As I turned over in bed at 7:20 I heard Terry click the TV on. Even tho it was perhaps time to get up I closed my eyes and thought, "I want to sleep some more". I again rolled over to check the time and it was 8:15 and I had just finished a fun dream!!! So finally I decided it was really time to get up, retrieve the papers and start in on a new day. As I sit here at the computer now it is already 9:25 and here I am just starting my blog. I admit the day has not been lost so far. There was a wonderful wife that needed some TLC and for someone who is pretty much bed bound that is a priority as anyone would know. So with things taken care of I will proceed with writing. I should add that Terry seems to be doing fine this morning and that is GOOD.
I have a strange tennis time today as I looked at the schedule and here our foursome is on for 3:00 PM. Of course we are in the very middle of the busy busy tennis season. I would say January, February and March are busy busy busy. After that it seems some make plans to leave for the winter and that means the courts are more open.
I had a fun visit yesterday. Cousin Laureen and hubby were in Key West and on their way home which is in St. Louis. They called and we got together at a McDonalds which as right off of I75. Laureen grew up on the family farm which as about 3 miles east of our farm. She and her brother Philip went to Lidgerwood HS so in terms of school we did not see them. Actually they were a bit younger than I as cousin Arlene and Loren married a bit later in life so to speak. Loren died in his 50s and Philip took over the farm at that time and I do believe he was still in HS. When Philip surprised a lot of people by getting married in his 40s I do believe Arlene then moved to Veblen. Anyway it was so so nice of them to stop for a visit. I do not think I had ever met her hubby. Laureen retired from nursing in May so they are now exploring ways to enjoy life after work. They do have a 5th wheel and have been looking at places around here to rent next winter for 2 or 3 months. It is almost unreal as they have, so far, not been able to find ANY place that has space for next winter. I knew I should have invested in trailer parks way back then! Of course that is not true but I thought it was kind of funny!
I got good news this morning as I opened my phone. My friend Larry F sent a note that he is getting better. He has been in the hospital and things were kind of serious. I had to chuckle when I read his message on the phone. He signed it by saying "my friend". That contrasted with a note that a high school friend JoEllen signed on their Christmas card "an old friend" and I was not sure if she meant her or me but wait we are the same age!!! Anyway this "friend" thing is starting to get to me and make me feel kind of old. WAIT, maybe 75 is old!
As I sit here and procrastinate about work that needs to be done around here I thought I would write a bit.
JUST ABOUT OUR EARLY LIFE ON THE FARM
I will start out by saying something that I have said many times in the past. Dad was not born to be a farmer but rather a craftsman, a photographer and a hunter. The farm pretty much got by with a minimum amount of work in terms of making things better. Well really I would kind of be at a loss to remember anything Dad did to improve the farm. I remember our barn had many windows with each one having 4 small panes, almost like a window in a house. IF one of the panes happen to be broken it could go on forever in that state. I remember there were two broken panes just behind where we milked cows so Dave and I fixed them in some way because left there were be a chilly breeze coming in when we milked in the winter time. The granary, well IF one wanted you could go inside of it at night and then star gaze through the holes in the roof. Just so you know I never did that but could have! Our big old shed that we parked the car and the truck in blew down in a storm and the rubble was only cleaned up by us kids as the years went by. That was after maybe a dozen or more nails found their way into my bare feet. BUT yes Mom would fix that. After that the car and the truck sat outside. The only reason the small shed where we parked the Fork tractor stood is it was surrounded by trees on the west and the north. Really the only upgrade I remember Dad ever doing is when we poured the cement for the three steel bins. That was nice. I maybe should also give credit to Ronald, Dave and I for putting up the shower by the clothes line! The corn crib had broken boards BUT that could have been Daves and my fault as we used it as a back stop for our ball games!!! Enough and I do not intend to bad mouth Dad as he was a smart and talented man. AND he and Mom raised 6 children and sent they off into the world where they ALL did well. But I do have to say in Dad's world I would NEVER want to list things like farming, earning money, family, getting ahead, hunting, photography and relationships in order of importance!! You may get my drift so to speak. I will say that once in a while Dave and I could get Dad to hit fly balls to us and that was always fun! Having said all that I am deeply indebted to Mom and Dad for the upbringing we had. I know money was often very scarce. I know one could criticize Dad for his priories but WHY do that. Mom, it seemed, always had us kids at heart when we were still at home. It seemed that NO birthday went by without a cake etc. Presents, well they took money and often there was very little there. To this day I miss the farm and If I had my life to live over in the 80s I would change some things but the past is gone so it is important to remember but more important to live in the present and look towards the future.
So here, the times does fly and it is now past 10 AM so will sign off and If I remember I will write about the "tooth" tomorrow! I still have some FP left so will sip that as I access the market so see if I am a dollar ahead to a dollar behind today!
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