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