Melting

It is melting and getting icy in the yard.  Mom and Dad stopped by to visit. They called us from the vehicle when they first arrived to make sure we were home.  When I answered the phone Dad was already walking on the ice.   I hate that they walk on ice.  When they left I drove the car to the end of the walk so Mom could get in and then she could turn the car around and let Dad in from the walk where it wasn't icy.   It worked and no one fell. 

Most of the snow finally came off the roof of the house.  Spring must be coming!

I am NOT looking forward to the time change,  I get crankier than normal.  I wish they would just leave the time alone.   Sure it means more light at night but it is too cold to be outside and just think of all the little kids that have to get on the bus in the dark mornings.  Makes no sense to me at all.

Spring like flowers at the store last week

I worked on some crochet wildlife nests I am sure that the Rescue Organizations will be needing them soon. 

Far Side

Some B's

 Birth!  My nephew Kirk and his beautiful wife welcomed their fourth child a girl named Tallulah on Friday!  I believe this is my baby brothers 9th Grand.  Tallulah lives in New Jersey so we won't meet her until next summer.  I love her name!

 Bingo: My Dad and I went to Bingo and my sister joined us there.  Dad bingoed!  His losing streak must be over.  We were both one number away from the BIG Money but a good friend won part of it so that is almost as good as winning it ourselves.  Dad is missing a few more numbers...my sister and I just reach over and daub them for him.  He has the most problems with I's and G's it seems...and with the special games that involve patterns.  He is the oldest person at Bingo and gets a few hugs from some of the ladies.  He enjoys his night out.

Blocking: I finally got all the supplies I needed to block a crochet project...it is really pretty and I shall share photos later as it is a gift.  I am still blocking the squares for my afghan two at a time on the blocker Far Guy made for me.

Big Sort: Not much happening with the big sort the past few days.  I needed my work table to block my crochet project.   (That is probably just an excuse.)

I took inventory of the canned goods in the pantry and decided we were in good shape except for canned fruit so I took care of that.  Seems lots of people are going off the deep end worrying about the corona virus.  One case has been confirmed in Minnesota.

 We are concerned and have a plan to keep Far Guy isolated except for his weekly visit to the Infusion Center.  We are solitary people anyway...this past week  Jo came over to get Odda so she visited for a bit...the UPS guy dropped off a package and we went by my brothers shop one day and talked to him, his wife and Frank.  Most people that know us stay away when they are ill or have a cough.

This is what the ground blizzard looked like on Thursday morning.

Far Side

The Snow Curl

We knew it would have to come down some day.

March 5 morning

Its last morning with icicles underneath.

The curl finally came down stabbing itself into the snowbank.

Making a snow wall outside.

And a snow wall outside the Living Room window.  We won't be able to see out that window for awhile.

There is still snow up on the roof so more will be coming down.
Not sure if it was the wind or the tiny bit of sunshine that finally did it in.

We had a ground blizzard and the roads were crappy yesterday morning.

Far Side

tsundoku

I encountered  a new to me word yesterday tsundoku.  The art of buying books and never reading them.  I suppose I qualify as I can never pass up books at garage sales...and at the thrift shop I have to give the book section a wide birth.  During the big sort upstairs I ran into several books that I had not read....I recall some from 25 years ago.  I packed them up and they will go on the garage sale I intend to have sometime in the Spring when and if it ever warms up.

I looked to see if I could find a word to describe my magazine hoarding problem...no such luck...no fancy word...Yes I have been hoarding magazines.

In the living room we have an old copper boiler that was overflowing with magazines.  All ones that we had read and MAY or MAY NOT read again someday.  I sat on the floor and sorted through them only keeping The Minnesota Conservation Volunteer and Woodcarving Illustrated.   Good bye to Martha Stewart Living, Rachael Ray, Food and Family, Reminisce, Farm and Ranch Living, House Beautiful, Country Living, Woman's Day, Car and Driver...six grocery sacks full that were really heavy...off we went to recycle them.

On the way home Far Guy said "I have a few Train Magazines upstairs...I replied "I have a bunch of Farm and Ranch and Martha Stewart Living in the huge file cabinet upstairs."

In the old copper boiler I also found two small rice bags that I had been looking for and a blue ball that Little Elvis or Miss Miney must have dropped in there.

I emptied out the stainless steel boiler that stores all our extra "throws"  and I washed them all.

It felt good to have the boilers all cleaned up again!

Far Side

Snow

We had snow yesterday, not much but it sure came down.

There is still 17 inches of snow at the snowstick so I am not wading out there to get that branch.  The snow has quite a crust but I would certainly fall through...

Our snow curl has icicles.

We are done at the Dentist for another six months..."Look Ma No Cavities!"

 We did a few things before the appointments...housework stuff and I managed to pack up two more containers for the big sort.

Today is a day off for us...no appointments! 

Far Side

Marching on

Yesterday I did errands while Far Guy was at Pulmonary Therapy.   The Nurse there says he is a trooper and many people would have cancelled when they are as short of breath as he is.  The Nurses at Pulmonary Therapy just monitor his blood pressure and Oxygen saturation levels while he is exercising...they will turn up his oxygen and that is about it. As for helping him with his shortness of breath that is way out of their area of expertise.  If he were to turn blue and flop over they would probably call someone from the ER.

Nothing much was accomplished on the home front...unpacking groceries...and then a bit of crocheting before I had a nap.  Supper was easy as we had picked that up in town.

Bouquet of flowers at wally world. I would have chose this one today as it has Matthiola incana or Stock in it.

Today we have dental checkups and cleanings.  It will be good to have that over with. One day at a time we keep marching on. 

Far Side

Going into March

I am feeling better almost normal...possibly a bit weepy ...but I get that way if I am tired.

I had only one nap on Sunday a long one 3 1/2 hours but after that I felt much better....and stayed awake the rest of the day.

I worked on a crochet project and my cards and between the two of us we managed to clean the bathroom!  Yeah for teamwork.

We have a busy week with five appointments this week.  It may be all we accomplish.

Far Guy is about the same...short of breath and coughing a bit...not better but not worse either.

Onward and forward into March...which seems like a very long month that can bring any and all kinds of weather to Minnesota.

Far Side

Tired

I am feeling very tired since early Friday morning.  On Thursday I had my first Recombinant Zoster Vaccine  or Shingrix.  I have been on the waiting list for some time as the vaccine is in short supply.

I was awake for six hours on Friday and slept the day and night away.  I was awake for eight hours on Saturday.  In a few more days I will be back to normal. Extreme fatigue and nausea are the symptoms I experienced.  Far Guy says I am pretty boring when I am sleeping and had to check to make sure I was breathing a few times.

I hate being so sleepy...but I would hate getting Shingles even worse. 

This is a two part vaccine and in 2 -6 months I will get the second part. I will have to schedule it when I can sleep the weekend away!

Far Guy finished with his series of the vaccine back in December he suffered no side effects at all....although he said his arm hurt for a few days.

  I have managed to do a few loads of laundry between sleeps but everything else will have to wait.

Far Side

February 29 Rare Disease Day

Far Guy is a bit of an expert on Rare Diseases as he has two of them.  Seems he won the Rare Disease Lottery.

The last day is February is Rare Disease Day every year.

Far Guy was diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia or TN on December 25, 2007.  Even I recall the date.  He spent two weeks in extreme pain until the medication took effect.  Trigeminal Neuralgia is often called the suicide disease as the pain is so intense and relentless.

The pain is like a cattle prod to the side of your head and then burning that is constant.   There are many different medications and combinations of medication over the years he has tried them all.  He has also had injections into the nerve and acupuncture.

Right now Far Guy is in remission and off all medications, he has a wonderful Neurologist who he sees several times a year.  We are so very thankful for a good Doctor and for remission, we hope the remission lasts forever.

Far Guy was diagnosed with Alpha 1 Antitrypsin Deficiency on May 18. 2015. 
Alpha 1  Antitrypsin Deficiency is an inherited/genetic disease.   Alpha 1 is a protein made in the liver, when you get a lung infection the protein goes from the liver to the lungs to protect them.  In people with the deficiency like Far Guy the proteins are in the liver but the wrong shape and they are stuck there so they cannot travel to the lungs to do their job.

Alpha 1 is rarely diagnosed although there is a confidential free blood test available at Alpha 1.org The blood test there is the ONLY reliable test available in the United States...sure you can go to your local clinic and have the test but don't count on the results being correct.  Everyone who has any kind of breathing problems should be tested in my opinion.  I was tested..and I am normal so our daughters got one bad gene from their Dad and one good gene from me.  Only one of our grandchildren has a bad gene.

Far Guy receives weekly infusions of the protein to protect his lungs.  Right now his lung function is about 20%  He is presently on The Lung Transplant list at the University of Minnesota.  Our bags are packed and we are ready to go when ever they call.

We are very careful...we don't go very many places in the winter time.  Fragrances, smoke, cleaning solutions, fabric softner, hair spray, smelly shampoo, gasoline fumes, exhaust from vehicles all make difficult breathing more difficult.  The candles being extinguished at church...many things that a normal person doesn't even think about cause breathing problems. A simple cold can end up with a stay in the hospital.

1 in 8,000 people get Trigeminal Neuralgia.
1 in 2,500 people get Alpha 1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.

I suspect that one person getting both rare diseases is very rare.

Far Side

Maddie : Growing Family

Maddie and Brenton and Hey Mikey are getting an addition to their family.

Hey Mikey may not be as happy when the new baby arrives.  For now he is two years and nine months old...and life is good.  That is all about to change!

New baby Cee Cee will be here in about 11 days...we are excited it will be wonderful to be Great again!  Great Grandpa and Great Grandma that is.

Jen took these photos.  I wasn't able to go up North for the photo shoot because Far Guy was ill.  So I shamelessly stole them for Maddie's facebook page.

Far Side

What is next?

Not sure what big project I will take on after the Farm Diaries.  I do indexing for Family Search and can do more of that.  I can work on Find A Grave entries...I have some obituaries that need to be entered.   One side of Far Guys Mother's family can be traced back to The American Revolution I just need to prove that step by step.  If proven our daughters/granddaughters could  join Daughters of the American Revolution.  It may or may not be something they are interested in.

Presently I am keeping my head above water here at home, trying to stay ahead of housework and laundry just incase the call comes for new lungs.  I am working on the big sort and doing some spring house cleaning in the winter.

I have several crochet projects in the works and two pairs of socks on the knitting needles.

Yesterday I worked on some of my stamped cards...always a fun project and makes me feel good.  I tried out some new pens that I got for Christmas.

I always stamp the images on watercolor paper, I did some watercolors and some Prismacolor pencils this time around.  I use a special blender pencil with the Prismacolor Pencils.  These images will be cropped and matted before attaching them to the front of a card.

I have a woodcarving project that is lost someplace...possibly I left it in the greenhouse last Fall and now there is too much snow blocking the doorway to go take a look.  I could take the time to shovel the snow away....there is about 3 feet of snow there...seems easier to just let it melt! I have another woodcarving project that is almost done... a Santa.

 I have my small Wooden Barn Quilt Square that should be finished. Once upon a time I was missing the paint to finish it...still have that paint and it might be getting old!

So you see I have enough projects and hobbies to keep me out of trouble for a good long time.  I am hardly ever bored. 
Far Side

Wistful Wednesday: Farm Diaries

I finished with the Farm Diaries last night.   Cross that project off my list!  It has been a work in progress since February 22 2014 when I began with the Farm Diaries of the year 1916. 

So it took me 6 years and three days to get trough 13 years of diaries.  I have learned to "read grandpa" quite well.  He didn't have the best hand....it was a relief when Grandma wrote as her hand was better.  Far Guy would try to help me and read the entries...when you cannot "read grandpa" it become frustrating.

1929 is the last year of the diaries.  July and August of that year were quite happy and equally sad for them as they welcomed their fourth child and said goodbye to Louisa better known as Ma or Mama. (Tracie's Mother)

I found out many things I did not know.  A tornado went through in July of 1928, it took down a bunch of trees.  That was also the year that they moved into a garage while their new home was being built.

Grandpa was the Coroner and went to a neighbors death.  They noted many deaths, a drowning and deaths of Grandmas sister Lydia and of the death of Jerry a nephew, and a sad day when a baby died. 

Farm  House in 1917 it was torn down in 1928 and 1929.

The Farm House unknown year .. perhaps in the late 1930's

The Farm House in 1945. 

I am kinda sad to leave these diaries.. I am grateful to have the chance to have a peek into their lives for so many years.

July 1929

July 4 went to PR Dads + Ruberts there, went back to the fire works in PM
July 5 haying awful dry
July 6 Saturday Born to us Archie Blair at 9-30 Mrs Trankner here to work Margaret Chilton here over night
July 7 Sunday had lots of company to see new boy had a rain
July 8 Monday awful dry haying helped wash
July 9 Tuesday  same work
July 10 Tracie in bed Mrs Trankner went home Mother came
July 11 -July 13 no entry
July 14 Sunday Ruberts + Dads came down  Mama not well Baby awful cross
July 18 Thursday  awful hot  + dry  Mother + Dad came out Mother sick
July 19-20 no entry
July 21 Sunday went for a ride awful dry Mother Henderson here + Mother Stuve here sick
July 22 - 27 no entry
July 28 Sunday went to the Park Frances stayed with the folks

Far Side

Snow Chunks

The snow is falling off the steel roofs in huge chunks.

Maybe a squirrel was trapped...we won't know for sure til June. These huge chucks came off the woodshed.

Every day is an adventure to see what building will clear next.

My garage is next.

We still have 18 inches of snow at the snowstick...the snow is settling more everyday.

We had a nice day to go to town.  Far Guy went to Pulmonary Therapy and I ran errands.   It was 41 F or 5 C eh!  Really nice weather for February!

Far Side

Squirrelly

I went from one project to another all day Sunday.   I have a bunch of afghan squares drying, laundry done, Christmas Cards dealt with (I save letters from year to year and most photos), and more stuff sorted upstairs.  The year 1927 is all done in the Farm Diaries and I began 1928.  Two years to go...the end is in sight! Maybe.
 

I walked around outside, it was sunny but much cooler than yesterday 37 F or 3 C was the high on Sunday.

Menus were made for the week and a grocery list complied.
After all we must eat to survive the Winter!  Just like this fat ole squirrel.

Far Guy is still very short of breath, if I had three eyes they would all be on him.  One day at a time.

Far Side

Dripping

It was so warm 44 F or 7 C eh that it started to melt some snow off the roofs.

We sat outside in the afternoon soaking up some sun and watching squirrels and birds.  The woods were quiet except for the Nuthatches cheeping sounds and a Woodpecker off in the woods.

Feathery looking snow on the roof

Melting little by little

We still have a huge snow curl that will shed off the west side of the house soon. It will fall into a snowbank about 2 feet deep.

Far Guy is about the same, not any better that's for sure.

I worked on the Farm Diaries for a while and then went upstairs to work on the big sort.  I cleaned out the last of the file cabinets and marked several boxes of stuff for sale. My work table is a work table again.   Work continues up there.
Far Side

Bingo, Death and other stuff

I wandered through the yarn shop again this week.  Some new yarn may or may not have come home with me.

My Dad and I went to Bingo, I bingoed once...Dad is in a bingo funk, he hasn't bingoed in a long time.  He thinks we should switch tables and maybe his luck would change. Dad has a bit of a  memory problem but he can still play bingo.  He asks me "how many numbers did I miss?"  He misses a few ( I daub them for him) but not enough to quit going to bingo.  He takes a special medication to help with his memory...he calls them his memory pills.

One of our old/former neighbors died.   Florence had Alzheimers so she has been gone for a long time....now the physical just follows the mental. She had been in a facility for a number of years.  My parents went up North for her funeral.  Luckily the weather and road were good for traveling. Florence loved window boxes full of Red Impatiens and spots of bright flowers here and there at their lake home.

Far Guy is having a bout with severe shortness of breath...the weather is changing??/or maybe he is coming down with something?? I will keep one eye on him...maybe even two.

Far Side

For the birds

It has been a different year for birds.  We have the usual;   Assups (Nuthatches), Chickadees and Downy Woodpeckers.  No Red Polls this year at all yet...usually they are here by now.  This week we had a visiting Hairy Woodpecker and a lone Red Bellied Woodpecker.

We also had a visit from a Pileated Woodpecker...he is very shy.  It is indeed a male, he has a red moustache and the red crest on his head goes all the way down to his bill. ( A female has no red moustache and her crests stops half way to her bill)

As you can see he is quite large and when he is in the woods attacking a tree it is quite loud.  Their breeding season is just beginning.  ( They can eat a fair amount of suet in a day!)

We have had quite a time with squirrels....they found our peanut butter feeder... hung upside down and chewed the peanut butter jar into bits and pieces and even stole the cap with the special holder...I spied it way off in the yard...not going to retrieve it until spring.  Yesterday a smarter than average squirrel took the cover off the bird feeder and sat down inside for a snack...buggers.   This must be their breeding season as they are  starving and destructive.

Far Side

Time

I wasted some time yesterday frogging a crochet project...it just was not right and it didn't look anything like the photo in the pattern.  I began again...by golly I think I've got it to a point AGAIN where I can watch TV and crochet. I was determined...mostly because I like the pattern and it can be done again and will make a really nice gift!

It was time to shovel. The patio before I shoveled.  Nice clean snow to cover up the old dirty snow.  Take it from me it looks like it was warm...but it was not.  The day started out -23 F  or -30 C eh and warmed up to a balmy +7 F or -13 C eh.  Whoopie!  So it warmed up 30 degrees F or 17 C.

Time to photograph the snowstick! There is still 19 inches of snow at the snowstick.

I am not certain where the day went but before I knew it...it was time to help with supper....steak and salmon.

Far Side

Relaxing Day

We had a very nice day yesterday. No appointments! No place we had to be.  After doing some household chores we had the day to ourselves.

Far Guy wood carved and had a nap.

Far Guy  made me a blocker for the afghan squares.  He got the right size board from Andy and I sealed the top...Far Guy drilled the holes for me and cut the dowels.

I put two damp blocks to dry.  It will work just fine...the idea is to make all the blocks the same size so that they can be crocheted together and make a good looking afghan.  I think I can put a whole stack of squares on the dowels.

I worked on my newest crochet project and watched Spy Games.  I also worked on The Farm Diaries and made it into 1927 so I am making headway!

We made supper together...Naan Bread Pizza.  We can make them how we like them ...he likes pepper and mushrooms on his and I do not.

A card and crochet heart from Sam! Thanks Sam for thinking of us! 

Far Side

Ancestry Connection

Far Guy took an Ancestry DNA test a year ago.   Good thing too as it was the beginning of a much larger story.

On Sunday January 5  Far Guy received an email from someone on Ancestry " Hello. I am now in a more comfortable position to start messaging those connected to me on this site.  You and I are related.  I know for sure you are not one of the siblings, so you must be a cousin to my father.  I would love to know more about his side.  Would you mind helping me?  Thanks"

Far Guy said "I think I got a spam email on Ancestry?"  I replied "Spam is very unlikely on Ancestry."  I talked him into answering the email... "Fathers name, where does he live now...what year were you born?"

In the meantime Far Guy emailed his cousin who said "Is this a joke?"  Nope... a few minutes later the phone rang and more conversation continued between the cousins.  A bit of research was done, a few questions asked.  I point blanked asked "Did  you have unprotected sex sometime in the early 1980's in one particular part of the United States?"  The answer was yes... possibly.  I found a photo of his daughter on the Internet ...no doubt in my mind that he was a daddy.

He could not believe it...he had many questions...should he have a DNA test to prove paternity?  Should he email her or just call her???  He was just stunned and repeated over and over I just cannot believe this is happening....then he would say of course if I have a daughter I want to meet her and be involved in her life.

We were sworn to secrecy!  He asked me not to write about it on the blog until his daughter had time to contact all her relatives to tell them the news.  She has recently acknowledged her Dad on Facebook...so now I can share this story with you!  They have met and spent several days together, he is not only a father but a grandfather.  He has no other children so this new found daughter is an absolute blessing to him. We are just thrilled for him and for his daughter and we hope to meet her when she comes to Minnesota.

 She is a teacher.

She was persistent.  Last summer she contacted a sibling, that said they would "get back to her"  but never did. Can you imagine a sibling not saying anything to another sibling?

She then figured that her father may not want to be in contact with her....I guess you always consider the worst case scenario.

Anyway she wanted to try one last time and Far Guy was the connection she pursued...one last try to see if she could find out something about her Dad.

I love that TV Show Long Lost Family and watch it all the time.  Never thinking that we would be involved in our own drama!

For the record.  Far Guy's cousin did not know about a pregnancy or a child.  Finding out you are a Dad and a Grandpa at age 70 is quite a shock...they both feel many years have been wasted so they hope to make up for it now.

Far Side