We are Great Grandparents again!! So exciting!
Maddie and the sweet babe. She weighed 7 pounds and was 20 1/2 inches long.
She joins her siblings Hey Mikey and Cee Cee. That makes three for Maddie and Brenton.
Far Side
Sunday was a day we did not cook. We met Jen and Andy for lunch for Father's Day and toward evening we went to the last graduation party of the season. There was lots of food there but we just had a few chips and cake.
It sounds like the weather is going to turn hot...so more no cooking may happen this week.
Salad and fruit might be on the menu more than once.
I am certain we will be thankful for air conditioning.
Far Guys flower project. He says it needs more flowers and he will work on them next winter.
Far Side
Our Fathers are both gone now. I was really lucky to have my Dad for 71 Father's Days. Not many people can say that.
Me, other baby brother, our Dad and baby brother. Our sister was not born yet when this photo was taken in 1963.
Far Guy only got to have his Dad for 44 Father's Days.
Far Guy's Dad, his sister, Far Guy's Mom and Far Guy in August of 1958.
Yes we could be sad because they are gone...instead I chose to be thankful for the years we had them in our lives. Both wonderful Fathers who did the best they could.
Happy Father's Day!
Far Side
Far Guy missed taking Tilly to the car show so we went on a date night instead. The wildfire smoke is mostly cleared out...some still remains.
Can you guess where we went? Hint: they have car hops.
After supper we had a nice visit with Far Guy's cousins at their lake place.
Far Side
** If you guessed A & W you are correct.
The blue flowers are blooming.
They are pretty in the late evening light.
It re seeds all over in the wild gardens. Some kind of old Veronica...it gets no special treatment...water that rain provides.
The air quality is better, not perfect but better while I ran errands yesterday. Stopped by to see my Mom and she was eating lunch. She is doing okay for the moment.
Far Side
It was a wildfire smoke day here in our part of Minnesota. We had planned to go to one of the first car shows of the season....but the air quality kept us indoors all day. We had looked forward to getting out with Tilly.
Far Guy got out the flower carvings he worked on all last winter. He wanted to do a mock up arrangement before putting the flowers on a wooden base.
He has a very pretty walnut board for the display.
I worked on the border of my mosaic crochet Winter Wonderland. It is almost done.
The smoke is supposed to be less soon. It is a red alert meaning the air is unhealthy for everyone. Hard to stay inside but we watched the birds and the bunnies and the tailless squirrel in the yard through the windows.
We both had naps in the afternoon.
Far Side
We all have to adapt to change. Yesterday my baby brother and his bride and I moved our Mom from the hospital to the Nursing Home for some rehab after her illness. We will see how she does and how motivated she is. Olivia my Great Niece is working in Mom's area as a CNA...so Mom will get frequent hugs. Mom needs to get much stronger and be able to do things for herself before she can go back to her apartment....it all depends on her attitude.
I am fine with either outcome. She would probably get better care in the Nursing Home...sooner or later she will probably end up in there. Her apartment is connected to the Nursing Home by a connecting door so we were able to move some of her clothing and some familiar things quite easily. Mom is still fairly depressed after the death of my Dad back in December. The Doctor upped her anti depressant med...but I didn't see much difference....perhaps she is just sad when I am there!
Mom during happier times...Oct 10 1950.
Far Side
The Lilac is sprawling, it does not have good form.
Possibly it struggles back here in the Oak Woods. Bloom where you are planted even if it is a less than perfect spot!
This Lilac is what they consider a late lilac called 'Donald Wyman'.
Far Side
Finally got around to mowing. The grass really grew after the rains.
It looks much better now. It is not a perfect lawn but it is green:)
Right now I have two baskets of flowers that belong to Jen.
Far Guy picked them out for her and hopefully we can keep them alive and away from critters for her.
I do not have any flowers this year...the squirrels, rabbits and deer ...
I have a garden of metal art and solar lights....no need to water...
It works for me.
Far Side
I had a very full day yesterday many tasks were on my list. Laundry...cleaning bathrooms and general pick up and put away. I visited my Mom in the afternoon, she is doing better and should get out of the hospital on Monday...at least that is the plan.
We got 1/2 inch of rain on Friday night so I am behind on my lawn mowing duties. I will catch up one of these days. Our weather is much cooler than it was!
My Mom is struggling with a Urinary Tract Infection, she is improved after a ambulance ride and a stay in the hospital in ICU. She has a few other health issues that are being addressed at this time, she has very nice nurses and is getting excellent care. She was moved out of ICU last night to a regular room. Whether or not she will be able to go back to her apartment is questionable.
My siblings and I have been keeping her company. In fact she may need less visitors and more rest.
It rained cats and dogs here on Friday night.
Far Side
The swans ate all but one tomato plant, the squash look a little sick, the beans are growing a bit and the strawberries are doing okay.
It was a good experiment...and it is still floating!
We finally got some rain on Wednesday our gauge shows 1 1/2 inches. It cooled off a bit after the rain.
It was a little smoky several days this week.
Far Side
This time of year all the turtles come out of the water to lay their eggs in the sand/dirt.
Yesterday I spent some time with Baxter. There was a Snapping Turtle in his yard.
Baxter is curious.
When the turtle reared up and hissed...
We spent some time down on the dock.
Baxter is good company...we both hoped that the Snapper wouldn't make it onto the dock while we were on it.
When we went up the hill the snapper was all eyes watching us.
I read for a short time and all Baxter wanted to do after our adventure was sleep so I went home to ride the lawnmower for a while.
Far Side
Our Lilac is blooming.
It has more blooms than it had last year...some are in bud yet. It needs a good trim after it has bloomed.
I cleaned the floor in the Desoto garage yesterday...Far Guy had Tilly out so she could get a new exhaust system. I think perhaps she is ready for the summer now...except she has bug marks from the trip that need to be polished away. I thought maybe she was so shiny and slick that the bugs would just slip off...well that did not happen.
Far Side
Our youngest daughter Jen and her husband Andy celebrate 25 years of wedded bliss today!
They are off celebrating by themselves...to a place in the South Pacific with dreamy blue seas and 332 islands...they are staying in a beachfront cottage.
This is a view of their cottage from the lodge.
They facetimed with us yesterday for proof of life and it was warmer in Minnesota! However they report that the water is warm there...they are enjoying snorkeling and all the different fish species. They will Scuba Dive one day soon...that part always makes me nervous...but they are certified divers and old enough to do what they want!
Noah moved over to their house to take care of Sadie and Little Elvis...he reports that Sadie wants attention all the time...and she is enjoying the swimming pool....he says it tires her out!
Happy Anniversary in Fiji Jen and Andy!
Far Side
We had two parties this weekend. Saturday was Mason (Great Nephew who lives next door) High School Graduation Party. We got to visit with a number of neighbors that we don't see often. Pulled Pork, buns, baked beans, potato salad, chips and cake were served buffet style.
Sunday we celebrated my cousin Geraldine's 75th Birthday. More food was served; ham on buns, potato salad, pasta salad, fruit, pickles and many different kinds of desserts. Her children gifted her plane tickets to Finland in September...boy was she surprised! It is a girls trip with her daughters going along and a daughter in law.
Needless to say we didn't cook for ourselves this weekend!
Sunday Baxter's family deserted him so he spent some time with me. He listens to me much better when my baby brother and his bride are not around! (Just like a little kid.)
Baxter and Lilac blooms!
Far Side
We read The Silent Patient. I give it 2 stars out of 10. I do not understand why it was a best seller.
I had to force myself to read it.
In other happenings, I am mowing the grass, killing weeds and trying to control ants...summer is here.
We have a heat advisory for the weekend.
Far Side
My baby brother and his bride had visitors from Texas. The couple have two children. The oldest boy started a Car Detailing business when he was thirteen years old...since he goes to residences to do the cars he needed a driver because he didn't yet have a Driver's License. So he hired a older fellow to work and be the driver. Presently he is old enough to have a Drivers License and his business is flourishing. He knows everything there is to know about detailing a vehicle....and enjoys his work.
He did such a great job on the Desoto that we told him we want him back again next year!
The entrepreneurial spirit! Finding a job you love, researching everything about it and then being a doer!
Marvelous to see such a nice young man succeed!
Far Side
My Maternal Grandparents attended Zion Lutheran Church my parents were married there and I was baptized there on January 6, 1952. I was trying to recall the last time I was inside? I recall being in the cemetery as a child...I have several Uncles buried there and now my Grandparents are buried there and one of my Aunts is sprinkled there. Years ago most cemeteries were not mowed...the grass got really tall by the end of the summer. The church is only open for special occasions now.
We visited the cemetery in the rain.
Baxter waited patiently.
Baxter has allergies and shakes his head...poor boy. The pollen has been knocked down a bit by the rain...it could rain again for a couple of days.
The Trillium are in full bloom and fading fast as the weather has been very warm. Unseasonably warm for the first part of June.
Trillium as far as the eye can see in the woods.
It seems we had about a week of Spring and now Summer. We made trips to the cemeteries...yesterday we went to get our flowers so the lawn mowing people have an easier time over the summer. We recycled and I put a bunch of stuff away.
My Mom is anemic, she has some erosion on the bottom part of her esophagus...so a prescription will be changed. The Dr suspects that she has some bleeding from time to time from excess stomach acid. Her hemoglobin is down. I spent Tuesday with her in same day surgery so they could scope her esophagus and stomach. Her legs are still swollen and one of her legs weeps all the time. Getting her to put her feet up, wear compression stockings and walk around is a struggle. She is getting more forgetful and falls asleep easily. (Mom is 93 years old) She no longer drives her vehicle...and that is a good thing, my other baby brother has the vehicle keys. It is hard for me to load her in the car along with her walker...she has a hard time lifting her legs high enough to enter the vehicle.
Far Side
