Paige: 8th Grade Graduation

Paige our youngest granddaughter graduated from St. Phillips Parochial School yesterday.  I had the day off, so we ventured North.  Our daughter Trica could not attend, she is in the Nurse Practitioner Program and had to be up at UND this week.   Tough to be two places at once..many miles apart.  I took lots of photos so she would feel better about the whole situation.

Paige with her candle.

Paige getting her diploma.

There was a slide show.

Baby Paige

Little Paige

Paige  mostly grown up! This photo for the slide show was taken by Auntie Jen.

Paige and her Dad.

Paige did some of the artwork for the program and she gave a wonderful speech during the Graduation Breakfast.  She was hardly nervous at all speaking in public!   After Graduation and the Graduation Breakfast the entire class spends the rest of the day together.  Next year they will all venture off to the Public High School.

  Congratulations Miss Paige!:)

Chance: My Friends

Hiya!  It’s me Chance!  Didyaknow I have friends?   I have two very special friends and they were here for four sleep overs and dozens of playing ball sessions. We had a blast!

The beautiful Miss Miney.  Miss Miney likes toys that squeak, and will squeak them in the middle of the night.  That squeaking noise at night drives my sister nuts…but she wasn’t here and Far Side doesn’t care..and Far Guy didn’t hear a thing.

I love Miss Miney..she is a year younger than me..we grew up together.  Miney belongs to my sister, Jen. 

Then there is her tag along, Little Elvis, he is just a little bit of a dog..mainly fluff.  Little Elvis belongs to my sisters husband.

Little Elvis and Miss Miney are both Shetland Sheepdogs or Shelties.  Miss Miney is sable and white.  Little Elvis is a Tri – Color.

He is a copy cat dog..he follows Miss Miney everywhere.  The only time she gets a break is when he follows me.

Little Elvis doesn’t play ball, he plays “I will try to herd whoever has the ball..and I might bite their back leg or grab their tail and drag my feet ..skidding along.”   His shenanigans irritate Miss Miney and she growls at him..so then he becomes my BDF..Best Dog Friend.

I had a really, really good time while there were here.

I can hardly wait for them to come visit again! :)

Wistful Wednesday : 1952

In May of 1952  I was six months old.  Able to sit up by myself and everything.

Ah.. I probably sat up momentarily for this photo and then fell over.  My Mother wrote on this photo.  Connie Joy May 1952.

It was about this time that we moved to the farm where I would grow up.  I don’t remember living anywhere else..however I know that my Mother and I lived with my Maternal Grandparents while my Dad was in Korea, I just don’t remember that part.

I have some memories before I entered school.  Banty roosters being mean and chasing me.  Dogs..and kittens.  Coffee poured into a saucer to cool so I could drink it.  Butter.  A baby calf sucking on my fingers.  A fawn with spots in a fence. 

Sometimes smells ..fresh baked bread, rain and a wet dog stir up memories that I cannot quite remember.   Some things remain just on the outskirts of my memory.  Fleeting feelings just  for a moment..something I should remember but cannot.

I suppose as I get older more memories will be forgotten.  More experiences will be unrememberable..is that a word?  Well if it isn’t it should be.

Now a days I remember some “stuff” in the middle of the night when I wake up.  What a terrible time to remember “crap”…then I wonder will I remember in the morning?  Unless I get up and write a note to myself…my sleep/waking cycles are filled with reminding myself to remember in the morning…and that is exhausting.  I am certain that after being asleep a few hours my brain finally clears out and remembers the important stuff I forgot during the day…and then because my brain is all rested up… it has to keep reminding me so I won’t forget again.  It is a vicious cycle:) 

For the birds

A Scarlet Tanager was here for about four days.  He loved the oranges.

Even the grand boys were impressed with this colorful bird.

Most of the Baltimore Orioles have left, we still have one male and two females hanging around.   We hope they stay and nest.

I think this is an immature Pine Grosbeak..this guy was listless..and looked like he was cold and wet…although later in the day I saw him at the bird bath drinking so maybe he will make it.

Far Guy saw a Blue Bird.. I have not seen one yet.

 

Canada Geese on Shell Lake.  I didn’t realize that they banded  geese around the neck.

815A  I imagine there is someplace to go to look up the number and find out where it was banded.  We go over to Shell Lake quite often, it will be fun to keep a watch out for this goose:)

Flags

We went to Detroit Lakes yesterday to see the Avenue of the Flags at Oak Grove Cemetery.  It is becoming a tradition for us.  Usually we make a day of it and go to the Flea Market and then come back through the Wildlife Refuge.  Since we have company we decided not to drag them away for the entire day.

 

The flags are impressive and seem to go on forever, much like our Veteran’s commitment to protect our county and fight for our freedom.

I hope that the grand boys were sufficiently impressed with the amount of flags they saw.  Perhaps someday they will remember the day they saw all the flags:)

Noah and Adam at the Avenue of Flags May 26 2013.

Company

We have company for a bit.  Chance too!

Little Elvis and Miney brought their boys.

The parental units hadn’t been gone an hour when we had our first casualty.

Someone’s Grandparents took them to the candy store and somebody had a lose tooth, so the tooth came out.  I guess when you are eleven that happens.  It was an Now and Later Long Lasting Apple Flavored Chew that was responsible.

We have a Candy Store in Town called Kissin’ Cousins.  All the grands love that store.  It was interesting to see what they picked out.  Did you know they make a candy in the shape of Legos?   Adam says they taste kinda like Sweet Tarts. What did I pick out..why licorice pipes of course…my favorite…and some Jelly Beans..coconut and pear and peach..summer flavors!

A long time ago, that candy store was purchased and staffed by one family all summer long. It is only open from Memorial Day Weekend to Labor Day Weekend.  The store was bought for the sole purpose of employing family members during the summer and ultimately putting a whole bunch of kids through college.  Sweet:)

What’s new?

New babies in the neighborhood.

Brand new baby and new baby.  I wasn’t expecting them yet..someone said they wouldn’t be here until summer.  I am not thinking summer yet..spring is barely here.

They sure are cute!

Their pasture is greening up nicely in all the rain we have had recently.  The new calves are probably called Ribeye and Sirloin.  Yes, I like a good steak!  Steak and salad  one of my favorite meals.

It was spitting rain last night when I took these photos.  It is supposed to rain and be cloudy this Decoration Day weekend.

We took flowers to several cemeteries.  They were mowed..and look real nice.  Of course one looked better than the other..we didn’t linger long…maybe when we pick up the flowers on Monday night or Tuesday.  We take bunches of silk flowers and stick them in the ground…then collect them and put them back in the cemetery flower box in my garage until next year.  We used to take real plants when we had the greenhouse.  Far Guy would cart water every other day.

I have a ganglion cyst ( Bible Bump) on the top of my right foot. It is painful and making my toes go numb. I have had it surgically removed once..that was a nightmare ( I went into respiratory failure from a reaction to the anesthetic) plus I ended up with a drain tube and a cast.  ( I was in such pain that I bribed the girls with 20 dollar bills for an extra pain pill..they were party poopers and called their Father at work).  The last time it flared up my other baby brother took care of it for me.  He has large hands and is very strong..it hurt like the devil ( I think I may have screamed and said bad word, bad word) but that was ten years ago. His treatment was way better than surgery.  He is in North Dakota..lotta good that does me in my ten minutes of need.  One of his Grandsons suggested that I just drive out and see him. 

I am allergic to the newest blood pressure medication..I woke up the night before last at 4 AM covered in hives and couldn’t go back to sleep and when I finally did it was time to get up.  The bitchandmoan session is now over:) 

Grumpy

Catbirds are not much to look at.  However they sure can entertain you with their sounds and songs.  We have one..maybe two in the yard..mostly they sound like cats in a tree…grumpy cats in a tree.

Gray Catbird

I have a hooded sweatshirt that says “Grumpy “ on it.  I usually wear it on School Tour Days.  The Dwarf that is named Grumpy is also on this shirt.  40 kids were through the museum on Wednesday.  One of the classroom helpers said “I need a shirt just like that.” 

I organize the tours, I split them into four different groups. 40 little squirming, can’t stand still, can’t shut up, runny nose first grade little darlings. I got stuck with the downstairs communications, medical, resort and high school memory room and the hands on fur and wool exhibit.  All the kids were freezing..some were shivering..and complaining that it was too cold to be downstairs. Ya..think?  Welcome to my world.

Most of them knew about Alexander Graham Bell inventing the telephone..but had no idea what a pay phone would be used for.  They also didn’t know what the word “disconnect “ meant.  Such as in “If you didn’t have more money to put in the pay phone the operator would disconnect you.” Perhaps they thought it meant you would be beheaded or something…I don’t know.  I was glad when their time was up. I was shot. They were a rowdy bunch.  One of the teachers just shook her head and said “It is getting near the end of the school year.” She looked like I felt.

Some teachers have wonderful control of their students and some do not.

I came home and crashed and Far Guy said “I think I feel good enough to work for you tomorrow so you can have the day off.”  What a doll!

So I had a day off yesterday, I had a Doctors appointment, she is changing my blood pressure medication yet again.  I did some shopping for the museum.  I stopped by the museum.  I took many museum phone calls here at home..gosh it is no wonder my blood pressure is up..I had a call yesterday morning before I was even awake for the day.  For those of you that don’t know me well or how much I hate the telephone ringing, we only have a phone in the house because Far Guy insists that a phone booth at the end of the drive would be very inconvenient for him.

Grumpy Female Baltimore Oriole:)

The Orioles Have Landed

The trees are heavy with Orioles.  First it was a bachelor party with the men arriving one by one.  Then the ladies joined them.

It must be a good year for Orioles.  Last night I counted at last twenty in the yard.  Of course Far Guy reported that he filled the grape jelly dishes three times yesterday.  So we have very spoiled Orioles.

Look out you could choke to death guzzling down that grape jelly!

Sharing sometimes not so nicely.

Sometimes playing “King of the Orange”

Usually we get two or three Orioles..never ever have I seen this many.  They must have had a good winter someplace south.  Most likely we are just a darn good grape jelly stop on their travels.

My Dad built the Oriole feeder several years ago, it has room for two halves of orange and it has two containers for jelly.

It has a flat Plexiglas roof so that the Orioles can see the tasty treats that await them! It also helps to keep the rain out of the grape jelly…we got about 3 1/2 inches of rain the past couple of days:)

Wistful Wednesday: Superman is 14

Birthday wishes go out to Superman. (This Grandma thinks he is a super man!)

Noah was one year old in this photograph taken in 2000.  It is one of my favorite photos.

Noah is our first born grandson…he joined our three granddaughters ( his three cousins) and made our grandchild count four.

When we walked into the hospital in Hutchinson Minnesota very early in the morning we could hear a baby screaming at the top of his lungs  crying..it was Noah, his Dad was giving him his first bath.  We watched from the nursery window.

What happiness to see an brand new perfect grand shortly after they enter the world. We went to visit his Mom and a little later we got to hold him..he was just perfect..and still is:)

Day Off?

Appointments and meetings filled the day off.  I did get about an hour nap to help recharge..and then was interrupted by a phone call..bummer.

I have another busy week, appointments, tours for first grade students and a pile of “stuff” sitting on my desk at work.

My other day off was filled with doing the necessities, laundry, cleaning bathrooms, grocery shopping, cooking a decent meal and having a long nap.

This would be a great shot if that darned Forsythia would bloom.  I swear it has only bloomed one year out of twelve.  I should rip it out by it’s roots and compost the darn thing.  I know I have said that before..but this time I could be serious.

Our first Historical Museum program is now behind us…we had 45 guests..quite a group!  It was an interesting program..at least I thought so.  We had 1953 film footage of a celebration in nearby Ponsford.  That was the year that a local resident and first Trading  Post owner was inducted into the Chippewa Tribe along with the Park Rapids High School Marching Band.  It all happened sixty years ago…some of the band members were there..it was a fun evening.  Many of the people that showed up were Ponsford residents..or former Ponsford residents so I knew many of them personally.

When I have long board meetings and a program on my day off it really doesn’t seem like a day off:(

Sunday Drive

We went for a drive yesterday to see the area burned in the wildfire last week.   Quite by accident we happened upon the spot where it might have started.  I am not a Fire Investigator..but if I was I would check this area out.

Some spots were still smoldering even though we got rain overnight.

The first area burned fast, just burning the underbrush.  There was a house back in here about a quarter of a mile that escaped..how I am not sure.

That was the case all along as we drove on..especially further into the fire area..at times it was well over a mile wide.   Houses with steel roofs survived..I don’t know if that is a coincidence or if by that time enough fire departments had been called in to protect structures.  The Cedar Shake roofs didn’t fare so well.

In the pines the fire crowned ..some people said that the wind carried flames over a half a mile.

It smelled terrible.  Well.. just  like a forest fire.

I took this out the window, over on Twin Lakes Road where it goes from green to black where the fire raged through.

We went into town and did some errands.  In the stores you could tell lots of fire people/firefighters had been through..they left the smell of soot in the stores.  More than 50 fire departments mostly Volunteer Fire Depts. fought the blaze.  It was 80 % contained on Saturday..some hot spots were still in the area..a peat bog was burning and piles of timber..but we got rain yesterday afternoon a good soaking rain.

Some people still have those burn containers..they use old barrels to burn papers and their household garbage.  To cheap to use the county dumps and too lazy to recycle.  To stupid not to burn or weld on a windy day in dry spring weather.

Just for the record, I have no idea how this fire started.  I have seen fires start in crazy ways..the catalytic converters in cars parked in tall grass, cars that start mysteriously on fire after they have been stolen, flaming rolls of toilet paper thrown from vehicles, little kids with matches, burn barrel fires that sent sparks elsewhere and unattended campfires, oh and one time I saw a dock start on fire during a fireworks display:(

Some Blues

It was a long week. 

Last night I spent some time sitting outside in the yard listening to the thunder up north.  It was almost a constant rumble..Chance even deserted me.

Yes the Burr Oaks are still skeletal looking.  They have tiny buds…they take forever to leaf out.

I love how the light plays on the thunderhead..it was going north of us.

The woods was alive with bird song, the Loons down on the lake were calling to each other.  The Gold Finches were singing like there will be no tomorrow.  Robins flitted in and out of the yard, the Chickadees were dee dee deeing, and then there was a squawk.

This guy was being a flirt…he strutted his stuff…

Finally the lure of the suet was just too much…

See how tiny the buds are on the oaks?

The Blue Jays don’t come into the yard too often..this is the first time I have gotten decent photographs of them!  I would say it was patience..but I know better..I was just too tired to get out of the chair.

I hope to get caught up on some rest today!

Far Guy is feeling a bit better..not perfect..but better:)