Wow the day is almost gone and I forgot to write

 TERRY

Terry has done pretty well today.  She was kind of sleeping when I left for Costco but was awake when I returned.  She has not napped today so she may be tired tonight we will see.

Wow the day has gone and I have done about nothing!  I did make a trip to Costco and then of course when I arrived home I remembered a couple of things I needed to get BUT at my age I have to bring a note which I failed to do!!!   Tomorrow, not sure!

I played tennis this morning and then went shopping.  AND I took a nap which I hate to do but for some reason I was tired.

For some reason I have had many thoughts on my mind today but NO action so the day has been kind of wasted.  I say that but then I think about Dave who is not with us anymore and then I say each day is important and living it is never a waste!

Not much to say today as it is 5:30 and almost time for Terry's and my evening ritual which is from 6:00-8:00 local news, nations news, Wheel of Fortune and then the quiz show Jeopardy which we enjoy.  Does not sound like an exciting life, right?  Terry then often puts a show on and I often take a swim and look at e-mails one last time.

It is getting on towards the end of the year as tomorrow we are looking at October 1st.  I have decided to NOT make a calendar book this year but go back to buying one.  Not sure why but I just did not feel like putting the time into making it.  I will buy and then write in ALL the important dates.

My good friend Larry from grade school, high school and college has come down with Covid.  It does not sound like it is REAL serious but he sent a note and said he feels awful.  Hopefully he will recover quickly.  I did not ask him if he had the cover shot.

No pictures today.  So tomorrow Joan/Ron are into their wedding month and will be looking forward to their big celebration on the third weekend of the month.  Sixty, wow that is a long time and I would say they have done a wonderful job of married life.  I do not know details and that is not important but I do know that anybody who has been married for that long certainly has many stories of the GOOD and some of the NOT SO GOOD!!!

For a diversion from my daily tasks I keep track of the stock market and my small amount that I have in it.  I looked at the month of September and I could cash in enough to go out and have a special dinner!!!  Now we will see if I can have any special dinners next month!  I was hoping the month of September would be good enough for a special dinner AND something more but NO dice!

Well it is time to sign off.  I finished my FP AFTER tennis today as I woke up too late to have it before.  My tennis game was awful, maybe the worst I played all summer.  I suspect it could have been NO FP!!!

Countdown to October is now 2

 TERRY

As I write it is 8:00 and Terry is half awake and half sleeping.  I have put her covers on twice since 5 this morning as she tends to kick them off!  No plans for the day but I am sure she will be ready for the paper soon.

As I walked out to get the papers I felt a welcome feel in the air as the temp was 68!  It seems that the magic number is 69 and below as that is when one feels like fall is in the air.  Here in Naples the weather that fall brings is VERY welcome.  This past summer was the first summer I have spent in Naples and am thinking there are better places to be in the summer than in a place where the temp is usually in the low 90s during the afternoon!  Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining just saying Naples is hot in the summer!!!

No tennis today but I have hopes that this may be almost the last Friday of no tennis for a while.  It seems like every day I see more and more people here.  Yesterday as we played in the morning Frans from England and Denmark stopped by.  AND tomorrow Jim S will play with us for the first time this season so things are changing and I would say for the better as well.

Have to share this picture that was on the computer screen today.

Really it makes one NOT want to go into the store as I am NOT used to Christmas in September and I have seen Christmas things in Costco as well.  I used to think it was awful when Thanksgiving things were out in October but now Christmas----not good.

I have no plans to go any place today except I may hit the grocery store as there is a dish I would like to make for MY hot dish!!!  I would say I am getting along fine without the mail order meals so not sure when or if I will start them up again.  If I remember I cancelled them through next week.  I felt by then we would have Sonia again but not sure that is happening either as no word from her.

I admit I am getting a tiny bit older.  To be clear I am getting older but not tiny!  Not ALL the time but there are times like this morning when I feel the cool fall air and think about the past.  Harvesting corn was one of the FUN jobs of farming.  Usually it was cool, no itchy dust and often we would stop the tractor when picking corn to harvest squash that Dad had put in the planter.  Also shelling the corn and seeing the pile of corn cobs pile high was fun.  Then it was knowing that I would be carrying buckets of corncobs into the house which Mom used in the cook stove.

That is pretty much the kind of bucket we used.  We would bring a pail full of corncobs in when Mom needed the stove for cooking.  Once they got the propane stove they moved the cookstove out for trash and Dad built his darkroom which took maybe a third of the kitchen space.  It was nice for us when the dark room was finished as that meant NO more covering the windows at night etc.  BUT I do think Mom missed the kitchen space and the cook stove.  I am sure she was happy to get the propane stove but the cook stove was fun to use.  As I write this maybe she was glad to get rid of it I am not sure!!!

Here is a load of corn that was going into the corn crib OR shelled.

You can see where Dad put an extra board on the side so we could load more on the wagon.  We did not use that for grain of course.  In the background you can see the road going north up to the lake.

No it is about time to sign off for the morning.  Terry woke up and asked for the cover to be put on the bed again.  I brought the paper in for her and opened the shade BUT as I write she is sound asleep again.

Time to sip the last of the FP and get going for the day BUT not sure of why I need to get going or to where???

September 28 and the count down to October is 3 days!

 TERRY

Wow, I slept late today and finally woke up at 8:10 to the sound of the TV on.  Terry had been up for a short time and knew that I intended to play tennis so she turned the TV on.  Terry is on her "awake" day as I suspect she will be awake for the entire day.  She said she is doing fine!

Here it is already 1:15 and I have not accomplished anything today.  Well I maybe should not say that.  I did get on the tennis court at 8:30 and played until 10:00.  As soon as I got home I was off to do a couple of things. We have State Farm insurance and they have a program where a device can track you're driving.  If your driving is safe etc your insurance will go down!  

On the good side a person may save money on insurance but on the negative side it almost looks like "big brother' is watching you!!!  We will see how it comes out.  It will be fun to see after a few weeks how it evaluates my driving.  All a person has to do is have it in the car and it transmits info to your phone!  Whenever something like this or similar comes along my mind goes back to Dad and what he would think of it.  Well I can pretty much tell you that but will not get into it!

On my way home from State Farm I stopped to get a hair cut that was way overdue.  Going way back to the farm I hated haircuts and to this day I put them off as much as possible.  The good thing about a hair cut is now my tennis hat will fit again!

So by the time I was finished with tennis, State Farm, barber shop and then home again with a bit to eat here it is well into the afternoon.  My my this retirement is a busy life!!!

This came in the mail two days ago and in it was a check for $1450 and a letter.  The letter was from Whole Foods and I have been selected to be a "secret' shopper.  What it entails is I will go into Whole Foods and purchase items totaling about a $1000 and then I only need to go on line and do an evaluation of how Whole Foods did in terms of shopper friendly service.  This is going to be a slam dunk in terms of getting some income!!!!   Well it kind of sounded too good to be true but it certainly came across as above board and legit.  Well as any one would do now days I went to the computer and typed in some words referring to that program and yes it is a big SCAM.  So I tore up what looked like a nice payday and threw the letter away.  Now I need to go back and cross out the things that I thought I could buy with the check!!!  When I think about it I wonder how many people are scammed into losing money on things like that.  I have a feeling there are many as they certainly make it look real and inviting.

So here we are no at 1:45 and the day is going fast.  As I sit at the desk and type my calendar is on the wall to my left.  It daily reminds me that Joan/Ron's 60th is coming up.  Well the reason that happens is Joan's birthday was September 2nd so when ever I look at the calendar I see her picture.  It also reminds me that Marlys/Dave's anniversary was this month and their wedding in 1965 brings back memories.  The calendar also reminds me that today was the birth day of Great Grandpa Lee.  Thinking of him also brings back good memories.  

Well here I am kind of at the end of my writing for the day.  I woke up too late to get my FP before tennis but I did make it after I came home from my haircut and that is all gone as well.  Enough for now.

Wow it is Sunday, September 26 and the last Sunday of the month, I missed yesterday!

 TERRY

As I write it is 10:00 and Terry is comfortable as she has the TV on and is reading the huge Sunday paper. She was able to sleep until about 9:30 this morning.  She will be busy with the paper for a while.  

I have enjoyed looking through the reunion book

Bergen Church and Marboe School #1 were across the road from each other.  Bergen, surrounded by the cemetery sat on the west side of the road while the school, in the upper left, sat on the east side of the road.  Six miles away was Wood Lake School where I went to school through the 3rd grade.  What was the link?  Well pretty much everyone who went to Bergen Church went to one of the two schools.  I am guessing both had similar numbers but I know Wood Lake School, which closed in the spring of 1956 had 12 students in the last year.  I was lucky as I had a classmate and I think Joan and Dave did as well.  I do not know IF there was someone in every grade.

You are looking at the cover of the reunion book which contains 87 pages.  Carol, David, Pat, Donna and Sandy among others I am sure did a super job on the reunion and the book.  Wood Lake School still remains in place but Bergen Church and Marboe #1 are either moved or demolished.  I do think Bergen Church was moved to Lidgerwood but was not used as a church after it was moved.

I have NO idea what the numbers would be IF there was still a church and a school still open but my guess is the numbers would be small.  I do remember that in our Sunday School Class we had as least 6 and that was just one class.  Of course those kids were taken from both schools.  

I would add that Wood Lake School lost much of it's character when they got rid of the outhouses!!!

I begin to watch the Ryder Cup of golf at noon.  BUT there are 12 single matches and I am guessing the last twosome will finish maybe by 6:00 or so and I do not think I can watch that much golf.  The US is leading 11-5 and they need 14 1/2 to win.  That means they need to win 3 and tie one to win the cup.  That seems like it should be a cake walk but you never know!  Anyway I will watch it from time to time but NOT all day.

I went to the grocery store this morning as I will be making a pork tenderloin with onions and apple slices with mash potatoes for Terry later this afternoon.  I would say that my cooking skills have been elevated to a C- from a D over the last several years.  

Here is what Bergen looks like compared to the first picture.  The grounds are kept up fairly nicely but I don't know if that makes it more attractive for anyone wanting to use it!!!  So of our family we have Mom, Dad, Ronald and Dave there now.  Janet is in the Kulm cemetery which is about 100 miles west of Bergen and is where John and Janet lived for several years.  The Bergen Cemetery looks pretty nice but pretty bare.  I am not sure there ever were many trees but what was there is now gone.  The bell is there and reminds me of the times we were able to ring it before church.  Fun memories for sure.  I should add that many friends and family like Grandpa and Grandma are here.

Sundays are often kind of hard for me and today is no exception.  For some reason I tend to sit back and reflect on the past.  I mean the way way past.  I would say there are so many memories but of course the difficult part is missing family that is not longer with us.  AND why should that be as nobody lives forever but still the loss is always painful.  

The other thing that lingers and at time stings is how times change life.  I do not know but I am guessing IF one could put a dot on where our farm used to be and then make a circle from that with a radius of 6 miles you would find maybe the population has gone down 90%.  Just from where our farm was there is today 3 farmers where there were 9 when I was still at home.  Farms get larger and we see more and more people living OFF the farm.

No I actually am out of words for today.  I will sign off and see where the rest of the day takes me.  I did have my FP today and it was very good.

Here we are at the second to last Friday of September 2021

 TERRY

As I begin to write it is almost 8:30 and I think Terry is asleep.  I got up at 6:15 and she had no covers on so I covered her up.  Then at 8:00 again she asked me to cover her and I have heard nothing so I think she is sleeping again.  Usually, when she is awake in the morning, she will turn the TV on and at that point I bring in the paper but as of now no TV.  She did have a coughing spell at 5:45 AM and it lasted about 10 minutes.  Of course after that I could not fall asleep.

Nothing really planned for the day.  I actually had a short tear filled few minutes this morning.  I get so so upset with myself as I tend to be so sappy at times.  But here is the culprit.

I know one can not read this but it reminded me of self in some ways.  I quote the beginning of the article

"I was painfully shy growing up, so much so I sometimes found it difficult to speak.  As a child, I spent a lot of time in my head, fantasizing and daydreaming.  I had to work hard at coming out of my shell---or at least pretending not to have one.  Well she could have been speaking about me.  About my daydreaming while I spent time lying on the roof of the barn.  About me daydreaming about playing major league baseball as I threw the ball against the south side of the barn.  Or about my stuttering days that are long long gone but at time even now they bother me.  Etc Etc.  Actually I do not think I really came out of my shyness until well into adulthood. Well maybe never I do not know.   Well in the rest of the article it is FAR from my childrenhood!  She went on to become a TV star in several shows.  BUT for some reason the article struck a soft note in my life and as I thought about it probably it revolved around Dad and me.

On the lighter side

From the WSJ today.  A color-filled room to the tune of $181,800.  Granted this is today and not way back in 1970 when we bought our home but back then the house cost $18,000.  Granted it was not decorated like the picture above!  The cabinet to the right in the picture was $85,000 and the fancy couch which I would not put in my barn so to speak was $41,000.  I guess it is all about what you like and how much you have to spend!

I have mentioned this in the past but.  I have been able to buy some stocks in small amounts.  Example is I have 10 stocks of Home Depot, 10 of Johnson & Johnson , 10 of Moderna and etc.  Well in all I have 20 different stocks and for the first time EVER yesterday all ended the day in the green!  Most of the time they may be half and half AND then there are times like last Monday where they all were red!!!  Anyway it is fun to see what happens but I have said this before, "If I had to depend on my stocks for a living I would be living under the bridge someplace!  It is a diversion and SOMETIMES a fun one!  We will see if the 20 green turn into some green and some red today or perhaps all red!  Wait and see.

Pretty barbaric I would say.  For someone convicted of murder they would receive 1 shot to the head done by the victims family.  For robbery a hand would be cut off and for highway robbery a hand and a foot would be cut off!  I guess some places in the world are very different than the United States.

Our Sonia, who helped us for several months is still MIA.  She has been in New York for almost 3 months now.  I did get a note about 4 weeks ago that said she may be there a few more weeks but have heard nothing else.  It would be nice if she would let us know If or When.  I have been printing some recipes off the computer as I have, for now, suspended our weekly meal plan.  BUT is seems no matter what I do we have leftover food and it is difficult to eat all of it all the time.  I did make a REAL meal for us yesterday.  Simply of course as it was only baked potato and steak but really it was very good.  I served Terry a small piece of steak with baked potato taken out of the skin with sour cream on it with salt and pepper.  It actually was the first real meal I had made for some time and Terry said it was VERY good.  

I am hoping Terry is up for a second meal today.  She does not really eat a lot but if we get in kind of a nice snack and a real meal we are usually good for the day.  I think I can heat things up so it will still be good today.

Enough for now.  I just sipped the last of the FP so am ready to get on with the day.  I really think I may get some clean up in the house done today.  REALLY!!!  Oh and of course the kitchen is a mess as well.

Here we are at midweek already!

 TERRY

Terry woke up about an hour ago and now is finished with the paper.  She is doing fine today.  No plans of course but on the housekeeping side of things I think I am over do to get clean bedding for her.  

How about that for a start to the day???  Darn, I was sure the package said breakfast sausage!😇.   Anyway how can you possibly start a day better than having a large venison patty cooked in an old fashion iron skillet and then put one on a bun with REAL ketchup.  I say that for Glorine's sake!!!  I love Glorine and I am sure she is a wonderful cook BUT the summer she and Ronald lived with us Glorine made homemade ketchup and it did not cut the mustard so to speak.  At least in my mind!  I mean what is living for if you can not have great ketchup?  Anyway I enjoyed one of the venison burgers and saved the other for tomorrow maybe!  I had the venison, from Aaron, in the fridge for some time and I just could not let it spoil so that is the reason for cooking all of what was left!

In case you did not get the drift right away that is an article for assisted suicide.  It sounds like it is happening in New Mexico and other states as well.  What is next???  I am 74 and maybe of not much use to society and*********.   We live in a different world today than years ago and I am afraid things will continue to change and in my mind not for the better.

on the lighter side

This is an article from the WSJ that I would have sent to Dave.  Restoring that would have been right up Daves alley so to speak.  Actually I kind of like the looks of it myself.  The guy worked on and off for 15 years as so few were made he could not find parts.  I would add that IF that were me restoring it 15 years may come into play but if Dave were doing it things would happen a lot faster!!!

Not much planned for the day.  Some how the kitchen became a mess over night while I was sleeping!  Of course if you believe that I have some land in the Everglades that I need to sell!  BUT really the kitchen is a mess so I need to work on that.  I left it yesterday as for some odd reason I just did not feel up to doing anything.  I did go to the store and bought some food.  Terry had expressed a taste for a fish sandwich which surprised me but I got some fish sandwich paddies and they were I would say B+ maybe!  Today we may up grade and go with the chicken pot pie!

No, the day is going as it is now 9:35.  I want to get a bike ride in this morning before it gets too warm. Those kind of things help me avoid work that often stares me in the face around here!  One nice thing about being old and retired is even if there is work to do one can wait until tomorrow or the next and most of the time it does not matter!

So time to sip that last FP and get on the bike.

OK here it is almost 5:30 PM and I think I am OK with LIFE!

 TERRY

Terry has been awake most of the day.  I left for tennis this morning at 8:30 and she was sleeping but I do think she woke up shortly after that.  I arrived home from tennis at about 10:00 and she was almost finished with the paper.

I am OK but really not so good today.  I am tired and there really is no reason for it.  Maybe I will try to get to sleep early tonight!

We have had a rainy day most of the day.  Here it is about 5:30 and it seems like it should be 8:00.  I emptied the rain gauge about an hour ago and we had 1.6" up to the point.  There has been a little after that but not much.  

I really had NO idea what to make for Terry today so I went to the store.  I came back with frozen fish fillet for a sandwich, lemon chicken nuggets and chicken pot pie, frozen.  Terry, much to my surprise, chose the fish sandwich.  Actually it was quite good.  So now there is something for tomorrow also.  I do have a problem with meals.  When we get the meals in the mail there are three for the week.  They actually are very good but the cost is about $70 for the three days.  I can make meals much cheaper than that but then we always have leftovers and it is hard to eat all of it before one needs to throw.  I can NOT stand to throw food but it happens sometimes.  Terry does not like things to be in the fridge more than three days before they are outdated.  Anyway I guess one should not complain about having too much food as there are so so so many people in the world that have almost nothing.

Carol called, the gal who organized the reunion, yesterday day and we talked for some time.  I pretty much knew how things had gone but she filled me in on some details.  I will get the $75 in the mail as my 5 books all sold!!  Wow, I do not know what to do with all the money???  Actually I ordered 10 more today as I only have 1 left and it seems from time to time there is someone who would like one.

I am thinking that I, for the most part, am able to keep a pretty positive outlook on life but today is one of those down days.  I feel tired, worn out and just kind of down in the dumps.  In the past I would call brother Dave and not complain but just talk about old times or anything and when we had finished talking I felt a lot better.  Well NO Dave so that is out!  

It was good to get on the tennis court today.  AND my partner and I won 6-4 so that made it even better!  We played 3 more games and we were at 2-1 when I just thought I needed to get home to see Terry as she had been sleeping when I left.  We will play again Thursday but really I need to get in at least 3 or 4 matches a week.  Maybe that will happen in a couple weeks as more people come down.

I have fun watching the stock market every day.  Yesterday was a downer for sure as I think it went down 600+ points.  I see where it did come back a bit today.  So maybe the small amount I have invested is not ALL lost!

As the days go by I am starting to look forward to family coming down.  YES, it will be at the end of December BUT time flies and it will be here kind of soon.  I am trying to think of ways to keep those 14 grandchildren busy for a few days.  There are a lot of things to do here but many of them are costly as one can guess.  It would be fun to take some of them on a day fishing trip but the problem is WHO.  One can not take 21 people on a fishing trip so maybe that is out.  

No I will post a couple of pictures and sign out for the day.

Well Dave and I shared a lot of things but not like that!!!!

I did have FP this morning and finished it after tennis.  It was great!

Here we are headed into the last full week of September!

 TERRY

Terry woke up about 8:30 and I think she is now finished with the paper.  Nothing on the agenda today so will play the day by ear.  Have gotten a lot of feedback from Carol about the reunion and it sounded like there was a lot of laughs, much conversation and fun for all.  Carol sent me some pictures and then the names as well because it is not always possible to recognize people that you have not seen in 55 years.  Somehow we all seem to age and change somewhat!

I will have to go on a bike ride today but nothing else planned.  Maybe a quick trip to the store but not sure.  We have a wonderful day with sunny skies and temps that will NOT get into the 90s but will hit maybe 88.

I have been stuck in neural for many days now.  I look at the dining room table and it is same same as two weeks ago.  Maybe today.

John called and we had a long chat yesterday.  It sounds like his new role as "teacher" and not 'headmaster" of Trinity is a good thing for him.  He said the trip to Florida for the entire family is ON and I think everyone was going to talk today about some details.  I have made the hotel reservation for all but can change details if needed.  I think the length of time is what may change.  I have rooms for 7 days and I do not know if people can stay that long.  It should be fun and it is just a tad more than 3 months away.  

I can't believe this as I started this yesterday and did not finish it. Will send it now and then maybe will write more tomorrow.  When I said I was stuck in neural I guess I was just trying to prove it!!!

Here we are headed into the second to last week of September!

 TERRY

It is a bit after 9:00 AM as I sit down to write and Terry is sleeping.  I read the paper at the kitchen table and I could hear her quiet but peaceful breathing as she slept.  I am thinking she may wake up soon but it is not unusual for her to sleep late on some days.

Many took in the Marboe reunion event and me---I got a pen!!!  Carol sent 3 pens and a copy of the writing I sent in AND the $20 sign up up back which she did not have to do.  I am pretty sure the 1898 date is when the county was in incorperated and NOT when the school was started.  However I am not sure of that.  I do know that Dad went to Wood Lake School and that would have been around 1917-1925 as I am pretty sure he went through the 8th grade.  I would think Mom went there too but she never talked about it so am not sure.  I do know that Mom went to two years of high school in Veblen.

The reunion has brought up many memories of Wood lake country school but I think if I were to go into some of them this morning it may be boring.  I will say that for the most part we walked to school and walked home again.  I do not think it was very often even in the winter when we got a ride.  It was just under a mile and a half.  Actually Dave and I often made a game of things as we walked.  Things like who could kick a stone the farthest?  Who could hit the pasture fence post with a rock?  In the winter it was often who could run and slide on the road the farthest etc.  I do not remember how long it would take us to get to school but it must not have been that long with only a mile and a half.

I think the Marboe Country School was 6 or 7 miles to the SE.  The internet is wonderful in terms of finding things.  I found that Marboe School was 5.25 miles from Wood Lake School.  Then I brought up a map and found out that way way back then each county had a school so for example Wood lake School is labeled "school #1".  To the west which I think had Tewaukon School that is labeled also "school #1" which must mean each county started out with a school and later some counties added another.  Even at the age of 74 I guess one can learn some things if you look!  Now I am wondering how many counties had more than one school.  

Enough of that for today.  Now I would like Terry to wake up so I could go on a bike ride.  I do not want to leave when she is sleeping.  It certainly would have been nice to have attended the reunion but it is also nice NOT to be on a plane now flying back!

In place of a bike ride now I may jump in the pool while Terry is still sleeping.  My FP is down to a couple of sips so time for a last sip and time for a dip.

Here we are with less than two full weeks of September left as we look at the 18th

 TERRY

Terry was awake when I woke up at 8:00.  She is currently reading the paper.  Yesterday she slept much of the day so I am guessing today she will be awake most of the day.  Just one day at a time like I say.

Carol Anderson, the brains behind the school reunion, sent some pictures.  Below is Carol and Mary Skroch.  Mary was a teacher at Marboe School and Carol, my age, was a student.

Like I said Carol is my age and I am guessing Mary is around mid 80s.  I am sure everyone will have a great time and when I think of missing it I get kind of sad BUT one has to determine what is important in life and go with that.  I will get the pictures, the pens and the book so it will be fun to go through it.

This is kind of picture day

This is the kind of TV tray most of us had at home.  I am guessing they came in a package of 4 and maybe they were $29 or so.  Well some things have changed as you can see below!

Notice the $149 price tag for ONE!!!

Well I am thinking IF you are fashionable you may NEED one of these.  However IF you NEED one you may not have much left in your bank account!  From the WSJ of course.  I am SURE, for the common gal,  IF you bought one of these it would most likely be empty!  BUT then you could tell the whole world how fashionable you tend to be and that is important, right?????

I had an interesting day yesterday.  I had an appointment for the car at the Honda dealership 8 miles to the north.  They said it would take 3.5-4 hours.  It included an oil change, a tire rotation and 4 recall items that needed to be done.  I arrived at 7:30 for my 7:40 appointment.  They said they would give me a ride home.  So I arrived home at about 8:30 and finally got a call at 3:45 that they were on their way to pick me up.  Everything was taken care of and the total cost was for the rotation only so 6 hours of work for $30 was not a bad deal.  On the way home there was a strange noise and I thought to myself did they do something that was not right.  Then as I glanced to my right I noticed the rear AC was on!  They must have taken it out for a test drive!

Being this is the day of the Bergen/Wood Lake reunion and I am NOT there here is a little of history!

And the answer to that is we ALL used the same cup!!!  In the background you can see the boys and the girls toilets.

While playing during recess the pump outside near the school was the go to water.  Once the teacher stepped outside and rang the bell for the end of recess everyone hurried to get one last drink!  The bottom picture is what we had in school.  I mean IF you work so so hard at your studies you would need a drink often or was it just a matter of wanting to get up from your desk?  For me I will not confess.

I do remember being bored much of the time in school.  Talking to another student was a no no but it was hard to resist so when I got caught, and it was often, the punishment was usually write a sentence so many times.  Maybe by the 3rd or 4th time in the week it got up to 500 times!!!  It usually was something like "I will not talk during class time".  Well it kind of became a game.  When I was done with my work which was usually most of the time I would get out paper and write sentences and If I was assigned to do that I could just sit around and day dream and then later hand in the sentences!  As I think about it I wonder why the teacher did not catch on?  But of course there were 12 students in 8 grades so the teacher was kind of busy much of the time.  Wood Lake  School closed in May of 1956.  So I went from having ONE classmate and 12 students in the room to having 11 classmates and 24 in the room in Cayuga as 3rd and 4th grade were together in the basement room.  A causality of my Wood Lake Education was my spelling!  Never did we learn to sound out words.  We had a spelling book and memorizing was so easy for me so I just memorized the words and got 100% all the time.  It did not help that I had the same spelling book for 2nd and 3rd grade.  Anyway that is my story and I am sticking to it.  Needless to say the computer has been a wonderful friend with words being changed as well as spell check.  

Enough for today.  I need some exercise so it will be the bike for a while.

The FP is gone and it was delicious this morning.

Here we are at September 17, 2021. Marlys/Dave were married on this day 56 years ago!

 TERRY

As I write it is 9:10 and Terry is sleeping yet.  I woke her when I left at 7:00 this morning and then she was kind of awake when I arrived home at 8:15 but yet she is now sleeping.  I am guessing she will wake up soon and then read the paper.

Here it is 9:10 AM and it seems like I have had a full day.  I had an appointment for 7:40 at the Honda dealership to get 3 recalls taken care of, have an oil change and get a rotation of the tires.  They said it would be at least 4 hours and I was prepared to be bored for a long time but they gave me a ride home so here I am.  That is good.

IF I had kept my plans to go to the reunion I would be getting ready to drive to the airport but as I sit at the computer at 8:30 I have a peaceful feeling so I am sure I made the correct decision.  I have been impressed with ALL the work put into the reunion and I am sure it will be a smashing success.

Just a side track about today.  I was a freshman at NDSU in 1965.  I had this English teacher who had a reputation for being kind of "out there" so to speak.  It was a three credit class that met Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  On Wednesday, September 15 I stopped at the teacher's desk on my way out and told her I would not be in class on Friday as I would be attending my brother's wedding.  Guess what, she read me the riot act for missing a class early in the quarter!  IF I remember I actually came out of the class with a "C" which in anybody's book was at least a B or more from any other teacher.  

So here has been my day up to now.  I did not sleep well last night and in the middle of the night remembered that I had an appointment for the car at 7:30.  I had talked to Terry about it when I made it on Monday but had failed to remind her last night.  So I tossed and turned until 6:15 AM and finally got up.  At 7:00 I finally had to wake Terry and yes she had not remembered.  So off I go with the idea that I may not be home until noon or later.  Terry said that was fine.  Well I get to the dealer and they say that the work will take a long time and if I live within 10 miles I can have a ride home compliments of them.  They would also call when the car is finished and come and get me.  GREAT. So I arrived home about 8:30 and let Terry know I was home but she went right back to sleep and now as I write she is still sleeping.  I was VERY happy to NOT have to sit at the dealer for 4-5 hours.

This was in the WSJ today and yes compared to my childhood we are in a different world!

Now I am wondering if there is a second gentleman?  It says they have been together for 18 years and have two children.  I guess I need to go back to school to learn how that happens!!!

I am thinking I need to stay close to my phone in case the dealership calls.  I will be surprised IF they do not call as in these situations there is usually something else wrong that they feel needs fixing and most likely NOT covered under the warranty.  

So it is in a quiet home that I sign off for the day.  I still have my FP to enjoy but guess what.  At the dealer as I waited for the ride I had two expresso drinks from the machine and they were not bad and there was no cost!  Anyway here I am ready to enjoy the last working day of the week but wait I am not working any more!

A late start to the day!

 TERRY

Well here it is late afternoon and I have not gotten to the blog!  Terry has had a good day and as I write she is resting her eyes but not sleeping.  Terry got a note from Elspeth today (it was to Grandpa as well but mainly for Terry I am sure) and I quote, "I miss you so badly".  That brought a smile to Terry's face and made her day better.  

For the first time in maybe a month I got on the tennis court this morning and it felt good.  My game, not so good but that mattered little!  I guess we will play again next Tuesday and Thursday.

I got an e-mail from Delta today saying that I could check in for my flight tomorrow, the one I will not be on!  I need to send a not to Carol and make sure she tries to have someone there with a good camera so they can get a nice group picture.  I think they are expecting around 60 people.  When I got the note I just had to say to myself "well sometimes things just do not work out for the best!"

I had a long conversation with sister Joan last night.  We had not talked for some time.  Helen is going to spend a week there around their 60th so it is not a big deal that I can't go because I would not be able to get a word in edgewise.

I made one of the meals yesterday, the ones that we get in the mail but I had cancelled them for a couple of weeks.  It was FUN to have a meal instead of noble food!  It was white rice boiled in coconut milk with meatballs and green beans roasted in the oven.  Actually I was Not embarrassed with my cooking skills!  Way to go Carmen

I have a couple dollars in stocks.  Today the Dow Jones went down some but my investments went up so maybe that means I own the right stocks OR it could also mean just wait till tomorrow and yours will go down!  Well the amount is pretty small as I would never dare rely on my investment skill or in reality lack of skill to put food on the table.  It does give me something to dabble in to get my mind off what is important.  Of course not all the time but a tiny amount of time.

No here it is 4:37 and it is way way past the FP time of day so will sign off.

Here we are at hump day September 15

TERRY

As I write it is almost 9:00 and Terry is still sound asleep.  I got out of bed at 7:10 and she was awake but feel asleep shortly after that.   She had a pretty good day yesterday.

I have come to KNOW that NOT going to ND this weekend is the best.  Would I like to go, for sure.  But it just was not the thing to do.  I checked Delta to see if I could get a refund of my flight but I purchased the cheapest seat and it is NOT refundable.  My books have beens sent.  A writing has been sent so I kind of will be there and I am sure people will have a great time.  I just hope there is no covid issues.

No real plans for the day so will try to make some progress on a clean house.  That should NOT be difficult but for some reason it often is!

Terry just woke so I brought the paper in to her.  She did not want the light on at this time so I probably will hear a call soon to come and put the light on!

I did not post an important date yesterday and it was on purpose.  I was not up for the emotion that is brings each year so I let the day go by and will try today.  Yesterday marked the 12th year of Gail's entry into Heaven.  In some ways it seems so so far away and in other ways it seems not that long ago.  

Son Aaron sent some pictures of their new kitchen which is finished.  Aaron did a lot of the work but much was done by contractors.  It got me thinking about how lucky I am to have four kids and they are all incredibly talented in their own way.  In fact they all are so talented and wise at times I have to stop and think, "Are they really mine?"  Well then I think back to Gail and of course the answer is yes!  Anyway I know I do not say this to them often if ever but I am so so proud of each of them.  This sounds kind of like a crybaby and maybe it is BUT.  I think back on my high school days.  I played in 28 football games while starting in 21 of them.  I played in about 50 basketball games while starting about in 25 of them.  AND to my knowledge Dad did not see me play once nor did he ever comment or ask about a game.  I know what is past is past but once in a great while when I sit back and "remember" the thoughts come to mind "why"?

Enough of that kind of stuff.  I need to say after saying ALL that "I am incredibly thankful for my upbringing and all that Mom and Dad did for us kids.

Here it is almost 9:30 so will sign off but will end with the writing I sent to the reunion.

Oh my but I am late today!

 TERRY

Terry has had a pretty good day.  As I left for tennis at 8:40 she was kind of awake.  She has had her eyes closed from time to time but is having a good day.  I currently have some food in the oven so she will also be able to eat something as often she is not in the mood for eating.

Yea, after perhaps a month or so off it was back onto the court today and it felt good.  Well my partner and I won so of course it was good!!!  I say that and as anyone knows it is more fun to win than NOT but just being on the court and getting exercise is a very good thing.  As we played this morning I noticed a guy taking a lesson so it looks like slowly but surely people will start returning and then the courts will be busy which is good.  

In my prayer time today I think I kind of had a break through.  It is easy for me to lament events and for now it is about not being able to get to ND for the reunion but this afternoon I kind of had a refreshing change and things have not changed at all but now things look better.  Of course I would like to make it up to ND but it is not the end of the world and there are plenty of things around here for me to do.

I did make a run to Costco today and picked up some things.  I figured I won as I got out of the store without ANY extra things in the cart.  I would say that is a good thing when you go to Costco.

Not much to say today.  I am getting a bit more concerned about Terry.  She seems to be doing OK but her health weighs on my mind a lot.  She has NOT been going to the bathroom much at all and me, with a mind that goes in all directions, worry if that is a bad sign.   Well as I say so often one day at a time and we will go with that.

I sent a ball to Max and come to find out he is obsessed with ANY ball.  Cynthia sent me a video and it was pretty funny.  He is getting kind of big.  I will have to write to Cynthia and find out what sports the kids are in this fall.  I do not think the Madison kids are in fall sports but then maybe Leo is in cross country.  He has been in that and I think he has done very well.  In South Bend I am sure Henry is in soccer and maybe Audrey as well.  I am not sure if Liam is playing soccer yet.  I know he is a great student and a great sport but not sure if soccer is one of them.  I should keep a notebook as there are many grandkids and as they get older there are more things to be involved in.

No pictures today, just words and at this time in the afternoon I am about out of words as well.  I enjoyed my FP after tennis today and now am waiting for the food to get done so Terry can eat.  That is all!

 The year was 1954

It was one of the last years when ALL of the Lee family would be on the farm.  Ronald and Janet were going to high school in Lidgerwood, Dave and Joan were going to Wood lake School, Carmen was waiting for school to start the next fall and Helen was coming up on birthday #2.  Little did anybody know that before long the family would be scattered far and wide with college, then work and more.  Above ALL that there was of course no idea that the years of our family being together were numbered as Ronald died in 1964 and Janet in 1966.

But for now, Christmas vacation of 1951 all was good.  Ronald always the guy who had an idea or wanted you to see something created havoc during Christmas vacation.  In showing brother Dave who was 7 and Carmen who was 4 he wanted us to know how he kicked the football in high school.  Not thinking about the fact that he was 6' 2" he, with this wide smile on his face wanted to show us how he did the kick off but he did not factor in the law hanging living room light and it smashed to the floor as his right foot almost hit the ceiling!  Dave and I were startled at first but then thought it was funny but that did not sit very well with Mom and Dad.  Enough of that!  Janet was somewhat quiet as she had so many friends in high school and did not like being away from them for too long.  I might add we met several of her male friends from time to time. Joan, at the age of 9 was forced into being Mom big helper as those high school girls kind of forgot how to be a BIG help.  Dave and I had two things going.  First of all we were taken up in big brother Ronald and knew he was smart and could do no wrong.  We also got super Christmas gifts as Dave got his erector set and I got my Lincoln Logs.  And of course there were sledding behind the outdoor toilet and huge piles of snow to play in.  Of course everyone wanted a piece of baby Helen as that little cutie was up for all the attention!

It was a time of innocence for us except I am not so sure about Ronald and Janet!!!  It was ALWAYS super fun to have them come home as I, a 4 year old, thought the sun came up and went down with Ronald.

As I now sit back with a refreshing drink and reminisce of those times it often brings a smile or a tear when so much comes to mind.  Of course there were even many many more times as we got older and "big brother or big sister" came to visit.  There were special friends that came at times and I did not like that!  It seemed that when those friends came Ronal or Janet had little time for me!!!  Then weddings came and all was good again as visits were once again fun with things to do with older siblings.  Of course I remember the rifle Ronald gave me.  Both John and Ronald had boats which meant water skiing which was fun.  Of course as a teenager I thought I was pretty hot stuff in my blue stretch swimsuit as I showed off my skiing skills on ONE ski.  We will not go any farther than that in that subject!  

So here I am.  I admit I am not young any more and have not been for a long time.  I am finding that it takes longer to get in gear in the morning!  I find that now getting up from the chair often finds me using a hand to push off!  AND yes it is easier to put on pounds and harder to take them off.  I guess it goes with the territory and I have no complaints.  So here we are another day and not sure there is another dollar but for sure there are things to do, places to go and work to be done so will sign off.

Here we are about half way through September and half way to October 2021

 TERRY

I was awake at 5:30 and to my surprise Terry started talking to me.  Well after a bit of house keeping I just could not feel tired so I got up and to my surprise the papers were here already.  At 6:00 I noticed Terry had her phone in her hand but now it is quiet in the bedroom and no light so I do not know if she is sleeping or trying to sleep again. Either way for me it is an early start to the day!

Not much to say this morning.  I will follow up kind of on my weekend which included a lot of trips down memory lane.  Terry and I traveled over 50,000 miles pulling our tiny camper so yes there are many many pictures.  Just a few today.

We did not get real close to either one BUT I would have been most comfortable getting up close and personal with the little guy on the top.  I have another picture of the bottom grizzly and his claws looked like they could have done some heavy damage in a fight!  The little guy on top maybe would have been up for a play around!

This is the iconic arch that gives the Arches National Park its name.  I had to kind of climb up some steep trails as we were losing sunlight to get the picture.  Pretty interesting and fun.

I had read a story about the Great Wall of China and on a whim I asked Terry if she wanted to see it.  Here response was "IF I can have a glass of wine on it" so started out China trip which was now several years ago.  The wall--worth seeing for sure.

OK so it is not Dave's birthday month BUT it is the month of Marlys/Dave's wedding.  I would say little Dave was a cutie but not so much with the beard I would say!!!  I have said it before but will say it again Dave was one super guy.  I would add that as I recall siblings and in-laws each and everyone is special in so many ways.  Another way to say things is all the siblings were/are keepers and there is not an out-law among the in-laws.  Maybe I did not say things in a great way but I love each and every one of them.

What the heck is one to do now.  I am up.  I have read the Naples paper and the WSJ.  I have blogged for the day and it is STILL dark outside!  

I could get into my tasks for the day but to be honest I do not have any in mind!  I am going to read some scripture and then maybe, just maybe pick a few things up in the den and living room.  I have a legit reason to NOT work as I do not want to wake Terry up!!!  

Wait a second.  I still have some FP left so I may read some of the news on the computer.  Regardless of what I do next here we are into another full week in September.  September is actually kind of a special month for me as each year passes I give thanks for retirement.  It has now been 14 years since I had students in September and I am thankful for each year.  I know that many people have long long retirements but I also know people who retire and not long afterwards pass away so THANKS.

A time long ago

 Thursday night September 10th, 1964

With all my will power I tried to shut my eyes and get some sleep but sleep was distant.  Tomorrow we started our football season at home against Ashley.  We had beaten them last year on a fourth quarter field goal by Todd.  I did not know how many seniors they lost but I did know that we lost most of our starting lineup.  It seemed to me that we had some good players coming back BUT did we have enough to have a successful season?  We lost our starting backfield including our quarterback Jack who was good.  We lost some linemen and our left end Bob who scored several touchdowns in our 6-1 season of 63 which gave us the title of co-champs.  But here we were with a very young team and as captain I questioned some of the talent.  Friday came and with it one would encounter many football jerseys as the team mostly wore them on game days during school.  The afternoon seemed to drag on and on but finally the ending bell rang and as I started for the locker room players from Ashley were getting off the bus.  

I had a good feeling as we warmed up even though I, at the time, had little confidence in our new coach.  Coach Hanson had left at the end of the school year to take a job some other place.  I felt our line was pretty good and they had some experience and Todd, who was our quarterback, was not only smart but a good athlete.  I was actually surprised as we scored on our first possession and then held them to only one first down.  The game ended with us up by a score of 26-6 and things looked good.  

However, the following Monday the season took a dark turn.  Todd fell in practice and Tuesday came to school with his arm in a sling--for two months!  On Thursday Dan, who was our best lineman, injuried his foot and the doctor said it would take several weeks to heal.  Well our veteran football players were short handed to begin with and now no Dan to anchor the line and who would be the quarterback.  We really had NO backup.  The rest of the season saw little positivities in any way.  Of the remaining 6 games 3 were blowouts and three were close but but no cigar!  It was not the best way to start my senior year.  In high school the studies were OK but sports were my thing.  Serving as captain was a downer for sure. 

It goes without saying that brother Ronald's death came into play.  It clouded our family for much of the year.  AND on a private level I wanted to do well my senior year as I knew we would be playing basketball at Klum where he and Glorine were teachers.  I would be starting on the BB team and I wanted to do good in front of the person whom I admired so much but it was not to be.

Well actually basketball ended up on a not good note also but the season was successful on my part.  We ended up well about 500 so that was good.  The social part of my senior year--we do not want to go there. OK I will say it was OK but some decisions made by me were not the best.

So here I am 57 years later and even though the memories are not all good I would say my high school days were a fun time.  IF I had been more mature they certainly could have been better but when it takes a person maybe 50 some years to kind of mature what does one expect?  To this day I marvel at how naive I was way back then.  I know one has to grown up but for me I took way way too long in my mind.  

Anyway I am taking up time on a Sunday PM as for some reason the start of NFL football does not interest me.  Terry was awake for a few hours but now has her eyes closed.  I usually check into the bedroom once or twice an hour.  As I peeked in several minutes ago I almost gasped as she looked so frail as she lie there on the bed.  

Time to stop writing and get some things done.

Sunday, September 12th, 2021

 TERRY

As I begin to blog Terry is sleeping as it is 9:30.  She threw a scare into me last night.  She had not eaten or drank for some time but suddenly she had this violent coughing spell that had me wondering what to do but it passed after a several minutes and all was OK.  

After that I decided that there will be NO trip to the school reunion next weekend.  I will stay home and make sure Terry is doing as well as possible.  I did send some books to Carol in case anyone wants to buy one.  I am guessing I will get all of them back!

Sundays are often days when I tend to sit back, think back and today is no different.  When this happens I often think of the days when:

• Life was more simply
• The west side of the barn roof was a haven for thoughts and dreams
• The high school days of football and basketball loomed large
• I still can remember that pass that I did not catch or that runner that met his match on my end of the line.  And yes the memory also takes in that game with almost prefect shooting and 20+ points but then there is that game where I stunk up the court along with my teammates.  The long ride home in the back seat of the bus with a special friend did not even make up for the awful game.
• The high school days of special friends seemed so important
• The grade school days of bullying seems so hurtful (I held my own I promise) I was NOT the bully To this day I am thankful for being big and strong for my age at that time.  I know, times change!
• The farm days of Ronald/Glorine, Janet/John and Joan/Ron were so so important as a younger sibling I looked up to them as if they were some deity from heaven sent just for me.
• The farm days of rocks and rocks and rocks and rocks
• The deer hunting days in the badlands where I expected too see deer over every hill
• The days of riding the Harley Sprint with arms wrapped around me from the second seat.  To this day I don't know what I enjoyed more, the motorcycle or the wrap around arms!
• Days of picking weeds in rows of tiny trees and the rows seemed miles long
• Days of grinding deer meat until the arm ached but the reward was tremendous 
• Days of throwing the pocket knife into the board EVERY time from 20 feet
• Days of driving the Ford tractor with the rack behind to pickup stray piles of hay as Dave and Joan worked hard on the stack
• Drinking cool water from the vinegar gallon jug wrapped in burlap that was wet for cooling
• Throwing manure through the barn window and then driving the spreader to the west fields where the manure flew far and wide but making sure the wind was blowing away
• Days when Dave and I could avoid work and play cowboy/Indians or cops and robbers with wooden guns cut out of old scrap wood held in place with the antique vise in the shop
• Cold days of carrying kerosene into the livingroom stove in a 5 gallon pail and Not spilling a drop
• Cool perfect fall days of burning weeds in the field and Dave and I using hollow reeds to pretend we were smoking

Ok, the list could go on for a long time but enough.  The memories are priceless but the time is catching up on oneself.  Dave is no more here on earth and those days for me seem so so far away.  Good times but they are times of the past and today, well life is different but I am thankful.

I indulged a bit today, Sunday, and had 1/4 cup of Irish cream in my FP.  Sundays are often like that.  I just checked on Terry and still she is sound asleep so the house is quiet, I would say too quiet but it is what it is.  So here we are.  Another week to do what we are meant to do.  As I look on my calendar I notice that this week has important dates. They include Gail's death, Esther's birthday, Marly's birthday, Tavish/Tait's birthday and Marlys/Dave's wedding date from way back in 1965.  More tomorrow.

Here we are at Saturday, September 11th and most TV channels are all about 9-11

TERRY

Here it is 9:15 and Terry is deep into the paper.  As I rolled over in bed at 7:15 she said she had been awake for some time.  She is same same so no news.  I am a bit concerned about her eating as she does not eat much so we will see.  

As I write the temp is 79 and will get up to 90 today.  NO rain in the forecast BUT in the next 10 days it show 60% chance each day.  AND I might add that each day the temp will be anywhere from 88-91 for highs!

No plans for the day.  I am still debating about leaving next Friday for the school reunion.  Actually I am questioning IF it should happen with the covid around now.  I did see a comment from one of the people organizing it and it said with so much work having been put into it they could not consider postponing it now.  That in itself does not make me real comfortable going and then coming home to Terry.  In case I do not go I did get several books sent off so they will be at the reunion.  Will anyone want one?  I do not know and it really is not important.  

I think the day is going to consist of picking up around the house.  Going on a short bike ride and I will watch some of the semifinal U S Open Tennis match which I think is live this afternoon.  The women's final is today and the two gals in it are 18 and 19.  Wow I think the young have arrived and the old guard is kind of in the background now.  That is not true for the men as Medvedev is 25 and Djokovic is 34.  That match tomorrow will be interesting.  I went to bed last night as the men's tennis was late but in watching some of it today at one point in the match a point went 53 hits.  As I was watching I thought the picture was just repeating and repeating!!!  I do not know for sure but my guess would be that on an average each point is not more than 5-7 hits!

No I am about finished for the day.  Not much writing in me today.  I finished my FP so I am sure the day will turn out to be good.  Time to get dressed and go for a bike ride.

Here we are on Friday, September 10, 2021

 TERRY

As I start to write it is 9:00 AM and Terry is still sleeping.  I think she had a restful night.  Yesterday was one of those days where she slept on and off but then when it was my bedtime she was watching a movie!  I am very thankful that her cover shot did not affect her as I feared it might.  So here we are one day at a time.

I am having serious thoughts about the Wood Lake/ Marboe reunion one week from tomorrow.  I have thoughts about leaving Terry and also about flying and being around a lot of people with the new serious covid outbreak.  IF I had to make a final decision NOW I would stay home.  The plane ticket was super cheap so that is not an issue.  The issue comes down to the importance of seeing people, staying safe, caring for etc.  I probably will not make a final decision until early next week just in case anything changes. 

The WSJ has several pages of the 9-11 attack as that 20th anniversary date is tomorrow.  I was teaching at Highland Junior that day and the principal came over the PA with some kind of announcement and then said classes should go on as normal and she would keep everyone updated as time went on.  Well we had a portable TV in our room so against the wishes of the principal and my co-teacher I turned the TV on and watched as things unfolded.  Little did I or anyone have any idea how our country would be changed after that day.  Much of air travel rules etc go back to that very day.  

I do not have any certain plans for the day.  Actually I am going to get some work done around here and by the end of the day the past through from the living room to the kitchen will be clear and the dining room table will be clear.  That has not happened for a LONG time.  

I am thinking this was taken in the summer of 1946 as Dave looks to be 2.  That would make Ronald 10, Janet 8, Joan 4 and Helen and Carmen yet to come.  Mom and Dad would have been 35.  I think it is a great picture and I have no idea if that is our car or not as I certainly do not remember a car like that.  Another thing is NEVER did Dad wear bib overalls in my memory time.  Why do I know?  Because I hated bib overalls and as soon as possible I stopped wearing them and the reason was Dad never wore them!

I think that is about it for today.  I still have a large cup of FP so will linger at the computer until it is gone.

Here we are at Thursday, September 9th!

 TERRY

Terry woke up about a half hour ago and is good.  She said she had a good nights sleep and as I write she is reading the paper with the TV on.  Again, as is often the case, there are no plans for the day.  I actually have the kitchen clean, WOW!

Again, no tennis so it will be a day at home.  I need to get some exercise in as this "home body" thing is not good for the weight, if you get my vib?  

OK so I grew up in a family where money was pretty tight to say the least but really we never got to this point!!!  Actually when we talk about money really we had very little growing up.  A lot of our clothes came from Aunt Ragna in California.  When those big boxes came it was almost like a holiday to see IF there was anything in there that fit.  I still remember my senior year in 1965.  I was looking forward to graduation in late May and actually Dad said we would go to Fargo and I could buy a suit.  I mean that was a "wow" time as I had never had a suit.  I do not remember what we paid for it but I thought it was a pretty nice suit as it was kind of greenish/blue and I thought I looked pretty darn sharp in it.  Come graduation day and it was kind of a hot muggy day.  When we arrived at Sargent Central I got out of the car and my new suit looked like it had been sitting in the dryer fo a week with wrinkles that would rival someone who was 100+ in age!!!  I did my best to shake and wiggle to get it to look kind of nice but then of course we had gowns on so I felt pretty good.  After the ceremony Dad took a picture of me and my girl friend and I was glad the gown stayed on!!!  By the way that was kind of a nice picture but it went up in flames (not flames as in a relationship) when the farm burned.  Well I think that was kind of appropriate as that relationship went up in flames as well after high school.  If only I knew then what I know now!!!

I could say more about our financial state when I lived at home.  There was NO doubt we never were in danger of not having enough food.  There was a time in the early 50s that we did get government commodities like cheese, peanut butter and maybe dry milk which we never used as we milked cows.  I do remember Mom wanting to hide things as she was somewhat ashamed that we got them.  BUT we did have chickens, cows, deer meat in the fall and always a big garden.  I do know that even though we always had enough food Mom was pretty darn good at making use of what we had.  BUT in my mind some of her inventions were not the best.  Soaked wheat berries of breakfast food!!!  Actually I think Dave liked them but in my opinion they were awful.  That probably does not mean a lot as I thought Corn Flakes were awful and Dave ate it in the mixing bowl!  In my mind we had enough food if you would be OK with 5 hard boiled eggs for supper as I was!!!  I know that there were several years when our diet was pretty much venison, eggs, potatoes, veggies from the garden, milk and really not much that came from the grocery store.  Anybody would be surprised and impressed with the meals Mom made with what she had to work with.  It is interesting as I THINK we pretty much had enough money to buy film and gun supplies!  I will not comment on that!!!

I made chili yesterday and in my opinion it turned out good.  I think I will have some for lunch.

Well a week from tomorrow I am scheduled to fly to MN and then drive to the reunion Saturday morning. I have thoughts about it.  Really I feel, at this point, that it will be OK for me to be away for 48 hours but then as is often the case I have second thoughts from time to time.  I do NOT have thoughts that anything will happen to Terry when I am gone BUT rather how will she be by herself and pretty much be in bed the entire time?  I still have things to work out before that time comes.  

That is about it for today.  I still have a few sips of FP left so will enjoy that as I turn the computer off.