Wednesday, June 30 AND tomorrow we welcome July

 TERRY

No news about Terry as she is doing fine.  As I write, and as usual, she is reading the morning paper.  

Some pictures that John Mouw sent

Sister Janet with Esther and Bob

Janet, Esther and John--almost did not recognize Janet as she is not wearing glasses

Four generations with Esther, Janet, Grandma Lee and Dad.  Esther was the first grandchild for Mom and Dad.  That must have been in 1958.

I have nothing planned for the day except to make a run to Costco.  Sonia will be here for the day and then it will be Terry and I solo for maybe a month.  I THINK I am up for it!!!  I cancelled meals for next week as I want to see how we do without them.  IF it works fine I may not get them for a few weeks.  Sometimes it is difficult to eat all that is sent.

I need to send a box of shells to Elspeth!  John said I should send them as she was so so disappointed that she forgot them.  I think the postage will be a lot!

Not much else to say today.  I am pretty much caught up with the house things.   I got the air mattresses put away yesterday and decided to put the sleeping bags under the bed as we do not have a lot of storage space here.  There is still a load of clothes to do but that is simple so will get that finished this AM.

It is kind of strange to think of the day.  NO company, no tennis, no golf.  What is one to do???

No that is enough.  I am only half finished with my FP so will sign off and maybe check e-mails as I drink the last FP.

Here we are two days from July 2021

 TERRY

Terry is the same.  We had a visit with her primary Dr. yesterday and it was just kind of a social visit.  She did suggest something for the almost daily dry heaves that Terry has.  As I write she is reading the paper in bed.

I start out today with a picture of brother Dave who is on the left.  He would have celebrated his 77th birthday day.  He is missed every day.

I would say that Dave lived a life worth living as he loved Jesus, he served others, he used his talents for God's glory and much much more.  I am sure I am not the only one who misses him.

Well I will get on the tennis court today for the first time in 5 days.  Does a 74 year old guy get rusty in that amount of time?  We will see. 

I spent much of yesterday kind of putting the house back the way it was two weeks ago.  Now do not get me wrong.  Grandkids did NOT make a mess in fact they were very very good.  But still bedding had to be washed, sleeping bags put away, towels washed etc.  There are still air mattresses to put away and then decide where to store things as they will be needed when people arrived after Christmas for several days.

Here is a pretty cute picture of Esther and Bob Mouw.  I am guessing it was taken not long after Janet passed away.  

I am about finished for the day.  I just might add another writing later in the day but not sure.

My FP was very good today.

As we head towards July

 TERRY

Terry sees her primary doctor today.  That is pretty much all we have going.  She started taking some new meds a couple weeks ago so the doctor wanted her to come in.  As I write today I hear her stirring so I suspect she may let me know soon that she would like the paper.

Not sure what to do with myself to day.  As Terry and I get into our normal mode of operation with all the company gone.  John and gals will meet up with Liam today and head home while Cynthia may be home already.  I do not have tennis on the schedule today but will play tomorrow.  

I have been enjoying pictures that John Mouw sent some time ago.  I guess today you could call it "Joan" day!

I am guessing Joan is standing on the east side of the house and it was before we planted the entire land behind her into trees.  Maybe early 60s

Well well it looks like Ron got the cream of the crop as he took the homecoming queen to the spring prom

Well one thing leads to another and here we are at Bergen church where Joan and Ron got married.  Sister Janet is throwing rice and Esther is by her.  

Well what comes after the HS prom and a wedding---Bryan.  He sure is a cutie.  Not sure that fits his strong man Marine imagine!

As I write Terry is now reading the paper with the TV on.  I have nothing really planned except for Terry's doctor appointment this PM.  I am still working on towels etc that needed to be washed after company left.  I just got a call and Sonia is sick and will not be here today SO I do have some things to do as the washer is full of clothes and the kitchen has some dishes that are begging to be taken care of.

So that is all for today.  I am on my last sip of FP and KIND of ready for the day!

AND TODAY WE CELEBRATE MARY AND JOHN'S 19th wedding anniversary 

They have a great family and do a super super job of parenting and loving each other.  Mary and John, may you have many many many more special days on June 28th!

Oh, so so quiet!!!

 TERRY

Terry had a two hour appointment Friday and then a 50 minutes session on Saturday to discuss the results.  The results were encouraging as we discussed the results it came across that she did well in the tests and in the end it showed that she pretty much has short term memory issues and not much more.  That is what we expected so were happy with the results.  We now make an appointment with her neurologist to discuss where to go from here.  No more tests are scheduled.

Oh my for the last 10 days or so we have been busy with my children and grandchildren.  However John left this morning with Elspeth, Audrey and Faustina so now oh oh so quiet!  It will take time to get used to again!

Pretty much as John drove out of the driveway a friend stopped by to pick me up for golf.  I was able to golf with three great guys and had much fun.  They all were better than me BUT I did score one with a chip out of the sand and a hole out from about 30 feet!!!  I did not keep score but we did have a dollar riding on who took the least putts.  I did not win but was not last either!  On the 17, a par three, all four of us were off the green with our T shot so someone suggested a dollar bet on who got the closest to the hole with their chip and I collected!!!  But in all honesty IF I had keep score for the 18 holes I am pretty sure I would have finished 4th out of 4!  A fun time and I was away from home for about 5 hours.  When I arrived home Terry was fine so that was good.

Not much more today as here it is 6:00 and I am tired!  A couple of pictures but I promise more in the next couple of days.

Audrey wanted to make breakfast this morning and I admit I do not know what it was called but it was good.  

Yes, between the pool and games the kids just had a grand time.  They had themselves in overdrive mode ALL the time.  I am surprised that they did not turn into fish as the pool was busy pretty much all the time.  They just were great kids, great guests and it was so so much fun to have them.  Pretty much every day they took an hour of quiet time where they mostly read books.  Most of the days, when I got up, Audrey was in the kitchen with a book in her hand.  I guess I had kind of forgotten how much energy kids have and it just does not seem to stop.  

A great 10 days but I must admit the quiet now is nice.  I did have FP each day so life is good.

Another day in sunny Florida

TERRY

Nothing new on Terry today.  She was home alone for some time as John, the girls and I visited downtown Naples and the Naples pier.  She has Dr. appt three of the next four days.

Just a short note as we have a busy house still  around here.  

I was surprised to see how many people were on the beach.  I thought this was summer and a slow time in Naples but the beach had MANY sunbathing people and fishing as well.

Faustina, Audrey and Elspeth at the end of the Naples Pier.

After spending time on the pier we stopped at the Dock and had lunch.  No pictures but I promise you we had enough food to eat. 

OK that is all for today.  Yes, I had my FP this morning AND I did have tennis as well.  Audrey had a tennis lesson and Faustina hit some balls as well.  Phil and Myke, the pros, think we have some super athletic girls and IF they want they can visit Grandpa often and Phil and Myke will make tennis players out of them!  I would like to say they take after their Grandpa but I think that is a bit of a stretch!

Darn, I needed to take more pictures when we were out and about but!

 

Here it is Wednesday, June 23rd

 TERRY

Terry is doing about the same.  She does have a couple of appt this week.  She has a 2 hour appt this Friday and then a 45 minute appt the next day.  We will see what the Dr. says.  

It has been a VERY busy time here!!!  Cynthia arrived last Thursday with 4 of her kids and then John arrived Monday at 6 AM with Elspeth and Audrey.  So it has been a whirlwind for some time.  I will just post a couple of pictures of what we have been doing and then will post more in the coming days.

We went to the beach last night to see the sunset only to see gray clouds.  So what does one do then?  Well you need to stop at the ice cream store for a treat before heading home!

Well the beach is a fun place.  Form left to right is Elspeth, Faustine, Jude, Agatha, Audrey and Benedict!  As you can see they are having a grand time!

We took the shuttle out to the beach today and encountered this little fella as we starting walking.  He has kind of beady eyes and was pretty fun to watch as he scurried across the sand.  We actually saw two of them and that is the first time I have seen that kind of creature on the beach.

Well that is all for tonight.  Cynthia did leave this morning with Agatha, Ben and Jude and let me know that they drove about 700 miles to almost the Tennessee border.  

That is it for tonight.  Well I should say that we are having FP every morning!!!

Here we are at Saturday, June 2021

TERRY

As I write Terry is awake and reading the paper.  She was very  tired yesterday and slept much of the day which is unusual for her.  We will see what today brings.

Some time away from the physical fun of the day.  They did not finish as when everyone had tired of the puzzle Agatha put it in the box again!  Well there was a lot of physical play yesterday as this morning is proof as it is now 7:40 and one person is up and about - me!  I am guessing soon it will be a busy house again.  The kids enjoyed THREE swimming pools yesterday.  They spent much time in ours.  Then they walked over to the pool that is shared by the 40+ homes around us.  Then they walked over to the club house where there is a larger pool.  That pool is often busy during the winter months but I don't think it is very busy now.

John, Audrey and Elspeth will be leaving South Bend about NOW and will drive straight through as John asked if it was OK if they arrived about Midnight today.  I may need to take an afternoon nap so I can stay up that late.  As a more mature man I often shut my eyes WAY before that.  NO NEED TO SAY WHAT MY USUAL BEDTIME IS!!!  

No need to explain this as it is just funny.  If anybody reads this and does not play tennis a "poach" is when one might got to the net and try to cut off a return and slam it away!  I guess it backfired here!

I probably should have taken this advice years and years ago.  There was one summer when we had 22 lawns to do weekly and I am sure we did not change enough!  A side note would go like this:  Who mowed the lawns when all the boys were out of town playing soccer or bike racing?????

We do not have anything special planned for the day.  I will get breakfast when people get up and then I am guessing it will be pool time again.  I am kind of thinking that we may have some fish in the family. 

A side note is this today.  I have the calendar that I make each year hanging near the computer.  On this day in 1976 Uncle Halvor died in a car accident.  He was on his way to Forman to cash his very first SS check.  It was a foggy morning and there was a truck stalled along the side of the road which he ran into.  I would say that I was lucky in that I had several uncles and aunts that were special to me but Halvor had to be one of the very best.  He, along with my Dad, had Grandpa Lee's laugh so when there was something funny you would hear about it!!!  I always enjoyed it when he came over or we visited Halvor and Alta.  Halvor and Dad were brothers.  I believe Dad was the better of the two when it came to hunting and Halvor was certainly the better of the two when it came to farming.  At least he was progressive in his approach to farming where Dad was pretty much a farmer of the 40s while he farmed in the 60s, 70s and 80s!

No I went into the kitchen to get a cup of FP and as I walked back I saw Agatha looking out of the bedroom so I am guessing it is going to be busy around here soon.  I will sign off for today.

I may not blog for some time as I think I need to shut the writing desk up in order to make the couch into a bed for John tonight.  I will see!  I still have a large cup of FP and will drink that as I make breakfast for the kids.

We got company!!!

 TERRY

Terry is doing the same.  She will be in bed most of the time company is here but she is doing fine.

The gang is here (not all but some)!

THE POOL IS A BIG HIT

A GOOD DAY CONSISTS OF BURGERS AND HOTDOGS BY THE POOL

A GOOD START TO THE DAY CONSISTS OF AN EGG DISH WITH TOAST AND JUICE!  Notice Faustina is not in the picture.  After all she is a teenager and they need more sleep!!!

There is more to come as John arrives with Audrey and Elspeth maybe Monday.  We will all be here for a couple of days and then Cynthia and company leave and John will be here for a time after that.  Grandpa is having fun BUT I may be exhausted by the time everyone leaves !!!  

I looked at the first picture and said, "This family is amazing as all is in order.  THEN I looked at the second picture and said, "Thank goodness they seem pretty normal"!

Two pots of FP were good for Cynthia and I and that needs to last the day.  As I write everyone is at the club pool which is larger than ours.  So far, so good as everyone seems happy!  

Another day tomorrow and it should be fun.

Thursday, June 17th

 Oh my I can not believe it is already Thursday and the last blog I did was on Monday.

TERRY

There is nothing new about Terry.  I would say over the last few days she has been same same.

I am not going to blog much today.  We are expecting Cynthia with four of her kids to arrive in less than an hour.  Faustina, Jude, Benedict and Agatha will be here for the next few days.  We have the swimming pool ready and enough sleeping bags and pillows for all.  John will arrive maybe on Monday with Elspeth and Audrey so for the next few days few days we will be busy and have fun.  I THINK I have enough food in the house but not sure as it has been a LONG time since I cooked for several kids.  We have the important stuff!!!  That is ice cream and soda for floats and some cookies and goodies so we should be good.

This tree reminded me of our tree on the farm.

The tree was on the east side of the house near the road.  That was before we planted a shelter belt there so it was kind of alone.  We would take the screen off the window in the bedroom and shot black birds out of the tree.  As the shelter belt grew that tree was taken down.  In the shelter belt we had plum trees that provided a lot of good eating in late summer.  

No, that is it as I am looking at 5:30 and the kids may arrive in the next half hour or so.  I may take a swim before it gets busy.  NO FP today as there was tennis at 7:30 and then just too much to do when I got home so a day without FP is kind of a lost day!!!

Here we are on June 14th and the start of the second full week in June

 TERRY

Well the saying that no news is good news pertains to Terry as she is same same.  Again as I write she is reading the paper while she is in bed.  

Over the next many days I will be posting pictures sent by John Mouw.  I will put them at the end of my writing today.

There is no tennis for me today.  Now that Karl is gone I may be out of tennis on some days as he usually put me in three days a week.  I just do not have the time to try to round up matches.  Most of the guys are gone for the summer.  Where ALL six courts were always full at 7:30, 9:00 and 10:30 during the months of January-April they slowed down in May and now are almost empty.  During busy season there would be 15 courts in the morning but today I see 4 full.  I will play tomorrow and then again on Thursday.

As far as I know Cynthia is on the road as of yesterday and plans to arrive here sometime on Friday.  She is taking the more southern route as she is stopping as a friends for a night or two on the way.  Then John plans to arrive late Sunday or Monday.  I need to be sure I have my camera AND enough food for everyone.  Actually I am not too worried about the food as Liam and Henry are not coming and those younger ones do not eat so much!

I have much to do before the arrival of kids Friday.  The dining room table has had papers on it for a LONG time so time to clear it off and make the house look kind of nice.  AND yes the den too needs to be cleaned up and I am sure other rooms as well.  How can one not do much yet make such messes all over the house???

I like to keep the garage door open for a time in the morning just to let some cooler air in.  Well NO more as I walked out to get the papers this morning I noticed a bird had started making a nest in the ladder that is hung on the wall!  NO more open garage door.

DAKOTA ATTITUDE

"After military service, I went right back to the farm again.  The Linstads bought the Dahlen family farm and moved there in 1961.  They now have severn quarters of land.  But that's not the best indicator of success in life, according to Clayton.  Family's probably the biggest thing.  One looks after the other.  The grandkids start coming' and then great-grandkids start coming' and then you realize you're old"

"I taught school right out of high school in Adler Township.  It was during the war, you know, when they had to have more teachers.  So I've taught, and I was 88 years old the last day I was subbing here in Lakota.  Gunhild's husband, Marcus Schmidt, died in 1985.  She has four children."

Here are the pictures for today.  Top is Gail with Aunt Bertie.  Bertie lived to the ripe old age of 96 and up until a week of her death she kept her own house etc.  She was 10 years older than Mom but out lived Mom by a few years. The middle picture is of my kids along with Becky and Grandpa.  I am pretty sure it was when Mom died.  The bottom picture is of Dave, Helen and Joan.  Not sure where I was but I am guessing it was Dave's confirmation but again not sure.  It looks to me that it most have been around 1956 give or take a year or two.

MANY THANKS TO JOHN FOR THE PICTURES.

So here we are at about 8:30 on Monday.  I am actually going to work at cleaning up the dining room so it will not be ALL talk and no WORK for the day!  I still have a tiny sip of FP so will enjoy that before I start on the task of the day.

Here we are at Sunday on June 13th, 2021

 TERRY

Nothing new to say about Terry.  As I blog she is reading the Sunday paper in bed.  She did have a spell where she had dry heaves and then phlegm that she spit out.  She had the same thing yesterday morning so not sure if I should be concerned or not.  I did start writing things down.  It will be interesting to see when she finishes the Sunday paper as she has said now she often just looks at pictures.  

John Mouw sent a lot of pictures so will be adding some of them each day on the blog.  The first is one of Helen and I with Grandpa Sampson.  

I am sure Grandpa was a very good man but I don't think little kids were his favorite!  When I think of. him I always think of his"chew" which he offered to us each time we visited!  Of course we knew what it was and always said "no" but he would offer and then laugh!  I still can see him sitting in his rocking chair in their spartan like living room with his spittoon near his chair with newspapers around it just in case he missed with his spit!  Mom was the youngest of 12 or 13 and the youngest by several years.  So by the time Helen and I came around Grandma Sampson had passed away and Grandpa was pretty old.  I do not know how old he was when he died but I think I was maybe 10 or so.  That darn Helen was a cutie!

I am pretty sure Janet and John were married in January of 1958.  That would mean John and Ronald would have been 20 that year.  Janet would have been 18 and Joan would have only been 16.  Somehow it seems they should have been older so maybe I have the year wrong but I think it was 58.  The wedding took place in our country church, Bergen.  Maybe I am wrong as John looks like he is maybe 14!!!!!!  I do know that at the time Janet, John and Ronald were all in Ellendale, North Dakota.  What the heck, I may be wrong about that too.  As a little brother I was not into weddings at the time!  Well guess what!  I just looked at the calendar that I make each year and it was 1958.  Boy that picture is about as crystal clear as one can get, great job Dad.

That is about it for today.  My FP is gone and here it is getting near noon.  The rest of the day may be used with paper work, a nap and some TV as the French Open is on.

Saturday, June 12th, 2021

 TERRY

Here we are on a Saturday and Terry remains the same.  She does have a dry cough sometimes with mucus and that is a concern.  I wrote down the time today and will now keep track of it.  It does seem that it occurs at least once a day.  Other than that she is the same.  We did start a med yesterday that we are hoping will help how she feels.  We did get an appointment with her primary doctor for two weeks out just to have her doctor see her and tell us what she thinks.  

We are at the second Saturday in June and have nothing planned for the weekend.  Yes, I do need to clean the kitchen as that always seems to have dishes etc that need to be taken care of.  Also Terry would like me to scub the bathroom floor as it needs it and we will be having company by next weekend.  

It is nice as over this last week the pool was fixed, the garage door was fixed and I guess that is it but nice to get those things done.  NOW it is kind of time to clean off the dining room table for company as Cynthia should arrive sometime on Friday and with her Faustina, Jude, Benedict and Agatha!!!  I think John will arrive maybe on the following Tuesday and then Cynthia will leave on Wednesday and John may be here for a couple days after that.  

Well here we are at about 9:00 AM and I have said what I wanted to say.  I just may put a couple of book saying on before I sign off.

DAKOTA ATTITUDE

"Marjorie and Arnold Postovit were married in 1951.  Arnold was a prisoner of war from March 1944 until April 1945 in Germany's Stalag 2B.  Like many who have gone through severe adversity in life, Arnold seems to complain the least.  He never talked about his experience.  Marjorie only found out about his captivity when the North Dakota ex-prisoner of war organization was formed round 1984."

"Yeah, if I take my daughter for dialysis, Jack says, and if I've got an hour I look in the paper and I go to a garage sale.  I dearly love carved wooden objets.  Well, one of my other big loves is deer horns.  I'm not an avid hunter, but I'm a collector.  I've got that big garage out there plumb full of them.  The basement has collectibles as well.  I'm a very conservative individual, and I love 10 cents on the dollar.  Who cannot love a deal, you know.  That's not being cheap, that's just being a good manager.  What is going to happen to all his collectibles?  You sound like all three of my sons who say, excuse the mild profanity, "Geez, Dad, when you kick off, what are we gonna do with all of your junk?"

I will end up with an ad from the WJS today.

For Father's Day I am going to ask for #2.  You can't go wrong with a part of fancy swim trunks that only cost $220!!!  With that cost they may be good for church going!!!  If I had a boat I would go for #1 at the bargain price of $128!!!

Enough of the funny stuff.  The FP is finished and it is time as Terry needs a shower this morning.

Thursday, June 10th

 TERRY

Really I do not know where yesterday went or today for that matter.  Terry is doing about the same.  We do now have appointments for her to have some tests in about a month.  That is how busy doctors are around here.  

Today was a day to remember.  I went to the Verizon store only to have them tell me I needed my I phone password and I have NO idea what it is.  As I arrived home to look for it the garage door guy had come as he was two hours early.  We did get the door fixed so it can now close!  In the mean time the pool was being fixed and I think that is finished as well.  

I need to get my act together so will sign off for this afternoon and try to get a blog out tomorrow that is more normal for me.  I am beginning to think I may be a bit frazzled and that may even be an understatement!

Tomorrow I will do better.

Tuesday, June 8th, 2021

 TERRY

Terry is doing the same today.  Here it is kind of late in the day already.  She has been up with the walker and into the living room but is now in bed with the TV on.  

Not much to say today.  Here it is mid afternoon and I do not know where the day has gone.  I did play tennis this morning as I had not played for a few days.  Bob and I lost the first set 2-6 but came back with a 6-0 win in the second set.  I will not play tomorrow but will play Thursday again.  

Here is sister Joan with hubby Ron and their two boys Brian and Quinn.  As I hear Quinn is moving out to the east coast to be close to his two boys.  I am thinking the generation of our kids grow a bit taller than us!!!  Joan is now the oldest of the three of us kids who are still living.  I have been kind of down over the last few days as the reality of our shrinking family has been on my mind.  I am sure this picture was taken in Utah where Joan and Ron live.  I am not sure but Mom, Dad, Ronald, Janet and Dave have been heavy on my mind for some time now.  I know that we are here on earth for such a short time but still the sting of death in family is so real and so close for some reason.  I guess one way to get one's self out of the mood is to look at kids and grandkids and know that they have so much life and so much good to do in the world.  Of course I am so so thankful for Glorine, John, Judi and Marlys who are in the family.

Not much else to say today.  I may post a longer blog tomorrow but for now this is it.  

June 7th, start of the first full week of the month

 TERRY

Terry had a difficult day yesterday.  She did not feel well for much of the day as she had pain in her stomach and back.  We did get it settled down and with a pain pill she slept for a couple of hours.  She is back to her normal self today so that is good.  

I do need to call the doctor's office where she is scheduled to have some tests done in August.  They said they would call me back the next day, Thursday, but I did not receive a call.  I also have to call the pool guy as the salt box is not working in the pool.  Making phone calls is NOT my favorite thing to do but!

I think I have tennis tomorrow but there is nothing on the court sheet so maybe I am wrong.  No tennis today as most Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays Karl would set up but he is leaving today for north.  My goodness I need to get on the stick and make some things happen as friends have been so good to get things scheduled for me like tennis and golf.

I think I do not even need to look at the weather anymore as it seems most weeks show low 90s daily and a chance of rain most days!  

June 30th, 1957

As I woke up on this Sunday morning I realized we had church today.  It was church every other Sunday but this Sunday was the 5th of the month so we would have church for the 3rd time in June.  I admit at the age of 10 church was NOT my favorite thing BUT the one thing that was good was now that I was 10 I was not required by  Mom and Dad to sit with them during church.  That meant Chuckie and I could sit by ourselves and play the game of seeing who could come the closest to opening the hymn book to the song that we would be singing.  Anyway my mind was not on church, the Lord or singing as Dad had told Dave and I that he would take us gopher shooting in the afternoon.  I use the word "shooting" instead of hunting because there is no hunting when you are among 100's of those little critters.  So by early afternoon church was history, dinner was finished and we were ready to go.  Dad would drive the car into Bert's pasture and then he would shut it off and we would sit.  Dad would have his super Winchester 52C 22 long rifle which was a wonderful firearm.  Later in life I searched for one after the fire destroyed our farm and IF you could find one the cost was $600+.  Dave had his 22 that brother Ronald had given him and I had my 22 that I had gotten from Ronald.  Ronald had given me the rifle a short time ago and of the few things I owned it was my favorite.  Ronald had found a target rifle and had cut the barrel down and shortened the stock for me.  Later in life Ronald would teach Dave how to checker his.  Anyway back to the gophers.  As we sat in the car in the middle of the pasture Dad was in the driver's seat, Dave in the front passenger seat and I was in the back seat behind Dad.  So there we were probably looking like a army battalion ready for battle!  With the car turned off and NO talking Dad would give a low whistle and almost immediately a gopher would pop out of the hole.  After a few seconds a shot would ring out and the was all for that gopher!!!  We sat in the same spot for about 45 minutes and I do not know how many dead gophers there were but for sure there were many!  After that we drove to Uncle Obert's and did the same thing.  We arrived home about 3:00 and I had this faint hope that Dad would then hit fly balls to us but NO that was not in the cards.  Instead he took is usual Sunday nap.  Dave and I did wander out to the trees back of the house and were able to shot a couple of blackbirds which were food for the cats.  

As the sun set in the west we were pretty much done for the day.  I did need to do one thing.  I climbed the light pole by the barn and sat on the west side watching the pale glow of daylight disappear.  I always loved to to that as it gave me thoughts about what the big wide world out there was really like!  When I got in the house Dave convinced me to have a game of Touring Cards before bedtime.  As I drifted off asleep I thought to myself, "I wonder what life will be like ten years from now?"  Little did I know that as one grows up life often brings failures, heartaches, disappointments but also accomplishments and victories as well.  Growing up in a VERY rural area with a lake near by and a family that is loving one has NO idea of REAL life as an adult.  In spite of the many imperfections of my childhood it gave me a strong foundation for later.

Here it is only 7:30 and breakfast is over, the FP is finished and I promise myself to get some calls made today and get some work done.

Sunday, June 6th

 TERRY

Terry is about the same today.  I have noticed that she now finishes the newspaper way way faster than say a year ago.  When I asked her about it she said she mostly looks at the pictures!  So here we are another day to celebrate life.

I do not know how much I will write.  I had a long long blog written and it somehow disappeared on me.  

Today marks the day Dave died one year ago.  I received a call from Marlys early in the morning and she left a message early in the morning.  I called her when I woke up.  Things happened quickly over the next few days as John/Judi, Joan, Helen and I gathered in Jamestown for the wake and for the funeral that was held on Thursday, the 11th.  From Jamestown we drove the 130 miles to Bergen cemetery for the burial.  

As I may have mentioned in the past those grandchildren are growing up so fast and it looks like there is talent in all families.  Cynthia sent me this picture of Faustina.  As a 7th grader she took first in the conference mile run.  I would say pretty darn good and wow she has 5 more years of track!

I would say from John/Mary, Travis, Aaron/Amy, Cynthia/Mike and just for kicks I will add Grandpa in the mix AND I can not forget the in-law families---the sport genes must be ALL over the place!  Way to go Faustina BUT when you win as a 7th grader what can you do to better yourself???

Enough as I am upset I lost my first long blog today but in the long run I guess that is not important!

AND yes the FP this morning was very good.

Here we are on the first Saturday of June, 2021

 TERRY

We are the same as yesterday.  As I blog Terry is reading the Saturday paper and when she finishes that I am sure she will watch TV as she loves the Saturday morning shows about nature.  We are in for an uneventful weekend so I may just try to sit back and enjoy life!

A friend Karl is leaving for his up north home Monday so we got in one last round of golf yesterday.  It was a fun time as we hit #1 T at 12:45 and for the entire 18 holes we had nobody behind us and nobody ahead of us.  I did not total my final score but I am guessing it was in the 105 +/- range.  Not good but actually not all that bad either as I am becoming accustomed to my clubs and did hit many very nice shots.  Well to be honest there were some real dubbers as well but IF I decide to play more the game will come around to a better spot.  I did finish hole number 18 with a putt of about 10 feet which was my best.  Afterward we planned to stop for refreshments but the two places we had in mind were not open so we came back and spent some time at the outdoor bar at the club.  I am undecided IF I will play any this summer but if not I am not expecting my game to improve at all so…..

I did see a text this morning from a friend about playing tennis this morning but I just could not.  Tennis 5 days this week and then yesterday AM tennis and PM golf were enough for me for the week.

Once again I have in mind that I may sort through some of those papers on the dinning room table but having the idea and actually doing it often are two different things!  BUT I do believe I will get some of it taken care of this morning or afternoon.  

As I looked at the weather for Naples for the next week I see where it looks like rain many days and highs in the low 90s everyday.  Let's hope our AC does not break down!

DAKOTA ATTITUDE

"Pearl says, "When I was little, I said when I grew up I wanted to be rich and have $100 to buy candy.  Chocolate, of course.  I guess I thought being rich was a certain number, and I wanted $100 to buy candy.  No, I was never rich.  You know, but I was always a happy person.  I could always see the funny side of so much stuff". As Pearl related this she was 101 years old.

"An article in The American Legion, 1919-1994: The first 75 Years in North Dakota states Stan has played. taps for at least 500 funerals.  Eighteen years have passed since the book was published.  To my understanding now---I don't have it in writing but it's between 800-900."

Time to sign off and MAYBE get some work done.  I still have a few sips of FP left so will savor them and then work---maybe again!!!

June 4, first Friday of the month

 TERRY

I would say NO news is good news and Terry remains the same.  Again, as usual, she is reading the paper as I write my blog.  

We had a real treat last night for dinner as we had fresh sweet corn.  After 23 minutes on the grill it came out a golden color and oh oh so sweet and delicious.  I never grill sweet corn that long but this Treager grill is a bit different.  It certainly was a change of plans as usually we eat in the bedroom that being easier for Terry.  We have two cobs left and not sure how we will eat them but we will as the taste is so so good.

I am not certain about today as I will be away from home for some time and that always makes me a bit uneasy.  I plan tennis at 9:00 and no problem as Sonia will be here but then Karl and I will play golf one last time in the afternoon as he leaves for north on Monday.  I think they have a home in Delaware.  So it is just the two of us and IF we do not join up with anyone else it should be kind of a fast 18.  Still being away that long always makes me nervous.  Terry has been good about me doing it as this will be the 4th time I have played but still!!!

I had a fun tennis match yesterday.  Karl and I took on Tim and Bob and most would expect that match up to be one sided, not in our favor.  We battled back and forth and finally when time was up we were ahead 5-4 so kind of fun.  IF we were to play them again the result may not be the same but!

Here it is Friday and there are no plans for the weekend.  I may end of going to the store once or twice but that is it.  OH, I am going to make Mom's potato salad and am looking forward to it.  The recipe calls for 5 pounds of potatoes and a jar of Mayo.  I just could not wrap my brain around the "jar of mayo" so I called sister Joan and asked about it.  She said that was about it but then she added.  "we had 18 people here over Memorial Dad and I made it with the 5 pounds of potatoes and we had some left.  SO here it is pretty much ME--I think I may cut the recipe in half at least!  Maybe even in 1/4th!

Oh my goodness I think we are in the summer mode here in Naples.  Yesterday we had rain showers in the afternoon as the temp was about 90!  Yikes, this may be an interesting summer.  I have talked to people who are here year around and they do say that one needs to do outdoor work/play early in the day and then enjoy AC inside the rest of the day.  BUT they add that the traffic, the stores, the cafes etc are wide open most of the time as population in the summer is maybe 1/4 of the winter.  So as Terry and I stay here we will be happy to take the good with the not so good.

DAKOTA ATTITUDE

Gertrude remembers winter nights after marriage.  "It was so cold in the winter, we'd moved our mattress to the floor in the kitchen where we wouldn't freeze.  Bob adds, "The furnace was shot, but we had a cookstove in the kitchen.  We kept that fire, and then we shut the doors, and we could sleep in there.  We had heat all night long"

"Ted chokes up when he remembers his father buying kerosene for their oil lamps during the Dirty 30's.  It was two gallons o'kerosene.  That was for the winter.  That was it.  That was that power bill.  I think we didn't get electrical power til 1951, and the power bill was a flat $5, and they figured that was awful expensive, because they couldn't imagine paying for it."  

"Like many of his contemporaries, Ted attended a country school.  He remembers discipline was strict and enjoyed parental reinforcement.  Everybody kind of respected the teacher; whatever she said that was it.  I remember my cousins, I don't know whether they did anything in school or what and anyway, my uncle Joe, their dad, came in to school.  He had this big stick.  He handed it to the teacher.  Use it he says and walked out!

Here it is almost 8:30 and time to sip the last of the FP and sign off.

It is hump day, June 2nd

 TERRY

Terry is the same.  Again as I write she is reading the paper in bed.  I will bet waiting for a call from the doctor that Dr. Vickers referred her to.  The lady said she would call today.

I have tennis at 9:00 today and that is about it.  Actually I did get some work done on the papers yesterday. BUT not nearly enough.  I don't understand as it just seems that those darn papers grow around here kind of the same way rocks grew on the farm!!!

I always enjoy reading the Wednesday WSJ as there is a weekly car section.  It usually is about a person who found a car that they fell in love with and of course it is always an old car.  The article today was fun to read.  I do not remember for sure it it was John or Ronald who had a wagon but I think the wagon was pretty much like this:

A fun read and it brought back memories of LONG ago!!!  I think it was this car that Dad had this story of the shocks freezing up in the winter and the car would ride low.  Now I admit I may have the story wrong but whatever the real story is, it was fun.

Well my goal today is to get another 20% of those darn papers cleared out of the dining room and maybe, just MAYBE, by the end of the week the house will look like it is livable.

I will not put a story abut North Dakota Attitude today but will write a little about my experience on the softball team in Devils Lake.

   THE SUMMER OF 1973

This would have been the last summer I worked at Lake Ready Mix.  I had gone into the place in the summer of 1969 as I needed/wanted work for the summer.  Lake Ready Mix was on highway 2 just on the west side of Devils Lake.  At the time I did not know this but that would be my summer job for 69, 70, 71 and 73.  In 1972 we spent the summer in Lincoln Nebraska as I went to summer school.  Anyway the story is not about the work at Lake Ready Mix but rather the social life of the people who worked there.  Every Friday afternoon the truck drivers would try to NOT take the last load of cement out as they were primed for their weekly social at a local bar.  It also meant that some of them would NOT show for work on Saturday as we usually worked on Saturday until noon.  Any Don, one of the drivers asked me if I would like to play on the softball team sponsored by the company.  I should add that I never stopped at their social on Friday and that may be the reason for my place on the team.  Anyway I said sure as I liked to play ball.  Now there was not ONE of the guys as young as I and for sure none  that came within 20 pounds of my weight!!!  So I thought this could be a lot of fun so I signed up and on a Wednesday, the night they played, I got my NITEOWL blue T shirt for the team uniform.  I went to the first game only to fine out that I would not be in the starting lineup.  Well they had no idea if I could play ball or not but I promise many of them were not all stars if you get my drift!  Sitting on the end of the bench was a 24 pack of Bud Light and by the end of the game it was empty!  AND I did not get into the game but I felt that IF they would have put me in I could have helped us as we lost something like 18-2.  So the week went by and next Wednesday came.  I thought surely I will get to play tonight so Gail came with John and Travis.  Aaron was to come into the world later that summer.  As I walked from the car to the bench at the ball field I again saw the 24 pack of beer and was told I was not in the lineup.  I am not sure WHY it took me this long to realize that this was NOT about softball but rather about crude jokes and beer!  The 18-2 score from the week before had, for sure, been forgotten and it really did not make any difference anyway!  So we sat near the first base line.  Me with my blue NITEOWL shirt on and Gail with the boys.  Fast forward a week.  As we were getting ready to quit work I mentioned to Don that I would not be at the game that night.  He asked why and I replied "Why would I come to sit on the grass and watch you guys drink beer and listen to crude jokes?"  That was the end of my NITEOWL experience.  

No here it is 8:40 and time to dress for tennis.  

A day to remember Chet's lifetime occupation was working with farmers as a local grain elevator manager. He shares a story about how that c

 TERRY

Terry is the same today.  I will call the place that Dr. Vickers referred her to but we have not heard from them yet.  As usual, as I blog she is reading the paper.

Here we are at the kind of official start of summer.  As I look at the 10 day forecast for Naples I am kind of surprised.  The highs are ALL in the 80s except one day.  On Friday and Saturday it shows a high of 84 which I am pretty sure is kind of cool for Naples this time of the year.  However we are now into the rainy season as each day there is a chance of rain varying from 40% to 60%.  The weather man says we are dry so I guess that is a good thing.

Sonia will come today.  With Monday being a holiday we have not seen her for 3 days.  Actually we got along fine and it makes me think do we really need help at this time??

It is unusual but I do not have tennis today.  Usually I play with the same guys on Tuesday and Thursday but I see nothing on the court schedule and not sure why.  Maybe, just maybe, I should get some of those papers in order that have been on the dining room table way way too long!  Oh my goodness, that almost sounds like work!

Referring to my title today.  Gail and I were married on this day a LONG time (53 years ago) ago.  It was in Cayuga.  We were married on a Saturday, drove back to Minot on Monday and started summer school shortly after.  No honeymoon at all.  IF I could go back in time I am sure I would change some things!!!  Oh, we did take a honeymoon in August as we spent a few days at Uncle Hugo's cottage in MN and guess what we did?  We brought some school work along to work on!!!  Really, sometimes I can not believe myself.

I have told myself that THIS week the dining room table will be cleared, the den couch will be cleared and the house will again look like Terry is well.  

Several important days come up in June.  It includes Mom/Dad's anniversary, Mike's birthday, Mary/John's anniversary, Dave's birthday and Dave's death on the 11th.  

No I am pretty much out of things to say this morning.  I think I will quote from the book and then call it a morning for now.

DAKOTA ATTITUDE

Chet's lifetime occupation was working with farmers as a local grain elevator manager.  He shares a story about how that came to be:  Dad lost the farm in 1929 when all these banks closed.  The bank took it.  When I first came home from service I had some money in the bank.  I only made $64 a month that included combat pay.  Except for $13 a month, the rest was sent home.  Some county farmland was now up for sale.  They were giving the minerals with it.  I said, Well, I got the money; I think I will buy it.  Dad said, No, don't buy land.  You would never be satisfied, it just won't work.  so anyway, it turned out the fellow who bought that land got an oil well on every 80 acres."

Enough for now.  My FP is almost to the bottom of the cup so will sign off for the day.