Wistful Wednesday : A spot along the road

I must have been a fairly observant child.  I remember when there were buildings on this corner.  I also remember when it was a gravel road.

This was a busy spot in the road back in the 1920’s - 1930’s.  Believe it or not this was the only way to get from Park Rapids to Detroit Lakes. It was still called Highway 34.
Here is a Road Map from 1924-1925.  In 1924-25 Detroit Lakes was known as Detroit.  From early history of Detroit Lakes:  As a result of continuous postal mix-ups between Detroit, Minnesota and the better-known Detroit, Michigan, a special election was held on September 7, 1926 to change the city's name to Detroit Lakes. This befitting title has remained ever since.

As you can imagine every little berg along the way got some business.

Today we are concerned with that third from the left circle…the one that was named Shell Lake…I didn’t know it was called that.  We used to call it Four Corners…not to be confused with the Four Corners between Height of Land and Detroit Lakes.

On the North side of the corners were Halvorsons and Lantondrys/Lotonche
Tufield George Latondre (Letonde).  Letondre's was a Dance Hall and Beer Joint that also sold gasoline.  Halvorsons had groceries, sandwiches, beer and pop and gasoline. On the South East corner was Grant Old’s he had tobacco, pop and gasoline.

In the 1940’s the new Highway 34 would be built straight from Osage to Detroit Lakes.  The corners would see less and less people going through.

This is the Halvorson’s place of business.  I have known Irene (Halvorson) Mack practically forever, she let me scan this photo of the old store a few years ago.
In the first photo you will notice that there is a clump of Lilac bushes.
Irene  had many brothers and sisters.  For the past few years the flowers have been accumulating on the North East side of the corner.  This spring a signpost would go up.

I am not certain who else is buried there…or if anyone is.  Helen was a Native American and she married Walter who must have been a Norwegian.  Walter was Irene’s little brother.  Helen and Walter used to plant a garden and many flowers they used to stop by the greenhouse on their way back from town.

I have heard a few wild stories about the goings on at the corners on weekends…especially during prohibition.  I have heard of a dancehall gal called Trixie and of someone driving in a snowstorm…all the while he was in the ditch and his wheels were spinning…someone opened the car door and asked him if he needed help getting out of the ditch.  He said “That scared the crap out of me.”  I am certain there are many more stories…but most of those storytellers have passed on.

Wild Roses and other stuff

The Wild Roses had fewer blooms this year as other years, perhaps I need to chop them off again.

Perhaps they like a drier June.  At any rate there were a few blooms to enjoy.

I like Netflix, If I fall asleep during a movie I can just rewind…or slumber on into the next movie, I usually wake up when the noise ceases when the screen asks me “are you still watching”  …NO, I was asleep is not an option.  This past weekend I watched two interesting to me movies.  The Secret of Roan Inish a 1994 Independent Film…the Irish accent takes a bit of getting used to but I enjoyed the film. It is really a Scottish Tale but Ireland was picked as the filming site…go figure.  Then I watched Alive the 1993 film about the 1972 Andes Plane Crash.   I wondered why they didn’t cobble together some sleds and slide down out of the bad weather…but what do I know about the Andes….other than it looked freaking cold…it was a good movie to watch on a warm afternoon.  Not exactly the most appetizing movie to watch just before supper…they spent 72 days in those mountains.

I am still working on my join as you go afghan, I have several beading projects in the works and the Christmas Ornament count is at 37.  I can only carve so long before my thumb gets sore..pushing wood is hard work.

I have been putting off making a Summer “To Do” list. With summer half over I better start thinking about it. 

Town

In town there is a wall of flowers on the fence that surrounds the Ace Hardware parking lot.

It has water tubes and I am certain they feed the entire wall frequently.  Some day I will stop and photograph the back side.

We had a quiet weekend, working on various projects, staying cool and watching a few movies.   We ran an errand into town yesterday afterward we stopped by my parents for coffee and to hook up their new printer.  They need a printer to make copies of the Yahtzee Score Sheets….they play Yahtzee every morning and sometimes in the evening too.

About a week ago my Dad was walking to his garden when he was threatened by two really large dogs…a Pit bull and a Rottweiler, luckily they backed off when he grabbed his garden shovel.  The next day my other baby brother reported it to the Police.  People need to keep their dogs under control and on a leash in town.  We drove by and the people with the dogs have a 6 x 6 foot kennel for those two large dogs…talk about stupid pet owners.

Puffballs

When ever I see Goat’s Beard or Tragopogon dubius I think of Far Guy’s Grandma Tracie and Auntie Esther.  Both women liked to spray it with hairspray and put it in flower arrangements.

It is much larger than a Dandelion seed head.

The flower is yellow and not real pretty but the impressive seed head makes up for it. This is a non native wildflower..someone brought it over from Europe.  Not sure why or how….mixed in with some seed…or did they really use the root once it was roasted as a coffee substitute?

Far Guy’s Infusion Specialist

Well I did it!  I accessed his port…I stabbed him with that long needle right in the port without fainting, or knocking myself silly when I hit the floor or getting a sub dermal hematoma, that would require brain surgery and an extended hospital stay and psychiatric therapy after I had total amnesia and only recognized  Chance.

Blood returns went just fine and the infusion went off like clock work.  I disengaged that long old needle and covered up the owie with a hot pink band aid…and he didn’t die or even get sick.  

I was exhausted after all that and came home and took a nap.  One more week under the direction of the nurses and then we will do the infusions at home.

Big sigh of relief!  I was a TAD nervous…when I woke up that morning it was my first thought of the day. I thought about feigning a sour stomach and retiring to the bathroom for the day…but I soldiered up!

When we get settled in here at home with the infusions, I will train him so he can do his own infusions if the need should arise. 

Can you tell that sometimes I irritate him…oh well keeps him on his toes…he thought I forgot the camera at home!

He wasn’t as tired this week, but then he has been on Prednisone for shortness of breath.  His last dose of Prednisone is today.

I am finally feeling better and I have finished all the antibiotics for the infection in my jaw.  Hopefully the infection is all gone!

Wildflowers

The latest wildflower to bloom.

Wild Bergamot or Monarda or Bee Balm.   Bees love this plant…it has a square stem which identifies it to be in the Mint Family.   Everyone has a family and that goes for plants too.  The oil from the plant is used in Earl Grey Tea.  This plant is Native to Minnesota.

False Sunflower or Heliopsis helianthoides, there is a patch of this sunflower on the east side of the house on the edge of the woods.  One flower per stalk, makes it easy to identify this plant of the Aster Family.  Native to Minnesota.

What else is blooming Chance?  Why Daisies of course!

Oxeye Daisies… non native plant it was introduced or was a garden escapee of the Aster Family.

These are just a few plants that are blooming in our yard or nearby this week.

In the yard

I finally weeded the little garden out front.  It looks better now, my flowers are growing slowly.  I have four Sunflower seedlings that have survived the squirrels.

The Humming Birds like the Red Salvia.

This feeder hangs above the Salvia.  It was a gift from Jo next door…for entertaining Odda and Putz a few times.   I love the red color… and no red food coloring is used in the sugar mixture.  We have at least three hummingbirds…one is a baby, he is about 1/4 the size of the other two…he sat on the feeder to drink…he was really cute…no photo yet but I hope to get one soon.

There are a few skeeters out, but there was another Dragonfly hatch.

This one sunned itself on the patio chair.

The mowing, trimming and weeding was done, bird feeders filled and bird baths washed out and it was time to just sit and do some carving outside on Tuesday. It was a nice day and the breeze was cool, with no smoke in the air!

Wednesday it was cool and rainy…high of 74.  I worked on a bead project and did some organizing in the woodshop and we took a trip over to Detroit Lakes. Stopped at the antique mall and bought some old photos.  Far Guy bought me a new Lassie Book…so I read it out loud to him and Chance on the way home…once again Lassie saved the day/kittens.

Wistful Wednesday: Dodge Charger and Other Vehicles

Back in late 1980-1981…I was looking for a car.  I was working nights 4 PM til 1 AM, and Far Guy was working 7AM to 4:30PM…we had just bought a house in 1979, interest rates were high at 18 1/2 %.

We think (since we are getting old) that we had the 1978 Plymouth Horizon Black with Orange/Red/Black custom stripes ( I know you had to see it to like it)  and an old 1972 Ford pickup (Black) for vehicles.

I had been drooling over the Dodge Chargers.  Zero to 50 in 6.9 seconds…and good gas mileage…a thoroughbred driving machine.   I only had to drive across town to work….all city traffic.
That car was calling my name…We found the “one” Candy Apple Red…perfect…and the Dealership in Moorhead was running a sale.  BUT we need to think about it a day or two…we returned to the dealership with a check in hand and they said the sale price no longer applied.  CRAP…I was so disappointed.  We visited a dealership in Fargo…they had nothing we wanted…wrong color… I said to the salesman “The car I want is sitting over in Moorhead.”  He said “If you want that car I will give you a deal on it.”  SOLD!!

Jennifer in front, Me, Trica, Far Guy

Trica was 12 years old and Jennifer was almost 9.

It was a fine vehicle we even had room for the dog!  We made a number of long trips (Texas and  Florida)…as the girls grew taller the back seat became a real pain in the neck for them and for us because that invisible line in the back seat was just not working anymore.  One day Far Guy said “Honey I think you are more of a Dodge VAN person now…so we traded my beautiful red Dodge Charger off for a blue 1986 Dodge Caravan …the girls had lots of room.  I sold it ( to my other baby brother) after I got stranded at Uncle Otto and Aunt Maries after a snowstorm, the last mile of the road home was not plowed…I needed four wheel drive.

Far Guy’s Dad knew all the car salesmen…when I needed the Four Wheel Drive…he took me to every dealership in the area “shopping.”  I am pretty sure he had a really good time looking at vehicles.  In Perham at the Ford Dealership we found my next dream vehicle (used).  I drove a 1984 Ford Bronco II until 2004 and I bawled when it left the driveway…it had been paid for a number of years.

That is Far Guy’s parents custom built Motor Home in the background.

Now I have a Sunday Car we only take it out on Sundays or for longer trips.  It gets great gas mileage a week ago we got 39.2 mpg.  Chance has the whole back seat to himself.  I woulda bought another Dodge Charger but they are considerably more than the $5,900 we paid for the one in 1981.  In fact the one I looked at was more than we spent on that house back in 1979.

Chance in the Sunday Car…it is black..shows every water spot and speck of dust.  Not sure if the leather heated seats trump Candy Apple Red or not..but it has the zero to 60 down just fine.

Berries

The wild raspberries are ripening.  They have such wonderful flavor for such a small berry! 

I picked these on our walk last night.  The wind was blowing so the skeeters were tolerable.  It is great to pick our own fruit…nothing has been sprayed on it… so they must be organic!  I shared with Far Guy and offered one to Chance…I could tell he wanted Ice Cream with his berries.  NO we just eat them plain…silly dog!

We ran across this blue berry.

This is the fruit of the Wild Sarsaparilla plant.

This is what the flower of Wild Sarsaparilla or Aralia nudicaulis looks like.

I wouldn’t eat this berry…in fact I wouldn’t eat any old blue colored berry in Minnesota except for our REAL Blueberry.

I believe it is the root of the plant that is used. ( I found one reference that says the root can be used as a substitute for sarsaparilla in root beer.)

I wonder about the sarsaparilla that they used to serve in the bars of the old westerns on TV?   Was it this root soaked in water?

NOPE that sarsaparilla was made from Birch Oil and the dried root bark of the Sassafras tree.  Go figure… why did they call it sarsaparilla and not sassafras?

Learn something new every day! 

I ordered a book all about the Wild Berries found in Minnesota…this seems to be a great year for berries.  Not sure why?  The snowless cold winter and dry spring with a rainy June must make for good berries.

Shakers

There is a first time for everything.  I haven’t  carved a set of Salt and Pepper Shakers before.  A gift for a friend has been weighing heavy on my mind for a year.  He asked me to carve him a set of Salt and Pepper Shakers for his “lady friend.”

Well after much thought…I designed a pair of loons.

 

Here they are rough cut.  The wood is Yellow Popple (Aspen) and I sure like it for carving.

I spent most of Saturday with Far Guys help carving out the innards where a bit of salt and pepper could go.  Then I painted and sealed them.  The corks on the bottom came from a garage sale set of shakers. That hole for the cork was a bit scary…but our method worked real good.

The pair is finished, sealed and packaged in a box all ready and waiting for our friend from Oklahoma to arrive.  He is retired Air Force and a local boy…full of fun.  Divorced but still talks about his wife kindly.  I hope he still has the same “lady friend” who collects salt and pepper shakers!  He was still taking her to dinner and a movie and whatever follows back in April. 

I will never carve another set of Salt and Pepper Shakers…I probably have 12 hours in the pair…way too fussy of a carving project for me.

Update:  Christmas Ornaments: 27 are completely finished, 5 are in process.  I need at least 73 this year.

 

Port

Well Far Guy has a port.  We spent one morning last week at the hospital.  The procedure went just fine.  Far Guy has known the surgeon for years.  After reading through his chart he suggested several times that we make a trip to Mayo.  So that is in the works.

The Nurses accessed the port for the first time this week.

 

He was happier than he looks.

I have the mixing of “the stuff” down pat.  This week I learned all about “the sterile field” and the steps in accessing the port….blood returns…clamping on and off…saline and heparin.  I am going to make a step by step list this week.  I believe the nurses will have me do it with their help this next week.

Am I a little nervous…heck yes.  I am sure Lynn will have to remind me how to do some things.  I told them all that I won’t do it at home until I feel comfortable.

I can barely look at it without needles in it.  I have been known to get a tad dizzy almost pass out when he has cut his hands…I am not very much help from the floor.  If he were someone else it would not be a problem.  Once I make it through the first few times… I will be fine.  Eventually he can possibly infuse himself.

Why do we want to do it at home?  Fewer germs…the germs we have here he is used to.  Going in and out of the Clinic every week where there are a bunch of sick people is like Russian Roulette…sooner or later you will catch a bullet.  Plus that if we travel someplace we will be mobile.  Supposedly each weeks “stuff” will include everything we need to accomplish the task.

Far Guy reports that it was easier and less painful using the port versus an IV.

The side effects of the treatments are extreme fatigue and shortness of breath for about four days.  This week it wasn’t as bad because he is on Prednisone for extreme shortness of breath.

The infusions are not a cure…there is no cure for Alpha 1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.  The infusion in trials last for 5.9 days plus or minus and protects the lungs from further deterioration.  Yes, I have read some of the trials and the results.  Fine late night reading.

Oh yes, just so you know when I was doing the final push of saline and heparin he got all wide eyed, gasped, hung his head off on his shoulder and stuck his tongue out.  Next time I may put a paper bag over his head.

Happy 4th of July!

In our younger years we would have been working on the 4th of July. 

In our older years a day at the lake with a picnic was nice, but with the jet stream funneling down smoke from the forest fires in Canada and causing limited visibility…we will stay put with the air conditioning on.

Chance coming home after getting the mail.

The haze hung heavy in our yard all day long.  The same is forecast for today.  The Fargo and Detroit Lakes air quality stations were both reporting "unhealthy" levels at 2 PM Friday afternoon.  My eyes were itchy…and it smelled like a forest fire out there.

One of my glass flowers at the edge of the woods.

Steve and Jo came over last night and we played a couple of games of Golf ( a card game) and listened to some oldies…with our usual “Who sang that or what is the name of that song…what year was that anyway?”

Fireworks started last night…people down at the lake are celebrating early.  Chance is not impressed with their noise and has to be coaxed to go outdoors. Oh well in a day or two the noise will be over… Far Guy took his vehicle in for an oil change yesterday across from the car dealership was a fireworks sales tent…and people were out front setting off fountains of fireworks…they must hire real smart help.

 

Day and Night

One day this week us old folks had to get up before sunrise.  Uffda.  Hard on the old folks…we had to have several naps that day and went to bed really early that night. Even the next day we had to have a nap.

I think my butt is still dragging.  Antibiotics always make me have “wild” dreams…so I probably have not been sleeping the best either.  I have been sleep walking several nights.  Not sure what I do…other than walk.

Solar flower by day

I am still taking antibiotics…it remains to be seen if the infection is all gone.  I can still feel a pocket of “something” near my ear.  When you get older it is tougher to bounce back.  I will be happy when I can use a straw again…and spit.  I miss spitting out my toothpaste.  When you are told not to spit for a week the urge almost becomes impossible to control.

Did I tell ya that the Oral Surgeon was really strong?  He lifted me right out of that chair by one tooth…then he cranked this way and that way…I thought he might even hop on top of the chair to get more leverage… you know just like in the old cartoons of a Dentist/Barber pulling a tooth.  He told me not to “freak out” when I heard the crunching sounds….uffda…next time I will demand the Laughing Gas…hopefully there will NOT be a next time.

Solar light at night

I am now a fan of Yoplait Greek Yogurt Black Cherry…it is my yogurt of choice to keep all my good bugs as buggy as they should be.  So far so good.   When I get done with these antibiotics I will have been on them for 25 days.  I am so ready to be at the end of the bottle.

 

Lupines, Lawns and Gas

Sure I can be wrong…it happens once in a while.  I am not perfect.

I said in a blog recently that all of my Lupine winterkilled.  I was wrong.

Where there is one I can always hope there are more. 

Recently we saw a whole ditch full of Lupine on the back way to Bemidji the day I had my Oral Surgery…there was no time to stop…but they were impressive.

Back in 2010 I had a few more Lupines in a few more colors.

Who knows what next year will bring.

Yesterday I mowed the lawn again, cleaned out all the birdbaths, did some laundry, had a nap and the day was over just like that.

I was almost out of gas for the lawnmower.  We used to haul the gas can in the old pickup.  I don’t want to haul it in the car.  It gives me a massive headache. My other baby brother very kindly fills the mower and the gas can for me over at his place.  My shoulders are getting older…I think I need to buy two small gas cans instead of one large one.  I might be ageing fast…but lifting and dumping a six gallon gas can into the mower…must weigh about 42 pounds…I can do it but sometimes we have to find better solutions for life’s little problems.  How do you haul your gas can and how large is it?

Wistful Wednesday: Unknown

I have several photos that are unknown on Far Guy’s Paternal side of the family.

If I stare at this one long enough I can make out Far Guy’s Dad and his Grandfather.  It might be wishful thinking. 

Who would take a group photo in the woods on a hump of earth?  What was the occasion?   Was this a spot for a new house?  The burial of a old horse?…this photo is not telling me much.  It must have been spring or maybe summer. Maybe about 1920 give or take a year or two.

The genetics in our family are unknowns also…and I am not talking about who you got your tallness, shortness, baldness from.   The important stuff…medical inadequacies…that are passed from one generation to another.

As you know we are in the midst of some genetic testing…no results are back in yet.  The best we can hope for our daughters is that they are just carriers of the Alpha 1 Antitrypsin Deficiency. 

Knowledge is the key…if you know about something you can take appropriate action…it is the unknown that will keep you guessing.

Pretty Birds

It is not often that we get Purple Finches back here in the Oaks.

This one visited.  At least I think it is a Purple Finch….didn’t seems large enough or have the right amount of markings to be a Pine Grosbeak.  The bird book describes a Purple Finch as being a sparrow dipped in raspberry juice…and I can see that.

For about two years I have had this bird stuck in a basket near my desk.  Time to move it out!

I found him at Craft’s Direct at Waite Park, Minnesota…that is some place to shop.  You need hours there and you still walk away knowing you didn’t see the whole store.

It is warmish here ( 70’s) and we had a good hatch of skeeters.  It is time to mow the lawn again…about every five days it needs mowing.  The wild raspberries are just starting to form berries.  When they ripen Chance eats them right off the bushes as do the pretty birds.

Summer is a third over since this is the last day of June.