Heading home

 We got up around 8,aand had to keep moving so we were ready when Justine and girls came to pick us up.   Tod and Julia had a wonderful breakfast for us.  We headed back to Iowa around 11 30.  

Great weather Outside!!!

Sister phone call at 7.  I walked to bargain bins and bought a plaid shirt, jeans and blue top.  Beautiful day!!  The family had lots going on. Dad and Cooks to watch football, Phillip to see camels in the village, Luke's to harvest at arboretum,   Missy cultural day at school.  Wyatt and Haley in their home.  Nancy and I watched/napped football.   We had brats and sweet corn and avocado salad for supper.  I worked on catching up on mh blog. Matt and Becky went to Anabel's college for family day.  So kind of them.  

Arrived in Madison

 I didn't sleep well last night.  Mostly thinking about Thanksgiving/ Jan 1/2.  We left for Madison around 7:40 and got here around 1:45. I called Anabel at 11 and had our BSF zoom at noon.   There was a cool plume grass plant outside of Nancy's and when a guy came and was cutting it down.  I took some of then plumes.  Pretty exciting.  Me harvesting plumbs.  Uffda!!  We napped and had amazing tempura for supper.  We watched some tv before going to bed.  Denny said he went to Rodds and they got quite a bit done.  Denny was happy.  

Heading to Atlantic

Devo, coffee ,and off to Carroll.  I thrifted while the Prius was being serviced for 200,00 miles.  I got a Manican to put Great Grma's wedding dress on.  I got a tub for plants in the sunroom.  I headed to Atlantic and when I got there I took a nap.  I got 2 chairs half price so 2 for $3.  We ate at the golf course and then Gail and I went to play pickleball at the Y.  The family had a phone call at 7.  Missy and Phillip got plane tickets for Dec 21-Jan 8.  Kids talked about getting together in Minnesota on Jan 1&2.  Lord, guide our plans.  Let everything work out for Your glory.  Luke and Mandy said they can/ will plan on coming for Thanksgiving.  Matt said he could not know for sure with Haley and Wyatt (with Wyatt having 2 families and Matt and Becky and Torren (low man on police force) and Kane (BB games).  Lord, guide decisions. 

Rainy

 I can't remember what I did on Wednesday.  I thin kI was home and it was raining.  NOPE. Now I remember.  I went to Sioux City with Mandy all day!!! SO FUN!!!  She had a tooth appointment I had an eye appointment.  She was super happy about finding a gal who refinishes old buffet/dressers.  I was thinking I would stop and se Evie and Ben with new baby, but they had gone home, so I am gave some flowers for Mandy, and taking some for Nancy and Julia in Madison.  

Headed to Alta and Cherokee

 Slow morning.  I'm trying to catch up on my blog.  Denny is heading to Rodd's.  Rodd texted first last night.  The car took a while, so he didn't head to Bob's to put the tent away and he didn't get to Cherokee for the boys' soccer.  Fun day ahead!! I went to Alta, then get the boys after school. We did a taste test on French fries at Mc Donalds and then home before soccer.

Pickleball at 6

Church and SS.  I played PB at 5:30 and afterwards Denny met me at Knops    Great to visit around their fire with Bergmans.  Beautiful moon!!

Football rained out

 We had planned to watch Jack's football in Cherokee.  We stopped at Tiefentalers to bet steaks for when we have Mike and Brenda over and brats for tomorrow night.  We went to the field, but It was canceled.   We went to Cooks.  The boys were putting together a tough puzzle and riding the go-cart.  So fun.  We stopped in Holstein for groceries.  

Rainy day, but when Lahn Garden party .... NO RAIN!!!  Thank you Jesus.   We picked up Laura and took her to Paulsruds.  On the way home we texted and Nishhamura's and Nikki and they came for supper.  Such a great night of visiting.  

Happy Birthday Craig, yesterday!!!

There comes a time when you finally stop arguing with the mirror.  You stop counting the gray hairs and the wrinkles, stop worrying about the extra pounds around the middle, the scars that never quite faded, and all those little imperfections you once thought needed explaining.  And you realize something.  This body has carried you a long way.  These feet have walked beaches and hospital hallways, dance floors and funeral homes. These hands have held babies, steering wheels, cold beers, fishing poles, and the hands of people we weren’t ready to lose.  These eyes have watched sunsets that made us believe in something bigger. They’ve cried tears nobody saw. They’ve squinted into morning sunlight after nights we probably shouldn’t have survived.  And that heart?  That old battered thing has been broken, patched up, broken again, and somehow still keeps beating.  So maybe the goal was never to stay young.  Maybe the goal was to get used up. To spend ourselves on love and laughter. To collect scars and stories. To wear a few wrinkles around our eyes because we laughed hard enough to earn them.  We’ve been sold this strange idea that we’re supposed to spend our lives trying to look like we haven’t lived one.  Forget that.  Let the sun put another line on your face.  Let the years silver your hair.  Wear the swimsuit.  Take off your shirt.Dance barefoot.  Order dessert.  Jump in the ocean.  Kiss somebody like the ferry leaves in five minutes.  Because someday, sooner than any of us would like to admit, we’d give almost anything for one more ordinary Tuesday inside this imperfect body.  One more sunrise.  One more swim.  One more song on the radio with the windows down.  One more chance to tell somebody, “I love you.”  So love the skin you’re in.  Not because it’s perfect.  Because it’s yours.  Because every scar is a latitude and every wrinkle a longitude, and together they make the map of everywhere you’ve been.  And somewhere between the mistakes, the heartbreaks, the sunburns, the celebrations, the people who stayed, and the ones who sailed away, something beautiful happened.  You became you.  So pour something cold.  Find a patch of sunshine.  Turn the music up a little louder than necessary.  And raise a glass to the face staring back at you in the mirror.  It’s been one hell of a voyage.  And you’re still here.  That’s worth celebrating.

Last night Denny was having his watch alarm him about his fast heart rate about every 15 minutes.  Uffda!!!  Don't want anything to happen. to him.  He got bad news that something wrong was sent to Rodd which will put back working on the orange car..  Bummer.!!!

Carroll with Gail

 Devo shower, I left about 8:15 to head to Carroll to get the Prius serviced.  Gail joined me there and we went thrifting.  We ate Chinese at Hunan's. With Spanish speaking staff.  One more thrift store and then she headed back to Atlantic to go dancing in Creston tonight.  I headed home.  Denny is at Rodds's spraying off the engine.  Lord, guide our day.  Bob P needs help to put up the big tent.  After Denny got home we went to Paulsruds and helped put up the tent. Mandy and Kelsey were both in the Dementia walk soon Saturday in Storm Lake.   

                                                         

OGT

 I headed into IG for OGT and volunteered there for the morning.  I got some pictures made at the courier and spent the afternoon putting together an elephant area on an end table in the living room.  I stained the frames and put pictures in.  It also made my day when I put brown paint on the 2 water spot damaged dressers in the basement.

Alta and Soccer

 I was up for devo and shower and was in Alta by 7:15.  Diane and her husband brought 2 van loads from Cherokee.  They were happy to see another pair of hands to move bags and boxes into the store.  I carried in boxes of household and stacked them.  Then I worked with Linda and sorted bags of clothing into summer/ winter/ household.  Lots of bags.  Around 11:15 I asked Eve if she wanted to eat lunch little early.  It was good to visit about my family and hers.  I decided to buy a stand for the electric skillet on the porch next summer.   Hopefully it will work.  There was no golf today, but I had arranged to meet with Jenn for her to buy 4 Iris rhymes.  Jen G. came to the OB and she bought 4 iris for $7 each and she bought the bouquet I made for the golf doorprize.  YES!!! more (flower) drug money for me.  Jenn and I walked around OB and she bought a couple of things.  Denny came for soccer game and then we went to info meeting at court house.  When I got home I sorted things I got and made supper/late afternoon snack for us.  

Reading

Up for studying the SS lesson.  The Airbnb family was leaving for Des Moines.  Cute little family-Fun to  have a short visit with them.  After church they had a quarterly meeting.  At home we read.  Luke and Karen went to church with Pete, helped him load the car for the airport, and headed home.  In hind sight I should have probably taken the rocks for Lincoln, plant for Karen and some clothes for Rose to IG for them.  We read in the afternoon.  The dede will run tomorrow.  We made the 2 beds.  I finished the book To Live Well by Alan Noble.  I got it when I visited an Omaha church that supports Jensens.  It was not an easy read for me.  A lot about Josef Pieper, not as much use of the Bible in determining house to live well. 

Finished flowers

Up for Coffee, devo.  We went to Doses at noon for a going away party for Ukrainians, (who didn't come.) Joann's 2 sisters and kids and grands were there.  It was a nice get-together.  From there we went to Dean and Janet M. party 70 years of marriage & Dean turned 90.  Another nice get-together.  About 5 the Airbnb came, changed, and headed out. Denny and I just chilled in the bunk house.  All the flowers are ready to go tomorrow for golf and 6 small vases for Olive Branch and a 12 bunch arrangement for church.

                                                          

Alta Cherokee Anthon

Up for devo, shower, and coffee, then to Alta.  I helped there until 10:30, then headed to Cherokee.  I did BSF from 12-1pm when the boys got out of school.  We went to some garage sale.  I gave each boy $2.  At the first one, they bought a container with a miniature scooter and bike that had wheels that moved with e peddle.  Before we headed home we stopped at New Leaf and the boys got a zip lock full of 20 painted cars.   They played with them when Mandy and I went to Anthon for Found and Made.  It was fun to walk around at look at cool stuff with her.  The bees were out in full force.  We got glass tumblers with wooden lids.  They are so pretty!!.  Th bees were so thick the plant lady from Petal and dThorns gave us flowers she was planning on throwing away for me to put together for church on Sunday.  At home Denny did not go Rodd's.  Bummer .....

PB. Visit Susan

 I went into play pickleball at 8.   Then I texted Goodenows and visited with Susan until about noon. At home one Airbnb is empty.  Denny headed to Denison.  I planted the iris.  I put 2 black with daffodils between them in the west triangle.  I planted 4 pink on the area by the peonies with daffodils between them.  That area is SO grassy.  When I dug into the ground it just crackled with grass roots.  Oh, my. Lord, help the grass die.   I finished my.BSF lesson.   These ar the iris I got to plant. 

Denny to Rodd's

 Up for devo and coffee.  Plans are to mow and pick up CSA.  Prayers go to KISC.   Lord, continue to guide and lead Jensens as they make decisions.  Denny did get to go to Rodd's.  Lord, please keep Rod healthy. 

Clay Fair

 Up for devo, shower, moved cars, loaded Rav,  and left for Spencer@6:45.  It took me all the time until 10:30 to get my exhibits on the floor.  UFFDA!!  Denny waited patiently in the Rav.  A sweet gal Ardis was a super friend and made all the tags for the entries.  AND she was SO sweet, positive.  We parked and walked around thru the vendor buildings.  I had fried cheese curds, greasy, but good.  We spent time with Bergmans at their site.  Brenda said she would pick up my entries when the shows were over.  We walked around the Floriculture building.  And loved every display.  SO fun!!  Denny and I ate a Weasel's for supper.  We shared a pork loin meal After we got home we fed our addiction to Facebook reels.  and watched tv before falling asleep.  Good day. I had about 12 first place ribbons, 8 second place, 5 third and 3 honorable mention. No money in HM.  :(   I really don't know why I like to share/compete my flowers.  It is a lot of time/work.  

Rainy Golf

 I went to Spring Lake and it was rainy Rainy Rainy.  The lady golfers played euchre and ate lunch and then I headed home.  I stopped at Odebolt thrift store and bought a few trinkets for petite floral arrangements.  Then I went home and played with putting small arrangements together.  Denny brought out a treat and we put the Prius in the machine shed.  Next supper and a down pour and wait until it stops raining to go to then CSA barn and work on back boards for the 6 small arrangements. The airbnbers are not here yet.  I texted Julie and said she looked like Sophie C.  Quite the cute look.    ?? Denny did get to go to Rodd's.  Lord, please keep Rodd healthy. 

Raabs for dinner

 Devo, coffee and putting flowers together for church.  So pretty.  I texted Nancy from Decorah where I got the glad bulbsand thanked her.  There was a very good speaker for both SS and church.  Stacy and Bill.  After church May Kay and John came.  Denny fixed steaks and pickle and hot poppers.  We had corn, bread, and Asian salad.  It was a great meal, eaten with fun friends.  So good.  We had coffee and cashews and chaolate covered almonds on the porch rockers.  After they left we napped.  I didn't go to pickleball and realized at 5:30 I had planned to meet Beth G. and borrow her glue gun.  I felt awful.  I arranged flowers for door prize tomorrow, put together a bouquet for Beth and went to her house.  She has quite a load to carry.  Her mom with dementia ,with a house full of things to sell. an addition to build in Moorehead. a calving head to make at their place.  When I got home we watched an angel movie.  The Impossible.  Lord, watch over all the Nepale devastation.