Favorite things

We have a shelf above our computers.  That shelf holds some of my favorite things.   I usually display a old photo there but recently I was given a photo of my niece’s children.  The baby who was born a few weeks ago was nicknamed “seven” by my baby brother (Grandfather to these little ones). 

See those little ones?  They live in Oregon.  The new babies name is really Xavier, he looks upset, big brother Cruz looks unconcerned and big sister Marley might have a puzzled look on her face.  They are beautiful/handsome children. I display photos and cards with old flower frogs.  My baby brother says the new babies name is pronounced X-zavier.  I had to ask as I know there are about three ways the name is pronounced.

You may also see my decks of cards with our Grands and Chance, a Border Collie figurine, a wood acorn that was a possible Christmas Ornament but didn’t make the cut.  My newest Little Golden Book is Doctor Dan The Bandage Man that has two bandages on the first page.  It is a fun book to read! And those boxes, well they are full of “stuff.”

We may be seeing more of my baby brother, he bought four more acres and a lake home that ajoins his property on the north side of what is now being called “the compound.”  (We live on the south side of the compound.)  I hope he puts in a nice dock with a bench so we can go down there on warm summer evenings!

Garage Sale

I have spent the week getting ready for a garage sale.  The garage is as clean as it gets, tables are covered with quality junk and hopefully sales will be good and I can cross this off my list.

I didn’t find any surprises in the totes that have been accumulating out there.  I did find a few totes I had hidden upstairs, so hopefully I will have some empty ones after the sale.

It may rain on Friday but highs are supposed to be near 70 degrees.  The neighbors will stop by and we will visit, sometimes garage sales are kinda a social thing. Sometimes I think we just trade junk.

Chance will be in the house or on his lead…he thinks everyone that comes into the yard is his long lost friend. 

We took time out yesterday to go to a garage sale ourselves and I bought two old photographs!   Far Guy went to the Shot Clinic and got his Kenalog Injection.  He gets that about every three months.  So it was a busy week.

Salvia in my small flower bed.

30 deer at sunset

In our one square mile area that we drive most every night we saw 30 plus deer, at one point they were jumping all over.

Some are eating Steve’s corn, they make a mess and rip corn off the stalks and then leave it lay.  Steve bagged up some for us to feed the squirrels.

Five were in the potato field.

The moon is almost full.

The blue and pinks layered beautifully.

It was downright cool on Wednesday morning just barely above freezing.  I thought about covering my flowers but I didn’t and they were just fine.   I mowed the lawn AGAIN and mulched some of the leaves that have fallen on the lawn.  It seems like Fall is coming on strong.

Midway Memories: More on the Diggers

The diggers required some maintainence.   Sometimes one would go all funky and drag the shovel back dragging along the prizes. Sometimes a chain would break.  We had an out of order sign but it was rarely used. There was also one extra machine ( cab and mechanism) that was kept under the counter just in case.  My Father In Law and Far Guy were the fixers of the machines.  When you are making money ten cents at a time you wanted all of the machines to work.  Especially if you had a “tip.”  A tip is when all your machines are being played at once.  Being that busy for an extended period of time was a good thing. It was fun being busy!  People would tap their dime or quarter on the top of the machine, you would grab the dime or make change and turn the machine on.  There was a lever that turned the machine on.  You could usually hear it click and then it was ready to play.  Prizes were scooped up and then brought back to the chute, sometimes they would get hung up and need assistance…the glass tabletop lighters we tried to catch them before they were dropped into the chute.  No sense in breaking a lighter and cleaning up a mess. 

During slow times we would get out of the trailer and play the machines ourselves…I got pretty good at it!

Far Guy writes:

This photo shows how the machines were set up in the trailers.  In the photo above you can see the aluminum trim on the diggers.  Dads main intent was to cover the hole in front where the coin slot was.  Connie usually worked with Dad in the big joint.  Mom and I usually worked the little joint.  There was a reason for that!  Dad and I talked to the customers all the time, we kept things interesting, joked with the people and would call attention to players when they scooped up a prize.  It didn’t make much sense to put two talkers in one joint.  When Connie and I worked together I didn’t pay as much attention to the customers.

Far Side writes:  During the winter at the house in Park Rapids, all the digger mechanisms would come into the basement and get cleaned with  kerosene.  Fairgrounds are dusty places.  One by one they were inspected.  The work bench in the basement was busy during the winter.  In later years, a machine was purchased at a Antique Shop in Duluth Minnesota. I believe it was $250.  (We heard one was there and went to look at it several times before his Dad bought it.)  It was that machine that remained in the basement until they sold their home.  (Far Guy’s Mom did not want a digger in her living room.) We have had it in our living room  since about 1990 it was a gift for Far Guy’s birthday…and then it was upstairs in this house and now that machine belongs to our daughter Jennifer, she has it in her dining room.  Far Guy fixes it on occassion and has showed them how to adjust it.  It was that machine that Jennifer played when she was little.  I will share part of a poem she wrote:

A stool I’d sit

For hours

Turning a crank

Playing an ancient machine

Prizes never gained        Jennifer

You could get prizes out but they had to be returned to the machine!  That was always the rule, you could play for free but what you won went back in the machine.   A hard rule for some kids to follow, we have had to replace a few rabbits feet over the years.

This is an old newspaper photo from Algona Iowa.  It shows how the prizes were laid out in the machines.   See that light bulb?  That was one thing you had to watch out for when replacing prizes!

Carving Inspiration

After finishing up the Christmas Ornaments I was faced with the dilema …what to carve next?  During our weekly carving get togethers one of the gals was carving a daisy.  I asked her if she would like to teach a few of us the technique…she said “Sure.”  She is a very talented woodcarver…she graduated from high school with Far Guy.

She took the time to make study pieces….step by step carvings that help you to carve a piece along with very detailed instructions. Far Guy cut out a few round pieces of basswood.  Bit by bit we learned how. In my case it is a good thing that no two daisies are alike!  I struggle with transposing the position of the petal on top and what parts are over or under to the bottom of the petal…it must be a right brain left brain thing so I usually end up guessing!

The one on the right is pretty much done and the one on the left is in progress.

I woodburned a design on the underside of the daisy…a stem will be attached…and these five will someday be a bouquet.  SOMEDAY.

I would like to carve one more project before Christmas ( a gift) and I would like to do the  prototype of next years ornament before we are forced to carve inside because it will get cold on the patio!

My carving skills are improving.  I began carving in the winter of 2004 at my Uncle Otto and Aunt Marie’s dining room table.  Uncle Otto took Far Guy, Cousin Kathy and I under his wing and taught us the basics.  Uncle Otto died on September 13 2004 his 68th birthday. After he died we didn’t carve for a long time…but eventually we all began to carve again.  I think he would be pleased with how far his students have come.

Backroad Sales

I spent the weekend in my garage…by choice.  Cleaning and organizing and trying to get ready for a garage sale.  Time is getting short and if I am going to have a sale then it better be soon!  My garage needed a good cleaning anyway…sale or no sale.

During a break Far Guy suggested we take a trip over to the Flea Market and see what Sam had for sale.  I found a few pieces of glass and some dice. 

We saw a garage sale sign on the way back home.  

It pointed this way.

A road through the swamp.

Getting closer.

We finally arrived.  Sometimes getting to a sale is just as much of an adventure as seeing what is for sale.  She was a very talkative lady…with eleven outside cats…Chance enjoyed Cat TV whilst we wandered through the sale…outside and inside the barn.  I found a few treasures…a music box that Adam will find entertaining and a couple of wooden puzzle blocks that will be a challenge for the boys.

Feeling Safe

Fifteen years ago today I was in Mapleton North Dakota.  Adam was just eight days old.  I was there to watch Adam while Jen taught a class.  I think Andy dropped Noah off at daycare.  Jen and I were having a quiet morning when the phone rang…it was Trica calling from Lombard Illinois ( a suburb of Chicago)….she said “turn on the TV.”   So we did. 

The horror on the East Coast unfolded before our eyes.  I held Adam and wept because the world would be forever different for him and his brother.  The day care provider called and said “I cannot watch children anymore today.”  So we went to get Noah.  Jen’s class was cancelled.  I packed up and headed home, I needed gas and stopped at a gas station…a fellow there said “Use your charge card… you will never be charged.”  Huh?   I didn’t feel safe all the way home…I was on edge…what would happen next? 

I worried about our granddaughters in Illinois.  I worried about our grandsons in North Dakota.  I prayed.  I felt better once I returned home, safer, but still concerned.

We live in the boonies,  I know my neighbors; I know where they work and I know their childrens names.  In most cases I have known them since they were born or all my life.  The closest thing to a terrorist in this neck of the woods would be a skunk.

No one should be able to make you afraid in your own home.  I was uneasy for a long time.   I don’t like crowds.  If I am in a larger building I mentally inventory all the exits and where they are…a Movie Theater is probably one of the scariest places for me.  ( Can I make it to the exit before I am trampled by these young kids who can move faster than me?)

Fifteen years later…do I feel safer?  Yes.  If I were a world traveler I probably wouldn’t feel safe, but as a hermit living a quiet life in the boonies…yes I do feel safer.  But I will never forget the feelings on that day fifteen years ago.

 

Do you stand if you are able when the first flag passes you in a parade?  Do you stand for the National Anthem?   Lately it seems that some people don’t want to give our flag the honor it deserves.  If you were born in the USA, or are a legal citizen stand up for our flag or leave.  That’s all I am saying about that.

Eagles

When we went for our ride last night there was a lot of wildlife activity.

A young whitetail buck was hit by a car and died near one of the ponds that the rain made in a local field.  There was a bunch of bald eagles there young and old…eight was the most I could count.  Visiting them was a turkey vulture.

Turkey vulture and a young eagle.

A young eagle and a bald eagle taking off.

Three immature eagles.

We continued on our rounds, we saw four wild turkeys and about thirty deer give or take one or two. 

Just before dark we went back to the pond in the mustard field.

Food must be scarce to see this many eagles in one area.

Friday

It is the end of another week.  Not sure what was accomplished this week other than the usual…mowing, laundry, cooking…  repeat when necessary.

Thursday is the day we do the infusion to treat Far Guys Alpha 1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.  We don’t plan anything for the entire day except the Infusion and a nap. 

I encourage him to drink water until he floats away the day before and the day of the infusion.  Infusion time with the gravity drip is around 18 minutes right now…it was 14 when the port was brand new. Most days we get a blood return …but sometimes not. Every few weeks the Pulmonary Doctor has his Nurse check on us to see how we are doing.  We have the “stuff” to do an IV if we cannot get the port to flow.  Our daughter or niece can do an IV for us or we can go to the Infusion Center or to the ER.  We only have a three hour window once the “stuff” is mixed.  We mix after the port is accessed but that is no guarentee that it will gravity feed.  So every Thursday we breathe a sigh of relief after it has all been accomplished.

Far Guy can do the whole procedure by himself. He doesn’t need me to help…but he kinda likes it when I do. So far so good with the infusions, they are keeping him healthy although we still have to avoid crowds, germy and perfumy people.  The infusion solution costs $1,320,000.00 a year…it is a good thing we have insurance. It would be much more expensive if we went through the Infusion Center weekly…everyone has to get a piece of the pie.  Too bad I cannot bill someone. The infusion solution has been called “liquid gold.”

Does Chance look grumpy?  Well he was.  I had just scolded him for licking his owie which is mostly healed.  He is over his ear infection…finally.  He is sleeping more and still has troubles going up and coming down the steps and he is stiff when he goes from laying down to sitting and than walking.  He takes “stuff” for his arthritis in pill form and on his food.  In two months Mr Grumpy will be 12 years old.  He is becoming quite particular in his old age…routine is his middle name…he likes his walks but only so far and sometimes he picks one of us over the other to make that last outing at night. (He refuses to even go up the steps if it isn’t the person he wants.)  Silly dog.

Fawn, Hawk and rain

We saw a fawn one night that was very curious about us. She/he was as curious about us as we were about her/him.

Perhaps she thought hiding behind those blades of grass made her invisible.

We also saw a Hawk of some kind.  They seem to be more Hawks in our area hunting for food.  Perhaps they are just passing through.

This one was just leaving its perch on a fence post.

It rained cats and dogs again…one day we got an inch and a half and last evening it rained hard for a really long time.

Steve and Jo were over to play cards last night, they have been keeping track of the rainfall…in July and August we got 27 inches of rain. 11 or 12 inches would be normal for the whole summer and on the average for a year we get 26 inches of precipitation. So there you have it…we are wet..perhaps we are turning tropical…the humidity the past few days has been horrid.

Midway Memories: 1968

In 1968 my not yet Father In Law called my Mother and asked if he could employ me for the summer; $40 a week, room and board.  So Far Guy met me at my Uncle Otto and Aunt Marie’s house in Clarissa Minnesota.  The first spot I was out that year was Paynesville Minnesota.  On the way over Far Guy told me that someone named Bill would say “She is prettier than the gal you were with last night.”  And sure enough that is what happened.

That is me in the little joint.

The sixteen year old gal raised on a farm was about to get a whole new education.  I would meet many new people and learn how to work the diggers.   Far Guy’s Dad was a good teacher, I worked with him almost exclusively.  At that time there were two sets of diggers the big joint and the little joint.  The little joint belonged to Far Guys Mom because she bought it from her brother with money she had saved from teaching school.  So there you have it Far Guy worked with his Mom and I worked with his Dad, there were twelve diggers in the little joint and sixteen in the big joint.  I was warned that if I didn’t move fast enough I  might get an elbow in the ribs…(I was warned by Far Guy and his sister)…apparently they were slow movers.

A carpenters nail apron was tied around my waist.  Quarters were in one pocket and dimes in the other.  I would make change for a dollar…two quarters and four dimes and throw the dollar bill in the metal money box on the floor.   Nickels were kept on the back of each machine so you sould make change for a quarter.  I learned to replace prizes after they were won and what each price could be redeemed for…a rabbits foot was a free game, as were coin purses, a knife and a churchkey were 30 cents and a free game, table top cigarette lighters were 50 cents and a game.  They were all paid with dimes.  There were also two tokens they were bright orange one was 50 cents in trade and the other one dollar in trade.

Marvin and me  in 1969 or 1970.

Far Guy’s Dad and I would stand back to back in the diggers, I would watch my eight machines and he would watch his.  We would start work at noon or 1 PM at the latest and work until at least midnight. It was a good twelve hour day. We worked hard.  My feet hurt. It was hot, it was cold…but I stuck with it.  Far Guy’s Dad was a good story teller and would tell me stories and I should have written them all down back then. I think he told me stories that no one had heard before.

A rare photo of Far Guy and I working together in the big joint in 1968.

I was sad to head home after the summer, Far Guy was off to College and I was in my senior year of high school.  I got quite an education that summer, I learned a lot about people, and made some life long friends.

I stayed in the camper with Far Guy and his parents.  I had the bed way in back of the camper.  It was a cozy situation but we all made it work.

My baby brother asked me the other day “How did you get Mom and Dad to agree to you going out on the carnival when you were still in High School?”   I am not sure what Far Guy’s Dad told my Mother…what ever it was…I was happy…Far Guy was happy…we had a great summer.

Back to school

Today is the day that all the kids go back to school in Minnesota.  We did some errands yesterday and Wally World was filled with kids and Moms in the final day of back to school frenzy. 
I remember those days…trying to get the girls to settle down at night and go to sleep when it was still daylight…clothing set out for the next morning and backpacks filled with school supplies.  New shoes ready to be worn.

1983 Jennifer and Trica in Moorhead Minnesota.

They were up before the alarm and sitting at the table dressed and ready to go in no time…but would barely touch their breakfast.  Too excited to find out who was in their class.  The big question would be Hot Lunch or Bag Lunch…they both had likes and dislikes with school food, but both liked Pizza Day which was usually a Friday.

Off to school…they were old enough to go by themselves we lived just a block and a half from the school.  Trica in 6th Grade, she had a Mr Larson for a teacher and Jennifer off to Second Grade…where her teacher was…??? a lady by the name of…??  See I must be getting old…that brain cell that used to know that name has died. Well that was 33 years ago. Jen will remember and leave me a comment.  It was Mrs. Robertsdahl...I had to look it up! 

There was to be no horsing around after school, they were to come home, change clothes, have a snack and then they could go back outside and play with friends (with permission) or do homework. 
 

Minnesota Weeps

We weep for a child we never knew.  One who went missing near his family home in 1989.  We have been waiting for news of Jacob for 27 years.  Finally this weekend Jacob’s family was notified that his remains were found.  The family can finally put their son to rest, Jacob’s brother and friend can finally go on with their lives. All three boys were told by a man with a gun to lay down in the ditch and tell him their age…he told the other boys to run into the field and not look back or he would shoot them. He took Jacob.

How can this happen in small town Minnesota?  How could this evil man escape law enforcement for 27 years?  He can never be charged with this heinous crime…how can that be?

Jacob was 11 years old.  Jacob’s parents started The Jacob Wetterling Resource Center in his honor, to give others hope that their missing children would be found someday and they were also instrumental in getting laws passed so that Sex Offenders must be registered.

Until now there was always hope that Jacob would be found alive.  Instead his remains were found in a field near Paynesville Minnesota. Such sadness for his family.  His parents will go on with the work of the Foundation to give parents of missing children hope.  Jacob’s hope.
Over the years I often thought about Jacob.  Being a Mom I guess you do that or you pick out some little kids to think about often and pray for even if you don’t know them.

Leeanna (Beaner) Warner was just five years old when she disappeared from her home near Chisholm Minnesota in 2003…perhaps her mysterious disappearance will be solved someday.
 

Asters and Ornaments

The Asters are blooming.  Asters are very complicated group of plants. Trying to properly name them is futile.  The are just Asters….Purple Asters and White Asters.

They are beautiful in the last rays of sunlight.

We know that Fall is here.  The nights are downright cool.  The days are getting shorter rapidly, leaves are falling off the trees  in our yard.  You can mow and mulch them up and a few hours later there are more on the ground.

I mowed again yesterday because we are supposed to get rain.  What would Labor Day weekend be without rain?  You can usually count on it to rain at least one of the three days.  I washed and rinsed all my glass flowers…they are ready to sparkle for a few more weeks.

The Christmas Ornaments are finished!  The special boxes that I ordered were delivered by Lumber Mason ( our great nephew) one afternoon as the UPS Driver is an idiot.  Most of the ornaments are packed away in boxes, I ran out of bubble wrap.  Some ornaments are already on their way to Oregon by special courier. We are glad to be done with carving that project!!   When it gets closer to Christmas I have a few to give away.

 

15

The baby of the family who will always be the baby turns 15 today.  He was born on Labor Day.  I was honored to be there for his birth.

Adam in 2001

2003 Adam in the basket and Noah.  I think we kept toys in that basket. Adam was two. The house was not finished yet…plastic covered yellow insulation covered our walls. We still have that love seat it is upstairs…it used to be just perfect for Adam to nap on.

Christmas Eve 2006 Adam got a set of cap pistols and a holster. (We picked it out for him.) Photo taken at their other house in Fisher.

Adam  8 years old

Hiding from Grandma’s camera

July 2016 

Dear Adam, I cannot believe you are 15 years old.  We can go driving together now legally.  I am not sorry for the day I made you drive on the gravel road…you did great…you just need more practice.  Thanks for choosing to spend time with us this summer, we loved having you all to ourselves. We are very proud to be your Grandparents…and we love you unconditionally no matter what. Happy 15th birthday!!!!  Love Gramma and Grandpa too!