Pretty Quiet

Our weather has been cloudy and on the cool side for August with the temps dropping into the low 40's at night and only hitting the upper 60's during the day.  It sure makes it hard for the many tomatoes in our garden to ripen.  The peppers and cucumbers are doing great, but those tomatoes are driving us crazy.

John has been playing golf every morning and seems to be improving his game.  The injection I received at the doctor's earlier in the week has really helped my foot, but I'm not quite sure I'm ready to walk nine holes on the course.

We have been busy getting things around the house under control before we leave on our trip next Thursday.  John mowed the lawn again today and has been working on getting the garden weed free.  I'm trying to keep the laundry current and working on sorting through what we need to take.  This evening Matt, Hanna, and Rachel stopped at the local drive-in, picked up some supper, and then came down to our place to eat it.  Since Sam was on a date and Sara was working at the hospital, they decided to visit with us for a while.  

Pickles and Golf

John went off bright and early to play a round of golf.  He is determined to get the most out the dues we payed back in May.  Right now a round of golf is costing him about $4.50.  I opted out once again as I am having trouble with my right foot.  Arthritis has settled into the big toe joint causing a good sized bunion.  I had called the podietrist last week, but couldn't get an appointment until the end of September.  On Monday I had tripped on the golf course and stepped right on the foot that was giving me pain--after that dumb move, the pain was off the charts and I couldn't walk without it, let alone wear shoes for very long.  Since we will start our trip east next week and will be gone for a while, I called the podietrist's office to see if they could fit me in and maybe get a steroid injection.  The receptionist was so friendly and helpful and found a cancellation for 11:30 this morning.  She told me to come at 11:00 since the doctor wanted an x-ray of my foot before seeing me in the office.  After looking over the x-rays, the doctor said the bones in my foot were pushed out of place and, since it will only get worse, he recommended foot surgery, so I'm scheduled for September 25 as that will give me enough time to get healed up before leaving for Texas.  Before I left, he gave me a steroid injection in the hopes that would help ease the pain over the next several weeks.  We got all the pre-op appointments set up before we left the clinic and then headed to BK for a quick lunch before stopping at Target for a few groceries.

When we returned home, we got busy getting cucumbers washed, cut up, and put into jars along with some hot brine.  After processing, we have seven jars of dill strips.  Once the pickles were done, we attacked the green beans and got them blanched, bagged, and into the freezer.  We're all caught up with the garden produce for now.

A Pretty Cool Morning

John was up early to play golf, but one look at the thermometer told him he needed to wear long pants.  The temperature was 41 degrees at the start of our day with high's only reaching into the low 60's by the afternoon.  I opted out of golfing and stayed home to get more of the Legos sorted and ready for ebay.

We found the food processor we ordered last week sitting on the porch when we got home last night, so we gave it a tryout this afternoon by chopping up cucumbers.  It did a great job and we ended up making a batch of sweet relish.  The entire process was much faster and easier with this new appliance, so it's definitely a keeper.  This evening following supper, I headed up to Sara's for a haircut while John stayed busy at home watering the garden.  It seems most of the heavier rains have bypassed our area, so things have gotten pretty dry.

Fall Day

The high humidity continued yesterday, so after church I hung out around the house working on sorting our old Legos and getting them photographed and ready to put on ebay after we return from the East Coast.  I'm hoping folks will be thinking of possible Christmas gifts and might be looking for some vintage Legos.  While I was busy with the Legos, John headed up to JD's place and helped John and Joanne erect a trellis for their grape vines.  John had given them a couple of shoots in the spring and they have taken root and growing quickly.

A cold front went through last night and the humidty finally moved out.  In its wake came much cooler temps (highs in the low 60's) and strong winds.  It really felt like a fall day, but perfect for playing golf.  Once we were back home, I packaged up the items I sold on ebay last week.  I dropped them off on my way to Bemidji for a doctor's appointment--it was my turn for my annual physical.  As soon as I was finished, I drove back home where an hour and a half later John and I returned to Bemidji for some quick grocery shopping, supper at BK, and then on to Blackduck for Rachel's first volleyball game of the season.  The eighth grade Bears were winners tonight--two games to one.  We stayed and watched the varsity play a couple of games, but decided to head home as it was getting late and we both had a busy day.

 Rachel returning vollies

  

Football Scrimmage Today

John was up bright and early so he could get in a round of golf before the course got busy.  It was extremely humid this morning, so I opted to stay at home and I was glad I did as he said it was just steamy and not too enjoyable playing.

The Clearbrook Bears football team was invited to play in the Top of the State Conference Football Jamboree this afternoon.  The event was held in Argyle, MN which is about two hours north of us.  We left home around 11:30 a.m. and stopped for lunch at a Subway along the route.  We were half through our subs when Matt and Sara walked in and joined us.  Since Matt knew the way to the football field in Argyle, we just followed him the rest of the way.

There were nine teams involved in the jamboree.  Most of these schools will play each other sometime during the season.  The regular playing and practice fields were divided into two fields each so multiple scrimmages could be held at the same time.  For each scrimmage, the offense had 15 plays and then the defense did the same.  There was no tackling allowed of the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage--the defensive player just had to touch him.  I think they had this rule to keep the quaterbacks from getting injured before the season started, which for most schools, is next week.

The Bears played well with no turnovers and only one or two fumbles.  There are a few areas that need a little tweaking, but overall I think the coaches were happy with how the kids played.

On the way home, we stopped at McDonald's for supper, and once again Matt and Sara ended up eating with us.  We were just about done our meals when the bus arrived with the Bears team.  After briefly visiting with Sam and Hanna (she's the team's manager) we hit the road home.

Sam #7 playing Quarterback

Work Day

There was no golfing again today because John was up and out bright and early to help Matt install a door.  While it was nice and quiet around here this morning, I was able to get some more cleaning done without interruptions.  I also got started on packing for our trip east--we'll be staying in a rental house in Ocean City, NJ, so we have to bring our own sheets, towels, beach towels, etc.  I got all of that packed this morning. 

John returned home early in the afternoon and did some weeding in the garden before calling it a day and relaxing in the AC.  Tomorrow afternoon we'll be heading north to watch Sam's football scrimmage.

Relish Today

It was our intent to play golf this morning, but the weather didn't co-operate.  The sky was overcast and the forecast called for thunderstorms, so we thought it best not to venture out to the course.

Instead of golfing, John did some more cutting, splitting, and stacking of firewood while I did some cleaning and laundry.   The garden finally yielded enough cucumbers, onions, and peppers for us to make our first batch of relish.  It took quite a bit of chopping from both of us, but we finally got enough ingredients for seven jars.  It was a unanimous decision to invest in a food processor as our hands are just too arthritic to be pounding on a food chopper.  The new gadget should be here before we have enough produce from the garden to make more relish.

Update from Wyoming--Caleb saw the orthopedic surgeon today and is now wearing a big, black air cast on his foot.  He will be on crutches for at least the next three weeks and hopefully back to normal in about six or seven.  At least he won't have to unload the dishwasher for a long time.

Busy Day

This morning John and I were up and out the door bright and early  headed in different directions.  John went to play a round of golf while I drove to Bemidji to get the car serviced.  Since we will be driving to the east coast in a couple of weeks, we wanted to get the car checked over, the oil changed, and tires rotated.  While the car was in the shop, I walked across the road and spent and hour or so browsing through Target and making a couple of purchases.  I returned to the dealership to find the car ready to go.  My next stop was the clinic to get the stitches in my arm removed.  The nurse said the report for the biopsy came back negative for any cancer cells.  I stopped at the mall where I did a little shopping.  From 
there it was on to BK for a quick lunch and then back on the road home.

John spent some time working on the firewood pile.  He picked up the splitter last night, so he spent some time splitting the larger logs.  The woodshed is just about full.  It's always nice to have that wood cut and ready for winter.  Both Matt and JD have their sheds full and are ready for the cold weather.  Hopefully it will be quite a while before we have to start burning wood.

Golfing Again

It was pretty foggy when we left the house to play a round of golf this morning.  By the time we made it to the course, the fog had lifted enough for us to see where we were hitting our balls.  We both had good shots interspersed with quite a few poor ones.  

Since the day was partly cloudy, John went out to cut more firewood when the sun hid behind the clouds.  I kept busy working on our trip east by marking out our route and making some motel reservations.  After supper, John headed up to Matt's to pick up the wood splitter so he can get to splitting some of the bigger logs.  That was pretty much how our time was spent today.

Busy Morning

John and I were up bright and early but not for golf.  This morning he had a doctor's appointment for his annual physical.  We arrived at the clinic right on time, but they were very busy with sports physicals and were running a little late.  We finally got out of there and headed over to McDonald's for some breakfast; however, they were finished with breakfast, so we headed across the street to Perkins.

After eating, we ran some errands and made a final stop at Wal Mart for a few groceries.  We were standing in the fruit section when we saw Dave and Valada Sandwick walk into the store.  The next half hour was spent visiting and catching up on how things are going at Fort Clark.

This afternoon John picked some green beans from our garden and we ate some for supper this evening.  The weather has not been the greatest for gardens this year and everything is coming later than usual.

Had some bad news from Gillett, Wy. this evening.  Grandson Caleb broke his ankle in football practice this morning, so his season is over before it even began.  Looks like we won't be watching any football in Wyoming this fall--we'll only have Noah's soccer this year.

Cooler Today

We were up bright and early yesterday so we could get a round of golf in before it got too warm and the course got crowded.  We missed out on both.  It was so humid we were both very hot and tired by the sixth hole.  It seems like most folks had the same idea about getting out early.  There were golfers on every hole, so that meant you had to keep moving right along.  Since the humidity hung around all day, we stayed inside and enjoyed the AC.

Today the temps were cooler but we still had the humidity, though it was a little lower.  After church we hung out around the house watching both the PGA and LPGA on TV.  John did slip outside for awhile to do some firewood cutting, but even though it was overcast, he still worked up a sweat.  I baked some bread this afternoon and got a few things ready to put on ebay.  Susie called from California and said the newlyweds are doing well and that she will be working fulltime as an aid in a combined fourth and fifth grade class.  Jesse and Maggie will be going to Bradshaw while Isaac will be taking classes at the local college.  Their family is going to be very busy come the last week of August.

Hot and Humid Today

Today's weather forecast called for higher temps and humidity, so we decided to beat the heat and get out to the golf course nice and early once again.  My round was very eratic today with missed shots and generally lousy holes.  Finally, my game came around and I played well on the last two holes.  John also had a few problems getting off good tee shots.  I hope we got all that poor play out of our systems and we have a better round tomorrow.

We were sitting out on the porch resting after our golf outing when Matt called and asked if we were going to be home as he would bring down Rachel's volleyball schedule.  He arrived a little later and ended up staying through lunch.  It was enjoyable just visiting with him for hours instead of a few minutes here and there.  

By the time Matt left, it was getting pretty warm out on the porch, so we turned on the AC and pretty much vegged out for the rest of the day.  We did spend some time looking at the road atlas trying to plan out our next road trip to the east coast in September.
 

Another Nice Day

Things have been pretty quiet around with nothing unusual happening.  John and I played golf yesterday morning and then he cut more firewood while I took care of several things in the house.

This morning John was up bright and early to play another round of golf.  He is determined to get his money's worth of golfing this summer.  I begged off as my back was a little on the sore side from golfing three days in a row.  When he returned home, he did some cleaning up in the backyard.  Just as he was finishing, Matt and Hanna pulled into the driveway.  They were returning the trailer borrowed the other day and, after getting it unhooked, stopped in the house for a quick visit.  Sam has started football practice, so the main topic of conversation was football.  Hanna is going to be the team manager this year.  The volleyball and fottball seasons will be starting in a couple weeks, so we'll be pretty busy going to the games.

Pickle Making

It was a beautiful cool morning, so John and I decided to head into town for another round of golf.  I should have stayed home as I played so poorly.  I couldn't hit the ball right no matter how hard I tried--at least I got some exercise.  On the drive down our road we noticed several of the trees had yellow leaves.  The shortening daylight hours are beginning to bring changes to our area.  It probably won't be too long before the hummingbirds and others begin their migration south.  We have five hummingbirds coming to the feeder by the kitchen window and it has been fun watching them fight each other over who is going to eat first.

After a little rest, John went out back and cut more firewood.  While he was doing that, Matt and Hanna arrived.  Matt wanted to borrow our trailer and while the guys were getting it ready, Hanna came inside and visited with me for a bit.

After a very slow start, our garden is finally beginning to yield some produce.  Today we made our first batch of pickles--dill chips.  John is anxious to give them a try.

 

Another Beautiful Day

Yesterday we had cloudy skies with on and off again showers the whole day, so we were pretty much house bound after church.  We spent the entire afternoon watching the PGA golf tournament on TV and just vegged out for the day.

This morning the skies were clear and the weather was just about perfect for a round of golf.  Today we had more of the "Yikes!" shots than we would have liked, but still had fun and got in some exercise.  

Matt and Hanna stopped in shortly after we returned home.  They were returning from the dentist where Hanna had a little work done and decided to stop in for a visit.  After they left, John decided to cut some more firewood since it was nice and cool.  I took care of some laundry and a few other household chores.

Last week during my doctor's visit, I pointed out a spot on my arm that I was concerned about.  He decided that it should be removed just to be on the safe side and made an appointment for me to return to the clinic today, so that's what we did this afternoon.  I have a few stitches and, so far, no discomfort.  The stitches will be removed next week.

Following our visit to the clinic, we stopped at BK for a quick bite and then did some grocery shopping before heading home.  When we got there, we found a message on the answering machine from Rachel.  She wanted to sell her IPod on ebay and asked me to help her get it listed, so after putting the groceries away, John and I headed up to Matt's house.  It didn't take us long to get the IPod on ebay, so now she just has to wait and see if it sells.  We stayed a little to visit and then headed home.  It was a long day and we both were pretty tired.

No Golfing Today

John and I slept in a  little later this morning since we couldn't play golf.  Today the course championship was being held, so it wasn't open for other players.

This morning John spent some time cutting up more of the slab wood he purchased in June.  He made a special holder for the wood so he could cut it into lengths that will fit easily into the outdoor stove.  

The weather was on the warm and humid side today, so we mainly just vegged out inside enjoying the AC.  This afternoon we watched the PGA Championship on TV which turned out to be pretty exciting.  

More Grass Cutting

Our weather has continued to be quite pleasant for August--not real hot and fairly low humidity.  Usually we are running the AC this time of year.

John and I played golf yesterday and I had the worst first hole ever.  The fairways were being mowed with several different tractors and between the noise and worrying I was holding up the grass cutting, I just couldn't concentrate.  John said I looked like I'd never picked up a golf club before in my life.  Once we got to the second hole, my game came around and I had a good round.  The rest of the day we just hung out around here.

This morning John played golf alone as I stuck to my every other day plan.  While he was gone, I got started working on our finances as I had rather neglected them for a couple of weeks.  The desktop was a mess, so I took some time clearing that off and getting papers filed away.  John gave the lawn another trim this afternoon--said the grass is finally slowing down and beginning to burn a little.  After all the rain we had in June and early July, we have gotten pretty dry and could use some moisture--thunderstorms are in the forecast for Sunday. 

A Little Warmer Today

Since my back was feeling better, I played a round of nine holes with John yesterday.  After being off for two weeks, I thought I wouldn't have a good round, but I surprised myself and made some good shots.  This morning John headed out alone for the course--I think it's best for me to take a day or two off between rounds to rest my back and not push it too hard.

While John was golfing I did some cleaning and tackled the laundry.  Since our washer and dryer are in the back hallway, there is only the coat rack on which to hang dried clothes.  Today John came up with an idea for hanging dried items.  He made a little bar that hangs over the edge of the wall cabinets and now I can hang shirts, etc. there instead of over the jackets on the coat rack.  The garden is coming along very slowly, but we did manage to pick some cucumbers today.  We're hoping to have enough for a batch of pickles pretty soon.  

It's hard to believe we are through the first week of August already.  Our days are rapidly getting shorter--the sun is not over the horizen until 7 a.m. now. During the summer solstice, the sun was visible at 3:30 in the morning.  Our trees are also feeling the effects of less sunlight--they are losing their deep green color and some light yellow is beginning to make an appearance.  One good thing about fall approaching is the football season is about to begin once again.

Quiet Days

The fair ended yesterday so things will get back to normal around here once again.  We went into town last night and picked up our entries and helped get all the props, table covers, etc. down and put away.  Entries can be removed anytime after 8 p.m. and it didn't take too long for the building to empty out.

This morning John and I were up bright and early as I had a doctor's appointment at 8:30 a.m. for some blood work and prescription refills.  Once that was out of the way, we stopped for breakfast and then did some grocery shopping before heading back home.  This afternoon Matt called and said he had some spray for combatting ladybugs.  John went up to his house, picked up the sprayer, and this evening sprayed around all of our windows and doors.  We get such an infestation of ladybugs in the fall after the soybeans are harvested that we were desparate to try anything to keep them out of the house.  Matt used it last year and said it worked pretty well for him.  

Things have been pretty quiet around here--just enjoying the nice sunny days and low humidity.  August is usually pretty hot and humid, but so far it's been beautiful.  The garden is coming along and we should start doing pickles pretty soon.  My back is much better, so I might try a round of golf tomorrow morning if I can get myself out of bed at the crack of dawn.  Folks have asked to see some of my fair entries, so here are a few: