Here we are on at the last day of April 30th, 2022

 TERRY

Here it is last afternoon.  I have not felt well all day so have been in bed most of the time BUT Terry seems to be same same.  We are starting to talk a bit about how to make things work when we go to the wedding over Memorial Day.  It is 8+ weeks away but time flies when you are having fun so it will be here before we know it.  

Well here it is already 4:30 PM and I am up pretty much up for the first time today.  By that I mean up to stay for a while.  I am thinking I am feeling maybe 90% now so that is good.

Mike took care of getting an estimate for the roofing job on Niles Ave.  I am confident that Mike knows what he is doing as they did their home BUT I admit I miss being the guy as I own the house!!!  Anyway the bid came in for an asphalt roof OR a steel roof.  It printed out kind of dark as I am guessing it was written on yellow pad paper.  Kind of fitting as the cost is a lot.  Of course the house and the garage both need to be done at the same time.  

Of course I would prefer the metal but for both of the structures the metal comes to 242% more than the asphalt so I am thinking that is not going to happen.  One could guess that both the jobs combined would be a kind of big chunk of $$ so I need to find out how, where etc the funds are going to come from as that is not the kind of money I keep in the checking account and for that matter it is more than anything I have done on the house ever.  The roof that is on there now was put on by myself and the boys and the cost was a little less than what I will pay now!!!!  BUT it has to happen so decisions need to be made in the coming week.  Life is full of surprises etc!!!

I am not going to write much today as I still feel like the bed is the best place for me to be.  I am hoping that tomorrow brings good health again.

The day was not lost as I did sip half a cup of FP before I hit the bed again after I got up.  I tried to tell myself that I would be OK as I had tennis scheduled for 7:30 but by 6:40 I had texted the guys to say I would be a "no show".  One of the guys actually sent a text later and said he had a free afternoon if I needed him to run errands which was very nice of him but I did not need anything.  OH, I could have asked if he had any cash around that was looking for a big project to be spent on!!!😐

Enough as I am going to lie down again but am feeling a little OK.

WOW I have missed a day and NO reason for sure!

 TERRY

Terry is about the same today.  Here it is PM on Wednesday and she is in the bedroom with the TV on.  No news at this time so all is good.

Wow I have come to the conclusion that I need to start a business!!!  We have a dish washer that is not working.  It has not been working for some time and I am tired of dishwasher hands so I started calling this afternoon for repair.  So far I have made several calls and have at this time given up.  I did talk to three business and they are scheduled out THREE weeks!  Several others I left a message.  So I am guessing it will be dishwasher hands for some time!  Well I guess it is not the worst to go way way back to the 60s when Joan was the washer and Dave and I did the drying!!!  Really my hands have not looked this good in a long time as I have been doing dishes for some time now.  AND it may be a lot longer!

Not a whole lot to say today.  I slept kind of late so had breakfast after tennis.  Jack and I lost but it was fun.

I just received a call and we have an appointment to have the dishwasher looked at NEXT Tuesday between 12:00-2:00.  It amazes me that in a place where there are many many businesses that can repair the wait time it out a week to 3 weeks.  Really I am almost tempted to just go with the HAND wash of dishes but for sure it is much much easier to have the dish washer working!!!  I know at the age of 75 I have become kind of lazy!!!

Here it is past 4:00 and time to look to see how much money I lost in the market today.  I am hoping that it is not more than a dollar ninety-eight!!!  I really do have some work to do as it looks like a new roof is in order for 2094 Niles in St. Paul and I need to find a way to pay for it.  I am not hurting for $$ but I do NOT have the $10,000-$20,000 for a new roof at my finger tips.  I should find out tomorrow what it may cost.  If I was a betting man I would say $16,000.  We will see and I may not be happy 😖.  It is what it is.  I do think that I am kind of OK in that the house is most likely worth about 8 times what we paid for it so maybe I should not complain but really it is difficult to think about making arrangements to have the roof done without actually being there.  I know, life goes on and is always interesting in many ways!!!

Enough for today.  Maybe more tomorrow IF I hear about the cost!  AND yes I had the FP this morning and it was the best!!!

Well here we are as we start into the last few days of March 2022

 TERRY

As I turned over at 7:20 this morning the TV was on and Terry said she had been awake for over an hour.  As I blog now she is into the paper and seems to be feeling well this morning.  So it is another day and same is the word for today.  As always we give thanks to our Lord for being here and being able to do and have things in our life.  It is so important to realize that life is full of ups and downs but really daily we should give thanks for what we are and what we have.  

I will be off to tennis in a short time as Karl, again, scheduled our Monday two court round robin.  It is always fun as he deals out cards to determine who plays with who and then you hit the courts for 90 minutes of competition, exercise and fun.  Yes, it is certainly the most fun when you win but regardless it is always a fun time.  It looks like our courts are continuing to be full as I look at the schedule I am playing Monday-Thursday but not Friday.  In a couple weeks the drift towards summer homes will start and the players will be fewer.  By the time April ends we will see some of the players who believe they are too good to play with some of us asking if we can play!  Should I then say "yes"?

I weighed myself this morning and am more determined than ever to step on the scale next Monday and be able to smile!  We will see.  Travis and I are e-mailing each other daily with our weight and I am hoping that both of us can dial down the amount of food we eat and maybe dial up the exercise so that we are happier and healthy as well.  Time will tell I guess.

It sounds like Judi and John will be heading back to MN soon.  I am wondering if they will arrive before the ice clears or maybe it has already.  I do remember biking up to our lake to see if the ice was out.  AND then that was about the time that our creek expanded from maybe 5 feet wide to WIDE big time as the melted snow came down from the hills.  The creek was a BIG part of our life growing up as it provided 100s of hours of play around the half mile that it meandered through our pasture.

Terry and I acknowledged our special day yesterday but did nothing special as our 11th anniversary came and went.  It does not seem like it was that long ago but then as we all know time flies when you are having fun.  IF things were different we may have gone out for a special dinner but that is not in the cards for us at this time.

I may have mentioned this before but will again.  I am starting to try to figure out how to do things as the wedding of Terry's grand daughter approaches.  I do need to plot out how we will get there etc.  Well for sure we will drive but how far each day and how many stops and more.  It will be about a 700 mile trip so that is a far far cry from the longest car trip Terry has had in the last two years which was maybe to Costco which is under 10!!!  We will make it happen but how is the question.  As for me I started thinking of what will I wear.  The invitation says "semi-formal" which Terry says is a sport coat and slacks.  I need to check but I do not think I have a sport coat here!  I need to figure things out.  I can NOT remember the last time I had to dress up kind of.  I guess it does tell some things about our life at this time.  

I also have an ongoing concern about the house in St. Paul.  There is a roof leak so of course that has to be fixed.  I am kind of waiting to hear more about it from Travis and Mike but nothing yet. My best guess is there is a new roof due and for that I need to figure out how to get it done and how to pay for it.  I say that because I promise my bank account does not have enough money at this time!!!  Maybe I should befriend some of the baseball players and then they could help me pay!  I see where Matt Olson just signed  an 8 year agreement for 140,000,000 and Fred Freeman signed with Los Angles for 160,000,000 over six years.  Those figures come out to around $38,000 PER game.  I do believe they could spare some change  right???

Well we are now at 9:45 and almost time to get dressed for tennis.  I just filled my cup with the last of the FP and I see where Terry has her eyes closed with the paper on her stomach but I just heard her so she may be ready to finish the paper now!  When I get back from tennis I will try to clean up papers on the dining room table etc.  Many are left there from getting things in order to send tax papers in AND I went on line to check and our papers arrived at our tax people Thursday so that is good.  Enough for today. 

Here we are at the LAST Sunday of March 2022 as it is the 27th

 TERRY

As I write today Terry has been up and has read much of the paper.  She is now watching TV and Sunday does have fun programs to watch.  So it is one day at a time still and we are thankful for each day even tho we do so wish Terry would get better so she could walk.  Maybe but not today.  Perhaps the best we can wish for today is a ride in the wheelchair into the living room!!!  So life goes on with each passing day and as I think back on friends and family who never got to our age I give thanks for our life.

Ok so it is Sunday and often I take some time to think back, reflect and remember days in the past.  So I will do that today at the expense that perhaps I will repeat what I may have written in the past.  BUT I will say that in remembering the past I will NOT be able to climb the light pole and lie on the west side of the barn roof and dream!!!

IT IS JULY 10TH, 1960

It is a Sunday morning and no church today.  Bergen Church was served by Rev Mailing (sp) who worked for 3 churches so Veblen had services every Sunday and then Bergen and Palestine had services every other Sunday.  At the age of 13 that was GREAT for me!!!  

As I rolled over in bed and glanced at the clock it showed 8:00.  For sure it was time to get up as this was a day where I knew there were be No rock picking, no dragging and as one can figure out NO work.  I would say Dad was not the ideal guy when it came to religious things but there was one thing I really liked about him, NEVER did we have to work on Sunday.  Well as we know that is in scripture and that was what Dad went by but as the years went by it became evident that he did not follow Scripture all the time! Well for that matter did any of us in a perfect way?  

Anyway as I tumbled out of bed and dressed I had some things on my mind for the day.  As I got to the bottom of the stairs and  opened the door into the kitchen Mom was already in the kitchen and was making pancakes with a side of venison and breakfast never gets any better than that!  Mom said the food was ready so I could eat before I milked the cows.  At this time we only had 3 cows to milk and they were Shorthorns so never did a cow fill the milk pail.  As I sat down to Mom's tasty pancakes and a side of deer meat I begin to feel this would be a good day.  Given, Dave was not home for the summer and Joan had graduated from high school and was in Fargo so that left Helen and I home with Mom and Dad.  Really this was the very first summer Dave had been away and I was kind of having a difficult time with it.  For sure I knew it was the right thing as Dave and Dad were often kind of like oil and water yet to this day I feel their love for each other was more than the relationship between Dad and I.  Anyway Ronald had told Dave there was a farmer near Kulm who needed summer help and Dave jumped at it.  It served two purposes for him.  It gave him an OUT from being around Dad and it gave him a chance to earn some money.  So the farm work was left to Dad and I and I admit there was not an overly amount of work to be done but we did farm and harvest somewhere around 200 hundred acres which included Uncle Jim's land down south.  

Anyway here it was a Sunday and I knew I had the entire day to do whatever I wanted.  As I contemplated what I should do for the day I kind of got lost in my thoughts as what was a guy to do with so many options?

• I had started to make my one hole golf course in our yard and I still had some work to do on it.  I had gotten the sand from the lake and had it spread over the putting surface that I had made in the ditch near the mail box but there was still work to do.
• I had also started clearing the old old foundation from the pig barn which was west of the house.  There was much cement to break up and haul away but I knew Mom would consider that work and would not want be to do that on Sunday.
• I could get my fishing things from the shop and head up to the lake for a while.  Mom could not consider that work but if I did that on a Sunday there would be people at the lake and I really liked to sit and fish and dream when I was alone so that was out.
• I did have my glove that Ronald had bought with the $10 I gave him for the purchase.  I could bounce the ball against the barn and with that I would transform me from the farm to the big leagues but to do that I needed to rake the barnyard and I did not fell like doing that today.
• I could just bike up to the lake and see who was there but really as a 7th grader I was afraid I might meet someone I knew and I just, at that age, did not like to talk to people as I was only a year out from my stuttering problem and at times it raised it's ugly head which more than once embarrassed me.
• So what did I do?  I choose to do some work on my one hole golf course.  I was sure Mom could NOT see that as work.  So I went into the shop and searched for an old round stick.  An old broom stick would be perfect but there was no such thing in the shop.  What I did find was an old 2X2 which I decided I could use for a flag stick.  I got the woodworking knife out and kind of took care of the edges and soon I had kind of a round pole.  I then asked Mom if I could use an old handkerchief and she found one for me.  I nailed that on the top of the pole and I had my golf flag.  So by the end of the day I had my flag for my golf course and I was good to go.  
• Actually I would really have wanted Dad to hit me fly balls but no dice.  Dad's Sunday afternoons often consisted of a nap so that was a no go.  

So that was my off Sunday if you want to call it that.  As the summer went on I did clear the barn yard for my ball field.  I did finish cleaning up the old hog barn which I was so so pleased to do that for Mom.  And  of course I got my fishing in many many times.  BUT it was a difficult summer in the sense that Dave was not home so it was a lonesome time for me.  Much much later in life when Dave gave me the guitar that he made for me he mentioned that it was kind of pay back for leaving me alone on the farm those last two summers of his high school days.  Of course he did not need to do that as even though I so so missed Dave in the summers of 60, 61 and as he left home in 62 I did understand why and I did not feel abandon as he mentioned years later.  I should add that Joan graduated in 1960 and left for Fargo.  So between Joan leaving and Dave working away from home it felt pretty lonely.  Of course we knew Joan would be leaving as she graduated but it did come as a surprise when Dave went west to Kulm to work.  I know it was for the best but at the time it left a void that was not filled in any way.

So here I am in 2022.  Life goes on with memories being remembered and memories being made.  I do thing that is what life is all about.  AND perhaps it does put really meaning to "one day at a time"!!!

My FP is long gone and I look forward to the day ahead.

Here we are on a warm sunny day in SW Florida and it is the last Saturday of March 2022

 TERRY

As I begin to write it it almost 9:30 and Terry has read the paper and is comfortable in bed with some snacks and watching Saturday morning TV.  I would say she is same same so that is good.  No plans for the day.  I should say I did find some outfits that she may like to buy for the upcoming wedding in Georgia as granddaughter Tori will be getting married.  If anybody who reads this has one you like you could let me know.

I figured second from left or third from left!!!  Actually this was in the WSJ and I am thinking they may be a good fit for going trick or treating on Halloween!  I am serious when I say THESE are part of the trend for spring.  I admit I do NOT like them but then I may be old fashion!!!

On a serious note I have begun to try to figure out what and how we do the trip to the wedding in May.  The wedding is two months from this coming Monday.  I am guessing it will not be an easy trip but I promise you Terry will make it if I have to wheel her in the wheelchair all 700 miles!

Well here we are on a Saturday and I will take a rest from tennis today and tomorrow as I usually do.  I do have much clean up in the house to take care of and actually I promised a friend yesterday that I would call this weekend for some help in the home.  I do think I am doing OK with being chief homemaker and caregiver but some relief in the mornings would be welcome.  Actually a lot more than just welcome.

I am pretty much not into watching sports on TV anymore but I did sit down and watch the basketball game last night between Saint Peters University in New Jersey and Purdue.  Purdue has 41,500 students and Saint Peters has 3,200.  Purdue was #3 in the bracket and Saint Peters was #15.  Really I did not care who won but it is always fun to see the underdog win and win they did last night.  It will be a memory for those players that will last them the rest of their lives.  Of course the players on these teams are HUGE.  Purdue had a center who is 7' 4" and most of the players were somewhere between 6' 4" and 6' 10" while Saint Peters ranged from 6' 1" to 6' 10".   I guess you could call college BB the land of the giants.

Well I do not have a lot of things to say today.  I may get on the bike and see who is playing tennis this morning as the day is just such a perfect day.  Other than that it will be stay at home and try to clear up some of the messes I usually create on a fairly regular bases!  The FP is history so time to sign off for the day.

I can not believe I have not blogged since Monday!

TERRY

I would say Terry is holding her own.  Sure, she does not get into the living room daily like I would like to see but she is doing OK.  Much to my dismay she turned the TV on this morning at 5:00 AM.  Yes there are things like a "loving husband' but that I was not this morning.  To her credit, she had the sound on low but still it did get me out of bed by 5:30.  She received a homemade blanket from sister Joan yesterday and I am sure IF I tried to wrestle it away even for a minute I would have a battle on my hands.  So with her new blanket and her electric one she may never want to get out of bed!

Well here we are at the last Saturday of March.  Here in Napes we had a taste of summer weather yesterday as the temp hit 88 but I see it does go down a bit for the next few days.  However by next Wednesday it is supposed to get in the high 80s again and stay that way for a while.  

I figured out my phone yesterday and it was important.  Somehow settings got changed and it was "on" all the time which meant that the battery would go down in a few hours.  After about 15 minutes I figured out how to get the setting up that controls how long it stays on and now we are back to normal.  I know, if anyone reads my blog who is under 70 they are making faces as to how dumb can Carmen be to now know how to change that quickly.  BUT just remember us "old' folks do not have the same mind set as younger!!!  BUT now I will know as I wrote it down😋.

We have cloudy weather now but it looks like there is no rain coming in so my 9:00 AM tennis should be good to go.

I have kept the garage door closed the last few days and have had NO doves in the garage!

For some reason over the last few days I have been thinking about my last year of teaching.  It was the school year of 2006/2007.  I did several things that year just for the fun of it.  There have been times that people have asked me why did I retire from teaching at the age of 60.  Well Gail had been battling cancer since 2005 and I just had this feeling that it may shorten her life and I wanted to spend more time with her.  I had looked at St. Paul School catalog and knew that I could retire at the age of 60 with no penalty.  Of course the longer one taught the more your retirement income would be but IF a person used the rule of 90 there was no reduction.  The rule of 90 was combine your age and the number of years you taught and for me it was just that, age of 60 and 30 years of teaching.  So as the school year started I had this notebook and I numbered the days of the school year and so at any time I could look and see how many days of teaching did I have left.  One of the reasons I did that was St. Paul had what I would call a generous "sick leave" policy.  It was 10 days a year and they were cumulative so as the years went by and I used very few I had built up something like 165 or so days.  Now when one retired you could get $100 for each day you had UP to  a max of 150 days. That meant that if a person had 175 days you only got pay for 150 and you left 25 days to the district.  So over my last year of teaching I did, once in a while, take a day off so that by the end of the school year I had something like 153 days left.  Well the very sad part of my story is my concern about Gail's health came true.  My last day of teaching was mid June.  We worked the state fair and then left on our 10,000 mile camping trip into Canada and the eastern states.  We returned home in October and the next weekend took Henry and Liam on a weekend camping trip.  Then in January we went to Hawaii with two other couples BUT then in February the cancer came back.  Gail lived another 7 months.  So many many of those memories for some reason have flooded my mind over the last few days which is unusual for me.  Maybe at the age of 75 one starts to do that!!!!!

Here is Terry's new snuggles complements of sister Joan.  She looks pretty darn comfortable and warm I would say.  

No it is nearly time to get dressed for tennis so will take the last sip of FP, get my tennis clothes on and head out the door for 90 minutes of exercise.  Another day in sunny Florida!!!

 

Here we are at March 21st and into the last full week of the month!

 TERRY

As I start to write it is 8:45 and Terry is watching a program on TV.  She did not want the paper yet.  That is unusual so we will see how the day goes.  She was up twice during the night and needed a change so I may be a bit tired as I get onto the tennis court at 10:30.  Karl has his usual 2 courts with winners playing winners and losers playing losers after the first 45 minutes.  I am so very thankful that Karl does that scheduling as it would be too time consuming for me.  He also usually has me playing on Wednesday and Friday but those days it is only one court.

So here we are into the second day of spring.  Being in Naples that is a none issue as it seems summer here all the time but for sure in Minnesota and the northern states the start of spring usually brings hope that snow will go, warm temps appear and early flowers appear!

As I walked into the garage yesterday a Morning Dove fly out of the garage.  Here is what I found.  It had begun to build a nest in the ladder that is hanging on the wall.  I think it is related to another one that has made a nest in a tree next to our neighbors house.  I can see it is in the nest right now as I sit near the window in the den.  So today I will dismantle it and also remember to keep the garage door shut all the time.  There is no need for bird nests in the garage.  

I plan to drive to the post office this afternoon and mail our tax papers in.  I finished them, I think, over the weekend so they are ready to go.  I have said this before but will say it again that I may just be reverting back to the days of doing them myself next year.  In a letter our financial people said they are raising their fee next year by at least 25% and maybe more depending on the time it takes them to do them and send the papers in.  Our financial things are NOT complicated so maybe I will try for 2023.  I know there is a safeguard when you have them done by an expert as IF there is a question they stand behind you but with the simple things we have that should not be a concern--I think!!!

Not a lot to say today.  I could bring back some memories of spring on the farm.  To this day I remember how excited I was the first morning I woke up and saw the creek was running.  There were hills to our south so snow would melt and then flood the creek.  It could be some water but maybe some frozen ice as well one day and the next it could be 30/40 feet across as it flowed through our pasture, under the bridge on its way to the lake.  In a normal mid summer flow the water would be maybe 4 or 5 feet below the bridge as it flowed north but at its highest it, at times, could almost be over the bridge.  I actually had never thought about this but it flowed NORTH and not south.  It also meant that fish from the lake would be swimming UP stream and then later would be coming back but by then the water would be down and we often could catch fish in the small rock dam below our grove of trees to the north of the house.  Actually I wanted to say the dam that was just below our outhouse but thought that did not sound so good!  

I guess it is not surprising that with the spring thaw we would have a lot of water when we had winters like this on the farm.  I do not think winters are like that anymore.  It looks to me as if the snow plow made drifts along the road maybe 4+ feet high.  I do remember Dad burning the ditches along the road leading up to the farm.  He did that so that there would be no weeds to catch drifting snow and pile up on the road.  And as one might imagine Dad had a great way to burn in the fall.  He took a long piece of inch pipe and made a curve on the end.  He would then plug the end with a piece of cloth.  After pouring gas in the pipe he would light the rag on fire and as one walked along the road drips of flame would spill out and that is how we could just walk along and leave a trail of flames that would burn all the weeds.  I have said this before but really farmers could pretty much figure out how to do anything and I would say Dad was among the best at that.

Well here it is past 9:30 and time to sign off.  I still have some FP in my favorite cup so will linger on the computer for a time.  BUT it is on to the day and what it may bring.

Here is March 20 and we start the last full week of the month

 TERRY

As I sit down to write Terry has been awake for some time and has read part of the paper.  As I went into the kitchen to get a refill of FP it looks like she has fallen asleep with the paper on the bed.  I would say she is doing fairly well BUT she has this nasty rash and we can not get rid of it.  I am thinking we may need to go in to urgent care today.  I hate to do that as it is not easy to get up, into the car and get going but it does not look like it is getting better and really something has to be done.  We will see as the morning goes on.  I have tried several anti itch creams and they seem to make it more mild but does not take it away.  

I will start with some comments and a memory on this Sunday morning.

Watching the NCAA men's tournament over the last few days has brought back many memories of my high school days.  Many of them are really fun to recall and of course some are not so pleasant!  This is from our annual from 1965, the year we were seniors.  Before I get into that year I will say a bit about the basketball I have been watching today.  I would say college men's BB has pretty much turned into a contact sport.  I can hardly believe the pushes, the shoves, the hacks etc etc as I watch and most of the time the whistle does not sound.  Regardless on to my senior year.  We actually had a good team and ended up with a record above 500 while we played several school much larger than us including in a Fargo tournament etc.  But the memories are vivid and kind of fun to remember.  Some things that are of note.:

• John lived in Forman and had the good fortune of playing a lot of pick up ball in town.  Because of that he was a great ball handler and a very good player.
• I, on the other hand, had the experience of playing by myself much of the time in the BB court we had by the barn.  We put up the hoop to the height of 10 feet and had a real basketball rim and net BUT the court itself was dirt/grass so the dribbling skills were hard to come by!  In the winter I would practice in the hay barn with a 5 gallon pail with the bottom cut out hanging on the wall 10 feet high.  Well one does not have to be real smart to know that my experience MAY lead to good shooting but not some much ball control if you know what I am saying.  
• John on the other hand had many many scrimmages with other guys on the outdoor courts in Forman where it was cement and actually dribbling became an art kind of!  He saved us many times during the year with his ball handling skills.
• So what did that translate too?  Well John was the guy we went to for bringing the ball up court and also dribbling and passing to break the press.  
• I will not say a lot but my scoring average was the best on the team as shooting was my strong point.  
• One of the things I remember and this is not really that important.  I took pride in my free throws and was always upset if I missed a shot.  I looked in our annual and saw that the 13th game of the season was against Briton SD and in the second half I missed my first free throw of the season.  If I remember I was going for #17 when I missed.  I have no idea what I did after that but I remember being upset.  AND we lost the game by 2 so that was not such a good thing!  BUT I still say we lost because coach Wohler did not put me in the game for the first several minutes!!  Why?  I forgot my put up socks that were part of our uniform!!!  No more said about that.
• I am very very thankful for my sports experiences in HS in both football and basketball.  It actually was sports that made HS kind of a fun time.  Well there may have been other interests too but will not get into them today!!!
• To this day I can remember the last day of my HS sports career.  We had lost in the opening round of the district BB tournament but had gone on to play in the 5th place game and I had something like 27 points as it was a good day of shooting for me.  The game was in the afternoon and it was in Wydemere ND.  We beat Lidgerwood so it was a winning end to the season BUT really it was the end of my HS career and it was sad sad.  Larry, Pat, JoEllen and I spent about an hour after the game walking the street of Wydemere with nothing in mind just kind of a dead end kind of walk.  We knew the bus was leaving in an hour and we kind of walked, talked and maybe kind of made like it was the end of the road IF you know how HS kids can be.  As I boarded the bus for the short trip back to Cayuga I almost felt as if it was the end of HS even though we had at least 2 months left.  As I look back on it I guess it kind of was a bit typical for HS students!!!  For me it meant that for the most part HS was over.  Yes there were two months left but for me sports was HS.
• And of course one might suspect that after brother Ronald died in October of my senior year often when I became deep in thought he came to mind and at times tears flowed pretty freely.  Of course I could not know that 16 months down the road when I was a college freshman sister Janet died and once again our family was in an emotional turmoil which included me as well.
• I was a senior when Ronald died and to this day I remember the months following Ronald's death.  Our home was not a fun place nor a happy place and of course I do NOT blame Mom and Dad.  I was not living at home when Janet died but Helen was and I am thinking she felt the pain very very much through Mom and Dad.  What can one do in those situations?  Well for sure the pain is real and difficult to deal with.  One can say well you just have to accept and say it was the Lord's territory but that does not push away the pain.  You can accept and move on but you can not shove pain under the rug.  You must accept, pray, share and then move on with life as best you can.  Time does heal but it does leave scars as well.

Here I am at 9:15 and I am going to listen to church on the computer.  I have found that it is better for us to have church on the computer than for me to go alone to church.  So it is about that time.  AND what the heck I can drink FP as I watch and pray.  Really, I have found one can pray and have a cup of FP in your hand at the same time.  Not all the time but some of the time.  As I talk about church I think back at the last family reunion we had in Rapid City as we all went to church with Glorine.  That was special.  

So time to sign off and get on with the day.

Here we are at Saturday, March 19th, 2022

 TERRY

Terry said she woke up about 6;00 but did not turn on the TV until a bit after 7:00.  Here it is almost 9:30 and she has finished the paper and has the TV on.  Another day and it is still one day at a time!

I will not play tennis today.  Usually I do take Saturday and Sunday off and will this weekend.  Yesterday I had one of those days where for the first 45 minutes my game was awful and then for the last 45 minutes it was kind of normal for me.  BUT of course it was exercise and fun as well.  

I went out to the store yesterday and purchased ingredients for a salad as I had not made one for Terry in a long time.  I almost had to look at my calendar as I thought it may be Christmas.  Not only did she love it but she asked for a second large bowl and finished all of it.  So I am guessing it will, again, be lettuce, tomatoes, ham, olives, cheese and mushrooms with a topping of salt and pepper!  Sounds like an easy meal and it is but when the recipient loves it so much it is fun to do.  As for me I will have one too but I will put dressing on it.  

Terry is still dealing with itchy itchy skin and I do not know what to do.  We are using a cream that says it is for itchy skin and it does help some but not enough.  I will have to do more research to see if I can find a better answer.

We have a beautiful day out as the temp is around 70 now and we have a bright sun.  With no tennis I will have to get on the bike later to get a little exercise in.

I am not in a basketball pool for the NCAA men's tournament but I did do the brackets just for the fun of it and to see how well I can do.  After the first 32 games I still have 24 teams alive so not too bad, 75%.  Well in the education world that would be maybe a D but really in the betting world I think it would not be all that bad.  Not too good but not so bad either.  We will see how it goes today and tomorrow as there are now 32 teams left but Sunday night it will be down to 16.  Yesterday there were some really good games.  I did not watch it but I think one of the best was #2 Kentucky going down to #15 Saint Peter's.  It is not a matter of not liking Kentucky but it is always fun to see the BIG underdog come through and for sure win or lose Sunday Saint Peter's players will have memories for a life time.  I am sure 10, 20 or more years from now when some of those guys get together much of the talk will be of the BIG game!

I do have some pictures today from long ago.

Here is Dad who is standing and Uncle Halvor sitting.  I am guessing it was taken in 1915 or so.  I am so surprised that Grandma and Grandpa had the means to have a professional picture taken.  I do think back then it was common for little boys to be dressed pretty much like little girls.  How about those curls of Dad's!

I just could not allow our country's bicentennial, 1976, go by without celebrating with a beard.  I do think I should have been in some kind of contest but no I was not.  I promise the corncob pipe is a prop and not something I used!!!  The hat---looks like something from the toy box!

Well here it is almost 10 AM and so far I have not done any work!  Well I did eat, read the paper, made a breakfast for Terry and now the blog so I guess if you want to define "work" in the broad sense I have done a lot.  Now I need to search the internet to see if I can find some help for Terry's itch.  I still have half a cup of FP left so I may linger on the computer for a bit.  A happy Saturday to all and may the last half of March be good for you.

 

Here we are at the end of the week, March 18th 2022

 TERRY

I woke up to the sound of the TV at 6:50 AM.  Now it is 8:10 and Terry has her needs met and is busy looking at the paper.  I would say she is same same.  I am often amazed as she seems to pretty much keep her spirts up as she is confined to bed all the time.  I say that but yes she does get into the wheelchair most days to travel into the living room for a time.  She has this very very itchy skin and we do not know what to do about it.  We have several anti itch creams and they do help some but they do not get rid of the itch.  But here we are on a Friday and it still is one day at a time!

I opened a plastic box yesterday and there were many old pictures that people have given me and I do think some were taken out of an book that Mom had started for me.  Over the next several days I will be posting some and I would say that many if not all have been on the blog in the past.  But I had not viewed them for some time and I do enjoy looking at old pictures and reminiscing about what "was"!!!

I do have 9:00 tennis today.  That means that I have had tennis scheduled for the last 5 days but one of the days was rained out.  My tennis days can almost get to be as much fun as the high school days of football and basketball.  Well not really as there is a difference in playing with "old" guys and "young" guys and as one might know when there are young guys playing sports there are usually the opposite sex watching at times!!!  

I could not find my phone this morning but finally thought maybe I had left it in the car yesterday afternoon and sure enough there it was.  I could not get it to open so I thought I would plug it in and sure enough the battery was down to pretty much nothing.  

I had kind of a funny scare late yesterday.  I opened the door leading to the garage and heard this loud noise.  I quickly shut the door and then figured some how a bird much have gotten into the garage before I shut the garage door.  I opened the door to the garage very slightly and pressed the garage door opener as the last thing I wanted was a bird in the house.  Later there was nothing so it must have flown out.  

Well Terry would like something to eat before I leave for tennis so will sign off with pictures from the past!

This was in 1972 and I do not remember if this was the first hot water heater they had but for sure Mom looks very happy.  No more heating water on the propane stove!

There really is nothing like a cool summer haircut!!!  After the thrill wore off ALL the hair came off!

I am not certain of the year but I do know it was in the early 50s.  I am guessing there was a period of time when we were "farm bound" so to speak.

Mom always made sure all of us kids had a cake on our birthday.  I think this is birthday #5 which means it was in 1952.  I am guessing Bennie is wondering if he gets some!!!  I don't know but am guessing the snow piles in the background were made by Dad removing snow with the loader on the "M" tractor.

Here it is getting close to the time I need to dress and get to tennis so the FP is gone and I will be out of the house shortly.

I can not believe my last post was Sunday!!

 TERRY

Terry is doing the same.  It is now 9:20 and she is reading the paper.  Not really anything new to write about.

It is Mary Lee's birthday today.  No need to write her age because she is still so so young.  Mary is amazing in all that she does.  I mean for sure IF you have two great daughters and then three huge males in the family you have to be strong, smart and everything else to cope and stay on your best game which she does with amazing skills.  Mary, have a great day and enjoy what may be your last birthday for a while will ALL the family there to celebrate.  Love, Dad and Terry

The 7:30 tennis courts were cancelled due to wet courts.  So it is a day to relax and try to get some paper work finished.  I may just gather all the tax paper and send them off.  IF I can pull that off it would be nice to have that in the rear view mirror.  

Tomorrow is St. Pats Day and actually I have items to make a corn beef meal with cabbage etc.  At my age I may as well try everything.  I need to look up when is Norwegian Day as that is really what I should be celebrating, right???

Not a lot to say today.  We do have a beautiful day with kind of low temps, sunny skies and with a rain last night a coolness that feels good.  Our rain gauge showed that we had .2" if rain which is not a lot but we have been a a dry spell so every little bit helps.

I talked to my friend Larry F who lives in MT.  We became friends when I entered Cayuga as a fourth grader and have kept close ever since.  Buddies in high school, roommates in college for 2+ years and since have used the phone to keep up.  Terry and I stopped and visited him on our long trip to Alaska.  Anyway Larry has had more than his share of health issues over the last few years.  In our conversation yesterday he said he went into the hospital with I think it was blood sugar of 650 which means you should be dead!  I may not have the terms right but I think it was blood sugar.  Anyway he is doing much much better and is on the mend.  He also has a birthday, #75, coming up next month.

Here is the latest news!!!!!  Max, Cynthia/Mike's youngest lives with a ball in his hand.  Word is the Vikings have their eye on him for the 2041 NFL draft!!!!  I know it is very early as Max turned 2 last November but you know these pro teams have cameras everywhere!!!!!!  As you can see he is already preparing for BIG time by eating right and it also looks like he has invested in a fancy plate!!!  By the way IF you can not figure out his plate it has a bunny on it!  Way to go Max but try to keep you life on an even keel as too much too often is not good!

No as I look at the time it is almost 10 AM so will sign off and try to get some work done.  My FP is almost finished as I needed to heat it up three times.  So on with the day as we always do, one day at a time.

Here we are welcoming daylight savings!

 TERRY

I would say that Terry is same same.  As I write she is finishing the Sunday paper and doing well.  

I think I am getting kind of the old age mentality in terms of some of the modern age things that are happening.  Some examples are:

• It looks like Aaron Rogers is set to sign a 4 year contract for 50 M a year.  That almost makes me want to stop watching football.  That means he will be getting the same amount as 667 teachers in St. Paul who get the average salary.  Really--a football player equal in value to 667 educators!!!  Other than the fact I must have been in the wrong profession it almost makes me sick!!!!
• It looks like the STARTING salary for a major league baseball player this year will be somewhere in the $700,000 range for a rookie.
• In basketball the average salary is north of 12 M!
• St. Paul schools could hire 16 new teachers for the cost of the minimum starting salary in baseball.  It looks like sport figures are a lot lot more important than educators.  I know that it is a LOT harder to get on a baseball team than get a job as a teachers but still I wonder where our values are!

Well I think that is enough of that kind of information.  Of course each person chooses their profession and only a small number could play sports but still the money involved is pretty crazy.

I do not remember if I posted this picture in the past but even if I did I would say it is worth looking at again as it is spectacular I think.  It reminds me of some of Dad's pictures in terms of quality.  

As I walked out to get the paper this morning I thought wow it is chilly and almost cold.  It was 45 so I then checked the temp in the pool and it was down to 80 so I am sure people feel sorry for me!!!!!

I know this sounds kind of morbid but I did some research after Richard, a classmate, passed away last week.  At least 18% of our classmates have died.  I could not do any research on the gal as I do not know their last name now.  All 10 that I am aware of are men.  Well just so you know at the age of 75 one starts to think about those things!

No I am going to the store as I have an idea for a meal for Terry today so will sign off and make this kind of a short blog today.  I may pick it up later but not sure but will post now.  The FP was just OK today.

Here we are at Saturday and TOMORROW we change our clocks ahead one hour

 TERRY

I would say Terry is the same today.  For some reason I woke up at 5:30 and Terry was only about a half hour later.  She has not wanted the paper yet but has her Saturday TV on which she likes.  So it is one day at a time as usual.

We have a birthday girl in the family today.  I will not say how old she is but I promise she is young!  AND this picture was taken some time ago BUT she is as young looking and attractive today as when this was taken.  In fact she probably is BETTER today.  I am guessing Aaron, Ruby and Leo will make the day special for her.  Amy, from us here in Naples have a wonderful day and of course HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

There are no plans for the day in terms of going.  I would like to clean up, find more things and get those taxes ready to send in.  I have done nothing with them for a few days but it is time to get things together and get the dinning room table cleared.

I woke up at 5:00 this morning and could not get back to sleep so there may be an afternoon nap in order.  I do not like them but then I do think they kind of come with age.  

We have cloudy day here but the forecast does not show any rain so it may clear up later.  My mind does not register any thoughts to put on paper today so I may just sign off early and try to get those taxes in order.  No tennis today and not trips to the store AND I have the gas tank filled in the car so we are good to go so to speak.  I filled gas on (that is Dad's saying) at Costco a couple days ago and I have not been out and about to see how much higher the price has gone but it is certainly a far cry from prices of long ago.  

So with half a cup of FP left I will say have a good day and make good use of your time.

Here we are at the end of the first full working week of March AND looking at the start of daylight savings time Sunday

 TERRY

Terry has been awake for more than an hour now and I would say is same same.  I think she slept well last night so it should be a good day.  Nothing planned for the day except there should be a shower sometime!

We have total clouds this morning and I am scheduled to play tennis at 9:00.  The weather does not show any possible rain so we should be good to go.  I did not play tennis yesterday but I did bike over to the courts and watch some of the guys play in a team match.  It was kind of fun to watch but also reminded me that I was not asked to be on any team.  I really do not know why as there were 8 players playing as there were 4 matches and I would say my level of play is on a par with 4 of them.  Now remember that is MY thought but it must not be the thoughts of other people.  I suppose I could "cry in my beer" or I could think that it is their loss!!!  Well I may not go that far but regardless it did make me somewhat sad as I miss the team matches.  I think I have had a team myself for maybe 8+ years and it does make tennis a bit more fun to play competitively against other club.  I do remember starting with a 2.5 team and after winning the league we moved up to 3.0.  The match I watched yesterday was a 3.0 match but I know courts 1 and 2 were mostly 3.5s.  Not sure how they get away with that but I do believe our courts 1 and 2 were at least 3.0+ or 3.5 and they both lost.  Go figure, right!

Every once in a while there is an article like this in the WSJ and it does give ideas for how to furnish your home.  It may be difficult to see but here are some of the costs AND I decided to forgo upgrading our homes!!!  #3 you can get a pair of those chairs for $21,120.  If you need a chandelier like #9 it will set you back a total of $57,225.  That is 3 times what I paid for my first house in Devils Lake!  AND $10,000 more than I paid for my house in St. Paul!  The article says a small table,#7, was placed in the corner of the room just in case you needed an intimate place for tea for 2 BUT not so much an intimate price at $23,150.  Enough I think.  I think just maybe those things are out of my league as I cringed when I paid $100 for a kitchen table at Ikea!!!

Darn darn darn I am still searching for one tax paper.  When I find it I will be ready to send in our papers and then hopefully wait for money back.  I had better get my act together as I just may do our taxes next year myself.  I thought about buying turbo tax and trying it out this year just to see IF an old guy like me can to it but I decided it was a waste of money to buy it just to see if one can do it.  I mean for the price of the turbo tax one can enjoy several FP from Starbucks!!!  Then if you go the way I do for the price of 1 FP at Starbucks you can enjoy several at home!!!  Actually I have not been to Starbucks for a long time maybe over a year.  I could even save more money if I went the path of Judi/John!!!  AND at home you can sip it out of your favorite cup!

As I walked into the kitchen this morning I was thankful that I washed the dishes last night.  I still have not gotten the dishwasher fixed so I am the dishwasher for now.  Actually it is good on the hands BUT I do need to get a repair person out.  I thought maybe I could figure out what was wrong but I have failed so maybe will bite the bullet today, maybe!

Well when you are having fun time flies and here it is already 8:25 so I will sign off.  I will leave for tennis in about a half hour.  I have nothing planned for the day except to try and find that one tax paper and I KNOW it is in the house as I remember looking at it.  It should have been with all the other papers but it must have had feet on it.  My favorite cup still has some FP so will enjoy the last few sips before I get dressed for tennis.  

Just a short note to sister Helen---I posted today😊!!!

Here we are at March 10th of 2022

TERRY

I would liked to have slept in a bit but Terry had the TV on and also a request at about 7:00 this morning.  So it was up for the day with the papers brought in, an easy thaw out breakfast, a reading of the two papers and now the blog.  Wow, it sounds like it could be mid day and here it is just short of 8:30!!!

No tennis today as one of the guys is out of town and we could not find a replacement.  So maybe I just need to get some work done instead and that would not be a bad thing.

I have no plans for the day except to work on taxes.  Actually I think I have most of what I need but there is one paper that I have not been able to put my hands on.  Also I am thinking that this may be the last year that we pay someone to do the taxes.  We got a letter a few days ago that the financial people who help with $$$ and do our taxes will be raising their rate by 30% next year and if the job takes a long time their rate is $109 per hour.  I am thinking I may need to become a tax person!!!  A couple years ago when Terry sold her place in MN our taxes were a bit complicated but now really they should be simple and yes they would have to be for me to do them!  Well I always did our taxes myself until 11 years ago so I should be able to go back to that.  I have not priced the turbo tax packet that one can purchase but I am guessing they are a whole lot less than hiring a tax person.  

Actually I have had thoughts of getting pictures together for the 2023 calendar.  IF anyone has ideas please send them my way as with down time all over the place I have time on my hands.  Now if I wanted to get some things done I would not have so much time on my hands but there are times I am more than lazy.

I just read yesterdays blog and realized that I was a whole week ahead of things with the St. Patrick's Day as that is NEXT week.  I am hoping that people who read this take into account that I am getting kind of long in tooth and do make mistakes from time to time.  Or maybe I should say "a lot of mistakes"!!!

Mark Saunders called yesterday.  He said that a classmate of mine, class of 65, died suddenly.  Richard Johnson lived near Forman all his life I do believe and was married to another Sargent Central gal Jill Eklund who was two years younger.  Things like that kind of shake me up as it always brings to mind that life is fleeting and can end at any time.  It makes me think about the end of life and am I ready???  Well ready or not when it comes it comes and sometimes it happens in a moment and sometimes it comes on slowly in terms of sickness etc.  Anyway I did know Richard but was really on a different plane so to speak as he was not into sports and those were the guys I hung out with IF there was "hanging out" in high school.  I say that because I think of "hanging out" in terms of a social group just being and with a 25 mile bus ride to and from school "hanging out" was not on my radar.  In our 1965 high school annual there are pictures of 57 in our class and I know of 10 who have now passed away.  I do not know if that is average, below or above average but I do know it makes one think, at least it makes me think.  I do know that the deaths range from farm accidents to car accidents to self inflicted.  As one can guess I have had NO contact or news of many of them so there may be others who are not living as well.  Our friend "Google" has the average life span of men between 75-78 depending on where you live.  I am hoping I have a few more left as our classmates have or will turn 75 this year.

I am wondering if anyone else can relate to this???

No here it is past 9:30 so I will sign off for the day.  I still have some sips of FP so will stay on line and see if my $1.98 in the stock market is up or down today.  

Wednesday, March 16th and tomorrow is "wearing the green" day!

 TERRY

Terry is awake and watching the news this AM.  I said she should let me know when she was ready for the paper but she has not asked for it yet.  She actually said she smelled my coffee and asked for half a cup.  I am guessing the last time she drank any coffee may be many years ago.  She mentioned she did not want very much as I make it so strong.  If I were a betting person I would put money on that fact that she will not drink it!!!  Anyway she is about the same today as yesterday so yes, as I say one day at a time

Yesterday I went to Costco and thought I would put gas in (or as Dad would say ON) but when I arrived it was mid afternoon and I would say there were at least 50+ cars in line.  I think Costco has 8 pumps and each one had a line OUT of the parking lot.  BUT as I read about Russia etc maybe I should have filled.  I have 1/4 tank full and to fill it now probably would cost $60 but maybe much much more next week!!!  I saw the gas station near when we live posted a price of $4.19 yesterday and it sounds like it will do nothing but go up.  I have NO idea what Russia is trying to do but I do not think it is good by any means.

What I am going to say next may upset some!!!  BUT it is true.  In our family I was #5 of 6 so it only means that there are older siblings that I have.  Well there was/is baby Helen but!!!  Here is my question.  I am wondering IF my OLDER siblings have some of the "old age" issues that I am having!!! 

For example:

• I often open the left hand drawer to get a cutting knife when the knives are in the right hand drawer!
• Sometimes I get up from my chair to go to the kitchen only to forget what I wanted!
• I need to go to the website that I have gone to 1000s of time but this time I need to look it up!
• I remember what happened in the past but can not for the life of me remember what year!
• I make an egg sandwich and after the first bite realize I forgot to put salt on it1
• I do not need a shopping list as I only intend to buy three items.  I get to the store and for the life of me can not remember the third item!
• I see the thing I want to buy for a grandchild the internet and so I buy it several months in advance.  The birthday comes and I can not remember where I put the gift!
• I open the fridge and see an item and for the life of me I can not remember WHY I bought it!
• I open the fridge and pull out the right hand drawer to get some lunch meat.  Oh my goodness there in the back of the drawer is that special item I forgot about and it has brown spots on it!
• And it could go on and on and on for some time!!!!!

Now my question is this.  I will not mention any ages BUT I will say my siblings Glorine, John, Judi, Joan, Ron and Marlys are older than I and it would be comforting to know that maybe just some of the time they have the same problems.  If not I may need outside help!!!!!!!!  OR as could be the case they are in denial.   Just in case someone reads this and thinks there were many many in our family at my age I consider ALL blood and marriage relatives siblings.  Just so you know Judi and Marlys are by far the younger of the above.  Now it is just a matter of time before I may get some nasty letters or more likely e-mails.  But even though Helen is younger she may fess up and admit memory issues too!  Well I think I have gotten myself in enough trouble for one day.

I just made a fried egg sandwich with cheese on a piece of white toasted bread and Terry said it was very good.  She can not eat easy over eggs etc but she did like the sandwich.  Actually I need not pat myself on the back but I felt I made a delicious sandwich.

No, I do need to get a repair person in for the dishwasher as I am getting a bit tired of doing dishes.  A couple of times in the last two days I have opened it up and tried to figure out why it is not working but to no success so I need to dial up help.

A person may ask why the picture.  Well, from the time I started my sophomore year at NDSU in the fall of 1967 to when I transferred to Minot in January of 1969 I worked in the barley division at NDSU.  I worked for two Dr who were developing new varieties of barley.  One of my favorite jobs was in the above picture.  These experiment plots were west of Fargo near Castleton.  Several times a year in the summer of 1967 I would drive a small tractor into the back of a pickup and spend the day cultivating the plots.  It was perhaps  my all time favorite job so to speak.  I was all by myself and I spent the entire day in the field.  I could add that it was much much different than the farm work at home.  I usually finished mid afternoon and would then load up the tractor and head back to campus.  For me at that time in my life it was perfect.

Here it is 9:00 AM and Terry would like some time with me so will sign off.    I will not take the time to proof read so IF there are mistakes please excuse AND I am finished with my FP.

Here we are starting the first full week of March and looking forward to the first day of spring in 13 days!

 TERRY

Terry woke up about 6:15 this morning.  She has read the paper and is now watching TV.  She does have a Dr. appt later today as there is a mark on her right arm that needs to be looked at.  I am sure it is nothing but about once a year she goes to the dermatologist to have things looked at and most of the time she ends up getting one or two things burned off.  I am guessing this is what she usually has done.  Anyway it will be good for her to get up and out of the house as that does not happen often these days.

There is not much of anything planned for the week.  I do, this week, have tennis Monday-Friday so that is good.  I also plan to get papers in order for taxes.  I really should get that done as I suspect we will get some kind of refund as we usually do.  I know that I should make some changes as some years the refund is fairly large but then is is always a good feeling knowing we do not have to send in a check.

We do have some money in investments and when you get OLD you need to take out what is called an MRD as I think that is "minimum required distribution".  I have taken care of that and it should happen near the end of the month.  Terry's amount comes to a good amount and mine comes to a couple of Starbuck coffees and maybe a nice ice cream cone!

I usually get a chuckle out of Pickles and today I thought it was extra good!  I think that would be easy to have happen!!!  NOT the going with part.

I thought maybe having a slight beard would make me look more important so I have not shaved for maybe 4 or 5 days.  BUT after looking at myself I decided that the whiskers do nothing for me and they may even make me look older than 75 BUT I have decided to give myself maybe a few more days.  If anyone has an opinion just leave me a comment on the blog!!!

No, Terry's appt is at noon and I am scheduled to play tennis from 10:30-12:00 so I need to call soon as they open at 9:00 and see if I can get her appt for in the afternoon.  

Wow, Amy Lee has a birthday this Friday and then Mary has a birthday next week.  I do not know how I got so lucky to have those two in the family.  I still can remember the day Cynthia was born and Gail was on cloud nine as she NEEDED some female company in the family.  Then when Amy and Mary were added she was so excited.  

Some how I did NOT finish this so will sign off and post.  Someone in the family reminded me but I will not say who!!!  Of course I had FP this AM and actually have gotten some work done today.  So here I am signing off with a hope that everyone had a good day and maybe even got some work done!!!

Here we are just 2 weeks away from the first day of spring 2022

 TERRY

Terry was kind of awake when I got out of bed at 7:30 but I have not heard her since so she must have gone back to sleep.  I would say she is pretty much same same.  Another day and still looking forward to getting better.

As I sit in the den using the computer I have the front door open.  I can hear the water fountain running and I am enjoying the fresh air as the sun is shining and the temp is 73 as I write.  It will get up to the mid 80s by afternoon.  I have no tennis today but will have to get on the bike and enjoy a ride.  

How about that perfect poached egg!!  I read about making poached eggs and then tried to do my best.  Yep, I got the pan with 4" of water.  I brought it to a boil and then turned it down to a simmer.  A small amount of vinegar and I was good to go.  First the cracked egg was poured into a ramekin.  (I admit I had to look up "ramekin" but we had some in the cupboard.  From the ramekin the egg was poured into a fine sifter and then into the simmering water.  It cooked for about 2-2 1/2 minutes and then taken out to be played on the toasted sprouted bread with two sides of ham.  How about that!!  A total of only 160 calories and I am on my way to being a slim Jim so to speak.  Well I admit it is not really that easy but this morning was a good start, REALLY.  Now I need to remember.  NO snacking all day.  NO candy all day.  No cheating all day.  AND of course the list goes on and on and on BUT I will give it a try to see IF by next Sunday I can lose 5 pounds.  IF I do I for sure will brag about it here.  If I don't there will be no news.  I can't help it as that is the way I operate!!!

I kind of think I made a mistake when I made my 2022 calendar.  The month of March, as one can see when the blog is opened, features siblings Ronald, Janet and Dave.  I have the calendar front and center at the desk so when I am writing or doing other things there they are.  AND of course their pictures ALWAYS bring up many many many memories.  The memories of Ronald and all the things he did for Dave and I. The memories of Janet are not so much but still many are in my mind.  AND yes Dave and I were perhaps the closest in terms of doing things together.  Today may be a day of "you talked about those things in the past" but it is what it is so read on or tell yourself you have heard it all!

• Ronald asked Dave and I to paint the plywood trailer he built.  The next morning the paint was covered with black insects that had stuck to the wet paint.  WE did it all over again!
• Janet gave Dave and I a choice of what kind of sweater we wanted her to make us.  Dave took the heavy sweater that turned out beautiful and I am guessing Marlys has it to this day.  I asked for a pale blue fuzzy kind of pullover sweater.  I thought it would be kind of sexy.  It made me itch but I never told Janet that!  AND I actually wore it very seldom because of that.  Dave won that one!
• Well I could write a book about things Dave and I did together.  Like the time we were to take the truck to Uncle Halvor's to get something.  We met this truck on the road and they did not pull over very far.  Dave went as far to the right as he dared but their box clipped our box.  No accident but the frame of our box was bent.  Scary to say the least.
• Hunting pheasants with Ronald, John and Dad.  Of course Dave and I did NOT have guns so were kind of the bird dogs BUT.  We saw a pheasant near the road in a field.  Ronald jumped out of the car and ran down the ditch to get into the field.  The problem was there was a fence in the tall grass that one could not see.  Ronald sprang back from the fence like a rocket.  He was not hurt but there was no pheasant either!
• There were times we drove to Ellendale when Ronald and Janet were going to school.  I always was hoping Janet would be working her part time job at the drug store when we visited because then maybe Dad would buy some candy from her!
• One of the more fun things about fall harvest was when we combined the land to the east of our farm.  There was a groove of trees on the north side and Dave and I would often run and break a small branch off the chokecherry tree.  We would then sit in the truck while we waited for the combine tank to fill and would have a spitting contest to see who could spit the seeds the farthest.  I have NO idea who won!
• Both Ronald and John had boats.  I think they both brought water skis so we could learn.  I never was good at getting up on one ski but would always ask Ronald or John or whoever was driving the boat to circle around and I would drop a ski off.  Of course I thought I was pretty darn good!!!  Not only was I good in my mind but I sure liked that tight blue swimsuit with the white waist band.  I will not comment more than that!
• When Janet and John lived in Kulm it was always fun to visit as Janet always had things for us to do or to eat.
• Dave and I must have made MANY wooden guns out of scrape wood and then would run all over the farm in a kind of shoot um up kind of game.  I know it sounds pretty crazy but when you live out in the country you make your own fun and we did.

Enough for today.  Terry is now awake so we got things changed and she is now reading the paper.  For me, I think I may get my scripture reading in for the day and then get some things organized for taxes.  I do believe I have all the papers but will find out for sure today, maybe!!!  I just heated up the last half cup of FP so will check e-mail as I finish drinking.

Here we are on the first Saturday of March, 2022 and it is the 5th.

 TERRY

I got out of bed at 5:15 and Terry was awake shortly after that.  Here it is 7:25 and she is into the paper.  I do not know if she was dreaming or what but at about 4:30 she woke me up and said, "I can not get out of bed!"  I just said yes I know dear but please go back to sleep.  There are times that I have thoughts about HOW we will get her to the wedding and how that will go as it is Memorial weekend.  Time will tell and for now we will experience one day at a time.

It was April 7th of 1966

It was a Thursday and I was looking forward to a weekend at home.  Tomorrow will be Good Friday and for me yes, it will be good.  I have been kind of on edge since February when sister Janet died.  I know that both Mom and Dad have been having a difficult time and I was not looking forward to spending time at home but yet I knew it was the right thing to do.  I caught a ride home mid afternoon on Thursday with the idea I would do my best but was already looking forward to getting back to campus on Sunday afternoon.  I had been able to kind of do OK in my spring classes but that darn janitor job at Churchill dorm was actually kind of a getaway.  In work study one could put in 20 hours a week and for the money that was good but now it was good actually just to get out of my dorm room and into a situation where I could kind of get lost in my thoughts as I mopped floors, cleaned bathrooms and all the good stuff.  

I had started my work at Churchill in the fall and that was not just a good thing.  Many football players stayed there and after Saturday games my job on Sunday was not so pleasant if you get the picture.  It seemed like the football players were the worst.  AND I had the misfortune of dropping my wallet and some guy picked it up and changed the date so her could buy beer!!!  That ended with me getting a call from the Moorhead police!  

Anyway here I was on my way home for the long Easter Weekend.  As one might expect the mood at home was not all very joyous.  On Friday afternoon Mom and I happened to be in the living room alone and she, with some nervousness in her voice,  kind of threw out an idea.  She wanted me to come home for the summer and work!  I looked at her with eyes that maybe said, "I can not believe you are saying that."  Mom went on to say that Dad was just in a bad way.  She said it would really help him if I could spent the summer working at home.  I sat on the couch and within about a minute hundreds of thoughts went through my mind.  First of all I already had a new job lined up at college and I was looking forward to spending the summer in Fargo.  Dave and I had talked and were looking forward to golf and spending time together with no school in the way.  Then I, in my mind only, took a survey of what a summer might be like on the farm.  That was not a good thought.  Being away from people with really nothing to do outside of work was not a pleasant idea.  BUT in the end I just told Mom that I would think about it.  Later that day after I had done my usual by climbing up the light pole by the barn and spending time lying on the west side of the roof THINKING I came up with a thought.  I told mom that I could come home but only if I had wheels to get around and that did not mean Dad's car.  Well dad did not get into the conversation which was usual but the next day Mom said Dad could help me buy a motorcycle if I came home.  Now that peaked my interest!  Dad then got into things.  He said he knew there was a Harley dealer in Aberdeen SD and we could go there sometime and look.  In hind sight I think he had looked there already but I do not know that.  So it was planned.  I would come home in two weeks and Dad and I would drive to Aberdeen on the 23rd to see what they had. Dad also said that he cold pay me $500 for summer work which of course I had to have money for the next year of college.  I figured that I could make more if I stayed in Fargo but then I still would be getting around on my bicycle and that did not compare to a motorcycle.  So my mind was filled with many many thoughts over the next couple of weeks and I am guessing maybe, just maybe, the studies did not go so well!  Anyway I got a ride home on the 22nd and Dad and I headed to Aberdeen the next day.  It did not take very long for me to decide.  I ended up riding home on this sleek black 250 Sprint and the rest is history so to speak.  I should say that I think Mom and Dad did better than one could expect that summer.  They were less then 2 years out from Ronald's death and less than 4 months out from Janet's death.  Yes, it would not be unusual to see tears in Mom's eyes from time to time BUT I like to think that me being home for the summer helped in some small way.  I admit I really did nothing to make things easier but perhaps just being home was in some way a small help.  Yes, I did do farm work and that was good for Dad but I also admit that when Sundays came I was away someplace on my cycle.  

So ends my story of the summer of 1966 and as I hear Terry asking for a leg rub I will sign off with half a cup of FP left.