Monday, May 31, 2010

THE FINALE LEG OF THE JOURNEY!! We got up a little earlier this morning and were on the road by 7:30 a.m. We wanted to get through Reno before noon so we could avoid the Memorial Day traffic heading out from Lake Tahoe.

There was more traffic today but we made good time into Sacramento. The drive seemed all down hill--we went from a 7,000 foot elevation down to 1,000--our ears were popping all the way.

We reached Susie's place around noon. It was wonderful to see everyone again--we hardly recognized the kids, they have grown so much. Zach was working at Chick-fil-a, so we went there to see him. Today was Milk Shake Monday. When you order a milk shake, you get free chicken nuggets. So we not only got to see Zach, but we had a real treat, too.

Everyone enjoyed a nice salad for supper which we ate out back by the pool. The evening was spent visiting and watching some Andy of Mayberry. John and I are glad to be off the road and look forward to a fun week with family.

Sunday, May 30, 2010


On the road again! Yea! Another day of driving. We were up a little earlier this morning and were on the road by 8:30 a.m. The drive through the rest of Wyoming was just beautiful. The rock formations along with the colors made the ride enjoyable.

We reached Salt Lake City by late morning where route 80 took us around the south end of the Great Salt Lake. The day was very hazy and it was hard to even see the water. The mountains in Utah where beautiful, but once we got further across the state and into Nevada there wasn't much to see. We called it a day around 4:00 p.m. about 170 miles from Reno. We hope to get a good start tomorrow and be in Sacramento by early afternoon. I will be glad to be off the road for a few days.



Saturday, May 29, 2010

After a good night's rest and a very nice breakfast, John and I headed off to see the Golden Spike Tower at the North Platte Bailey Rail Yard. The tower is eight stories tall with the top floor being an observation area with a 360 degree view of the train yard and surrounding countryside.. This is the largest train yard in the US with over 150 trains coming in and going out every day. There were several volunteer guides that explained the how the yard operated and how the different areas all worked together. The first floor housed a small museum showing the history of the railroad in Nebraska. We could have spent the entire morning looking at everything, but we had to get on our way.



Our next stop was Sidney, Nebraska where there is a large Cabela's store. John wanted to stop there to see the store and walk around for a little bit. They had a large wildlife display which we enjoyed seeing.


We ate a quick lunch while in the Cabela's parking lot and then hit the road for Wyoming. I had never been in this state before and found it to be just beautiful. As you traveled along Route 80, you could see the Rockie Mountains in the distance. Also, the higher we went, the colder it got. We saw snow on the sides of the hills when we reached Laramie. We pushed on to Rock Springs, where we called it a day. Found a nice motel with a hot tub and pool which helped ease stiff legs and backs. Tomorrow we head to Salt Lake City and Nevada.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Before we left Amy's place this morning, we watched some video of Caleb and Isaiah's flag football games. This was their first year playing and they both did well and really enjoyed it. After saying good-bye to everyone, John and I got on the road around 9:30 a.m. Our first stop of the day was outside Omaha for lunch.

It was then a straight run across Nebraska on Route 80. After several hours, we needed a break, so we stopped in Gothenburg, NE where we took a little side trip to see a Pony Express Station. There we met a very nice lady who told us about the pony express and the history of the building. We learned that the PE was in existence for less than two years. It was no longer needed when the telegraph system reached California.


It felt good to get out of the car and walk around for awhile and stretch our legs. Then it was back on the road again. We decided to stop for the night in North Platte. We will hit the mountain time zone a little west of here so we thought it better to gain the hour tomorrow rather than tonight.

There were plenty of motels to choose from and we found a nice little place and checked in. John and I then went for supper and spent some time in the Buffalo Bill Cody Trading Post and Museum. The price was right--FREE. I didn't realize that North Platte was home to the Buffalo Bill Cody Wild West Show. The museum had many interesting old west artifacts and displays about Buffalo Bill.

We decided we had enough exploring and called it a day. Tomorrow, we continue west.


Thursday, May 27, 2010

We slept in this morning so John could get a little more rest after the long work days. There were just a few things left to pack so it didn't take us long to get ready to hit the road. Our plan was to leave home at 10:00 a.m. and we were right on time.

Our first stop was Fargo, North Dakota where we had lunch at Burger King. Then it was back on the road and a straight shot south to Sioux Falls, SD where we stayed with Amy's family for the evening.

We arrived around 4:30 p.m., just in time for a little visit before supper. We ate outside on the deck and then the guys played some football. After the kids got cleaned up, we spent some time reviewing their report cards and football card collections. The rest of the evening was spent visiting and catching up. Tomorrow we continue our journey west.


Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Well, we have one more day until we take off on our trip to California and there was much to be accomplished today. John and Matt left early for the job site with the plan to have the walls and rafters up by the end of the day. They took a little break mid-morning to run into Clearbrook to watch Sam and Hanna participate in their school's Field and Track Day. Both did very well, winning their events.


First thing this morning, I went up to Sara's to get a haircut. As I was finishing up, Marilyn Nelson arrived at the shop. She and her husband, Bruce, spent some time with us at Fort Clark this past winter. I stayed and visited with her while she got her hair done--it was good to see her again and catch up on what she has been doing.

I arrived back home and started on the list of jobs that needed to get done today. First on the list was cleaning out the fridge and moving some leftover items to the freezer. After that, it was a quick trip to the dump to drop off the trash and then back home again to finish straightening up the house and getting the laptop computer ready to travel. Then it was another trip to town to weigh in at Weight Watchers--didn't stay for the meeting as I still has some last minute things to do at home.

Following a supper of leftovers, which finally emptied out the fridge, John went out to finish cutting the grass while I watered all the flower pots. Sam and Matt will take care of the lawn if it needs cutting while we are gone. We still have to line up someone to water the garden and pots. Hopefully Hanna will take on that job.

Just a few more little things to take care of in the morning and we will be ready to hit the road. Watched the finale of American Idol. I was rooting for Lee and was glad he won.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

After a stormy and rainy day yesterday, this morning dawned bright and sunny. The humidity dropped as the day went on and by this evening it was very pleasant outside. John and Matt were off early in the hope of making up some of the time they lost to yesterday's weather. They were able to get enough done so that tomorrow they will start putting up the walls.


I had quite a few errands to run today, so I headed off to town to return library books and then to the post office to get some stamps. From there I went to Bemidji to take care of some banking and then to Wal Mart to pick up some snacks and a few other things we need for the trip.

When I returned home, I saw the electrician's truck in the driveway. He was here to repair the underground line that the gopher's had chewed last winter. However, he was having trouble finding the break, but after digging a couple big holes, it was finally located and repaired. Before refilling the hole, John is going to wrap the cable with mesh and hopefully this will discourage the gophers from chewing it.



This evening we attended our granddaughter Julie's dance recital. She is in the preschool group and they are always such a fun age to watch. We got home early enough for John to start mowing the lawn--he kept going until the sun went down. Will have to finish it up tomorrow night. Ended the evening watching the final of Dancing with the Stars.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Thunderstorms rolled in during the early morning hours and cloudy, rainy, weather lasted the entire day. We were under severe weather watches several times; fortunately, the worst of it went north of us. Matt and John were going to start on the addition job today, but they had to call it off. Help was needed in the shop, so John worked there today making parts and doing some assembly.

Our trip is fast approaching, so I spent the day doing the last of the laundry, changing sheets on the bed, and starting to do some packing. Matt, Hanna, and Sam came over tonight to watch the Philadelphia Flyers hockey game--they won and are headed to the Stanley Cup. Actually, the guys watched the game while Hanna and I looked over some pictures I had taken and then we started watching a movie. The kids had to leave before we finished as they have school tomorrow. They only have a few days left, so we will have watch it another time.

We ended the evening watching a little TV and keeping an eye on the weather bulletins going across the bottom of the screen. Appears we are going to be in for a bumpy night.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

We had a few thunderstorms overnight, but by the time we got up for our morning walk, the skies had cleared off and we had a beautiful day.

After breakfast, we got cleaned up and headed off to church. Our church is seeking a new pastor and today one of the candidates for the position preached at the morning service. Both John and I thought he preached a good sermon and seemed very nice.

We ate a quick lunch and then hauled out the carpet and furniture for the porch. We have been meaning to do this job all week, but with John working long days, have not had a chance to get to it.
When the porch was finally set up, we decided since it was such a nice day, we would wash both the car and truck. They were very dirty from driving on the muddy gravel roads and really needed to be cleaned up. They look much better now.



We ate supper out on the porch this evening. It was fun to sit and watch the hummingbirds come to the flowers we planted yesterday. Tomorrow we need to get their feeders set up. John watered the garden and flower pots and then called it a day on outside activities. We spent the evening watching some NBA and Yankee's baseball.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

When we awoke this morning the sky was overcast and it looked like rain. My first thought was that it would not be a good day for our rummage sale. I headed off to Sara's and was very surprised when I turned in the driveway. There were seven cars parked there and people lined up to pay for their purchases. Even though the winds came up and there were some rain showers, we had an excellent sale--between us we made over $300. The sale lasted from 8-12, so by noon we were completely done.


While I was at Sara's, John did some more yard work and also fixed the trimmer which had been running a little rough. After lunch, we planted our flower pots for the yard and porch. They look very nice--hopefully they will survive while we are away on our trip.


John decided that he had a craving for pizza, so that's what we had for supper. I made a quick trip into town to get it along with a few groceries that will hopefully hold us over until we leave next week.
We both felt pretty stuffed after eating, so we took a walk out to the highway and back--didn't have time for one this morning. Ended our evening watching an old movie on TV.


Friday, May 21, 2010

TGIF!! That was John's motto for the day. He and Matt had another early start to this morning. They got the footers in the ground for the addition and since they had to let the cement set up and dry, it was a short day--back home in time for lunch. No more work until Monday!

After lunch, John finished up the lawn. Everything looks very nice and neat--even trimmed around all the trees and shrubs. Sara came over this morning to borrow some tables, so she and I loaded them into her Explorer. She had plenty of room left over, so she volunteered to take my crates of goods back to her house. While we were digging out the tables, I found a couple of boxes with leftovers from previous sales, so we just loaded everything up. There is a lot of stuff for sale--hope we have lots of customers.

Following supper this evening, John loaded up the rototiller to take up to Matt's. While I was finishing the rummage set up, he tilled their garden. That was followed by some basketball. We finished up the evening working on the computer, sending emails, and watching some TV.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Today was another beautiful sunny day. This whole week has been just wonderful and much appreciated after all the rain and coolness the first part of May.

John was out bright and early again. He and Matt finished the shingling portion of the job and tomorrow will start on the footers for the addition. John is glad that tomorrow is Friday and that he will have a chance to rest over the weekend. They have put in some long days.

I finally have things ready for the garage sale. Tomorrow evening I'll take everything up to Sara's and get it set up. I spent some time today working on finances and finishing up some more laundry--trying to get the clothes ready for our trip.

After supper John got some more grass cut--he should be able to get the rest done over the weekend. Spent a quiet evening just watching some TV--not much going on right now.




Wednesday, May 19, 2010

This morning was another early one. While John was getting ready for work, I took my morning walk. I am trying to increase the distance and shorten the time it takes to walk it. Clearbrook is having a 5K walk/run next month as part of their centennial celebration and John and I thought we would like to walk in it.

Today John and Matt started on a new job. The first part of the job is re-shingling the roof. After that is finished, they will start an addition to the house. John runs the lift which they use to get the shingles up to the roof and then he cuts shingles and generally gives Matt whatever help he needs. Here is a photo of the lift and Matt up on the roof.


My day was rather quiet. I did some more laundry and just about finished getting everything ready for Saturday's garage sale. I headed off to Weight Watchers late this afternoon and by the time I got back, John was home. We had a quick supper and then he went to cut some grass. With all the rain we had last week, and the warm, sunny days this week, the grass is growing so fast. John was mowing down by the pond where the ground is very soft and got the lawn mower stuck, so we had to get the four wheeler to pull it out. John also got the tomatoes planted tonight--that completes the garden for now unless he feels like putting something else in--he still has a little room left.

We ended the evening watching some TV and working on the computer.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

This morning we were up nice and early again. John had to be at Matt's by 7:30 a.m. so he didn't have time for a walk. I walked to the highway and back with our neighbor's little mutt to keep me company. She joins me as I pass their driveway, sees me back to our place, and then returns home.

John and Matt finished up the job they had started yesterday. From there they went to rent a little Bob Cat which they used to excavate the ground for the addition they will be building next. Since they had the Bob Cat for 24 hours, Matt brought it to our place where he and John moved some dirt so they could put in a culvert to make a road into our back fields. The usual path to the fields is too soft from the overflow water from the pond and can't be used. When he was done, Matt took the cat to his place to move some rocks and do other clean up work.




My big adventure for the day was a trip to the dentist office. It was time for a check up and teeth cleaning. Good news!! No cavities!! I don't have to go back for another six months. Going to the dentist is not one of my most favorite things to do so I was glad for the good report.

After supper, John started to work in the garden. He decided to take a chance and put in the broccoli, egg plants, and cucumbers. He got everything planted but the tomatoes when his sister dropped in for a visit. We hadn't seen her since we got home from Texas. She lives about 70 miles northeast of us and comes over this way ever six weeks or so to get her hair done at Sara's salon. It was good to see her again and we had a nice visit catching up on family news.




Monday, May 17, 2010

We were up pretty early this morning. John was working with Matt today and had to be at his house by 7:30 a.m. Matt wanted to get an early start since they had to install railing on a large elevated deck as well as the stairs.

I was on my own for exercising today. I grabbed my MP3 player and listened to music while I walked. Found out I keep a slower pace when by myself. John has a much longer stride so I have to walk faster to keep up with him.

While John was working today, I did some laundry and other regular Monday chores. Sara called and told me her garage sale is going to be this Saturday, so I spent some time getting things around and priced.

After supper, John and I worked in the garden and got the carrots, onions, and potatoes planted. The tomato and broccoli plants will have to wait until this weekend when we get the fence back up around the garden. If we put the plants in without the fence, we're sure they'll get eaten.


When we finished up in the garden, I again walked around the grounds checking out our trees. The Flowering Crab Apples are just about in full bloom. In another day or two they will be absolutely beautiful. We are certainly enjoying our second spring season. John ended the evening watching the Suns and Lakers while I watched Law and Order.




Sunday, May 16, 2010

With the sky getting light a little before 5:00 a.m., it is much easier to get out of bed and start the day. When we were in Texas, the sun didn't come up until after 7:00 a.m. and I had to force myself to get up and get going--my rule is when the sun is not up, you stay asleep. The thing I love the most about spring and summer in northern Minnesota is the long hours of daylight. It seems like we have so much more energy and this morning was no exception.

We took our walk nice and early and then John wanted to put Weed and Feed on all the grass while it was still wet with dew. When you come up the road to our house, you might think you are coming to a dandelion farm. There is solid yellow everywhere and not too much green grass. So he loaded up the spreader and got started killing the weeds.



While he was busy with the lawn, I grabbed my camera and took a little walk around the place checking out the flowering wild plums trees down by the garden and the new pine cones forming on the pine trees. It looks like there is going to be quite a crop of pine cones in the fall.




This week John will be very busy working with Matt, so after church we took a quick trip to Bemidji to pick up some tomato, broccoli, and cucumber plants. John wanted to get them in the garden now so they will have a chance to get established before we head out on our trip in a couple of weeks. Hopefully there will be no more frost.

Gopher war update--The gophers renewed their attack down by the shop. John found new mounds and laid his traps, but they out smarted him this morning. He then reset them and now has claimed victory--two more gophers bit the dust. Hopefully, this will make them move away from the buildings and underground electrical cables.

We spent the evening watching the finale of Survivor.




Saturday, May 15, 2010

It was a beautiful day and we were up and out bright and early for our walk. We had a lot to do and wanted to get a good start on the day.

After breakfast, John trimmed all the shrubs along the front of the house and cut some low hanging branches off the trees. Then it was on to cleaning the porch and getting it ready to bring out the summer furniture.


We have been having big time trouble with gophers in our lawn. When you walk across the yard, the ground feels like a sponge from all the gopher tunnels. John finally caught a gopher--it was a big one. I told him maybe this gopher was the leader of the clan, and now that he is gone, the rest will move on. John didn't think that was going to happen and so the gopher wars continue.

While John was busy on the outside, I continued with the job I started yesterday--washing windows and putting in the screens. I have just one window left to do. I didn't get to the last one because WE WENT FISHING!! The day was just so nice we couldn't help ourselves. We loaded up the boat and headed over to Lindburgh Lake which is about three miles from our house. This is the first time ever that we have fished on the opener.


It was a little breezy, but other than that, a perfect day on the water. We'd only been casting for a couple of minutes when John caught a small northern. He threw it back before I even got a chance to take a picture (he probably didn't want a photo of such a small fish). We thought that was a sign the fishing would be good--wrong! That was the only fish either of us caught. However, we did see something very special. We have been coming to this lake for several years and there is a Bald Eagle's nest in one of the big old pine trees. Every time we come we usually see one of them. Today was no exception. This beautiful bird was soaring over the lake and then returned to her nest.


Since the fishing was so poor, we decided to call it a day and headed for home. We were just finishing up supper when Matt, Sara, and the kids dropped by. It was good to catch up and hear all about Sara and Sam's Alaskan adventure. We spent the rest of the evening watching some college softball before calling it a night.

Friday, May 14, 2010

The rain continued overnight again, and when we got up this morning, the skies were cloudy and it looked like more rain was on the way. The road and driveway were so muddy we decided to skip our walk. We were thinking that the forecast was off again, but much to our surprise, a few hours later, the clouds broke up and the sun came out.

Matt called and asked John to come and help finish the big shed door they had worked on the other day. He decided he needed an extra hand to get the door insulated. John thought it would only take a couple of hours, but it ended up being an all day job.

Since we will be on our CA trip the first part of June, I spent some time this morning making birthday cards and getting them ready for mailing. We have a couple of family birthdays the first week in June and now I am prepared for them.

We have been looking at the weather forecast for Bagley and it seems that the warm weather will arrive next week. With that in mind, we decided to get the screens out, clean them, and start putting them in the windows. This afternoon I washed several windows and put the screens in. The plan is to try to finish that job up tomorrow.

The weather was absolutely beautiful today--bright sunshine with a slight breeze--a perfect day. After supper, John hooked a drag up to the four wheeler and smoothed out the driveway. After all the rain, there were ruts and potholes that needed to be filled.



Since it was such a beautiful evening, I took a walk around our place and checked out our flowering crab apple trees to see if the blossoms survived the hard frost of the other morning. I was very happy to see the blossoms are starting to open. The wild plum trees are also in full bloom. When you get near them you can smell the blossoms and hear the hum of bees. The leaves are also coming out on the trees in front of the porch.



After all the rain, it was wonderful to have a sunny day. It is amazing how one's mental outlook improves with warmth and sunshine. Tomorrow is opening fishing and it's suppose to be the warmest one in many years. Hopefully we will get some fishing in this next week. John spent the evening watching the Philadelphia hockey team move on in the playoffs--I watched a good mystery.





Thursday, May 13, 2010

It rained overnight and so we thought we would not be walking this morning. However, when we got up, the rains had stopped, so we quickly headed out. The road was pretty muddy and we had to walk around the big puddles, but we managed to cover our entire route before the drops starting falling again. Once it started, the rains were steady the entire day. We do have hope--forecast is for sunny skies tomorrow. Don't want to get our hopes up yet. Will wait and see what tomorrow brings.

Nothing could be done out of doors, so we spent most of the day doing odd little jobs inside. To show you how desperate I was, I actually cleaned out my china hutch and polished a few silver pieces. John headed out to garage to put the finishing touches on the boat trailer and then loaded the boat back on it. Think we are ready to give it a try. The weather is suppose to get better over the weekend and the temps are suppose the be in the mid 70's next week. So maybe we'll be able to do some fishing. Yea!!!

After supper we settled in to watch Survivor. It's down to the final five and I have no idea who is going to win. They are all very good strategic players. The rest of the evening was spent watching some more TV and getting caught up on emails. A very quiet and dull day.


Wednesday, May 12, 2010

The rains finally stopped overnight, but the morning was still gray, cloudy and cold. The road was so muddy, we decided to skip our morning walk.

John was out bright and early. He and Matt were working at a nearby farm replacing a door on a big equipment shed. John said it was cold working this morning, but it got a little better in the afternoon. They put in a long day and got the door just about completed. Matt will be able to finish it up by himself.

I had a pleasant surprise when I looked out our bedroom window this morning. Our neighbor had moved some of his cattle into the pasture next to our property. It was fun to watch how they reacted to being in a new place. They walked around the entire fence line before settling in to graze and when they spotted some cattle across the road, they all lined up along the fence to watch each other.


While John was gone today, I finished up the laundry and did some cleaning around the house. We did get a little sun this afternoon which brought birds back to the feeders. I saw a couple of new birds that I had never seen before-- need to dig out my bird book so I can identify them.



John was pretty tired after such a long day, so we spent a quiet evening just vegging out and relaxing.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

I had an 8:50 a.m.doctor's appointment, so I was up and out the door bright and early to head over to Bemidji. I usually have a long wait before seeing the doctor, but this morning, as I entered the waiting room, his nurse waved me right in. She told me they were right on schedule for a change. I guess you can't get too far behind that early in the morning.

After leaving the clinic, I headed to the mall to do a little shopping--I was looking for something to wear to our grandson's graduation. It took a couple of stops, but I finally found what I wanted. From there I stopped for lunch and then went to Wal Mart to restock the pantry. Sometimes when your out and about, you never see anyone you know. Today it seemed I ran into neighbors and old friends every where I stopped. I spent more time visiting than shopping.

While I was gone today, John worked a little in the shop and then finished painting the inside of the boat. He also painted the boat trailer and got it ready to use. We had a steady rain all day today along with chilly temps. The weather forecast is sounding better for the weekend--sunny and warmer. Maybe we'll be able to put the boat in the water and do some fishing--the opener is this Saturday. We ended the day watching The Biggest Loser and catching up on emails.

Monday, May 10, 2010

The skies were cloudy with a few sprinkles when we took our walk this morning. The road had dried out quiet a bit with the sunshine yesterday, so we didn't have to worry about avoiding puddles and mud.

Since it was breezy and cool this morning, John decided to work down in the shop. I did the usual Monday jobs of changing the sheets on the bed and laundry along with sorting more things for a rummage sale. Joanne came to work again, so I stopped down to visit with her and to learn how her doctor's appointment went today.

Following lunch, John decided he wanted to go to Bemidji and get onion sets for the garden and some hooks and chain for the boat trailer. I decided to skip the trip since I have to go there first thing in the morning for a doctor's appointment. While he was gone I took care of some finances and computer work. All in all it was a pretty quiet day. Spent the evening watching some TV and catching up on emails and blogs.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

This morning dawned bright and sunny but with a very heavy frost. Our temps reached 27 degrees last night and everything was coated with white. Our Flowering Crab Apple trees were very close to blooming so I'm hoping the buds were not destroyed. By this afternoon it was plain to see that the dandelions survived the cold temps.


After our walk this morning I took my camera and headed back down to the pond where I saw several pairs of ducks. It looks like they are nesting in the reeds, so I think they are "home" for the summer. There was also a male Mallard swimming around, but I'm not sure he's here to stay. The pond was nice and calm this morning so I took some pictures of my favorite lone tree. This tree use to have another by it's side, but it did not survive the grass fire we had several years ago.



Following breakfast, we got cleaned up and headed off to church. Matt had a special meeting afterward so Rachel and Hanna came home with us for lunch and stayed until Matt was finished and could pick them up.

The rest of our day was pretty quiet. John did a little more cleaning up outside and we watched the finish of the Players Golf Tournament in between telephone calls wishing me a happy Mother's Day.




Saturday, May 8, 2010

We finally got a break from the clouds and rain today. John and I were able to take our morning walk even though the road was rather muddy. When we went out the door around 6:45 a.m., we found ice on the back steps and the grass was rather crunchy (we haven't stepped on ice in over two years). It didn't take took long for the sun to get things back to normal.

Since it was still too wet to work outside this morning, John went down to the shop to finish some more assembly. Joanne brought all the kids to the shop this morning, so we had a chance to visit while the kids shredded paper and played.

Matt, Rachel and Hanna dropped in around noon and told us about the Firearm Safety testing Hanna and Sam did today. They
had been taking Firearm Safety this week and this morning had their written and shooting tests. Both passed with flying colors. Sara and Sam then left for the airport to catch their flight to Alaska. They are going to her nephew's high school graduation and will return home next Thursday.

This afternoon John decided the grass was dry enough to cut, so he got out the riding lawn mower and got started. The grass down by the pond had gotten very thick from all the moisture and it took a bit longer than normal to get it cut. He still didn't get all it done because there was standing water in some parts. He next cut the grass around the garden and trimmed some dead limbs from the pine trees.


The pond next to the shop is overflowing with water from all the rain and over the past few days we have had some ducks and geese hanging around. We usually get a family of ducks every summer, but I'm not sure the geese are here to stay or just resting a few days before moving on. We have never had geese stay for very long, but even if it's only for a few days, they are fun to watch.


After all the activity of today, we spent the evening watching the movie, Avatar--we both thought it was a pretty good story. Time for bed.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Rain, rain, go away and come again another day!! That's right, it rained again today. We woke to a steady downpour and have had one form or another of precipitation all day. What do I mean by one form or another? We have had rain, sleet, and, right now, it is snowing. We are suppose to get an inch or more of snow tonight. The forecast for tomorrow calls for sunny skies and temps in the low 50's.

John thought he didn't have to work for anyone today, but he found out this morning that his help was needed with staining, so after breakfast he headed off to the shop. While he was doing that, I got a couple of birthday cards ready for mailing. Since it was such a yucky day, we decided to run into town and take care of registering the boat and trailer. With that out of the way, we dropped the birthday cards at the post office and then went to Bemidji for lunch and a visit to Gander Mountain to purchase our Minnesota fishing licenses. GM was busy with folks getting ready for the fishing opener on May 15th. Hope the weather improves greatly before next weekend. There were some good sales, and as usual, John sniffed one out--he got a new pair of pants for half price.

When we came out of GM, the snow was falling heavily and actually accumulating on the cars. We decided it was time to get on home. As we got closer to Bagley, the snow turned to a steady rain. I would much rather have rain than snow; however, by early evening, we were getting all snow. Guess that's just our crazy Minnesota spring weather.

This evening we worked on setting a firm date for our California trip and trying to decide how long we want to take to reach Sacramento. This weekend we plan to call our daughter, Susie, and double check with her about our arrival date. A quiet evening was spent watching some NBA and the falling snow flakes.



Snow is starting to stick on the ground


Thursday, May 6, 2010

The morning was nice and sunny and we were able to take our walk. We had to watch where we walked as the road was pretty muddy.

After breakfast, John went with Matt to help him tear down a small garage that he is going to erect on the back of his property. They removed the shingles and kept the rafters and walls intact. They loaded everything onto a goose-neck trailer and hauled it out to Matt's place where they unloaded all the different parts. Matt is going to build a new base and then put the building back together again. This will be a storage shed for his four wheeler and lawn mower. Needless to say, this was an all day project--John got home just in time for supper.

Since we are planning a trip to California at the end of the month to attend our grandson's graduation from high school, I spent much of the day on the computer looking at different routes and trying to decide what sights we want to see on our way out and back. There are so many places to visit that I can see I will have a hard time narrowing the list. When I needed a break from trip planning, I worked on the jigsaw puzzle and finally got it done. It was a hard one and I almost gave up a time or two, but I'm glad I persevered.


John was pretty tired this evening, so we just vegged out and watched Survivor. Can't believe how well Russell plays the game and that two Heroes are still left. It is going to be quite a finish.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Even though the skies had cleared off last evening, the rains returned again over night. When we got up this morning, there was a steady downpour--no walk today.

After breakfast, John went down to the shop to do some more assembly work. I spent the morning working on finances and getting our home office straightened up. Joanne and Julie came to the shop today, so I braved the rain to run out to the mail box to get the mail and then stopped down at the shop to say "hi".

John was anxious to begin working on his boat, so after lunch he decided to paint the inside. He has the boat parked inside the garage so he can work on it out of the weather. It didn't take him very long to get it painted and it looks pretty good.




I spent some time this afternoon working on my puzzle and then went to Weight Watchers. We had a quiet evening watching some TV and visiting via telephone with some Fort Clark friends. It was great to catch up on what has been happening there since we left.




Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Yea!! We finally saw the sun today. We woke up to a beautiful morning with no wind. It felt so good to be outside in the fresh air after being cooped up in the house for the past four days. The rains have really greened things up--the trees are leafing out more everyday. I took my camera along this morning to photograph some of nature's beauty.


After breakfast, John went with Matt to finish laying the hardwood floor they started yesterday. The job went well but by the afternoon they realized they were short about a foot of flooring and have to wait for the home owner to get some more before they can finish the job. So far the floor looks beautiful.



Since it was such a nice day, I decided to head off to Bemidji to pick up some groceries and a few other things we needed. John wants to start fixing up the boat so he asked me to stop at Sherwin Williams and pick up some paint to redo the inside of it. After getting the paint, I went to Target and then Burger King for a quick lunch. I needed some new tennis shoes, so I made the rounds of several different stores until I found the ones that I wanted. Last stop was the grocery store. When I went into the store the sun was shining and when I came back out, the rain and clouds had returned. I drove all the way home in a downpour. We had more showers and thunderstorms into the evening and then the weather cleared off again.

John was home by the time I got back, so he helped unload the groceries and after supper did some work on the boat. We spent the evening watching American Idol and The Biggest Looser.



Roofing Being Done Everywhere!!

John and I have been keeping pretty busy over these last several weeks.  Our weather has turned quite warm, but the nights cool down very ni...