so fun!!!

 Denny left to drive tractor in am.  We sisters had a good phone call.  Brooks went with me to do errands in town.  While we were at Another Dose Nikki and her niece came in.  She is buying her grandfather's house in Arthur and she and rose are fixing it up.  I kinda invited myself to see the house.  About 2 I drove in and did a walk thru.  They were heading to get a sander in Denison and sand all night.  When they got back to use the sander it didn't work for the floors that were varnished and they quit for the night.  AND they came to my house to look at the bunkhouse, granary, and have spaghetti for supper.  Such a fun night!  It was so good to spend time with them.  

Making bread

 Denny left to drive tractor around 8.  Brooks came up and we started to make cinnamon rolls and we tried a recipe of Artesian loaf.  Then we started to make corn chowder and one more batch of cinnamon rolls.  Missy took Evan for a foot X-ray.  H was standing too close to the Jeep back tire and as Missy pulled forward the Jeep ran over his foot.  Ouch!!  There have an appointment with orthopedic Dr on Wednesday.  Brooks helped me bring in the floral loveseat to clean it up for the garage seating area.  

Pretty fall tree color setting off the shore of Matt's property.  Becky took the top picture one morning.  Matt snapped the next picture of Becky and TJ fishing one morning on their dock.   Then on the week end they noticed activity down by the lake.  A photographer was taking pictures of a wedding couple with those trees as a background. (without asking Matt's if it would be okay.)  Becky headed down across the road with a gift for them.  (And to find out about them.  Matt texted," They were babies.... sounds like they live nearby.... ).  Matt's quote, "Pretty blessed to call this place home." warms my heart.  Thank you, Jesus.  

                                                                                          

                                

                                    

A little melanoma here ...

 We were up and on the road by 6:45 and in Dakota Dunes by 8:15.  It was the Mohs procedure and it took 2 sessions to get the job done.  We shopped at Home Depot and got lots of wood.  Thank you, Denny for helping me get the wood we need.   

                                                      

An elderly woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water..

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.

'I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.'

The old woman smiled, 'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?'

'That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.'

For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.

Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.'

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.

You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

SO, to all of my cracked pot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path! God Bless You all!!!

Cousin Lynn visited

 I started the day early by making the buns in the bread maker, plus baking chocolate chips.  I left for Carroll about 8 and picked up a furnace floor grate for the bunk house.  I bought the black shoes at New Hope that I passed on last week.  I stopped at Walmart and bought a few things.  Lynn and Jane took a wrong turn and went down low maintenance road 290th street.  Denny went to retrieve him with the pickup.  We had a lovely lunch in the sunroom.  Onion dill buns, sliced ham and Swiss cheese, cilantro sauce and veggies, asparagus soup and ice cream, chocolate topping and cookies.  

Another chilly day

 Good news Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed last night to be on the US Supreme Court.  Up and in to OGT before Denny got out of bed.  It was another good morning.  The people who volunteer there are so nice.  Denny was outside when I got home.   He moved the bobcat to the west of Cook's RV.  The Prius now fits next to the tractor.  I took some random pictures out of old disintegrating photo books and tried to clean up the sunroom as Denny vacuumed.  At 7 we had a phone call with Luke.  Good to talk to him.  It's Peter's birthday Tuesday and so they are coming down to spend the week in IG.  Wendy L. tested to say there was a spiral staircase that had been taken out of a place in Odebolt.  Jensens are coming back to the farm tonight. 

Home and Chilly ... not the soup.

Slow am.  Denny went in to get his flu shot.  I wandered from one task to another: a few loads of clothes,  looking thru mountains of pictures on sunroom floor, making a pot of soup, making up a bed and putting portacrib away, putting away dishes and starting another load.  Uffda!! Such excitement.   AND only feeling slightly guilty about not really getting anything done.  We got a shipment of peppermint tea and now areas of our place smell like breath mint.  Such is life.  

Snow, Snow,

 I stayed in bed until I heard Jack wake up little after 7.  We had cocoa and watched it snow When the rest of the family got up Denny fixed another amazing breakfast.  We went out to check on Cook's RV's new winter location.  And we took a tour of bunkhouse.  Naps for littles after lunch and rest for all.  They headed back to Cherokee looking forward to eating lasagna with grandparents and making pumpkin jack-lanterns.  Such a great time to have them visit.  Thank you Cooks!!   I started to tackle pictures from boxes, etc.  Uffda!!  

                                    

Smoking!!!! Yes!!!

 Denny was planning on putting the Boston Butt in the smoker at midnight.  BUT AT 9 pm I said to Denny in bed,  Why not put the meat on now??? and so he did.  The Meat should be amazing around 6 tonight.  I just need to "keep an eye" on it.    So far so good.  Cooks got here about 1.  Mandy from SL clinic.  Jason and boys from Cherokee.  Denny went out to drive tractor about8.  Jack went down for his pre tractor nap with out a fuss, Thus filling out his good choice chart and earning a fun adventure with Grandpa.  

Trimming trees

Slow am, we went out about  11 on the 4 wheeler to cut small trees and put  Tordon on the subs.  It was cold, but we finished our 80 acreas and then headed to Julia's north 40.   The trees have really grown.  We were chilled after coming home.  After we went to bed I told Denny he could start smokin' 'at 9 pm instead of midnight.  

 

Home mostly

 Nice am.  Slow am.  We went ti IG and Denny had a haircut, got groceries, and upholstery cleaner.  We put rugs down and chairs in garage.  I covered the pillows after the cases were washed.  We went thru a few tubs of family info and then went to the laptop in the sunroom.   We listened to the debates.  I can hardly wait for the election to be over.  Uffda!!  Lord, lead and guide our land.

I saw these bike pictures and thought they were pretty cute!!!

We worked in the garage looking at stuff and throwing some away and trying to find a place for the rest of it.

Sister get together at Carroll

Up and coffee with Denny.  He left for field work about the same time I left for Carroll to meet tJean and Gail.   We met at New Hope, Lunch at Hunan's, and shopped at Remake salvage.   It was so nice.  I got 3 bath towel that are while with gray stripe and a fluffy white blanket.  Great to get together!  At home I dug up some ranuculus bulbs, visited why Denny and primed the outside door of the bunkhouse.  Denny is all caught up with them on the mower.

Wishing for warmer Brownsville weather. 

A day with a daughter

It was great!!!

I stopped at 2 banks before I went to OGT.  Then Mandy called and she was done with her appointment in Holstein, so I headed there and we went to SC.  First stop Menards where I returned saw horses and covers for the bases of the columns.  Next to the place where she was getting a root canal.  I waited in the car with my phone.  

Super cleaner Denny to the rescue!!

 It snowed this am ... Booooooo......  Then snow started and Denny talked to Larsons.  It is a nogo today, so Denny started cleaning ... I mean major cleaning and It looks so nice tonight.  He is amazing!!   I kept busy with non essential tasks: put my old (vintage ????)  clothes in a tub to put on a high shelf in the basement stairway closet, cleaned up 2 swimming tubs for plants in the sunroom (kinda), moved plants into the sunroom, planted some autumn sedum in a pot, brought the mail in,  etc, etc,   The house looks amazing!!  AND the garage ... AND my car .... AND the patio furniture .... WOW!!

Home. Day of rest

 Out to sunroom to watch Candlewood and Kiron services.   I spread out wallpaper remnants from bunkhouse and tried to sort them. In looking at the wallpaper, it looks like there are 7 layers of wall paper in a room.  In another area there are 6 layers of different wallpaper.  When I took out the shelving on the north wall of the building there were 2 different types of pretty paper.  The one on the east was navy and floral.  The one on the west was a gold floral.  Uffda!!  Now what am I going to do with the info / scraps of wall paper.  Nice phone call from Missy telling about their stay in Rochester. 

                                          

Home. Still tackling closet

 Good sister call

Washed all old clothes:  College out fit for party:white hot pants with silk green split skirt  Student teaching outfit empire floral black background and bright red flowers.  Plaid Textiles class project blue plaid SHORT skirt  Wedding dress that I made,  pastel bridesmaid dress that I made from a cotton robe,  . dress that had a black skirt, with attached white top and red belt and short sleeved jacket,,  one piece black pants with red top and flowy jacket, Peach sweater with lace peach skirt,  homemade beige silk dress and tunic, blue long mother of the bride dress for Missy’s wedding. Navy knit long skirt and knit top with white placket,   outfit with purple, aqua, fuchia blotches on the blouse and skirt that has black background color.  I rode around with Denny to see where he has been working.   We rocked on porch and had our first meal in bunkhouse: wonderful lasagna, cheese bread,  Caprise salad made with our homegrown red and yellow tomatoes, basil, arugula.  It was a great meal with candle light and supplementary heat from a ceramic heater that blew the fuse.  Hence, Denny had to climb up a ladder unscrew the board that covered the fusebox.  Uffda!!  Nice night.

Tackllin' basement stairway closet.

 Uffda!!! Now that's a job.  Denny helped me take HEAVY totes off the top shelf.  TWO of them.  Denny headed off to play farmer and I went to IG and bought turmeric, eggs, bread, cheese, butter, milk, and avocados, orange chicken for supper, stopped at Malcolms, bank, and 2 Doses.   Then home to tackle the stuff!!  It's a job reducing the amount of treasures in totes with ribbon, material, notebooks, etc.  I was so happy when Missy and Anabel called as a distraction from my task at hand.  I made beds and folded laundry.  Now I am updating blog while I take an extended break from sorting, pitching, packing,  and enjoy a Topo Chico.  Fixed Orange chicken for supper.  Denny loved it after he got off work. 

End of first term of KISC                                           

New puppy Kelce

Cherokee fun!!!

 I headed north around 6:45.  SO good to visit with Mandy before she heads to work.  I did leave around 8 and took Denny's package to the post office.  When Mandy left Tyler was wanting to be outside, so I hunted for coats, hats, mittens and bundles them up.  AND me.  I get such a kick out of those boys.  Jack wanted to haul leaves with Jeep and pull behind wagon.  We went to get the machinery and left Tyler (in full view of us) by the swing set near a pile of leaves.  Tyler watched us go and then began the toddling steps thru the leaves to join us.  What a worker he is!  We spent the next 2 hours outside, with leaves, trails, rides in wagon. in the chicken house, sandpile, When we went in at 11:40 to eat, Tyler voiced his disappointment.  The boys like outside. When Jason left after lunch the boys went down about 1 and took a long nap.  I napped too.  Jan came about 3:30 and we visited then decided to get the Grands up at 4.  I headed for home about 5:30.  And tried to listen to BOTH the town halls.  Uffda!!! Denny got home about 7:45.  

A door able Husband and door

 Denny did not get a text to work for Larsons ... SO we worked in the bunkhouse.  We started by working on the upstairs window and then started on the front door.  We had to go into IG for door hinges.  When we got home Denny got the front door hung!  SO great!!!!  We had pizza to celebrate and sat at the bar on stools in the bunk house.   Wonderful day!!

                                                      

Window to my world

Up for Devo and heading to OGT.  Afterwards I stopped at the hospital for a blood draw.  Dr. Luft's office called about 4 to say the Doctor had reviewed the lab work and It was good.  At home I napped while Denny put the lawn mower away.  This morning Volkerts called to say the mower was fixed and so Denny went down to Denison to get it.  We drained the garden hoses and the outdoor shower.  Around 3 we (Make that Denny) started putting in the 5th and final window in the bunkhouse.  We called it a day around 6:30 with the task mostly completed.  Happily I contacted Todd and he is going to take a look at the space for an air conditioner at Nancy's Spooner house.  big sigh... Feels good to be in bed. 

Last weekend Karen sent these pictures of Luke, the fisherman.   Daddy, can we go fishing?  Oh, Boy!!!  It's a big one.  Matt, I caught a fish ... now what????