Here it is late in the day and I am late with my blog BUT there are excuses for sure.

 Terry

As I write Terry is asleep.  I was gone for a long time and when I returned she was sound sleep.  She is doing abut the same I would say.

Wow it seems like a lot has happened today and here it is only almost 5:00.

• I played tennis from 9:00-10:30
• The a TV tech guy came and after an hour and a half here he said, "I have bad news".  He said the cable coming into the house needs to be replaced and it may take a couple of days for that team to come out.  Not good as that means no TV maybe until the end of the week.
• My toe is so swollen and painful I went into urgent care.  The doctor gave me two kinds of pills and said it should be better in a couple of days.  But as one might know going in for things usually takes TIME and I probably was there 45 minute or so.
• It was then on to Costco to pickup some things.
• From there it was the grocery store to pick up some yeast for cheese bread
• Then it was to Walmart for the pills.  I had not gotten a note so I only asked WHEN they would be ready but they were ready so that was good.  So now it will be three pills a day for one and two pills a day for another.  Hopefully that darn toe gets better.  I will continue to elevate and ice.
• So with all of that here I am sitting doing doing my blog late in the afternoon.  

So with the late time I will cut it short and get onto other things.  I am thinking that some people got our Christmas Card today as we sent them Saturday.

I have No Christmas things up except some candy canes hanging.  I have yet to decide If I will put up our manager scene or our tiny fake tree.  Maybe but with so much going on this body is kind of rebelling so I have to take stock and decide if there is enough energy to do all.

Having said all that I will say that is enough for today.  As one could expect the FP was excellent but it is history for now and to my surprise it did not heal my toe!!!

I will end with a picture of Leo Adkins who is 5 today.  Wow, what a good looking kid!

  

Here is our birthday boy for the day!!

 

My calendar book shows that Leo is 5 today but I question that as he is looking like a boy who is much older than that!!!   As one can see he is one handsome guy and I KNOW Mom and Dad had better keep him on their radar as good looks, a wonderful personality and much more can lead to success but also sometimes things one does not want.  Not only that but he is a really good boy and smart as anything.  Leo, I hope your special day is GREAT and may this coming year be one of new experiences and growth BUT continue to be the super good boy that you always have been.

Love Grandpa Lee and Terry

November 29th and we head towards December which comes on Wednesday

 TERRY

As I write Terry is sleeping.  I am surprised as she asked me at 7:10 to turn the electric blanket on and I thought she was up for the morning but no here she is sleeping again, which is good I think.  I would say she is doing the same same as the last many days.

The good news of the day is I dialed our cable company, Summit, right at 8:00 AM.  I expected to be on hold for a long time so I sat down at the computer and put a game on!!!  Well before the first game was half over I actually got a live person on the phone.  After going through about 5 hoops to prove I am ME she put me on hold for a short time and then explained that we would be getting a call either later today or tomorrow for a tech person to come out and fix the cable.  Well I would have preferred a time for today but I have NO complaints IF it really happens by tomorrow.  I know it sounds like I am a TV nut but really I do not watch a lot BUT with Terry in bed TV is her "go to" entertainment.  

Well Terry is now awake as I stopped to care for her after she said my name.   I am back from putting fresh bedding and fresh pads on the bed.  I should say my life is so exciting!!!  I take that back as it sounds kind of not nice.  I am very thankful for all that I have and where I am today.  My only wish is that Terry would get better and that may happen.  

I have tennis at 10:30 today and I am dealing with a big toe on my right foot that is swollen as if I have gout.  IF I do I do not know where it came from but I so wish it would "go away".  With that I will tell the story of our Henry who is now 18 and at 6' 3'' or more is an imposing young man.  Way way back in maybe 2007 or so when when he was maybe 4 he was staying with Grandma and Grandpa for a day.  Gail and I were in the living room talking and Gail said, "I do not hear Henry I had better see what is happening".  As she walked through the living room and into the kitchen her eye caught Henry on the top step of a stool and he was into the cupboard that was on the wall as you went downstairs.  On the top shelf was a jar with candy that Gail had put away so Henry would not be temped.  As Grandma entered the scene Henry turned to her and said, "Go away"!!!  I do not remember IF Grandma scolded him or gave him some candy!  Anyone might guess what happened!

With no TV last night I asked Terry if she wanted to watch a movie and she said yes.  We put on HACKSAW RIDGE which is a movie based on true events  during World War II.  We had seen it before but it had been some time and with both of us in an advanced AGE we enjoyed it again.  That helped the evening go by.  

Not much planned for the day other than tennis if I can hobble around the court with this toe.  I have been meaning to double check our Christmas list just to make sure we have all the based covered so may do that today as I planned it some time ago and did not get to it.  

I will end with some pictures that I copied that I think are pretty funny

Well this kind of struck home.  As a senior in high school the band instructor asked the band who they would like to conduct a song and for some strange reason they chose me.  I know it sounds silly but I was standing up in front embarrassed to no end.  I promise you at that time I had more hair than this guy!

Here it is already 9:30 and time to close for the day.  I still have some FP left but it needs to be heated up before I finish it.  So here go I, ready for another day and more excitement!

Here we are enjoying the LAST Sunday of November and we welcome Advent as we look towards spreading the good news.

 TERRY

As I write it is 8:30 and Terry is sound asleep.  I am hoping she sleeps for a little while longer.  She continues to do about the same.  I am guessing I rub her legs maybe a dozen times a day.  Yesterday we did get the living room TV kind of working so she spent a couple hours on the couch as we watched the only show that was watchable, Hallmark!  In the afternoon we spent some time in the bedroom just talking as she asked me to tell her some stories of long ago.  She enjoyed that.  She is eating more and that is good.  She asked me to make her some French toast.  I must have done "good" as she ate the entire piece of toast and bragged about how good it was.  So today is another day and we kind of are in the waiting mode as she has a doctor appointment tomorrow.  I do need to call in the morning just to make sure.  Also we did not see any services last week so another morning call is needed to find out WHAT is going on.  As I say so often, "one day at a time".

As I walked out the front door to get the paper I felt chilly.  After I got in the house I looked at my phone and the temp was mid 50s which is cool for us.  BUT as I sit in the den now the sun is bright and warming up the day.  I also see that some oranges on the tree right by the window are starting to turn!  I can hardly wait as they are always so good.

Here is what I see as I glance out the window!

It certainly looks like some good eating down the road!

My right foot is getting better I think.  BUT then I most likely will play tennis tomorrow and it may act up again.  I have been trying to do a "Mom" thing by soaking it in epson salt but I do not know IF that has helped or not.

Well tomorrow should prove to be interesting.  Terry sees the doctor, I hope, and the TV guy is supposed to come to replace the cable coming into the house so we have cable again.  Let's see IF all that happens.  I need to call Summit before I play tennis as I have to be home if or when they come.  Our house is still in a HUGE mess until the cable things gets fixed.  Well OK I admit it often is in a mess and that is absolutely on my shoulders with NO excuses.  

December 2nd, 1961

As we got in the car at 9:40 I know I had a long long face on.  But Mom was full of energy and she was perhaps more happy today than most days of the year.  We were on our way to the first rehearsal of our annual Christmas Program at Bergen.  It was one of the few things that Mom took on all by herself and she always did a great job.  There would be MANY songs by the Sunday school classes in addition to the Christmas scene with all the characters straight from the Bible!!!  Well Mom certainly could not play favorites so Dave, Helen and I would be in, what was my opinion, lesser role so to speak!  I always felt the pain of those practices as we would be required to sit and practice the songs but also sit and watch the players like the shepherds etc practice their parts!  Why could I just once be Joseph?  Well maybe it was a good thing cause there would be NO promise as to who would be Mary!!!  Anyway as Chuck and I visited in low tones we decided that it would be best to kind of put on a positive face and go with the flow.  After all we would be here on the 9th, the 16th and the 23rd!  I know each practice would be a tiny bit less painful but still!!!  I still can picture Mom making things happen and there was a spring in her step that was not always there.  I am sure each year the program went over as a huge success and of course it was only because of Mom.  AND I guess as I think about it we were not hurt by it either!

I put my cards in the mail yesterday so that is finished.  I think today I will take the time to double check any gifts that go out as I did not get that done yesterday.  I also realized that I need to get our wreaths up on the garage as I usually get them out the day after Thanksgiving.  Actually I did not think about it until Terry mentioned it yesterday.  AND we have a Christmas scene that needs to get out as well.  I guess that means the living room table needs to be cleared of ALL the papers that have been on it for weeks.

No I think I am going to cut this short today and get some of those things done.  I am just hoping that the wreaths have not been damaged by bugs while being stored in the attic of the garage.  I do need to drive the car out to get up in the attic but will wait until Terry wakes up as I do not want to wake her with noise from the garage.  Usually Lee Ann from down the street puts Santa hats on the mailboxes but have not seen them yet. Maybe this is the year to stop that as none of us are getting any younger.

I did stop by yesterday to visit with Carmen and Betty who are from Michigan but have wintered here for several years.  They are getting up in years as Carmen is 87 and Betty 89.  Carmen is now getting around with a walker as age does catch up with us at some time.  On the other hand Betty seemed none the worse for wear and age so to speak.  I also stopped into to Del and Jeanne.  They are from Minnesota and have a unit down here as well.  They are planning to travel back to MN for Christmas as they have a son in MN who has been battling cancer for some time and has decided it was time to go off treatment SO Del and Jeanne wanted to spent what is most likely his last Christmas with him and his family.  As I say take one day at a time and make the most of it. 

Amen for now.  Here it is close to 9:30 and Terry is still sleeping, good.  The FP is gone but I promise it was very good.

I will sign off with a picture from the computer

Saturday, November 27th, 2021

 TERRY

I am thinking Terry had a good night sleep.  I tumbled out of bed, bad toe you know, about 7:00 and Terry woke up maybe a half hour later.  She is doing Ok today.

I will start out with some pictures today as I received school pictures from the Lees in Madison

I hope I don't get this wrong but I think Ruby is in grade 6.  I know that she will be 12 in February for SURE!  I would say Amy and Aaron had better keep an eye peeled as no doubt there will be crowds of boys at some time IF not now.  Ruby is a special gal.  She is smart, into her studies at school and just an all around wonder gal.  

Here is Leo who is a freshman.  I think he looks like his Uncle Bob on Amy's side.  Leo has changed so much that IF I had met him on the street I may not have known him.  I am thinking he is a popular guy at school and just an all around fine young man.  I am guessing that the mix of Lee and Larkin has brought into this world a couple of mighty fine looking people!

You can say anything you want because I admit I am a misfit in the kitchen.  Here is what the kitchen looked like after Terry asked for French toast this morning.  AND yes it was clean before I started.  I guess the only thing that matters is Terry said it was delicious and that is all that counts.  BUT now I have a clean up job to do!!!

Well Terry and I were in the living room last night until 10:00 PM.  For some reason that TV kind of worked and the one in the bedroom did not.  Well this morning the living room one did not work either.  So we will be without TV at least until Monday.  It is not a big deal for me but with Terry bedridden it is a BIG deal.  So I guess it will be to read the paper maybe twice and then maybe get some extra sleep.  

No tennis for me for the second day and it will be the same tomorrow.  My toe is still swollen but it is better today.  

We are pretty much finished with the leftovers from Thursday.  I put a 20 pound turkey in the fridge today to thaw as Terry's son Brian is coming next Friday.  I am hoping the turkey thaws enough so that I can brine it before smoking it.  I have never done that so would like to give it a try.  What the heck I have nothing to lose when you start from ground zero with my culinary skills.  I can always fall back on "I am in a situation that is new to me so be patient".  

I stopped at the post office yesterday to mail the Christmas Cards so that is finished.  I have one left that I need an updated address but will find it today I hope.  I do have some cards left so IF we get cards from people we did not send to I can get one off to them.  I think I put about 55 in the mail.  Not sure why so many as If I counted family and friends they most likely would not add up to that many.

Getting the school pictures of Ruby and Leo reminded me of a high school situation that ended up kind of funny but I promise it did NOT help my grade.  So the story goes like this:

It was in a senior science class taught by Mr. Hendrickson.  It happened to be physic class which was NOT my favorite class.  Actually Terry and I happened to be lab partners and Terry was not all that excited about the class either.  Anyway it was a day that we were not listening to a boring lecture but rather in the lab.  I have no idea what kind of experiment we were doing but whatever it was Terry and I did the wrong thing.  It seems I remember that we had some chemicals that were to be used for the lab.  We both looked at the items and I think Terry said something like, "I wonder what would happen if we mixed these like this!"  Well I will not go into details but I promise we had the cleanest sink in the lab that day!!!  I am pretty sure I got a C in the class which may have been an early Christmas gift or a graduation gift like the teacher saying, I am happy to see you graduate from Sargent Central!  I should not say anything negative about Mr. Hendrickson as he was nice to me.  I missed several days of school when brother Ronald died in October.  I returned on a Monday only to find out that I had missed a test and of course that was going to be on the horizon.  Mr. Hendrickson asked me why I had missed the week before and I told him that I was home as my brother Ronald had died.  I mentioned that he had been a teacher in Kulm which was a school in our conference.  I did NOT have to make up the test!!!

I may tend to go back a ways in time over the next many days.  I was lucky.  I was not the smartest person in school but I came away with a "B" honor roll thing.  I do believe I could have gotten better grades BUT living 25 miles from school with rides to and from everyday did not help my studies.  Then, and I put no blame on my parents, there was the matter of studying at home.  That was a BIG stumbling block.  Often the kitchen was off limits as Dad was often developing pictures.  The living room had NO table and in the winter months the temp up in my bedroom was often in the minus numbers.  SO I SAY WHAT WAS A PERSON TO DO???  Well I am not sure If I should say this but getting a "B" average with really never doing homework probably says I was OK in terms of smarts!!!  Well I should add that IF I had been able to get football and basketball out of my mind I may have been able to do better on my homework!!!  I have NO complaints BUT I hope kids of today do not have any 2 hour bus rides to school after getting on the bus at 7:10.  It was my fault because I always stayed after school for football or basketball practice but even then with practice from 3:30-5:00 it was then a bus ride to Cayuga which put us there at maybe 5:30 and the IF Dad was waiting for me I may get home by 6:00.  Actually as I read what I just wrote it sounds like complaining but really what it is about is making excuses for not doing homework!!!  AND I should add those times are way way way gone.  AND for the most part they were a big part of growing up on the farm which I feel was a great place to grow up.

Well here we are approaching 11:00 AM.  I am thinking I may try to get on the bike for a short ride.  I am thinking that I may be able to ride bike with no pain in the foot.  AND my FP was gone a long time ago.

Here we are at Black Friday, November 26, 2021

 TERRY

As I write it is 8:00 and Terry has been awake for some time.  But she has not asked for the paper yet so she may have her eyes closed.  It seemed to me that she had a good day yesterday.  I moved her into the living room and we watched movies for a long time as the TV is currently out.  Summit is scheduled to come between 10-12 today and we are hopeful that we again will have TV.  Another day is here and as usual it is ONE day at a time.

Yes I admit there is nothing pretty about my feet BUT can you tell which one is painful?  It is somewhat better today but not good yet.

This is our Thanksgiving meal.  A friend ordered it for us from our club and I just drove over and picked it up.  The food was delicious and as one can see there is enough for meals today as well.

Here is the picture Cynthia sent of their meal with guest Travis!!!  I am not sure how Travis can safely get food in his mouth but I think he does.  There is one kid missing and I am guessing it is either John Paul or Leo.  That darn Max who is standing is getting kind of big!  As I look out their window it looks like NO snow on the ground.

Well here we kind of start with the Advent Season as that begins Sunday.  It is hard to believe that we are almost into 2022.  It seems just a short time ago that there was great concern about 2000 coming and what might happen as we entered a new century.  

I am pretty darn happy because as we welcome Advent I am totally finished with my Christmas Cards and with my gift giving.  All I need to do is mail the cards tomorrow and then do a redo of my check list to make sure any gifts that I will be giving are purchased.  I think that is true but it never hurts to double check, right?

As I look forward to Christmas and all that means for us I will make some notes so that I can sit back and enjoy the memories:

• I would say that perhaps the biggest of Christmas memories was our Bergen Church Christmas program.  Mom was in charge and she did a wonderful job.  She picked out the songs.  She played the music.  She also picked who would be Mary, Joseph and the wisemen.  I am pretty sure I, Dave and Helen NEVER were picked for the best parts.  I am sure Mom did not want people to think she favored her kids.  Actually I think Mom should have picked me to be one of the angels!!
• In the early years of growing up, when there was enough money for some presents, the presents were usually purchased early in December.  Mom would then wrap them and they were stored above the kitchen cupboards.  Well you can guess what happened when Mom and Dad were gone!  Every present was shook and turned over many times and everything else and about the only thing we would come up with is one or two of them were new puzzles!  They did not even put names on them so we did not know who would get what.  
• During those early years there was little money to be had BUT there were always presents for each.
• We usually had a small tree that sat in the corner of the living room.
• I would say this is what Christmas Eve was like in the early 50s.  We would open presents and then get into the COLD car to drive the 4 miles to Grandma and Grandpa Lee's.  There we would have a wonderful meal with Halvor's family.  Afterward there would be one gift for each of us kids and then the adults would play cards.  It would be Dad, Halvor, Alta and Grandpa.  Mom never played cards that I remember.  
• Often while the card playing went on us kids would go outside and play games in the dark which was always fun as G & G had buildings and many fruit trees we would hide in and around.  There were times we even would venture into the pasture behind the bins where there was a well and big hills.
• I remember I would get tired and want to go home later but back in those days the adults did not cater to the kids which of course was good.  So I wold move coats over on G bed and fall asleep until they were ready to quit the card games.  
• Later, perhaps when I was in upper grade school, we would stay home for Christmas.  Actually that may have happened as G & G sold the farm to Halvor and then they moved into Cayuga.  I am thinking that happened when I was in fourth grade or so.
• Each year I most likely tell about my all time TWO favorite Christmas gifts so why be different this year?  The fist was a clock radio I got when I was maybe in early high school.  That meant I could listen to baseball games at night as I fell asleep.  The second was an electric blanket that kept me oh so warm at night.  As I have said in the past Mom would go upstairs and turn it on before I arrived home late from a basketball game.  When I jumped into bed at midnight or so the bed was toasty warm and so so nice!!!

That is enough for now.  Maybe sometime later in Advent I can share how Santa Claus came to the farm and it was a real one!!!

Time to sign off for the morning.  I do not hear Terry so maybe she fell asleep again, I hope so.  The TV techs are suppose to show up in a short time so maybe TV again.  I have the entire house in a mess as furniture is moved away from the wall so they can get at things.  

I am not playing tennis today and it kind of is a special day being the day after Thanksgiving so I indulged somewhat with some Irish cream in the FP and it hit the spot.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2021

 TERRY

As I sit at the computer this morning at 8:00 AM Terry has gone back to sleep.  She was awake for a little while and was coughing which concerned me but now is peaceful and sleeping again.  I am hoping she is good for our dinner that I will pick up at the club at 1:00.  

What would one expect to see on the blog other than turkey on Thanksgiving??  On special days of the year I tend to think back on times past so will make my blog today "things of the past"

• Yes there was a time when Mom wanted turkeys so we had three or four.  If my memory serves me right and now days that is not a sure bet but they were kind of mean and would try to chase Dave and I at times.  I am sure we ate them at some time.
• Of course I think back at times that ALL six of us kids were home for Thanksgiving.  It was a grand day when ALL of us sat around the table and enjoyed the delicious food Mom made.  I promise there was nothing fancy about our menu but it was VERY good.  I still think Mom was the best.
• During the times Ronald was home Dave and I always tried to get him to play catch or play ball with us.  He was a wonderful BIG brother.
• I am not sure why but I can picture HOW Dad ate lefse.  While everyone in the family took a piece of lefse and spread butter on it and then rolled it up, not Dad.  He took a hunk of butter and put it on his plate.  Then he would take his knife and put some on the top of the lefse and then would enjoy.  The thing was he had to do that before every bite!
• We did not have turkey all the time and I am guessing that was because we would have had to buy it.  Instead we had ham that often came from Dad's trap shoots or chicken too I THINK.  If Helen or Joan read this they may say I am wrong which as you know would be the first time this month😄.
• IF the weather was warm enough it was a day to enjoy lefse, eat much food and play outside.  If it was cold and I am sure that was the case much of the time it was Monopoly, Tourning Card game or playing with the erector set and Lincoln Logs.    There may have been a puzzle in progress and also a table tennis game in the kitchen after the dishes were cleared.  
• Of course Thanksgiving days were kind of divided into two different kinds.  One kind was when Ronald and Janet were still in high school and the other kind was after they left home and then it was "WILL THEY COME HOME FOR THANKSGIVING?"  Of course I was 7 or so when Ronald left for college and then Janet two years later.  IF they did not come home I just could not understand that!!!
• Actually I enjoyed the days leading up to Thanksgiving almost as much as the day.  Because that would be when Mom made lefse and that was a lot of fun.  Mainly because we could always eat more than one piece as it came off the lefse grill!  
• When I think about it we may have had deer meat for Thanksgiving sometimes as that was pretty close to deer hunting season.
• Lastly I will add a Thanksgiving memory of our family in St. Paul.  For several years I would reserve a turkey from a farm just east of St. Paul.  The Saturday before Thanksgiving I would drive down to the Farmers Market and pick it up.  We ended up buying beef from the farmer as well from time to time.  The Farmer's Market was a fun place to shop as it was open Saturdays and Sundays.  It was pretty much closed for the season in late November but that was where the farmer would park to sell his turkeys.  

No here it is 8:30 and I am going to try and play tennis this morning at 9:00.  I have this bum right foot that is sore so I may not be able to play all that much but will give it a try.  I admit I think some say that about my tennis even when I am not hurt!!!  

BUT the day will be good.  A meal fit for a king and queen at 1:00 and then just relaxing the rest of the day.  I do have my Christmas cards in the car and will get them mailed tomorrow as they have been ready for some time.  AND with the Christmas shopping all finished I may just be able to enjoy the Advent Season as it is supposed to be enjoyed as we so look forward to the birth of our Savior.  The FP is almost gone for the morning.

Here we are looking at turkey day TOMORROW!!!

 TERRY

As I got out of bed at 7:05 Terry was awake.  She currently has the paper in her hand and a phone near her.  She has a call into Summit, our cable company, to see if they could somehow come out before Friday.  She has been on hold for 40 minutes so what will happen is anybodies guess as maybe they decided NOT to answer the phone today!!!  We almost had an accident last night.  She was in the living room on the couch as we had been watching TV.  When it was time to go back to the bedroom as I lifted her up to get into the wheelchair somehow her legs just gave out and she almost landed on the floor.  BUT on the next try we got her into the wheelchair with ease and off to the bedroom it was.

I am not sure how I will use my time today.  I have nothing planned.  I have been having this foot issue which I have NO idea how or what happened but my right foot is swollen a bit and tender.  I have no tennis on the schedule today BUT do have a court for tomorrow.  I am not sure what is going to happen but if I were a betting person I would say I will need to cancel tomorrow as well.  AND yes there are papers on the dining room table, papers in the den etc etc.

Really not much to day today.  Terry was on the phone with the cable company and had no success so it will be Friday AM when they come out and maybe then we will have cable that one can watch again.

Here are some things that I thought were cute

I found this article about Alan Page interesting.  BUT I am sure that I would not have  any emotions close to that of the car that we had when I was in high school.  Well it only failed to start once but that thought was always in the back of my mind.  Not sure what I was thinking that one time it would not start when I was at a location that I should not have been!!!

After trying to help when Terry was on the phone about the TVs this morning I had to sit down and enjoy the last sip of my FP and it kind of settled me down.  Now it is on to papers and papers and papers.  I am happy that we are getting a wonderful meal from the club tomorrow thanks to Ron but what am I to do with the things I had planned to prepare?  Save them for a later time I think.

Tuesday and count down to turkey day!

 TERRY

Here we are on Tuesday and kind of back to where we were some time ago before Terry went into the hospital.  As I write it is 9:10 and I think Terry is stirring a bit.  We arrived home yesterday about 12:30 and settled into what is now routine.  I turned on her electric blanket before I left for the hospital so as we transitioned her from the wheelchair to the bed and put covers on her face lite up with a smile!  So once again we are here and will try to move forward to get Terry better.  I do not know if I can compete with the meals she had at the hospital as they were amazingly good.  Well really I don't  think they could compete with my culinary skills but then who am I kidding???  Anyway I did eat breakfast this morning and left two pieces of bacon for her so she should be happy.  The downer is our cable TV has been down since yesterday.  I do not remember a time when it has been down for this long SO Terry has to be happy without her TV and that is not easy.  Her eyes are bothering her so reading is not that easy and what else can one do while confined to bed?  Well she could request to have her caregiver sit and visit but I do think she would find that I am kind of boring and fast too.  

I STARTED THIS AS YOU CAN SEE THIS MORNING AND NOW 5:30 PM!!!

All is back to normal here at 732 Wiggins Bay Dr.  Terry is in bed with the TV on.  I am doing dishes, trying to keep food going and using the computer some.  We are having TV problems and have the living room TV OK but the TV in Terry's room has a faulty picture.  I was on the phone with Summit for maybe 25 minutes today with no success so they are coming out Friday AM. Not much else to write about so will sign off for the night.  Of course the FP is history as of this morning.  Oh, I should mention that two gals came over to greet Terry.  Terry just was not up for a visit so they left some goodies and flowers and I talked with them for a short time.  That was nice of them to do that.  

Enough for now.  As the holidays approach I get a bit teary eyed at times remembering the good time of living on the farm and beyond that.  I may just write some about holidays on the farm in the coming weeks AND maybe some of holidays on Niles Ave over 30 some years as well.  BUT for now I will sign off for the night.  Terry just threw up her ice cream and don't know what that is about.  BUT as one can guess it is one day at a time.

Here we are at the start of Thanksgiving week.

 TERRY

Really not a lot to say about Terry.  I visited her once yesterday.  The doctor called and said that her low low hemoglobin was most likely due to a faulty test result.  It came in at 4 and then after two units of blood it was up to 9.  He said that usually a unit of blood ups it by one so they were convinced that the first test was faulty.  That being said it most likely means Terry will get out of the hospital soon.  BUT it is not certain that she will come home right away.  The PT is coming in this morning and she MAY be assigned to a rehab place for a few days as she is so weak.  I am putting money on her being home by Tuesday but then on second thought I don't have much money so that is irrelevant!!!  We do have TWO plates of Thanksgiving dinner coming complimentary of Ron S so she HAS to be home by Thursday!

Well I need to call Charlie soon.  I am scheduled to play tennis at 10:30 and I am suffering from what one might call a turf toe!  I have NO idea what or how that came about but the big toe on my right foot is swollen and is painful.  I am wondering if turf toe can occur while one is sleeping???

I am not going to visit Terry until this afternoon as I think by that time they may know how things will pan out for her in terms of coming home etc.  Actually I need to shave because IF she comes home I want to look nice!  At one time I was hopeful that as I got older the beard would not grow so fast but I think it grows faster now than ever.

That is about all I have to say this morning but will post a picture of "times long ago!

This is NOT from the farm but we had one just like this.  It sat outside the shop and I never saw Dad or Dave use it but I often would sharpen my throwing knife and my pocket knife on it.  You may not believe it but I got pretty darn good at throwing a knife and sticking it into a piece of wood about 15 feet away.  I thought maybe I missed out on my calling and should have tried out for a Hollywood movie action thing!  I had this large board that was maybe 12"X6' and I would stand it up in the yard.  I would then throw an old hunting knife and got to the point that I pretty much never missed sticking it!!!  I show this sharping stone as I ALWAYS had to sharpen the knife before I practiced!  I don't want to brag or anything BUT just saying that I was good😬😜.

Terry being gone reminds me of how a person becomes a creature of habit.  I usually wake up a couple times during the night and I first look towards her bed to see if she is covered.  When I walk from the den to the kitchen I look into the bedroom to see if she is awake or sleeping!  Habits I guess are hard to break.

Well here I am kind of at the end of my blog today.  I do have half a cup of FP left so as I finish that I will look at what the Dow is supposed to do today.  I have high hopes that my investments may go up at least 1 or 2 dollars today.  Maybe even more than that which would allow me to purchase a cup of Java at Starbucks on my way home from the hospital later!

Sunday, November 21, 2021

TERRY

Terry called this morning and she is out of ICU finally as they found a room for her.   She sounded good but she has no idea when they may let her come home.  I will go visit her later this morning.  She did say she got most of the tubes OUT so that was good.  

How about hunter Aaron!!!

Aaron has a place pretty close to Madison where a friend of his has some land.  He said that there were some doe and this buck.  He waited until the buck came a bit closer and stood broadside and downed it with one shot.  HE MUST HAVE A VERY GOOD RIFLE!!!  That is an inside joke as he is using my Weatherby 270! That rack looks pretty atypical for sure.  It looks like a nice size deer.  I am so happy that he can hunt near to where he lives.  There is no picture but John also brought home a deer as he is hunting with Liam and Henry.  Aaron's son Leo was hunting with him but I do not think he got a shot off yet.  So my Dad, grandpa and great grandpa Lee would be very happy!  I do think everyone can hunt some more during the month of November.

So I need to change my plans in a big way.  I had printed off recipes for dressing, turkey, potatoes and pea salad for Thanksgiving and had purchased most of the things.  Well yesterday, a friend, Ron called with an offer to arrange Thanksgiving dinner at the club to be boxed up and I could just pick it up Thursday.  Very very nice and I do so much appreciate it.  So we, if Terry gets home, will just need to sit up to the table and enjoy.  AND I will not have to worry about what to do with the leftovers as a 20 pound turkey is a bit much for two!!!  So the turkey stays frozen and everything else is good.  It looks like when family comes after Christmas we may have a turkey dinner!!!

As one can guess deer hunting season and for sure pictures bring up many many memories of times past.  Some of my all time favorite memories are of Dave, Dad, Ronald, John and I hunting in the North Dakota Badlands for deer.  One funny story that Dad repeated many times was when Dave shot a buck about the same size as Aaron's in the picture.  When we went to drag it out and put it in the truck Dad noticed that Dave had shot it in the head!  When he asked WHY Dave said he did not want to spoil any meat!!!  Now that may be true but it also may be that he intended the shot be be shoulder high in the lungs!  I guess we will never know.  

Well most of the time if not all the time we would fill out our tags.  We would usually have some doe and some bucks.  So when we headed home on Sunday night one always had to put the bucks kind of in the back where people could see the antlers as they drove by or when we stopped for gas.  After all, that is what all good hunters do, right?

I would be remiss if I did not mention Saturday and Sunday morning breakfasts.  Back then the season opened up at noon on Friday.  I am sure we always had some luck Friday afternoon which meant Dad would be at the stove in the camper making breakfast in the morning.  AND it would always be eggs and deer liver, VERY GOOD!!!

No here it is 8:45 and time to sign off.  I may get on the bike and get some fresh air and some exercise in this morning.  The FP has given me a boost of energy so here I go.

Here we are the Saturday before Thanksgiving in 2021

 TERRY

I visited Terry twice yesterday.  In the afternoon she was tired and was still in ICU but expected to get out either yesterday afternoon or today.  The nurse said her vitals were steady so that was a good sign.  He did say, about  a medication hanging above the bed, "That is a dangerous thing" AND I was not sure how to take that.  I will be going in this morning more towards noon as IF they move her I am guessing it would be this morning.  As to when she might come home I am guessing but I am thinking maybe Monday or so.  BUT as far as I know they still are not sure where or why the bleeding.  One day at a time I guess.

What I am about to share may sound a bit strange but then remember it is I!!!  I had a dream last night about way way back on the farm.  We heated the house with kerosene and had to carry 5 gallon pails into the house for several years.  We would traipse through the entryway, go through the kitchen and then into the living room where our stove was.  Later Dad put a barrel outside the north side of the house and that ended going through the house with smelly kerosene.  Anyway I was sitting in the living room and Dad asked me to get a a pail of kerosene as the reservoir was low.  I walked through the snow out to the granary where the 55 gallon barrels were.  I admit I was was not in a big hurry as young men often are!  As I got into the house Dad was kind of upset as he said the stove was starting to flicker out as the stove was almost empty.  I quickly unscrewed the cap and starting to pour kerosene into the back of the stove.  At once the stove kicked in and we had a full flame again.  I then had the thought that my dream was actually about Terry.  As they lifted her off the bed and then into the ambulance we were in danger of losing her but then they hooked up life support and she begin to do OK again.  Call me crazy maybe but this happens to me once in a while.

Here it is 9:15 and I am kind of out of words already.  I think I will go on a bike ride and then head to the hospital to see how Terry is doing.  I keep my phone by my side and have not heard so I am thinking all is good.  

I think it is starting to look like a Thanksgiving like no other.  IF Terry is home and that is a big if I still think that 20 pound turkey in the freezer is a bit too much for us!!!  I am guessing Terry is not going to be up for much of anything as she gets back to her normal self so I may just leave the freezer closed and have a burger for Thursday.  OH, I just remember I have some venison from what Aaron gave me so that may be Thanksgiving.  By the way John and his boys have been deer hunting and as of yesterday they had harvested one doe.  I think he said they have until the end of the month to hunt.  They all got deer rifles and of course that would make their great grandpa so so proud!  I am guessing my Dad harvested probably 50 or more deer in his life.  I remember seeing pictures of the back of Harvor's truck full of deer from the Black Hills as I think way back then they could each get 2.  Anyway it was fun to hear that John and the boys are hunting and then Aaron and Leo also have been hunting so the hunting bug continues in the Lee family.

I have posted this before but now that I am writing about deer here it is again.

I am guessing this is in 1961 or so.  From right to left is Dick A., John Mouw, Ronald, Dave and I

Enough for this morning.  I will sign off, get a bike ride in and then go see Terry.

A scare to put it mildly!

 TERRY

As I write this morning the hospital says Terry is resting and doing OK.  Yesterday was a scare to put it in a mild way.  About mid afternoon yesterday Terry became incoherent and slurrying her words.  She asked for water which I gave her but I decided this was a 911 call.  When the ambulance came one of the people almost sounded like it was a none emergency type of situation.  BUT off they went to the hospital and I was "did I do something that did not need to be done?"  Well when she got to the hospital they determined that she was suffering from severe blood loss.  The Doctor said she may have lost up to 70% of her blood. When I arrived at the hospital she was on a transfusion of blood.  I stayed for some time and then they needed to take her to X ray to try and find out WHY she was losing blood.  I called this morning and they said she is resting comfortably.  I can go see her after 9:00 this morning.  I do not know IF they found WHY the blood loss.  Hope and prayers are in order.

That is pretty much all I have for this morning.  I will get dressed and get to the hospital in a while as I am more than anxious to find out if they know anything else.  I am at a loss as to why the blood loss and actually it sounded like the doctors were not sure either last night but maybe they found out some things in their tests last night.  I do not know BUT I am guessing her hospital stay is not going to be a short one.  So my saying, "one day at a time" probably is not for this situation but rather maybe something like, "Let's see how she is in a week!"  

I admit it is a good thing I never was a doctor as those kind of things scare me to no end.  I have a feeling If we had not gotten Terry to the hospital when we did it would not have been good.  Thank you Lord as I am not so great at making decisions about what to do when.

Here it is 8:10 so I will sign off, get dressed and head out.  I am pretty sure it will be a good day as I made my FP extra strong this morning because it was not such a good night!  BUT I promise the FP got me up and going in a good way.

IF any thing new comes up I will blog again but I do not think that will happen.

Here we are ONE week out from Thanksgiving, November 18th, 2021

 TERRY

As I begin to write today it is 9:30 and my Terry is sleeping.  It has now become the norm that she wakes up sometime between 9:00 and 11:00.  We will see about today.  I would say that the support coming in has been lukewarm in terms of help.  BUT I really do not know what to expect.  The RN came in yesterday and checked Terry's vitals etc.  I kind of think she cut her visit a little short.  As I went out to get the mail her husband was in the car with the car running.  She said she would be taking him to PT later as he had a hip replacement.  Anyway there was not really a whole lot for her to do yesterday.  The health aide who came in on Tuesday, well that visit was a little rocky!  She is coming in again Friday.  We have not gotten any PT person in and the nurse yesterday said she would check on that.  So that is a summary of the week so far.  I do not know what I expect but we will see going forward how things go.

I do not know IF tennis will be a go today.  We are scheduled to play in an hour and the street is wet and they say 100% chance of rain over the next two hours.  Of course that rain could be anywhere including here or not so will see.  I am kind of lazy and do not really want to get ready for tennis IF it is rainy out.  When I say lazy I think I slept later than I have in the last many years.  I woke up at 6:15 and told myself that I really did not want to get up yet.  The next thing I knew it was 8;15!!!  

I think I have ALL the things needed for a Thanksgiving dinner.  I even have the space in the freezer to take care of leftovers as I am sure there will be plenty with a 20 pound turkey!  I am thinking about making a pumpkin pie as that would be a first.  We will see.  

I will post a couple of pictures today as I often do.

This may be my all time favorite family picture.  The guys are all dressed up the same.  It is perhaps the only picture I have of Ronald without a crewcut.  I know for the sake of Glorine and John M I should really say "Red").  I think it was taken in 1956 if I can read the writing.  It is one of the very few family pictures taken outside.  Most of the family pictures were taken in the living room (or front room) and often with the deer head in the picture!

This is our beloved gas pump that is way past it's prime!  I can tell as there are no tire tracks up to the pump.  I think sometime in the 70s the tank under the ground started leaking so Dad got a large tank and had it by the barn.  I do not know what happened to this after the fire but I think it survived the fire.  It is kind of funny but a cousin came over one time and actually backed into the pump and put a dent into it.  It did not damage it much but Dad was mad to put it mildly!  The handle can be seen on the other side.   A person just pumped as much gas as you wanted into the glass globe and then gravity allowed you to empty it into the car to tractor.  I am sure it would have some value as an antique today but on our farm it was a great thing.  I can kind of date the picture by the mailbox in the background.  The mailbox was always set on the edge of the road but after Bert and Eleanor had to sell their farm to the government they had to move.  At that time Fritz came from the south and just turned into our driveway to deliver the mail.  IF the picture were a bit larger you could see my over grown golf green which was not green at all but rather sand that was oiled so weeds would not grow through it!!!

Enough for the day.  I may just bike or drive past the tennis courts to see if people are playing before I get dressed for nothing.  I am finished with my FP so am sure the day will go well.

It is mid week and now we head towards the weekend.

 TERRY

It is 9:00 AM as I start to write and Terry is sleeping.  Again during the night I got up and covered her as she tends to kick the covers off.  We had someone come in yesterday to work with Terry.  It was a nurse and she was here to help Terry with personal cleaning.  After talking through how we would do that we decided that Terry was too weak to take the wheelchair into the shower and then transfer to the chair so it was a sponge bath on the couch.  You know what they say, "when given a sponge just get yourself clean".  Oh, sorry I guess I just made that up!  We are expecting a PT person to come in today and then the OT person to be here tomorrow again.  For me it will be interesting to see how this goes over the next month as I think they do a month and then evaluate how things went and decide IF help should continue.  Yep, you got it, one day at a time!

My agenda for the day is tennis at 10:30 and then time this afternoon to go over the menu and items needed for next Thursday.  I have NO idea what we will do with leftovers if I make the meal that I am planning.  HOW does one do a Thanksgiving meal for TWO???  I actually need some of those homemade buns that Mom and Gail made for turkey sandwiches on the Friday!!!  

HOW ABOUT THAT!!!

Home made lefsa all the way from Utah compliments of sister Joan.  I admit I ate several pieces already but there still is two left.  I may just save them for next Thursday.  Long ago!!!  I, right now, can see and smell the hot fresh lefsa coming off the grill.  Of course the first one is always a test so one needed to spread it out, put butter, plenty, and enjoy as the second one was frying.  In the end we would have this large plate with fresh lefsa folded and arranged nicely for later.  However making it was NOT always an easy chore.  Sometimes as we got to the last few it would become hard to roll them out. When that happened Mom would then roll them in cornmeal (I think that was it) and bake them in the oven.  We then had these large hard pieces and one could just break off a delicious bite and be on our way.  I better be careful here as I may just have to stop and wipe a tear from my eye as memories are so vivid and real.  

In our house on the farm to get upstairs you had several steps, then a landing and then a right turn and maybe 4 more steps.  It was at the end of those steps that Mom would stack the hard ones.  It made it very convenient to just reach over and break off a treat as one went upstairs or downstairs.  By the way as one turned on the landing to go up the last few stairs there on your right was the gun cabinet that Ronald made in HS AND housed all of our firearms.  To this day I, at times, think of the guns that were in the fire.  AND I think of Dad's beloved  22 rifle which was a Winchester model 52C  that was a top of the line rifle and Dad loved it.  More than once I have looked at what one would pay for that today on a used gun web site and the cost would be HIGH.

Well here I am kind of at the end of my words today.  I still have my Alaska cup on the desk and it is half empty and half full of FP which will propel me into the next phase of today.  Maybe even give me the energy to win at 10:30.

November 16th and we are in for cooler temps as this morning it is in the 50s

 TERRY

As I write it is a little past eight AM and I think Terry is half awake and half sleeping.  Sometimes when she is like that she will fall back to sleep for a while but not always.  She had a visit from the OT yesterday and PT is coming today late late afternoon.  So I think she will have at least 4 visits this week in her journey to get back to good health.  BUT as I say "one day at a time".

Again I have tennis at 10:30 today.  Yesterday was a very interesting day on the courts.  On Mondays we play two courts and then switch after 45 minutes.  We draw to see who we play with.  I happen to get Frans for a partner and I would say he is somewhat better than I.  We got a weak draw in the first 45 minutes and won 6-0.  We then changed courts and came up against a couple of guys whom anyone who is a betting person would have put their money NOT on me and Frans.  Well the match went back and forth with us leading 4-2, then falling behind 4-5 and then playing to a 6-6 tie.  We did have enough time to play a tie breaker BUT it did not happen.  I am 99% sure one of the guys we played against really did not want to play another point as he did not want to risk losing 6-7!!!  I would label him a poor sport to some degree.  When we play everyone wants to win of course but we always compliment our partner AND the other players as well when a very good shot is made.  Not the guy we played against yesterday.  For us that is my definition of a poor sport.  Anyway it was a fun day.  Today I play with guys who are OK on the court BUT not at the level of our play yesterday.

MY STORY TODAY

Our farm house when I was living at home.  I put a circle because when I was at home that was the porch which was a cement slab and the door was off of the porch.  The door was changed sometime later.  You can see an exhaust coming out of the lower roof.  That was put in when Dave helped Dad put in a bathroom in the entry way.  When I was at home the entry way had the separator for the milk, a place to hang coats and the washing machine.  The window you see was put in later as well.  In my growing up years ALL the windows in the house were the old double hung that were much much larger than the one you see And all of them let in the warm air as well as the cold air!!!   Also in the middle of the circle was a window that was covered later.  But my real point today is the "in house" toilet that was a relative of our "outhouse".  Of course hiking out to the outhouse in knee deep snow was not much of an option so Dad built a potty place upstairs.  He constructed a cube between the two bedrooms that was right by the middle chimney you see.  It was about maybe 4X4 with a curtain for a door.  There was a metal container with a lid on and inside of that was a 5 gallon bucket.  Presto, we had our indoor bathroom!!!  Well as one would know there was NO drain so it usually was up to Dave or I to keep an eye on the 5 gallon pail.  Hopefully before it got too full one of us needed to lift it out of the metal stand, carry it down the stairs and out the door and then take it to a place where it could be emptied. Now it was IMPORTANT to not let it get too full as one could figure out what might happen.  That was our winter toilet.  Of course it was well stocked with Sears and other catalogs and any other paper that was a bit soft!  I should add that at a later date, after I was not home anymore, Dave helped Dad put a bathroom in the entry way and I have NO idea what they did for waste.  We had No sewer lines.  Maybe a chemical, I do not know.  I think Mom's bathroom was not in all that long before the fire destroyed the entire farm.  

I would be remiss if I did not mention the small tower on the roof of the house.  Up until 1956 it held the wind charger for the batteries that were charged on a windy day.  That ceased to be necessary when REA brought in electric power maybe in the very early 50s.  Then in about 1958 Ronald brought home a TV and the antenna was mounted on it.  I do think it stayed that way until the fire.  

Such is my story today.  There may be more in the future about taking care of chickens by dipping them in boiling water etc.  Or dehorning little calves and dealing with blood squirting ALL over the place before one could sew the skin up!!!  As one can tell farming was exciting in many ways!

That is it for this morning.   Except I do need to post one more picture.  Sister Joan sent me a VERY VERY nice gift which tends to disappear but that is life.  Just in case one can not tell what it is that is the best food every, lefsa!!!  It does go really well with FP as I promise I am telling the truth!

I admit thinking about my life on the farm from 1947-1966 it makes me sound like old, old old!!!

Here we are at the mid point of November of 2021

 TERRY

As I write it is 8:45 and I THINK Terry is sleeping.  She tried to turn on the TV about 45 minutes ago and it would not work so she said she would just close her eyes for a bit.  I have a new TV and intend to put it up this afternoon.  Terry has not been reading the paper as her eyes have been bothering her.  We may need to have that checked.  So another day and I hope I can get that TV up this afternoon as that is pretty much all Terry's entrainment.

I am scheduled to play tennis at 10:30 as on Mondays we have two courts and mix things up.  Karl, who is the lead guy, is out of town this week so I will take it over.  

Terry has OT coming between 1:00 and 2:00.  That is a first so we will meet the gal and then see what she will do with Terry.  I am not sure Terry is excited about it but we will see.  As far as I know services will come in twice a week.

We are in a cool down spell for the weather.  It looks like a HIGH of 73 today which only a week ago would almost have been the LOW for the day.  Over the next 10 days most of the highs are in the mid 70s with three days in the low 80s.  

People are beginning to head back north for the holidays so there will be fewer tennis players over the next 6 weeks or so.  

I think I pretty much have everything for our Thanksgiving dinner.  There may be a couple of small items that I need to get for the pea salad.  I am not sure what I am going to do with the leftovers as the only turkeys they had were 18+ pounds so maybe I need to starve myself for the next 10 days so after Thanksgiving I do not ballon up in weight!!!  I know there are people who eat what they know they should and if there are leftovers it goes to waste but I have a very difficult time throwing food away as I guess that comes from growing up in a house where NOTHING was wasted!

Not much more to say so it is on to "the old days".

This is our outhouse on the farm.  When I was still at home it did not look like this as there were no weeds etc. around it but here it certainly had not been used for a long time.

However in the 50s and 60s it shared its services with no-one.  There was a door that would close but seldom was that necessary as on the left side there was a pull down wooden sign that said, "busy".  When one needed to use it you just put the sign down and NO worries about being interrupted!  In the fall there were wrappings from the peach crate that were VERY nice for paper but other than that it was pages from the catalogs that came in the mail.  Even though we did not have a phone (that came in after I left home) there were phone books and the yellow pages were the softest hand down, literally.  So often what would take place is after noon lunch Dave and I would do our thing at the same time as it was a three hole!!!  So as we did our business it was a time to talk about life and look at the pictures in the catalog and it may not be difficult to know what pictures came to mind for young boys in their preteen years or early teen years!!! I need not go into that.  There would be times when Mom or Dad needed the services of the outhouse as well and then our life learning conversations would be cut short!  The "busy" sign that was used was a life saver in many ways.  Never did we ever have the luxury of store bought toilet paper but I am sure later on Mom and Dad gave in to that but AFTER I left home.  So the outhouse was kind of a special play as I grew up.  Aside from doing business that had to take place it was a place of conversation, dreaming and wondering what it would be like to have a replacement!!!

Well here it is 9:15 and time to sign off.  But as I sign off I promise that the conveniences of modern times do not go without at time giving thanks for what I have now.  But I also add that really at the time it did not seem bad in any way.  Of course in the winter it was closed!!!  Then we had the second floor indoor facility upstairs which may be the subject for tomorrow or another day!  

I am finished with my FP as I could only make half a pot.  I had not ground coffee last night so the grinder had little in it and I did not want to take the chance of waking Terry with grinding so I settled for half a pot which should hold me til noon!  I need to sign off and see if I can get that darn TV fixed for Terry before I go to tennis.

 TERRY

As I blog it is 8:30 and Terry is sleeping I think.  I heard her cough a bit ago but I have not heard anything else and the TV is not on so my guess is she is still sleeping.  As I left the bedroom at 7:15 I did put covers on her again as she always somehow kicks them off.  She enjoys the warmth of the electric blanket so I try to keep that on her.   So here we are one day at a time again and life goes on in the middle of so so much happening in the world.

Middle son Travis turns the big 5 0 today.  I guess that kind of puts me in the "old" class!!!

You need a bath even when you are camping for 6 weeks!!!

Travis is just a good good guy in every sense of the word.  Neices and nephews love Uncle Travis and his many friends would tell you that he is just a good guy.  AND yes, Dad would say he is proud of him and thinks he is great.  Happy birthday Travis and I hope the day is special and the year ahead of you is wonderful.  Love, Dad

There is nothing on the menu today.  As is usual now it will be church on the TV as I do not like to go to church as Terry is home.  At this point Terry is pretty much bed ridden so to get up and then get into the car is a stretch that we do not do unless it is a must.  Later this morning I am going to try to get her to stand on the scale as I put it right near the bed.  I want to keep track of her weight.  As she stands on it I will hold on to her as standing alone is not something she can do at this point.  

No tennis again today as I always take Sunday off but I will try to get a bike ride in after Terry wakes up.  Usually the bike ride is just around the complex here and not all that long but I need to get out and about or I tend to go crazy.  Well that accusation has come my way more than once but we will not go into that!

    WE ARE ABOUT THE FARM TODAY

Well as one can see the granary was just a few decades past its prime!  But that picture was most likely taken around 1980.  I do admit it was not a whole lot better in the 50s and 60s when I was still at home.  But it did serve us in many ways:

• It was where the kerosene for the living room was stored as we had to fill 5 gallon cans and carry them to the house IF we wanted to stay warm in the winter!
• It was where the coal was unloaded and then during the winter we carried our coal bucket into the house so that Mom could use the cook stove.
• It was where the oil barrels were as Dad purchased oil for the equipment in 50 gallon drums
• In the far right room was perhaps the only one that did not leak big time during a rain.  That was where we had the metal tent like thing that kept the baby chicks warm after they were delivered by the Mailman Fritz!  The chicks stayed there, all 100 of the them, until they were big enough to butcher.
• It was where the feral cats would hide as they came at night and were under the floor joists and more than once Dad went out with his rifle and after spotting them with the flashlight they were no more.  They would kill the little kittens if they found them.
• I am guessing that in it's day grain was stored in it but IF that is true those days were way way before my time.
• The small building you see came from G & G Lee's farm.  That stored some things along with Dad's welding equipment.  The yard light is there and that was put up in the early 50s as REA came in and put lines to area farms.
• You can see one steel bin in the background and that was one of 3 that we had on a cement foundation.
• Our beloved Ford tractor that us kids could drive at the age of 6 was perhaps the most popular item on the farm.  The clutch was a step down on it so it was so easy to shift gears.  

For me this is a sad sad picture.  This was our barn which was not used as a barn maybe after the early 60s.  Dad never built a garage so what did he do?  He cut a large hole in the hay part of the barn for their car!  Where you see the gas tank was where we would pull the hay rack and then open a door near the top of the barn as we threw hay into the barn.  The light pole by the barn was my way of climbing up to the roof to sit on the far side of the roof just to look or to day dream!  Many wonderful things came to mind during those times but few came into reality!!!  I promise it was fun!  From there I could see our car coming from the west several miles away.  On a Sunday when we expected Dad home from deer hunting I probably spent most of the afternoon looking and dreaming!  The south side of the barn was where I made my little ball field to throw the ball against the side of the barn and then be a major league player.  Funny how I always won!!!  The sad part of this is it certainly tells a tale of a farm that was way way way past its prime.  A hole in the empty barn.  The end of the combine that had not been used for a long time.  A car that did not run any more.  A barnyard beyond the barn that had not seen cattle for many years.  AND the list could go on and on.  I am not sure but I think Dad sold the last of the cattle in the early 60s.  I remember Dave and I milking cows in the 50s yet but not after that.  In the early 50s the barnyard would have been filled with maybe 30 cows big and small.  We had shorthorn cows and they are not noted for milking but we did milk 4-6 of them for many years.  

So ends my story for today.  If anyone reads this you may be in for a REAL treat as I will blog tomorrow about our well used and famous OUTHOUSE!!!

I am about finished.  I did quietly walk into the kitchen to get my last cup of FP and as I did I noticed Terry again had NO covers on.  So I stopped to cover her which may help her continue to sleep for a bit longer.  As I sign off my "end of the Alaska highway" cup is almost empty of FP and it is now 9:15 with the house still covered in silence.