Sunday May 30, 2010

I fed at the unit early before going to prayer time at church. I brought some red, white, and blue flowers. After church we headed to court houses. Pocahontas (same), Palo Alto (Emmetsburg), Emmit (Esterville), Dickinson (Spirit Lake), Clay (Spencer), about 300 miles. We had a great lunch on the deck of The Wharf in Okobogi/ Arnold's Park. It is a small restaurant on Highway 71 where 2 lakes meet. We watched the boas goo by. By this time of the ride we had on our cold weather clothes, so it was okay sitting outside. In Spencer it started to rain. The pictures of that court house have some raindrops. We got to Pastor Glen's house in Arthur about 7. Missy and kids were there. They are spending a couple days with us while Phillip is canoeing with his brother and dad. There was a bonfire at pastor's and about 60 -75 people from church and the neighborhood had a great time eating and visiting. Denny took the little ones home. We visited with Missy before heading to bed.

Sat May 29

Denny went to the unit before 6 and by nearly 8 he was home, stressed, with a lot to do at the unit yet having to go to the bank in Odebolt to work the Sat am shift. I fed my sows after he left. Joey came to mow that area of the yard where we moved out those fallen branches. There are 4 small wisteria blossoms coming. John and Uncle Gary went to the cemetary with Grandpa Johnson to put out flowers. Joey and I got another bed mulched. Linda was cleaning at the folks. Denny came back from Odebolt and went to the unit. Joey and I went to join the family for lunch and have maid rites that Linda brought. In the afternoon Denny did stop over at the folks, Mom was in bed resting. Okay the picture really doesn't fit, but what a great picture! And Phillip is leaving for the boundary waters tomorrow after church. (Not the mountains, but the experience is similar I would suppose.)

Friday May 28

Anabel is home!! Diane went with Howard to SC. The boys stayed here at the farm with me. We really got a lot done. John cleaned out the 'under the tree' house. Pulled weeds, cut off dead branches, washed the little table, washed the dishes. Joey helped me do a flower bed. Pulled grass, dug out roots, put down newspapers, put mulch on top of newspapers, planted annuls, watered. We went to the Arthur park for dinner with Denny. When we got home we went to the folks. Joey mowed, John and I pulled weeds. Anabel got home about 4. She was so tired and worn out, but she did tell me that Little Anabel had called her Wed. night in the hospital. Little Anabel prayed the Lord's prayer with great grandma Anabel over the phone. After they got home Howard and Diane went back into IG for medicine. We had root beer floats. YUM!! About 8 pm the boys came back over to our place and helped haul dead branches out of the way of the swing set. The branches had broken off during the ice storm last January and were blocking the "park". Denny ran the chainsaw and we, 3, took the fallen away. Then a quick fire in the pit and a couple roasted/toasted marshmallows. It is always a great day when your mom comes home from the hospital. And it is a great day when you get a lot done. Thanks Joey and John!!

Thursday May 27

I stopped over to visit Diane and Dad when Denny left for work. I had already fed the sows. Diane went with Dad to SC. The boys went to Steph B. I worked more on the yard then went to town. In IG I took out an ad in the paper inviting gals to a Girl's night out in the Country. Monday June 7 from 6:30-8:30. $10 for a table of 4 plus bring one salad to share. Garden walk. salad buffet and dessert. We will see if I have any takers. It gives me a incentive to weed some of the grass in the flower beds and use up the mulch that Denny got me for Mothers Day. I love our deck/yard in the evening. Hope others will want to share it with me. I got a subway sandwich and took Carol T. out to lunch in the park. Mom is still in SC. She had two measures of potassium given to her today. Her lung x ray looked good. There is still kind of a raspiness in her breathing. They think that the potassium IV caused extra fluid in her body. Exercising (walking the halls) will help, plus a diuretic tonight. At night we watched the news, and atea bite for supper. Then I mowed and Denny cleaned. Joey came over and Denny showed him how to run the lawn mover. It is tough for John not to be double digits and old enough to run the mower. Denny took Joey home later and was there when the hospital called to see what Anabel's wishes were if there should happen to be a code called on her. Grandpa said they had decided to have a living will, and full code was preferred. The picture is from Evan's birthday with parents, and lots of grand and great grand parents.

Wed. May 26. 2010 5060

I fed sows at 5:30. Anabel has always given Howard his diabetes shot. Denny watched the tutorial on the internet and gave Howard his shot this am. I worked at the unit til 2. Diane and boys came to visit and use the internet. Linda went with Howard to SC today. Grandma's going to have a blood transfusion later today because her red blood cell count is lower than yesterday. Hopefully, this will give her some more energy so she doesn't feel so worn out. She likes Dr. Hagen. He prays with her before he leaves.

Tues May 24

Haley's Kindergarten Graduation! Pretty exciting. They put on a presetation/ information about the pony express. (150 years) and about riding/living for the Lord. Haley said she wants to be a doctor when she grows up. After a Wal-mart run, I moved some plants in the front flower area. Back in IG, G'ma Anabel was running a temp in the afternoon. Howard and Diane took her to the cancer center and they admitted her to St. Luke's. They don't know where the infection is. If it is in her body, a couple days of antibotics should help. If it is in her blood, she will probably spend a week in SC. Should know more in a couple days when the lab work is done. Keep her in your prayers. One nice thing was that Lindsey B. (who graduated from HS with Mandy was Mom's nurse.) I got home about 6, Denny still is fighting his cold. He was going to spray the weeds, but it kinda looked like rain.

Monday May 24, 2010 4961

Up to the unit at 5:30- 7am. I took Denny to work then headed to Sioux City. Anabel was scheduled for a 9 am Doctor appointment and chemo treatment. Her white blood count was 2400 last week and they postponed her chemo treatment. Today is was lower, 1100. They plan to retest her blood June 2 and hopefully,(prayerfully) the white cell count will be better. She needs to avoid exposure to germs, sick people, etc. I headed to St. Joe. about 10:30 and finally got there about 3:30. I had a couple of stops to keep me awake. Fun to see the Missouri Johnsons.

Sunday May 23, 2010

I had devotions, then I went to the unit to check on the mammas. After church, Denny took a motorcycle ride to 6 county court houses. He got home about 9 pm. Rose J., Mary G., and I helped with Talia's graduation reception from 2-8 pm. They served baked potatoes, fruit salad, and cupcakes. It went well. Quick visit with Denny before heading to bed. I don't know if it helped the cold he has had for a week.

Sat. May 22, 2010

It was great to have a nice lazy day. Did I say that it was windy? Of course, that made it interesting to put up our big tent to make sure it was usable for Phillip. The grand kids gave Denny bird seed, then helped him fill the feeders. We found 6 cots, Denny had to fix the wooden ends of 2 of them. They also packed up 2 55 gallon bags of my free mulch and a pailful of bunching onions. The van was full!! When we stopped at Great grandma's there were 3 kittens that had their eyes opened. What fun for the little ones. After the Jensen's left we napped and watched Netflicks (I'd rate it 4) DVD Julie and Julia. About 6 we went to church where I helped put flowers together for Kara L. Then to Whitney G's graduation reception at the Cinnamon Stone. Then to Kate B's reception. Did I say that it was windy? Oh, My, IT WAS WINDY!!

Friday, May 21, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DENNY!!! 60 YEARS OLD! You love your wheels. I love you! Hopefully, the breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast, sausage, hash brown with cheese and onions, V8, coffee, and a model 1972 Pontiac GTO car made your day. Thanks for the lunch you brought to the unit for Tom, Mark, and me. Missy,Phillip, and kids came to pick up cots for Phillip's Memorial day canoe trip to the boundary waters. The folks brought 2 cakes, German chocolate and angel food. We had grilled asparagus,hot dogs, and chips for supper. A little wren kept us entertained by singing. Anabel also heard a cardinal. Evan ran to play on the " jumpoline" and 2 year old Anabel followed him as fast as she could. Of course, she wiped out on the way. Almost before she hit the ground you could hear her little voice saying, "I'm okay, I'm okay." and she was up and running again. Great night to sit on the deck and visit. Thanks for coming to visit, Jensens.

Thur May 20 2010

Well, the great hunt goes on. Tonight we sat on the deck eating tortillas spread with "Trader Joe Red pepper spread with eggplant and garlic" (Thanks Nancy). The hunter spotted at blue bird. We don't know what kind of bird it is. Earlier this week he has seen a cardinal, a thrasher, a gold finch, and an oriole. About 30 minutes later he shot a bunny. Me, I just became a green hunter, finding asparagus in the ditch on the way home. Tomorrow we'll fix it on the grill with Italian dressing. YUM! There was a blue van that stopped and watched me hunt. I couldn't tell if they were giving me the evil eye or not. Yesterday I did give an evil eye to the farmer who was spraying the field while I worked in my garden. I could really smell the chemical as it drifted across the road to our yard. This am at the unit we shipped 850 pigs that weighed 15.3 #. I spent most of the day spraying 2 rooms with Tom. Then a BIG breaker went out. No electricity in farrowing or nursery. It was a tense hour or 2 until the breaker was found and reset. The sows got pretty warm in the rooms so we opened windows and doors.

Wed. May 19 2010 4640

I stopped for coffee at the folks before going to the unit. Anabel was scheduled to have chemo yesterday. Her white blood count was on the low side, not a concern but the Doctor decided as a precautionary measure to wait a week. Her next chemo will be next Tues. It took Tom, Mark, and I about 2 hours to give shots to the pigs. When I got home I planted some more dahlia bulbs. I went to the Senior awards program tonight. When Matt graduated it was the first year for BCIG scholarships. $15,000 was given out too the Senior class. This year $180,000 was awarded to 72 seniors. The OA senior students got 1/4 of possible scholarship money because they had been in BC IG school 1 of the possible 4 years. Matt and Becky were having Jordan P. over for supper tonight. She is working in St. Joe with the Purebred Angus Association.

Tuesday May 18

Up to the unit early. I subbed at the HS for PE today. It went fine. We walked in 4 out of the 5 classes. Weight lifting for 3 classes. I did talk with Kathy L and straighten out billing for HSHS Wit classes. I came home and put some bulbs into the ground. As I sit and look out the window, there is so much to do outside in the yard. Grassy weeds are taking over the flower beds. I need to take time to put newspapers and mulch down, but not tonight. It was great weather and we went on a motorcycle ride to Auburn with 9 other IG bikes, total of 16 people. Great night for a ride. We rode around Black hawk Lake, too. But I didn't get my nightly talk with Denny, I miss that. Visiting on the back of a a motor cycle is not real conducive to substantial conversations. When we got home we were both so bushed we just went to bed. Pictures are of Woodbury county court house. It is quite impressive.

Mon May 17, 2010 4580

The vet and owner were at the unit this am. Lots of talk. About 10 I headed to Brenda's to do some peon labor. I edged the sidewalk, transplanted a few hostas, and pulled some weeds around flower beds. Bible study gals (and Luke B.) Emily, Danielle, Steph, Lynn, Elizabeth, Ranae . Nice bunch. Look at those 2 grinning gals. Denny got tooth work done today and bought some weed killer.

Sunday May 16 2010

Before church, I put some more mulch on the garden, planted one plant, went to the unit to feed, high pressure sprayed down the gilt hall way, had my devotions, read my SS lesson, vacuumed the sun room, made sandwiches for lunch and packed the rest of the lunch. I was a little late to prayer time at 8:45, but they had not started. After church we went to Plymouth and Woodbury county court houses with the Harley. We ended up at Crawford Creek park for Megan L.'s grad party. 2 of Mandy's good friends were there. The picture is to rub it it that she wasn't there. At night we watched at great Net flicks ... score 5 ... Gifted Hands, the Ben Carson's story. Mandy, he is a neuro surgeon, pediatric, but very good movie. Let me know when you all see it.

Sat May 15

I went to the unit early. Denny met Mark up there about 8:45. Mostly I worked in the yard until 2. We went to the folks. Darcy came from Farm News to do an interview on the Johnson Family Century farm. It was really interesting to hear Howard answer questions about the history of the land and family.

Friday May 14 2010 4350

Went to the unit early. Subbed at the HS for Family and Consumer sciences. Mowed the lawn when I got home. After work we went to visitation for Curt R's mom. We picked up Mark. Stopped to visit folks. Denny grilled vegetables for supper. Love that Haley and Holly.

Thurs May 13, 2010

I went to the unit early. Then to SC. Met with 2 home school families there. Got a grill pan at Target. Went to WW. Then to Sue's for Bible study. Met with another family after school. At night we watched a DVD It could happen to you About a 2.

Wed. May 12, 2010

Coffee at the folks, then I spent time e mailing a update on yesterday. The cutest thank you was from Missy... She said, "Thanks for the time you spent typing." She knows my keyboarding skills. At the unit I fixed all the broken heat lamps. I think there were at least 30-40. We had Awana pot luck for the year end evaluation. There were about 16-18 leaders present. Lots of good food. It had been rainy and cold. The things I planted outside are black. That's a bummer.

Tuesday May 11 4220

After working at the unit I decided to go to SC with the folks. Anabel had her first chemo treatment. We left about 10:30 and got home at 6:30. They stopped at Perkins for a bit of lunch so I went to Dollar Genreal and got paper plates for Awana supper and bread at the bread store. At night Denny and I watched The Blind Side.

Mon May 10

Howard and Anabel are having their picture taken by Danika this am. I went to the unit to make scrub litters. Tom S. is starting to work at the unit too. This is good news. He and Mark can get a lot of fixing done. It was gray and rainy all day ... but the picnic must go on. Lynn and Toshi volunteered to make pot stickers for the potluck. All who had eaten Toshi's treats previously were there to feast. YUM!! We had planned on roasting hot dogs, but instead Denny did them on the grill in the rain. There were 20 of us in the coop. It worked pretty well. Lots of good food. Kids liked to play in the sand box and with the doll house. Everyone got to hold baby Luke B. Some roasted marshmallows in the wood burner. People left about 9:30.

Sun May 9 4100

5/9/10 When Mom died, Jean had a friend write a song for Mom. Gail's church choir sang it at the 8 am service. Then after much deliberation we went to the Elk's club for brunch. We came home for naps. It was fun to hang out with fam. Denny and I went to church for 6 pm prayer.

Sat May 8

5/8/10 Outside by 7. On the road by 7:30. One hour drive with pick up and wagon traveling at 35 MPH. BV Recycling. 30 minutes later my mother's day gift of 1 ton of mulch and 600 pounds of compost-black dirt was on the wagon/ truck. 75 minute ride ( 25 MPH) and we were home. What a husband!! We worked around the yard spraying weeds. Then to the folks. Denny planted 4 trees for Grandpa. Howard was so happy. They took us out to supper at McD's about 6 pm. Then we headed to Atlantic to visit with the sisters. The pix is of McKenzie and Mandy. We went to McK's wedding last Sat.

Friday May 7

5/7/10 Nancy and I went to the folks for coffee. About 8:45 we picked up Lynn S. for a day trip to see glass. First stop was Bogenriefs in Sutherland. This is where they do the beveled and stained glass. Such details I couldn't even relate. One piece has 20,000 pieces in it. Then the waterfalls in it didn't have the look of movement and so they added another 10,000. pieces to the back.Some day I'll put in a picture of the $12,000 lamp. Nancy got a signed piece. We ate a lunch there in their conference room. It was a much better place for the picnic lunch I had packed instead of a park. Then we went to Spencer where they do blown glass. Nancy also got a piece there and we all got some garden glass that we can put in our flower beds. We looked at the Spencer middle school that they have made into senior living apartments and the library where there was a art glass aquarium with glass fish etc. The track meet that Lynn had planned to go to was cancelled. We stopped at the Arthur bank to wave at Denny and Kim L's. garden for a quick walk through. Then home for fruit pizza. Nancy left and headed to Atlantic. Lynn and I went to Kiron for garage sales and got nothing. I fed at the unit. When Denny came home he saw a ground hog in the yard. My hunter -who hadn't changed his clothes- ran out in to the yard without shoes. No luck this time. At night 4.5 Netflicks: Smile.

Thur May 6

5/6/10 Reset trap with vegetables, not cat food. I worked at the unit then stopped at the folks, Linda came after I left. They had not heard anything yet. My sister, Nancy, came from spending the night with our brother, Craig, in Burr Oak. She got here about noon and we went to Sue G.'s for lunch before Bible study. Sue, Brenda, Naomi, Ginny, Laura, Teresa, Nancy, and me. At home we visited and started a fire in the pit. Linda called. The battle is once again on. Anabel's CAT scan showed a 1 inch cancer tumor? in her liver and some bone areas. She will have 6 chemo treatments. 2 weeks of treatment, one week off, 2 weeks of treatment, one week off, 2 weeks of treatment. Then they will do another cat scan to see the progress. That ends up to be about the middle of July. For the treatment she will go to SC one day a week and have the drug IVed. It will take about an hour. She has been down this road before and it is not one she would have chosen. I stand in awe of the strength of this little lady who is not 5 feet talk, but to me is a giant in courage. Keep them in your prayers.

Wed. May 5

5/5/10 Coffee at the folks. I feed the sows and treated any little pigs that might need a booster shot of medicine. That reminds me that Anabel Faith calls her morning chocolate breakfast drink her "medicine". She looks forward to that like Denny looks forward to his first cup of coffee. When her mom fixes it and hands it to Anabel she just finds a place and sits and chills while she downs it. OH, SO GOOD! I spent the rest of my day playing outside. It was very windy, but my yard was protected by the windbreak. Finished mainly putting in the garden. I also put some pink New Zealand impatients in 2 blue pots for the deck. They can be in full sun. (Now it is suppose to freeze Friday night.) I started a fire in the fire pit. Denny got home about 6pm, he had stopped to visit with a farmer planting on the way home. We took a basket with hot dogs, catsup, and a loaf of bread outside for supper. The hunter got another coon. Now we're wanting to get the ground hogs that are digging a basement under the bunk house and feed shed in the back yard. When Luke called this evening he was looking for Grandma's bun recipe to to fix while grilling supper. Her overnight recipe take from 5 pm to 10 pm mixing and kneading the dough so it was not good for that meal, but they did find the recipe and start to mix up a batch while we were talking. All of the sudden I heard "11 cups of flour... 48 servings!". I said he could made half a batch. At night we watched a Netflicks : Griffin and Phoenix.

Tues May 4 3879

5/4/10 I had a cup of coffee at the folks before heading to the unit. The Doctor has not called back about the results of her PET scan. STRANGE. I worked until 1:30. Then home to start to catch up on this blog. It really is hard to remember what has happened since April 23. About 3 pm Amelia and Elise M. came and helped me plant 1 row of peas, beans and 10 tomato plants. After taking them home I went to meet Denny. Six of us from IG rode to Wall Lake on the motorcycles. We ate at the Hayloft. Denny got the tractor mower running last night. Looks like his boys are ready to help him anytime. I always used to kid that both Luke and Denny are losing their pants playing with tractors and farming.

Mon May 3

5/3/10 Happy Birthday Teresa! Of course, this is the way it works. They called me to sub on Wed. Thur. Fri. and Mon. Loss of income ... $ ... but time with my children and friends... priceless. After stopping at the folks for a quick visit Mandy and I headed to the airport. Her plane left at noon. I went to the Lakeside hospital and met Lincoln U. He was born at 8 am and weighed 8 # 8 oz. Mom, Hannah Faith is doing great! She did not have an epidural. Did it the old fashioned way. Kathy and I went for lunch at Panera. Nice to visit and connect with friends. Bible study at 6:30. Lynn, Emily, Danielle, and Sarah. When they left I mowed the lawn.

Sun May 2

5/2/2010 Happy Birthday Laura S. Matt ran a half marathon in Lincoln this morning. At church pastor talked about their interest and possible future in adopting or having foster children. Denny, Mandy and I went home and grilled. About 3 we went to Arthur with the Harley and rode with Dan G. to see the Monona county courthouse. Great DQ afterwards. Back at Arthur we stopped at the graduation party for the seniors. Then I worked at the unit for about 2 hours. Denny started a fire in the pit and in the coop. When Mandy got home from Arthur we visited out there until about 11. Nice Day! It always puts Denny in a good mood when he can ride the Harley.

Sat May 1

5/1/10 Denny worked at the unit then at Odebolt bank. I worked at the unit and then went to a shower for Isaac S.'s fiancee. I called Kellie B. and she helped me process one room of pigs until about 1:30. We left about 2 for the wedding of McKinzie H and Chad P. It was in Esterville at 4:30. Good to see 9 of 10 Hofmann kids. We got home before 11. Picture is of Daughter and Dad in pretty boy clothes at work at Arthur bank.

Fri April 30

4/30/10 It was garage sale weekend in Parkersburg. We joined in the fun by going to about 10 Friday sales. Missy got a 2 screen dvd car player. She was pretty tickled about that. My big purchase was sleeping cushions and an octopus lamp for the basement. Mandy got everything her niece and nephew wanted ... not really ... but she did have fun getting a couple of things for them (fighting turtle he men and Cabbage Patch baby for Anabel). We headed back to Arthur in time for Teresa's surprise birthday party. I think about 80 - 90 people were there. Mandy and Denny were home so I didn't stick around very long. Kathy W. left a fern at church for my birthday. We grilled steaks, chicken and vegetables for supper using the new grill pan. It works great.

Thur April 29

4/29/10 Up early to the unit so we could head to see the Jensens. It was a great visit, only drawback was during nap time. Missy had gotten a DVD for us to watch while the rest of them napped. Well, Missy put the kids down, then she feed Brooks, then Evan got up, we gave him more books, he got up about 15 minutes later. We were engrossed in the DVD and so she took Evan outside. THEREFORE ... NO NAP FOR MISSY. Mandy did buy such cute shoes for Anabel and Evan. Missy had given her pretty specific instructions for them and it was accomplished. Mandy loves the role of Aunt and they love her. We ate supper out on their nice deck with their new table and chairs. Yummy taco soup with chilled asparagus spears.