Mural at the Library

The other day at woodcarving we were the first ones there so I had a chance to photograph the mural on the wall.   My cell phone takes pretty good photos.

It is bits and pieces of town...or what used to be in town.

The Water Tower is no longer there and Far Guy says they really didn't portray it correctly.  The bridge that is red is still in the park but it doesn't span the water anymore just the grass.  I have no idea where those flower gardens were.   The bell is from the Main Street Fire Department from about 1890...it sits outside the Fire Department.

 The Headwaters of the Mississippi are not in town but about 25 miles North of town. 
A long time ago there used to be the same log with the words on Main Street outside of an eating establishment on the first block of main...not sure when it disappeared.

  It used to say;

“HERE 1475 FT ABOVE THE OCEAN THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI BEGINS TO FLOW ON ITS WINDING WAY 2552 MILES TO THE GULF OF MEXICO”

I do not recall a fountain in the river either but there could have been one a summer or two a long time ago.

So that is a tour of the mural in the library meeting room. 

Far Side

Sunny Day

Sunny Days are here again!  Love seeing and feeling the sunshine!  The sky is still blue!

The roads were clear except for some salt residue...the snow is getting dirty on the edge of the road.  It looks warmer than it was...the wind had a sharp bite to it!

Far Guy dropped me off at Hobby Lobby while he went to his medical appointment.    I had a nice walk around/ stand around looking at yarn ...and ran right into my handsome husband on a stroll of his own around the store...not sure if he was looking for me or not!

Not much was on my list.  Yarn for a project I would like to try.  Some super soft cotton yarn for a couple of chemo caps.  I have a few projects to finish first...imagine that!
Far Side

Finally some sun!

The sun came out for most of the day yesterday.

Yard with squirrel tracks

June the snowbank

I was in no danger using the snow rake...it has a real long handle...I think about 12 feet with one extension and 18 feet with two extensions.  So I could stand back a long way and pull the snow off a little at a time.  Easy peasy.  The whole snow rake is rather heavy...the worst part for me was getting it all the way up there where I wanted it!  Yes the snow comes down with a bit of force and splats all over the patio...like I said I made myself a mess...but I cleaned it all up and today after the sun was shining there is little to no ice where before we had ice...mission accomplished!   I am after all a Minnesota gal and we can deal with snow! ( most of the time)

Errands and  Pulmonary Therapy were accomplished....and Far Guy felt good enough to go to Woodcarving.  Everyone there was happy to see us!

The tax papers were dropped off at the accountants...glad to have that done for another year.

Three more medical appointments this week. One of which may involve a stop by Hobby Lobby.
Far Side

Roof snow

The snow has been accumulating on the steel roof.  Yesterday the melt began.

Here is the roof on January 15 2020

The snow was melting, dripping and making ice on the patio.

I got out the roof rake with the long handle....made a mess for myself when I pulled all the snow off on the right side onto the patio and had to shovel off the patio.

February 2 2020

I got all the snow off the small roof.  The last bunch fell in a big sheet on the other side.

At least I didn't have to wallow around in the snowbank to clear off that side!  Once I put the roof rake way at the top and snagged the center of the snow drift that mass of snow came tumbling off...couldn't have planned it better myself.

In other roof news most all the snow came off the east side of the house.  The west side is still hanging on. 

See that bit of blue sky?  The sun was out for a moment or two.
Far Side

Still gloomy

Gloomy but warm it was about 30 F yesterday.   The sun made a very brief appearance and then went away AGAIN.

After the Grand dogs left I watched two very unremarkable movies...The Awakening of Motti Wolkenbruch a Jewish Comedy  I give it 2 stars out of 10...for comedy only.  Then I watched Inside Man Most Wanted a hostage shoot em up thriller...not so thrilling..I give it 3 stars out of 10 maybe.  Neither is worth a second watch EVER.

I usually crochet when I am watching a movie.   I worked on some Wildlife Rescue Nests and some seven inch squares that will be donated to a gal making afghans for charity.

A flower photo from blog reader Roz.  What a beautiful Hibiscus! 

Far Side

Gone to the Dogs

Rather the Grand dogs have come to us...to be spoiled for a bit...today they go back home.

They wake us early in the morning for their breakfast and want their supper at 5 PM but start asking for it about 4:15...just in case you were going to forget about them.  They take really long naps as they are both older dogs... Miss Miney is almost 15 years old.  Little Elvis is just over 10 years old.

Little Elvis can be a turd.  BUT he listens really good to us. Miss Miney would listen if she could hear anything... she is pretty much deaf.  We use hand signals...her eye sight is getting worse too.  She waits at the top of the step for help descending the stairs.

Last week Little Elvis stopped the LP Man from making a delivery...he has to go into the back yard...well that is Little Elvis territory...

I have been calling him Sid Vicious!  What a good watchdog!

They love to be in the kitchen when I am cooking...just in case something is dropped...either that or to keep me company.  Chance used to keep me company in the kitchen too.
Far Side

Murky

Another murky day.  The sun tried to shine but the fog won over. 

Appointments were accomplished.  I ran errands whilst Far Guy flirted with his nurses.
Seems I always find enough odds and ends to do in town....got more boxes at the bank for the "big sort," gassed up the vehicle and went by to check on my parents.   Later we all went out to lunch in the boonies at our favorite lunch spot.

My Dad's finger only hurts if he bangs it up against something so we are good to go to Bingo.

Farewell to January the month of extremely cold sunny weather or seasonably warm weather with fog and no sun.  We may top the 30 F or  -1 C (eh) mark this weekend.

Far Side

Ice Castle

They are building an Ice Castle on the beach in Detroit Lakes.
 

I have always wanted to see it.  It is not yet completed.  When it is done they have a gathering and it is all lit up.

They harvest blocks of ice to build the castle

The blocks are lined up on pallets until they are ready to be placed.

It should be beautiful all lit up.

It was fun to see it in progress!
Far Side

Frost, fog and a friend

We went to Detroit Lakes yesterday.  I needed a hair cut...I swear she cut off about 10 pounds of hair at least it feels that way.   In all about 8 inches was cut off...and it is still long enough to put in a bun!  I only get my hair cut a couple of times a year..it grows really fast about an inch plus a month. I go to the place where you can check in online but I didn't.  Next time I will.

It was foggy and frosty when we left.

The sun came out in Snellman.

But then we drove right back into the fog again.  This old barn is really leaning.

 I had to wait a bit to get my hair cut so we went to a couple of hardware stores.  When Far Guy dropped me off to get my haircut he went by the grocery store to get a few things...he was recognized by Sonja a faithful blog reader and they had a nice chat.

Sonja sent me an email:
Well, by now I'm sure you know whom I had the pleasure of meeting today. I had to do a double take because I really don't know a lot of people from this area that I might run into at the grocery store.  And I wasn't going to let the opportunity pass and then be left wondering if that was indeed your handsome husband.  I also did not want him to feel like he was being stalked, but it did make my day.

For the record it made his day too! 
Far Side

Not much new

I sorted a long time yesterday.  Filled a couple more boxes.  Made it through the roll top desk and it is almost empty.   It still has some Auction Bills and a few extra large photographs of flowers I had forgotten about and Eli Wheel decals....that old desk is a perfect place to store extra large items. 

Today will be my last day working upstairs for a bit.  We are getting company.  I should make it all look presentable again.  I tend to have piles of stuff here and there when I am sorting.

I watched a movie called Cowgirls N Angels  a really fun movie I give it a 9 out of 10 stars. My kind of movie...no murder and mayhem.
.

The sun almost came out yesterday...it got real bright for a while.  If it ever comes out I am certain it will blind us.

Far Side

Dreary but warm

Well warm for Minnesota in January!  Day time highs have been about 20 F or -7 C eh so that is perfect  temperatures.

We had to play mail man  as our neighbors mail was in our mail box and I wonder who got our mail...the postman musta had a brain fart.

As you can see by the photo the sun did not shine yesterday.

Whilst Far Guy was at Pulmonary Therapy I went to the Bank, Post Office and to my parents.  My Dad attempted to cut off a finger in the hatchback of the car...luckily he had heavy gloves on and only needed six stitches.  It is not his Bingo dauber hand so Bingo will continue if he feels up to it.

No sorting took place.  I did get some boxes from the bank in town...they always have boxes sitting out for people to take.   We visited wally world and the grocery store...came home put groceries away had lunch and Far Guy napped while I watched a movie  I'll see you in my dreams.  I give it a 9 out of 10 stars...the opening is quite sad....I almost turned it off after the first five minutes.  After that I attempted to watch Eat Pray Love and I fell asleep.

Far Side

Big Sort Continues

I worked all afternoon on the "big sort."  I was running out of space...so I cleaned out a small corner  upstairs and began to stack totes and boxes.   Now I can at least move around in my work area up there. 

I made a fair amount of progress.  Books...good gracious I had enough books up there to start my own library.  Three boxes of books later they are all stacked up.  I know there are some more books in a couple more drawers up there.   I had some three ring binders that I made back in 1996...all about annuals and perennials...all that crap is being recycled.  Seasonal decorations were sorted...not much is being kept...I allowed myself one drawer of "stuff" to decorate the outside wreath. If I didn't love it...it went in a box to be sold.  Many fancy boxes and tins were boxed up....only a few were kept.

I finished up my squares for the Crochet A Long that I am working on.   These were fun squares to do...the pattern is called Aster.

Here are the squares I finished.

We have only three medical appointments this week...practically a week off. 
Far Side

Perfect Match

My neighbor Phyllis had the perfect match for my antique floss problem.

So I can finish this sometime soon.  I wonder if I can duplicate the chain stitch...I will give it a whirl.  Thanks Phyllis!!   She also gave me a few skeins of yarn...I can make more nests.

It was a quiet day.  I watched two movies  The Laundromat (I give it a 5 out of a 10) and Saving Mr Banks  (I give that one a 9 out of 10).  I worked on my crochet projects.

Far Guy did some woodcarving and he had a nap.

Far Side

Dresser Scarf

I unearthed a very old project.  I used to embroider quite a bit.  I wanted to perfect my chain stitch.
So I began a dresser scarf. 

One end is completely finished.

The other end not so much.

Now I have to find the right embroidery floss to finish this project.  It is J & P Coats floss.  This was way before  DMC was even an embroidery floss company.  Needless to say the numbers on my one bit of floss are no longer used....apparently they started a new numbering system.  I must have antique floss!

So I shall be looking for floss to finish this project that is about 40 years old.   I can match some of the colors quite well to DMC floss but I used a shades of red only made by J & P Coats, the floss is variegated goes from pink to red.

I will have to look around a bit to see what I can find.

Does anyone even use dresser scarfs anymore?   I used to use them...I would switch them out every month.  The dirty ones would be washed...sprinkled and put inside a plastic bag to condition before  spraying them with starch and ironing them smooth.  Then folding them just right creasing the fold with an iron and putting them in the drawer that was specially reserved for dresser scarfs and doilies.

I have quite a collection of old dresser scarfs.  So if I cannot find the right floss I will probably toss it.

In other news I finally got the naked Christmas tree upstairs put properly away.   However the Nativity Set is still out.   I inventoried the deep freeze and the fridge freezer...now we know exactly what we have...our trouble is that when we take something out of the freezer we don't always take it off the list.

Far Side

Busy Thursday

My Dad and I were total losers at Bingo, but we still had a good time

Had a weird thing happen in the morning...still cannot figure it out.  My phone rang while I was at my parents...It asked if I wanted to join the Facetime phone call between my brothers, sister and myself...so I joined...  who knew that four or maybe even more people could see each other and all talk.  My other baby brother said his phone rang and he got the same message as I did...and my baby brothers wife said the same thing.  She answered my brothers phone...he was in surgery getting a new knee.    No one knows who initiated the call???  I didn't even know how to hang up...my other baby brother was laughing because he didn't know how to hang up either.  Eventually I think everyone hung up on me.

Anyways my baby brother has another new knee...he was up and walking last night and should get out of the hospital today if all goes well.

I shoveled snow over at my parents...it snowed in town just enough to make things slippery.   Far Guy was delayed at the infusion center so I managed to squeeze in a visit to the yarn shop.  Yarn may have been purchased.

We are done with appointments for the week! I went in for my blood draw after dropping off Far Guy at Pulmonary Therapy.  Later in the day my blood work came back and I am normal...even my cholesterol...how about that!

Pretty roses at the grocery store.

Far Side

June and Crown Report

June  the snowbank is as big as ever.  She is a record height....the tallest we have seen her in the 22 years we have lived here.

The weather yesterday was lovely.  Above zero!  I finished my shoveling and no snow is forecast so I am ahead of the game!  Yeah me!

Stacey came by to get her crown ear warmer.  She liked it!

I had time to make her another one...in the color she originally requested.

They both look good on her! Either color makes her eyes pop!

Yesterday I watched The 100-Foot Journey a movie much more to my liking.  I give it a 8 out of 10 stars.

Far Side

Sunrise and a crown

I was up early so I got to watch the sunrise...it was pretty.

Photo taken out the kitchen window.

I played 52 pick up and put away in it's proper place and supervised Far Guy while he did a dusting project.  ( All his books and "stuff" in his computer area were collecting dust.)

I power shoveled and shoveled.  I have one area left to do ...maybe today.

In the afternoon I curled up on the couch and watched The Irishman and crocheted a ear warmer headband that looks like a crown.  (I give the movie a 5 out of 10...lots of murder and mayhem.)

Here is another photo of it.  One of my nieces saw it on Facebook and said she would like one...her Sisters and Mom said she could crochet it herself...she probably could have ..but I wondered if I could do it. 

Apparently I can....and learned another new to me stitch!

The Tetanus shot has me feeling out of sorts and a bit tired...and cranky according to Far Guy.

Far Side

Tulips, a tree and other stuff

I managed to have my yearly physical.  I passed.  Had some skin tags removed and got a Tetanus Booster.  She wants fasting blood work so I will do that later in the week.  She wants me to monitor my blood pressure closely...so Far Guy has a job again.  They are still short of the Shingrix Vaccine...so I am on the waiting list.

Far Guy went to Pulmonary Therapy while I ran errands and crocheted in the car.

We went to the grocery store together.  We split up the list and shopping goes much faster...except when he stops to visit!

Spring is at the grocery store.   Every week I pick out which bouquet I would buy if I could have flowers in the house.  This week it was the tulips...hands down especially those yellow ones!

Found this photo on my phone...one night Far Guy and I sat on Main Street together and took a photo of the Christmas Tree in the middle of the street.  It has been removed now....it takes up a number of parking spots.

Today and tomorrow we get to stay at home.  We appreciate the days that do not have appointments.  We could be hermits. 

Far Side

" Morning is God's way of saying one more time, go make a difference, touch a heart, encourage a mind, inspire a soul and enjoy the day."

Winter Storm Jacob: Day Three

It snowed a bit again yesterday.  I shoveled the walk again and in front of one of the garages.  It was quite chilly out there.  I think I need some new gloves as my hands got cold and that hardly ever happens.

This sea of snow on the patio will wait for another day.  The squirrels made all kinds of tracks...they even stopped by the front door.  They were busy digging around in the snow looking for seeds... Far Guy said he felt sorry for them.  I

I started  a new project...I knew I shouldn't ...but it is a different Charity Project.   It is simple enough to do and it  might make a difference.

Peyton Heart Project

Their mission is to bring awareness to mental health issues especially suicide and bullying. 

The hearts are crochet or knit and the tags are downloaded from their website.  The hearts can either be mailed back to them with or without tags OR hidden throughout your community with tags attached.  Patterns for everything are at their website. 

My hearts are crochet.  If any of my neighbors or relatives would like to help by leaving hearts in different places please come over and get some! 

Since I spend a good amount of time in waiting rooms this is a good project to take along with me. 

We have only four medical appointments this week. 

Far Side

Winter Storm Jacob: Day Two

It snowed yesterday.   I have decided that the snow stick lies...perhaps the wind blew some snow away.   It says 24 inches at the snowstick.   That would be a four inch gain in 24 hours.

 If that was so...how come it looked like more when I shoveled?

My Great Nephew Mason came by shortly after this and plowed us out.

The snow was blowing around so I saw no need in moving anymore snow until it calms down.

I took Shiny Brite Ornaments off the tree upstairs...and put them away.  The tree itself is still standing.  One day soon I will get it packed away.

I did  something with the "big sort"  I emptied a drawer and put everything in it on my table to be marked for a garage sale.  Then I turned out the light and came downstairs...enough for one snowy day.

Far Guy did some woodcarving and some coughing...he cannot seem to get rid of that horrible cough.  He had a nap and made supper for us...ribs and vegetables.  He is a great cook!

Far Side