Saturday, May 30, 2015

Sunny But Chilly Day

Friday started off cool with rain, but by the afternoon that weather moved out and the skies began to clear.  John, tired of being stuck in the house, headed into town for a quick round of golf before we headed up to JD's for supper.  Frost was in the forecast, so John covered the garden and brought in the hanging plants.  He also helped JD and Jo get their garden covered.  It's a good thing we all took the time to protect the plants as the temps dropped to 32 degrees overnight.  The long range forecast calls for lows in the mid 50's, so hopefully we've had our last frost.

This morning dawned bright, clear, and chilly with high's forecast to only reach the low 50's with strong breezes.  That meant bundling up for the track meet.  John and I left home at 9 a.m. for the hour and a half drive south to the meet. The preliminary heats for the sprints and hurdles were first thing before the main meet could get started.  I am happy to say Sam placed 2nd in both the 100 meter dash and open 400, so he will be heading to the state track meet next Friday and Saturday.  One other Clearbrook runner will also be heading to state in the open 200.






We stopped at Dairy Queen for a quick supper on our way home and after spending the entire day outside in the chilly wind, are both ready for a quiet evening in front of the TV.

Thursday, May 28, 2015

We're Still Here

Things have been pretty quiet around here so I haven't posted anything to my blog in over a week.  Guess it's time to get caught up again.

John and Matt are at standstill on the bathroom remodeling job as they are waiting for a vanity to come in.  On the bright side, John won't have to work since Sam finished up school today and he will be helping his dad this summer.

Last Thursday we attended the sub-section track meet where Sam placed second in the 100 meter race and first in the 400.  That means he moves onto the section meet and if he places first or second in either of his races, he'll compete in the state track meet.  The sub-section meet will be an all day affair this Saturday.


 The weather has been back and forth between sunny and rainy days, so we play golf whenever we can squeeze it in.  John and I finally got all the outside work done--feeders up for the birds, porch cleaned and ready to use, and the house garage cleaned out and new shelves painted and set up.

 John hauling a shelf up from the old shop

Now that school is out for the summer and with only one, or possibly two, more track meets to attend, we'll be slowly getting into our summer routine of gardening and grass cutting.  Since we took two big trips last summer, our intention is to stick close to home this year.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Pretty Quiet Couple of Days

After being on the go with doctors' appointments, track meets, graduation and Confirmation, the past two days have been pretty quiet.  Monday and today John left early in the morning to work with Matt remodeling a bathroom.  I have taken advantage of the quiet house to do some cleaning and reorganizing a couple of closets.  We had frost last night and it's in the forecast again tonight, so John has been covering his tomato plants and bringing in the hanging baskets.  Hopefully this will be the last of the freezing temps.  

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Rain, Golf, Confirmation

Rain was in the forecast for Saturday afternoon, so John and I decided to take advantage of the break in the weather and headed into town for a round of golf.  That was the extent of our outside activities for the day and we pretty much hung out around the house the remainder of the afternoon and evening.

Today was Confirmation Sunday and Rachel, along with four others, was confirmed during the morning service. Following the service several of the families put on a meal in honor of their children.  Sara's family and John's sister came from out of town to help celebrate this milestone with Rachel.



As we left church, the skies began to clear, so we decided to head into town and play a round since John will be working with Matt a day or two this week.  We were just finishing the 7th hole when we got caught in a quick shower.  The sun was shining, but a heavy rain cloud was right over us.  At least it was a warm afternoon and we dried out fairly fast.

Sara took her state boards yesterday and passed with flying colors with a score of 94.  Now she is completely done with schooling and studying and will start her new job next week.

Friday, May 15, 2015

Rain and Busy Days

Thursday was another cool, rainy day.  John and I just hung out around the house in the morning taking care of a few household chores.  Following a quick lunch, we headed south to Detroit Lakes for Sara's graduation from the two year Radiology course she took at the Minnesota Technical College.  The class had a total of 15 students and they attended classes and clinicals for two straight years with only a few breaks for holidays, etc.  Sara was the top student in the class and received a special award along with getting "pinned".  She is taking her state boards tomorrow and then will start work at the Centers for Pain Management where I was treated earlier this week.  Following the ceremoney, Sara's dad treated 13 of us to a delicious dinner at one of the many lakeside dinning places in the area.  Needless to say we are all very proud of Sara and all her hard work over the past two years.



Today stated off with heavy fog and misty rain which left us wondering if the two track meets for today would be canceled; however, the skies cleared in the late afternoon and we had beautiful weather for the meets. The varsity meet had been canceled earlier in the week and moved to today where a jr. high meet was already on the calendar.  We had to decide which one to attend.  The junior high meet won out as this was their final one of the season.  Sara went to the varsity meet as she would be staying overnight in the Fargo area to get to the testing site on time.  Sam won the 100 yard dash and came in second in the open 200 and 400.  At the junior high meet, all of JD's boys broke the six minute mark in the mile, Jenni won the high jump and did well in the open 200 and 400. Rachel and Josh also did well in their races.  JD has had a very successful first year as a track coach.


Rachel striding down the home stretch in the mile
 

 Jenni heading for finish line in open 400

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

All Day Rain Again

As the title says, we had an all day rain again and that means the only time we left the house was this morning for my appointment at the Centers for Pain Management.  I had to be at the center by 8:15 a.m. and since I was having a light anesthesia, I couldn't eat anything this morning.  The entire procedure took about an hour and then they sent me home with instructions to rest the remainder of the day--not too hard to do with it raining.  We made a  stop at McDonald's for a late breakfast and from there went to Wal Mart for a few items we missed the other day. When we returned home I followed the doctor's instructions to the letter and just vegged out all day--John did the same even though his only job this morning was morale support.


Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Rainy, Cool Days

Monday it rained all day.  We were suppose to go to a track meet, but Matt called and told us it was canceled.  Since it's so late in the school year, I doubt that it will be made up.  John and I left the house at 7:15 a.m. as I had an 8 a.m. appointment at the new Centers for Pain Management in Bemidji.  The x-rays I had last Thursday showed arthritis in my hip joints that involves the sciatic nerve so I was referred to the pain center and my original doctor.  He scheduled me for a procedure first thing tomorrow morning and said we'll see how the pain levels are afterward.  If not better, we'll go back to the nerve denervation. 

Today the rains finally moved out and some sun showed up late in the afternoon.  John and Matt worked all day and got the shed finished up.  I kept busy with laundry and ebay sales.  The weather doesn't look too good the remainder of the week--cooler temps and rain.

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers who read my blog.  Hope you all had a wonderful day.  Since our weather was cold and rainy we spent a quiet day at home following church this morning.  John did all the cooking, so I had a pretty relaxing day and enjoyed Skyping with Amy's family and phone calls from Susie and John--  saw Matt at church where he wished me a happy Mother's Day.  This week, if the weather co-operates, we'll be going to two track meets and John will probably be helping Matt finish up the woodshed they've been building.  All outdoor activities are questionable as a rainy week is in the forecast.

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Cold Weather Returns

After almost two weeks of beautiful warm sunny days, cold weather has returned with the threat of frost and snow.  John has been covering our garden plants for the last two nights and will continue to do so until the overnight temps stay above freezing.  He has also brought the hanging plants inside for a couple of days.

Thursday afternoon we drove an hour and a half south to Walker to attend the Conference Jr./Sr. High Track Meet.  Sam was conference champ in three events and Jenni and Rachel placed second in two.  The day was overcast with pop corn showers, but in spite of the weather it was a fun time.

John did manage to play some golf on Friday and today--I opted out, just too cold for me.  I've kept busy photographing and listing more items on ebay.  I've sold an item or two already so now I need to get them packed and ready for shipping.  A rain system is forecast to move in tomorrow, so we'll probably just be hanging out around the house on Sunday.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Rain On The Way, Hopefully

On Tuesday morning John was out early once again to work with Matt.  I had an appointment in Bemidji to see an occupational therapist concerning the arthritis in my hands.  He suggested a couple of exercises and gave me a brace to wear when playing golf.  After an hour at the clinic, I ran some errands and did some shopping before heading home. John only worked a few hours in the morning and then he headed into town for a round of golf.

Rain was in the forecast for today so we played a round of golf first thing this morning while it was still clear.  I used the hand brace I got yesterday and I must say my hand didn't ache after playing. When we got home, we rested up a bit and then took some time looking through items left over from our sale of a year and a half ago and decided to list some of those items on ebay.  That will keep my busy for a while.  After lunch I headed up to Sara's for a haircut and John spent some time in his little shop working on a small project.  


Monday, May 4, 2015

Track Meet Today

This morning John was up and out bright and early to help Matt build a woodshed for one of his customers.  I have been neglecting our home office since we returned from Texas and decided it was time to attack the mess.  I also sold several more items on ebay and needed to get them ready for mailing.  

After John got home and cleaned up, we headed off to Ada for a junior high track meet.  The day was just perfect with no wind and plenty of sunshine.  Josh, Jenni, and Rachel all improved their times over last week and placed in their events--Jenni won the open 200.  This meet wasn't quite as long as the ones we attended last week so we got home at a reasonable hour after stopping at DQ for a late supper.


Jenni getting hand off to start her leg of relay
 

 Rachel, on left, passing a runner

 Joanne cheering on Rachel

 Josh, on right, coming into finish

Jenni running 200

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Busy Saturday and Sunday

Saturday morning John headed up to the church where he joined with other men for breakfast and work morning. Following a nice meal he helped trim and remove bushes from in front of the building along with a few other small jobs.  While he was busy with that, I took care of some laundry and bathroom cleaning.  After lunch John got busy planting the garden and I took care of making up a couple of hanging baskets and flower pots.  We still have more work to do outside, but at least we've gotten a good start on the spring projects.

Sunday was another busy day for us starting off with church first thing in the morning.  We got back home with just enough time for a quick lunch before heading into Bagley for a piano recital.  Josh, Jenni, and Julie are all very accomplished pianists and each played some beautiful pieces for the recital.  John and I returned home for a little rest and then went up to JD's house for a late birthday celebration meal, cake, and games.  This next week will be another busy one with two track meets and other appointments.

Friday, May 1, 2015

Getting Green At Last

Due to the warmer than normal temperatures, the trees are beginning to leaf out and the grass is turning green.  The first of May is really early for this to be happening.

First a little catch up about Thursday.  John and I were up and out the door bright and early once again as I had an 8:30 a.m.  appointment with my new pain management doctor.  John and I spent an hour and half with him going over my history as well as having a physical examine.  He felt that my main problem is in the back muscles and prescribed some pain relief meds that are applied to the skin.  I also had more blood work done along with some x-rays. It's not to say that I won't have another nerve denervation done, but he feels I need to try another path right now and find the root cause of the pain.  I am very comfortable with what he said and have another appointment with him in three weeks to see how the pain levels are after using the new meds.

After finally getting through at the clinic, we went out for lunch and then made a quick stop at the bank before heading home.  An hour later we picked up Matt and headed back to Crookston for the junior high track meet.  Josh, Jenni, and Rachel all ran personal best times, with Jenni and Rachel placing in their events.  We stopped for a quick meal with Matt and Sara following the meet and arrived home rather late again.

It felt good to sleep in this morning and take our time over breakfast.  Since our beautiful weather continues, we headed into town to play a round of golf before the course got busy.  The above normal temps for this time of year has made us anxious to get busy in the garden, so following lunch, we went to the local greenhouse and purchased some tomato, pepper, and flowering plants.  John got the garden tilled and planted the onion sets, dill, and some lettuce.  We have never planted this early before, so we'll have to keep our fingers crossed we don't have a frost.


Trees greening up along the road in front of our house
 

Garden tilled and a few items planted
 
Buds beginning to come out on flowering
crab apple trees
 

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...