Good-bye to April of 2019

Day 182, "Every picture has a story"

Today is Helen's day, the baby of the family.  Some people know the story of why Helen came into being!  Dad had been gone for a week hunting deer.  Mom was so excited to have him come home that she had sister Bertie fix her hair and she was all ready for Dad to arrive.  In Mom's own words, "Helen came 9 months later".  Now that is the closest to anything about S E X that Mom EVER said and of course today we can get a great laugh about it.  No offense to my other siblings but I do think Helen was the cutest baby of all us kids(don't worry I am including myself in that!).  BUT on to Helen.

• As the youngest I think Helen got teased the most.  One of the reasons I have the picture of her on the tractor is I often say she did not have to do farm work BUT as one can see I am wrong.
• Helen just had to follow in the footsteps of sisters Janet and Joan and be homecoming queen in her senior year.  I am guessing she got the vote for her looks and personality.
• Helen was the only child to serve in the armed forces.  She was in the Air Force for several years.  I do not believe she had to serve in any of the wars or hot spots that the United States got into.  I do know she spent some time in Italy and I am not sure if it was work or play.  To be fair it probably is safe to say she worked but did enjoy her time there.
• It seemed that where ever Helen worked she was successful and pretty much on the cutting edge of what was happening.  
• Helen, like her older sister Joan, has always been one to speak her mind--in a good way.  
• If one were to make a chart of all the siblings and have marks for FUN things, Helen may be on the top of the list!
• Helen kind of inherited some of Dad's travel genes.  In addition to moving to different places in the Air Force she also lived in South Carolina, Texas and currently lives in Arkansas.  
• Does Helen have a mind of her own, oh yes.  The story is when she wanted to enlist Dad would not sign for her so she said I will just wait until I am old enough and then enlist.  Dad gave in and signed.  I think that is the story but if I am wrong I apologize.
• Helen was the one who did not get to go to rural country Wood Lake School.  It may just be that it meant she got a better education but did not have as many stories.  Well I may be just speaking for myself! I still can not spell so thank God for spell check!
• Helen was part of the LEE singing girls.  There was Helen, Judy, Linda and Gayle.  I think if they would have stayed together they may have ended up on the Lawrence Welk show--maybe!
• I remember Helen singing a solo at our Farmers Union meeting which was at Wood Lake School.  This probably happened more than once.
• Helen is a GREAT aunt and a super grandma to Mike's two grand children.
• Helen and Mike did a super job with their home which they built in Holiday Island AK.  I think Helen did much of the work in terms of planning and putting things together.  If anybody is reading this and is interested in a great home for retirement Helen has it for sale.  Mike died several years ago and I think Helen does not need a house that size.
• As with Ronald, Janet, Joan and Dave I could go on here and on but you get the idea.  She is one great gal with many gifts, super talents and a great personality.

I did finished something this morning that will make my life much much easier for the rest of the year BUT I will go into that tomorrow!  I need to go to the courts this morning as I have a 10:30 court time and one of the guys can not make it.  I need to see if I can recruit someone to play.  

I am just finishing my last sip of FP before I head to the courts.  It looks like a super day in terms of weather.

Good-bye April ALMOST

Day 182, "Every picture has a story(or 2 or more),

A day for Dave.  I spent much more time with Dave than any of my siblings.  We played together, worked together and also worked together trying to get out of work if you understand!  A few of the many many memories are:

• Trying to finish the fall plowing so that we could go with Dad to the Minnesota State Fair.  We finished up on Jim's land with the lights on late at night.  We left the next morning with Dad for the fair.  Keep in mind that our MOO was to pull the plows out of the ground when the sun disappeared.  Even if we were at the far end of the field, end of day!
• Making guns out of wood using the vise and the drill press.  These guns were then used to play cops and robbers as we ran from the barn to the shop to the bins to the corn crib to the granary. Of course the good guys always won.
• Sitting in the big red (our truck) talking and eating chokecherries waiting for the combine hopper to fill.  At the perfect moment I would head out with bare feet across the field heeding NOT the thistles.  Dave would wait in the truck and then drive up so we could empty the hopper into the truck.  At the end of the day our mouths would be chalky and blue/red from the berries but we would ignore that as we gathered towel and soap and headed up to Lake Tewaukon on the big and little bike.  IF there was still day light it would be "no hands' from the farm to the lake.
• Playing ball with the corn crib as a back stop.  When possible, Richy would come to play with us.  
• Playing ball in the hay barn with a ball and using a 5 gallon pail which we mounted on the wall.
• Filling the water tank for the cows.  I probably can not count the times we forgot and the water spilled out into the pen only to be scooped out by one or both of us.  Really, how can you expect boys to remember the water is on as they play cops and robbers or other fun games?
• Doing fall plowing and waiting for Mom to put the dish towel on the barn door so we could come home for lunch.
• Frantically putting out the fire in the plowed rye field before the wind took it across the creek and lite Bert's wheat field on fire!
• Again, frantically getting the fire out before it reached the stubble field where the combine sat.  Just a bit of bad luck and the combine would have been history.
• Waiting and waiting for the sun to disappear so we could lift our plows out of the ground and head home.
• Waking up to hear rain on the roof.  How can we avoid work today?
• Playing all day long in the pasture where the creek meandered through.  As the summer wore on the creek had these pools of water that were full of mysteries!
• Shooting black birds in the trees behind the shop and also gophers in Bert's pasture.  The cats often got a nice meal.  Sometimes Dad would take us in the car and we would shot gophers in Obert's pasture.  Dave would shot out of the back passenger window and I out of the driver side back window.  To get the gophers to peak out of their holes you had to be quiet and then use a soft whistle!
• Setting up the table leaves in a V and then setting empty shells to knock down with marbles.
• Of course we probably spent more time picking rocks than any other work.  I never figured out how fields can grow rocks almost better than wheat.
• One can not forget picking weeds in the rows of small trees.  One should know that the weeds grew much faster than the trees.  By the time we were finished with a row we almost had to start at the other end again.  I am guessing the rows were two hundreds yards long.  Later those trees were a haven for pheasants in the fall.  (a note, Dad never bought us shotguns for hunting)  I will not get into detail about Joan not wanting to pull weeds so she decided to go to the house for a drink of water.  What she found---stays in the family!!!
• I could, for sure, make this list a lot longer but will stop for now.
• I would be remiss if I did not mention how talented Dave is.  From being a master woodcrafter to overhauling and restoring vehicles he pretty much does it all.  I might also add designing an addition to his house that ended up bigger than the original house AND building it all.  With all the skills he has, kind of reminds me of Dad.
• So my ramblings go on about my siblings whom I am so proud of.  Tomorrow, the baby of the family Helen.  

Terry and I spent a quiet weekend.  I had planned, for some time, to mount a TV in the guest bedroom.  I finally got to it only to find that it was not possible with the mount we purchased.  So it is back to Costco.  Not the TV but the mount.

Tennis will be light this week and perhaps until we leave.  Several of the guys I usually play with are out of town.

Terry has one appt today and that is about it.

Our weather is heating up a bit.  It is supposed to be high 80s most of the week.  That makes for nice swims as I try to jump in the pool 2 or 3 times a day.  I know, tough life it is!

I am in the middle of my FP and enjoying it a LOT.  As I sip my last cup I may retire to the Lani and think about the good old days, maybe!

A day to talk about sister Joan

Day 181, Every picture has a story"

Sister Joan is one strong woman.  I had to put 2 pictures as one is from her schools days when she was maybe a bit shy and quiet.  Well I am not sure she was ever quiet and shy but maybe.  The other picture is a "history picture" of how she could take charge and do pretty much anything she put her mind to.  As one can see she matured into this really interesting gal!  I remember:

• The night Joan, Dave and I were home alone.  Mom and Dad had probably gone to camera club.  We saw this car coming slowly from the south and it looked like it may turn into our farm.  We turned the lights off in the house and stood near the window to see what would happen.  It did NOT come in and we were so relieved.
• Joan was pretty darn crafty in some ways.  It was again, maybe more than once, that we were home and Joan decided we needed to do dishes for Mom.  She would wash and Dave and I would wipe the dishes dry.  Dave and I protested but she insisted we should do the dishes ( course she was right).  I think Dave and I wanted to pile the dirty dishes on the counter and then play ping pong!  Joan said it would be a game and each dish had a point value as we dried it.  You can guess, when all the dishes were finished Dave and I were tied with the same number of points.  Of course Joan kept track of the points without telling us!!!
• Joan was the very first homecoming queen of Sargent Central.  I should not say this but you would never know by the way she drives that mower!
• Joan was a great architect when it came to stacking hay.  She and Dave would be in the stack and I would be driving the Ford all over the field.
• Joan would NOT put up with guff.  I wore an over coat and hat that a salesman left at her house after Joan got rid of him.  I THINK she told him she did not have it when he called to say he forgot his coat and hat.  I wore it to every basketball game my senior year.
• She had several jobs when they lived in Fargo.  I think I have the story correct that when she worked at Osco Drug she chased a person out of the store who had stolen something.  The person probably never met Joan again but if he had it would have been known that you do not fool with Joan.  
• Joan had a bout with polo when she was young.  She came through it with flying colors but I do believe she suffered from it later in life.
• Joan has quads for great grandchildren and they are so so lucky to have her.
• Joan lives in Utah now with hubby Ron.  I think they have moved into the house that they may have forever.  However I suspect she and Ron are rearranging the furniture maybe every month!
• Joan, like the rest of my siblings, is certainly a special person in so so many ways.

As I sit at the computer this last Sunday of April I smile and remember:

The days of Wood Lake School

I went to Wood Lake School first-third grade.  We had one room for the 8 grades.  I do not know how the teacher taught ALL grades but she did.  The last year the school was open there were 12 students. The last day of Wood Lake School, May 25, 1956, Ms Corehouse had us all go to her home in Genseso and we had a party.  Little did I realize that the party was one last memory for rural school and the next fall the BIG yellow bus would transport me to a new world so to speak.  The day before, May 24th, we had walked the 2 miles to lake Tawaukon for an end of the school year picnic.  Today it is the Tawaukon National Wildlife Refuge with a VERY different focus than it had in 1956.  Some say it is progress and others say it is out with the past and in with the new as new certainly has to be the better-right?  To this day I am certain I hit a homerun in our ball game but then after 63 years can one really be certain?

Some of the very vivid memories are:

• the great swing set, the teeter totter and the merry-go-round
• the noon lunches where we had "lunch from home" along with government canned peaches
• the well that we could pump up fresh cool water to enjoy after a game of tag
• the "her" and "his" out houses (used all winter long)
• the ceramic water jug we used for water during the day
• the space north of the school that we used for a ball field
• the 100's of times I had to write my name as punishment (if I had to write it a 100 times i would write it 200 or 300 times and hand in the first 100.  The next time I had to do it I would day dream for a while and then hand in my name written 100 times)  To this day I believe that is the reason my hand writing is so so bad.  BUT now when I sign my book the signature looks like that of an important person!
• the spelling book that I had for 3 years
• the pictures of president Washington and Lincoln 
• the green cards above the chalk board showing good penmanship
• the entire south side of the school was windows that were good for day dreaming when one was supposed to be studying
• walking home from school most days
• walking to school most days
• walking past Aunt Bertie and Uncle Obert's farm twice a day
• hanging our wet clothes near the stove after we played during noon hour
• walking past George's farm twice a day
• trying to hit pasture posts with stones on our walk home
• looking forward to Mom's treats on days she had made a cake the day before--we knew there would be saltine crackers with cake frosting in, just like a small sandwich
• stopping at the bridge south of our farm when the spring water was running and seeing fish
• everyone trying to be quiet while we played ball during recess so the teacher would kind of forget to call us in (really, I think it worked)
• To end this, Wood Lake School really seemed like more of a social time than an educational time BUT I know that one could research the kids who went to school there and find out that most of them did very well in the world.  Might it have been the farm culture and family life more than the educational part?

I have enjoyed my eggs with olives and ham mixed in along with my FP so I am good for today.

A day to talk about brother Ronald

Day 180, "Every picture has a story"

This is Ronald.  I know I have written about him in the past but will do so again today.  In my mind he was the man that pretty much most, if not all men want to be.  He was smart, he was energetic, he was full of fun, full of ideas, a great big brother and more I am sure.  As was the case for Janet, his life was way way too short but in the time he was here he lived life to the fullest.  Some of the things I remember are:

• In 1957 or so I gave him my $10 and he bought a baseball glove for me.  I did that because I knew I would not get into town.  I still have the glove.
• My 22 rifle, Ronald gave that to me.  He customize it just for me by cutting the barrel shorter and the stock shorter.
• He come home from college in maybe 1958 or so with a TV in the front seat.  It was our first TV.  He climbed up on the roof and put an antenna on the stand that was still there after our wind charger blew down.  We then had a snowy but GREAT TV!
• I remember one time he came home from college and it was a Saturday.  Of course Saturday night was "bath night".  When I came into the room where the tub was there were some little toy cars there for me.  I asked him to shut the door when he left.  He turned and with a smile he asked me why!
• Rabbit hunting, pheasant hunting was fun with Ronald.
• We went to some of his Legion baseball games in Lidgerwood in the summer.  I still have a baseball that he fouled off and it went way back of the stands.  I hunted and hunted until I found it.
• We went to Lidgerwood for his senior play.  It was a play about a trial.  Ronald was one of the lawyers.  In the end the audience voted for who won the case.  Ronald, the lawyer, won.  Mom and Dad were so proud.  
• He had a boat and it was behind his and John's that I learned to water ski.
• I remember going to his room in Kulm HS during Christmas vacation.  I was so looking forward to playing basketball in Kulm my senior year as I was a starter then BUT Ronald died in the fall.
• I remember him telling about his classroom. I thought to myself how could he stand up in front of a classroom and teach/talk for 40 minutes.  I was in awe.
• I remember the year we dragged out deer for a LONG time in the badlands of ND and then the next year Ronald had made a carrier out of bike parts and we just loaded the deer onto that and it was a breeze.  I thought he was REALLY smart!

The list could go on and on as Ronald was such an important part of my life.  As a big brother he was the BEST.  As I mature into old age now I sometimes sit back and wonder "what if".  If it is possible to miss someone more now than when they were with us 54 years ago, that would be me.

The "good players" had a round robin today and I guess there are people out of town for the summer so I was invited to play!  We played for 45 minutes and then changed partners and played another 45 minutes.  I won both my sets with scores of 6-3 and 6-4.  I, as least, held my own all morning.  

Of course my FP is long gone but it is not forgotten.

Day 179, "Every picture has a story"

Sister Janet.  She was special as were all of my siblings.  Perhaps I know the least about Janet as she was off to high school in Lidgerwood when I was maybe 5 or 6.  She and Ronald went to Lidgerwood High School and boarded there as there was no bus system in place at the time.  Janet was born in 1938 so I am guessing she graduated from high school in 1956 or 1957.  That would mean she kind of left home in 52 or 53.  I know less about Janet because when Ronald was home he would be with  Dave and I a lot but not so much for the girls.  Some things I do remember:

• She boarded in Lidgerwood with the Pop family.  I am pretty sure she did house work for them as a way to pay for board and room. The Pop's owned the hardware story in Lidgerwood.  I am sure Mom and Dad could not afford to pay for her to stay some place.
• After high school she went to Ellendale college where she earned her 2 year degree.
• She married John in 1958.
• She loved being a homemaker and was very gifted at knitting and sewing.
• She knit this great sweater for Dave and a beautiful blue sweater for me.
• When in high school she would, some weekends, come home.  I remember Mom and Dad saying when the boys came to visit that they were trying to get her to join the Catholic Church. I have NO idea why they would say that but I do know boys would often come to visit her!
• She was Lidgerwood home coming queen when she was a senior.
• I THINK she and John were still in Ellendale when they married.  
• I remember one Christmas she was home from Ellendale. She worked at a drug store in Ellendale and when she opened her present from the store there was a $20 bill in it.  Why would I remember that?  No idea!
• Mom and Dad would kind of live for the weekends when she and John would come home.  When I say that it sounds like they just waited for her and did not pay attention to us which is NOT true.  They just loved having Janet come home and the same was true for Ronald.
• I do not know but I am guessing that Janet worked her way through college.  I can not imagine Mom and Dad being able to pay for any of her college or for Ronald's as well.

A quiet day.  I cancelled my tennis as one of the guys was out of town and after contacting 4 others I just gave up and cancelled.  This morning as I got out of bed at 7:20 my body told me it was a grand idea!

I am not sure what I should do now.  The pile up of papers is down to zero so what now?  Oh, there are many things but I refuse to think about them.

Oh my goodness the pool here is so nice now.  After getting it repaired it stays cleaner for some reason and of course we keep it warm enough so when I get in there is no shock!  Most days I will swim 2 or 3 times for about 10 minutes.  What the heck, I should do that as when we arrive in St. Paul it will be up and down the stairs with projects on my mind MANY times a day!  So now, enjoy I say to myself.

I bought some special bread yesterday so this morning I had egg and ham on toast.  Yum is all I need to say.  I actually decided to have TWO pots of FP today so I have something to look forward to this afternoon as well.  

The last Thursday of April 2019

Day 178, "Every picture has a story"

Some of the sights along the Alaska Highway that we drove in 2014.  The highway was built in 1942 during a period of about 6 months.  It was not usable until 1943.  The United States felt they needed it to get supplies to Alaska after Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941.  We saw some of the equipment that was just left along the road.  The highway begins in Dawson Creek and ends in Delta Junction and runs a total of 1350 miles.  As we drove the highway we had nice paved road, MUCH construction, many muddy stretches but over all it was a pretty nice drive.  Of course our car and camper were muddy most of the time.  Really a great drive and one I would not mind doing again.

I see that I have not written since Monday which I can hardly believe.  Over the last couple of days I have tried to get on top of papers which piled up for, I will not say how long.  I had the licence tabs in the file for the car and camper in St. Paul.  As I went through some of the file and filed new papers the tabs were not where they had been.  I looked several places and nowhere.  I had this grocery bag of papers to go to the recycle and I thought do I really have to go through it paper by paper?  Then yesterday afternoon it dawned on me that maybe, just maybe I had filed them in a different file.  The second file I looked in was labeled "important papers" and presto there they were!  Anyway, after several days of a table filled with messy papers, the papers are all taken care of and put away.

Terry had a Dr. appt yesterday at 1:15.  We arrived on time and sat in the waiting room for some time.   About 1:45 or so we found out that it would be another hour--Terry went to the desk and canceled her appt.  As we left there were at least 3 other people in the waiting room to see the same Dr.  I think we will just skip the appt this spring.  One gets a bit tired of waiting for Dr.  Last week Terry and I had 2 appt in the morning and it took the entire morning.  Our first was at 8:30 and I think we got out of the second at about 11:30.  What the heck, it seems that most people, including us, have more important things to do than sit in Dr. offices for hours.   Really, it seems the Dr. or the offices need to do better than that.

No tennis today, a match tomorrow I think and then one on Saturday.  Today, a rest will do me good.

The guest bedroom is beginning to look like a holding place for things that go north.  As things come to mind I like to put them in a box to go.  Of course many things need to stay in place until the last minute but there are plenty of things that can be put aside now.

No breakfast today, only FP which is about finished.  

Day 177, "Every picture has a story"

Aaron helping Ruby find some Easter eggs on Easter Sunday, 2011.  Terry and I spent Easter there on our way to St. Paul that year.  If I remember right there were surprises for Terry and I as well!

On days when I have tennis at 7:30 I have a hard time getting my blog in.  Actually there is really no good reason for that but that is the way it is.  I am trying to sleep in a bit, later than 5:00, so if I get up at 6:30 it is kind of late to eat before I play.

I will NOT step on the scale for some time.  Today I had ham and cream potatoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner!!!  Not huge helpings but still 3 helpings of cream potatoes, not a good idea.  What is one to do, throw away good food.  Well at one time a friend said you can throw it away in the garbage or you can throw it away on your body!  I thought about it and kind of had to agree BUT growing up on the farm we NEVER threw food.

Terry and I went to Best Buy today as we want to get a couple of security camera in the house here before we leave.  Being not here for 5 months it would be nice to have more security than just a locked door.

I put a box in the guest bedroom today with things that go north.  Yes, it is kind of that time.  By the time mid May comes the guest bedroom will have several things in it.  It is difficult to remember everything so when one remembers it just is nice to put it in a certain place.  I will also make a list of things that go back and forth.  Not good if you arrive in St. Paul and important things are left in Naples.  A list did not help as one time I left our computer on the sidewalk at a hotel as we traveled.  That is another story.  

I took my FP with me to the courts today.  Got to have the good stuff.  Enough for tonight.

Day 176, "Every picture has a story"

April 8, 2012 was Easter Sunday and the Lees from South Bend flew in that morning.  Oh my that was 7 years ago and those darn kids are so so so much bigger now.  "For sure" they have added Elspeth and then Henry may be as tall as his Dad and Liam is not all that far behind!  Audrey is way bigger too.  That was a fun time.  We took in alligator alley and then did the tram around the National Park where we saw a lot of wildlife.  We went to a farm where there were horses etc and had lunch at Everglade City.  Of course there was beach time and John had ordered a large kite that arrived in time to use on the beach.  It was a fun Easter time as they spent about 5 days with us.  Oh, the kids used the pool often as well.

Terry and I will spent a quiet Easter Sunday today.  It will be church and then a meal of ham and Grandma Lee's cream potatoes.  I should add there will be plenty of leftovers!  

The weather will be "not so Minnesota" weather as it will be about 80 or so today.  I can think back and remember Easters when it was very nice and also when we had MUCH snow on the ground.  I do recall a picture of Easter on the Saunders farm when the snow was sill waist deep.

As I got out of bed this morning my body felt like it was coming apart.  I wonder if I am getting close to old age?  Yesterday I had one of those days where I was kind of vanilla like with no energy and a BIG time need for a nap!  I almost felt as if I may be getting a bug.  Terry chimed in with the idea that I have been playing too much tennis but I know that would NEVER be the case!  That darn singles yesterday almost did me in but I do need to do that again.

John called yesterday and said he and Henry were at a soccer game in Michigan.  He mentioned that Henry had driven the hour and half there.  Oh my, a first.  A grand child driving but I am absolutely positive there are many to follow.  Lord protect them as they learn to be mobil in our world today.  It is a tiny bit different from jumping in the truck or car on the farm and driving to the south field!  I still can feel and hear the near miss Dave and I had with the truck as we drove to Halvors.  Coming towards us was another truck and for some reason they felt they owned 2/3 of the road.  Dave was driving and he steered as far to the right as possible and BANG, the corner of the box on the truck nicked their truck.  Oh my, it was way way too close.  Another inch or 2 and we may have been resting in the Bergen cemetery.

If anyone reads this today I wish you a very very happy Easter and may all of us take time to give thanks to our Lord who gave us every lasting life on this day.  AMEN

It is Sunday and Easter so I had to have just a bit of Irish Cream in my FP.

A different season for sure!

Day 175, "Every picture has a story"

Dave and John look like they are putting out the fire.  I think this is the only picture I have of John's camper and pickup.  We are in the middle of the North Dakota badlands for deer hunting.  For the first few times we went there it seems to me that we would have our deer by Saturday night.  ALWAYS Dad would fry deer liver for Saturday breakfast as season opened at noon Friday.  The last time or two we may not have even filled our permits.  I do know one time I pretty much walked all day only to find out at the end of the day that I had been in Montana about half of the day,oops!  Not sure why this is black and white as it does not show the beauty of the badlands.  I am not sure one could hunt like that today.

There could be many many more stories related to this picture.

I did play singles today with Karl.  Oh my it was one of those days when I often had to stop and ask myself, "why did I do that?"  I lost both sets but did redeem myself just a tiny bit as we did a 10 point tie breaker and I prevailed 10-8 after being behind 1-4.

I THINK I will get some work done today.  I finally got the cords of the TV right.  We mounted the TV on the wall and when we listened to a DVD at times it would cut out.  Finally as I replaced the third cord it appears to be fixed.  ALSO I got the dinning room light fixed after putting in 2 new switches.  Now on to other things!

I think my late morning is going to be good as I did not have my FP early but will have it NOW, hey.

Happy Birthday Mike

Happy birthday Mike.  What a guy.  You work hard at your job, come home to MANY home projects and then care for a large family.  Keep being the great guy you are and have a super day.  I am sure that those special kids and great wife will make it a SUPER day.  May the coming year be one of new adventures and many blessings.  Carmen and Terry

Day 174, "Every picture has a story"

A couple of pictures from our last villa party that we had last night.  Several people have left for the summer and renters have left so the party was less in numbers but it was a great time.  As always the food was great and the 20 people who attended ate most of it.  We had a starting time of 5:30 and Terry and I left about 7:30 with everything cleaned up but 2 couples still staying to visit.  Our next party will be January 16, 2020!

Tennis at 10:30 this morning and we beat the rain.  There was enough rain at 12:30 to halt tennis for the day but we now, 6:00,  have heavy rain and and it will probably rain off and on for the next couple of hours.  The heavy rain is good as it gives us a chance to inspect the rain gutters that were put up after the roof was on.  There are some things that need to be done before we make the final payment!

Terry and I are ready for Easter Sunday.  It will be a quiet Sunday with sun raise church and the just the two of us for cream potatoes, ham and veggies.  Of course Easter in Naples is a bit different as the temp will be around 85 or so.  

That is it for this Friday.  As one could guess the FP was a long time ago and "for sure" it was good.

Day 173, "Every picture has a story"

Maybe the story here is Aaron and his early girl friends!  No, not really.  The girls are Carolyn in the front and she lived across the street.  The other two are Becker girls who lived down the street and over one block.  

The wagon, it was our stroller for the 3 boys.  From the time John was born in Devils Lake to when Aaron was born in August of 1973 that was what we used for a stroller.  I know, we may have been a bit different!  We really did not get a real stroller until Cynthia was born in 1980.  It was a small fold up one that we called engine #88 because the boys would run as fast as they could while they pushed her.  Sadly, we left it, by mistake, at Devils Tower in WY in 1982.  The year we went on vacation to the Black Hills but our car was not up to a trip so Ed C offered to have us use his!  Maybe we live in a different world today?

The yard, well as one can see there is still some of the picket fence up.  It was all around the front yard when we moved to Niles Ave in 1977.  Then as the boys upped their soccer kicks which resulted in broken pickets all over it was removed.  There also was a hedge along the front sidewalk where the wagon is sitting.  That was taken out maybe in 1978.

No tennis again today so this old body may be able to heal totally!  Terry has an appt at 12:30 and that is it for the day.  House projects---maybe some today.  I did get a new switch for the living room light.  BUT now I need to go back to Home Depot as I forgot to get one with a dimmer on it.  I was about to bow to expertise and the bank and call an electrician but presto the new switch that I purchased worked.   Darn that old Wood Lake School.  The teachers never taught me how to spell so I am always looking up the correct spelling on the computer.  I might add that I do fail sometimes!  I know I am admitting my weakness but here I could not get the correct spelling of "electrician" so I had to google "a person who works with electricity" and it came up.  What can I say.  A person has to do what you have to do, right?

Breakfast consisted of 2 eggs, 2 pork links and a dab of hash browns and of course I needed FP to wash it down.  Good start to the day.

Day 172, Every picture has a story"

As we look forward to Easter Sunday I am reminded of Easter way way back 44 years ago.
It was Holy Saturday, April 13 in 1975.  School at the Deaf School in Devils Lake was out for a week.  Snow had been in western ND and a couple of students could not get home for the holiday.  I volunteered to have Kevin come home with us.  Mr. Hayek assured me that his parents would most likely be in town to pick him up on Monday.  Guess what?  Kevin's parents NEVER showed up the entire week long break so we had a house guest.  It was difficult for the boys to communicate with Kevin but he did have some hearing so it kind of worked.  Fun, the thing I remember most is Kevin had a continual runny nose which used up an entire box of tissue AND did nothing to keep the boys healthy!  In the end I think the boys had fun with him and I am positive Kevin had a better Easter vacation with us than he would have had at home!  The sad part was pretty much every morning Kevin was certain Dad would show up that day but of course he did not.

I did not play tennis this morning as there were 2 Dr. appt on the calendar.  Terry and I left the house at 8:10 and arrived home 11:50 for TWO appts?  Do you think the Dr was running late?  

Another warm day, 87, and then somewhat of a cool down for a couple days.  

We have been following the reports of the awful fire in Paris.  Terry has been to the church but of course I have never been to France.  I read where the wood poles used on the inside of the church were each one tree.  Not sure how many trees they used but the church is about 800 years old.  

Happy Birthday Leo Lee

Happy Birthday Leo who turns 12 today.  I admit this picture was taken some time ago BUT it is one of my all time favorite photos of any kind.  Leo looks like a thinker and I think he REALLY is.  Leo, we hope you have a GREAT day and may your life as a 12 year old young man be filled with excitement, blessings and fun! One more year and you are a teenager!!!   Love, Grandpa Lee and Grandma Terry

Day 171, "Every picture has a story"

This is in 1974.  People see or they purchase these cheap plastic swings for their kids.  No way here.  Lumber, chains, wood for seats and "for sure" a baby seat for Aaron and we were good to go.  In todays world they may not be consider safe but I would beg to differ as we never had anybody get hurt by falling off or going too high.  One can see by the lawn below the swings that they were used a little bit!  I thought about taking it apart and bringing it to St. Paul when we moved in 1977 but decided instead to build one in St. Paul as well.  A side note is seen on the back of the house in the background of the picture.  For some reason we had cable TV for some time but decided no more.  We called the company and asked them to disconnect it.  A day later our TV screen went snowy so no more cable.  A few days later I was mowing the lawn and happened to notice the cable connection on the house.  It looked funny and as I looked closer it was severed.  I spliced it together and presto we had cable again.  I am guessing the person who came to disconnect it was late for a luncheon date so he just cut it and left!  Note, that happened in 1972, not 2019!

A friend called yesterday and asked if I was up to hitting cross court yesterday afternoon.  One can guess what I said, yes!  To set the scene we got to the court at 3:00 and the temp was high 80s.  I had played 6 times in the last 6 days and what did we do?  We decided to play singles for the practice.  Yes, playing singles is very good practice and to make it better we gave each other up to 3 serves each point.  Usually one gets 2 serves but doing 3 gives one more practice at serves.  Karl, the friend, does play singles fairly often and I play singles pretty much never.  In the first set we were tied 3-3 and then my legs told me I had taken NO time off from the courts in a week.  I lost 3-6 and agreed to play two more games but at that I called it quits.  Will see what those legs tell me at 10:30 today.  There are 2 appt to go to tomorrow so no tennis then and I think maybe none on Wednesday as well.  I feel that may be a welcome time off.  Oh, I could cut down on eating and lose weight, maybe that would help?  I often have such good ideas and such little resolve, poor me.

We are into Holy Week with high expectations of Jesus rising again on Sunday.  Come Lord into my life and into the life of friends and relatives in a powerful way.

There is one more cup of FP waiting for me as I finish the WSJ.

Day 170, "Every picture has a story"

It was October 19, 1959.  Today was our church Sunday.  Mom had polished our shoes and they were lined up by the door as I wandered downstairs.  I looked at the clock which hung over the stove and it smiled back at me with a time of 7:50.  I smiled a bit and figured that there was time for Mom to make some eggs for breakfast along with some deer sausage.  I knew that after church Mom would make her fried egg sandwiches with a side of dill pickle but eggs were better in the morning.  I knew Dave did not care as he usually was up for a HUGE bowl of corn flakes with cream and sugar on.  I was surprised that Dad was already up as usually on Sundays he would sleep in a bit.  Oh, I almost forgot that we were in the middle of pheasant hunting and Dad was like a pointing bird dog when it came to chasing hunters off our land.  I did not even ask because I knew Dad would not be going to church this morning.  He would be walking around our farm looking for trespassing hunters.  If he found any they would, in no pleasant terms, realize that there was NO pheasant hunting on our farm.  

I did luck out as Mom had already milked the cows so we, Dave and I, did not have to do that and she was open to making eggs!  About 8:45 we were dressed and in the car.  Golly, those darn shoes did not feel all that great.  I had been in my glory Saturday as I did not need to put those darn things on my feet.  I loved summer as shoes where often parked in the entry way of our house but now, in fall, one could not go to school bare foot.   I wondered if the polish Mom put on the shoes made them smaller!  Regardless I was pumped for Sunday School.  That was at 9:00 and then church was at 10:00.  I had our Bible verses down pat and IF Mom, the teacher, asked me any of the 5 I could rattle them off in a second.  I knew that Mom would also have a Bible trivia contest, boys against the girls.  Not sure why she kept that up as we, the boys, always won hands down.  Really the boys consisted of Chuckie and I.  Darrin was usually there but he was not one you could count on for a quick answer.  The girls, Patsy, Gay and Carol Jean were the girls and in Bible trivia they were the enemy, "for sure".  Two weeks ago Chuckie and I had crushed them 12-3 and I had every intention of doing the same today.  In the end the girls would laugh as we answered first and I suspected it was their way of dealing with defeat!  

Sunday School ended with Chuckie and I winning 11-4 and for us that was almost a defeat as our goal had been to win every answer.  I suspected Mom kind of tilted things towards the girls as I was sure my hand shot up quicker than the girls twice but Mom called on them.  I guess Moms need to do that sometimes.  

We, Chuckie and I,  headed up the cement stairs at 9:55 and took our seats on the right side of the church kind of mid front.  At my age now I did not have to sit with Mom and or Dad.  Chuckie and I would continue or competition by seeing who could open the hymn book closest to the page of the song.  I think it usually was 50-50 as to who won!  

Church kind of dragged on as it usually did.  When the collection plate came around I put my nickel in.  Dad had taught us that we must ALWAYS put something in the collection plate.  Rev Mailing (sp?), as usual, talked a bit too long and actually I did not understand what he was trying to get across this morning.  

End of church and we headed home.  I knew where we would find Dad.  He would be watching the trees to the east of our house or he would be across the creek to the north looking for trespassing hunters.  AND he would have his Winchester shotgun on his right shoulder with shells in!  As Mom turned at the corner a half mile south of our farm I had visions of those egg sandwiches AND I already had those darn shoes off.

Well I did play tennis yesterday morning with the guys who are supposed to be better than I.  We play doubles so of course the wins or losses depends on your teammate as well.  We played for 45 minutes and then changed partners and played for the last 45 minutes.  I won the first 5-4 (time was up) and won the second 6-4.  As we finished up the guy who plans these things asked me if I got a workout.  I replied, "I won both matches and it was a mountain top experience!"  Do you think he got my drift?

Cloudy today with warm temps on tap.  A week from today is Easter Sunday!

I did eat breakfast this morning.  I have been experimenting with not eating soon after I get up.  IF I eat after a 7:30 or 9:00 tennis match I seem to play better.  I don't play on Sundays so I fired up the stove to hash browns, 2 eggs easy over and a nice thick slab of ham.  After finishing I nursed my FP to the end of the sports page.  Way to go Carmen.

A long story today--make up for missing Friday!

Day 169, "Every picture has a story"

This is the pond at the North Dakota School for the Deaf.  The story for today:

Gail and I spent 2/3 of our year, 68/69 training at the school.  We were there in the fall taking classes which came out of Minot.  Mrs. Lake and the superintendent were our teachers.  In the winter we were back at Minot and then we were at the school again in the spring.  I had taken "Deaf Education" only as a stepping stone to some other profession.  I had the sense to take a scholarship which paid expenses plus a stipend instead of borrowing more money!  In the spring of the year I was offered a teaching position and accepted.  I found that I really liked teaching and it seemed that the administration was pleased with me as well.  In the school year of 74/75 I agreed to be taken off of the state payroll and go under Title 1.  That meant I would have extra money to spend and also a full time teacher aide.  I was promised that if the Title 1 money was eliminated I would go back under the state payroll. A year later, in May of 1976, the superintendent asked me into his office.  Our principal was leaving in June and I thought maybe he was going to ask me for my idea of a replacement.  To my surprise he asked me if I wanted the job!  Of course it would mean a raise in pay and it was a year round job.  Deep down I said yes in my spirit as it would mean an end to driving cement truck for Lake Ready Mix!  I was surprised and told him I would let him know in a day or two.  I probably was not good at pay negotiation but I accepted and got a pay raise.  I told him that I would be away for part of the summer as I was finishing my MA in Grand Forks.  The next year was one of learning and enjoying.  For sure there were parts of the job that I did not like but over all it was a dream job for me and ended up being my most favorite job ever.
In the early spring of 1977 things started to happen.  The prayer group in Grand Forks invited us to be part of an IMPORTANT meeting there.  We went and they shared that the prayer community, as a whole, were moving to the Twin Cities to join Servants of the Light.   We were invited to be part of that!  Oh my here I was in a job that I loved and it appeared that I was being very successful and now something new to think about!  We weighed several factors:

• Did we really want to live all of our adult life in Devils Lake?
• Were we happy with the kinds of people we rubbed shoulders with and what about the education our kids would get?
• What did the long term $$ look like?
• We had been considering moving from 710 3rd street, was this actually what God had in mind for us?
• The bottom line was what did God have to say

We took a trip to St. Paul just to look at things and decided that MAYBE we would consider moving in the next year.  I did get a meeting with the Director of Special Education in St. Paul and she said there were NO teacher openings for the coming year.  At home I was well into the fall schedule as far as the school went.  I had worked on and finalized 27 different schedules for the dorm parents over the next 52 weeks!

We decided to take in a charismatic conference in Kansas City that was July 20-24.  We left Devils Lake July 11th and went to the Saunders farm.  Marian and Chic went with us to the conference.  We arrived home in Devils Lake July 27 and I was all ready to dig in for the fall.  There was a voice on our answering machine from Ron L who taught in St. Paul.  I called him back and he said the Director of Special Education had called him on Friday and asked him to get a hold of me.  A teacher had resigned and she was offering me the job!   Now one can NOT ignore that as a sign from God.  The next several weeks became a blur and perhaps fodder for more stories!  BUT that ended our 9 years in Devils Lake AND of course the end of my dream job as well.  I have to add that following the Lord in those circumstances was the best thing I ever did.

Day 168, "Every picture has a story"

This is very close to the combine we used when I was on the farm.  We did NOT have the ability to cut and harvest at the same time as in this picture but the combine itself is pretty close to ours. AND we did put it with an International "M" tractor.  I can tell you that the hopper where the grain came into would hold 50 bushels but if it were oats and it weighted more than 32 pounds it would be more. The story in this picture is about Dad who suffered 2 serious injuries as he used this combine.  There were many gears and sprocks on the combine.  Dad kept a gallon can filled with old oil on the hitch.  Several times a day he would leave the combine running as we unloaded and he would take the oil can around and oil the sprocks and gears.  One time he got a little too close to the gear and his index finger went between the chain and wheel.  It is difficult to explain how or what happened but I can promise you do not want it to happen to you.  After that he had a dead nerve in his trigger finger as the finger had been smashed.  He always had to be careful after that as he had no feeling in it and it was easy to allow it to get too cold and maybe even get frost bite or freeze when he was hunting in the winter.  I do not remember him going to the doctor with that but he may have.  the second was more painful and more serious.  For some reason he did not have a battery in the motor so he needed to crank the motor to start it.  As he stood on the outside of the motor and attempted to crank the motor to life it back fired and the handle can around and hit him in the shoulder sending him to the ground.  We got Mom and she drove him to the hospital and IF I remember right Dad did pass out on the way there.  It put harvest on hold for some time.  I don't remember how long but I do know that when the grain was ready putting harvest on hold was not a good thing!

Another beautiful day weather wise.  Not so in Minnesota as I look on the computer and phone.  I played tennis at 7:30 and by 8:00 I was sweating BIG time.  I am on my way to drive Terry to an appt as I get sticker for the car and the beach.

April 10th 1/3 of April is history

Day 167, "Every picture has a story"

It was a Monday, August 12th of 1957.  We were in full swing with harvest.  The crops were going to be meager at best.  This morning we had started harvest "down south".  This was Uncle Jim's land and we had a yearly way of working it.  There was the prairie land that we put up for hay.  I have NO idea what Dad paid Jim for that.  It was native land with prairie needles in and then there was the annual harvest of June grass.  In addition to the hay we cultivated 90 acres each year.  We would put oats on 1/3, wheat on 1/3 and summer farrow 1/3 each year.  Today we had started harvest on the oats.  Oh my that darn oats was always miserable to harvest as it made me itch from my big toe to the top of my head.  As I said the harvest was not good this year.  We had filled the truck and taken that home and tomorrow we would probably finish with Jim's share of the crop.  We always took his share to the elevator in Geneseo.  I was hoping that we could start on the wheat by Wednesday.  That was always much nicer to harvest.  BUT today we were finished as there was little or no wind and the damp air came in just before sunset.  That meant end of harvest for the day.  Dave and I hurried up stairs as fast as we could as we needed our swim trunks.  As Dad would have a bit to eat and hit the bed we would gather a bar of Mom's homemade soap, each a wash cloth and then a towel.  The bikes were parked in the shed so we hurried to get them.  It was a dark ride to Lake Tewaukon.  We knew there would be mosquitoes big time but the itch of the day was great enough that we would ignore that as we rode, hands free almost, towards the lake.  I know the picture shows a boat ramp but in our day there was nothing like that.  As we approached the lake we took the first drive towards the lake.  It was narrow and by this time it was pretty dark but we knew it by heart so no problem.  As we braked to a stop we almost flew off the bikes and charged into the water.  Oh, we had better leave our towels by the bikes.  The sun had set 20 minutes ago so it was difficult to see if the water near the shore was nice or was it covered with green?  Even if that was the case it would be fine away from the shore.  Between the darkness, the mosquitoes and the green water we spent little time there BUT we did get a bar of soap on most of our self and then dried off as we got out of the water.  By the time we were finished, maybe 10 minutes, the darkness had covered the path down to the lake entirely but as I said no problem as we knew where the turns and where the rocks in the road were.  By the time we arrived home Mom was in the kitchen keeping our supper warm and Dad was in bed with the door closed.  HOW HE COULD SLEEP IN HIS ITCHINESS I COULD NOT UNDERSTAND but he did.  After hard boiled eggs and Mom's homemade bread we headed upstairs to bed.  Tomorrow would be another day and perhaps much of the same on the farm!

A beautiful day in Naples.  I am guessing the temp hit mid 80s and bright sun shine all day.  I had 7:30 tennis which today was great.  At 11:30 I met Karl at the club to talk about the 2020 season.  Never too soon, right?  The club has changed a bit and the food is actually very good now.  That has not always been the case.  Actually the highlight of the day was getting a new strong 3.0 player for next year.  Mike G is from Rhode Island and even at the age of maybe 75 he has great wheels on the court.  When I asked him if he might be interested his instant answer was, "Yes".  Great.

I did not eat breakfast this morning but then I think I have been eating too much so maybe it was a good thing.  I have been working at staying up later so I don't get up so so early.  Last night I went to bed at 11:30 and then actually got out of bed at 6:45.  That is more like a normal person if I indeed want to be normal.  

Given the time, PM,  the FP is history by many hours.  "For sure" it was good and I did take a mug to the court and finished it there.

A quiz

Day 166, "Every picture has a story"

So this picture is of course 4 in 1.  I would say the upper left is in St. Paul.  The upper right and the lower left is moving day for Amy and Aaron.  My story today is the lower right.  First, I think Aaron needed new pants!  Wait, that is the rage now as I see it on TV all the time!  Anyway Aaron and Amy are in their new home (not the wonderful home they now live in) and they think they need the water pipes replaced.  We travel to Madison to help out.  As you can see Amy was a big help BUT I do believe Aaron and I did most of the work.  We cut, replaced, put together and sweat pipes pretty much ALL day long.  As the day came to an end, if I remember correctly, we only had 1 or 2 joints that had to be redone but ALL the water pipes were replaced with copper.  Back in those days (maybe 2003 or so) it was a walk in the park kind of day.  If I were to do that today it would be a HARD day!  Yes I am about 20 years older now!  Anyway Amy and Aaron were happy to get the  job finished and all in one day, way to go!

My schedule today was for tennis at 9:00.  I ate breakfast at 7:30 and then sat down to look at the computer.  Within a few minutes the thunder told everyone that rain is here and there will be NO tennis this morning.  So here I sit, at 8:50 writing and thinking about what I will do the rest of the day.  

I think it is a 'settle back" kind of day with the corner lamp on the pages of a good book!  Oh, wait a minute I do have some work to be done, I think.

Here is my quiz for the day as I do not know the purpose of this.  The top of it attaches to your faucet and the bottom attaches to your hose.  All around the top round part are holes.  As a person turns on the water it comes out the holes until you turn it on all the way and then it is supposed to stop!  Well this thing broke so the water did not stop.  Ignore the nail in the side!  I had to do that in order to get it off the end of the hose.  WHAT IS THE PURPOSE?  I think guys who are more handy than I, guys like John M or Dave L might know.  I just do not know the reason for it.

Enough for today.  Rain rain you are so welcome!  FP is finished for now and "for sure" it was very good!

Day 165, "Every picture has a story"

Terry and I took a bike ride in the summer of 2013.  Terry had served in the Minnesota Senate from 1990-1996.  It was fun to ride down Summit ave way to the capital.  Terry had many memories of her time there.  My memories consist of taking my class of deaf kids there twice!

We finally got our taxes finished.  We sent them into our CPA about 3 weeks ago and got the papers back on Saturday.  A refund will be in the bank maybe by the end of April.  The new tax laws were kind to us so we got a refund that was a little higher than last year.  

Our pool is just great now.  We are thinking of changing our pool people as the guy who came and put salt in last Friday was great.  We will see.  

Tennis is continuing to be fun even though the league is over.  I played with a guy today that I had not played with in the past and it was a fun time.  

Terry and I actually got a little work done today.  Work now is not very demanding but I can live with that!  

Warm weather is here.  High of 87 today so it was good to get tennis in before the heat arrived.

I had my second day of those new hash browns.  I think I need to try them one more time before I make a decision!!!

As one could guess I had my FP this morning and "for sure" it was GREAT.

Basketball stardom--not quite!

Day 164, "Every picture has a story"

A Sargent central High School related picture.  Don't know what group this is but all of the people were in class our class of 1965.  Terry is in the front row second from the right.  My story for today is related to high school but it is related to basketball:

And

It was a cold Friday, February 19 of 1965.  It had been a VERY cold month.  As we climbed into the bus the temperature was -6 and that was kind of a heat wave.  I had heard on my radio, as I was getting up in the morning, that we had not seen above zero temperatures yet in February.  I thought to myself that I may need to sit close to someone on the way back to keep warm!  We had 3 more basketball games left in the season before playoffs begin.  Tonight we were traveling to Britton SD.  As usual I had stayed after school and the lunch ladies had left some snacks left over from lunch for some of us who could not travel home and then back again for the game.  As Larry and I sat in the lunch room and ate we talked about the season.  It had been an up and down season with injuries to some of our key players but still we had high hopes that John and Dan would be healthy for the rest of the season.  Larry had come on strong as the season wore on and I had been my usual steady self.  At this point I had the highest average per game at 19 points per game.  One of the things I felt good about was I was on a streak at the free throw line.  I had made my last 14 free throws and had almost begun to believe I would not miss any for the remainder of the season. (I was later proven wrong!)  Larry and I finished our tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwich and kind of looked at our homework for the weekend as we waited for the clock to hit 5:30, which is when we were supposed to leave.  The "B" team was scheduled to play at 6:30 with our "A" game start time of 8:00.  Britton had a good record and it would be tough game for sure.  At 5:25 I gathered my overcoat and hat and headed towards the bus with my duffel bag in hand.  I had no worries as to a good seat on the bus as John and I were the captains and by this time in the season it was a given where we would sit.  My seat would be the third seat from the front on the right side BUT on the way back it would be a different story which I will not get into!!!  It was a fairly short bus ride of 30 minutes.  The route took us south of Forman on highway 32 to highway 27 which took us into Britton.  When we arrived we allowed the "B' team to exit first as they would play the first game.  We were behind 26-15 at half and as the tip off of the second half started most of the "A" team headed into the locker room.  As I opened my duffel bag I was shocked.  The "A" team wore high socks which came over the calf and mine were NOT in my bag.  I dumped my bag out but uniform socks were nowhere to be found.  As they were part of the uniform I HAD to have them.  I went to coach Wohler and told him of my dilemma.  He asked me WHY?  How was I supposed to know, it must have been Mom's fault.  I did not say that but "for sure" I thought it.   In a not so friendly voice he said I should borrow from one of the subs which I did.  When it came time to discuss the starting lineup my name was not mentioned!  What the heck I had started every game so far and not only was I the leading scorer but was second in rebounds as well.  Coach Wohler told me I would sit for some time because of the socks.  So I sat on the bench with a frown on as the game started.  At about the 3 minute mark of the first quarter we were behind 9-5 coach called a time out and sent me in.  I ended up having the best game statistics of my basketball career even though I sat on the bench for part of the game and wore borrowed socks during the game!  I continued my free throw streak while shooting 5 of 5 and then hit all 8 of my field goals (no 3 point baskets back then) for a grand total of 21 which only put us close for the game as we went down to defeat 51-50.  To this day I do not know if the defeat was due to Mom not putting my socks in, me not checking for my socks or coach Wohler not starting me.  As I recall now it may not even be important 54 years later, right?  My streak of 19 straight free throws came to an end the following Tuesday as I missed my first one against Kulm.  So perhaps the moral of the story is check your duffel bag for everything before you leave home and don't count on making 100% of your free throws!

No tennis today.  A day off is a good thing.

Terry and I have our last play this afternoon.  Then I am all cultured up for the season, I think!

It is kind of late in the morning so time to stop.  It is Sunday so I did enjoy a bit of Irish Cream in my FP AND I had a new kind of hash brown potato for breakfast.  The verdict is still out on them so I will have to try again tomorrow 😋.

Pinch more than a penny!

Day 163, "Every picture has a story"

We were visiting sister Helen in Holiday Island, Arkansas and I needed something to do.  I put my 300M lens on my Canon SLR and set up shop on her south deck.  She had a humming bird feeder on the deck railing and I had seen birds  there from time to time.  However most of the time they hung out in the bushes and trees near her deck.  I took the feeder and set it on the railing as far from the door as possible and then settled in  on the opposite side of the deck.  I mounted my camera on the trip pod to steady it and waited.  An hour or more went by and I could see the humming birds at times and hear their wings flat at 200 times per second (I googled it so no lie!) but there was only one bird that approached the feeder that first hour.  Then they must have gotten used to me sitting 15 feet away and decided that I was no harm to them.  In that second hour I snapped MANY pictures and after monitoring about 30 of them this is my best!  Pretty fun I would say.  

The business that fixed our pool came yesterday and put salt in it and said it would be ready immediately.  The young man who came was great and we think we may hire him to clean the pool weekly.  The people we have now are either a bit under/over just OK.  The guy yesterday noted that our filter was cracked on top and said that may be the reason we were not getting a good cleaning of the surface water.  Terry and I went out and purchased a new filter (I promise you it cost more than an oil filter for the car), a new "O" ring for the case, a new surround for the under water light and then a new hand held net to clean up surface dirt when needed.

As we walked out Terry suggested we take a picture because we now think the name should be "Pinch-A-Dollar or more".  Anyway when we arrived home I shut the pool off and installed the filter and "O" ring.  After starting it up again and priming it we were good to go.  The surround for the light will be put in today.  So, finally, after four days of "no swimming" I jumped in about 4:00.  I should not admit this but we usually have the temp of the water at 92 or so (I know that is certainly admitting that I am a wimp but...)  and because the heater had not been on for very long the water was at 83.  After getting in it was actually refreshing BUT it wil be warmer today.

We have our last play tomorrow.  That means that I should be ALL cultured for the season.

I received an e-mail from Charles Jensvold as I had sent a note to him the day before.  He said he had been to Veblen as Frank Gustafson had died.  He went to the memorial service in Veblen and not to the funeral which was held the next day in Sisseton.  I guess Frank and finished his career in education in Sisseton.  I think he was the older brother of Jim who was Dave's age.  I THINK but am not sure.  He also mentioned the softball games we played in the week long Bible School we would have in the school house across the road from Bergen Church.  

That darn rash that I have been dealing with is being cared for by the pills and cream that I got.  The itchy feeling is pretty much gone and the rash is looking more and more normal--not sure there is a normal rash but.  As I sat reading the WSJ this morning and eating left over dressing and a pork chop (there is nothing wrong with that for breakfast, right?)  the bottom of my right foot started bothering me and when I looked at it I could see that it is a bit swollen.  Not sure what that is but I need it to go away as I am playing tennis today.  Usually Saturday is a day off but for some reason I was put in for a court at 9:00.  

I came across a great vacation idea in the WSJ this morning if anyone is interested.  It is put on by National Geographic.  It is 24 days and takes you to places like Japan, South Korea, China, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Estonia, Finland, Iceland and back to the United States.  Airfare to Seattle, where you start and from Boston, where you finish is not included.  Oh, by the way it is $92,795 and just $9,250 more if you want a single room!  Nice idea but one may have to be more than a "penny pincher" to afford that.  I think I will settle for a trip to Minnesota in May.

The FP is gone and it is on to another day.

A dream about the "good old days"

Day 162, "Every picture has a story"

This picture has so many story lines.  Chuckie, from Bergen church, and I pretty much saw each other every other week in church.  He went to Lidgerwood HS and I went to Sargent Central HS.  I post this picture because I had a dream last night that Chuckie (We have not seen each other for maybe 54 years and when he saw I wrote about "Chuckie" he knew it had to be Carmen Lee as he said he has not gone by that name ever but to me he was Chuckie.  I would assume he is Charles.  Regardless here is my dream and the story of the day.  I was in Bergen Church and it was Luther League.  The church was full and we were having a meeting.  In real life way way back in the early 60s the church was NEVER full and the meeting lasted about 15 minutes and the basement lunch was maybe an hour!)  Back to my dream.  We were having the meeting and I was going to give a speech, maybe just like I did back in my HS days.  I had on a pair of sweat pants and they kept coming down in the back when I slide down in the pew.  I had to be sure they were up far enough when I got up to speak.  I was nervous about speaking and upset with Chuckie as he had gotten me into this!  We sang songs first  and then I was about to stand up and talk.  THEN I WOKE UP AND NEVER GOT TO SAY ANYTHING!  End of story.  Chuckie lives in Detroit Lakes.  I really should stop and visit him some time.  It appears that he married a gal from Africa and has spent considerable time there.  End of story for this morning.  I could add one more line to my Chuckie story.  I stayed over night with hime one time, (I think that was the one and only time) and I was miserable the entire time as I had a barley barb stuck in my throat which was VERY irritating.  It just bothered me the entire time as I think it just had to dissolve over time.  Don't ask me WHY I put it in my mouth but those darn things had little teeth on and I just could not get it in or out!

I got a laugh out of a picture in the Wall Street Journal this morning.  There was a picture of President Trump and the leader of China.  The captain had Trump saying the if the trade deal went through it would be EPIC.  Liam had used that word twice in in last letter and I had to laugh.  I also had to send the picture to Liam by way of text to Mary!

Don't know if there will be much tennis today.  Greg put me in for 9:00 but 2 of the guys are not around so don't know if he got replacements or not.  Actually Greg is hurt and 1 guy is out of town.

It is cloudy and looks like maybe rain today.  

I went to Urgent Care yestereday as I have gotten a rash that is itchy.  I think I have gotten it every spring for the last few years.  So the Dr. sees me for maybe 4 minutes and then walks out saying a nurse would come in with a prescription which included the pills that you take 6 the first day, 5 the second etc until they are gone.  Also was included a cream to put on the rash.  I think it is a lot better already this morning.  Don't want it to turn into what it did about 3 or 4 years ago as Terry and I had to stop at an Urgent Care on the way up the east coast and the nurse P enjoyed giving me a shot in the behind!

I did all the important things this morning:

• took my Simvastation for cholesterol
• took my Lisinopril.HCTZ for high BP
• put some Betamethasone Dipropionate on the rash
• put some Clobetasol Propionate for the discoloration on my legs
• took the Methylprednisolone pill for the rash
• could not find the anti-aging pill
• could not find the fat burning pill
• decided to forgo the Pantogar which is for hair loss
• AND to think I Thank God each day for being so healthy!

Looks like I am set for a good day, right?

My breakfast was bacon, egg and cheese on toast today.  That is history and my FP is half gone so will sign off for today.