No Blue Sky

 We had rain all day yesterday.  No blue skies or jet trails or aircraft sparkling in the sunlight. 

April showers bring May flowers or so they say.  We are thankful for the rain as everything is real dry here,  the chances of wildfire are high.  Looks like it may rain a few days. 

We ran an errand to town, Far Guy needed some special gasket for his old car Tilly.  I needed  wanted some different paper for May Baskets. We both accomplished our tasks. 

Yes it is May Day next Wednesday...so be thinking what kind of May Basket you can share with a small child, a neighbor or a friend! It doesn't have to be fancy... just fun!

May Day kinda snuck up on me...but I have the whole rainy weekend to putz with paper. 

Far Side

Butter Butts

 The little Butter Butts ( Yellow-rumped Warblers) are here another sure sign of Spring.  They brought lots of their friends. 

Pretty little things with their splashes of yellow...yes they have yellow butts too.

They prefer the black sunflower seeds. 

Yesterday was Far Guy's infusion day.  I dropped him off and ran errands, Walmart pick up twice because they forgot my bag with the butter and cheese...they called me when I was at the bank.  So Far Guy had to wait for me in the car while I went to the meat market, grocery store for fresh fruit and the pharmacy. 

So much for the excitement yesterday. 

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First Robin

 We saw the first Robin in our yard yesterday afternoon... no camera.  In the evening  I finally got a photo of the Robin sitting high in a tree.

Everyone has had Robins in their yards before us this year.  So glad we finally saw one! 

Spring might be here. 

Far Guy still has a cough and is short of breath.  Yes, some of it could be Spring allergy related as he often gets sick in the Spring/early Summer.  He takes allergy medication.  Bottom line is he is still struggling. 

I am exhausted so we make quite the pair.

Far Side 

More pills

 What do the Doctors do best?  Add more pills to your diet, he doubled my Potassium and hopes that next weeks blood test is better.  Low Potassium makes me so tired.  He checked me all out and scratched his head, and ordered more blood tests...guess what I still have low Potassium. I have no doubt that he is a good Doctor, he teaches Medical Students.  He is also Far Guy's Primary Care Doctor.  

It was great to see the kids: Andy and Jen, Noah and Maddie!  AND of course Sadie and Little Elvis!  They were very happy to see us and I think Sadie was petted and fussed with for several hours straight!

Jen has a few things coming up in her front garden....looks like her Bleeding Heart made it another year! 

The weather was downright warm and sunny in East Grand Forks on Monday afternoon, then it cooled off on Tuesday and rained a bit. 

Sadie and Little Elvis

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Away

 Gone to see this dog and go to a Dr appointment about my low Potassium.

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The big sort

 This has been my work area since we have returned home.

Organized chaos.  Although last week at one point it was a worse mess.

There is kind of a path to walk through.  Good thing we are not expecting company.  

I won't guess when I will be done...best laid plans can change. 

Far Guy is sick again, coughing and real congested. 

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sNOw

 Oh yes it snowed on Friday morning, off and on all day, huge honking snowflakes in the air, mostly it melted, then it snowed again overnight on Friday night/Saturday morning.

Even Ranger Blue had snow.

Saturday was a quiet day, we went to recycle and to the transfer station with garbage.  We were both tired so we had long afternoon naps after putting ribs in the crockpot.  

We use our oven sparingly after the idiot repairman didn't know his butt from a hole in the ground.  The cooling circulating fan inside the oven worked just fine until he repaired the oven ($400), the next time he came back two months later he said it didn't need to work.  Jenn-Air says "The cooling fan runs to help keep the range itself and its critical parts from overheating. The cooling fan is often sold as an assembly. If the fan does not turn freely or has power to it but won't run, it will need to be replaced." 

I ordered a new stove after much research. It is not here yet. Our stove is 26 years old...so it is probably time.  The stove top works perfectly. 

Such is life at our home.

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In between

 Yesterday I picked up my Aunt Judy (she was married to Uncle Dennis who was my Mother's brother, he died a number of years ago) and she and I went to see my Uncle Al.  Uncle Al is 7 years older than me and loved the job of rocking babies instead of chopping wood.  I was born in September and my Grandmother had twins in November ( My Aunt Karen died a few years ago but Uncle Kenny is still alive and lives in Nebraska. )  So there were three babies to rock, Uncle Al says it was almost a full time job. 

So I am the in between kid...in between Al and Kenny.  They are the the last surviving members of that family.   Uncle Al was diagnosed with Leukemia 6 1/2 years ago, the Doctors bought him a few good years, recently the Doctors reported that the cancer is in his bones so there is nothing medically that can be done for him...enter Hospice to keep him comfortable. 

He is in good spirits, taking it one day at a time. His wife Donna is a marvelous caregiver, between her and hospice they hope to keep him at home for the duration of his life.  We had a nice visit and talked about many things.  We took chicken from KFC for lunch because it is one of Uncle Al's favorite lunches.

I also took him an old picture.  He looked at it and said "Is that me and you?"  Pretty sure it is!  The photo was taken at my Grandparents home and everyone else was way older than him.

Uncle Al and me June of 1952.

Aunt Judy and I had a good visit there and back, she has a really good sense of humor, so it was a giggly girls trip! 

It snowed on and off most of yesterday.

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Busy day

 Thursday is Far Guy's Infusion Day...he made the Nurses giggle so he got more than one stick with the needle.

  I had a blood draw, my Potassium is still low. Not sure what my Dr will do about it but he has been informed.  I already take two prescription huge honking potassium pills every day.  

I picked up the grocery order from Wally World and then headed to the other grocery store for fresh fruits. 

Far Guy and I planned the menus for the next week.  

Last evening were were invited to my baby brothers and his brides for supper, he did a BBQ Brisket and it was delicious, we also had roasted vegetables, applesauce and I made potato salad.  One of my cousins children will be a Veterinarian next year and she was up here shadowing a Vet, and she is staying at my baby brothers this week.  We enjoyed a game of Encore after supper. 

It was a good day! 

Flowers last summer.

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52

 Our oldest daughter, Trica is 52 today.  It has been 16 months since we last saw her.  She came for her Grandfathers Funeral but not for her Grandmothers. 

Here she is with my Mother about two years ago. 

Trica has a life of her own, with very little contact with family members. It is the way she wants it.

We love her daughters and grandchildren very much, of course we cannot fill her shoes but we can hug them all and tell them that they are loved. 

Happy Birthday Trica, we all love you!

Mom

26

 Maddie our middle Granddaughter is 26 today!  I was privileged to be present at her birth and cut the umbilical cord.   I then went with her to the nursery.  One time she asked me if she could have been switched at birth...I said " No way, I was with you from the time you were born until you were safely with your Mom." 

Maddie and Chance in 2009. Maddie was 11 years old back then. She and Chance were best friends.

Here she is with her husband Brenton. 

Maddie is a busy Mom working full time and taking care of three children. 

Happy Birthday Maddie!  Love you now and forever!

Grandma

Why?

 As I sort through things I wonder why they were kept. I ran into one such item that was a mystery. 

Well as it turns out it was kept by my Maternal Great Grandmother, my Maternal Grandparents and my Mother.  And now I have it over 100 years later...well...114 years later.  Now what do I do with it? 

It is a sweet card.  Turns out it came from  a teacher Esther Strout, who in 1910 was a 19 year old teacher and she boarded with the relatives (August and Elizabeth Anderson) who raised my Grandmother. 

Fred/Freddie/Frederick C Drewes was my Maternal Grandfathers older brother. 

Freddie is on the left and my grandfather (Albert) on the right. The brothers were born in 1901 and 1903 they were 1 year and 7 months apart in age. 

Sadly Freddie died of Scarlet Fever on Sept 20 1911. 

My Grandfather never spoke of his brother to me.  I wonder if my Grandfather got Scarlet Fever also, but he was luckier than his brother.  My grandfather also had other siblings a sister born in 1905 and brothers born in 1907 and 1912.

Well now after a bit of research I know why this card was kept. It must have been a remnant that comforted my Great Grandmother Hattie. Something she could just not throw away. 

For Not Whispering.

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April Days

 We had a quiet day yesterday, Jen and Andy were the highlight of our day.  They stopped on their way through for lunch and to drop off Far Guys carving supplies. They helped carry a bunch of stuff to the garage....stuff we store inside for the winter...Round Up, Poison Ivy Killer etc...and some "stuff" that Jen unearthed under the stairs that can be sold at a rummage sale. 

I mowed the tall grass East of the house, noticed that the little Lilac there is beginning to show some buds.  It was a terribly dusty job...I came inside washed my hair and had a bath in the middle of the day then a nap! 

I took a break from working on the big sort.  We took paper and plastic to recycle. 

Dangles from Piss Popple on the East side of the house blew in on the patio.  Spring must be here.

Son In Law Andy is tempting the snow spirits...he put away my electric snow shovel and my regular snow shovel.  Last year at this time we had snow on the ground.

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Yard

 The yard is in early Spring mode.  We need rain badly. 

We put out the bird feeders again and have our usual Woodpeckers, Nuthatches and Chickadees.  The Junco's are here on and off flying through...so far they have not brought us snow.   Far Guy saw a Robin in town, my baby brother had a Robin at his house.  As far as I can tell we have one bunny rabbit. 

See that patch of tall grass/wildflowers past the trees in the yard...I will mow that in the next few days so it can green up if it rains. 

Such is life here in the woods.  Yesterday it was 72 F or 23 C eh! It was a very nice day!

I am still muddling through the big sort and Far Guy felt good enough to go out to his garage and transfer tools to his new tool box.

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Blue Sky

 We had a wonderful blue sky day yesterday.  We sat outside a couple of times, our high temperature for the day was 54 F or 13 C eh!

We tackled a project in the garage, and we got it done! 

The Oaks are not beginning to look alive yet. 

Can you pick out which tree is a Piss Popple (Aspen) soon all the dangles will fall off the tree.  They make such a mess.  But it will be the first leafy green tree in our area. 

I worked on the big sort for a bit yesterday.  Very little progress was made. 

Far Guy continues to hold his own and is working on getting stronger everyday.

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Progress on the big sort

 I am done bringing totes into the house to sort.  The last two totes came home with me today.   I am not going back to my Mothers's storage garage to get anything else.  Far Guy says "ya sure."  He also asked how long I thought the big sort will take.   I do not know.  I am done sorting new cards ...I think...there are hundreds of them.  I started working on the photographs. 

My Mom and her older brother Alfred who was killed in a car accident when he was 19 years old in October of 1947. His death made my Mom the oldest in the family. 

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Idle Hands

 There are no idle hands around here. 

The blanket is my tv watching project. 

I  sorted cards last night...my Mom kept cards from their 25th Wedding Anniversary that was 48 years ago.   I found a few interesting letters some that connect the dots with family history and a few family related things...one of my Aunt's funeral service on a cassette tape. I found a number of obituaries, that Mom said she had but couldn't recall where she put them. Guest books from Silver and Golden Wedding celebrations....I have no idea what to do with them. I have three file totes upstairs that are going to my siblings...mainly filled with photos...they might get a few surprises. 

My Mother was not only a fabric hoarder but a card hoarder.  She has new cards for every season and reason.  Ready to send out at a moments notice. I used to give her cards that I made thinking that she wouldn't have to go out to buy cards...boy was I wrong. 

The big sort continues. 

Oh yes the Idle Hands...my Mother used to say "Idle hands are the devil's workshop."

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The Big Sort

 It was raining on Monday, so....I began the big sort.  Many totes full of "stuff" were brought upstairs after my Mom died.   Lets just say I have a rather large mess up there...Far Guy refuses to go upstairs. 

Rainy days and evenings will be time to sort.  I will eventually get done...I hope. 

My baby brother brought me three more totes yesterday, one tote had...greeting cards and a small box with some of my Fathers things...like an old billfold...no money in it...a leather belt that has seen better days...a Japanese or Korean book of maps....his drivers license ( I shredded it)...a razor, hearing aids and glasses. 

Not sure what is in the other totes as I didn't get to them yet.  Have to leave those surprises for another rainy day or evening project. 

I know the Lions take glasses...I heard they take hearing aids too!

Six pair...I wonder if that is all I will find?  I tried them on..and no I cannot see through them..he had two real fancy pairs of prescription sunglasses.

Just thankful I didn't get the totes with fabric in them my baby brother has stacks of them in his all season craft/gathering room. 

Far Guy had a pretty good day, we got the bird feeders filled, a Pileated Woodpecker was in the yard and I am sure he will be back for suet.  It was nice to sit out in the sunshine!  The high temperature was 55 F or 13 C eh!

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Book Club April

 The book we read for the April bookclub was How The Word Is Passed by Clint Smith.

I gave it a 2 barely...it reads like a text book and the author is real wordy either that or he had a lazy editor. 

The book club girls were split some liked it and some did not.  

I hope that next months read is not dull and dreary. 

Far Guy is doing pretty good, knock on wood I think he is 3/4 of the way around the corner. I still  have an eye on him.

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25

 Our youngest Granddaughter is 25 years old today!  

I have no idea how she got to be 25 in the blink of an eye. 

Can you tell she hated my camera?  Sometimes she would hide from me.  I think she was 12 in this photo. 

Here she is when she was still 24, in the photo is her fiancee Cole and Cole's little Dachshund Rosie.

Happy Birthday Miss Paige...we loved you even when you hid from the camera, you have grown into a beautiful young lady who we are very proud of.  Love you now and forever!

Grandma

Saturday

 We had a nice day, we sat outside with my other baby brother and she who sees Robins first...she has not seen any yet this Spring...so I still have a chance.  It was a windy day.  They helped us get the patio furniture out of the garage. 

We went to the dump in the morning and to recycle.  Cross that off our list.   I managed to give the downstairs bathroom a real good clean! 

Far Guy had a good day, he feels better than he did a few days ago...so that is progress.  If he keeps improving I can take one eye off of him and relax a bit. We might be at the edge of the woods...yeah us! 

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Baxter and Lolli

 Baxter and Lolli are good friends. 

As you can see there is quite a difference in size.  Baxter is a Mini Australian Shepherd...with little emphasis on the mini part.

Yes you get a closer look at her ears! I am not sure if she is considered a Brown and White Boston Terrier or a Lilac or a Fawn Lilac. I call her a blondie but that is not an official color.  She has had to grow into her ears.  She liked lounging on that blanket on the couch between Far Guy and Beth.  Lolli is staying a bit longer with my baby brother Carey and his bride Beth.  They love her and are taking good care of her with Baxters help! 

Both dogs were happy to see us.  Lolli's bum ( rectal bruise) is looking better too.

Far Guy had a reasonably good day, he did a few more activities and we went for a short Ranger Blue ride before dark.  We saw four deer. 

I crossed a few things off my list of things that I must do soon!

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Meat with your meat

 Andy made the most incredible meat for Easter Dinner. 

No not this although the double smoked ham was delicious!

This is what we are talking about!

Melt in your mouth Pork Belly! The strips of pork belly were rubbed with a special spice mix and then put out in the smoker and then were covered with some fancy kind of glaze after they were sliced into bite size pieces. 

We call this have some meat with your meat! 

I haven't had pork belly in years...back on the farm when I was growing up and a pig was butchered we often had pork belly. 

Updates: 

Brother In Law Dean is out of the hospital and recovering at home after the car accident.

Lolli is having a blast with Baxter, they ran around in our yard for a long time today so they should both be tuckered out.  Her rectal bruise doesn't seem to bother her. 

Far Guy is still hanging in there, he had his infusion yesterday and had fun visiting with his favorite nurses.  Hoping we can avoid a hospital visit in the next few days maybe we will be over the hump. 

Me I am not all unpacked yet or caught up with laundry.  We have enough groceries in the house now that we can stay home a few days and just rest and sit outside and enjoy the sunshine.  

Far Side

Happenings

 Not too much snow left yet. 

June the snow bank is barely hanging in there.

Far Guy had blood tests and a chest x ray.  No pneumonia although his white blood count is up, after two days trying to get a script to the correct pharmacy I recalled a bottle that had a fill left on it.  Who knows when or if the script will get to the correct pharmacy.  No one does their job anymore.  Anyways...I am trying my best to keep Far Guy out of the hospital. 

My other baby brother called Wednesday morning, our brother in law Dean was in an accident and life flighted out to St Cloud and the puppy Lolli was with the Highway Patrol.  We went to the scene of the accident to get the puppy. We found out later that Dean has a broken sternum.  I took Lolli and gave her a quick exam...she seemed okay...everything worked.  I dropped her off at my baby brothers, he has Baxter and dog food.  He discovered a small spot near Lolli's anus after she pooped...he took her to the Vet and she has a rectal bruise. Poor puppy.  My baby brother and his bride, Baxter and Lolli went to St Cloud to see how Dean and my sister were doing.  My sister Julie was on her way to work at a Regional Office in Thief River Falls when she got the phone call about the accident....so she had a really long drive.  We are thankful that Dean will be okay eventually, he will have pain for a really long time. 

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Peach

 Ree has a new nickname that has stuck.  Peach is what everyone is calling her so me too!

She has seen us enough over the Winter that she no longer has stranger danger.  She is on the move now as she is creeping.  Easter Sunday she entertained us!

Peach is learning new things everyday!  It won't be long before she is pulling herself up on furniture.

Far Guy had a little set back after we got home...too much activity. So he has slowed down and feels a bit better...I think.  At any rate I am keeping an eagle eye on him. 

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Italian Dessert

 Andy  grilled one evening.  Steaks, salad with cheese, strawberries and blueberries, gluten free popovers, roasted carrots and wine.  Then an Italian Dessert...Tiramisu, that we had much later in the evening. 

It is Andy's favorite dessert. A sliver was just about right for me as it is a very rich dessert. 

We made the trip back to our home in the woods yesterday. We got the car unloaded but not everything is put away yet. Far Guy is doing so so, just the change from one house to another is a breathing adjustment for him. 

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Easter gathering

 We gathered at Jen and Andy's for Easter.   The food was marvelous!  We enjoyed way too much food and a rousing game of Bingo.  The Great Grands hunted for their Easter Baskets and had an egg hunt. 

We missed Miss Paige she had to be elsewhere, it is always fun to see these "kids" together.

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Easter Joy

 Happy Easter from our family to yours!

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Sunrise

 My baby brother sent out this photo of the Good Friday sunrise from his home. 

What a beautiful way to start Good Friday. 

Far Guy is doing a tiny bit better every day.

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Sunflower scrubby

 I had this wacky idea to crochet a sunflower scrubby. 

Who wouldn't like a bit of sunshine in their kitchen anyway? 

This was one of the rejects, the brown area is a bit large....but it does resemble a sunflower.  I perfected the pattern after I made this one. 

Far Guy was feeling much better yesterday..we even went out for supper...the first time in a very long time.  We are packing up a few things to take home with us the first part of next week.

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Poof

 The winter storm went South of us.   It was a big ta - do about nothing. 

Here is the lawn before the big bad three day storm.

There was still a bit of ice in the neighbors lawn.

After the big storm.

The sun came out and it warmed up...and poof all the snow is now gone....so it looks like the first photo again. 

Far Guy had an appointment with his Pulmonary Doctor.  She says it will take a long time to get back to normal...many, many weeks.   So he should be patient... 

One day at a time. 

Far Side

A different craft

 Quilting without sewing is what daughter Jen said. 

Yes but at the end you have to sew down the strips.  So I will just remain an assistant!

I helped her create this piece of art this week.  Mosaic fabric art.

The design is drawn on the paper...then you apply some kind of paper with sticky stuff onto fabric, then you cut the fabric into a million strips, pull the backing off and apply the strips to the design.  I was a stripper...ya know pulling the backing off and I designed those mountains off to the left...the ones that look like pointy boobs.  When the pattern is completely covered you hang it in front of the patio door to see what areas you missed.  Then it is pressed ...the iron heat activates the sticky stuff on each small piece of fabric, then Jen sewed straight lines all over the piece.  It is quite a large piece even if it looks small on the floor.  Andy will make a frame for it and it will be for sale at Flippin Happy Home. 

Far Guy had a pretty good day yesterday, and he has a Doctor's appointment today. 

Far Side

63 years ago

March 26 1961 my baby brother was seven years old, my other baby brother was five months old and I was 9 1/2. 

It must have been close to Easter that year as my baby brother has a bunny amongst his seven candles. 

Not sure who the hair dresser was most likely my Mom...those bangs of mine will take a long time to grow out..those curls were made with those spongy pink hair rollers.

Happy Birthday to my baby brother! Welcome to your 70's.

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