Snow Flurries

March weather can be fickle..one day 50 degrees and the next day snowing and barely 20 degrees. You don't know when to wear your parka, and when to grab a hooded sweatshirt. When in doubt I wear both and peel layers from there. A modified Minnesota striptease, music is optional. Three or four days of spring like weather can make snow seem like a bad memory.

Chance is upset today.. it is snowing. He wants to go out and play..but not by himself. Last Sunday when it was really warm, the last of the snow came sliding off of the roof and scared the heck out of him..I think he was asleep, and the snow came off..and splattered all over him..a rude awakening for sure. He was not injured..he was just sleeping in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now the white stuff is falling out of the sky again.. and he doesn't want to go out all alone. He is now hiding under my feet..napping..hope I don't fall out of the chair or anything..the dogs whole world will fall apart...there will be no safe place to hide.

Ya well buddy, I would just as soon hide from the snow too. Instead we have to buck up and take it like a dog, and an old lady and take some photographs. Then we can have a nap:)

Wild Turkeys and Wild Rumors

I have been in pursuit of this Wild Turkey half the winter..finally success! Far Guy has been so patient..taking me by the Turkey area. I caught them in March..but then I lost those photos (and they were damn good ones too) so we had to venture out again. They are just down the road a few miles..the snow is too deep yet to venture into the ditch. The Wild Turkey season starts here soon, April 15th I think...these guys will be easy to hunt. They are wary of traffic..one day Far Guy lost all his patience with me and Chance, I was hanging out one window trying to get some photos and Chance rolled down his own window AGAIN and began to bark..and a car came down the road. Far Guy hollered "Chance quiet down! Here comes a car..we are all gonna die ..but SOMEONE can take good pictures of the crash with your camera! " I have a ritual..Camera in action mode and ready to shoot.. I open my window..Far Guy zooms into position with the car and I snap photos like mad. Turkeys scatter everywhere..

Far Guy called me a "Turkey" the other day. I was visiting with an individual. I had heard a rumor that he and his lovely wife got a divorce. So I asked him straight up.. " I heard a rumor, that you and the wife got a divorce? " He was stunned, as he has been married a long time..rumors ..they were just rumors..who starts them anyway..well who ever does..I don't repeat them and If I hear one about you, I will ask you the next time I see you..so I can tell the next person that wants to tell me the same juicy gossip that they are NUTS. This was all very embarrassing for Far Guy...poor guy..stuck with a "Turkey" for a wife..who squashes wild rumors:)

Wistful Wednesday: Great Grandmother Hatwig

My Great Grandmother D was born in Germany in 1878. She came to America in 1882 when she was four years old, she had a twin sister named Elsie. How or why she ended up in Minnesota is a mystery. She gave birth to five children, one of which was my Grandfather Albert D. She suffered the losses of two of her children Freddie at the age of nine from Scarlet Fever and Walter in 1935 from injuries in a car accident. She and her husband, Christian, were farmers. When Christian developed crippling Rheumatoid Arthritis she devoted her life to caring for him and their farm.

My Mother has many good memories of her Grandmother, my Mom would stop by her Grandmas house before school for "something good" to put in her lunch pail, usually a cookie.

I remember her, but as a child I was introduced to many old people..and I was not paying very good attention. I do recall some stories of her burying money in jars and coffee cans..and my Grandfather wondering if they would ever find them all.

This photo is impossible to date.. under the B there is a 25 on the license plate..I am not sure if it means anything or not..the classy outfit she sported that day always makes me smile. I wonder what color it was? :)

I am melting!

Just like the wicked witch said "I am melting" as she disappeared into a puddle ..so is our snow. Two 50 plus degree days in a row and you can see the evil snow banks shrink before your eyes. Our "Lake" property is back.

Far Guy and Chance are water movers, it is a perfect job for them both. They cut trenches in the ice...

When that doesn't work..they build something that will move the water for them. A contraption to jet the water over a snowbank and into a lower area out of the drive in the front yard.

I think it is a bilge pump out of a boat, that sits in box that has a screen in the bottom, powered by a battery charger that sits on top of a plastic coffee container. I hope he used an extension cord that had no exposed wires. Ground Fault might be their best friend:)

Happy St. Urho's Day!

What? You have never heard of Saint Urho?

Chance and I found Saint Urho last October and took some photographs, last year I blogged about this legend and shared a recipe, you may enjoy that story here!

October 16, 2008..It was a beautiful day to visit this tiny park in Menahga, Minnesota. Today it is a feast for my wintery eyes:)

Lost in Lego's

Sometimes our daughter just feels like she is lost in Lego-land. She complains about Lego's being all over the house, she vacuums them up..because she is tired of picking them up..I told her I would be tempted to hold them hostage. We dog sat for Miney while they went to the Mall of America, last night they returned, immediately the boys dumped out all of their Lego's on the kitchen table. Adam and Andrew worked together to create a Power Driller, Adam knew that was the new Lego set he wanted because he had seen it on TV. Noah worked very diligently on his creation, reading the instructions and following the directions. These are not the Lego's that I remember from the olden days..with just two colors red and white..then they added blue and yellow. Now there are neon green Lego's with gears and little people with goggles. Jen says "They asked fifty million times to go there, then they spend their wad and immediately want to go home." Well not exactly home..just to grandma and grandpas so they can play Lego's:)

Chance Gets Company

Company is coming, I am so excited! Miney is coming for a sleepover, she belongs to my sister, the tall guy and the two little boys, she is a Sheltie and she is beautiful!

I am waiting patiently..how much longer til she gets here anyway??

She is here! Everyone meet Miney, that is short for Hermione (Harry Potter books), her littlest boy couldn't say her whole name..so she is Miney..I Love Miney

We run and play ball, we share the ball. That's what friends do SHARE..besides that Far Side says "Sharing is a good thing." .. I think it might be one of her rules. I hope she remembers the rule that says Miney is not allowed squeaky toys at night..

We rest..and wait for SOMEONE to throw the ball.

I teach her how to catch snowballs in her mouth. I am a bit of a show off..life is good when you have friends:)

Winning Attitude

People with disabilities are on two television shows this season, Idol has Scott who has been blind since birth. The Amazing Race has Margie (The mom) with normal hearing and Luke (the son) who is deaf. It is wonderful watching these young adults with disabilities compete with everyone else. They both have winning attitudes, and I hope they both win.

Far Guy and I had a friend that had disabling Multiple Sclerosis, she has been in the Nursing Home nearby for years. Her beautiful soul left this earth yesterday. She was 59. I and Far Guy are very sad, but happy at the same time..she is free from the catheters and the wheelchair. When her older sister was killed in a motorcycle accident about ten years ago, she felt that it should have been her..because she felt she had nothing to live for..and her sister had so much to live for. Her winning attitude was shaken by her sisters death, it took her a long time to get her winning attitude back. Yesterday she became an ultimate winner.

We have lots of wheelchair photographs..this one seems more appropriate today:)

Back on the path

Well we survived the snowstorm, we only got six to eight inches of the beautiful white stuff. It blew around so much, it is hard to tell an exact amount. We have now plunged into the deep freeze, it was 18 below last night ( -28 C). Spring seems far away... Minnesota weather in March can do just about anything.

I got my computer back. Nothing was saved from the crash. Far Guy held up my old hard drive and said "All your photos are in here sweetheart." Ya, well extract them then..instead he said he is going to take it apart and look around in there. He did bring me my dinner at the computer, I was online with HP trying to get a software issue resolved..finally success. My secure digital card reader is not working, luckily I have another one on my printer. Far Guy says "Maybe the backwoods guy just forgot to hook it up?" Maybe.. Far Guy says he will have a look see..

My old hard drive was like an old friend, I was familiar with him. I knew the in and outs of his moods. This new young guy hard drive..thought he would be a da Vinci screen saver with Fire Fox...that was not happening..he is now an Ocean with Explorer. Eventually I will get him all sorted out..right now his favorites are pathetic..my old guy had folders for favorites all organized into categories.. weather, news, television, my stuff, blogs, photo blogs, cooking blogs, ranch blogs, funny blogs, games, fun places to visit and animal shelters. He had seven years of favorites. He also had many email addresses, now he has only a few. Hopefully all my contacts will email me something and I can grab their address again. If not I guess they are SOL. Far Guy is of no help, he has a few e mail addresses..not many..I am so happy to be away from his disorganized computer.. SHE is a FireFox with HP (The boring one with the beams of light)..she isn't too bright, she will do in a pinch..but let me tell ya she is no lady..:)

Wistful Wednesday : Early 1900's

This photograph was taken before 1914. I know that for a fact..Grandpa H moved to Minnesota in the spring of 1914. Far Guys Grandpa H was in Iowa with two of his brothers, Grover and Brian. Apparently they were headed someplace with a load of melons.
Sometimes dating old photographs is difficult, I am just guessing that the littlest boy is between 10 and 12 years old, which dates this photo 1906 to 1908. Grandpa H was born in 1889, Grover in 1894, and Brian in 1896. When did little boys stop wearing knickers and graduate to long pants? Was it an age thing? :)

Blizzard

We are in a blizzard warning..it started to snow around noon. Roads to the big cities are closed..schools were smart enough to close before the snow began. We got a phone call from the lobotomized backwoods guy..he found several other things wrong with my computer..the DVD and CD drives..and a sensor..Far Guy says "Well we could have had a power interruption or spike to cause your computer to crash like a woodpile..one part fails and takes out another part."
I am still spring cleaning the kitchen, I am making progress between naps. Contrary to what Far Guy says, I do know where the pots and pans are..I just do not care to use them. I spent a couple of hours just in the junk drawer..sorting..throwing..rewritting recipes. I had a bunch of batteries.. Far Guy takes them out of the package and dumps them in the drawer, IF I were in charge of them I would mark them with a Sharpie with the date. He doesn't think that is necessary..so he is the official battery tester.

Hey Far Guy ..are these batteries any good?

He replies..I don't know test them. He sighs gets up from HIS computer and comes over and tests them on his tongue. He sorts them..no good, no good..yup this one is good, really good. He explains to me yet again that I can test them for myself..it is kinda like cooking..why should I do it when he is perfectly happy to do it for me. Just like he was perfectly happy to clean the oven the other day..he turned it on to clean and then we both scrubbed the oven racks until they looked just like brand new. So what if he got stuck with the worst one..he is the one that cooks all the time and cooks stuff over.
I am trying my best not to move too much stuff around in the cupboards, nothing worse than a confused cook:)

Backwoods Repair

Well..we took my computer to the tiny backwoods repair shop that I found. It is across the lake from us, it is a snowy slippery morning here. They had two cute Labrador pups, one black, one golden and Chance barked up a storm. The backwoods guy thinks it is my hardrive..I hope that parts won't have to come in by dog sled. He gave us all the gory details about how a computer crashes. I listened politely and made all the appropriate responses. OH MY ! REALLY! NO KIDDING! IMAGINE THAT! ... How bloody long will it be? Turns out he is retired Air Force and an Officer to boot. I smiled but only outwardly as I thought to myself..they give all those Officers Lobotomy's during Officers Training. The only thing that kept me from grabbing my computer and high tailing it into town was that the backwoods guy looked pretty geeky..and he could check it all out today and get back to us this afternoon. Turns out he is a New Yorker..from Brooklyn. So we will see. On the way out he tried to get us to take his two pups, he said they belonged to his sons and they moved out..and the pups were just too much trouble for him to keep. This confirmed my suspicion that he was indeed lobotomized. Far Guy keeps mumbling something that sounds like "Calm down sweetheart." :(

Crash!

Crash! Bang..my computer could not handle daylight saving time.. it might be a goner. It will be going in for repair tomorrow..yes I found some back woods guy to fix it. We hope the hard drive is not totally fried.

Luckily I backed up most of my photos..not those I took in February..or March.. but the backwoods guy says he may be able to retrieve those. I took some great photos yesterday too.. oh well.

Far Guy is letting me use his computer..everything is strange..he uses Fire Fox, I use Explorer. His chair leans to one side because he likes to lean back in his chair and put his feet up. If I did that I would end up in a heap on the floor, either that or have to holler every time I needed help straightening up. His keyboard is strange too, it is much better than mine..his monitor is smaller... he also has a messy area and does not use a mouse pad.. my area three feet away is much neater..and forlorn looking..with a black monitor and a mouse that does not glow red..sad.. very, very sad.

Now the adventure starts.. lets see what photos Far Guy has!

A crooked, scanned in photo....taken in February 1987, back when Far Guy managed the Hockey Arena. That would be him driving the Zamboni! Back then, what hair he had was really silvery grey! This could be fun..well maybe not..but it is nice of him to share his computer with me:)

Sparkling Snow

Some mornings the snow sparkles in the sunshine like a thousand wayward diamonds. I look out and say "Isn't it pretty..but cold..a pretty sparkly cold." I know it is all about light and refraction off of the snowflakes..all that technical crap. Simple snowflakes sparkling in my yard..I tried my best to capture them so you could enjoy them too.

Other sparkly things..people that brighten up my day. Chad Carpenter at Tundra Comics..he is a "keeper" I love his humor and he never fails to make me smile. Many of his comics have a northern flair..he heralds from the great state of Alaska.

I have decided that perhaps I have been lax at sharing some of the bloggers I have found that I really enjoy. Some for their humor, some for their beautiful photographs..some just because they are cool sparkly people. All of my sparkly blogging friends can be found on my side bar. You all are great..somday soon I may write about you..so stay tuned!

Today I will tell you a bit about three of them...

Lady Fi at On A Quirky Quest..she is quirky, can't cook..my kind of gal..oh ya she lives in Sweden.

Flydragon at A little bit of this, a little of that... she doesn't post everyday..but when she does..it is a hoot. I have been waiting two months just to see if she will ever get her car rescued from the snowbank! I think she may have a tad bit of cabin fever..she is from Ohio..Ohio..Ohio (think the Drew Carey Show)

Jen at Muddy Boot Dreams... blooming photography at it's finest! She is a Canadian! A!!

Recently I was a winner over at Susan's at City Gal Moves To Oz Land ..wanna see the loot?

The mailman delivered this yesterday! Notecards, Postcards, a Fridge Magnet, Swankie Hankies and Creme Caramel Tea! Thank you Susan..you made my day! :)

Spring Cleaning

I have been doing some spring cleaning. Mindless, boring work. Presently I am working in the kitchen..one of my not so favorite rooms in the house. Yesterday it was nice enough to open the kitchen window and let in some fresh air. It was 43 degrees.. Far Guy swears it was up to 55 degrees..I am not so sure about that..he may have been seeing things. Usually I crank up the tunes on my computer and sing and clean...somehow yesterday just did not seem like a singing kind of day. So I indulged in some quiet cleaning and reflection..

How in the world do these cobwebs just appear out of no where..one day there are none..the next day there are a whole colony of them.

How does the top of the Fridge get so dusty..and why aren't my arms longer so I can reach all the way to the back..this goes along with why couldn't I have been just a couple of inches taller as I am cleaning the light fixtures and stretching on my tippy toes on a chair. Did my knees feel this wobbly going up and down on this chair the last time I needed to be taller? So I want to be taller with really long arms..just so I can clean more efficiently.

I need to sew a new set of kitchen curtains..I have the design in my head.. I purchased a new decorative rod..I have material..I could sew..not today..I need all my fingers to keep cleaning. I hinted to my Mom a while ago..that I had a new rod..and wouldn't a new valence look smashing..she took the measurements and everything. I even told her about the design in my head, with the loops and cute buttons. She has material too..

Why do I have so many decorative things on the shelves that are nothing but dust catchers. What should I pack away..or sell..or recycle..or eat. I have a small box of Harry Potter Bertie Bott's Beans.. the flavors..Grass, Booger, Ear Wax, Soap, Vomit, Sardine, Earthworm, Dirt and Black Pepper are what keep me from taste testing those little treasures.

Then I needed a break..and a nap..no sense in knocking myself out, I could croak overnight and all this cleaning will have been for nothing. The remaining dust will wait, my spring cleaning may take all spring:)

Old Hippies and a Wild Hair

I would like to have a hot tub, it is on my list. The I wish, I had one, but will wait til I win the lottery list. After all a hot tub really needs its own gazebo with a skylight. Maybe I should buy a ticket.

We have friends that have a hot tub. They are old hippies. Theirs is a strange looking hot tub..it is made from a stock tank. On one end is a wood stove, it heats the water. It works great, if you want a hot soak..you have to gather the wood and get the fire started. They have it down to a fine science, how much wood to add for the proper bathing temperature. They also have an outdoor shower, water in a tank, heated by the sun will shower you off on a fine Minnesota evening. The shower enclosure is covered in vines..now if you are at all uncomfortable with your body..this may or may not work for you. You may feel too exposed..too flawed..too big city to use an outdoor shower.

They have many cool ideas over at their place. They have a garden roof..yes they have a dirt covered roof and that is where they grow all their vine crops..squash and cukes. They have other huge gardens, all fenced in..they do live in the woods, so deer on the hunt for a vegetable smorgasbord are deterred. They grow most of their own food.

They recycle, most of their buildings are reconstructed from other peoples cast offs. I absolutely love their summer room. It sits all by itself, totally screened in, with comfy furniture and a bed..they know that I covet that building. What a great place to sleep in the summer, outside, but not quite, and gloriously bug free! I think of all the hours I could spend reading without ending up with bugs in my books, or spending half my time swatting at my legs. Or holding a fly swatter in one hand and a book in the other...

Guess I will put the summer room on the hot tub list.. then I really got a "wild hair"..I have this unused building..it isn't very big..6 by 12 feet. My Uncle built it years ago, we used it for greenhouse supply storage. It is just sitting out back, alone and forlorn looking. It could be moved to the edge of the woods, with some new old windows, a screen door and a new floor.. a built in platform bed and a rocking chair..I would be good to go..no phone..no bugs.. no huge investment..no sweat..I wonder what Far Guy will say if I put it on his "to do" list? :)

Wistful Wednesday : Trust

Trust, that is what I believe this photo conveys. Grandpa H is scratching the horse with one hand and holding onto his son with the other. Far Guys Dad is smiling and having a good time. The horse doesn't have a halter on or anything, obviously the horse trusts his master. This photograph was taken in 1915.

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Far Guy relates another story about trust. Trust what your Grandpa and your Dad say, if there is a rule ..there just may be a reason. Far Guy and his cousin Jay were told not to run in the barn, it was a rule. Boys will be boys and they were running in the barn... one of Grandpas horses either Bess or Bob reached out and grabbed Jay by the hair. Far Guy says "We were scared to death, and never ran in the barn again." Grandpa used his horses in the 1950's to get firewood in the wintertime, he would hook up the horses to the sleigh and take them to the woods for the day. They were working horses. Apparently one of the horses had a quirk about anyone running past their stall in the barn.
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Some of the old photos have been marked with ink pens, it works, but I suggest to anyone that is marking dates on photos to mark them on the back with a photo pencil. I really like the Creative Memories Photo Pencil , but I am sure that you can purchase them elsewhere. I will eventually restore this photo and remove the ink from the photograph:)

Lenten Reflection

I didn't give up anything for Lent. If I had to give up something it would have been shopping and telephone conversations. Some people gave up chocolate, some gave up deserts, a blogger shut off her comments. I guess you don't have to be Catholic to give up something for Lent. In our area it will be "Fish Fry's Fridays" for any fundraisers. As a kid I recall that every Friday during Lent was a fish stick day at school lunch. Hey, I liked fish sticks as long as there was tarter sauce I was happy. All the school kids gave up meat on Friday because the Catholic children were required to abstain from meat on Friday.

I only have one bone to pick with the Catholics and that would probably be with the secretary who is in charge of funeral services programs. Us Lutherans are used to a written order of service, one that says "Please stand" or "You may be seated" and has the proper responses to the order of service. Without such a program..we are totally lost. We don't know what to do or when. We will always feel out of place, and out of sinc.

I just happen to be Lutheran, Far Guy too, we went to the same church. Far Guy did date a Catholic girl once, his Mom called her "the Catholic with big feet."

I was in the hospital once with the Asian Flu back in the 1950's the nurses were all nuns, they were kind and gentle but a bit scary in their habits..I always wondered if they were totally bald under their head garb. I met a Sister who was Stan's sister, she totally demystified the Nun thing for me, she was a missionary, she laughed, she cried, she told great stories. She wore jeans and her red hair was short and curly. She was fairly normal, she was happy to be a Nun.

Lutherans have enough problems, they never want to sit in the front pews, they fill up the church from the back first..everyone wants a back row seat. They want a front row seat in heaven, but the last pews of the church are fine until then. They keep track of people who come to church, yes sir they have a list, what are they going to do..save it and give it to God?

I understand that Lent should be a time of reflection, but it can become too much about ourselves, why can't our reflection be turned outward? Less about what I give up and more about what I can give or share with others.

I have a dear friend who is a Jew. He is 95 years old, sharp as a tack. He and I go round and round about our faith. He understands that I will never be a Jew and I understand that he will never be a Lutheran. But we are still friends. I have an Uncle and Aunt that are Jehovah Witnesses, they were both raised Lutheran, I love them both. I have a friend who is an atheist.. I am still working on him:)

March in like a WOLF

Yesterday a large wolf came through. He must have run out of deer and is hunting rabbits.
Chance is no dummy. A Timber wolf is way bigger than him. He was unsettled most of the day. Last night the wolf must have been hunting in our area again..Chance refused to go outside without companionship. Safety within the pack!

Wolf track

Chance and I will not do any star gazing this week. I would just as soon not see this wolf in person. Once was enough for me...a few years ago Far Guy and I had the unique opportunity to watch a Timber Wolf cross the road in front of us..we were in the car..he lumbered across the road, and when he got across he turned and looked over his shoulder at us.. I swear his eyes seemed to look right into my soul.... something I do not want to repeat ever again. I have seen lots of what we call brush wolves, they are fast and usually run. But a big Timber Wolf..that is a whole different ball game..forget the lion or the lamb..March came in like a Wolf here.

On a lighter less scary note, I won! Tori Mae over at City Gal Moves To Oz Land blog picked me as the winner of her wonderful giveaway! Go on over and see how the action unfolded, it was really cute..nap and all! Thanks Susan! :)

No Justice

Guess who got called to Jury Duty? Well it wasn't me.. do you suppose the Clerk of Court reads this blog? Do you suppose the computer that is supposed to spit out the lists randomly..has declared me a non random person? What gives? In the forty years that I have been eligible for jury duty I have only been called once, after I filled out the paperwork..they didn't want me..we had just moved to Buxton, ND and they clearly did not want to pay all that mileage. That was thirteen years ago for gosh sakes.

Far Guy always gets to go, he was called for a pretty interesting civil case..of course he could never discuss it until after the case was over.

It is not fair, I want to be a juror..I could be impartial, I could restrain myself from giggling, I could sit still without squirming for a few minutes, I could try not to yawn or fall asleep. I really would give it my best shot. I would refrain from eating cabbage and beans so I wouldn't have embarrassing bad gas that would clear out the entire courtroom. I could be a good listener and take copious notes and drive the other jurors nuts with lots of technical lawyer type questions. I could follow the Judges instructions. I might even break out my one good dress and wear some pantyhose and proper shoes instead of snow boots. I could wear my diamonds, and maybe even a locket and earrings..and makeup..and I will wear my hair down. I would try not to wink and smile at anyone.

Far Guy was called as a witness in a murder trial once. That was exciting, I got to sit in the hallway while he testified. He actually took care of the murderer when she accidentally cut herself with a knife after she stabbed her boyfriend..at his birthday party. Three of us were trying our best to keep her birthday beau alive in the back of the ambulance only to have him pronounced dead once we arrived at the hospital. Far Guy was left behind at the scene of the crime. It took over a year for that case to come to trial. Far Guy had to be deposed and everything.
I am interested in your Jury experiences..care to share? :)

Pork

I like pork. Just not the political "pork." This week I read only some of the projects that were added along in the stimulus package. I became sick to my stomach. Crooks helping other crooks. Drag them into the streets and hang them all and lets have a "do over." The next bunch we get might be better.

In a time when people are losing their jobs and homes, the people who are supposed to represent US are passing bills that make no sense to me at all. I noticed that some minorities were chosen to be recipients of funds. Not a Finlander in the bunch. Apparently there is no such thing as a Finish Advocacy Council.

The honey bees..well let me tell ya..that was really high on my list of things I was worried about..homeless uninsured bees. The electric golf carts were another thing that kept me awake at night.. what in the world would all those golfers do if they had to walk. Golfers would be skinny walkers..yup if they want to golf they should be in shape. Digital TV coupons..HUH? Let the TV stations stay up at night worrying about their customers, and how they will get the signal. I have a signal for them and it is not a thumbs up either.

What have we come too? Who is gonna pay? Who will survive this political ineptitude? I just don't get it. We need to close the gap..not widen it. We need to work together to make things better. We need leadership that says "No Way Jose" "Sorry Charlie"
Stick a fork in me..I am done:)

A Masked Man

Don't get too excited..it is just Far Guy in his winter face mask. I searched everywhere for a face mask for him. I finally found one at a place called The Duluth Trading Company. The mask had to be large enough to leave some roominess around his right cheek and the right side of his face. It had to be bulky enough fabric to keep out the worst of the wind. This face mask seems to work well, although he does take it off in town..I wouldn't want him to be mistaken for a bad guy and hauled off to jail. Far Guy is bothered by wind touching his face. In fact he is bothered by anything that touches his face..the wind, his reading glasses, stupid people..all things that will cause him a great amount of extra pain on top of his always present pain of the Trigeminal Neuralgia. How do you tell other women... do not hug my husband, your hair brushing by his face causes him extra pain for hours. Sometimes I think I should have a shirt that says "Touch my husbands head or face, and I will rip your boobs off. " He has enough pain..your hug is not going to help..you dumb broads.

We are still in part two of the new medication. Far Guy had a few really rough days, and nights. So much so that Chance became a "Mother Hen" ..it is something to watch. Chance decides when Far Guy should lay down on the couch, he gets his attention usually by putting his head in his lap and then leads him to the couch..as soon as Far Guy is settled down..Chance leaves. In the evening if Chance decides that it is time for Far Guy to go to bed, he goes into the bedroom and pulls down the covers. (They did have a talk about this, Far Guy told him that he didn't have to be so bossy.) One night Chance held Far Guys hand, he licked it first and then proceeded to hold it gently in his mouth, until Far Guys hand was all wet with drool and he couldn't stand it anymore. The dog is in tune with the man..what can I say ..it amazes me:)

He Left Us

He is leaving us.... He left... I can't believe you told him to leave me at home.... Who is gonna watch him? You know it is my job to keep an eye on him...

I am SAD... very sad.. you should be sad too. We are missing out big time... the Library parking lot might have had lots of dogs to bark at. You could have gone shopping.. you could have had fun.. Why did you say " NO, I am staying home today" Then to include me in your at home plans.. It is just NOT fair.

I am just mad.. so mad .. I am not even going to look at you. Serves you right..

It's about time you came to your senses. I can smell which way he went...

I can track him, yup the car is GONE. He is gone in the car..all by himself..without me..

I am hot on his trail. If you run really fast with me we can catch up in a couple of miles. Get a move on! WHAT?? We have to stay in the yard today.. we really have to stay at home? DARN
OKAY, I will wait here, still as a statue. Watching for him to come home. I hope he doesn't get lost. If he gets lost, it will be all YOUR fault.

You go inside, no sense in both of us waiting in this snowbank. I will be right here...waiting all alone... :)

Wistful Wednesday: CCC Camp 1936

The Civilian Conservation Corps was part of the New Deal proposed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was a public relief program for unemployed men after the Great Depression. The CCC workers worked on natural resource conservation from 1933 to 1942. They built buildings and made roads and trails in State and National Parks.

Far Guys Dad worked in the CCC Camp at Lake Itasca in 1936. He recalled a really cold winter. The deer were starving, so they were told to distribute hay bales, the deer kept dying, but their bellies were full of hay. Deer cannot digest hay in the winter their stomachs are used to twigs and what ever else they can browse. In the spring he helped to plant trees and clear out trails around the Headwaters of the Mississippi.

This photograph was taken on February 10, 1936. On the back of the photo is the date and this notation. 52 BELOW ZERO.

I am hoping that my Grandchildren will take note of this story someday, perhaps one day when they walk across the rocks of the Headwaters on a warm day they will have a new appreciation for the cool shade of the tree lined walkway back to the parking lot:)

Hero In A White Hat

Far Guy has a collection, it began very innocently when he was just a boy. A gift of two cap pistols and a holster. When everyone else was singing the praises of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and The Lone Ranger and Tonto..Far Guy was admiring Gene Autry. The cowboy who could sing, shoot and ride a horse all at the same time.


Piece by piece the collection grew. One Saturday we were at an Auction Sale in North Dakota. I was there for a Gene Autry pIn, it would be a good addition to the collection. It was just a simple pin with green, purple and yellow ribbons..the pin itself is yellow with a likeness of the cowboy and his name. It was a fairly long auction sale, it was getting late and we had been there for about six hours when the pin finally came up for sale. I bid on it, and then I bid again.. Far Guy said "How much are you going to spend on the darn thing?" I replied "Whatever it takes." We went home with one more thing to add to the collection! Some of the items were easy to find, the song books came from Antique Shops, the photographs from flea markets. The puzzle I found at a garage sale. The humdinger of a watch, was a limited release one year..so it was a Christmas gift from none other than me, his adoring wife.


Far Guy built the display case. It now has the coveted spot to the right of the fireplace. When I suggested that spot, Far Guy just looked at me and said "Really? I can have the whole wall?" Well it seems to me if you have a nice collection, you should be able to look at it once in awhile. After all you live in this house too!


The cowboy boot ad that hangs below the collection..really needs to be matted..it will look better. I am going to put it on his Honey Do list! The "honey do" list is growing by the day, it has been an irritant to Far Guy lately, I keep adding, he keeps crossing things off..he hates that list:)

Just a Dream

I had a nightmare, good thing it was just a dream.

It is very cold, the sky is bright blue, the cornfield partially harvested, snow has covered the ground. The ground is hard and frozen under my feet. Our group is only one of thousands in the field, grandparents with their grandchildren. Some couples only have one or two grandchildren with them, we have five. Our five are all dressed in warm winter clothing, smiling faces, cheeks rosy red, their breath escaping from their mouths like little engines.

We see the specks in the sky, and the sound is deafening. The high whine of the engines belongs to an aircraft I have never seen before. The specks grow larger and larger..they are huge boats...boats in the sky with headlights and turn signals. Big red boats with strange Chinese symbols. They are landing in the cornfield. I ask Far Guy, "Where is the Air Force?' I ask him once more this time screaming "Where is the Fricking Air Force?" He just shakes his head. I tell the children to run, and run we do, as fast as we can towards the woods. I look back once and what I see causes me to run faster. There are hundreds of Chinese on every boat all with machetes, massacring grandparents and grandchildren. The snow in the field is turning bright red. I encourage everyone to run faster, run faster..don't stop running..don't look back..

I awaken, exhausted, relieved it was only a bad dream, and hope it is not a recurring one. This is one of the most far out dreams I have had in a long time. No wonder some days I really need a nap. I am sure this dream/nightmare is due in part to my over active imagination, but part of it is due to the staggering amount of money that we owe the Chinese. I must be worried how this is going to effect future generations. How will they ever survive? :(

When Does Spring Begin?

OK I have a question..When do you declare that SPRING is officially here? When is Spring.. SPRUNG? When do you officially throw in your snow-boots and shovels for crocs and lawn chairs? When do you say Arrivederci, Auf Wiedersehen, Au revoir to winter, hello spring, you beautiful thing .. so long winter, see you soon enough you old cold bugger .. ?

Is the first day of Spring on the calendar, your day..well just because the Sun starts to move north again doesn't mean a hill of beans here in Minnesota. The calendar lies. We can't plant a garden safely here in Minnesota until Memorial Day weekend. Should that be the new Spring?

Dicentra spectabilis 'Alba' ............White Bleeding Hearts

I say good bye Winter when I see my first Robin.. I am usually the last person to see one. My sister in law always sees them before me, I never get to call her and say "I saw a Robin..before you.. HA!" She is always first, sometimes I don't even begin to look until after her annual phone call. Just one time I would like to be FIRST, I swear she sits on her deck with her binoculars in one hand and her phone in the other ready to call me with the first Robin news. I guess it is okay, she is younger than me and I need more naps, but we live in the same woods..she must be baiting those Robins:)

Carpet Color

Yesterday the carpet installer came to measure, after he was finished Far Guy and I went and ordered the carpeting. It will not be here until the end of March..naturally I picked a color that the warehouse in Georgia did not have on hand and it is not in their production schedule until March 7. So I have lots of time to go through everything up there and organize it. We have to move everything from the east and move it to the west, then he will lay that section of carpet and then overnight we have to move everything from the west to the east so he can do that section..so it is a lot of moving. He would have liked us to move everything downstairs ..we told him.. not an option.

If we used the area upstairs more I would have gone with tile, and I would have done the project myself. I am sure it is very hard for people to understand why we have a whole level of our house that we don't use. When we originally built the house Far Guy wanted a loft, so he got 1,000 square feet of a loft. He thought it might be nice to have a bedroom suite up there. He could wake up every morning and gaze out the french doors into the woods. Well we love our cozy area downstairs and never entertained the thought of moving up there ever again. So it is just an unused place. Chance rarely goes up there, I go up there once or twice a week to put something away and to flush the toilet in the bathroom. Far Guy goes up there when he plays/ works on his train set. I do go up there about once a month to dust and vacuum the floor..and wonder why I have so much crap/stuff I hardly ever use. Someday when we sell this house the upstairs may be helpful, as it is a blank canvass, it could be three large bedrooms, two which share a large walk in closet. Or it could be two bedrooms and a huge family room area. The possibilities are endless.

When we were building, lots of people asked me when I was going to move my kitchen upstairs. My reply of "Never" caught them off guard. We only have a kitchen because Far Guy insisted on it. I had one acquaintance tell me that she would not ever live on the lower level when the upper level was so nice. Well, it is a pretty area, I like it too we just don't "live" there.

Here are the colors ..which do you suppose I chose?

The brown in the far right corner...actually it is called Amber..and Far Guy is holding the display sample upside down. Brown according to my daughter Jen is the new black. It will go well with the knotty pine walls, and when and if my downstairs furniture ever makes it upstairs it will all go together..cause it is brown too. I like brown.

Thanks for all your input! I thought long and hard about laminate, until I visited a few places with laminate..some of it has shrunk and there were gaps for dust to collect in, some had warped, some had delaminated. I have had a number of vinyl floors also..they were OK. I even ventured into the real wood floor zone..way too much maintenance for me. I visited a cottage once that had pine floors, it was lovely, but pine is a soft wood. I loved the green carpet too..but it is limiting from a decorating standpoint, so brown won ..because I can accent with whatever color I want :)

Patience

Have you ever wondered how it was to ride in a wagon on a buckboard seat? I admired a buckboard seat in an Antique Shop one day, decided that I needed it, when I went back to make the purchase it was gone. Snooze and you lose. It remained on my list of needs for a really long time, I never found another one. Then one day I admired the one that my Uncle Otto had on his back porch. He said that he had seen one in pieces at an Antique Shop way up north, the next time he went up there he would check it out for us. He bought it and sold it to us, Far Guy used the hardware and all the rotten boards for a pattern and made me my very own buckboard. We mounted it on a stand, and I stained it red my favorite color. It is upstairs, it is not very comfortable, those pioneer woman must have had buns of steel.

For years Far Guy and I wanted wooden wagon wheels, oh my, they were expensive. In an Antique Shop in Baker, Montana we found a half of a wagon wheel, so we were happy and it has a place out in the yard. One day we were visiting our daughter in Nebraska, every time we visited her, we admired the neighbors wooden wagon wheel. It was a fine specimen, well wouldn't you know it, they wanted to get rid of it and just GAVE it to us.

Good things come to those who wait. Patience... I once told a Pastor that I prayed for patience. He said " If you pray for patience, the good Lord may give you something to be patient about." I don't pray for patience anymore.

Far Guy had some patience, his old medication must have given him some. He has completed the first phase of the medication switch, the fog that filled his head is lifting and his patience has left with the fog. Today we embark on phase two of the different medication schedule. Yesterday as he spoke with the Nurse Practitioner on the phone, he used a lot of "sign" language while speaking. He didn't lose any words, I tried my best to follow the conversation so I could fill in words for him as needed, when he talks to his friends on the phone I just don't give a rats ass what words he has lost. Does anyone out there realize how difficult it is to fill in words for someone on the phone when you can only hear half of the conversation? Most of the time the Nurse just asks to speak with me, not yesterday, luckily she emailed us the revised medication schedule. Far Guys patience has left, but he has sign language now and he isn't afraid to use it. I thought about praying for patience again only briefly. Far Guy and I will go toe to toe, it is good to have him back.. I think? Was he really this impatient back in 2007 before he got the Trigeminal Neuralgia? He must have been, funny how you forget. His humor is returning also, that is a good thing..it is one of the things that I love most about him. The pain has NOT improved, this next phase may or may not help with the pain. WE have to be patient and see...I will be patient..Far Guy says "That's easy for you to say, you don't have the freaking pain." That's true..I don't have the pain..and he has NO patience whatsoever..and I AM NOT praying for him to get any either:)

I Need A Decorator

Today I would be happy if an interior decorator dropped from the sky and paid me a visit. Carpet colors, that is my decorating challenge for today. I have been putting off this flooring project for long enough..years in fact. BUT I had good reasons. First of all, a little info.. Far Guy and I designed and built this house ourselves with help from family. The only thing we contracted out was the concrete work on the lower level, and the plumbing in the bathroom upstairs ( cause we were in a time crunch. ) In retrospect we were just a little nuts. However providing all the labor has been a learning experience, and it saved us quite a lot of money, and since we were on a pay as you go plan with this house it has been an adventure in choices and saving up for those choices.

Flooring for upstairs was really low on our priority list. Why? Well we hardly ever go up there. What is up there? I gave up my very large office area to Far Guy..he now has a place for his Train set. We have a lovely second bathroom. One huge great room, that is some what split into areas..a bedroom area, an area for an old desk, an area for my file cabinets, and a storage area which is essentially a huge walk through closet..yes you can walk through it. Upstairs is essentially used only by our children and grandchildren when they stay overnight. It is a glorified storage area for mismatched furniture too good to throw out, for goodness sake some of my early junk is now collectible! I suppose I would not need four file cabinets..but they are all full. I wouldn't need a china cabinet that has no china in it only purdy stuff, or an old roll top desk that Far Guy made from a kit that is full of someday stuff..you know I might need something in it someday.

OK.. the entire area up there is knotty pine, walls, ceiling the whole shebang. First of all it took forever to save enough money to buy the boards. Then I had to seal them all, three coats of sealer with a little sanding in between coats, and Far Guy used the chop saw up there..so between my splashing around with sealer and his sawdust..we have just lived with the wood sub floor. It was easy to clean up. Far Guy is all done with the trim..maybe..I am sure he missed something. When the carpet goes in.. there will be no more sawing up there.

The bathroom is under the deer head ..trophy. Boy, Far Guys fancy coat rack has a twang to it, see all the assorted junk...fine collectables.

Did I mention that I hate carpet? I like tile, I have laid all the tile on the lower level..I love it..it is perfect and easy to clean. I scrub it on my hands and knees..or if they get sore..I do my fancy butt scoot cross your legs Indian style scrub method. There is no way I am going to scrub the entire upstairs on my hands and knees or on my butt. I would prefer that Far Guy vacuum carpet.
Now onto the color. Some colors just won't work for me. Black, white, orange, red, blue, pink and purple are all out. Yellow might work..but have you ever seen yellow carpet in a large area? That leaves brown, rust and green and all it's shades and hues. And of course the mixes of beige/brown with flecks of blue, green and brown. The furniture up there is red, blue, and a blue plaid, and a strange retro print of brown, beige and green that appears in a love seat that is a perfect place for a small child to sleep. I have lots of different colors of quilts for the beds. I have no curtains up there..we live in the woods ..who is gonna see ya..a deer? So I need color input..let me hear your ideas and thoughts! :)

Wistful Wednesday : Great Grandpa

I have no idea when this photograph was taken. The couple are my Great Grandparents August and Katie. August worked in the copper mines in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan before they moved to Minnesota in 1908 or 1909. August was a man with special hands, he was referred to as the "Bone Doctor." Everyone in the area went to him with their broken bones and wounds, the real Doctor was far away by buggy or sleigh. He never turned anyone away, he never charged for his services, he tried to help people the best he could and he had a reputation as a good medical man. Most people paid what they could afford.

Recently my Dad shared these stories with me:

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You know we logged in the winter, all of us boys. One day Ervin and I were moving a huge log, Ervin had the heavy end, I needed to get a bit taller to handle my end so I could get it over the stick so I stood on a stump. I fell off the stump, and just laid there, I could not feel my legs. My brothers got me up and tried to help me walk, but my legs just wouldn't work. They loaded me on top of the logs and took me home. My Dad got the Sunday sleigh out and took me to Grandpas. They carried me into the bedroom where Grandpa had a special bed, they laid me on it and Grandpa moved his hands all up and down my spine and after about a half an hour he told me to get up. I told him I couldn't walk, he told me again to get up off the bed and walk, so I did.

** In later years it was discovered that my Dad a one time had a broken back..this may have been the injury.

Grandpa always told us that if we ever flattened a finger or a toe that it was easy to fix. In later years I recalled this bit of information. I was clearing a small stand of pines trees when one of the tops snapped off and smashed my thumb against the controls of the Cat. My thumb was flatter than a pancake. I took off the radiator cap of the Cat and stuck my thumb in the hot water for awhile, then I took it out of the water and pushed and molded it back into place just as my Grandpa said to do. It hurt like heck but it worked, but I can still feel a bunch of knots and bumps inside my thumb yet today.

** Cat is a Caterpillar or a Bull Dozer (Heavy Equipment)

One time my brother Oscar hurt one of his fingers, I don't remember what he did, but his finger was a mess. It was just a hunk of meat with skin hanging from it. I took him to Grandpas, Grandpa got out his needle and thread and sewed it all up, it healed really well but Oscar had a really long scar on his finger.
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My brother who lives down our lane has "the hands" the short stubby fingers that can work magic on my stiff neck or give me a great back rub, and just like our Great Grandfather he doesn't charge either:)

Horse Memories

Years ago when I was a youngster I had a fascination with horses. I read books about horses, I talked about horses, I daydreamed and dreamt about horses. Like my grand daughter Madison says "I NEED a horse. Grandma you understand that a need is different from a want? " I understand that line of thinking "I needed one too." My only opportunity to ride was at a neighbors two miles away, Joe had a bunch of horses, and his children didn't like to ride. In the summer I would hop on my bike and pedal over to his farm and ride in his pasture. He had several horses that were gentle enough for a thirteen year old to ride, Joe would call one in from the pasture and taught me how to put on a bridle. Off I would go, bareback, that's how I learned to ride, feeling every muscle on the horse move beneath you. There is an art to riding bareback, you learn to use your legs to stay on the horse, there is a no other feeling that compares to riding a horse at a full gallop bareback with the wind in your face and the landscape flying by. Years later I had to re learn how to ride with a saddle, I never did like riding with a saddle as much as I did bareback.

My parents finally decided that I could buy a horse of my own. They had grown up with work horses, any horses that didn't work were called "hay burners." Dad and I went to the sale barn, I wandered up and down all the stalls, I visited all the horses tied up and spoke to some of the owners. I finally spotted the horse I needed, an older mare, I had no idea what kind of horse she was, she was brown and not too tall with kind gentle brown eyes. She nickered softly when I approached her. She nuzzled me when I stroked her head. She was just perfect. I showed her to my Dad..and declared that she was the horse I had dreamt about. The one that would take me on many adventures but always get me back home safely. I was convinced this horse would be my best friend.

We sat in the bleachers, the horses were brought in one by one. The Auctioneer would sing the praises of each animal. My Dad was interested in a horse that was good with kids. I was interested in the horse I made a connection with. My Dad bid on a very tall Appaloosa Mare that was about four years old and good with kids. He bought her..I was excited..but sad that my dream horse would be left behind.

I do not even remember what her name was, she was not good with kids and she hated me. She was a biter, and would bite me every chance she got. While I was riding her she would try and reach around to bite my foot. She would try and buck me off..she was a pain in the neck horse. When I brought her a bucket of grain she would either bite my shoulder or my boob..yes she was a boob biting old nag. I was black and blue all summer from her bites. By the end of the summer I was back riding at Joes, appreciating a horse that didn't bite. The boob biting old nag of an Appaloosa was sold..and I didn't even say goodbye to her. I continued to ride at Joes every chance I got.

Joe still has horses, he is now in his eighties. He rode in a wagon train on a trip throughout Minnesota one summer. The kindness he showed to me as a teenager I have never forgotten..we shared a love of horses. Since his children didn't share his interests he shared with me. I still ask him "How many horses do you have Joe?" He never quotes a figure, cause his lovely wife thinks he only has a few. Sometimes I drive out to his north pasture and watch the horses, and remember sunny summer days feeling free as a bird flying along on one of his horses:)

Watch Out!

It must be a sign of the tough economic times. Our little berg three miles away had a robbery, someone came into the store and while the clerks weren't looking stole two employees purses out of the office. Since the thieves were a minority, recovery will be difficult if not impossible.

My parents visited last night and I reminded my Mom who is a purse person, never to park her purse in a shopping cart. She said my Grandmother's purse was stolen in Detroit Lakes one day out of her grocery cart and Grandma hollered and hollered and the purse snatcher gave the purse up.

I have one daughter who leaves her purse in the grocery cart all the time, it drives me nuts when I shop with her and I often end up carrying her purse. Yes, me who cannot be trusted with a purse ( cause I kept setting it down and forgetting where in the store I put it) ends up on purse duty, guarding one that has everything in it but the kitchen sink and weighs about twenty pounds.

I have been tempted to make up a whole bunch of post it notes and leave one every time I see a purse parked in a shopping cart that could be snatched. I would probably get arrested, but it sounds like it would be a great crime awareness project for someone.

Our daughter Jen's purse was stolen at the Minneapolis /St Paul Airport, she was in the rest room trying to manage a child and lots of carry on items. Her purse was retrieved about a week later without her cash and her gift cards. Luckily her husband had the plane tickets or their entire trip would have been cut really short. She wasn't a real person until the Disney Cruise Line made her a photo ID. She also had a credit card in a drawer at home, it was used by an unscrupulous babysitter.. nothing is safe anymore.

So now you will get Far Sides tips. Make a copy of your Drivers License and put it someplace in your luggage if you are travelling. Make a copy of all the credit cards that you carry in your purse, copy the front and the back, keep them in a file folder at home. If your purse is stolen you will have the information at home ready to call all the phone numbers and you won't have to search your very poor memory..let's see..how many charge cards do I have? and how am I going to find all the fricking phone numbers?

My Father in Law gave me some very good advice one time, I was travelling alone with the girls to Mississippi. He said carry the bulk of your cash in your shoe..it worked..I arrived..I still had my cash in my shoe. I have used his great advice on many occasions while travelling.

My Aunt's sewed little cotton envelopes for their cash and they sewed them into their bras when they went to Europe. I am sure that there are many other great travel tips out there..do you have any to share? :)

Happy Birthday Far Guy!

Today is Far Guys 59th birthday! I have celebrated 42 of his birthdays with him. His Mother used to always cook his favorite meal for him which was usually shrimp and a chocolate cake to celebrate his special day. Today he would like some German noodles, so we will have lunch at a German Resturant that makes fabulous noodles.

On getting older... Far Guy often says " Any day you can wake up at home and sit up and feed yourself..that's a good day.!" AND " We are all in this together and no one is getting out alive." :) Photo: Far Guy when he was two years old.

Happy Valentines Day!

Well it's here. The day of chocolate, perfume, flowers, cards, dinners out, diamonds and love. A simple lovey dovey day that has been commercialized to near death. " Every Kiss begins with Kay..the jewelers of course." I would like to stick my finger down my throat and barf when that commercial is on. The message is the larger the diamond..the less likely she is to resist your undying love. Hogwash..apparently their target audience is very young and very naive.

Today is the day that makes or breaks most Florists, it is the biggest day of their year..with red roses being the favorite. Since they are so busy, some roses will not be properly cut and get bent necks. You know the rose that looked fine when it was delivered but the next morning it looks funny..it was not cut properly underwater and has an air bubble that does not allow it to take up water. If you re-cut the stem underwater..you can save that sad little rose from a certain death.

Far Guy could bring me roses, I like them all..but they make me sneeze and my eyes run and water. He knows better than to bring me some perfume that I would promptly throw in the garbage. I don't wear the diamonds that I have, buying me more would not score him any points. He could bring me chocolate.. sometimes he surprises me with a simple Milky Way Dark candy bar..he always gets a kiss for one of those. An entire box of chocolates that have mystery centers would just get hard and mummify after I found the one with caramel in it. He could take me out to supper, but all the restaurants in this area will be full and we would have to wait in line. No thanks. We will have a quiet evening at home.

So where is the Romance? Where is all the lovey dovey stuff? It is in a loving glance, shared laughter, an "I Love You" and those things happen with great regularity at our house..so I guess you could say we don't need a special day..because everyday that we continue to appreciate each other and enjoy each others company is Valentines Day:)

Backing Up

Do you ever have recurring dreams? ( For now I won't call them nightmares ) I have one where the road is icy and I cannot keep the car on the road, another where the brakes on my vehicle do not work, or they work so poorly that I hit other vehicles..no matter how carefully I drive. One night I was driving a vehicle that would move only in reverse. What do you suppose these dreams mean? That I feel that my life is out of control, that I can't help but injure something? That I need to help out a friend in the Auto Body business? That I want a new car? That I secretly have some deep burning need to drive in a Demolition Derby? That I want to backup, and do life in reverse for awhile? I suppose the possibilities are endless. Maybe they are just crazy dreams, by a crazy old woman.

Years ago when Far Guy and I were first married and both College students, we worked for his Father and Mother during the summer. One of my jobs was to drive a big old black 1964 Imperial and a trailer. Far Guys Dad gave me one on one instruction on how to use the trailer brake, how to turn wide..he was a good teacher. Then he attempted to teach me how to back up a trailer. We spent an entire afternoon with him directing me, he had his cigar firmly planted in his mouth, he cussed, he made faces, he finally gave up. I was unbackupable with a trailer..yes I realized that you have to turn the opposite direction that you want your trailer to go..it was still all backwards in my brain and in the mirrors. Far Guy then tried, he wanted me to learn, I could back up straight for a few feet but when I had to turn..I would jack-knife the trailer..it was hopeless. Far Guys Dad finally just said, "OK.. I will try to never get you into a situation where you have to back up. I drove for him for three summers..he was true to his word, I followed him down the road and never had to back up. Forward..I am great at forward.

When I was a member of the Local Fire Department, during a Fire I would drive the Ambulance. I never backed it back into the hall until Far Guy finally put down some Aircraft lane marking tape. I would get that sited in my left mirror and back in straight every time. I need some of that tape in my garage..I cannot back my car into the garage straight, it always ends up crooked. I suck at backwards.

Backing up your photos! I have finally backed all mine up to disc. WAHOO! It was on my list of things to do. I had lots of pictures files to go through, deleting the bad shots and doing some cropping. Finally they were all acceptable and I got them all done. I really should back up my photo files every month.

Friday the thirteenth: I don't put much stock in superstition. Friday the thirteenth happens every once in awhile. Today is a birthday day in our family, we have two nieces that have birthdays today! So Happy Birthday Katie and Bethany! They are 27 and 28 today. Born one year apart, one on my side of the family and one on Far Guys side. Both births much awaited and celebrated! Early valentine gifts! :)