I met my very dear old friend Susie for lunch yesterday. She is getting a titanium knee next week so she is going bionic! We had a good lunch and some laughs that were needed so very much.
Far Guy did some woodcarving in the nice weather.
Minnesota weather: High 74F or 24C Low was 51F or 11C
Supper was a hamburger patty no bun instead we had bacon on top and green beans.
Far Side
Jen and I teamed up to paint a porch sitter. A porch sitter/leaner is a piece of wood that usually has a design or says something like welcome, home etc...it sits on your porch leaning up against the wall.
I did the blue/green and then Jen painted a sunflower on one end and I painted on the other end.
It was a fun project! I think it turned out great!
The sunflowers in all the sunflower fields were turning their heads downward from the weight of the seed heads.
Grain harvest has begun and some of the bean fields are starting to turn color.
Minnesota weather: High of 82F or 28C Low was 60F or 16C eh!
Long time friends Mike and Ginny from Iowa stopped by today and then my other baby brother and she who sees robins first, then nephew Josh came by with his new puppy who is really cute!
Supper was steak and a baked potato along with the first yellow pear tomatoes of the season.
Far Side
In the past few weeks we had a death in the family and heard about the deaths of two old friends.
Robby Far Guy's cousin and our Godson died from complications of diabetes, heart issues and kidney failure on July 5, 2025. He was 46 years old. He was the youngest of the paternal cousins. He had a bit of a different life style, so we have not seen him in a long time. The funeral is Friday...not sure who or if we will go...it depends on how we feel and if we think the risk of crowd germs is worth the exposure. Far Guy has 13 cousins on that side of his family...three have died...Jere in 1967, Steve in 2019 and now Robby in 2025. There are 15 Cousins total...that includes Far Guy and his sister Janice who died in 2022.
Our friend Dale died in Arizona he was 86 years old. Far Guy grew up with him. Dale had Parkinson's. He died on the 4th of July...it was no doubt a special day to him and it was time to close the show. We have appreciated his friendship and notes every Christmas. This year there was no note at Christmas. The end of an era. He wrote a book called Wooden Horses and Iron Men he sent Far Guy a copy because there is a photo of a very young Far Guy in the book.
Lastly a friend from long ago. Vonnie died July 1, 2025 she was 74. She was a steady girlfriend of one of Far Guys Cousins on his maternal side of the family. We had some really fun times together! Sadly she married someone else.
And so it goes...we are all in certain stages of death...some just closer than others.
Far Side
We are all a bit anxious from time to time, I am anxious to be all better, Far Guy is anxious to get started on his fight with cancer.
We hope and pray for everything to be fine …eventually.
Thank you for all your prayers we appreciate every one of them! The blogging community is so supportive!
Yesterday I had a wonderful phone call from my best friend from high school..thanks Cathie!
Far Side
My Mother was a fabric hoarder quilter. After she died we gave away some of her fabric to people who sew. I do not sew, so I saved some for our daughter Trica and Jen picked out some pieces that she wanted. I have a friend that I grew up with that makes quilts and donates them and does a quilt raffle for Leukemia every year. I picked out pieces of material that I thought would look good together in a quilt and saved them for Janet.
We have many visitors hat go through our yard. Chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, fox, skunk, raccoons, porkypines, deer and bear. We even have a black and white kittycat...not a skunk.
Busy day yesterday, a funeral...not much fun but necessary to have closure. It was a ninety minute drive and the roads were decent until the last seven icy miles. Dawn and Gravy were at the funeral and Far Guy and I...so there were two of Dave's classmates present. The church was full, there was standing room only.
The message was clear, celebrate that you have faith and are assured of a heavenly home.
"If God is for us who can be against us?"
Dave planned everything for his funeral service right down to the lunch served after the service. He chose the foods he like best; scalloped potatoes with ham, pickles, turkey buns, ham buns, cinnamon bread spread with cheese whiz and topped with olives, baked beans, huge bowls of fruit and plates of baked sweets. There were doughnut balls and coffee near the entrance of the church so no one would go into the service hungry. Dave was a thoughtful guy.
A puzzle we finished this week, it was a difficult puzzle...you may notice a funny looking piece toward the top...Sadie was helping.
Far Side
I met one of my very old friends for lunch yesterday. Old as in known for many years....since our kids were little. We celebrate our birthdays and Christmas with lunch and girl talk and a bit of gambling at a place deep in the woods that is about half way from where we each live.
We have to make appointments with each other to get it done! Sometimes we invite our husbands...sometimes not!
It is good to have a very old friend!
Far Side
Yesterday we said our last goodbye to an old friend from Oklahoma. He died in Oklahoma a few weeks ago and his daughter brought him back home to be buried near his parents.
Honor Guard at Barry's Committal Service. Bag Pipes and Amazing Grace. "Off we go into the wild blue yonder, flying high into the sun..." and then taps. One of the honor guards shared with us that an eagle flew overhead at one point in the service. ( Typical for Air Force!)
The urn was beautiful! A suitable container for a very dear friend who served many years in the Air Force and The Air National Guard in Oklahoma City. He lived in Oklahoma part time after he retired because his children lived there and the rest of the time he spent in Park Rapids. We played many a card game with Barry, and neighbors Steve and Jo. I made him a custom pair of shakers a long time ago....he never did give them away he kept them for himself.
Goodbye old friend.
AIR FORCE SONG
Off we go into the wild blue yonder, Climbing high into the sun; Here they come zooming to meet our thunder, At 'em boys, Give 'er the gun! (Give 'er the gun now!) Down we dive, spouting our flame from under, Off with one helluva roar! We live in fame or go down in flame. Hey! Nothing'll stop the U.S. Air Force!
Far Side
A very old friend stopped by on Wednesday morning for a visit. We lived next door to each other in 1972. We had a good visit. She is a talker!
I cooked up the tomatoes that I had frozen. I had a hunk of roast beef cooking all morning, I peeled and chopped...rutabaga, carrots, cabbage and potatoes and put them in the fridge.
I had an eye appointment in town. I will see a specialist....I may have a secondary cataract. Old eyes.
After the appointment we did some grocery shopping and stopped by and saw my Mom. She has been ill with pneumonia and still has a really bad cough.
Back at home I put the tomatoes through a strainer that captures seeds and skins. I chopped up the roast beef and added all my vegetables...it is soup! I had some for supper...Far Guy passed, I gave him fair warning so he stopped by Subway in town for a chicken sandwich. He will eat soup once a year and yesterday was not the day.
Far Side
We had supper last night with friends.
Garden fresh vegetables from this garden. That is Buddy near the garden.
And the men cooked.
Dave helping Joel cook on the wok made out of a old concave smooth disk blade from yes a farm implement called a disk.
The food was great and the conversation mighty fine too!
Far Side
The repairman was a bit different. He began pulling the oven away from the wall before I could get some breakable stuff moved...I keep salt and pepper shakers and a spoon rest on the back of the stove. Luckily only the spoon rest was broken...he apologized but still...it was a piece of Fiesta ware. He was like a bull in a china closet. Hopefully the oven has been repaired and will work a couple more years. I can check that repair off my list!
Far Guy and Gravy went to visit Dave in the afternoon. They are all classmates and needed to have a good visit!
I went over to my baby brothers, he busted Mom out of the Nursing Home for the afternoon Mom and Beth were working on a puzzle. Mom seemed more forgetful than usual.
Laundry, a clean bathroom and a nap rounded out the day...oh and cleaning up after the repairman.
Far Side
A Buick not sure what year.
The pattern was free...it was an interesting idea...an origami crochet bag.
You crochet a rectangle ...that part was really easy. I had a fancy design...but it was not showing up in the yarn that I chose so I winged it and just did a double crochet. My final measurement was about 60 inches long by 15 inches wide. Then you fold it several times to make the bag and sew the places where it meets up, turn it so the seams are in the inside and make a handle...next time my handle will be longer. It took 372 yards of yarn or 8 ounces and I used a size G crochet hook.
It was a fun project. I gifted the bag to my wonderful friend Susie because she has a birthday coming up on Sunday! We had lunch and lots of laughs yesterday! So good to spend the afternoon with a very old friend...we met in 1975 when we lived across the street from each other.
Far Side
We were invited out for supper. I wanted to take a Christmas gift of Chokecherry Jelly. Imagine my surprise that all the jars in the pantry were empty. Five boxes and they were all empty....that is 60 jars of jelly!
I got out some chokecherry juice from the freezer and enlisted Far Guy's help and we made two batches of jelly. It will still be warm when presented as a gift. Fresh! It has been on my list of things to do. We have to build up the stash again!
The kitchen smells good now!
We had a sunny morning with blue skies, by the time I got outside to take a photo the light was leaving.
The snow is not melting.
Not sure what we will be having for a meal, but we get to pet a dog and visit with friends!
Far Side
I enjoyed the last pontoon ride of the year with my baby brother, his bride and Baxter one afternoon last week. The Fall color on the lake is very pretty.
It is always fun to see our old resort from the lake. All the cabins have been removed only the boat house remains next to the lake. The fellow who lives there has a home further away from the lake.
Yesterday I had lunch with my best friend Susie. We met at a local in the boonies eating establishment that is about half way in between our homes. We had a great visit! She sent home Walleye for us...she and her husband are fishermen. We had some for supper and it was really really good.
Our weather has turned cold...we had a hard frost early Friday morning. 29 F or -1 C eh! If we had pumpkins there would be frost on them.
Baxter says Hi! He loves a pontoon ride.
Here he is outstanding on his dock.
Oh and how about Apple Pie? It was great one afternoon...neighbors Steve and Jo shared their apple pie with us...apples from our old resort!
I had a really bad tooth ache...an abscess. Luckily our Dentist believes me and ordered antibiotics right away on Monday morning. Then in a procedure on Thursday he opened up the tooth and put some medication down inside and sealed it up...if this doesn't work I have to go see the Oral Surgeon. ( At least they have laughing gas!)
Far Side
I went out to lunch way back in the boonies with a very old friend yesterday who is turning 70 years old today! Happy Birthday Susie! We lived across the street from each other when our first borns were just little...that was 47 years ago. We had so much fun at lunch! She was daycare for our grandsons Noah and Adam when they were just little.
I came home to rest in the afternoon and in the evening Far Guy and I went out for a ride.
Shell River at the Dead Beaver Area the water is way down.
We need rain the lawn is turning brown and scrunches under your feet.
Far Side
Is it the times or our age?
Many people that we know are struggling with health problems.
My cousin Sam's wife Kathy died on Friday from Gallbladder Cancer, she fought the good fight and had Doctors from Mayo Clinic taking care of her. The year that they gave her to live quickly became weeks then days. She was 58 years old.
Far Guy's sister remains at home with Hospice care. Far Guy facetimes with her every day, sometimes I pop by and wave and say Hi or hold Sadie up so she can see her...she needs to talk with her brother. She has Leptomeningeal carcinoma a result of Metastatic Breast Cancer. February 17 she was given a few weeks to a few days and she is still hanging in there.
We have other friends...with medical conditions...Granular Glass Fibrosis, Mylelofibrosis, Follicular Lymphoma. Big bad words.
Time...time to build your own ( pine box) coffin, write your obituary, plan your service and wrap up loose ends. Some people are greatful for that extended time to get their house in order and prepare.
On a side note if the building you store the pine box in is for sale you should move it or explain to prospective buyers beforehand!
Prayers for comfort for all those struggling with health issues.
Far Side
The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1
Oh the mail was abundant yesterday, five Christmas cards and one letter. Sadly enclosed with the letter was a funeral card. The wife of former co worker of Far Guys died last October in Arizona. She had MS and had been in a wheelchair for 21 years. She fought a good fight all summer with pneumonia.
Far Guy infusion report: only three sticks this week, he is discouraged with the Nurses here. Last week was four, this week three so they are improving. His arms are a mess.
I found a car wash and got the car washed while Far Guy was in the Infusion Center. Car washes are not easy to find around here.
Cards from Northern Minnesota, Southern Minnesota, North Dakota, Florida and South Carolina. The letter was from Arizona.
I watched a movie with Jen in the evening, Game Night, I give it a 9 out of 10 it was entertaining and funny.
Far Side
I did a bit of decorating at the front door.
My best friend Susie was making Christmas Swags again! We had a good visit a week ago. She and her husband are fishermen so they sent a mess of walleye home with us...really yummy! I have known her since before our oldest children went to kindergarten...and those "kids" will be 50 in the coming year.
I put up a few decorations on my other wreath...Fall became Christmas!
No lights this year. Just some Santas and a couple of snowflakes.
Far Side
We visited a old high school friend over on Strawberry Lake. Lakes in his area are "fruity" Raspberry Lake is nearby as is Cranberry Lake. Dave said that Strawberry Lake is shaped like a strawberry.
It is a pretty lake with clear water and no weeds as far as I could tell.
We usually see Dave and Deb over the summer...someplace...not so much with pandemic. This was their last weekend at their lake place so we were glad to see them. Dave is going through some health challenges and is headed to Mayo Clinic soon.
Seems like everyone has some struggles.
Far Guy is feeling much better, his cough is finally gone. I am still feeling the after effects of my flu shot...but no one has ever died from swelling in your butt that is as large as a grapefruit...and that is the reason I spare my arm from the trauma. I am sore and tired. I am not looking forward to the third Covid shot but that will not happen until November or December.
Far Side
