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.