Someone is Fifteen

Someone in our family turns 15 today.  She is old enough to take drivers training..scary.

I made her a birthday card.  I snapped a photo of her about a month ago.  I converted it into a sketch. 

The Minnesota State shutdown will probably prevent her from going in and applying for her permit to drive.  She will probably call her Grandpa and complain…not that it will do any good..but it is nice to have someone who will sympathize with you.

Happy Birthday little girl from your grandma who will always see you as a little girl..one who loved to sit in the high chair and color with big color crayons, one who would run into the house and run straight for Grandpas M and M dispenser hollering UMs, one that loved to snuggle and who would sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star over and over again..:)

Baby’s Breath

The  Baby’s Breath is in full bloom.  Its real name is Gypsophila paniculata.  It grows in the ditches here in our area of Minnesota.

It grows all roundy moundy..and then blooms.  I see people in the ditch with scissors cutting bunches down everyday.  If you hang it upside down and dry it you can use it in arrangements..or do what I used to do..fill a whole copper boiler with it.  Nowadays I am using the old copper boiler for magazines.

The Baby’s Breath seems to be encouraged every year by the ditch robbers:) 

Going Batty

I have bats in the belfry..well they would be there if we had a belfry.  Since we don’t have one, they are in the attic of the museum.

I don’t mind bats, we used to have them at the lake..I loved to watch them leave at sunset and come back just before sunrise.  They lived in the attic and would come and go in a space next to the chimney..which ran right next to the bedroom window.  We all co-existed peacefully.  One spring they lived in between the many layers of plastic that covered an old abandoned back door that had a real big step down (about 6 feet). I could stand at the door and watch them through the glass..it was awesome.  We captured one that year and one of the girls took it to school.  Bats eat thousands of mosquitoes. 

The Board of Directors and the powers that be in the County have decided that the bats should relocate.  A guy called the “Batman” is coming in to bat proof the building..after the young are old enough to leave the building.  He will install some kind of tunnels  and seal up the attic..and then eventually take out the tunnels and we will be bat free.

I have not seen any bats yet..but they have been setting off the motion alarms…which in turn sets off an alarm that ends up being a false alarm.  Either that or Gus the Ghost is having wild parties.  (He turned on a couple of lights during the night this week…I am thinking he doesn’t like the dark.)

The local newspaper declared in their reporting of the minutes of the County Board meeting that we were inundated with bats, well that is news to me..I have not seen one yet or any of its “leavings”.  It seems to me that the word inundated means

1. To cover with water, especially floodwaters.

2. To overwhelm as if with a flood; swamp

I am certainly not inundated with bats..yet:)

Chance : Museum Dog

Hi ya!  It is I Chance the wonder blogging Border Collie. 

Far Guy and I are on our own this summer, most mornings Far Side gets up and does her hair and gets dressed right away and heads out the door as soon as she has shared some toast with me. No lounging around in her jammies out on the patio unless I wake her up really early.

Some days we visit her in town..you know Far Guys drives and I co pilot.  He always seems to find the parking lot she parks in..from there I can track her just fine.  She always goes to the same place.  She must be a creature of habit.

I cannot open the door so I have to wait for someone to open it for me..hurry up Far Guy ..run!

Once I am in the building I race to find her before Far Guy.  She is always happy to see me.  Sometimes she even shares her lunch.  Sometimes I have to sit quietly in her office. Sometimes I lounge on the steps waiting for small children to come in the door or waiting for Far Guy to come and get me..one day it was too warm to go with him so I stayed at the museum while he ran an errand.  I was very well behaved.

I could be the newest volunteer..

This is where all the volunteers sit..there is a bell and a candy dish up on that table and I can reach both of them.  Far Guy and I dump the water out of the de humidifiers in the basement when we go into town. Usually five of those five gallon buckets are full everyday.  Far Side carries and empties them left handed..they are really heavy.  So we help her out!

I am a good museum dog and I would make a great volunteer:)

California Dreamin’

All the leaves are brown and the sky is grey, I went for a walk on a winters day..oh wait it is summer..it has been chilly the past couple of days..but I hear it will be warming up by the weekend to nearly a hundturd..as in 100F or 37C  Uffda.

Well back to my California Dreamin’

I got a package from Sam at 5 Star Ranch in Oroville, California!  It seems I was the lucky winner of her drawing!   I have farmhouse soaps and dish towels that my next door neighbor Jo is going to covet..because her kitchen is all chickens and roosters.  And pretty bottles of Lemon and Garlic Olive Oil..Far Guy tried some of the lemon on our homemade baked in the oven French fries last evening..yummy!  Thanks Sam for all the California goodies!

Far Guy is a great cook.  He usually has supper ready for me when I walk in the door..then we can relax the rest of the evening.  He uses olive oil..he used to have a teaspoon of it everyday ..he heard from a friend that it was supposed to rid your body of viruses in the winter..now he just uses it on his famous French fries…and what ever else he comes up with in “his” kitchen:)

Far Guy’s Famous French Fries

Cut up red potatoes into something resembling French Fries.

Throw them in a sandwich bag, add some olive oil and then some seasoned salt..mix well!

Toss them on a cookie sheet covered in aluminum foil and bake at 400 degrees F for 45 minutes.

Wistful Wednesday :1933

One day at work I was looking for some information for a gal and I opened a huge drawer that is filled with yearbooks from the 1930’s.  I grabbed the one from 1933 and asked Far Guy “What year did your parents graduate from high school?”  He replied “1932”  I said “Okay” and opened up the 1933 yearbook and what page did I open it too?   This one..a never before seen photograph of Evelyn when she was a Senior in High School.

Evelyn ( Far Guy’s Mother) is on the left.  She always had shorter hair, this is about the longest hair style she ever wore.  She is pictured with a classmate.

Here is the entire page in the yearbook. Back then they did not have a professionally printed yearbook, they did their own..there are two copies of the 1933 yearbook in the museum.

The editor must have been in a hurry as her last name is misspelled. 

Evelyn was born in December of 1914 so she would have been 18 in the spring of 1933.  The next year she went on to Normal Teachers Training.

Just to set the record straight, Far Guy’s Dad did graduate in 1932..so Far Guy was only partially wrong. His parents were born the same year but started school in different years and therefore graduated in different years.   His parents met on the school bus.  They grew up about six miles from each other.  They did not get married until 1940.

I was very pleased to have found this photo:)

Daylilies Galore and Flower Problems

The museum needs a gardener.  I was told that all the grounds work would be handled by the County.  I just needed to sweep the steps.  Piece of cake..I can ride a broom with the best of them!

Last week I was talking to one of the maintenance guys.. I said “Whoever is in charge of that flower bed out front has a lot of work to do.”    He replied “The Historical Society planted them so it is your problem.”  I told him “Well that is news to me.” ( Sometimes the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing..and everyone is confused.)

I contacted the Master Gardeners..they don’t weed..they just plant.

Now that the Daylilies are blooming it helps to cover up the fact that some of the weeds are just as tall as the flowers.

Beautiful old common every day Daylilies.

Did you know that I share the building?  The basement and the first floor are Historical Museum.  Upstairs the entire second floor is Art Museum.  They are only open three days a week.  Right now they have a Woodcarving exhibit with many very talented carvers displaying their works of art all through July.  In August there will be a Quilt Show.  They have a big old gallery in the former courtroom..with lots of what is called “Old Masters.”  Artsy fartsy for sure.   Kelly is the curator up in the Art Museum..she comes dressed to the “nines” every day..heels too..I told her when she is an old woman she will regret those heels.  I will go up there soon and take some photos…so you all can see the Art too!

Anyway back on track..flowers..I procrastinated so long with filling the planters that are on both sides of the doors ( remember I offered to put in plastic flowers) that the Art’s people filled the planters with  some little yellow flower that I have never seen before and German Ivy and Orange Impatiens. They look wonderful..and Kelly is in charge of watering them.  I sweep the steps so I think it is a fair trade off.  Now if I could only convince several of her Artsy Fartsy people to clean up the flower beds out front, I would have all my flower problems solved:)

Rainbow Sunday

A double rainbow appeared last evening..practically in our yard.

It was a beautiful site that we would have enjoyed longer but we were getting pelted by rain and the wind was blowing fifty miles an hour.

Photographing a real rainbow has been on my photographic bucket list a long time.  I  got one barely acceptable rainbow photo all last summer, so I am very pleased to have captured these.

We spent the afternoon at a Flea Market and in an Antique Shop..I bought more old photos and Far Guy bought more “stuff” for his train. What we purchase is predictable.   We took Chance along, he loved the Flea Market and all the smells, one of the vendors even gave him a dog treat.

I spent the evening getting the old computer all set up for the Grandboys..I tried the Flight Simulator a few times..needless to say I am not a pilot.  I left lots of games on that computer for the boys to play.  Hopefully they won’t fight over it..I may have to get one of those wind up timers:)

Searching for Rainbows

I never have much luck finding rainbows.  We live in the woods and with no clear view of any horizon I have to make a conscious effort to go out to view the horizon.

It was warm yesterday..it was really warm in the museum..I came home threw my shoes off and crashed on the couch savoring the coolness..I fell asleep and had a two hour nap and was awakened by a hot nose belonging to a hungry dog..he had been sent over to wake me for supper. 

After supper we went for a ride..

Chance likes to ride down the county roads hanging his head out smelling hundreds of smells..feeling the wind in his hair!

We found a rainbow..not your typical kind..but it was a bright spot after a long warm day.

 

This irrigator is watering a field of beans just down the road.  The setting sun caught the water spray just right:)

Dragon Fly Hero’s

Far Guy and Chance were playing in the water when a bunch of mean old dragon flies attacked another dragon fly and he was hurled into the water. 

Dragon Flies cannot fly if their wings are wet.  Far Guy got the little guy to hop on his finger.  Chance supervised.

He dried off a little and began to beat his wings ninety miles an hour.

Far Guy put him on a branch..and the paparazzi stalked him.

 

Click on the photo to bigify!

Did you know that his or her eyes have as many lenses as a thousand people..he/she can see above and below at the same time.

We like Dragon Flies here in Minnesota…they grab mosquitoes with their feet and suck out their bodily fluids and drop their dehydrated carcasses to the ground:)

Museum Mystery Item

Every now and again I run into something at the museum that I have no idea what in the world it is. 

The only clues I have to go on are:

This was found in the medical room. (which may or may not be a clue..as I found lots of “stuff” in there)

It is roughly the same size as a rolling pin.

It has the word Leningrad hand carved into one of the handles.

It has no museum identifying marks of any kind.

It has no manufacturing marks of any kind.

It sits up on the dark colored circular thingys quite a bit..I can think of no food that could be rolled with it.  It would have to be fat fluffy food if it is a rolling pin of some sort.

What do you think?  I spent some time on the Internet trying to find something that looked similar..with no luck.  My readers are very smart..I am sure someone knows what it is and what it does. 

The medical room is a work in progress, it is coming along. Mark and my Mother and I have removed lots of dust.

Today I entered the museum into a new Federally State Funded Program. It is called RSVP which stands for Retired Senior Volunteer Program.  You have to be 55 years old to qualify.  If you volunteer for at least two hours you can be reimbursed 18 cents a mile ( maximum per month 20 dollars) for your travel and you are covered by a small insurance policy while you are volunteering and you get a free dinner.  Not much but at least it is something!  They will send people my way and I can sign up any of my regular volunteers.  I have several that will qualify and several that are just not old enough:)

Hands On Museum Fun

Last week at the museum I took in a donation from one of the board members.  It was a bunch of nib pens, a slate pencil and a bottle of ink and an old bottle filled with black food coloring.

I got to thinking..would children today like to practice writing with what pioneer children used years ago?

The slate pencil frustrated me..(I am an idiot some days) I was trying to use the slate pencil on a piece of paper.  Ding Ding..it is a slate pencil and will only work on a piece of slate.  I was thinking perhaps I need to sharpen it..or rough it up with some sandpaper…however it works just fine on the slate.  Add me to the list of people that learn something new everyday.

 

I cleared off a section of the counter in my office and we now have a hands on dipping pen to use with black food coloring ( It works very similar to ink)  and a slate with a slate pencil.  Children by the name of Amelia and Thomas thought that this was a great hands on experience.  Thomas loved ships and drew me several!  Since then some adults tried the hands on exhibit and they declared it fun too!  There are real pencils on the counter that we give away as gifts to children.

I will keep this exhibit in my office for awhile..I have a few more ideas up my sleeve.. just for kids

Wistful Wednesday: 2002

This photo always makes me smile.  Why?  Because most of the grands are laughing out loud.  Jen took this photo and she shared it with me for my parents anniversary last fall.  I wonder what was so funny..

This must have been taken in 2002, Adam looks to be less than a year old and he was born in the Fall of 2001. ( He can’t figure out why the other kids are laughing either.)

That is my Dad and Mom, me holding Adam ( short frosted hair era) Far Guy (the some grey hair era) hanging onto Noah and then the girls Paige, Madison and Savannah all with their blankies. ( they still have the same blankies) The boys were living in Mapleton, North Dakota and the girls were living in Lombard, Illinois back then..time spent with all of them at the same time was precious.

Far Guy just wandered by..he doesn’t remember what was so funny either.  ( I think one of their Mothers must have suggested that they all say something funny..like poopy or something equally funny to small children)

Switcheroo

Well it is done.  I have switched. I have abandoned a old friend. The computer that I purchased in 2001 is sitting on the work table.  He will get lots of his files deleted and then he will go upstairs to be used when the Grand boys come over.  We have a “pretend you are a pilot and can fly program”  with controllers that they love to play.

I feel a bit guilty..it was almost a perfectly good computer it was just full to overflowing and getting slower everyday…very slow. The last time I had it repaired the idiot with the lobotomy  never replaced the module that you use to down load Secure Digital memory cards from the camera. Luckily I had one on my printer. It irritated me every time I downloaded photos. I get a little cranky when things don’t work like they should. 

The Simple Save External Hard Drive worked as advertised and saved all my photos and goodness knows what else.

I can even find a photo in it.  This is Far Guy and Chance on July 3 playing in the water.  (This was well before all the people with boats and drinks arrived.)

I loaded Avira Virus Software and Windows Live Writer and Google Chrome..I suppose I should load my camera software..and I am not sure if I can print anything or not ..yet.

Far Guy will load what I call crap cleaner on it soon.  It removes cookies and other “stuff” ( highly technical).

My new computer is a Pavilion Elite( with oodles more space for me to fill up) made by Hewlett-Packard.  Most everything we have is HP..my baby brother helped me pick out the new computer..actually I emailed him..and he said “looks good to me.”  He works for HP and he helped me pick out my laptop that I am very pleased with..and he picked out my computer ten years ago too. 

This new computer is just a whiz..faster than a speeding bullet..and one of the rewards of working all summer!

July 4th on the 3rd

We celebrated the 4th of July a day early.  We went up to Cass Lake and then over to Star Island.

 

It was a really nice day, not much wind with the temperature around 80 degrees F.

Star Island is a very popular place to gather.  We got there early and were almost the first boat there.

 

Half the people in Minnesota showed up before the afternoon was over. Jen hopped up on the storage place on the back of the pontoon and held the camera high in the air for this shot!

I got a good photo of Far Guy and our girls.

They are all kinda smiling too.  It was a good day with family on the water. The grands all had a blast!  Chance had a great time too..with all of his favorite people.

Funny how you forget how miserably cold Minnesota can be when you are out on the lake in the water on a warm summer day! 

Happy 4th of July!:)

Summer

Summer came this week ..it was 99.9 degrees with about 95 % humidity on Wednesday.  So the subsequent days where it has only been in the eighty’s seemed cool. There is as much air conditioning as there is heat in the museum..and that would be zero. I am very thankful for the air conditioning at home!
Miney and Little Elvis visited for part of the week.

All of their masters wanted to stay in a fancy smancy hotel/resort where no animals were allowed.  Miney and Little Elvis love staying with us..well they love staying with Far Guy and Chance.

Much ball was played… Chance was hiding behind a tree sneaking a peek for an airborne ball. Chance loves having visitors.

They were happy content (tired) dogs at the end of the day. Chance never gets tired or cranky with his company..he shares everything..his food and water dish and he takes turns playing ball with Miney. Little Elvis just runs along side them both..and occasionally he will grab a tail and hang on..he is a stinker.  Chance would have shared his pool with them too..but neither of them are real fond of water.  When he jumps in his pool and splashes water the other dogs look at him like he is nuts:)

The Table

A volunteer by the name of Mark and I worked really hard last week to try to get the room that houses all the old medical equipment ready for the public.   It is a work in progress.

We found this..

This is a table.  What is really cool about this table is that it is portable.  The legs fold up and the headrest folds down and then the halves of the table fold together and you can carry it where ever you want to be..it is not real heavy.  I would guess that it is made from Birch. What do you think it was used for?

The handle that you carry it around with is on the left.  This little sign is on the right. 

 

Made by The Gleason Board Co. Rochester NY.   I did a quick search for them, I found that they began their business in 1865.  I will venture to guess that the table was manufactured sometime in 1870 to 1880.

Mark and I talked about this table.  Mark guessed it was like a portable massage table.  I guessed that it was a traveling Doctors exam table.  We were both wrong.  Have you guessed what kind of a table it is yet?

Mark is a musician, he plays guitar and mandolin and who knows what all..he gives music lessons the rest of the week and on Tuesdays he volunteers at the museum.  Far Guy is coming to help with the communications room this next week..we have a switchboard and all kinds of phones and typewriters galore and cameras..oh ya..I guess I am babbling on like a brook..

Did you guess Embalming Table?  Well that is what it is. I learn something new everyday..:)

Gus the Ghost

There once was a cranky old women who left her husband and dog home alone all day to become the director of a museum. She was fairly normal, except for being cranky and occasionally being a bit bitchy.

She did not believe in ghosts.  Well maybe she did just a little, she had seen a ghost of a person once and a ghost of a dog..but they were dead ghosts…just there fleetingly for a few seconds. Those ghosts were not a problem.

The cranky old lady encountered some strange things..doors opened that had been locked…(It really freaked her out and she thought she might be crazy.)  Things that were in one place moved to another place..spooky.  Sometimes she swore that something was out to frighten her away. ( She is usually not a chicken or a screamer or a fraidy cat unless it involves snakes.)

Then one day..one of her many bosses ( that is a nightmare in itself) told her about the resident ghost.  It seems that the building is notorious for being haunted. 

The cranky old woman was a bit suspicious after finding Ghost Hunters business cards in her desk and cards for séances..she thought it was a tad strange. ( Actually she thought ..what in the world have I gotten myself into?)

Her grandchildren thought it was way cool that she actually worked in a place that was haunted.   They all agreed that it was haunted, one grand was so scared that she didn’t want to go downstairs to the “scary” bathroom all by herself. 

Yes, it was verified through many sources that Peter or Gus the Ghost as he is called has been haunting the old courthouse for years.  For about 68 years to be precise and that the Ghost Hunters were there with their special cameras and they have asked for permission to come back again sometime because their results were inconclusive.

So I work with a freaking ghost..a mischievous one..lately he turns lights on and off and sets off the security alarm at night with his wild parties. He is a nuisance ghost.

Do you think that one of the cranky old woman's many ( seven) bosses should have mentioned it?

The old volunteers know all about Gus the Ghost..the new ones not so much..I am afraid I may scare them all away.

This is as much of the real story as I know.

He was a tormented soul, he only had one arm. His only son was killed during World War Two. He was the boiler operator at the courthouse, one night in 1943 or 1944 he had enough of this world and hung himself.  Local children were walking past the Courthouse on the way to school and saw his body through one of the windows.

This may or may not be the window..it is the only one that I think it can be.  In a few weeks this room will be cleared out..we have an old jail cell that is going to occupy this room..I can only imagine what fun Gus will have with the workers in that room:)