Thursday, May 21, 2026

Glitter

 Far Guy put the glittered bowling ball in place in its holder.   It still needs a bit of touch up.


 This whole area needs a bit of work!  Maybe one day soon:)

Big accomplishment for the day...the swelling in my nose is going down and I can breath through BOTH nostrils!  Yeah me!

What's cooking? Far Guy made brats (no bun) green beans and a baked potato. 

Minnesota Weather: Cool  High 61F or 16C  Low was 42F or 6C.  We need it to rain for at least a week.

Far Side

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Yuck

 I feel just yucky after my fall... my body hurts in so many places...I slept most of the morning and afternoon.  

Far Guy made supper...cheeseburgers (No bun)  french fries in the air fryer and green beans. 

Nothing else was accomplished.  

One more day of rest and I will be back to not quite new. 

Far Side



Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Back

 We are back from Dr appointments.  Two appointments turned into three more appointments for me. 

I had an MRI and they may have found the root cause to my back pain and leg numbness...they are not sure so I will see another Dr before another procedure is performed.  In the meantime the MRI showed something else that calls for yet another MRI.

The little pills that I had to take prior to the MRI worked really well...so well that I tripped over my own feet, fell and hit my head and nose...not sure what will turn black or blue yet. The poor nurse had to fill out a report.  

I slept most of the way home and am headed to bed soon:)


A picture of our Border Collie Chance in a little plane that was in our yard in 2005.

What's Cooking  Far Guy made me a ham sandwich and he had lasagna from the freezer. 

Minnesota weather: High 54F  or 12C  Low was 38F or 3C Not much rain fell here.

Far Side

Monday, May 18, 2026

Hark! Back! Issue #1

Hark! Back! Is a look back at blogs that appeared in a now defunct blogging site before I started with blogger in September of 2008.  They are in no particular order.  

March 24, 2008

The Cockatiel "Pearl"

One day I was at a garage sale, there was a bird for sale, so I purchased her cage and all.  She was a female cockatiel, we named her "Pearl".  Well as it turned out she hated me, even though I kept telling her "Pearl I rescued you, you should adore me, and worship the ground I walk on." 

She had a love affair with Far Guy...it was sickening.  When he would get home from work she would coo and make little throaty noises until he talked to her.  After supper he would take her out of her cage and she would sit on his shoulder and groom his moustache, sideburns and ear hairs.  If he had a toothpick in his mouth she would take it from his mouth ever so gently and then turn around and give it back to him.  If I came anywhere near this exchange she would squawk at me and act like I was going to kill her or something.  I can't lie...sometimes I thought I should wring her neck.

During the daytime when I was home alone I liked to catch forty winks on the sofa in the afternoon.  Pearl would wait for me to go to sleep and then she would go ballistic, flapping her wings and squawking. This in turn would wake up the four Shelties that were napping near me and they would bark and bark. The cats would yawn and stretch..it was a zoo. 

The cats loved to perch above the cage and stalk poor Pearl. We had one really fat cat "Shadow" who needed a little help getting above the cage, so I would give him a boost...great entertainment during the day.

Pearl never did like me, even if I was the only one that cleaned her cage and brought her food and fresh water everyday. Occasionally I would give her wet lettuce leaves to bathe on...none of this mattered to her. Sometimes she would peck my arm so hard it would bleed.

This evil bird was always transformed quite magically every evening at 6:15 when her best friend in the whole world came home from work.  I guess she must have been a one man bird:)


Pearl with Caramel looking on!

************

Update

Every time I see a  box of Chicken in a Biskit crackers at the grocery store I think of Pearl as that was her favorite treat. 

Pearl lived with us for about ten years. When Far Guy retired we put everything in storage and bought a camper we found a home for her with a nice old lady who she loved...and she lived a good long life. 

Far Side

Sunday, May 17, 2026

Waking up

 Our woods is slowly waking up.  The trees and bushes have had a long Winter's nap.

The Thornapple is awake.  You can see the thorns...it is a nasty shrub. 

Far Guy has been doing some woodcarving...he finally came inside and grabbed a bunch of bandaids and told me not to pay attention to the blood spatters on the patio. 

I am playing with paper and doing misc stuff that never shows up anyplace. 

 I finally got confirmation from Gethsemane Lutheran Church that doesn't have a cemetery and they were cooperative and were also going to contact the Find A Grave Community to delete the cemetery.   Everyone not familiar with the area thinks the cemetery belongs to the Church because it is across the road...it was not always that way...they had a small Church right in the heart of downtown Snellman where they used to have a smelly old smelt fry every Spring...I can say the ladies made some great pies.  Anyways they raised all the money and members all helped to have the Church built on the outskirts of town on the hillside across the highway from cemetery aptly named The Snellman Cemetery. 

Minnesota weather: Windy...a chilly wind like after it hails.   High 58 F or 14C  Low was 39F or 4C.  It is supposed to rain the next few days....we and the woods need the moisture. 

What's Cooking: Leftover Calzones...cook once and eat twice:)

Far Side

Saturday, May 16, 2026

Glitter glitter everywhere

 I am slowly adding new glitter to my bowling ball.


Spray glue works pretty good. I am sure the wind took some of the glitter everywhere!

Minnesota weather: High 78F or 26C  Low 47F or 8C.   We may get rain starting on Sunday. 

What's cooking?  Calzones but they are not as easy as our son in law Andy makes them look.  

Far Side

Friday, May 15, 2026

For the birds

 We have a pair of nesting Robins they are really busy in the yard gathering for their young!  We also have a pair of Bluebirds that are going in and out of one of the many boxes available to them.

Far Guy is putting a few seeds out for the Chick a dees and the Nuthatches...he repurposed an old metal bird bath into a feeder that the squirrels seem to like.  Hopefully the bear will stay away.

We had a horrid dust storm Thursday...you could just feel the grit in the air.  

Having a bad RA flare at the moment...my husband takes good care of me.

What's cooking: Chicken Enchiladas from the freezer:)

Minnesota weather: High 76F or 24C  Low was 51F or 11C.  We are in an Air Quality Alert, Fire Watch and Red Flag Warning.

Far Side

Thursday, May 14, 2026

Stash and other stuff

 I decided to gather together colors for a afghan just like the other one I am working but in different colors. It didn't even make a dent in the stash.

So another has been started.  There is some chocolate brown down in the left hand corner. 

We gathered together lots of "stuff" from outside and recycled.   The old leaking birdbaths are gone and have been replaced by new ones...a Mother's Day gift.  Old glass flowers were taken down they have seen better years.  A select few will go back up. 

I have a bowling ball yard ornament that is being glued and glittered so it will sparkle in the sun again. 

It was a warm day...Far Guy brought out the shade umbrella for the patio table. 

I did some Find A Grave stuff that I promised I would do...people in a Cemetery that does not exist...all because who ever wrote the obituary didn't know their butt from a hole in the ground.  Another Cemetery that I have no idea where it is...and that will require some asking around. 

Hark! Back! Is a new project I am starting.  It will have blogs that appeared in a now defunct site from 2007 and 2008. You may or may not be interested when they show up on this blog...hopefully my Grands will enjoy them.  

Minnesota weather: Warm.  High 73F (but our thermometer hovered at 80F) or 23C  Low was 50F or 10C. We are in a Red Flag Warning and a Fire Weather Watch....wind and low humidity.

What's cooking?  Phillys on pretzel buns and cheesy potatoes.

Far Side

Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Gone to the dogs:)

 I ran over to let Baxter and Smudge out...their masters were stuck in town longer than they thought.


It was a windy cool day...


"Treat Lady lets go inside, I am nearly frozen and there are no balls out here!"

A good game of fetch may have been played inside!

On the way home I stopped by a Pin Cherry Bush.


Then a Chokecherry bush.

This Chokecherry even has flower buds! 
It was so windy I had a hard time with photos and I only had my phone for a camera. 

Minnesota weather:  High 60F  or 16C Low 37F or 3C.  The wind chill was in the low 40's.

Whats cooking?   Steak and salad:)

Far Side

Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Nice Pattern

 I really like the newest crochet pattern I am working on. 

I am making progress:) It will have many more rows around!  There are you tube videos to help you along if you get stuck.

The transition from round to square was fairly easy.   One of the later rows had a stitch that I had not done in years...I watched video after video...finally I just went to my comfy spot on the couch, relaxed and low and behold the old muscle memory did the trick....fyi it is a back post double crochet....it is alternated with the front post double crochet...I knew exactly how to do that stitch!  Yeah me.

I finally made menus for two weeks it has taken me about a month to figure out what we have on hand that is still good:)

Whats cooking?  BLT...I like my T on the side...we baked some bread so it was especially good. 

Minnesota weather:  High on Monday 64F or 18C  Low was 46 or 8C.   It is supposed to rain on Tuesday and we really need rain.

Far Side


Monday, May 11, 2026

Being

 If you all recall my word for the year was "Be." 

Being thankful for those in my life is a big part of that...my husband, my daughters, my Grands, my Greats my sister, my brothers and my sisters in law.  

Yesterday we went out for lupper with my brothers and their brides...it was a tad chilly out on the patio of our favorite Mexican place...but the food was great and the company a blessing!

I am trying to be more organized...you know small things...like too many clothes in the closet that I have not worn in a couple of years.  I found sweaters that I could not recall!  Some made it into bags and donated to the DAV boxes in town...they take only shoes and clothing. 

Then I was able to straighten out my closet a bit...Summer in one part, Winter in another...and Summer is color coordinated!  I have way too many red tops...with coral and turquoise almost joining the too many..but none have stains or holes.   I did gain a whole bunch of hangers!

Of course there is much more to be organized.  Find a Grave "stuff", family history"stuff", photos on my computer...the list of "stuff" to be accomplished goes on and on.  


Far Side

Sunday, May 10, 2026

Happy Mother's Day!

 

Hope all the Mom's out there have a wonderful day! My Mom loved flowers and these were right outside her front door for many Summers.  She would drag those pots in and out until the weather got warm enough. 


Far Guy's sister Janice, Far Guy's Mom, me, Far Guy and Chance.  Chance loved Far Guy's Mom she saved cookies for him.  Photo taken in December 20, 2005 on Far Guy's Mom's last birthday when she was 91 years old.

July 1981.  Far Guy's Mom, Far Guy, me holding Bethany.  In front Jennifer and Trica. 

Summer of 1934.  My Mom is the child on the right, next to her Marion and Alfred.
My Grandmother is holding Vivian or as we called her Aunt Skip and My Grandpa.  My Mom would have been almost five years old in the photo.

Lots of Moms are not with us for Mother's Day...or sisters, aunts, uncles and grandparents.

I am thankful for those still with us!
Far Side


Saturday, May 9, 2026

Baxter and Smudge

 Baxter and Smudge are back from their Winter in Oregon!  Yes they remembered me. 

I got to give them treats and play ball with Smudge while petting Baxter.


After they took a potty break I took them in for a drink of water. 
Smudge wanted to play ball for a long long time. 

Throw the ball already!  She is a good ball player and drops it very near .
I think I tired her out. 
It was a fun break in my morning. 

Far Guy and I met a fellow in Osage as I sold some more "stuff".

Back at home I gave the bathroom a really good cleaning.   I can scrub the floor again on my hands and knees or sliding along on my butt!  

What's cooking? Toward evening we made pork chops, fried potatoes and corn for supper.

Minnesota weather: High 63F or 17C  Low was 37F or 3C and we had a red flag warning all day...windy and low humidity makes for dangerous fire conditions. 

Far Side



Friday, May 8, 2026

Book Club 2026: May

 The read for May was There's Something about Mira by Sonali Dev


I give it a 4 on my scale of 1 to 10.  The plot was easy to figure out...I wrote the ending in my head half way through the book.  Not impressed.  Most everyone at bookclub was not impressed.

Thursday is Infusion Day so I ran errands to Wally World, Aldi, another grocery store, the Meat Market and the bank all within an hour.   Yeah me! 

Late in the afternoon we went to the visitation for a 94 year old neighbor who died.  Maurice was a very kind man, we served on the Fire Department with him and when we were building our home he did all the cement work for us.  He was a perfectionist when it came to cement!  94 years is an accomplishment!

Minnesota weather: High 55F or 13C  Low was 33F or 1C.   The wind was chilly. 

What's cooking?  Ham, turkey and cheese on a pretzel bun with peaches and raspberries:)

Far SIde

Thursday, May 7, 2026

Tilly on Main Street

 We ran all kind of errands in town...Post Office, recycling etc...then we picked up Tilly and went to lupper.



He has his blinker on here as he was leaving the parking spot.

Not many tourists here yet so we could park in the center of Main Street.  Yes Park Rapids is one of the few towns where you can park in the center of the street or diagonal.  The Main Street is extra wide because when they laid out the town they wanted enough room for horses pulling a sled of lumber to turn around in the street. 

A number of buildings on Main Street are empty.  There is no longer a dime store or a fabric/quilting/yarn store.

Gasoline was $4.04 in town. (Tilly uses lots of gas)

Anyways.  Tilly endured a few snowflakes in the air....I think Far Guy was about ready to catch them all. Tilly is home and safely in her garage.  Goodness knows what he would have done if it started to rain!!

Minnesota Weather:  High 42F or 6C  Low was 27F or -3C. Cloudy all day. 

Far Side

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

A decision

 I finally made a decision about my next crochet project!! 

I have always admired the blankets that use lots of colors of yarn...starting in the round and morphing into a square.   So...I found a free pattern.   It is called Bernat Study of Reality

Here are my mostly final colors nestled in my work basket. 


I call it a bucket of color.   That light pink in the far left has not been used yet....but I think it will make the cut.

Here is what I have so far.  If it all works out I can see me making more blankets of this pattern.  I am using Stylecraft DK yarn and a 3.5mm crochet hook. The pattern calls for different yarn and a different hook size...I must be a rebel crocheter.


So far the written pattern has one mistake but I figured it out.   There are also You Tube instructions. 

I like doing the different stitches...it keeps my brain engaged. 

We took Tilly to town for an oil change and a gasket replacement...Far Guy is getting nervous as it is late in the afternoon(Tuesday) and they have not called him to pick her up yet!  If they don't call pretty soon I will have to cook something for supper....we wanted to go out for a late lunch/early supper...lupper:)

We had a good visit with my cousin Chuckie, he was 86 a few week ago.   The visit was on my list of things that I wanted to do!

Minnesota weather:  There was snow in the air Tuesday morning. (It was not in my imagination either as cousin Chuckie saw it too) High was 39F or 4C  Low was 28 or -2C.  Seems we are in a cold spell.

Far Side

Tuesday, May 5, 2026

Dryer screen

 Who knew? Or remembered?  We were having a problem with our cloths dryer...the clothing was so hot I could barely touch it to fold clothing even during the cool down cycle.  Ouch!!  Something was a muck.

Far Guy tore apart the front panel to locate a temperature sensor...then we called the appliance shop in town and talked to Bert because he might have the part we needed.   It is a stacked Maytag and we have had it a really long time...over twenty years. 

Bert said "The soaps and fabric softners today that are used sometimes build up on the dryer screen, clean the screen with soap and water and it may fix your problem."

Low and behold it did the trick.  It had been a year maybe two since I last washed the lint screen.  I know I have heard this little fix before but did not recall it.

We are especially vigilant and never leave the house when the dryer is on.  Years ago I saw a house fire that was caused by a dryer and our oldest daughter lost her first home to a dryer fire when Savannah was a baby. 


Smoky Hills were really smoky one day last week. No fires just humidity.

Supper was Far Guy's amazing dip and tacos.

Minnesota weather: High 49F or 9C  low 27F or -3C.   It was supposed to rain...but it did not.

Far Side


Monday, May 4, 2026

Golden

 Some days are more Golden than others.

Isn't she a beauty?  We love her lots!  It was good to see her last week on Thursday night and Friday.  She was so excited she went between Far Guy and I for attention....yes she might be a tad spoiled...but we helped spoil her when she was a pup. 

Then back at home what popped up...well the Dandys of course.  I didn't think it was warm enough for them yet. 


On our travels Up North last week we saw a bear near Zerkle.  I was not fast enough with my camera to get a photo. 

Minnesota Weather: High 67F  or 19C  Low was 43F or 6C...it is supposed to turn cold and rain on Monday. 

Far Side


Sunday, May 3, 2026

More May Day!

 Saturday I had an errand to run in town so I took the town kids their May Baskets...they were not home but luckily I had a bag to put the baskets in and I tied them to the railing by the front door.   I am sure they got me on their security camera!

Then I was off further South.

These two were home, their Mom was running an errand. 

I asked if they knew what yesterday was?   Of course they said "May Day!"  I asked  if they thought I had forgotten them?  They said "No we thought you were maybe too busy but we thought you would show up sooner or later!"  I asked how many May Baskets did you get?  They said "None...we only get them from you. "  Vivian shared that she liked the Fox May Day Basket the best from a few years ago:)

Fun stuff these May Baskets!

Far Side

Saturday, May 2, 2026

May Day!

 We were traveling on May Day...we managed to get a few May Baskets to the neighbors and to a little guy for his first May Day.   More baskets will be delivered on May 2nd....not quite as special but better than a kick in the butt.

We did May Day one day early with our "Greats" 



Baby K finally has some teeth and instead of Candy she got soft baby treats. 

Hope you all had a wonderful May Day!

Far Side


Friday, May 1, 2026

May Baskets

 The May Baskets are pretty much set for delivery...they may be one day late for most folks..it all depends how I feel.  


They are supposed to be Hedgehogs...but might look more like Porcupines.

This pattern is the last of the Sack It creatures...I will have to start over again next year or find a new design.  I have seven different animals over the years...dog, pig, sheep, owl, fox, raccoon and hedgehog. 

May Day 1954 that was my dog Frosty in the background...he was a gift from my Maternal Grandparents.  They always saw that I had a dog when I was little. 

Far Side