We had heavy rain overnight that lasted into today. Yesterday was beautiful and would have been perfect for a garage sale, but that was not how things worked out, so we held it in the wet. Even with the rain, people still came out to shop--I was pleased with the money I made and was able to get rid of some jeans and shirts along with some miscellaneous items.

With our sale out of the way, I headed up to Gonvick for their community rummage sale and to see the new art gallery that was opening. They are looking for people to display art and high end craft items. I talked to one of the women and am contemplating showing some of my photography. I will have to cost everything out and see what sort of pricing will be needed. It will not cost me anything to have my pictures displayed--just pay a consignment percentage if and when something sells. We'll have to see what John and I can work out as he will be making the frames.

John needed to go to Bemidji again for a couple of new batteries for the tiller and lawn mower, so it was a good day to take care of thee purchases as nothing could be done outside. We stopped at Fleet Farm first and picked up the batteries, then onto Menards for some roof caulking for JD. Of course, we also had to stop at Burger King for supper before gassing up the car and picking up the few groceries that were forgotten on the last trip.

We just kicked back and relaxed this evening by watching a DVD. Tonight the temps are suppose to drop down to the upper 20's with snow overnight. Will this winter ever end???

We had another warmer, sunny day today--you can see the grass getting greener and the choke cherry bushes are finally starting to bloom. Folks here are so anxious for spring to arrive; however, the weather forecast for the weekend is not good--high winds, cold temps, and even some snow.

John and Matt left early this morning to install the exhaust fan they purchased yesterday. That job took most of the morning, but is now totally done. After lunch, John went to help out in the shop. JD called an electrician to look at the motor on the compressor, and found that one of the main switches was bad. Fortunately, he had a replacement and the problem was finally resolved.

While John was busy with Matt and working in the shop, I finished pricing the garage sale items and got everything packed up and ready to take to Sara's. John had a couple of tables he wanted to sell, so after he was finished in the shop, he helped me load everything into the car and we headed up to Matt's. Once we got there, the kids helped us unload and Hanna gave me a hand in getting everything set out.

John and I stopped in the house to visit for a bit when Sara asked us to stay for supper--she was serving homemade pizza--YUM!!! We ate and then played a couple of games of 31. Hanna and John were the big winners tonight--we play with poker chips instead of quarters.
Since today was John's birthday, we also had ice cream while we were playing cards. It was a nice little impromptu party.

I think Spring has finally arrived--sunny day with temps reaching the mid-60's. Our lawn is starting to green up and the trees in the front of the house are starting to bud. Hooray!!!

John kept to his routine of heading down to the shop right after breakfast. The air compressor is still giving them trouble, but they are able to keep working. The problem may be electrical, so JD will have an electrician come out to look at it. I worked on getting things priced for the garage sale and have most of it ready. I thought I would finish it up after lunch, but John and Matt needed to go to Bemidji for exhaust fans to complete the job their doing, so I went with them to pick up a few groceries and to look at some on sale outdoor carpet for our deck.

Our first stop was Menards where we found the fans and carpet. We took Matt's truck, so it was easy enough to just load the carpet in the back. John also needed a new sump pump for the basement. The one we have got stuck and we ended up with an inch or so of water on the floor. Fortunately everything is in plastic crates and nothing was ruined. Our next stop was for groceries and then onto Burger King to grab some supper. After helping us unload our purchases, Matt headed on home. We left the carpet rolled up and placed it on the porch--need to wait for some warmer weather before we can scrub up the floor and wash down the screening.

New carpet waiting for us to clean the porch

This evening after supper we went up to the Clearbrook school for their second and fourth grades spring concert. Jenni sang with the second grade and Rachel and Josh, the fourth. Each one had a special part--holding a sign, playing an instrument, or singing with a small group. Our next school activity will probably be Julie's kindergarten graduation the end of May. Hard to believe that we're just about through this school year.

It was another cool and cloudy day with some strong winds so getting anything done outside wasn't in the plans for today. John worked down in the shop for the first part of the morning doing some staining. When that was done, he headed out to help Matt finish up the roofing job. He got home in time for a late lunch and then worked back in the shop for another hour or so. The boys are sure keeping him hopping.

We have been out of hamburger since last fall, but didn't want to stock up on any since we were leaving for the winter. John has a friend who raises beef cattle, so he called Mark this afternoon and inquired about buying some meat. He had some on hand, so John went and picked up almost 40 pounds. This should keep us in hamburgers for quite a while.

My day was spent continuing with the cleaning out of drawers and closets. Tomorrow I need to start pricing things for Saturday's sale. Hopefully the weather will co-operate.

It was pretty quiet around here today. John was still tired after working a long day yesterday and was glad to just work in the shop making parts and assembling some furniture. My plan is to give the house a good cleaning this spring so I have been working on one room at a time--cleaning out closets and reorganizing drawers, etc. Sara is having a garage sale this Saturday, so it's the perfect time to sort through things and get rid of what we don't need any more. I took a break from the cleaning and went up to Sara's for a haircut--it felt good to get it trimmed up.

This afternoon, John and I worked out in the garage scraping and sweeping out all the mud and gravel that had been brought in on the tires of the car. Our gravel road and driveway have finally dried out, so unless we get a lot of rain again, the worst of the mud should be over. Our evening was spent watching The Biggest Loser and the final of Top Shot.

We had another sunny day--that makes two in a row. John left the house around 8 a.m. and spent the next ten hours working with Matt on a roofing job--Sam and Adam also worked today. They got all the old shingles torn off, the tar paper applied, and all the shingle bundles up on the roof and ready to be installed tomorrow.

Today was my birthday, but since we celebrated last Friday by going out for dinner, I didn't do anything special today. My time was spent catching up on laundry and cleaning our home office. All the files are now cleared out and organized. John's birthday is Friday and his brother sent him a very special birthday present today--a Rambo knife (at least that's what I call it). Now both of them have one of these knives and are calling themselves Rambo 1 and Rambo 2. Must be a guy thing.

The Rambo Knife

John was pretty tired tonight, so we spent a quiet evening watching a little TV before heading off to bed.

At long last, a bright sunny day--perfect weather for an Easter Sunday. John and I left for church a little earlier than usual as the youth were sponsoring an Easter Morning Breakfast starting at 8:30 a.m. and running til 9:30 a.m. There was no Sunday School today, so the morning service started an hour earlier at 10 a.m.

Right after the service, John and I returned home to change clothes, pick up the dessert, cookies, and salad that I prepared yesterday, and then went up to Matt's where we were joined by JD's family. Sara did her usual great job of adding special touches to the table and meal--good ham and a great salad. The weather was so nice that the kids were able to play outside while the adults visited and played some cards. The party broke up a little after 4 p.m. Before we left, John loaded up our four wheeler that had been at Matt's all winter. He hauled it home using one of his trucks while I brought the Honda back.

John spent an hour or so dragging the driveway and getting the deep ruts smoothed out. It is still very muddy in spots, but if we don't get any rain for a couple of days, the breezy conditions will help dry it out. This next week will be busy for John--the better weather means Matt will finally be able to get back to work. First job will be a new roof on a house down the highway from us. Spent the evening watching Amazing Race and Celebrity Apprentice.

Hanna, Sam, and Rachel

Visiting before the meal

Chowing Down


Smoothing out the driveway

The rain of yesterday continued all night and into this morning. Since nothing could get done outside, John went down to the shop to do some more assembly. Most of my day was spent baking bread, cookies, and making a dessert for tomorrow's Easter dinner at Matt's.

By early evening, the skies cleared and the sun came out--we actually saw a nice sunset. We took advantage of the warmer temps and took a walk outside and spent some time in our detached garage making plans to replace the windows, pull down and replace the old wall coverings, and generally clean it out and make an all new storage area. We hope to make this job first on our list of summer projects--would like to get it done before the warmer weather gets here.

Since I haven't been able to get outside for a few days, I got my camera and took a walk down to the pond to check on the geese and see if the pair of ducks that I saw the other day are planning to stay for the summer. The ground was so wet and soggy that I couldn't walk all the way down to the water. Didn't see any wildlife, but they could have been down in the reeds since it was getting on toward nightfall.

The heavy all day rains turned our driveway into a lake, so John spent some time this evening trying to ditch it and make the water run off so it can dry out. Next step will be to get the four wheeler and hook up the rake and drag the drive and get the ruts and low spots evened out.
Hopefully we've turned a corner with the weather and some sunny days are in the near future.
Happy Easter!!

It's hard to believe we have been home for one week and still there is no improvement in the weather. It's easier to stay inside and get some jobs finished up when you can't be outside because the weather is too cold and rainy. John continues working in the shop--there was a continuing little problem with the air compressor, so another new switch was ordered. The guys are hoping that they just got a defective one and the next new switch will be the answer to the problems they have been encountering.

John just worked this morning. When he came up for lunch, he asked if I would like to take a trip to Grand Forks. Both of our birthdays are next week, so he thought this would be a good time to go out for dinner to celebrate as he will be pretty busy working with JD and possibly starting a job with Matt.

Our first stop was to check out new cell phone services. Our local phone company was offering some new telephone, cell phone, and internet bundles. We found one that we liked and would also save us money each month. Armed with our new phones, we continued onto Grand Forks. The Red River is the state line between MN and ND with East GF on the MN side and Grand Forks on the ND side. As we crossed over the river, we could see that it was in flood stage with the water almost reaching the top of the dikes. Some streets and highways were stilled closed due to flooding, but we were able to get to everywhere we wanted to go.

We stopped at Cabela's so John could check on some ammunition he ordered back in January for the Krag rifle he had gotten from his uncle. This ammunition is only made at certain times of the year and today he found out that the paper work for the order had been processed and it was shipped today. John should have it sometime next week. He is anxious to fire this old rifle and see how it works. From there we went to the Ground Round and enjoyed a nice leisurely dinner. Next stop was Wal Mart to pick us some food items needed to make desserts for Sunday dinner at Matt's. We finally got back on the road for home driving through a steady, cold rain. It was a good day to get out of town.

We had some unusual visitors at our house today. This morning a woodpecker flew against the bathroom window and then for some reason decided to hang onto the sill and peck the glass. It made quite a racket and at first I thought he would break the window. I grabbed my camera and took some photos. John and I stood about 18 inches from the bird on the inside of the window, but he was so busy pecking he didn't even notice us--John even wiped the glass off with a towel, but that didn't faze him. Finally we made a little noise and that scared him away.


John once again headed back to the shop to do some assembly. Today there were no breakdowns so things went more smoothly than yesterday. I was just coming upstairs from the basement and looked out the back door and there stood two Canadian geese by the steps. We have had some geese on the pond over the last few days, but I've never seen them up near the house. They were busy eating and walked all around the yard and down the driveway before heading back to the water. I'm not sure they'll be here for the summer--our pond and fields just might be a pit stop on their way north.


My afternoon was spent working in the office sorting through the mail that had piled up, cleaning out the filing drawer, and paying some bills. The weather is just too cold to do anything outside, so we are pretty much stuck in the house after supper. Tonight we watched American Idol and a couple of other favorite TV shows before calling it a night.

As I stated on my Facebook page, today's weather has had a little of everything--sun, gray skies, rain, snow, sleet, and even a bit of hail. This evening the skies finally cleared off and the sun was shining. Who knows what tomorrow will bring as far the weather is concerned. This April has been just crazy--not a single bud on the trees so far. At least we saw a nice fat robin today along with some geese on the pond. I can only hope this means Spring is coming soon.

John headed down to the shop a little later this morning as JD (son, John) had to drive to Bemidji to get another part for the compressor. It took the guys the whole morning to finally get it running and that held up the work schedule. After a lunch break John went back down to the shop to assemble more product. My day was spent doing more house cleaning and finally getting started on laundry--I haven't done any since we left Texas and the piles of dirty clothes are getting pretty high.

There was no walk this evening even though the sun was shinning. The road was just too wet and muddy from the rain/snow/sleet of today. This evening was spent watching Survivor and American Idol.

We had a rather quiet day around here. For the first time in several days, there was no snow overnight, but the temps remained pretty cold--highs in the low 40's and lows in the 20's.

Right after breakfast, John headed down to the shop where he continued making parts and assembling product. Today I got the last of the crates emptied and started doing some spring cleaning of drawers.

After supper we decided that the road was dry enough for a short walk. Hard to believe that a week ago we were wearing shorts for walking and today were wearing winter coats and gloves. Everyone is so anxious for spring--the weather forecast doesn't sound too promising over the next few days.

We had some more snow overnight--looked like an inch or so on the road--so no walking today.

After breakfast, John went right down to the shop where the first job of the day was to replace the air compressor motor. This compressor runs all the machinery and spraying equipment. Once that was done, John spent the rest of his morning making parts. I started the job of unpacking--sorting through all the clothes and trying to decide what can be stored for the summer and what should be left out. This weather is making it hard to know what to do--cold and snowy in the mornings, sunny and a little warmer in the afternoons. Still not shorts weather here.

Once John was done in the shop for the day, it was time to tackle the leak under the sink. As is usually the case with such projects, there is always a part that you forgot to pick up or something doesn't fit. In this case, something didn't fit, so John was off to town to get the correct part. Once he had all the right stuff, it didn't take him long to get our kitchen sink back into full operating mode. It was nice to be able to use the cold water faucet again.

This evening Stan Metcalf called to let us know that he will be having surgery to repair his torn shoulder. The date hasn't been set yet, but it shouldn't be too long. He also told us the temps reached a 101 degrees today. When we hear that, our colder weather doesn't seem too bad.
There is another winter storm predicted northwest of us--hopefully it will miss our area this time.

After a cloudy start to the morning, the sun came out and melted most of the snow off of the lawns and gravel roads by the afternoon. There was enough snow on our driveway to get us stuck on our way out to church. John put the Honda in a lower gear and we were able to get out of the deeper slush and onto the road.

When we got home the other day, we remembered that there was a leak under the kitchen sink (it was discovered right before we left for Texas and the decision was made not to take the time to fix it before we left). Well, now is the time for fixing. John needed some new shut off valves and a few other things to fix the leak. We decided that this would be the perfect time to visit the new Menards store in Bemidji, so right after church we headed out of town to get our plumbing supplies. Our first stop was Burger King for lunch, then to the grocery store to pick up a few forgotten items from Friday's trip, and finally the new Menards. The store is very nice and has just about everything one could want for doing home projects. We found the plumbing parts we needed and a few more other items we probably could have lived without.

We stopped home just long enough to drop off our purchases and then headed up to John and Jo's for supper with their family. Once again we were amazed by how tall the kids had gotten over the winter. Josh, Jenni, and Julie told us about their winter activities and showed us all the changes made to their rooms. John and I enjoyed a very pleasant evening visiting and catching up with everyone. This week we try to settle back into our Minnesota routine--unpacking for me and working in the shop for John.

We woke up to a winter wonderland this morning--there was about four inches of new snow on the ground. Today was Sam's basketball tournament with his first game starting at 9 a.m. so that meant we had to leave the house earlier than planned due to the snow covered and icy highways. The Honda stayed in the garage as we used the four wheel drive truck to make the trip over to Fosston.


Our entire day was spent watching basketball games. Sam's team played four games--winning two. We not only watched his games, but other ones in between. Clearbrook got 6th place in a field of 14 teams. We got to the school at 8 a.m. and left around 5 p.m. Good thing we had special portable seats for sitting on the bleachers. After the last game, we all went to A & W for some supper before heading back home. The snow had melted off the roadways and sidewalks during the day, but we still have quite a bit left on our driveway. It was a fun day watching Sam play and spending time with the grandkids.

Sam on left--watching foul shots during warmup

John and I are starting to get back into our Minnesota routine, whatever that is. Our cupboards were completely empty, so I spent the better part of my day in Bemidji doing some banking and grocery shopping. John was needed right away in the shop as there are several large orders that need to be filled and shipped. He assembled parts most of his day. Matt stopped over for a visit and caught us up a little on what has been happening around Clearbrook while we were gone.

Our bad news is that it is snowing again. We are suppose to get anywhere from 1-4 inches overnight. The good news is that the snow will not linger for long. This evening after supper we went up to Matt's to see Sara and the kids. Sam is now taller than I am and Hanna is not far behind. Even Rachel is starting to catch up with me. While at Matt's John and I watched CD's of a few of the basketball games the kids played this past season. We were going to stop over at John's for a visit too, but Julie got sick today, so we will have to put off seeing them for another day or two. Tomorrow is the big basketball tournament and since we have to leave early in the morning, we'll be heading off to bed soon. The long ride of the past couple of days is catching up with us.

Today was the final leg of the journey home. John and I left Amy's house around 9:30 a.m., and after stopping for gas, hit I-29 North for Fargo. We drove through rain showers and very strong winds all the way to Watertown, SD where we stopped for lunch. Our one main concern was whether we would have to detour off of 29 because of the flooding in the Fargo area. We saw the flood waters south of Fargo--entire fields underwater as far as you could see. However, the earthen dikes around the fields seemed to be holding--there was only one section of 29 where the water was almost up to the highway. The more severe flooding was just north of Fargo, and we didn't have to go that far before heading east toward Bagley.

By the time we reached Fargo, the skies were clear and sunny. There were still pockets of snow in the low places on the south side of the highways. Everything is bare and brown so we will get to see spring for the second time this year--just don't know when that will be. It's good to be back home. Let the unpacking begin!

The internet network at the motel didn't work last night, so that meant no blog entry for yesterday. It's the first day I've missed since I started this over a year ago. However, if I had to miss a day, yesterday was a good one to skip. We drove for 10 hours from Dallas to St. Joseph, Missouri with good weather and roads all the way. As we traveled north, we saw summer and then spring slowly slipping away.

We slept in this morning taking our time to get on the road as it was only a little over four hours to reach Amy's house in Sioux Falls. We arrived a little after lunch time and were greeted by Noah and Amy. An hour or so later Caleb and Isaiah returned home from school. We had a fun time catching up with the Stene family--the boys sure got a lot taller over the winter. Tomorrow is the final leg of the journey home and the task of getting back into our Minnesota routine.

Today was another busy one here in Dallas. Unfortunately, Deb had to go to work this morning, so that left John, Jim, and I to play. Right after breakfast, we three went to another mall where we walked for an hour before the stores opened. From there, Jim took us to the Gaylord Resort and Spa where we spent some time inside touring their atrium--there were many blooming flowers, waterfalls, and a miniature town with a railroad. John talked to one of the workers and learned the Gaylord employees eight people whose job it is to take care of the atrium plants--this is their only full time job at the resort. When we left the spa, it was just about time for lunch, so we picked up Deb at her place of work and went to Subway. We were able to spend an hour visiting with her before we took her back to her job. The three of us then went to the golf course to play nine holes. This course is much larger and has more hazards than the one we play in Fort Clark. We played a best ball scramble and had a lot of fun. I lost two balls to water hazards and the guys didn't bother picking up a few of their balls that went way off the fairways--heavy rains last night made for very wet spots, much mud, and difficult ball retrievable. Jim cooked a delicious spaghetti and shirmp dish for supper this evening. We spent the rest of our time visiting before calling it a night. John and I have had a wonderful time with our friends for the past couple of days--tomorrow morning we hit the road north.

We had a pretty busy day here in Dallas. First thing this morning we visited the Rose Garden park in Farmers Branch. This park has hundreds of rose bushes of many different kinds and colors planted in long rows and in different arrangements. I have never seen so many roses in one place before. From the garden, we took the DART train into downtown Dallas where Jim, Deb, John, and I spent about three hours touring the Dallas Holocust Museum. It was a very moving and emotional experience viewing the displays and reading about what occured during this time in history. We all returned home for some lunch and then Deb and I headed out so she could take me to one of their big neighborhood malls. We visited some real high end stores, stopped for a snack, and then took their laptop computer to Best Buy where Deb left it to get cleaned up and restored to new running order. It was then another quick stop at Arby's to get some chicken sandwhiches for supper. Our plan had been to eat out tonight, but that got shelved until tomorrow evening. While Deb and I were out and about, Jim and John went over to the golf course to hit a few balls. We will be playing a round of golf there tomorrow morning. We spent the rest of the evening just sitting around and visiting. I hope to post some photos of our Dallas adventures in a few days. Right now I have to use the computer in the computer center for posting and can't download my pictures.

We slept in a little later this morning before heading off for the breakfast served at the motel. After checking out, we went to the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame where we spent about three hours looking at all the exhibits and watching a 45 minute movie about the rangers. John and I learned so much about the history of the rangers and the state of Texas. Our next stop was the Dr. Pepper museum. I always thought Dr. Pepper was a newer soda, but we found out that it has been around for over 125 years and started right here in Waco, Texas. By the time we were finished with Dr. Pepper, it was time for lunch. Whataburger was right nearby, so that's where we ate. Next we got on the road for Dallas. We were moving right along, making good time, until we were well within the city limits. Then it was bumper to bumper traffic for over 45 minutes. We reached Jim and Deb's safe and sound. Deb served a delicious meal--she's a real southern hostess and takes good care of her guests. Our evening was spent sitting outside by the pool visiting and catching up. It's a little cooler here than at the Fort--John's still wearing his shorts.

Our goal this morning was to be on the road no later than 8:30 a.m. There were only a few last minute chores to do--put the insulation in the south facing windows, batteries, candles, and ink cartridges in the fridge, water turned off, all electric off except for fridge, and a call to Direct TV to put it on vacation for six months. Everything got done and we pulled out of the driveway right on time.

Our first stop of the day was at McDonald's in Uvalde for some breakfast and then onto Wal Mart to gas up the Honda ($3.64 per gallon). We made it through San Antonio without hitting any traffic snags and had smooth sailing into San Marcos where we hit Chick-fil-A for lunch. We reached our hotel in Waco a little before 4 p.m. John was pretty tired, so he opted for a quick nap before eating supper at Cracker Barrel. After being in the car most of the day, we found a Wal Mart and walked around for about an hour just to stretch our legs. Upon returning to the motel, we made use of their hot tub before ending the evening watching some TV. Tomorrow we hope to do some touring in Waco before heading to Dallas.

Instead of walking this morning, we got up early, did some more packing, and then met Ralph at the club house for one last game of golf. Fortunately it was still on the cool side with some clouds when we played--the sun and heat arrived just as we were finishing up. We headed back to the club house where Ralph treated us to some Dr. Pepper and we visited with other golfers who were coming in off the course. This gave John and I an opportunity to say goodbye to many of our friends.

John spent the afternoon preparing the golf cart for summer storage and put it, the grill, and outside chairs into the shed. He also loaded more of our bags and boxes into the Honda. We only have a couple bags and the computer left to load tomorrow morning.

This afternoon Dave and Valada invited us over to their place for supper. That was very much appreciated as our fridge is empty--we thought we would have to dine out this evening. On our way to Sandwicks, we stopped in to say farewell to Harlan and Betty Wright. Betty is John's carving mentor. Once were back home, John and Lois Carlson stopped in to say goodbye. They just stayed a few minutes visiting before they headed back to their place. Our final goodbye was Sam and Leta--we walked over to their condo just to touch bases with them one more time. It's always hard to leave here each spring--we have made just good friends and will miss them over the summer. Tomorrow starts the homeward journey and adventure.

The cool temps of yesterday still lingered this morning so it was sweatshirts again for our morning walk. After breakfast, John left to play the men's nine hole golf game. There were only eight guys this morning, so they divided into two teams of four and played best ball. His group shot an even par--John was pleased that his putting had improved a little.

I spent the day washing rugs and doing some more laundry so we won't have much in the way of dirty clothes to haul home. Following lunch, we mopped the bedroom, bathroom, and main living area floors. We had quite a few dust bunnies rolling around under the furniture, so it was time to do a good cleaning. John took a little break from mopping to go to the driving range with Ralph Ramsey where he gave John some hints on swinging the golf clubs.

This evening, Stan and Jan took us out for supper. We ate at The Herald, a very nice restaurant in Old Town Del Rio. We had never even heard of this place before, but after eating there, we are sure to come back again. The food and service were excellent with a very nice atmosphere. After dinner, Stan took us on a ride around Del Rio and the surrounding area--we saw many beautiful homes and the canal system that brings water into the area. We even drove right by the huge iron fence that runs along the border. We had a fun evening and it was a perfect way to end our stay at Fort Clark. One more day to go--plan on some golf early tomorrow morning. Thanks once again, Stan and Jan, for a very nice evening.

The strong winds of yesterday brought much cooler temps for today. We decided to sleep in this morning and skipped our morning walk. Actually, I made the decision not to walk as I was scheduled to play golf at 9:30 a.m. and would be walking the nine holes.

Following a nice breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast made by John, I headed off to the club house were I met Mary Jane, Natalie, and Leslie for our for our regular Tuesday morning golf date. All the other members of our group have already headed home--I leave Friday and Natty will be going the following weekend. It was a perfect day for our final golf game and we had a great time playing and visiting. We plan on meeting again in November to resume our weekly game of golf.

John spent his morning fixing the solar panels on the condo roof, trimming some trees on the Metcalf property, and hitting some balls at the driving range. As soon as I got home from golfing, we headed off to Burger and Shake were we met up with Gene and Jeannie Bevins for a farewell lunch. They are off to Indiana bright and early tomorrow morning. We put them on our list of folks this visit this summer.

This afternoon I worked on some finances, getting everything in order before we head home, while John cleaned out the car and loaded a few crates that were ready to go. Stan stopped over for a visit and to invite us out for supper tomorrow evening. Our evening was spent just relaxing and watching the Biggest Loser and the women's NCAA Final Four Championship game.

When we took our walk this morning was it rather warm and humid with the breezes starting to blow. By mid morning the winds were very strong, the temps dropped and the afternoon turned out to be a very pleasant. We were able to turn the AC off and open the windows for some fresh air.

John went over to Ralph's this morning to help him fix the driver's seat in his RV and from there on to Leta's to adjust the downspouts he had put up last month. My morning was spent changing bed linens, doing laundry, and packing. Just about everything is ready to go--just a few last minute items left to pack. I made one more shortcake so we could use the last of the frozen strawberries we brought down last fall.

After supper, we took a little golf cart ride around the fort. Things sure are quiet--the condos are just about completely empty. I think John and I will be the last to leave among our circle of friends. After ladies' golf tomorrow, we plan to have lunch with the Bevins as they will be pulling out on Wednesday. This evening we watched the Final Four Championship game and ate the shortcake.

Today was hot, hot, hot! It was 75 degrees when we left the house at 7 a.m. for our walk. The morning was overcast with high humidity--just walking made you hot and uncomfortable. It felt good to get back in the AC.

After breakfast, we got cleaned up and headed off for our last Sunday at Frontier Baptist. It is always hard to say good-bye to our church friends. They tell us we are "wimpy" for not to staying on the fort for the summer months. We tell them they are "wimpy" for not coming to northern Minnesota in the winter. The discussion always ends right there.

There was a strong breeze this afternoon, so John and I decided to play some golf on the par 3 course. We only played five holes as it was just too hot. We decided we need to play first thing in the morning before the day heats up. In order to cool off, we headed down to Pico's for some banana split ice cream--that did the job. Later in the afternoon we took the golf cart over to Sandwicks to return a couple of jigsaw puzzles and books that we had borrowed earlier in the winter. John had gone into Ralph's place to see what job he wanted John to do for him tomorrow and then they both came out and joined Dave, Valada, and me on the patio.

We ended our day watching the women's NCAA Final Four games. Only four more days until we start the journey homeward.

This morning we decided to sleep in for a change--no walk. John needed the extra sleep time after putting in a couple of days of long, hot hours finishing up Stan's porch. I didn't have any excuse for sleeping in--I just felt like it.

John spent the first part of his morning bringing tools and equipment back from Metcalf's and storing them back in our shed. We then loaded up the Honda and headed off to the recycling center with our plastic bottles, newspaper, and cans. The temps were reaching the 90's so we decided it was a good time for lunch and to stay inside and keep cool in the AC.

Gene and Jeannie Bevins stopped over for a visit and told us about their recent trip to Corpus Christi with their family who were visiting from Indiana. They will be heading home on Wednesday, so we made a tentative date to get together for a final lunch early next week. Just about all the Winter Texans have left for home--we will be about the last ones to leave next week.

Our groceries are pretty well used up, but we still needed a few things to get us through next week. We decided to take a quick trip to Del Rio where we washed the Honda, made a quick stop at Wal Mart, and then ate supper at Jack In The Box. Tonight we watched the NCAA Final Four games and finished up the strawberry shortcake. There is still one bag of frozen berries left, so maybe we'll invite someone over for more shortcake and use them up.

This morning we just walked around the golf course as John wanted to get an early start on Stan's porch before the day heated up.

Today was the final day of the porch project. John painted the last of the trim and finished putting that up. After lunch he hung the two screened doors and took care of the last little bits of the job. Following supper we took the golf cart over to Stan's so John could show me the finished product. Jan was very happy with the porch and looks forward to using it quite a bit this summer.


It was very hot this afternoon with temps reaching 99 degrees. I spent my day inside in the AC doing more packing--just about everything is packed or ready to be put in a container next week. I feel that I will be ready to leave without being rushed. Also, we'll have time for more golf next week. We ended our day with more strawberry shortcake and a movie.