30

 How can it be???  Our oldest Grand is 30 years old today.  Hardly seems possible. 

Savannah and me in 1996 the day she came home from the hospital.

Savannah and Far Guy in 1998

A couple of photos with Chance.  He loved Savannah she was a great water/ball thrower!

Savannah was throwing water in the air for Chance...this is most likely Namaken Lake or Lake Kabetogama in Voyageurs National Park in way Northern  Minnesota in 2008.

One of my favorite photos of Savannah on her birthday when she was 20 years old! 

Happy Birthday Savannah...Grandpa and I love you now and forever!  

Grandma

Still Busy Days

 Paige, Cole and Savannah came by to help us out with some yard work and some housekeeping.  So we are caught up again for awhile.  We had a really nice visit with them all and sweet Rosie.  Rosie is Cole and Paige's Dachshund. 

In the evening we went to the neighbors get together a pork feed and a barn dance.  It was great food and fun to watch  the little kids playing ball.   We got to see a few people that we hardly ever get to see. It was quite windy and we left early.  I am sure the younger crowd will carry on!  

Aubrey is at her Grandparents and I will visit her one day soon...she needs a bit of time to rest and recover a bit after her surgery. 

Far Guy pulled Tilly out of her garage and washed her white walls...they look perfect again. 

Minnesota weather:  High 82F or 28C  Low was 59F or 15C   We need rain...the small farmers that cannot afford irrigation will be SOL if it doesn't rain soon. 

The pollen is heavy outside.  The Oaks are full of what we call danglies...but are technically Catkins. 

Far Side

Year in review 2025

 Wow we both made it to the end of 2025!  That in itself should be a reason to celebrate! 

Our oldest daughter Trica still lives in Duluth Minnesota.  She came to take care of us when we recovering from the crud.  She calls often and was very supportive of her Dad's breast cancer struggles. She has chickens now and a coop with an automatic door. A dog named Lexie and a cat or maybe two.  She has a fella named Jerry.

Our youngest daughter Jen is on Sabbatical and will go back to teaching next Fall.  Andy teaches at UND.  We live with them for the Winter and various other times of the year when we have surgeries or appointments.  Jen and Andy both turned the big 50 this year.  They bought a extra large lot not far from where they live now, built a garage and house plans are in the works. Sadie is their happy Golden Retriever. 

Grandchildren:

Savannah; Still has her own business doing lashes in Bemidji Minnesota she has two dogs Chewy and Kalila. 

Savannah

Madison; Brenton and she welcomed Baby K (Kaylee Madison) in May.  Hey Mikey is 8 years old, Cee Cee is 5, Peach is 2. Maddie is a Dental Assistant in Pediatric Dentistry, Brenton works for Bobcat.  They have a dog named Koda and the kitty Doug.  Their dog Sam went to live with a family member and is doing well.  They are planning a move next June from Grand Forks ND to Bemidji Minnesota. 

Maddie

Paige;  Cole and Paige purchased a new home near Bemidji.  Paige is a Dental Hygienist and Cole works for a Irrigation Company.  They have a dog named Rosie.

Paige

Noah; In April Noah married Hanna.  They live in East Grand Forks, Noah works for Simplot and Hanna works for Hot Chicken. They have three dogs Aurora, Aphrodite and Noble and a couple of rabbits. 

Noah and Hanna

Adam; Adam proposed to Courtney on a trip to Hawaii. She said Yes!  The wedding will take place in Western North Dakota in September of 2026.  Adam works at Menards and Courtney is working at Mc Donalds and hopes to go back to school Fall Semester to finish her degree. They have a kitty named Phoebe. They live in Western North Dakota so we don't see them often. 

Courtney and Adam

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Births;

Our Great Granddaughter Kaylee was born the end of May

My Other Baby Brother and she who sees robins first became Great Grandparents to Callum in October.

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Deaths;

Longtime Friend Dale died July 4 age 86

Far Guy's Cousin Robbie died July 5 age 46

Grandma Ed died October 3 age 96 she was Andy's Grandmother and our Grandsons only remaining Great Grandmother.

Grandpa Ed died October 25 age 87 he was our Grandgirls Grandfather ( former Father in Law to Trica)

My Cousin Dion died November 9 age 63

We each lost a classmate in the last week of December.  Mike was 74 and Rick was 74.  Cancer sucks. 

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Far Guy survived chemo, surgery and radiation treatments for Breast Cancer this year.  He is a trooper.  He has to take a hormone pill for five years maybe longer which is a challenge due to the side effects.  He had three surgical procedures this year.  He continues to wood carve. 

Me... well I had a Laminectomy on June 10 and still have pain so I am undergoing more tests in the New Year.  I stay busy crocheting, reading and blogging.  I have a number of projects planned for the Winter.

I hope we can stay healthy in 2026 and out of hospitals.  I am thankful for family, a warm home, enough to eat and a dog to pet. 

Far Side

The Grands

 Getting all the young adults together is hard, last Sunday worked for most of us to gather.  Adam drove from Western North Dakota...Adam's fiancee Courtney had to work or she would have been here too.

Here they are oldest to youngest!  They brighten up our lives!  We played games and had a White Elephant gift exchange....and an incredible meal that Andy cooked.  Prime rib, twice baked potatoes, carrots, parsnips, popovers and snickers salad and then all kind of Christmas goodies. 

It was so quiet in the house after everyone left. 

Far Side

Retrieving

 I was minding my own business working on Christmas ornaments when I heard peals of laughter downstairs.  Then my phone pinged. 

Sadie was quite happy and proud of herself when she retrieved my crochet project out of my project bag.  It is a special bag with a zipper that I ordered for my take along projects after many days of chasing down balls of yarn in the backseat of the car. The bag has a zipper on top but I must remember to zip it up!

No harm was done to the project...just a few rows were unraveled...by the way this is a pink and white shell stitch afghan that I am making to stash away in case someone has a little girl someday.  Shell stitch is one of my favorite stitches.  Just to give you perspective I crocheted a soft green afghan in shell stitch for Savannah back in 1996...another some years later and yet another one that I gave her last summer. 

And Sadie does what all good Golden Retrievers do...she retrieves. 

Far Side

Grand Crew

 Grandkids Savannah, Paige and Cole came over yesterday to get us all caught up with scrubbing and vacuuming and some dusting.  Cole washed the house on the outside and did a whole bunch of outside projects.   We are mostly ready for Winter now!  It feels real good to have things caught up with!  

Cole, Paige, Far Guy and Savannah

What a good bunch of kids/helpers.  We are blessed to have them in our lives.  

In order for our warranty on the finish of our home to be valid you have to wash the house once a year.  

Proof that the house was washed on October 12, 2025. 

It was a busy day.  The Grands make us smile:)

Far Side

Helpers

 Paige, Cole and Savannah came to help us out yesterday.  The house is clean again, recycling done, weeds sprayed, ants sprayed, our car vacuumed out...now we can relax a bit.  My baby brother came by and mowed our lawn again.   We are so appreciative of all the help!

I am feeling better, but I can sure tell when I overdo...either doing too many "things" or walking too much.  I still cannot bend over or twist or turn...and that is really hard for me.  I still have some numbness/pain especially across my buttocks and down my left leg and across to my big toe.  It makes walking a bit tricky sometimes.  I still have pain at the surgical site too...and a tiredness when I overdo.  I am not over my UTI and have asked the Doctor to prescribe a different med.  I saw my Rheumatologist last week...he offers no help for me, he just says "You have failed all the arthritis medications so I cannot help you." Alrighty then.  I asked him about my Ferritin level being so high and he said "We will check it again in three months." So no help for the extreme fatigue or the extra pain in wrists and knees.  I am not sure why I waste my time with him ( he is not a helper).

Far Guy is still struggling with nausea, burning mouth syndrome, acid reflux and tummy troubles. He is a trooper...he ate a bit more yesterday.  Trying to find food that he will eat is a challenge.  He gained a half a pound.  He is awfully skinny...he weighs 137 now. 

Far Side

29 how can that be?

 Twenty-nine years ago we became Grandparents for the first time! 

Savannah and me!  Photo taken in 1996.

Savannah and her Grandpa. 

A year later we found a Merry Go Round Horse for her to ride.

Savannah and her Mom in 1997.
 

Happy Birthday Savannah!  We love you now and forever! 

Grandma and Grandpa

 

News from home

 There was a storm through Minnesota on Friday night, many people are without electricity. Luckily our home in the woods is okay. Grandgirls Savannah and Paige both had trees down…in fact a tree blocked Savannahs door. My sister has no electricity and my friend Susie has no electricity either. It will be a number of days before electricity is restored. The weather people are calling it a hurricane.

Neighbor  Leah sent me a photo of the Flax field blooming across from our driveway! I wish I could have seen it, maybe next year!

Such a beautiful sight to see! 

In other news, Miss Minnesota was crowned…and she is the beautiful Emma who lives near us and just so happens to be dating our great nephew Mason! You can check out the Miss Minnesota Facebook page to see a photo.  She is a nursing student and her platform is Water Safety Knowledge which is perfect for all the lakes we have in Minnesota.  Onward to Miss America..wouldn’t that be something!  Just so you know she is as beautiful on the inside as outside. 

Far Side

Blast from the past

 I was searching for on old recipe.  Funny thing I never found the recipe but I did find this. 

Some kind of game was played...not sure what...not sure who kept score but I came in last (4th) place. Paige and Maddie are just one point apart...Savannah was clearly the winner!

I like to play games...board games, card games if you name it I will play it!  Far Guy used to play Scrabble with me a long time ago. 

In the Winter Jen and Andy like to play games in the evening.  I think it is a great family activity! 

The old recipe remains someplace in oblivion...but the score card remains in one of my recipe boxes:)

On the back of this sheet of paper was hand written pattern for a floral frame that I wanted to make.

Yesterday our high was 72 F or 23 C eh. 

Supper was scrambled farm fresh brown eggs and an English muffin.

Far Side

The Grands

All our Grands attended Noah's wedding.  

 Savannah in orange...even her shoes!

Maddie 

Brenton, Peach and Maddie 

Paige and Cole 

Adam and Courtney 

It was so much fun to see them all in the same place and give them all hugs! 

Two Grands left to get married...Savannah and Adam....and Adam has a gal:)

Far Side 

Grand

 Two of our Grands visited us on Sunday afternoon.  Fun to see them. 

Paige

Savannah and Far Guy

Cole ( Paige's husband) accompanied the girls to Cee Cee's waterpark birthday party. 

We had a really good visit! 

Far Guy is about the same, forward progress is very slow.  I have the head cold from hell, my nose is like a faucet that won't shut off.  We are having a quiet week with no scheduled appointments until Thursday.

Far Side

 

Year in Review 2024

 It was a year!  Why is it as we age time seems to go by faster and faster?

Our oldest daughter Trica lives in Duluth Minnesota, we saw her one time this past year and that was at Paige's wedding. 

Our youngest daughter Jen and husband Andy still live in East Grand Forks Minnesota and we spend the Winter months with them.  They have a Golden Retriever named Sadie.  Jen teaches at Northland Community College and Andy teaches at the University of North Dakota.

Savannah is doing well with her Lash business in Bemidji, Minnesota.  She has two dogs Chewy and Kalila.

Maddie is a Dental Assistant, her husband Brenton works at Bobcat. They live in Grand Forks, North Dakota and they have "The Greats"  Hey Mikey, Cee Cee and Peach.  With a new baby due in June!  They have a very busy household...two dogs Sam and Koda and a cat named Doug. 

Paige married Cole in October.  Paige is a Dental Hygienist and Cole works for a Irrigation Company. They live in Bemidji Minnesota. They have a dog named Rosie.

Noah lives in Grand Forks, North Dakota and works at Simplot, he supervises the cleaning of all the machines and the chemicals used.  Simplot processes potatoes.  Noah has a dog named Aurora. 

Adam moved to Dickinson, North Dakota. He works at Menards in the plumbing department and will attend Dickinson State University this next semester.  Adam's gal Courtney is also a student at Dickinson State University, if all goes well they will graduate about the same time. (2 years from now) Adam has a cat named Phoebe. 

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No births this year or new pet additions. 

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Deaths...we had a few. 

Far Guy's Cousin Bill Weeks  January 25  age 78

High School Friend Cyndi 

My Mother Madeline February 11 age 94

Neighbor Cheryl  July 13 age 70

My Cousin Diane August 13  age 68

My Cousin Patsy September 15 age 72

Far Guy's Cousin Tom's wife Linda October 4  age 78

My Cousin Kathy October 11  age 75 

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One of our bestest Winter friends Little Elvis died September 27, 2004 he was almost 15 years old.  He had a good life.  I miss him sleeping on his bed near the foot of my bed and as old habits are hard to break I look for him automatically when I get up during the night.  I miss him.

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Far Guy keeps busy; he woodcarves, fixes on his old car and occasionally he goes to a car show.  He is my best sous chef and helps readily in the kitchen.  His lung function is about 19% so we limit our activities to outdoor gatherings as much as possible.  He rarely goes into a store because of perfumes, aftershave and cleaning products that people/stores use. 

I keep busy, I have many crochet/craft projects in the works at all times.  I am still struggling with pain from all my ritises  I do daily exercises and should have bought stock in whoever makes Tylenol.  One day at a time. 

There you have it the big wrap up for 2024.

What will 2025 bring us?  A new Great, time spent with those we love...both humans and dogs!

Happy New Years Eve!  We have not stayed up late enough to ring in the New Year for a number of years.

Far Side

I love you

 The Grands each wrote I love you on a piece of paper and Jen laser cut the words out.  Each one a bit different! 

There was some discussion about the style of Noahs hair making him taller this year than his brother! 

These five light up our lives!  It was fun to spend some time with them, play some games and hear them laugh together and tell stories about each other. 

We love them too!

Far Side

Grand Girls

 The Grand Girls were here on Thanksgiving morning before taking off for their Thanksgiving dinner. 

Our Grandsons ...Noah worked a late shift and Adam lives too far away...but we will see them at Christmas!  Hopefully all five will be there then! 

I got to see Paige's beautiful rings. 

Paige reports that married life is great and she and Cole had a wonderful Honeymoon minus the fact that Cole was bitten by a raccoon and had to have the series of rabies shots. 

Savannah is working hard at her lash business and says that a tattoo artist has moved into the space next to hers and she wants a new tattoo.  I asked about boyfriends...but she says she is taking a break in dating.  However there is someone she is talking to.

Maddie has the three GREATs and she enjoys her job.  Life is busy for her and for her husband Brenton. 

It was wonderful to see them all, the house was quiet after they left.

Far Side

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. 

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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