Has it really been four months since I posted to the blog?  Am I lazy or what?

Since my last post (March 23) a long winter gave way to a short spring and now summer.  It was mid May before we were free of snow.

When spring finally came and the ground thawed, we buried Uncle Denny.

Things have been fairly quiet.  We made one ten-day trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  Gatlinburg is a tourist town at the entrance of the Smokey Mountains National Park.  The mountains were beautiful.

There was an enormous aquarium there.  The picture is of Erleen looking at a beautiful jellyfish.

We have been busy with church activities, home bible studies and our senior club the Friendly Fun-makers of Hannaford.  Erleen also helps the ladies of the Hannaford church make quilts for the needy.

Erleen's cousin, Becky Hager and her husband, Tim have a huge barn which they have completely remodeled.  They have hosted several musical barn parties which we have enjoyed very much.

My brother, Tim visited for a few days.  We had a great time with him.

The big news will be a life changing event for us.  I have accepted a full-time job with the State of North Dakota as a bank examiner.  I will be based in Grand Forks which is an hour and a half to the north-east. We will rent an apartment there.  My work week will be four ten-hour days.  We will spend four days in Grand Forks and three here in Hannaford.

Hello Snow

Snow has finally come to ND.  Grace asked for pictures of our white town.  Here they are!

The first picture is looking east at the sun rise from in front of our house.  The second is our front door.  The third is a mountain of snow blocking my usual path to the post office.  The fourth is our front yard, you can just see the railing on our steps on the right.  The last is Erleen standing on the walkway to our front door.

We are actually enjoying the snow.  I do not even have to leave the house to "go to work" (what little work I still do), I simply climb the stairs to my little office.  We do walk up to the gym every day unless the wind is blowing.  If it is, we drive.  Even in sub-zero temperatures, if the wind isn't blowing, it is a pleasant walk.

We keep busy with church activities, bowling, family Bible study, two home-groups and going into town to shop from time to time.

Winter is Great

Fall and winter have been busy times.  We spent November and December on the West Coast.  We stayed with Skip, Theresa and kids several days.  We also spent time with Keith and family and with Mark.

Thanksgiving we were invited to Tom and Ginny's home for a feast.
Then we headed for Portland to spend time with Matt, Grace and kids.  Cutting a Christmas tree is always fun
 
                                                                                  Christmas baking with Brendan and Eva is also a big event.

We came home a few days early as Uncle Dennis went home to be with the Lord. We miss him but are happy for him as his quality of life was deteriorating.

Winter has finally arrived in Hannaford.  We had several inches of snow yesterday along with strong winds.  It left drifts as deep as three feet.  Today is better.  We are celebrating 46 happy years of marriage.  We had lunch at the cafe in Binford.  The roads were not open for a trip to anywhere else.  We are planning a trip to a resort in Tennessee in the Spring as a real celebration.

Fall, Falls, Falling

Fall has fallen and with it beautiful leaves and the soy bean and corn harvest.  The elevator picture shows huge piles of soy beans and corn.  The crop was so big it could not all fit into the bins and is simply being piled on the ground.  The outlook for next year is in doubt.  Unless we get precipitation in the next few weeks, the sub surface soil will not have sufficient moisture to insure a good harvest next year.

The leaves are awesome.  The picture was taken at Inspiration Point near Fergus Falls, Minnesota.  We were there with two other couples from our church for a seminar on how to understand the world today's teens live in.  It was certainly eye-opening.

Niagara Falls was a wonderful experience.  We took a 10 day trip around the Great Lakes and spent a couple of days at Niagara.  It gave us a new appreciation for the beauty and enormity of God's handiwork.  About half of the time we were in Canada.  We were shocked at the cost of fuel and food there.

The big surprise was to find snow falling on October 4th.  We received about an inch which had mostly melted by the next day.  Oh well, this is North Dakota.

In addition to all of the other running around, we spent three days in Minot.  I attended the North Dakota Society of CPAs' annual convention.

Bowling has started up as well.  Every Thursday evening we bowl with our league, the Gutter-Busters.  Our handicaps are sky-high and our averages low, but we have fun.

We hope to get to the coast in December for a visit.  See you all then.

It's been a busy summer!  Vacation Bible School at Zion Lutheran was a highlight.  See top picture.  Erleen and I gave the gospel and bible stories to about 70 grade school kids.  There were several teen-age helpers who also heard the messages.  Besides teaching, Erleen played and sang for the kids which they enjoyed.  One little boy told his mother afterward that he had learned more about the bible in VBS than he had all year in Sunday School.  The kids were very receptive to the gospel message.  We believe that God did a real work in many little hearts.

We also spent a weekend in Minot helping with flood restoration.  We slept at a large Lutheran church (Our Redeemers Lutheran Church).  Many will remember the devastating flood that occurred there in 2011.  Some 11,000 people were evacuated and the damage was massive.  Much of the restoration has been done.  We were part of a crew which prepared yards for hydro-seeding.  As Erleen was visiting with one of the ladies from the host church, she discovered that they had been at Bible school together in Fergus Falls some 47 years ago.  It's a small world.

We are members of the Hannaford seniors club (the Friendly Fun-makers).  Erleen is one of the officers.  We entered a float in the Griggs County Central high school homecoming parade.  You can just see Erleen dressed as "old mother Hubbard" and me dressed as a railroad engineer.

The garden continues to produce wonderful vegetables and herbs.  It keeps Erleen busy watering, harvesting and preserving.

The house-painting continues as well.  Maybe we will finish someday!

"The corn is as high as..."

As you can see the "Corn is as high as an elephant's eye".  (For you teeny-boppers, this is a line from a song from the Rogers and Hammerstein musical "Oklahoma").  As the rest of the nation suffers a drought and serious crop losses, North Dakota's crops are doing great.  We are just beginning to harvest a fine crop of winter wheat.  The corn and soy beans look to do very well also.

Our auto license plates read "The Peace Garden State".  Since we had never seen the International Peace Garden, we made the trip to the Canadian border.  The US and Canada created the Peace Garden to commemorate the pledge never to take up arms against one another.  The Peace Garden is several acres of beautiful flowers, bushes, trees, fountains and walkways which lie on both sides of the border.

The bottom picture is of the walkway around our house at night.  Erleen has planted red, white and blue  wild-flowers, lilies and carrots (??) along the borders.  She has also interspersed lights to create a magical effect.

We are enjoying good vegetables from our garden now.  Erleen canned green beans and zucchini relish so far.

Family Time

Spring has been a wonderful time at grandma & grandpa's home.  Grace drove from Portland to Hannaford in three days with Brendan (4) and Eva (2).  What a brave lady!  We enjoyed having them for about three weeks.  The kids enjoyed the two parks in Hannaford, playing with the toys grandma amassed, playing in the sand box and, yes, fishing.  Grace helped spruce up the back yard and did wonders with our garden.  What a blessing.

Matt flew in for a very short visit and drove back with Grace and the Kids.  We all spent one night at Medora, ND.  We watched the Medora Musical in the huge out-door theater and enjoyed the "pitchfork steak fondue" dinner.  The meat is skewered on pitchforks and immersed in vats of boiling oil.  We also explored the quaint, touristy town.

The Northern Pike have been in the crick (creek for you west-coasters).  We have enjoyed many wonderful meals of fish.  We are also beginning to get produce from the garden.  There is nothing like fresh fish and fresh produce.