Date Night at the Fair

Every year we have a date night the week of the County Fair.  We go into town and find the Pork Producers Stand and order up pork burgers.  Then we look around for French Fries and Cheese Curds and a Coke. ( I ate greens for lunch)  Oh clogging up your arteries good food, I do not have high cholesterol but Far Guy does if he doesn’t take his medication. 

We walked around the midway and Far Guy bought a Grape Sno Cone.
Times have changed when a Grape Sno cone comes in a plastic cup..what happened to the white paper cup with the picture of the frozen mountain and the snowflakes?
A red cup and red syrup..it kinda tasted like grape but not the old fashioned grape.  A long, long time ago Joyce’s family sold Sno cones and they harvested their own grapes and made their own grape syrup…it was purple..and the best Sno cone flavor Far Guy has ever tasted..you just can’t get the same flavors from store bought:)
 

A 4-H project!

July 18 2013

Seventeen years ago we became Grandparents for the first time.  It is interesting how much a tiny little person can make your life so different.

Savannah smiled and then giggled when we gave her this card.  The photos in the middle are from a family house boat trip we went on with our daughters and their husbands, all the grands and Chance.

She was throwing water in the air for Chance to catch.

I asked her to smile..see how her dimple shows up?   Seventeen..hard to believe. Happy Birthday Savannah:)

Wistful Wednesday: Great Aunt Charlotte

Far Guy had a Great Aunt Charlotte, she was married to Great Uncle Herman in 1931.  A good match, they complimented each other well.  I seem to recall that they snuck off to get married and didn’t tell anyone for a while…they snuck back and continued on with their lives just like normal. Uncle Herman was a Popsicle salesman and Charlotte had a job where she couldn’t be married. (Far Guy says she was either a teacher or a Dental Hygienist)

Charlotte

Recently cousin Roxie shared this photo with me.  I am certain the photo has a story..I wish I knew what it was.

During the war years (1939 to 1945) Herman and Charlotte were there to comfort Far Guy’s parents while they endured the loss of their premature twins, a boy and a girl born way too early(1943).  They all lived in Omaha back then. Both would eventually become parents of little girls in Omaha. Roxie for Herman and Charlotte and Janice for Marvin and Evelyn in 1945.

When Far Guy was stationed at Lowry AFB in Denver (1973) we visited often with Herman and Charlotte in Colorado Springs..usually on Sunday afternoons. It was nice to connect with relatives when you were far away from home.

Charlotte, Herman and Evelyn (Far Guy’s Mom) in about 1971.

I helped Far Guys Mom pick out that blouse (what was I thinking..she had slacks to match..solid color of course..and polyester.) 

Charlotte and Evelyn were two peas in a pod..every hair in place, perfectly dressed at all times..they both wore aprons in the kitchen, and both were excellent cooks..that used linen tablecloths and good silver. They washed their dishes in a certain order.  Glasses and cups first followed by plates, serving bowls, silverware and pots and pans.  Pots and pans were dried with a different towel.  The special bleached white flour sacks with the cute embroidery in the corner never saw a pot or pan.

Marvelous women of a different generation:)

Chance : New Balls

Hiya!  It’s me Chance! I got new balls!
There was a sale at Walgreens and balls were 49 cents so I got six new balls.
All different colors!

I got them all just a little slobbery..

So I could figure out which one I like the best.

I finally decided on the blue one.  Far Side says she thinks I can see blue better than any other color.
Did you know that after so long  balls rot?  It must be the combination of being outside in the sun and my copious amounts of slobber that deteriorates them.  Miney helps too..she chews on my balls when she visits.  Some have chunks out of them..Far Side has been known to shout “Quick hide all the good balls Miney is here.”
Soft balls are hard to find, these high bounce balls are perfect to play ball with.  They are soft but not too soft..perfect for a Border Collie ball connoisseur:)

Rainy Day

Our rainy day was a good day to rest up and relax.  We watched a new show Whodunnit on ABC online. We enjoyed two installments and plan to watch more..we do not get ABC because we are supposed to get it with an antennae..go figure. (Direct TV versus local TV rules)

A chipmunk invaded the area behind the bottle gas cylinder of the grill.  Chance trapped him there and kept watch and barked intermittently for several hours..his very own special kind of rainy day entertainment.

Late in the afternoon we traveled a bit North to meet our soon to be seventeen year old grand at Dairy Queen and then we came home, I cooked supper we ate and I had a two hour nap..I just could not keep my eyes open after supper.

The clouds hung heavy in the air and it rained all day long.

We saw another 57 Chevy a different color than last week, this one was ivory( Adobe Beige) and a copper color (Sierra Gold).  Far Guy and I had a big discussion about paint colors of old cars. We decided that this old guy..he was about 70 must have had one this color when it was brand new..either that or he always wanted one and he didn’t care what color.

The Smoky Hills have lived up to their name all summer long, usually blanketed with humidity.  Today it looked like steam was rising from the river.

There were raindrops on my roses.

And mosquitoes on my legs and trying to fly in my ears and up my nose:)

A Day of Rest

I am tired and need a day of rest. I really need an entire attitude adjustment but that won’t happen in just one day. In my next life I want to be someone’s pampered pet..like Chance or these girls.

This pair was resplendent in their cute little shirts.  They were enjoying the ride in their very own stroller.  I asked if I could take their photo, their owner said Oh yes..then they promptly closed their eyes.  Some days I would just like to close my eyes and pretend no one is there. Ah..the life of a dog..close your eyes whenever you want, plop down and nap and save up ammunition just incase you need to pee on someone’s leg. Sounds perfect to me.

I know of a few legs I would like to dampen:)

Museum: Military Room

Last Fall the Military Room was painted.  Previously it was very blue. The paint was procured through a grant from Valspar and all the painting was done by volunteers.

Before

After

Before

After

Far Guy worked really hard getting all the pain specks off the oak floor. More uniforms were brought out of the vault and displayed on a clothing rack. One of the displays will be redone with Minnesota’s 2nd in mind.  A volunteer Civil War buff is working on that display. I am not involved in THAT project.

The museum has an extensive Civil War Collection.  WWI and WWII are well represented.  Korea and Vietnam not so much.  I am on the lookout for Women’s Military Uniforms..we should have at least one..just my opinion. (Children should be able to see that both men and women are in the Armed Forces.)

In my “findings” at the museum, I found a journal from a POW during WWII that lived in town.  I have not read it yet.  We also have a Civil War Journal from 1862.  We have a good collection of War Newspapers. 

The next thing that needs to be done in this room is to redo the signs.  All the descriptive signs are so old worn and faded soon they will be unrecognizable.  I also have three more flags that need to be in flag cases.

Through grants we were only able to raise half the money needed for Ultra Violet Filters for the windows in this room.  Since that disappointing news I wrote five “ding” letters to area American Legions and VFW’s and their auxiliaries asking for help.

Other museum news:

The museum applied for a grant for $6,300 to cover the cost of having a HVAC evaluation of the historic building.  It is the first step toward heat and or air conditioning.  The evaluation will tell us what we need which in turn will help us to write yet another grant for those needs.  Once we get heat and air conditioning in place there is no money for those added utilities..seems like a loosing battle.  A long time ago the museum had part of a mill that they used for operating expenses..and somehow somewhere that mill was taken away.  The New Courthouse is going through a multi million dollar renovation but I cannot get funding for thread bare carpeting or even the $100 Fire Department Key Box that I asked for almost a year ago. ( One of the Commissioners who said “Let it burn” was not re elected..tough patooties.  When I heard the news I cheered..I am a mean old broad sometimes.)

Some days the struggle seems to be too much.  I get discouraged. I should look at the improvements that have been made slowly one by one instead of what still needs to be done.  The summer is almost half over, which means I am that much closer to the last day in September when I close the doors for the season:)

Steps in the making

We have a French Door at the back of the house.  It had a really long step down.  The grands used to open the door and jump out.  Steps were never real high on our priority list.

Here is the progression. We built the house in 1999.

August 01 2012  Far Guy had just finished re-sealing the siding and was thinking about building a step.  We decided on green treated wood and cedar because we will just let it weather.  It is on the North side of the house.  We talked to neighbor carpenter Steve about the engineered- looks- like- wood decking.  In our area with the extreme in temperatures the screws would constantly need adjustment.

*** Those funny looking straps hold up my curtain when it is rolled up..it is a design by Far Side…I didn’t realize that the lining of my curtains was so puckery…then again what do you expect from someone who barely passed Home Ec (ick).

August 25, 2012

August 30, 2012

Handy Andy helped figure out the stringers for the steps. September 2, 2012.

September 12, 2012

October 25, 2012

July 11, 2013 The railing is complete.

Far Guy did a great job! Chance has another spot to survey the yard from.  There is room for a small bench or perhaps a chair.  We wouldn’t use it very often but perhaps visiting guests would:)

Growing our own

Sometimes growing crops in your yard is a good thing.  You don’t have to leave home to get the good stuff.

Sometimes the tiniest of seeds will sprout.  The squirrels are driving us all nuts…and they are destructive too..sometimes leaping from the bird bath past the plants deforming some and breaking some off.

  June 26

Far Guy even transplanted one that was coming up in the middle of the yard.  It was the one on the far left..it was sad for a couple of days.

July 10

I wonder when we can harvest the crop?  Most likely the birds will help themselves.

The ever watchful Border Collie has a full time job now.  When he isn’t chasing the Frisbee or playing ball he is on varmint watch..someone has to watch the sunflower crop:)

Wistful Wednesday :1997

I ran across some old photos recently that brought back some good memories.

Back in the summer of 1997 we were fortunate enough to get away for quite a few days. We had a house sitter to mow our lawn and the dogs went up to Buxton to stay with Trica and Dick, I hired a dog sitter to play with and make sure the dogs were all happy ( We had three back then all Shelties: Moses, Captain and G’Day Mate..all spoiled)  We went camping up in the Wyoming Mountains with my other baby brother and she who sees robins first.

I really miss those camping days.  Campfires and frost on the tent and all that.

Far Guy says his camping days are over and he is too old to sleep in a tent.  He suggested if I wanted to sleep in a tent to go right ahead and set up the tent in the yard.

Anyways I wanted to tell you that after one of these outings we headed from Big Piney Wyoming  to Ogden Utah for supper.  Far Guy had been to supper at a really cool place ..so we drove the 198 miles for a steak and homemade bread served in a covered wagon parked around a campfire.  How romantic is that?  The food was great, the place was called the Prairie Schooner Restaurant and Steak House.  A nice little walk was in order after a great meal.

I had always wanted to wade in the Great Salt Lake.  Far Guy indulged me..it was not the beautiful lake I once saw shimmering in the distance on an earlier trip through Utah.  The closer we got the smellier it became.  Far Guy wondered if this was such a good idea after eating.

Far Guy was not amused. It was hold your nose smelly.

I walked out to the stagnant smelly water and took off a shoe.  It wasn’t the stuff that dreams are made of..but I did it.  I finally made it to the Great Salt Lake:)

Roses and Hearts

We visited Living Legacy Gardens near Staples Minnesota recently.

They had some very impressive roses.

This one was not marked.  It is some kind of hardy rose to withstand our winters.  The foliage was nice too.

This one is part of the Explorer Series it is called George Vancouver.  That is one stem with all those blossoms..like a bouquet!  I was impressed with the blooms but not with the foliage. The foliage had blackspot and looked sparse and not real pretty.

The Bleeding Hearts were still blooming. 

Dicentra spectabilis

Dicentra spectablis ‘Alba’

The Tall Garden Phlox will be in bloom in a few weeks and all their Lilies were heavy in bud.  The gardens have something blooming all summer.  All the work is done by volunteers. It is a great place to visit but they have a bumper crop of skeeters this summer. Much like the rest of Minnesota:(

Sunday Drive

We went for a Sunday Drive.  

We saw a Classic Car a 1957 Chevy.  It was perfect.

Far Guy says “Look at that paint color on the roof…It is Willow Green just like my old Desoto!”

Yes, that is a hay bale in the ditch.  Up here in Minnesota many farmers take advantage of roadside grass.

Near Staples Minnesota I saw this field.

I think this is a Flax field…not in bloom yet..but soon.  If you have been reading my blog for a long time you know that I have wanted to photograph a Flax field for a long time…it has been on my photographic bucket list.  Well I got the photo but without the flowers.  I was tempted to stop at one of the farm houses down the road from this field and ask them if they would call me when it blooms..but they probably would have thought I was nuts.

I could be..nuts that is.  What is on my photo bucket list?  A baby buffalo, lightening and a Flax field in bloom.

It was another warm day 90 F or 32 C  and 85% humidity.  The humidity just hangs in the air.  If you ask me the heat is making lots of people a tad cranky.  Oh, it was warm in the museum on Saturday…the building has finally caught up..now whatever the outside temperature is..well that is the inside temperature too.  I am thankful that we have air conditioning at home:)