A sad blog update.........

Tonite is a sad blog update....Maggie died today. Kurtis and I went to Iowa City this morning for his pre-surgery blood work up, etc and when we returned back home about 2:30 we found Maggie in the yard dead. It appears she just laid down and died which makes no sense at all. When Kurtis fed her this morning she was fine and ate all her food, but by 2:30 she had died. Makes no sense. That is all for today, I'm very upset about the situation.
Until next time...MOM

Maggie: June 17, 2003 - November 30, 2005

Congratulations on 40 Years of Marriage..

Saturday I headed for Des Moines to help the Youngs celebrate 40 years of marriage. Jessica and Rob and family had a 40th wedding anniversary party for Shirley and Larry and it was really nice! There was alot of good food and lots of folks to say congrats!!
I was a bit bummed out and had to leave a bit early as I think I got bitten by the "Taco Johns" e-coli bug. I stopped on the way up to eat some lunch at Taco Johns and didn't feel well for the rest of the day..needless to say, on the way home I took advantage of each and every rest stop between Des Moines and Iowa City.
Not much news today, its cold out and that is about it.
Until next time.....MOM

Here's to Larry and Shirley Young on their 40th Wedding anniversary! Congratulations!! 40 years is no small accomplishment!

I see alot of faces saying, just let me go find a corner to sleep this off!! Jess seems especially happy that I am flashing yet another picture!

Ummm..Note one one but two bowls of mashed potatoes....! This was the hot food, all the salads and desserts were on another serving table. You know, this looks pretty good again now.

Thanksgiving 2005 ......Success!!

Well, at post Thanksgiving 17 hours, I will call the event a success. We fed about 28 people and all walked away feeling like we had been stuffed instead of the turkey. I guess that is the tradition I was striving for....and as sick as it sounds now, I really could go for more stuffing and gravy for supper tonite.
We had plenty of good food and even some un-expected entertainment when a friend of Father Benda's showed up to go hunting out around the pond, so we all stood with our noses stuck against the window waiting for the big kill...although 2-3 pheasants were flushed up, they managed to out-fox the dog and the bullets and fly off to safety...Score: Hunter -0 Pheasants-1.
I'm kind of poo-ed out today, probably because of the effects of all the sugar content I injested yesterday...It will no doubt take a couple of days to bring the ole blood sugar back down to near normal. I have to go to Des Moines tomorrow to attend Shirley and Larrys 40th wedding anniversary party, so no doubt there will be cake there to help keep the levels high a couple of more days...., the Christmas, etc etc.......oh my! Guess it is that time of the year!
I have posted a couple of pictures of yesterdays activities and for now that is about all the news I have..Until next time....MOM
(Thanks Tom and Jennifer for staying late and helping with the clean up....it really did help out!!)

The final preparations are in the making......

Approximately 36 hours until official Turkey unveiling.....and the stress is beginning to take shape. I just finished my fourth trip to the grocery store to get the last minutes items......I think I am done this time. I just can't seem to get that image of the sacramental turkey cutting moment with Clark Griswald out of my mind. Just a puff of dry air and ole snotz under the table chomping on a chicken bone!! Well, I think Kurtis has a good track record with his fixing of the Turkey, so I guess I won't worry anymore.....we did however purchase a whomping 24 lb bird, looks like a early morning for the prep work to have things on the table for noon. Im sure it will all work out.
On the menu at this time is Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, Stuffing, corn, cranberry relish, green bean casserole, Ham....desserts pies, pumpkin pie cake, pumpkin bars (do you see a theme here?) So, if nothing else there will be plenty for everyone to sit around and moan and groan about eating too much.....yep the essence of a good Thanksgiving dinner.
So everyone have a nice Thanksgiving and if you are traveling, drive safely.
Now, I promised I wasn't going to discuss my feet anymore.....but I just thought I would let all know that so far the cortizone, prednisone and anti-inflamatories are working pretty well..I think I will be in good shape for the cooking marathon on Thursday. Now, isn't that good news.
Untill next time....MOM

Good Morning!!! I'm still taking oxygen!!!

OOOOH, I was such a brave and gallant women yesterday, I just have to brag a bit. Yep, I have lived through the first round (ah, and maybe the last) of cortisone shots with Dr. Pelsang,,,,and what is even more important he is still able to see additional patients...I didnt even wound or slightly mame him in any way. We did have quite a talk before proceeding which kind of let him know where I stood on the subject......now don't worry, I was very nice. Just for the record the shots "really do" suck!! There is just no way to stick a needle into something that is already extremely painful without needing a bullet to bite on.....and they don't give you one! I'm supposed to stay off my feet for 24 hours...but unfortunately that isn't going to happen! So, in conclusion, I promise not to discuss my feet anymore, and my next appointment is December 8th when he wants to repeat the process.......Hmmm maybe or maybe not.
So, now its on the plan B, preparing for Thanksgiving. I'm really looking forward to the event, just have a few things to do including going out and selecting the Bird. Father Benda demanded that he get the ham, so we have a nice honey glazed ham in the refrigerator waiting for its trip to the oven. I was going to pick up a turkey too the other day, but then Kurtis stopped me when he informed me that the only Turkey he would prepare was a "Butter Ball". I guess since he is fixing it I better not buck him on the choosing the superior product! I think he just likes the little pop thingy.
Well, I'm now going to sign off and head out the farm to meet with Marsha for some advice on her kitchen project..I'm not sure I'm qualified for this since I was not born yet for the era she want to re-create here, but I'll give it a shot. Im especially looking forward to taking a look at the sink she wants to use...no its not at Lowes or Menards, it is currently lying in the weeds out at Waynes house. Oh, now dont just to rashly, it will be a real beauty after we get done with it.......(repeat that 10 times and click your ruby red slippers together..)
Untill next time...MOM

Stage one greenhouse experimentation, complete.

The first experiment to determine what happens in Sharon's greenhouse when the temperatures drop to 18 degrees with 30 mile per hour winds has been completed......Things freeze.......solid. I just came in from checking on the specimens that I left out there to see how they fared and they are, without doubt, frozen solid. Yep even the water being used to root some passion vine.....solid as a rock. Now, you may ask yourself "What did you expect??" well, I don't rightly know..but I can assure you what is still out there is a gone-er!! But never fear, everything I have in the house under lights is doing well so far. More on that at a later date.
For as myself and this sudden change of environment, I can report heel spurs take the cold weather rather personally.....they hurt like hell!! Enough of that subject....I'm beginning to bore even myself with the whining about them.....besides my appointment with Dr. Pelsang will be the next highlight I'll share. Im looking forward to bragging about how brave I was when the 14 inch needle comes out and just catches the light dancing off the sharp point!! Brave???? Piss on that....give me some mood altering drugs!!!! Now thats brave!!
I have to tell what I think is possibly the sadest story I have ever heard. This is a Kurtis story, so here we go. Back in August Scheels announced a promotion that will run through the months of Sept and Oct (black powder muzzleloader deer season) on the sale of Knight Muzzleloader shotguns. To make a long story short (well, I'll try) when Kurtis reported to work yesterday, he was greeted by the Store manager, his manager and several guys from the department. After everyone shook his hand, patted him on the back and congratulated him.....he dutifully looked up and said "What did I do?" Well, you have won the contest, you out-sold all the other salesmen in the 22 Scheels locations and won the Governors Deer hunt..an all expenses paid 4 day trip and a free gun. Now, here is the sad part. The trip leaves the same week Kurtis is scheduled for knee surgery.....now hows that for a sucky turn of events. He has decided to give the trip to another fella that works in his department. I feel so sorry for him, but he is taking it quite well. I am however, very proud of my Kurtis...He really pulled off an amazing feat considering he is the new kid on the block, and beat out all the other old-timers.
The last thing I want to discuss is Thanksgiving.....for all of you who are reading this you are invited to come to Thanksgiving at Father Benda's log home. I was having it at my place, but decided it would be nice to have enough room that everyone can sit together and have room to spread out. We have Turkey and ham and all the trimmings on the menu. Planning on eating sometime about noon. Hope you can all make it.
Well, untill next time......MOM

This is a picture of the wildflowers in Father Bendas pond area as of 1 week ago. I will spare you the details of how they look today covered in the years first snowfall. Nature is kind of cruel isn't it? See you next spring little guys, hopefully.

Well, I been thinking all day.....

about what to do about my blog needing updating. I had a very un-exciting weekend, so no real good subjects there. I havent been out taking pictures, so no clever or cute things there.....hmmm so what do I do.

Well, I guess you are stuck hearing about my weekend..with no pictures!! HAHA.

This weekend was dedicated to trying to finish up some last minute outside chores before winter sets in...but it really didnt happen. Instead, I decided that I want to re-do the foyer coming into the house. I decided to re-paint and carpet the stairs, so I went to Lowes and got the paint and things I need to start in........except I never got around to starting. How typical is that? In my defense, it really wasnt my fault. I had Saturday all set aside to begin....um huh that was the plan. But, instead I mowed father Benda's yard, fixed lunch for the farming crew (that is another whole story) and did wash. Kurtis had a very bad day Saturday, at least for the most part. To begin with he did get his corn all picked, but in the process Chuck managed to roll over one of his wagons, dumping 250 bushels of corn on the ground. It totally destroyed the wagon. He also managed to break the acelerator on Kurtis truck. By 6 p.m. Kurtis was in the house with his hands around a full glass of Jose Cuervo Margarita! I think I witnessed what a person calls the "final straw!!" So, we got in the car and headed to Nichols.....yep, straight to the Catfish house! You wont believe what we found!!! The Catfish house is now under new management, and things have gone to the dogs.....we knew something was up when we walked in the door on a Saturday night and there weren't at least 50 grossly overweight, moderately handi-capped elderly people fighting their way though the buffet line reaching for the last catfish!!! Nope, I think there were only 2-3 other couples. Kurtis and I almost cried....after a long day of nothing but things going wrong, then only to find that Nichols has fallen too. As a old friend of mine used to say, "Oey Veh!!!" (She was from Brazil and I believe the translation was "Holy Shit!"
Sunday did manage to redeem itself, things were alot more quiet and Kurtis managed to rest up his knee, after abusing it all day Sunday. I still haven't gotten to my foyer project, but I've got big hope for this week.
Today we had out first snowfall of the year. It started snowing about 3:00 and the flakes were as big as quarters. I didnt think it was sticking but on the way home from work, you could see it on the roof-tops and in the grass. I guess it is mid November so we shouldnt be shocked....but I would just as soon have some more 65 degree days.

Until next time..............MOM

Just touching base....

Just thought I had better do a quick update, so the blog watch team doesn't get on my case. It just seems unreal how a week can fly by so fast!! Seems I just update this and when I go back to look, it has been several days.
Have been spending my free time (yeah right) trying to get everything outside squared away before winter sets in. It just doesn't seem that important when the average temperatures have been in the 60's! I did finally get most everything out of the greenhouse, unfortunately most of it ended up in the house under grow lights. The way I figure, it can only help my usual mid February depression to have approximately 6-700 additional watts of flourescent light shining in my face! Besides, its alot cheaper than a therapist!!
Well, the official beginning to my life as a 50 year old is not improving....the feet are back to pre-medication pain levels. I have run out of the pills that I could only take for 30 days, and things are not improving, looks like a trip back for cortizone shots......NO!!!
Kurtis, on the other hand has relented to the fact that he is going to have surgery on his knee. He is working (gimping) hard to get his corn out and cattle worked so he can take time away from Scheels and have it done. This could be a long winter.
On the positive note, I am starting to think about Thanksgiving. Everyone is invited if they dont have plans to come out and eat some traditional farm style turkey and dessing.
Back to the grind-stone...will try to have some more entertaining news soon.

Until then....MOM

Just a shot of the fence row with corn on both sides. The day I was out there, the breeze was rustling through the corn making a nice crunching sound. I think since this picture was taken Kurtis has combined everything to the left....so much for ambiance.

There is a good crop of rose hips this fall. This is a real specialty crop Kurtis and I grow back in the timber..it takes alot of care and constant pruning to produce this beautiful show. (also known as multi-flora rose) Well, at least the cardinals like them.

Jessica - Rob: I posted this one for you..yes that is a baby bed in the fence line. It seems our neightbor (The ax-man) is continuing his creativity in finding "unusual" fencing materials for his cattle lot. Apparently hub-cabs, gates, pieces of tin, old tires and signs just werent clever enough. Looks nice doesnt it?

Its a beautiful day in the Neighborhood....

Im not going to change my sweater or put on sneekers....but it truely is a beautiful day in the neighborhood!! Ok folks, here's a promise..after last week, I am not going to do any complaining or feeling sorry for myself!! All water under the bridge.....Here's to a beautiful fall day with a high around 74 degrees!

I am so glad I can now discuss the up-coming new addition to our family!! Jessica and Rob had their first ultrasound visit and have officially seen the little heart-beat of my future grand-child. I have to admit, I am very excited and cant quite explain how it feels to know your daughter is going to have a baby....it is really different, but nice. Im not going to complain about being 50 anymore....after all grandma's arent suppose to be too young or sexy, right?? Most grandma's do have bone spurs and arthritis in their fingers, right? Yeah, and tomorrow I am going to run right out and buy myself a new head-scarf to wear! Now, that is grandma material! Seriously I am very proud of both Jess and Rob and am wishing them the best.....now, do they understand I will probably be "IN" the delivery room with them?

So, here is to a fabulous 2006, a new baby in June and a wedding.....(Jennifer and Tom) in September. Yep, you're right Steve, its a great life if you don't weaken!! Hope you enjoy my pictures dedicated to a beautiful fall day.
Until next time....MOM