Tuesday

I am still up North with Adam, Miss Miney and Little Elvis.  I have been working on cards and knitting. Noah and his gal made supper for us last night, a mac and cheese dish. 

I have started more socks.  Imagine that. 

I will head home in the next day or two, Far Guy is lonely...FaceTime is like almost being there but not quite.

Far Side

Scones and socks

Adam and I moved lots of snow.  

We made scones. Adam had not used a pastry blender before. 

I finished my first trial pair of socks.  It is possible for me to knit socks.  I learned much...and there are a few things I will do differently from now on.  I need a list to mark off what I have done... not quite row by row but close.  Since I am counting challenged I should mark my rows so my socks end up being exactly the same! 

Yeah for socks!

Boo hiss for snow

Far Side

Snowy

It is snowy over most of Minnesota.  

I am staying busy with crafts, spoiling Miss Miney and Elvis, keeping one eye on Adam and calling Far Guy multiple times a day.

Far Side

A Mission

I have packed up a boatload of craft stuff and headed up north to babysit Little Elvis and Miss Miney and keep Adam company during the storm.

Far Guy will stay at home where he is most comfortable.  I will keep a close watch on him through Facetime.

Perhaps Adam and I can have some quality cooking/baking experiences.  We can make big messes in the kitchen when we are unsupervised!

Far Side

No Snow Adventures

No Snow adventures yesterday.  I did not hurt myself wallering around in the snow.  Someone asked if I was making butt angels…maybe so.

Another Winter Storm is headed our way.  I am thrilled.

Little June and sparkly snow in late afternoon.

Since it is going to snow I took a photo of the snowstick just before I left for Bingo with my Dad.  We are a pathetic couple of losers.  We were one number away from a Bingo 39 times in 35 games.   It made for an exciting night but a win would have been nice.  Oh well we will try again next week.   It is kind of nice that I can drive into town to get my Dad in the daylight.  His hand is healing nicely and he no longer wears a bandage.

We will hunker down at home for the weekend storm….we can always hope that it will go south of us.  

Far Side

Flowers and a snow encounter

Every week when we shop I wander by the floral department.  I admire all the different color roses and wonder if I could have roses in the house which bouquet would I pick?  My moods are different just like flowers….mostly I like yellows and orange roses, next would be red and then pink, purple and ivory or white. 

Maybe when spring comes I will find a heavy duty vase and have some flowers out on the table on the patio.  I saw one of those old milk can carriers filled with vases…that may work…or maybe just an old quart jar in a wooden box.

I cannot have flowers or green plants in the house…my eyes will itch and my nose will run and I will get a nasty cough… the result of too many years in the greenhouses continually being assaulted by plants.

My roses that I had growing outside finally died…Minnesota (freeze your butt off) winters can be hard on plants.

Yesterday I got stuck in a snowbank.  The snow is deep in the yard…very deep. (Waist deep)  I wanted to retrieve a suet feeder (against Far Guys wishes) and put it in a tree that would be closer to firm footing.  Well I busted through the crust of the snow so many times that I ended up crawling on all fours.  I retrieved the suet feeder and tried dragging it along crawling.  I finally sat down to re- ass-ess the situation and my butt fell through the crust of the snow…picture feet in the air along with my head.  I rested and looked at the sky. Eventually I lifted my butt out of the snow and half rolled scooted to the patio.  I was covered in snow, all my clothing was wet…snow had been shoved up my shirt and down my pants and into my boots.  I was done being outside enjoying the snow.

Far Side

Wistful Wednesday: Happy Boys

The twins use to live next door. They were almost the same age as Chance.  At first hey were afraid of him and would scream bloody murder when their Mom pushed them over in the stroller.  Chance was confused as he loved all kids.  He didn’t like children crying…he was raised on a farm with lots of small children….I think maybe the Mom there raised her voice when children were crying..so crying children made Chance nervous.

As the twins grew older they began to throw the ball for Chance and eventually out grew their fear of dogs. Their Grandfather would hold the twins in his lap and then let them throw the ball. Now they have two dogs in their family!

Everyone looks so happy in this photo.  I can almost hear Gavin giggling.  Chance loved these boys very much and they loved him too. Chance tried to kidnap Jordan once or twice.

I think most everyone that met Chance loved him very much. We still miss him…everyday.

Far Side

Tundra

Frozen Tundra, that is what Minnesnowta looks like now.

Yesterday we had a Doctors appointment far away for Far Guy.  A breathing medication has been changed and we see the Doctor again in two weeks.  The Doctor is betting that a change in delivery ( Inhaler vs Nebulizer) of meds may make Far Guy feel better.  The Doc says his airways are “angry”  and hopefully this will settle them down.

We went to Costco, stocked up on some things we needed.  It is a good place to get in a long walk.

The roads were pretty good when we left but lots of blowing snow on the way home.

Some snowbanks are taller than vehicles.

We are happy to be home safe and sound.

Far Side

Cold Weekend

The wind is just raw.  It was way below zero with the wind chill….some obnoxious number –40 or –50.  It is enough to drive you batty!

Bat Plant  January 2019 Hawaii

I am working on my socks.  Far Guy is inbetween projects.

Probably another five appointments this week.

House work, feed birds, shovel snow, cook, do laundry repeat as necessary and go to appointments.  Such is life in the elderly fast lane.

Far Side

Knitting: Heel Flap, Heel Turn

I have been making slow progress on my pair of practice socks.

Top sock …I learned how to do the heel flap.  The bottom sock has a heel flap and a heel turn!

The purple yarn is a lifeline I put in just in case I made a mistake…and I did use it on the first sock.  When you use a lifeline and make a mistake you can just rip back to the lifeline and put that row of stitches back on your needles and start again.

Here both heels have been turned.

Work has begun on one socks gusset

I use the plugs on the needle ends when I am not working on them…that way I can put them in my workbasket and all my stitches will stay put.

Learning to knit socks sure has been an adventure.  I have notecards with directions for each step…I watch Marly Bird Red Heart Videos. I usually watch the video and make my notes and then follow the video step by step.

Last week I thought…maybe I can find someone to finish these socks if I can’t do it…but step by step I am getting  it done myself!

Onward to finishing my gusset decreases and get back to my original amount of stitches on my four needles then the foot and toe and I will have a sock! 

I have begun a sock with real sock yarn…I frogged it several times.  Apparently I cannot count correctly.

It is working up nicely. I really like the bamboo needles.

The weather is very cold, I fed the birds and power shoveled the walk as we got some more snow just before it turned cold. 

Far Side

Greek Goddess

When Jen did her Ancestry DNA test, she found out that she has some Greek in her background.  So wanting to know more she gave her Dad a Ancestry kit for Christmas. 

Well guess what? He does not have Greek in his DNA.

So…I must have a Greek Goddess in my background…who knew.

Probably the Goddess of War….maybe Athena who was the goddess of crafts and domestic art…and war!

A cruise ship leaving the Big Island of Hawaii January 2019

Far Side

Friday finally

Look ma no cavities!  Dental appointments have been accomplished. 

Physical therapy appointments were no fun but they were accomplished also. No huge improvements.  My one leg is longer than the other and they cannot figure it out…they have tried everything to get them the same length…yesterday one pulled one way and another pulled the other way…uffda.

The weather is to turn really cold this weekend and hopefully we will just stay in and hibernate.  I am ready for a few days at home. Sounds like March will come in like a Lion.

Last night my Dad finally felt up to Bingo, he fell and injured his hand but after three weeks he says it is good enough to resume Bingo activity.

Hibiscus in Hawaii

Far Side

70 years

We received word yesterday that Far Guy’s cousin Stevie died from “lung problems.”

Stevie was 70 years old earlier this month.  Stevie was a bit of a loner and lived in Missouri. He stayed in contact with his sister and occasionally his father.  He was a USAF Veteran.  He is survived by his daughter, his father, his sister, one half sister and four half brothers.  He was preceeded in death by his mother and a sister.

Every 5 or 10 years Stevie would come to Minnesota.  I did not see him the last time he visited but in 2008 I took a photo of him and Far Guy.

Far Guy and Stevie 2008

Cousins: Stevie, Jay and Far Guy  in 1957

"A good name is better than fine perfume,   and the day of death better than the day of birth.
  It is better to go to a house of mourning,    than to go to a house of feasting,
for death is the destiny of everyone ;    the living should take this to heart." Ecclesiastes 7 :1-2

Far Side

Wistful Wednesday: What we pass along

Far Guy got the results of his DNA story.

England, Wales and Northwestern Europe 69 %

Germanic Europe 17 % ( Northwest Germany)

Norway 6 %

France 4 %

Ireland and Scotland 4 %

Northwestern Europe covers a large area: Ireland, UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Northern Germany, Luxembourg, Northern France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, South Germany and Switzerland.  Some of these peoples were Celtic and some were Vikings.

The Vikings part is a bit interesting.  There is a Genetic connection to Far Guy.  The Vikings were eating raw fish and sometimes the fish had worms that would make you ill.  Over the years their bodies adapted and they developed a mutated gene…that gene is what causes Alpha One Antitrypsin Deficiency.   That is the good news/ bad news, you won’t get worms but your liver will not produce a protein to protect your lungs. 

Far Guy’s parents.  They were both carriers for the bad gene, one was an M (normal) and and S (deficient gene), the other was M (normal) and Z (deficient gene).  We do not know which is which.  ( If all relatives would take the free test we might be able to figure it out…as of yet few have been tested.)  Far Guy is a SZ (deficient), his sister is MM (normal) he got the bad genes and she got the good ones.   A child gets one gene from their father and one from their mother…the luck of the draw.  I am MM (Normal) so we knew right away that both of our daughters were carriers.  Only one of our Grandchildren is a carrier….four escaped and one did not.

Far Side

Legs and a drift

First the drift.

This spot will drift everytime the wind blows…unless it rains then the snow will get a crust on it.  The roads were pretty good.

We had to go to town for my Physical Therapy session.  They think it is more than just my Hamstring Tendon that is injured…time will tell.   I can sit by the dining room table as the bench is wood and supports my leg/butt…but sitting in a soft chair or on the couch…forget it…the only reason I can sit in the car is because of the heated seat!  I have no pain walking or standing, just sitting, until recently I had no problem laying down…but now I have pain most of the night.  Heat and Aleve and Extra Strength Tylenol help.  I am supposed to avoid  movements that cause pain.

I have finished the legs of my sock…actually two socks.  I knit at the dining room table.

The  two on the right are ready for the “Heel Flap”…I watched the video and it seems pretty easy.  I am hopeful that I can do it.  I also have written instructions and made my own recipe card for socks.

On the left…I splurged on two sets of bamboo needles for my Schachenmayr REGIA sock yarn and I have begun a cuff. 

We have five appointments this week…one down …four to go.  I am not real thrilled when it is an appointment week….especially dental appointments.

Far Side

Wind and Air Fryer

The wind blew.  It blew so hard an inch of snow was moved from the snowstick. It was a blizzard.

We heard the driveways were all blocked by drifts and local roads were one lane covered by drifts…big ole 4 wheel drive trucks like my other baby brother has made it through…but when he got to the highway visibility was zero…so he came back home and stopped to tell us about it.

Back here in the woods the snow moved around and the tree tops were in motion all day long.

 

This is a view of little June behind big June.  The old grain bin looks like it is wearing a cap.

I used the power shovel once during the day to clear off the walk in front of the house.

I knitted and did some indexing at Family Search.  Far Guy worked on a woodcarving.

We cooked supper for my other baby brother and his bride…BBQ ribs, cooked carrots and french fries in the air fryer.  Since they live next door they didn’t have to venture out too far.  We really like our air fryer…makes great homemade french fries!  My other baby brother thought so too.  We have a french fry cutter that makes short work of a potato with the skin on…then they are air dried a bit and put in a bowl with about a half of a teaspoon of olive oil before going into the air fryer for about 20 minutes.

Far Side

Tied Record

The snow record in our yard has been tied.  Will we set a new record? …have to wait and see.

I fed the birds and shoveled snow.  We go to the Tranfer Station with our garbage every three weeks.  Yesterday was the day.  The roads were slippery.

After I filled the thistle feeders a whole swarm of Pine Siskens came into the yard…they were chirping happily.

This spot was right ouside our door.  It seems we have a watch rabbit that sat here long enough to melt snow.

The snow is light and fluffy for the most part, it will blow around today as we have a blizzard warning.

Yesterday we entertained ourselves for a while watching unique snow removal tools that were used on roofs…ropes, wires and Minnesnowta Roof Razor.  Fun videos to watch.  Snow on top of roofs is beginning to be concerning for many home owners, in town it costs $385 to have your roof cleared.  There was an ad up that said $5 a square foot, boy did he get some flack. We have steel roofs and sooner or later it will slide right off.

Far Side

We have enough snow already

It snowed again…imagine that.  Big huge flakes.

Enough already!  I went to the couch to hibernate…how do bears do it anyways…I had to get up to pee….and then the phone rang…so hibernation was not possible.   Back to knitting and woodcarving and looking out the window.

The local television channels beep beep beep weather announcements don’t even make us pay attention anymore.   Seems all of February has been bad weather announcements.

Far Side

Uffda more snow

We got about 4 inches of new snow.  It has been cleared from our yard, our nephew Josh was by and cleared most of the yard.  I power shoveled the walk and the path to the birds and shoveled a little….Josh was impressed how far that little power shovel throws snow.  As far as I am concerned it is a wonderful tool!

  Walk

There are 22 inches of snow at the snowstick.   In 2013 we had 24 inches of snow at the stick.  I am certain with the snow forecast in the next few days we will see and raise a new record. 

Our resident snowbank “June”

On the way back from town someone  went off the road….the road was wet but not slippery…

Some people are easily distracted while driving.  The Sheriff finally got out of his vehicle and directed traffic after a couple of idiots behind us passed us by going into oncoming traffic.  Some people just have shit for brains.

Snow, snow, blowing snow and then extreme cold is forecast for us in the next few days.  We are staying home.

Far Side

Snowy Weather

It snows every two or three days.  I had just caught up with snow removal before it started again.

21 inches at the snowstick Feb 20 2019

The birds keep us busy filling the feeders. The Pine Siskins come in great numbers to the feeders.

I am drawing and knitting and Far Guy is woodcarving.

We are both tired of snow, but we are thankful that we don’t live in “the cities” …seems they got dumped on again.  We are also thankful that we don’t have to go out in the worst of it.  More snow is forecast for Saturday.

Far Side