BRRRRRRR!

The weather has turned bitterly cold since our one day heat wave on Friday.  Tonight the lows are suppose to reach 30 below zero.  The day's highs didn't get above zero.  John and I did venture out to church, but the weather took a toll on the attendance--only about 20 folks showed up.  We stopped at JD's on the way home to see what the kids got for Christmas and for John to pick up a socket set he had left there a week or so ago.  The kids showed us what Santa had brought and then we got invited to stay for lunch.  It felt good to get out of the house and spend some time visiting with family.

The remainder of our day was spent watching the NFL and staying toasty warm in the house.  We are counting the days until we can head south to warmer weather.  

An update for family:  Sam developed a cough and fever. Matt was concerned since it's just been two weeks since his appendectomy. He took Sam to the emergency room this morning and found he has a slight case of pneumonia and is now taking an antibiotic.  Sam will see his surgeon on the 31st and he will probably check to see if things are improving.

Above Freezing

Today our weather took an amazing turn for the better.  The high temp for today was 35 degrees.  It felt like spring outside after highs below zero and nighttime lows around 27 below.  The sun was shining for most of the day and we had some melting.  Unfortunately, the bitter cold and snow will be returning tomorrow with very high winds.  It will be a good day to stay inside.

With the nice weather, John spent sometime outside clearing more snow and doing a few chores in his shop.  Matt came down this afternoon with Sam and the guys worked on disconnecting the power from our big air system.  We sold it and the buyers will be coming on January 2nd to dismantle it and haul it away.  

I spent my day working in our home office cleaning out more files and generally giving the room a good dusting and wiping down.  There was quite a bit of dust from doing the tiling and today was the first I had time to attack the dirt.  This evening we started watching some of the bowl games--it looks like it's going to be wall to wall football this weekend.

Busy Time

I skipped doing my blog over Christmas due to our busy schedule and to just enjoy the holiday.  Monday morning found John and I out bright and early to take care of some errands in Bemidji before his eye doctor's appointment.  By the time that was done, it was lunch time and we thought to grab a quick lunch at BK.  It seems everyone else had the same idea so it took a little longer to get our food than usual.  Matt, Sam, Hanna, and Rachel were already at BK when we got there, so we were able to visit with them while we ate.  They had been doing Christmas shopping for Sara.  Our next stop was the grocery store to pick up a few items and then we headed back to Bagley where I had a PT appointment.  I received a TENS machine to use at home.  This uses electrical impulses, administered through attached pads, to relieve pain.  It really works--my back pain is under control.  This is not a cure, just something to give some relief until I can have the nerve denervation done in January.  We also spent some time Skyping with John's brother and his family in Kentucky.

Sara was hosting our annual Christmas Eve family gathering and we were asked to bring several foods items.  Monday evening was spent baking and making salads, cookies, and desserts.  Everyone arrived right on time to enjoy a delicious meal of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, corn, salads, snacks, desserts, and much, much, more.  If you left feeling hungry, it was your own fault.  The grand kids are all old enough to join in the games, so we had a fun time around the table learning a new one and sharing lots of laughs.  John and I got home just in time to see the last half of "It's A Wonderful Life".  Watching that movie is a traditional Christmas Eve event for us.

Since our family gathers on Christmas Eve, this allows our kids to spent Christmas with their in-laws.  John and I had a quiet Christmas Day, but were able to Skype with Amy and Susie's families and see all of the kid's Christmas gifts along with several demonstrations.  It was almost as good as being with them for the holiday.  Matt and Hanna stopped in while we were Skyping with Susie's family, so they were all able to visit for a while.  Since we had received another several inches of snow, Matt stopped down to do some plowing.  

Today it was more or less back to normal.  John did some shoveling of the walkways while I did a little laundry.  Matt stopped back again this morning and did a little more plowing.  It's been windy so the light fluffy snow drifts in across the end of the driveway and makes it difficult to get out to the road.  

Cold and Quiet

Not much happening with us.  The cold temps have kept us pretty much housebound this weekend except for an hour or so at church this morning.  Everyone you talk to is getting  "cabin fever" and the snowbirds that have hung around until after Christmas are getting anxious to get on the road.  We still have a little less than three weeks until we're out of here.

 

Basketball and Baking

We had a pretty quiet Thursday.  John went ice fishing with Matt first thing in the morning and they caught their limit in Northern Pikes.  Some are now in our freezer.

While John was gone, I spent some time doing laundry and straightening up around the house.  I also received a call from Pain Management to discuss the results of Wednesday's test.  The shots numb the troublesome nerves and I keep of record of pain levels until the numbness wears off.  The results were good, so the earliest they could do a nerve denervation was January 10th.  After much discussion, I have decided to have the procedure done before we head south.  We really want to get out of the cold, but I also want to be able to enjoy life and if this procedure works like the doctor says, I could be pain free for a year.  So, we will head south the middle of January.  We also found out our renter has lost his position where he works, so our house is now available to us this winter.  He'll be out by Christmas so we don't have to worry about when we arrive and how long we'll stay in Texas.

Right after supper, we left to watch Hanna play basketball and Julie participate in the Pom Pom Dancers at half time.  Hanna played half of the varsity game and all of the JV--varsity won and the JV lost.  A player can't play both halves of the JV game and both in the varsity, so it makes it difficult for the coaches to know where to play some of the better players.  The JV struggled in the second half of their game because their best rebounder couldn't play due to playing the entire varsity game.

Julie in the front row

 

Hanna passing the ball

 

 Hanna getting ready to shoot a

free throw - she made it!

This morning I went up to Sara's for a much needed haircut.  She is off from school right now, so she is back working in her salon for a few days.  While I was gone, John finished cleaning the new tile in the hallway and, later in the day, we got everything put back in place.  We are slowly but surely getting cleaned up from the tiling job. 

After supper we got ambitious and made some more Christmas cookies.  My prediction was right, we ate the first bunch with some help from Matt.  Once again, I mixed the dough and decorated while John did the rolling and cutting out.  

 

 

  Here are a couple of photos from Jenni and Julie's school program.

Jenni getting ready to play guitar

 

Julie (middle) singing with her class

Busy Day

Not much happened yesterday--I had a PT appointment where I received an electronic stimulation treatment which is suppose to help relieve pain.  I go back again on Monday for another treatment and to possibly get a smaller machine to do treatments at home. Matt came while I was gone, visited some with John, and gathered up all his tools used to do the tiling.  In the evening we went back up to the school for the elementary winter concert where  Jenni and Julie sang with their classes.

Today was a pretty busy one.  John and I were up and out the door fairly early to get the car to the dealership in Bemidji for an oil change and servicing.  From there, we drove down the street to the clinic where I got another round of diagnostic injections from Dr. Gessner.  It hurt every bit as much as it did last time and I'm glad it's over with.  Since I couldn't eat before the procedure, we went right to Country Kitchen for lunch.  John was looking for a special hook for one of his carvings, so we stopped at a craft store before heading to the accountant's for our 1:30 p.m. meeting.  Since we closed the business and had a sale, we needed to see how all of this would affect our taxes and what needed to be filed to completely close out Uniquely Wood.  

Matt called John while we were gone asking if he wanted to do some ice fishing.  Since it was a nice sunny day with warmer temps, John decided to go.  Matt caught two large northerns and John managed to get five crappies.  The guys are planning to go out again tomorrow morning.

The Weatherman Was Right

The weather forecast called for our daytime highs to be near thirty degrees today and that is exactly what happened.  After being below zero for much of the past week, it really did feel almost balmy outside.

First thing this morning, the electric company sent a service person out to remove the meter for rippling the electric heat.  Since we installed a low temp alarm, we felt there might possibly be a problem if the heat is rippled for any length of time while we're away.  We'll see what the cost is this winter without ripple and decide if that's what we want to do in the future.

Since it was such a nice day, John and I decided to return the extra tile, cement board, and tile cement to Home Depot.  We received a store credit for the returned items so we spent some of it on a couple of small rugs for the laundry area.  It was a little afternoon when we left HD, so we stopped at BK for a quick lunch before making one more stop at Menards on our way out of town.

We took a little detour on the way home to stop in at Matt's to see how Sam was doing.  He was released from the hospital this morning and seems to be doing okay.  He is on some pain killers and walks a little crooked, but he will probably head back to school on Thursday as it's the end of the semester and he has some tests to take.  Sam has some restrictions about lifting anything heavy and running and will be out of basketball until after the first of the year.  The doctor said he is young and in very good shape, so the healing process should be pretty fast.

Once we got home, John got the downstairs bathroom back in operating mode and then we headed up to the school for the Concert Band and JH Band winter program.  Hanna plays the bass clarinet in the Concert Band with Josh and Rachel playing in the JH Band.  Josh plays the French Horn and Rae plays in flute.  It was a very enjoyable evening.

Hanna (In Middle) 

 Rachel - She really did play, this

was just a pause for the flutes

Josh with his French Horn

Unplanned Happenings

John and I had a list of chores we wanted to get done this weekend.  I started out in the office working on our finances and getting some of our files ready to take to Texas.  JD needed some help replacing the faucet on his kitchen sink, so John spent some time up as his place and between them, were able to get the job done.

Matt, Hanna, and Rachel came down Saturday evening and while Matt grouted the new tile in the bathroom and hallway the girls and I visited and watched a movie.  Sara called and said Sam was having severe stomach pain and throwing up.  She felt it might be appendicitis and wanted to take him to the emergency room in Bemidji.  We decided the girls should stay with us and Matt left to pick up Sara and Sam.  After an hour or so, Matt called to tell us the doctor was performing a few tests to make sure it was the appendix and not something with Sam's kidneys.  Another call confirmed appendicitis and the decision was made for surgery this morning.  Hanna and Rachel remained overnight with us and this morning John took them home so they could shower and get into clean clothes.  Matt called and said the surgery went well and that Sam was being moved into a room.  The girls wanted to see their brother, so John took them down to Bemidji.  I stayed home as I didn't think my back could take sitting/standing most of the afternoon in a hospital room.  When John got home, he told me I made the right decision not to go.  We haven't heard when Sam will be coming home, but he should only be in for a day or two.  Bad news for him is that he won't be able to play basketball for 3-4 weeks.  Matt already called his coach to break the bad news to him.

More Basketball

Matt arrived early this morning to lay the tile in the bathroom and end of the hallway.  He got that part of the job finished after lunch and then headed home.  The tiles need to set before grouting, which he'll do tomorrow evening, so then everything can dry overnight without anyone walking on it. 

One of the folks who rode home with us last week from the Mpls. airport stopped out today to drop off a check for her share of the rental car.  She also brought along a beautiful loaf of homemade Christmas bread.  Evelyn stayed to visit for a few moments and shared she is flying off again to visit her daughter in southern Indiana and hopes she'll have better luck with the weather.

John spent most of day helping Matt and I changed bed linens and straightened up our bedroom.  Late this afternoon we headed back up to Clearbrook to watch Rachel's first basketball game.  She's in 7th grade and was very excited to play today as two previously scheduled games were cancelled due to bad weather.  JD, who teaches at the school, also came to watch her game.  The Bears had anther decisive victory only allowing their opponent to score 11 points.  Rae played a good game with several assists and great ball handling.  When this game was over, John and I hung around to watch most of the 8th grade game.  We ordered a pizza from the local pizza parlor and picked it up on the way home where we settled in for another cozy night of TV.  

That face says it all about Rae.

 

Rae guarding

 Rae bringing the ball up court

A Little Warmer Today

I know it's hard to believe for those of you who have not experienced way below zero temps, but when they do get up to single digits, it really seems almost balmy outside.  Today we reached a high of 6 above with a few snow showers here and there; however, it still isn't warm enough to be outside for any length of time.

Today I did some more work on the finances so we'll have everything in order for a visit to the accountant next week.  Closing the business means there will be a little more to them this year.  John kept busy doing a few chores around the house and then took the toilet out of the downstairs bathroom in preparation for tomorrow's tile installation.  He also did some snow removal down by the shop.

My back felt much better today, so late this afternoon we picked up Matt and headed off to Mahnomen to watch Hanna's first JV basketball game of the season.  On the way, we stopped at DQ for a quick supper before heading out of town and meeting up with Sara at the school.  The Bears won both the JV and Varsity games by decisive scores.  Tomorrow afternoon we head up to Clearbrook to watch Rachel's first game. Here are a couple of photos from tonight.

 

 

 

Cold Again

Since the bitterly cold weather has kept us house bound, we have been using the time to do a little Christmas cookie baking.  I mixed the cookie dough, John did the rolling out and cutting, and I did the decorating.  If we're not careful, we could have all of them eaten by the weekend.  I'm hoping to save enough for our family gathering in a couple of weeks; however, we can always bake some more.

This morning I had an early appointment at the pain management clinic.  John and I visited with Dr. Gessner for a while and he laid out what he wants to do next.  Today I received injections that numb, just like you receive at the dentist.  I was then sent on my way with a pain evaluation chart.  Every hour I was to stop, reflect on any pain I was having as the numbness wore off, and then record the level using the numbers on the pain chart.  This was only a diagnostic test to see what nerves or muscles are involved in causing the pain.  I have to have the exact same test again in a week.  The insurance companies require two sets of this test before approving the next procedure the Dr. wants to do. Depending on how things go, I might just wait until after we return from Texas in the spring.  We both need to get out of this cold--it sure doesn't help my back. This test today required about 10 injections--not so sure I would have had the nerve to go through with it if I knew what was coming.  I'll really have to steel up my courage for the next time.

Since I couldn't have anything to eat before the procedure this morning, right after we left the clinic we headed to Country Kitchen for some breakfast.  Next we gassed up the car, made a stop at Target for a few items, and then did a little grocery shopping.  It was mid afternoon by the time we returned home and we spent the rest of the day and evening hunkered down in the house staying toasty warm.  Tomorrow the temps are suppose to get above zero for the first time in over a week.  Should feel like a spring day--just kidding!

Bitter Cold Continues

The bitterly cold weather continues to keep a strong grip on our area, but at least we don't have the ice that hit the Dallas area.

Even though my back has been feeling a little better, we skipped church yesterday as I didn't want to risk sitting for over an hour on a hard surface.  The day was spent watching a couple of those crazy NFL games on TV and getting a start on the Christmas cards.  I also finished putting the jigsaw puzzle together.

Last Friday several guys from Aberdeen, SD, came to the shop to see our vacuum system which is currently on consignment with Acme Tool Co.  They seemed very interested when they left and, first thing this morning, called John to say they wanted to buy it along with all the piping that goes with it.  Only drawback is they can't pick it up until after the first of the year.  Elias said they would keep it touch and let us know when they'll be coming so we can make arrangements to have someone here in case we are gone by then.  

I got the Christmas cards finished up and now need to pick up some stamps at the post office to get then sent on their way.  John did some more driveway plowing this afternoon and this evening went into Bagley to watch Hanna play basketball.  He still hasn't returned home, so I don't know if Clearbrook won. I think tomorrow will be cookie-baking day.  It should be a good way to keep warm. 

 

Bitterly Cold

The temps dropped to 20 below overnight and didn't get above zero all day today.  At least we had sunshine which gave the illusion of warmth outside.  That was quickly dispelled upon opening the door to the outside world.

The weather has pretty much dictated what John and I are able to do--NOTHING!!  The past two days have been spent inside keeping warm, watching TV, working on a jigsaw puzzle, and taking care of the regular household chores.  Matt started tiling our laundry area and downstairs bathroom while we were out in Sacramento, but got called away to do snow plowing the past several days, so that job is on hold right now.  John took some time today getting the bathroom floor ready for tiling so hopefully Matt will get back here to finish up next week.

Needless to say, we are anxious to head south, but that is on hold until I can get my back pain under control.  The injections I got on Tuesday finally kicked in this morning, so today was much better.  I go back again next Wednesday for another series of shots and then we'll see what happens from there.  

Digging Out

The snow finally stopped falling sometime overnight leaving us with a lot of digging out to do.  Matt arrived around 3:30 a.m. to plow out our driveway before he headed off to take care of the rest of his customers.  He worked all day and still has five more driveways to do tomorrow.  Below are a few photos from yesterday.

Today John spent sometime outside clearing the path to the stove and the doorways to the old shop.  In between trips outside, he decided to paint a couple of his completed wood carvings.  They have been sitting here at home waiting for him to have some free time--well, he has plenty of free time now.  He did a great job and they look real nice.  I had bought a new jigsaw puzzle, so I got that out last night and started working on it.  I should have it done in a couple of days.  The temps are suppose to drop below zero tonight and the colder weather is forecast to hang around for some time, so we'll be hanging out around the house and trying to keep warm.

 

The Rest of the Story

Before I get to today's happenings, I'll finish up about our trip to CA.  Susie's family went to church Sunday morning while John and I stayed at the house--my back just wasn't up to sitting for an hour or so.  We all hung out around the house until Zach left to head back to college and then we went for a walk on a recreational path several miles away.  The end of the day found us at Leatherby's for ice cream.  Mike, Jesse, and Susie ordered the Big Daddy Dave while Maggie, Isaac, John, and I settled for The Sampler.  That allowed us to eat six different flavors of ice cream. 

 Susie and the kids took us to the airport on Monday afternoon to catch a 1 p.m. flight.  We arrived in Minneapolis around 6:30 p.m. and spent the next three hours eating supper, walking around the airport, and finally settling at our gate.  The plane we were to travel on arrived half an hour late and we finally boarded around 10:15 p.m.  John and I were so glad to finally be on the final leg of our trip.  As the plane was pulling away from the gate, it came to a stop, and the pilot announced the runway in Bemidji was too icy for landing and that our flight had been canceled.  It was now about 10:45 p.m.  The passengers were told to go to another gate for re-booking.  John and I talked to the agent and found we couldn't get a flight until 9:45 p.m. Tuesday night and that we couldn't be guaranteed of getting on that one.  He told us we would probably be stuck in the cities until sometime Wednesday.

It was then that I got a bright idea.  I told John we should rent a car, get out of the cities, drive as far as we could, stop for the night, and continue on in daylight.  Matt had called and told us it had snowed all day up here so we needed to proceed with caution.  I then got another idea, ask if there was anyone who would want to split the cost of the car rental and go with us.  We had four folks who wanted to take us up on our offer.  

Next stop was the car rental section of the airport.  I won't bore you with all the hassles, etc. we went through, but we finally ended up with a van.  One of the ladies with us drove out of the cities, and then John took over the driving.  We arrived back in Bemidji around 6: 30 in the morning and then spent the next half hour or so digging out the cars so we could all get on the road home.  John and I pulled into the garage around 7:30, unloaded the car, and then decided to lay down for an hour or so and get a little sleep.  An hour later Matt called to see if we got home and then Dr. Gessner's office called and, after some discussion with his nurse, I was told he wanted to try some other treatment and I could come in that afternoon for some injections.  So much for getting some sleep.  A big winter storm was in the forecast and we needed to stock up on groceries since we had been gone for almost a week.  We also had to pick up more tile for our hallway, so we took care of everything while we were in Bemidji.

Now for today.  All I can say is snow, snow, snow, and more snow.  It came down all day and the local weather says we got anywhere from 10-16 inches.  John has been busy trying to keep the pathways to the stove and his shop passable.  Thank goodness it's a very light, fluffy snow and easy to shovel.  We were pretty much housebound all day and it looks like we'll be snowed in for the next day or so until the plow opens our road and Matt can get here to plow us out.  John just came in from checking things outside and said the drifts down by the old shop were up to his waist. 
 

 

 

 

Home Again

John and I had a wonderful time visiting with Susie's family over the Thanksgiving holiday and especially enjoyed the warm weather.  A couple of other families were invited to join us for dinner on Thursday and brought several delicious dishes and deserts to share.  There was plenty of food and everyone was pretty much stuffed the remainder of the day.  We taught the kids how to play "31" and spent the evening playing cards and watching the Muppets "A Christmas Carol" movie.  Our original plan for Friday was to spend the day in San Francisco, but my back was acting up and I couldn't tolerate the two and a half hour car ride, so we all just hung out around the house.

Susie's family has the yearly tradition of cutting down their Christmas tree this holiday weekend, so on Saturday we all loaded into their van and headed off to the foothills of the Sierras.  We met up with Zach and Becky along the way and, after about an hour's drive, arrived at one of the many tree farms/apple orchards in the area.  Picking out the perfect tree is not a fast process as there are hundreds of trees to look over.  After a couple of hours of walking up and down the hills, comparing many trees, and then discussing the pros and cons of each one, the perfect one for this Christmas was finally selected.  Once you have selected your tree, you yell "Cutter", and a fellow with a saw tries to find you and when he does, helps you cut down the tree and takes it down the hill to be wrapped in netting.  You then pay for the tree and get it loaded into the back of your pickup or tied to the top of your car.  It was late in the afternoon when we finished with the tree, so we stopped at "In and Out Burger" for supper.  This is a must experience when visiting CA.

 Christmas Tree Farm

Jesse (back to camera) Maggie, Zach,

and Becky looking over some trees

 

It's getting late, so I'll finish our adventure on tomorrow's blog.