Upgrade

 Time to upgrade!  

I had a very old iron, it would steam stuff but often with obnoxious water spots...rusty looking...I usually used a pressing cloth (an old white dish towel)  not sure how old it was but I used it to starch and press Far Guys military BDU's many years ago.  At that time a new iron was much cheaper than sending his uniforms out to a laundry.  The cord had been replaced once...

I traded Jen an old white desk top rotary phone for the iron at the garage sale!  Win win.

Far Guy and I had a quiet Sunday, we listened to church and in the afternoon we went for a Sunday drive to our favorite Mexican place for lunch/supper.   One more day of no cooking sure works for me. 

Our area is experiencing wildfire smoke...it is awful...it even smells inside the house. We have two air purifiers going.

Goodbye August and hello September!  The construction on our road to town was supposed to be finished...it still needs lines/lanes painted...it was Sunday and no one was working...so we took it anyway and ignored the detour. 

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Jen and Andy did "a thing"

 A few years ago, daughter Jen and Son In Law Andy bought a piece of furniture from an older couple who were downsizing some furniture, the kids thought it was just the cutest house with a great location just a block from "The Ralph"...then the house came up for sale...so Andy and Jen bought it.  They cleaned and painted, decorated the entire place and filled it with nice furniture.  Andy built all new kitchen cabinets, they replaced flooring and updated a time warped bathroom in the basement.  They built custom loft beds for a bedroom in the basement.  They had a very successful Airbnb for a number of years.  

Last Friday they closed on the sale of their Airbnb in Grand Forks, ND.  Earlier in the week, they moved everything out and we got everything ready for a garage sale at their home in East Grand Forks, MN.  It was a great team effort...but exhausting for both Jen and Andy....so much was happening over just a few days plus they are both teaching full time.  

(The last guest checked out on Tuesday so I went over and helped pack up the kitchen, Wednesday I got things ready for the garage sale and went with Far Guy to his appointment. We had the garage sale from Thursday through Saturday at noon...we got rid of lots of stuff...lots of my stuff included!  Far Guy picked me up on Saturday and we all went to lunch before driving back home.) 

Jen writes on Facebook 

"We closed on the sale of our Airbnb today. I am happy/sad and sad/happy, but I might be more sad than happy.

Owning an Airbnb isn’t glamorous; it’s hard work. We could have hired people, but we did not. In fact just within the last month we found someone reliable to clean. Otherwise my husband started laundry before and after work, we spent evenings, weekends, and an occasional Hail Mary to flip the house in one day… cleaning up after the one guest and getting the house ready for the next, and letting people check in early and out late as allowed.

Making beds went better with two people. 2 kings, 2 queens, 4 twins. Our two boys helped in exchange for their part of the phone bill. Niece Maddie worked when she could.

If I had to clean alone, which was rare, it took 4-6 hours, but if the laundry was done 3-4 of us could be in and out in a little more than an hour. Winter’s were great because my mom took care of cleaning the kitchen.

98% of the time we rented to great people and I enjoyed providing a service… a clean, warm, safe, comfortable home for families to mourn together, celebrate together, or get away together. We hosted robotics teams, dance teams, tennis teams.

2% were shitty guests, who let’s be honest we’re probably shitty people too. One reservation left drugs and burn stains into the bar top downstairs.

We provided what anyone could wish for: a Kitchenaid mixer, Ninja air fryer, crockpots. Our welcome gift was usually chippers from Widmans or Dots. We provided bottle openers on both floors, yet the bar and countertops were used to open bottles and broken and damaged. One house rule was “please take off your shoes” yet the dried mud clumps left behind in the bedrooms arrured me guests didn’t. “Clean the out grill” if you use it — I hoped would dissuade use, but there I was elbow deep in grease cleaning up after another person. We brought items people forgot from our own home, we came to let in people who locked themselves out even with a passcode for the lock.

On Airbnb we had a score of 4.98 stars. The two? One guest left five stars for all individual items but four overall — that didn’t make sense. Oh well. The other? The guest said “too many stairs, it was too cold, and we didn’t get money back for leaving a day early”. Stairs are in the description and photos, and visiting North Dakota in December can be cold. They didn’t say the house was cold, and yes we did provide heat. No, no refund for leaving early — I couldn’t have replaced the booking in less than 24 hours.

We only had one group we needed intervention from the police for having a loud party and disturbing the neighbors. The guest turned around and made an “unsafe” claim against our business, resulting in a one week suspension for us from Airbnb. Airbnb did not help us when we requested damages from the same group: Alcohol dripped from walls, floors were sticky and so bad you had to vacuum before you could walk through the house… we had to repaint ceilings, replace bedding, broken glass, damaged flooring, even though we had before and after photos.

I handed over the key to the new owners today. They said, “You made it too good of an Airbnb”. With a puzzled look on our faces they explained: they had rented the house twice in the last year “what a neat place to live” and “I wish we could stay forever”. When they discovered the house was for sale, they said, “No way!” An end of one story is the beginning of another."

Who knows what their next adventure will be...but after this week they need to just rest for a bit.

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Looking up and looking down

 The garage sale has been a success, lots of items found new homes. Most of what is left will be donated.

I was stung by a wasp in the morning, but he barely got me so no huge reaction just a little owwie and some swelling. Granddaughter Maddie spent the morning helping me with the sale. Jen and Andy helped on and off throughout their busy day. 

Here is my looking up photo..  Little Elvis is looking up but showing his age and is more senile than he was a few weeks ago. I have told him it is okay to just slip away in his sleep, but of course he cannot hear anymore, can hardly see…but his nose is still good. 

My looking down photo is a plate of steak that my talented son in law grilled for supper last night with salad and corn on the cob…it was all excellent. 

These were the left overs resting.  Nothing better than a great steak! 

I believe Far Guy will be coming to get me sometime today, then we will head back home together. 

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Sale

 Lots of stuff for sale Up North

At least the rain stopped!

Garage is ready for the big sale. Sadie has been really good staying under the check out table near my feet.

Lots of good conversations with different people. Sales could be better but they are what they are.

Far Guy managed his infusion back home all by himself, he will be back to pick me up one day soon. 

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Here

 A few photos today.

Faithful dogs

Unexpected visit from Great Grand Cee Cee, on the couch and no idea why she is here lounging with juice and crackers watching movies.  I suspect she was just needing a bit of special attention.

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2nd grade!

 Our Great Grandson Hey Mikey begins 2nd Grade.  School started yesterday in North Dakota. 

I hope he likes 2nd Grade as much as I did.  

My 2nd grade teacher was a neighbor lady by the name of Mrs. Z. she was a gifted kind teacher.  I believe the worst thing I did in 2nd Grade was talking too much in the lunch room...imagine that!  There were 19 children in my classroom back in 1958.

Have a great year Hey Mikey!!

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Steamy

 When I woke up yesterday morning it looked very much like a sauna out the windows...steamy, humid and hot.  It had rained during the night...I heard it thunder. 

I did some mowing so that it doesn't get too long before I get back to mow some more.   In this weather the grass sure grows. (Similar to being in a Greenhouse I guess)  Monday was the last of our very warm days for  a bit...back to the 70's again...:)

Window boxes in town just beginning to show a few Dahlias.

We are getting a few more Yellow Pear Tomatoes everyday. 

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Really Dog Days of Summer

 Really warm and humid yesterday, the kind of day that dogs dig holes so they can curl up in some cool dirt.  Another 83F/29C with 85% humidity.  

It was a good day to spray some weeds in amongst the rocks.   After sprayer difficulties I finally got it done.   That was enough outside work for the day.  Inside I cleaned the bathroom and did some laundry...you know fun stuff.   Far Guy convinced me to go to lunch/supper with him...so we did ...it was a nice drive and good food at our favorite Mexican place.  Came home had a nap and then for a Ranger ride.  

We stopped by the neighbors, the Lilac bushes are taking a hit this year.  A Winter with no snow and a wet Spring/Summer and the Lilacs have some kind of blight.   They will come back although they look pretty bad right now.  The experts say to clean up all the leaves that have fallen off and to cut down some of the inner stems to open up the plants for more air flow. (That is my report for Roger!)

I am getting ready to go Up North for a bit...Far Guy has an appointment up there one day and down here at home the next day...so he will travel back and forth and come get me when he misses me.  My hip simply cannot take the ride back and forth and back again. Besides that Sadie and Little Elvis will like my company. Jen has some big projects and hopefully I will be of some help. 

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Warm Spell

 We are having another warm spell 83F/29C  and rising for a couple of days this week.  Maybe it is Summers last hurrah. 

Photo of the hanging flower baskets in town this year. 

The roadside sweet corn stands are open, the going price is $6.00 per dozen.  It is tasty!  

My other baby brother says the road construction that we have been dealing with all summer is supposed to be completed by Labor Day weekend.  We will see. 

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Town

 We ran an errand into town, Far Guy needed to go to Fed X  to get a box.  I have been trying to get a parking spot outside of Ben Franklin for weeks.  ( Cause I needed some yarn...yes I really did!)  So anyways Far Guy dropped me off and picked me up...stopping traffic both times..oh well we could have been tourists.  (There is center parking and street parking, so traffic often stops for people crossing the street. )

Now I have a question for all my readers.  ???

If you were driving 5 miles over the speed limit 60 in a 55 zone and a car was following you close and wanting to pass so bad that they passed you in a no passing zone...double yellow lines because it was a hill you could not see over the other side to see if anything was coming...what would you do except hold your breath and say a quick prayer that nothing was coming???  AND say you just happened to speed up enough to see the License Plate number...because you see during the Detour we have had all Summer traffic is heavy and there were many cars in front of me.  Then perhaps I followed the car part way home because they just happened to be going past our driveway...but headed further on down to the lake..and I am very curious to go and look at all the license plate numbers.   

What would you do?  Would you go look..out of curiosity...out of delayed road rage...you so want to write a note and leave it with the date and time just incase it was a teen driver...maybe it would save a life someday??? 

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So it goes

 We are only assured of the here and now...today...not tomorrow. 

Like I said so it goes.  

I have a cousin who has lived in Alaska for many years.  She died recently, she was 68 years old.  She had bypass surgery and was released from the hospital, was in the car ready to go home when she said "something was not right" her husband took her into the ER immediately and she died shortly after.   

I am happy that I mailed her two packets of old photos of her family...she sent me some very nice thank you cards.   She loved her life and family in Alaska.

Old photo taken about 1959...me, my baby brother and our cousin Diane.  ( Her mom and my mom were sisters)

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Looking

I had an eye appointment, it all went well and after some further testing that I do every year since I am a Glaucoma suspect, I am certain that I will get the all clear.  My Ophthalmologist is retiring the end of September.  So it is a good thing I am getting everything done before he retires.  Six hours after the appointment I still have dilated pupils and can hardly wait for the sun to go down. 

Look at the Yellow Pear tomato plant!  Only a few tomatoes have ripened so far but there are many coming on.

The sheep water tank works great there are two plants that were planted, they had such intertwined roots that Far Guy planted them together.  They are almost as tall as the garage. 

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Green

 The lawns are still actively green and growing here.  We had rain last week and I could not mow for several days.  I was a bit behind.  Usually I have things under control in the rotation. 

 This is one of the places I mow.  The lawn looks great, I had to go over the overgrown spots a couple of times.  It is a pretty lawn, not many chokecherries there this year and few to no wild raspberries along the edges.  I saw no signs of bear activity over there. 

Usually by mid August the grass stops growing...not so this year. 

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55 Chevy

 There was a very nice 1955 Chevy Bel Air at the car show last weekend. 

It was a very pretty car. 

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Peaches

 We got two flats of peaches from the local Lion's Club fundraiser.  Every year they truck in peaches from Colorado.   They have excellent flavor.

We went easy on ourselves this year...usually we slip the skins on the peaches...this year I pealed them and sliced them.  (better than Far Guy standing over a hot stove),  Far Guy put a small amount of sugar on them and some fruit fresh and then vacuum sealed them into servings for two. (about a peach and a half) They they were put in the deep freeze...next Fall and Winter we will enjoy them because they are as good as fresh! 

What a sticky mess we made!

I have a story about my Dad and Peaches.   I used to dog sit for Al and Erna the next door neighbors.  They had a poodle named Peaches.  She got along well with our dogs, so it was not a problem.   My Dad would often come over in the afternoon for a cup of coffee/cookies and he would bring along a paperback novel hidden in his coat pocket, he would settle in with his coffee and his book in the recliner and read for awhile.  (My Mother did not like him wasting time reading at home.) When I was dog sitting Peaches...Dad would say "OH you have Bitches again."  I would reply her name is Peaches...Dad would answer  "Bitches" and then he would proceed to give her bits and pieces of cookies and say "come here Bitches"...and so my afternoon would go.   I told him he better be careful when visiting the neighbors because he could mess up the poor dogs name.  I can still hear him laughing at me!

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Winner Winner

Yesterday we went to a Car Show at the Wolf Lake Harvest Festival.  The wildfire smoke stayed aloft so the air quality was ok.

Many people stopped to visit with Far Guy about Tilly.  Apparently the car or my husband was a big hit with all those Finlanders! 

He won the Grand Prize for the most Outstanding Car in 2024.  Besides the trophy he got a cap, a cup and a $50 gift card.  Winner Winner! No chicken dinner but the gas card isn't half bad.

It was a good day, a bit warm but we managed. 

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Visitors

 We have many visitors hat go through our yard.  Chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, fox, skunk, raccoons,  porkypines, deer and bear.   We even have a black and white kittycat...not a skunk.  

Sometimes the visitors blend in with the environment. 

Yesterday we needed the skunk spray. There was a strong odor of skunk just outside the bedroom window.  If you opened the window you could really smell it...but outside it seemed ok.  We mixed up a batch of skunk odor remover and put it in a spray applicator and Far Guy put it on all the rocks on that side of the house. 

This week we visited with old friends from Iowa, Ginny has been coming on vacation to this area since 1951...and she has only missed a few years.  We met Ginny and her husband Mike in 1973.  I had some old photos that my Mom had kept of their family.  So they enjoyed the blast from the past! 

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Who knew?

 I did not know what a Thermador was.  Do you?

I could not resist looking inside. 

As I understand it there is water inside the cooler and some absorbent material that soaks up the water as air flows into the Thermador the inside air is cooled...somewhat.   Some people call this a swamp cooler because sooner or later the air in the car will have high humidity!

Who knew?  Not me. 

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Oh Crap

 The bear is still in our area, eating chokecherries and messing up ant hills.  

He left a calling card.

He has all but torn down our cedar fence in the wild gardens.

Chokecherry bushes broken off in our driveway.

  

We have not seen him in the daytime ...yet.  My husband tells me that the bear would be afraid of my lawn mower when I am out mowing...and just maybe the bear has heard that I am too cranky to mess with.  

Apparently the bear likes the ants...they must be a delicious. 

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Queen - agers

 Usually I am not impressed with stuff on Facebook but one of my friends posted that older women should be known as Queen - agers.  That is a nice thought. 

I am not much for the political drama, I will leave it all in God's hands.  In fact I am just too old for any kind of drama.  The latest drama is a prior authorization for a med that Far Guy uses...he has been after a new prescription for about six weeks now...it is one thing after another...the Dr didn't write it correctly, the Dr changed it, have the Dr resend the script, the Dr ordered a quantity not covered by insurance, you need a prior authorization ...it is an on going drama. 

Enough of that.  

We are getting fresh sweet corn now and it is wonderful!  So we are planning meals around sweet corn...grilled cheese, brats, moons over my hammy....they all work well with sweet corn.  

On Sunday we went to our favorite Mexican place with my baby brother, she who sees robins first, Jen and Andy. We did not get our favorite waitress but she stopped by to say Hi!  Jen and Andy came to visit the old folks...Jen vacuumed out the sauna and Andy blew out my dusty garage and dumped the shop vac for me. We had a fun time with Sadie...she loves all the sticks in our yard. 

 I am still waiting for a referral to the Orthopedic Dr and a referral to a different Rheumatologist.  The Rheumatology Dept needs a referral then it goes to a committee to see if you should be seen by Rheumatology, then to another group to assign you a Doctor and then you get an appointment.  So it could be months. 

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110

 Far Guy's Dad would be 110 years old today.  He died shortly after his 80th birthday.  That was 30 years ago. 

He was a very kind, wise man.

Marvin with his Willys - Knight.  He liked cars. 

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Wheels

 Our oldest Great Grandson rides a dirt bike and a quad.  He was in age appropriate races at a County Fair.  Yes he wears a helmet too!

Here he is with his youngest sister Peach.

Peach is all smiles with a little help from her brother to keep moving! 

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Tilly's Rich Sister

 Tilly attended the car show in Park Rapids yesterday.  She is looking fine.  Far Guy spent a number of hours making sure she was as perfect as she could be for the car show. 

Tilly has "stuff"  a Drive In Theater speaker and a take out tray with A & W mugs. 

Now meet Tilly's rich sister Sugar Plum.  She belongs to Pat and Mona from up north. 

Sugar Plum has all the bells and whistles that can be on a 1959 Desoto...versus pain jane Tilly. 

Pat and Mona's Sugar Plum Desoto won two trophies...Lion's Choice and Best Orphan.  We are very happy for them!! 

It was  a bit cool especially early in the morning...I was thankful for a coat.  Far Guy said it was 44F when he got up.  We had a good time visiting with a number of friends and relatives during the car show.   We came home and had a nap..or in my case a sleep as daughter Jen as said " Mom a nap is two hours or less." 

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Will it rain?

 We had two days of rain, there is an inch plus in the rain gauge.  It was time to mow a couple of areas. 

Will I get wet...I am not sweet enough to melt.  It was a cool day 64F  or 18C eh.   I added a hooded fuzzy jacket and brown gloves to my mowing attire.  This is the driveway into my baby brothers shop.

It got pretty dark but it did not rain.   After mowing I went home and had a nap. 

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Inbetween

 I read true sisters by Sandra Dallas.  It is historical fiction.  It is based on the Martin Companies Mormon Handcart Journey in 1856.    I give it an 8 out of a 10.  The conditions the settlers faced were very difficult.  Basically they walked 1,300 miles.  

This was my inbetween book club read.  It is heavy on the Mormon religion from a women's perspective.

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Running

 One night we were out just before dark, three deer were eating beans in the field.   A doe and two fawns. 

They all crossed safely in front of us. 

They like beans...just ask my sister in law she who sees robins first.  She has a raised garden just outside of her door and they have eaten all her beans. 

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Bear

 The bear visits many times a week.  The outside cameras catch him coming from the North pausing in our yard and taking off to the South.  He is most likely hunkered down in a den someplace close to us.   So far he has been seen only at night.   He is causing heck with the chokecherries trees, he pulls them over sometimes breaking them to get at the chokecherries that are starting to ripen. 

Far Guy says when the wind is just right he thinks he can smell the bear.  he is not just a cute cuddly bear cub either. 

We have no bird feeders out for him, and our garbage that is in a locked garage is not accessible. So he is not eating here...apparently just passing through. 

Such is life in the country.

A photo I took of the video. 

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Gone to the dogs

 Little Elvis and Sadie were very happy to see us!  Little Elvis took his sleeping spot at the foot of my bed on his special dog bed.  Sadie was a frequent visitor in the evening and in the early morning.  What can I say ...she loves us.  

Here she is sharing the sexy red bra she was carrying around.  Far Guy is one of her bestest friends! 

She is all retriever!  It is her job. 

Far Guy and I both had Doctor appointments.  

The Cardiologist said Far Guy is doing good and he should come back in six months. 

My Doctor is reducing one of my blood pressure meds in hopes that I regain some lost kidney function.  He will run more blood tests in a month.   He wants me to follow up with Orthopedics to discuss injections in my knee and hip before thinking about surgery.  He was not well versed in Rheumatology to offer an opinion on RA meds.  Pain meds would probably have the bad side effects like the Cymbalta.  ( I never want to do that withdrawl again.) He suggested an alternative to pain meds...and since we live in Minnesota where more options are legal I will give that a try. 

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Travel day

 On Sunday we traveled Up North for Doctor appointments on Monday. Had supper with Andy and Noah, watched Andy mow the lawn and we played with Sadie. She sure was happy to see us. Jen has been on vacation in Michigan and Andy just returned from a robotics tournament at the Mall of America.  It is a very busy household.

Fun to see all the different flowers in bloom vs snow banks that we see in the Winter.

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