Sunday Happenings

Our Great Granddaughter Cee Cee made it home from the hospital yesterday!  Maddie says she is a fighter!   We are happy they are home and all together again.   Thank you for all the prayers!!

We had a quiet day. We watched the church service online.  The music was much better this week.

We worked in Far Guy's garage for a short time, the wind was real cool.  Nephew Josh and Great Nephew Mason came over and took down a dead tree for us.  They will haul off the wood for their campfire ring.

I prepared menus for the next ten days as groceries will be ordered for pick up later in the week.  There is not much room for off the cuff cooking... everything must be planned.

In the evening we met with my parents, my other baby brother and his wife and my sister and her husband up at my brothers shop...staying six feet ++ apart. We enjoyed Dilly Bars from Dairy Queen.  Everyone is doing fine.  No one is sick.

Far Side

A sign for Josh

My nephew Joshua asked me to paint a sign for his rock at the end of his driveway.  I said “Fine let me look at it.” Now his rock is pretty huge so I figured the sign would be a “project.”

As you can see it took up a large portion of my desk.  The letters were deeply imbedded in the wood and I used a dental syringe filled with paint to work my magic. 

That fish worried me.  Was it a Walleye? Possibly.  I knew it was not a Northern Pike.  It was not a Sunfish. I decided to just do some fish like colors!  I had never painted a fish before.  Uffda what have I gotten myself into???  Good thing I love my nephew! I will drive by this sign on the rock when ever I leave and return home …so it better be good!

I worked on it a number of hours days and fretted over that fish.  I finally called Josh to pick it up…he was in charge of sealing it.  He liked it and so did Mason.

Josh and Missy sealed it and last weekend it was attached to the rock.

An unexpected project was finished! 

I am not going into the sign painting business anytime soon.

Flashback to 1982

I am still in the process of sorting and organizing.  I should be ashamed of myself for tucking so many things away in different places.  I will blame it on the three moves between 1995 and 1998 and putting “stuff” into storage several times.

Yesterday I found a piece of heavy cardboard in a drawer, tucked inside were many old 8 x 10 photos. Now they are on my desk to be scanned. They will make good blast from the past blog fodder.

We gathered at the top of the hill overlooking Straight Lake at my parents resort (Bass Bay).   Mom had hired the cranky old photographer from town.  He really didn’t take his time to get good photos.

The year was 1982.  At this time my parents had six grandchildren. My Mom is holding Katie (6 months old) and Dad is holding Benjamin (2 months old).  Jennifer (age 7) is sitting uncomfortably on the edge of the two lawn chairs.  Trica has her eyes closed (age 10).  Our dog Snuffer is running around someplace…irritating the photographer.

Back row: Julie (my sister), me, Far Guy, Jody (my other baby brother) She who sees Robin’s first with Josh (age 2), Beth and Carey(my baby brother) holding Kirk (not quite 2).
This summer will mark 35 years since this photo was taken.  It seems impossible…but the calendar doesn’t lie.

Cold

It is too cold for the snow to melt.  Honest. It is fairly disgusting.

Chance and I had to go to the Post Office so we  stopped a few places to take photos.

The beach April 10 ..open water..but no swimming anytime soon.

The road home, there is a spot/approach at the top of this rise where I can pull over get out and take  photos now that the snow has left the edge of the road.

You can see we still have plenty of the white stuff.  More is forecast for today. FUN

Chance is good company. We turn the heater up full blast and I roll down his window so he can stick his head out.  He has been known to touch the door locks and lock all the doors so the open window is kinda a safety feature when I get out of the vehicle. 

I was lollygagging at the top of this rise..just appreciating the silence..when I heard a vehicle approaching and slowing down.  I hurried up and took the rest of my shots..

a big voice said “ You Okay..you’re not broke down are you?”

I giggled..no just taking photos.. I am just fine but thanks for checking.   Nice to have a nephew that will stop and check on his old Aunt.

Chance and I checked the snow stick because we are sure that everyone wants an update. 

We still have ten inches of the beautiful white crap  stuff.  This is one of the most miserable Aprils I can remember in quite a long time.  It is just not warming up.  Where is that global warming that everyone talks about?  It certainly is not in Minnesnowda:(

Moments in Time

The other day we came home just as Josh was walking up to wait for the bus.  I got out to take a photo of the bus.  Usually their Mom is waiting at the bus stop..however there is something magical about kids seeing their Dad at the bus stop:)

April 29th on the 28th

Thirty-one years ago tomorrow my first nephew, Josh was born. I was so excited to be an Aunt for the very first time. He still calls me Auntie and freely gives hugs, he lives next door.

“She who sees robins first” and Josh

It was “she who sees robins” birthday yesterday..I won’t divulge how old she is..but she was nineteen when she birthed Josh.  I took this photo earlier in the month at an open house at Station Number Two..Josh was walking around talking to little kids..showing them what a fireman looks and sounds like in an self-contained breathing apparatus. He did scare a few children.  Small children have been known to hide from firemen during a fire, because they were afraid..and firemen look and sound scary.
I snagged this photo of Mason( Josh's son) that day too..it was one day after he turned six.  He invited us to his birthday party.  I asked him what he would like for a gift..truly a gentleman he replied “I will like what ever you pick out.”  I asked again and he replied “A Transformers Movie” ..well ok what if I cannot find it what other movies would he like..Horses..no..Dogs ..yes. We found a Transformers Movie and just for good measure Where The Red Fern Grows one of my favorites.  The best present he got at his party was a giant gallon jar of pickles..he was just thrilled! He kept all of his requests straight and never asked for the same gift twice..impressive for a six year old. He got some water guns that Far Guy and I were both coveting..super blasters…we were both thinking what a fun thing to use with Chance!

I am not sure if I reminded you to change the batteries in your smoke alarm when we went to daylight saving time.  If you didn’t replace them..put it on your list of things to do.  I made Far Guy do it..he would like to eek out every little bit of juice from a battery and wait for the smoke alarm to start going beep-beep..not me..replace them:)

Firefighter of the Year

Last night was the awards banquet at the local volunteer fire department. The food was awesome, roast pork, real mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, green beans, lettuce salad and homemade bread.  Neither of us had to cook..that is a very good thing!

Our nephew Josh was chosen as the Firefighter of the year.  It was in my opinion well deserved, he was instrumental in getting a whole group of younger guys interested and signed up and into Firefighter One Training and First Responder Training.  Firefighter of the year is an honor that is voted on by your peers.   Getting more members was crucial, many of the guys are getting older, and  a new fire-hall will be opening in April ten miles from the other one..so both halls need to be manned by volunteers.   Station One and Station Two..we are very fortunate to have young men of Joshua's caliber volunteering their time day and night.

Far Guy got a ten year pin, he asked if it was the first ten years or the second ten years, they are always plucking him out of retirement because all these young guys have day jobs:)