Thursday, October 31, 2024

Happy Halloween!

 We are ready with a plastic pumpkin full of candy.  We may get five trick or treaters this year...maybe.  All the kids are getting older.  

Here a a few photos of the good old days.


Chance hated the Halloween hat...he tolerated the scarf but that hat not so much. 

In 2013 Chance could not figure out why his best friends looked funny. 

All the kids in the photos have either graduated from high school or will graduate this year and next year. 

Those were the days. Happy Halloween!
Far Side


Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Fall work

 I think I am done with leaves for the year.  The ones in the woods will stay put especially if we get snow. 


My mower had a problem but Far Guy fixed it ...mostly and put new blades on it and washed all the dust off of it and put it away in the garage. 

It is good to have the leaves done. I celebrated by vacuuming out the car.  

The mowing was hard on my left hip and leg...I am having an MRI next week.  I am still going to PT once a week and doing exercises daily. 

Far Side

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Fungi

 My other baby brother has a tree with some interesting fungi. 


I have no idea what kind of fungi this is ...other than interesting. 


On the other side of the tree is one little fungi.  

I used to know more about fungi...I took a very interesting Botany class many years ago...use it or lose it...

Sometimes I should just enjoy the discovery without all the information like its real name. 

Far Side

Monday, October 28, 2024

Fall Stuff

 Our Fall work list is getting shorter.  The leaves are out of the trees, well all the leaves that will fall right now.

If there are still leaves in the tree then that is most likely a Pin Oak and the leaves will fall off in the winter winds and the leaves will skate across the snowbanks or the new leaves will force them off in the Spring. ..it is called marcescence.

Those pesky leaves that catch amongst the solar lights are now history.  Raking is no fun for an old gal, it tuckered me out.   

I put a few pieces of furniture for sale on Facebook marketplace...sold one so far.  Yeah me!  

We have three medical appointments so far this week.   It is what we do for entertainment. 
Far Side


Sunday, October 27, 2024

Linda

 Yesterday we paid our respects to Linda's family.  We went to the visitation a bit early to avoid the crowds of people that would be there.  We found Cousin Tom sitting by himself in the front pew of the church.  Others were in the church making sure the meal was being prepared and everything was just so for their Mothers/Grandmothers funeral service. 

Cousin Tom is sad, he has moved into Senior Living Apartments and out of his home.  The move was planned well before Linda died.  He shared that their home held 50 years of "stuff" and is for sale.  They would have been married 59 years at the end of this month. 

Linda wrote her own obituary and it was lovely especially the last few words.  " I have lived a wonderfully ordinary life; celebrate that with me."


There were a number of her poems in the funeral program! 

  I recall one of our first conversations probably the weekend near June 13 when we all used to gather to celebrate Grandma Tracie's birthday.   Linda liked to suck on rocks...she did it quite discreetly so small children would not notice...she said she had done it all her life and wondered if it was the minerals she liked.  I had never met someone who sucked on rocks before...she seemed pretty normal to me...and she was.  

 She had a marvelous laugh and she was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother.  Linda was 78 years old.  She died from Leukemia. 

Far Side


Saturday, October 26, 2024

October 26

 This is the day that my other baby brother was born and my baby brother and I told everyone his name was Jody,  I was nine and my baby brother was six.  A neighbor lady visited Mom in the hospital and said "What a cute name for your baby" ... and so he was named. 

Here he is in 1961 when he was one year old. 
Happy Birthday Jody! 
Far Side


Friday, October 25, 2024

The Greats

 Our Great Grandchildren are GREAT. Here are some recent photos of them at the wedding.  They are growing like little weeds.  They all belong to our Granddaughter Maddie and her husband Brenton.


Hey Mikey!

Cee Cee calling for her brother.


 

It was difficult waiting around for photographs.  Uncle Andy was explaining about patience and how it is hard sometimes but we don't get everything we want. 

Brenton and Peach

Jen and Peach

After the photographs the children went back to the motel with their babysitter.  It was a hard day for them being away from their Mom as she was busy being a Matron of Honor.  

Far Side 

 

Thursday, October 24, 2024

Cousin Kathy

 My Cousin Kathy died on October 11th.  We attended the visitation at the funeral home, the funeral was the next day the same day as Paige's wedding.  

Kathy was one of my favorite cousins, she printed family scrapbooks and cookbooks. She was very interested in family history and stories and was always up for any cousin adventure!  Before Kathy had her stroke she and cousin Geraldine would get together and could visit a day away seeing as many relatives as they could in a day.  


Aunt Eleanor with Mary Jane, Leonard with Mike, Uncle Oscar with Kathy and Ronnie.

This is a photo that my Mom took in 1953.  Everyone in the photo is gone now except for the two youngest...Mary Jane and Mike. 
 Leonard died October 23, 1958 in a hunting accident age 15
Ronnie died May 16,  2022 age 75
Kathy died  October 11, 2024  age 75

Kathy's Dad Oscar and my Dad were brothers. 

I will miss my cousin Kathy, her smile, laugh and her hugs.  She gave the best hugs. 
Far Side

Here is the newspaper article about my cousin Leonard's death.




Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Progress

 I mulched the leaves in our yard on Monday and got some mulching done at my baby brothers shop.  I still have more areas to do but it rained a bit on Tuesday.  Our weather went from nice and warm to chilly.

I probably still have time before it snows.  Most of the leaves are on the ground and not in the trees.  One big wind would help me out! 
 
I refreshed all the solar lights in the yard and took care of some odds and ends. 
 
I finished all the Christmas ornaments and they are wrapped up and ready for tins/mailers and bags for deliveries.  I will reveal the design after they have been mailed out sometime in November. 

No progress on the Christmas card yet...the paper, cards and envelopes are ready...I just need to watercolor the design and sign them. 
 
The swelling in my face has gone down, I still have one problem area where a stitch might be surfacing.
Uffda. 

Far Guy had quite a time over the weekend with all the fragrances of flowers, perfumes and aftershaves.  He struggled on Sunday and Monday...but seems better now.  Fingers crossed that we averted a hospital stay. 
Far Side 




Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Wedding: Paige and Cole

 October 18, 2024 the wedding of Paige and Cole took place at Carlos Creek Winery. 


There were bouquets of Fall flowers.

Helping hands.


Jen helped Paige get into her gown. 
Shoes were strapped on...not sure how comfortable the shoes were. 
Look Grandma pockets!

Paige's Mom our oldest daughter helped Paige with her veil...the professional photographers were there for that part. 


They took many photos outside.  I captured a few photos with the long lens on my camera. 
I gave Paige a hankie that was her Great Great Grandmothers then her Great Grandmothers and then mine.  She tied it around the stems of her bouquet.  You can see it in the above photo and below as the bouquet rested in a vase of water on the bridal table. 


***********************************
Here are a few photos that Paige posted on facebook.  These photos are by others. 

Most of you will recognize Savannah on the far left kneeling and Maddie kneeling next to Paige.  The bridesmaids chose shades of ivory, rust and burgundy for their gowns, they were all different styles. 

Mr and Mrs in the vineyard. 
Paige and Cole with their dog Rosie.  

 They had an almost perfect day, it sprinkled a bit during the photos. After the ceremony the sun came out for a bit.  There was a social hour after the ceremony, a meal and then a dance.  

Congratulations Paige and Cole!

Far Side



Monday, October 21, 2024

Our grandsons

 The wedding was a good time to spend some time with our grandsons Noah and Adam...and of course their parents Jen and Andy.  Jen and Andy rented a large enough place for all of us to be comfortable.  Far Guy and I just stayed one night. 

Our oldest Grandson Noah, he took a vacation day from his job at Simplot in Grand Forks ND to come to the wedding.



Our youngest grandson and the baby of the entire family...Adam.  


Adam has a gal named Courtney, we like her too!  They both live in Western ND where Courtney is attending school and Adam is working at Menards and planning to go back to school Winter semester.  

 A wonderful group photo! 

Time always goes too fast when you are around the people you love most in the world.  We get to see Noah quite often...Adam not so much since he moved. 

Far Side


Sunday, October 20, 2024

Grands and Greats

 Our youngest Great Granddaughter, Peach is flanked by two very handsome young men.  They almost look like security guards!  

The handsome young men are our two favorite Grandsons; Adam and Noah. Adam and Noah's parents are our youngest daughter Jen and her husband Andy.

Where is the littlest piggy tailed Peach heading?  She had been at the motel with her siblings and her Dad and a family friend who helped with their care...because their Mom was busy being a Matron of Honor.  

Where ever is she headed?  She had quite an entourage....all people who love her; Adam, Noah, Jen, Hey Mikey and Andy with Cee Cee.

Peach had activated her Mom radar!

And then they were photo bombed!
But you get the idea.


Maddie and Peach.   Maddie is our oldest daughter Trica and her ex husband Richard's middle daughter  (they were divorced after being married for 24 years)...and Peach belongs to Maddie and Brenton. 

The wedding was beautiful.  I will share more photos as the days go on.  I will wait until Paige posts some photos on facebook to show you what a beautiful bride she was.  I had to get what photos I could and not agitate the professional photographers.
We are safely back at home. 
Far Side


Saturday, October 19, 2024

One in a million photo

 I was going through a bunch of my old photo files....2009  was an interesting year. 

I happened to capture this photo of neighbor Joe's horses all lined up...


Just a whistle out the car window and they came and lined up...it was almost like magic.  It is my one in a million photo.  Oh I am sure if you had well trained horses you could duplicate the photo...but these are just horses raised by an extraordinary man. 

Far Side

Friday, October 18, 2024

Looking forward

 Our youngest Granddaughter Paige will be married later today to the love of her life a fellow named Cole.  We will travel about 90 minutes to the wedding venue at a winery.  The weather looks really nice 68 and sunny so the bride gets a beautiful day!  

I will be back with a wedding report and a few photos in a couple of days. 

Photo taken in 2010...seems like just yesterday. Paige was 11 years old. 
Far Side

Thursday, October 17, 2024

Update

 Still not feeling great.  The Doctor believes I have an infection in the deep stitches in my face and has prescribed antibiotics.  So I hope that make me feel like a new person and SOON.  She said she would hate to go back into my face to retrieve those deep stitches.


This is one of the prettiest Maple trees on the way to Detroit Lakes.  I have stopped many times to take a photo...it looked just about the same yesterday...although this photo is from 2009. 

 Far Side

Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Chilly

  It froze the other night and the high yesterday was 52F or 12C eh. 

I have some swelling at the surgical site on my face.  The Dr said to use ice once in a while and Benadryl...well I fell asleep with ice on my face.  Good thing the ice had a towel covering it!  I woke up shivering and haven't warmed up since.  Needless to say I am not feeling terrific as my body is fighting off whatever this is. 

I will return to the Doctor on Wednesday if there is no improvement. 


Far Side


Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Crochet Scrubbies

 There is a great pattern for a number of scrubbies at Yarnspirations.   Niece Katie first shared the pattern with me a number of years ago.  I have a small workbag with balls of scrubby yarn...Red Heart or Hobby Lobby brand they are all good.  There are many different types of yarns to use.  I use a 4mm crochet hook just because I like the feel of that size hook and I have several Tulip Crochet hooks that size. 


I like scrubbies that are a bit larger so I usually do four rounds instead of three as the pattern suggests. 


It is an easy to carry with you project easily worked on in the car or waiting at some appointment.  

I do make them to sell in a craft shop but I give many of them away.  

Personally I use them all the time much like a dish rag...they dry out quickly and are easily washed with other kitchen towels...or replaced. 

Far Side

Monday, October 14, 2024

Lake views

 The leaves are changing fast now.   It has cooled off significantly.  The high yesterday was 51F  or 11C.

This was the view from my spot over the weekend at my Baby brothers home.  The other side of the lake is beautiful.   I took the photo through the window that had a screen...kinda gives the photo texture.
Here is another view.

Only two medical appointments this week...practically a week off. 
Far Side


Sunday, October 13, 2024

Quilting

 I do not sew tiny pieces of material together to make quilts.  My Mother was a quilter and many of my cousins are and my sister in law is. 

We gathered on the weekend of my Mother's first birthday in heaven.  Last year Mom quilted with the gals on her birthday weekend. 

Cousin Wilma's quilt pieces.


Cousin Geraldine's quilt pieces.


My sister in law (my baby brothers bride) was putting together a quilt that she and my Mom started together.  

Everyone made some progress on their projects...my cousin Art's wife Bonnie was cross stitching, cousin LeAnn was playing with watercolor on cards and cousin Cora was doing some embroidery.  

We had more good food for lunch and supper and great conversations:)