be special.  After trying for some time they were finally able to contact Ripken and he agreed to come to speak at a REDUCED fee.  He agreed to reduce his fee as any money he gets takes away from the scholarship money they award.  The article did not say what his speaking fee is but they did say it was high.  I would guess he will do a nice job and people will be thrilled to hear him speak.  

Dungy spoke at the season-ending banquet at Club Pelican Bay.  There were about 330 people attending and guess what his fee was?  Zero!  He said he feels it is his "calling" and he wants people to realize that coaching is more than winning and losing.  It is about helping young people and making our communities a better place to live.  He never charges a fee but he does allow the organization to pay his expenses.  

I am not saying Ripken is a bad guy and I am not saying Dungy is a super guy although I have thoughts!!!  For sure it is having different views on life.

We are having a super weekend weather wise.  Should be in the upper 70s or low 80s.  Very different than ND and MN.  Looks like they are in for COLD with temps near 0 and maybe 6-8" of new wet snow.  

We will be kind of home bodies for the next few days.  I will let my body rest from tennis today and tomorrow with 2 matches coming up next week.  My team, the team I captain, will most likely lose all three matches as I will get some players in who do not play a lot.  It is at home and then an away match on the 20th and we are finished.  The 70+ league I am in finishes on the 19th but I am guessing I will not play next week as I play this week.

Enough for this morning.  I was up at 4:20 but getting the paper and starting my book I felt sleepy so went down and got up at 8:10.  YES YES!  I am on my last cup of FP and it is down to the top of the bison head so half a cup to go!

Day 141, "Every picture has a story"

This is the second of 3 cribs I made for the kids.  This one went to Amy and Aaron.  It is now Ruby's bed as the head board is the same size as a full size bed.  Aaron took the head board and used it for a bed that Ruby uses.  The cribs were some of the most fun projects I have done.

Not much new today.  I did play tennis at 10:30 after I took Terry to a Dr. apt.  I am currently reading a book titled "The Paris Girls".  It is about women who did spy work for England during WWII.  It is a book in demand so the check out is for only a week.  That means I need to get it read.  

This may be the shortest blog in some time.

One could guess I did have my FP this morning!

Two of three!

Day 140, "Every picture has a story"

OK so I am not an expert but I did go diving in the Gulf of Mexico in Cozumel in 2011.  AFTER a 45 minute introduction we dived in and stayed down for about 30 minutes or so.  It was NOT on my bucket list but fun to have done it!

In tennis we took 2 of 3 matches yesterday which put us in a tie with Citrus Park.  For me it was a fun day.  My partner and I played court 1 and it turned out to be a very even match.  We took the first set 6-4 and then lost the second set by the same score.  That meant a 10 point tie breaker in which you have to win by 2.  After a back and forth battle we finally won 14-12!  Those darn tie breakers are so heart breaking to lose but of course they are so fun to win!  We now have only 2 matches left for the season.  Next week we are at home against the second place team and then we finish the season away on March 20.  I am going to use some of my players next week who do not play so much so we may not do so well BUT if one puts them on the team they want/need to play.  I will use my better players in the last match of the season.  It was double fun yesterday as at the end of the match we had about 25 people or so watching.  Fun to have fans cheering you on.

It is now afternoon.  Terry had a Dr. appt this morning so I did not do tennis.  Not sure if I play tomorrow.  For some reason I can not get into the system to see the schedule.  I will have to go over to the courts early in the morning to see what is happening.

Enough for now.

Day 139, Every picture has a story"

Maybe I have used this picture before, I am not sure.  It is one of my favorites.  Ronald would have been 12, Dave 6 and I 4.  Notice how happy we are AND it looks like both Dave and I may be close to choking Ronald with our hands around his neck.  By the looks of our clothes they may have come from Aunt Ragna's box of clothes from California!  It looks like the sign was written by Mom on our large slate board that we used a lot.  Look at the fancy wall paper to the right!  The curtain behind is the east window looking out towards the road.

Tennis today at 1:30 at home.  I have put myself on court #1 with a teammate that gets to everything and keeps the ball in play but does not have a put away shot.  I am undecided if I should try to place conservative or be more aggressive.  I am not the aggressive type of player but with my partner today I may need to fill that role.  We will see.  At this point in the season we have no chance to take 1st place so I am putting guys on different courts and next week will play some of the guys who do not get to play much.

Time to get dressed and get over to the courts.  The weather is perfect except for a full sun.  Serving into the sun is usually difficult.   

Tennis, a day of rest today

Day 138, "Every picture has a story"

The year was the fall of 1961.  I was a freshman at Sargent Central.  I was on the football team and that was a lot of fun but actually I realized that school was about more than sports.  I signed up for band.  Cayuga had no grade school band so I had to pick an instrument.  I didn't think Dad would have the money to buy anything so I picked the baritone as the school had those.  I was in band but of course I had no clue about playing the darn thing.  Mr Phiel approached me the third week of school and asked if I would like to play the sousaphone.  What did I know so I said sure!  Here I am at the end of my freshman year with my instrument.  As I think back I am sure Mr. Phiel(spell) looked at this 5' 11" freshman guy from the farm and thought there is someone who can carry that.  Research tells me they weigh from 25-50 pounds.  I think mine weighed somewhere in the 35 pound range.  As a band, we traveled a lot to homecoming parades so one can guess what it was like carrying that thing for a mile or two as we marched along.  In the fall of 1962 we had brand new fiberglass ones that were white and I am guessing they were maybe 10 pounds lighter.  I did not become a very good player for several reasons:

• football and basketball were more fun!  I should add that for almost the entire year I would get home from school around 6:30 or 7:00 and on game nights maybe as late as midnight.  Not much time for practice
• The thought of bringing that thing home to practice was not a fun thought.
• I think if I would have wanted to practice at home I may have needed to go to the barn!
• AND after the homecoming dance in my freshman year I did have some other interests!

Band turned out to be a lot of fun but there were many things that had priority over the sousaphone.  A side note is about the uniforms.  We got them at the end of my freshman year.  They were certainly the most snazzy uniforms in the state.  

I will not play tennis today as there is an appt to go to.  We continue to have warm weather but tomorrow, when we play our match, it is supposed to be only about 70.

I am so enjoying a book that I am reading.  It is a marine's story from boot camp to Iwo Jima.  The title is "Red Blood, Black Sand".  As I read it I think of Bryan and Quinn.  I have also wondered, as I read it, why Dad did not get drafted into the service as he would have been 30 or so when they drafted guys for WWII.  Maybe he had a farming deferment, don't know.  I know uncle Halvor also did not go and he was younger.  I will say that most of the guys in these stories are in their late teens or early 20's.  In this book a marine who is 22 is OLD!

FP is gone and I have things to do.

Day 137, "Every picture has a story"(as an adult Aaron's woodworking skills are on a HIGH level )

Now days when parents talk about sports, school or what ever they usually use the phrase "start them young"!  Well Aaron is a Very accomplished wood worker and I guess he started young!  Here he is in the garage in Devils Lake.  He looks like he is pretty serious about his project.  Well he went from that stage to a stage well beyond where my skills are.  Oh my he has made very wonderful things from wood.  I suspect his Dad did not really school him very well in the "right tool"!  However I suspect that his Dad felt that was the least dangerous tool for him.  Did he get the wood cut?  I don't know but an educated guess would be NO.  I think this is the summer of 76 or 77.  Also, not sure where he got that hat!

For a retired guy this is going to be kind of a busy week😁.  As everyone knows it is good to keep busy.  I will not play Tuesday on the 70+ team as the captain tries to get everyone in which means you kind of play every other week.  However of the 7 weeks I have played 5.  My team plays at home on Wednesday.  I have some of the lower tier players that I need to get in to play.  No sense in having a player on the team and then never giving him a chance to play.  

The wife of Rich, who has dementia, send out a nice note yesterday.  She thanks guys for giving Rich a chance to play as he loves his tennis yet.  She said there are things he can not do but he still hangs on to tennis and does well.  I will play in a foursome this afternoon and Rich will be one of the guys.  I would say March is the busiest month of the winter so am guessing I will get off of morning play at least once a week.  

There are some appointments that we have which will also take time this week so kind of busy IF that is really in my life now.

Had breakfast and am finished with the FP so will settle down on the couch and read some more of my book.

First Sunday in March and we head into Lent on Wednesday

Day 136, "Every picture has a story"

I assume that truck is for water, not gas!  Nothing like a cigarette while you watch the fire!

It was the summer of 1975.  We were visiting Grandma and Grandpa Saunders and the Lee Grandparents too but this day, August 7 we were in Cayuga.  We saw this orange tint in the eastern sky and then realized it was a fire.  Grandpa said it had to be the grain elevator as we could see it from 12 miles away.  We hopped in the car and drove to Lidgerwood.  The blaze was spectacular.  The boys asked all kinds of questions about the fire as they had never seen anything like it.  

The next day we were in the house on farm while the John played outside.  Suddenly Grandma shouted, "there's a fire outside".  As we rushed outside there was John by the side of the house with a pail half full of water.  He had wanted to see more about fire so he found some matches and lite a bale  of hay on fire near the shed.  Well the hay happened to be near Grandma's clothes line and on the line was a pair of Grandpa's work pants.  They were in FULL blaze orange so to speak!!!  It did not take a whole lot to put out the fire but I doubt John could have done it with his pail.  Oh my there was some discipline (no details needed) and much talking to!  I do think John learned enough about fire that he did not need to experiment again.

The weekend is pretty low key.  Next week there are several things happening but for now it is relax time.  Sister Helen did a bad thing.  She sent me a picture of potato salad and made me hungry but the kind of good thing is I feel under the weather today so it wasn't too much of an urge!  

Hard to believe that we are already into March and looking at the weather on my phone I see things like St. Paul -11, Cayuga -15, Jamestown -16 etc.  We certainly have been having some crazy weather this winter.  

No I braved the stomach issue and had my FP.  It stayed down but I think I need to lie low today, to be more specific I am going to lie down for a while to see if I can get rid of this illness.

2 for 3

Day 135, "Every picture has a story"

This picture made me think of the next picture.  This is kind of what you get at Costco if you go on a Friday or maybe any time.  The picture below is the IN thing.  If you put an appt on your phone just scan, as you put the item in your bag, the items you want with your phone and then hold up your phone as you walk out the door.  By the time you get to your car you have the receipt on your phone.  Look Mom and Dad, NO LINE!  I wonder if the VIPs at Costco are looking???   Once again, what would our parents think of our world today?  Then again what would we think if we came back to life 20 years after we died?

My tennis week of league ended yesterday with Karl and I winning on court #2 7-5 and 6-3.  I felt our opponent really felt the heat in our second set.  We fell behind 0-1 and the came on and won 6 of the last 8 games.  The team match was disappointing as we lost on court 1 and 3.  Court 1 was fairly close but court 3 played a dud!  Only one league match next week and that will be fine.  My team has very tough matches the next two weeks and then we finish the season by playing Belle lago a second time on March 20th.  We had HOT weather yesterday but next week we should have temps in the low 70s at match time.  That will be MUCH better.

I do play today which is unusual as I hardly ever play on Saturday but Terry D scheduled me in.  Not sure why.  I can add that I used my new racquet yesterday and I really like it.  It is heavier, 10.9 oz.  That does not sound like much but a little weight makes a big difference.  I used a demo that was 7.1 and oh my that was way too light.  Enough

Hello March of 2019

Day 134, "Every picture has a story"

this house has MANY stories

It is the winter of 1953.  Helen is 3, I am 6, Dave is 8 and Joan is 11.  Janet and Ronald are off to Lidgerwood HS.  Dad, with his many hobbies/gifts, has decided to develop pictures at home.  Of course they will be black and white but how will he do that?  Well it was kind of easy.  On the nights that he worked on pictures Mom, they would cover the kitchen windows with blankets so that no light would come in.  Then they would confine us to one of 2 places.  It was the living room or upstairs in bed.  Well they would start working early in the evening so bed was not really an option.  The living room it was.  They would set everything up in the kitchen and then it was "time".  Did we need to go to the bathroom?  Did we need any food?  Did we need ANYTHING that was not in the living room?  If we did it was get it now because the door to the kitchen was going to be closed and not opened for an hour or so.  Usually we would stay in the living room and spent time playing Touring, other card games or just make up something to do.  After an hour or so it was "open door" and that was our chance.  Get up stairs or count on staying another hour or so in the living room.  This would go on once or twice a week for much of the winter.  In the professional part of Dad's work he would send out pictures but for many things he developed them himself.  He ventured into color with wedding pictures in 1968.  

I have to say that this picture is NOT of the OLD house that we grew up in the 40s and 50s.  How do I know?  Well the TV antenna is on top of the house in place of the wind charger and the door in this picture is where our cream separator sat in the entry way.  In the 40s and 50s the door was on the east side of the house.  Also the propane tank did not exist until Mom and Dad got rid of the cook stove and put in a modern stove.  Actually that was a big part of Dad's master plan as he built a room for his photo things in the kitchen where the cook stove had been.  This picture was taken way past the time I left home as I see there is a stack for the bathroom AND the bathroom came into being after I left home!

I am gearing up for our tennis match this morning.  I have put myself on court #2 with Karl.  Actually we have not played together in a league match this winter.  I am hopeful of taking 2 courts at least.  We will see.  "For sure" I want to have fun, right Dave?😁  I will play with a new racquet so it will be interesting to see how it goes.  I did play a morning match yesterday with a demo of that racquet so this should go fine, right?

I am now "after" my eggs, bacon and hash browns so will sip the last of my FP and then head to the courts to see what is going on.  I will not play this morning because playing in the morning and then playing in an afternoon match is not good.