Sadie

 Sadie visited us too!  It was good to see her!  She was a bit needy after her folks left for an evening out and we were in charge! 

"I cannot believe I am stuck here with you!"

"Maybe they will be back in a minute!" 

"I am sad sad sad and worried" 

We gave her lots of attention...when we went to bed....she jumped in bed with us...Far Guy said "It has been a long time since a dog joined us in bed!"  After a while she left to resume her vigil at the door.  Far Guy said she returned again...by that time I was fast asleep and even a dog has a hard time waking me up...however the next morning she visited me again and that time she was insistent that I wake up! 

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Four of Five

 Four of our Grandchildren were here for their Great Grandfathers committal service.  They came early in the day so that we could visit. 

Noah

Adam 

Maddie 

Paige holding Ree

It was good to get caught up with them and the goings on in their lives.  Jobs, travel, education, wedding, girlfriends and door dash:)

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Three

 Our three great grandchildren were here for the committal service for their Great Great Grandfather. 

Hey Mikey holding Ree and Cee Cee helping

Thankful to have these three in our lives.  They make us smile.

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All here

 The grandchildren and great grandchildren that could not attend my Dad's funeral last December are here now. 

Last December...

Friday we had a graveside service...

 

My Nephews carrying my Dad's ashes.

The headstone is not in place yet.  The white markers are up for its placement.

It was a very nice committal service.  I am glad it is finally accomplished.

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Flowers

 The speckled petunias seem to be all the rage this year. 

I am not so sure I like them....and that price tag...well I guess prices have gone up all over...in case you cannot see it ...it says ...drumroll...$329.99   uffda.

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Packed Up

 Yesterday we finished packing up my Mother's apartment in Assisted Living.  She is at the Nursing Home full time now.   Her belongings were moved to her room in the home or into storage.  There were 14 adults and a whole bunch of little kids to help....since she lived on the second floor all the help was appreciated and it was 90 plus degrees. 

Everything went smoothly as far as I can tell. 

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Busy Days

 It has been a week of appointments and other "things" to attend to.   Yesterday was the second medical appointment this week... two down and one more to go... it was Far Guy's turn yesterday so he dropped me off at Hobby Lobby while he went to visit with the Nurses. 

I needed some yarn for a couple of projects.  It was a good week to need yarn as it was on sale. 

The yarn is for several new projects...a baby cap for summer made from the cotton yarn and the other is for a very washable Origami Crocheted Bag.   We will see how I do with these new projects! 

Last night we went out for supper with friends that were celebrating a birthday. 

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Sister's birthday

 My sister is older today.  She is still pretty young...as I was almost 15 when she was born.

My Dad and my sister were deer hunting together a number of years ago. 

Happy Birthday Julie!

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Lunch and smoke

 Sunday afternoon we drove over to Laporte and had lunch with Savannah, Jen and Andy.  It was a good time to catch up on Savannah's recent travels and spend some time with her! 

She is as smiley and pretty as ever! 

The wildfire smoke has invaded our part of Minnesota again. 

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Spirit Lake

 While waiting for my turn at the Dentist the other day I went by the Lions Park, a homeless guy had taken up residence and there were only a few Daylilies blooming.  My guess is that the Garden Clubs best workers have become too old to maintain the gardens like in years past.

So I went over to the lake. 

Spirit Lake in Menahga Minnesota.

I filled the car with gas, and stopped by a gift shop and the bakery...small towns need support too.

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Ants

 Not the kind you find at a picnic wanting a free lunch...the mound building kind that pinch your skin and then spit a poison onto the pinch that stings. I know this.  It is painful and maddening! 

Ants are driving me nuts....or maybe more nuts.  

Field Ants start their infestation like this.  Looks harmless...some holes in the ground. 

 Pretty soon a mound appears and gets larger and larger. 

You can see one of my jars filled with borax and powdered sugar getting buried.   Buggers.  I have some new "stuff" to try...but I am not holding out hope. 

Then there are Corn Field Ants...maybe I will introduce you to them another day. 

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Old Obituary

 On my Mothers side of the family, my Great Grandfather Dietrich (Dick) became a widower in 1913 when he was 47 years old and he had three sons ages 9, 6 and 4 and a daughter 2 years old who would be my Grandmother.  He sent my grandmother off to live with his sister Elizabeth. ( I have heard that My Great Grandmother's death in 1913 was questionable...she was pregnant and fell or was pushed down some stairs by her husband.)

In 1915 Dietrich procured a "mail order bride"...not truly an ordered bride but perhaps some one knew someone...or some men and women took out ads in newspapers.  There were also people who were "bride brokers" and for a fee you could get a name and write letters back and forth. 

 The bride, Bertha was 45 when she arrived in Minnesota from New York.  Her step sons would be ages 11, 8 and 6 by then.  It must have been quite a shock to become an instant mother to three young boys.  My Grandmother never returned to the family fold...she remained with her fathers sister until she married. ( Perhaps it was safer for her there)

I never heard anything nice about Bertha...in about 1935 she turned two of her step sons and my grandfather and grandmother in for making moonshine.   After that she was known as an "evil woman".

I found her obituary the other day. 

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Wednesday stuff

 I have a real pretty spinner in my flower garden.  I splurged on it last Spring...after all I didn't buy any flowers.  Last night twin fawns were in the yard...I am sure they would have eaten all my flowers if I had any. 

Sometime it is the little pretty things that we enjoy the most!

Far Guy and I had our teeth cleaned and checkups...look Ma no cavities!  Cross something off our list.  Bonus that it was a Wednesday and the Bakery was open...can you say Finnish Flat bread...so yummy! 

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Beans

 The beans must be really good...this doe stayed right there in the field and watched us as we drove by. 

She was loving those beans. 

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27 years ago

 Oh boy, our oldest Grand is 27 years old today.  Hopefully we will take her to lunch one day soon and take her photo. 

I scanned a couple of old photos. These were taken the day of her baptism in early August of 1996.

Front row: Trica ( Savannah's Mom), Jen with Savannah, Far Guy's Mom, my Mom and my Dad.

Back row: Far Guy, Me and Dick ( Savannah's Dad)

Savannah was lots of firsts!  She was Trica and Dicks first daughter, our first Granddaughter, and our parents first Great Grandchild, and Jens first niece.

Proof that I really was there.  We took off on vacation soon after she was born and returned the day before the baptism...we had been camping out West. 

 Happy Birthday Savannah!! 

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Clouds

 The clouds were interesting this past weekend. 

Small Grain field to the left and a corn field to the right.  It was just about sunset. 

We enjoyed a Ranger Blue ride looking at the fields and the clouds.  Some quiet time together.

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Not lost

 My Mom was not lost yesterday...she was with relatives who did not check her out of the facility.  After searching bathrooms and every place she could be one of the nurses said "she is gone with her daughter and son in law" ....hmmmm.  My sister is on vacation...and I knew where my brothers were....that left me and Far Guy was not with me...so who in the world??

My cousin and her husband had taken her back to her assisted living apartment.  Not sure why? 

She was not lost...of course only she knew where she was.  

Needless to say I was a tad upset with her.   Hopefully once we get all her "stuff" moved to the nursing home and she surrenders her keys this won't happen anymore. 

Honestly it is like dealing with a naughty pre schooler who you want to send to the corner with one arm up and the opposite leg up...but of course at 93 years and 9 months old she would topple over. 

FYI one arm up and the opposite leg up used to be my favorite punishment for my girls...oh yes nose against the wall too:) 

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Darn deer

 The Deer are eating many of the wildflowers this year.  Far Guy had a Strawberry plant in a hanging basket and they munched all the leaves off and left the stems. 

They also ate most of the Bee Balm...buggers anyway. 

Last year was a good year for Bee Balm.  This year not so much.

 We have a doe without a fawn hanging around.  I see her quite often when I am mowing. 

Far Guy is feeling a bit better, good enough that he could accompany me to a Doctor appointment in Fargo North Dakota....the Clinic was not busy at all.  It was still a long day for him with traffic and detours. 

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Just one plant

 We got one Yellow Pear tomato plant this year. 

It grew! 

It has many green tomatoes, we are looking forward to them ripening:) I will have to get the ladder out again this year to harvest them.  

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Take along project

 I usually have about three take along projects to work on while waiting. 

I am almost done with this project...one more short wait and it will be done.   

It is a shawl.  I love working with variegated yarn watching the patterns of color appear.

It has been rainy off and on...and cool.  It was 42 F or 5 C  here the other morning, yesterday it struggled to get to 67 F or 19 C.  Believe it or not we turned the furnace on for a bit of heat!  I have also used the oven the past two days...Roast Beef one night and Apple Pancake last night.

Far Guy has been resting...no huge improvements in his respiratory infection...I have one eye on him.   His Doctor is aware that he is not well.

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It is what it is

 My husband says I use that phrase too much.  I usually just roll my eyes or shrug my shoulders. 

Far Guy is feeling a tad bit better...not much...but a little. 

My Mom decided that she is not strong enough to go back to her apartment so she will become a Nursing Home resident.   It will be much safer and easier for her there.  She has asked for a larger room so she can set up her sewing machine in her room.  We will move a bunch of things to make her room more like home in the near future. 

I went to visit Mom to see how she was doing after her big decision...and she was okay. 

It is what it is...

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Beginning of the week

 Monday was supposed to be the day that My Mom transitioned from Nursing Home back to her assisted living apartment.   She was too tired and slept most of the day....maybe Tuesday. 

I ran errands in town and picked up Far Guys new medication.  He still feels rotten.  He has not tried this medication before so we shall see.  I had him take a Covid test and it was negative. 

  We had some small pea size hail on Sunday night....so there are more sticks down and some leaves in the yard.

The Virgins Bower is blooming quite nicely. 

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Still Quiet

We had a nice phone visit with our Granddaughter Miss Paige, she started her new job last week...she says only 40 years to go!  She is getting into a daily routine ...I told her adulting is hard sometimes.   She is beginning to explore wedding ideas....dates...places.  

I watched a super funny movie on Netflix called Bridesmaids...funniest movie I have seen in a long time.  It was a movie made in 2011....so I am a bit behind the times. 

No scrubbing happened on Sunday...just some laundry...and a bit of outside work. 

Far Guy is still feeling partly rotten.

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Quiet Weekend

 More scrubbing of floors and some crocheting. 

The weather may have been 70 F or 21 C.   Cool for July in Minnesota...but I like it:) 

I finally got some watercolored/stamped cards done and off my desk.  I finished watching the 10 seasons of Bringing Up Bates...I have been watching it since last winter...back to Outlander I guess...maybe I should start Grey's Anatomy from the beginning.  Regular TV has nothing worth watching.  A movie I watched recently was Captain Phillips and I thought it was very good.

Far Guy is not feeling great so quiet is a good thing.  Our next two weeks are very busy with appointments, so it is rest while you can!

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Mural Art

 Back in the Winter of 2022 our daughter Jen was exploring different art ideas.  She sent for a tile from  The Mural Mosaic Global Roots Project in the Midwest Region.  

1500 people painted tiles.  As I recall she was asked to paint something mostly blue the color of the sky. 

Her tile arrived the same day that her Aunt Jan (Far Guy's sister) died on April 21, 2022. 

Jen painted what was heavy on her mind that day.  

The mural was unveiled in Port Washington Wisconsin in April of 2023.  Jen and Andy visited the mural yesterday. 

Here is a link to a photo of the entire mural.

Isn't it wonderful what artists can create together! 

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July Book Club

 I give this months book an 8 out of a 10.  It was an okay book.  The chapters were short so you could stop and start if interrupted.  It was not a page turner. 

THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF SAM HELL  by Robert Dugoni

All the gals gave it pretty much the same review.  We heard it was a must read...but it wasn't. 

It turned really cold here...lows were in the 40's F some places had the 30's.F...very unusual for July in Minnesota.  Must be more of the dreaded Global Warming. 

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Noah, Sadie and a bear

 We got to see our oldest Grandson Noah on the 4th of July, he came over to join us for an evening meal.  He is busy at work and really likes his job. 

His dog Aurora was kinda happy to see us too.   She likes us a little...but not as much as Sadie! 

Sadie is enjoying the pool.  Andy built the deck near the pool.

Andy helps her get out of the pool. 

The pool area is fenced in...Sadie could jump the fence but so far she has not gone swimming unattended. 

Happy tired wet dog! 

On the way home we had a little excitement...we saw a very big BEAR running across the road.  Our first bear sighting of the summer.  ( It was near Zerkel MN) Just in case you think bears just stroll across the road...they can run really fast!

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Visit Up North

 We took off Up North to meet our newest Great Granddaughter.  She is 15 days old now and still just a little peanut. 

We got to cuddle and feed her.  She was visiting her Great Aunt Jen and Great Uncle Andy for the Holiday while her family was off on the lake and to fireworks.  She is an easy keeper. 

No babies usually do not smile but it sure looks like it in the photo!   She looks very much like her Mama.

Ree our third Great Grand at 15 days old. 

This is the blanket I finished especially for Jen to keep at her house...the $2 yarn blanket! 

So much fun to see this beautiful baby. 

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Happy 4th!

 My Mother was very active in the American Legion and was President of the American Legion Auxiliary for two terms. She was a flag bearer in parades on Memorial Day and the 4th of July.  She was also very active in fund raising dinners....as in chairing as many as her schedule would allow. 

Mom is feeling a bit stronger from her time in the Nursing Home, next week she may try to go back to her apartment.  One day at a time. 

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Flowers

 The Gaillardia  or Blanket flowers are blooming, they will bloom now until frost takes them out. 

The Daisies are blooming too. 

Another quiet day....more scrubbing and napping. 

We are waiting for the lake people to do fireworks but so far nothing is happening.  Usually the days before the 4th and the days after are filled with pops and booms. 

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Tall Meadow Rue

 We went for a Ranger Blue ride in the evening. 

The Tall Meadow Rue is in full bloom along side the road where it is damp.. 

We enjoyed the ride, didn't see any people out and about...a baby rabbit running down the trail and a couple of ducks leaving the river. 

It was a quiet day yesterday. I had a few house projects to do ( we have tile floors and I scrub them section by section...yes on hands and knees twice a year and a steamer other times), Far Guy worked on woodcarvings.   The wildfire smoke wasn't too bad. 

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Busy Day

 Far Guy drove me around to do errands in town, whilst waiting for me he played with the new car finding out all about the features.  They have changed a few things in three years. 

2024 Buick Encore GX Avenir

We stopped by the Nursing Home, Wally World and DQ:)  Town was nuts with the Rodeo and the 4th coming up...every other car was  from a different state...lots of North Dakota people. 

After unloading groceries I went off on my lawn mower....came home later and had a nap.  I still have some more to mow here in our yard. 

The place we bought the vehicle is having their 45th Annual Catchup sale...relish a deal don't get caught in a pickle.  A bottle of catsup with a test drive and a case of catsup with the purchase of a vehicle.

Goodbye June...hello July.

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