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.

Kumla - Yumm

High School events are a big deal here in Griggs County.  We went last night to a concert by the high school.  It was impressive.  The various choral groups were very good.  The 56 member band did an excellent job.  The instrumental ensembles were outstanding.  They do many Christian songs here which they probably could not do in California.

Erleen and I have been busy around the yard.  The beautiful spring weather has kept us outside.  See above the garden and newly decorated shed.

We were invited to Ron & Ruth Berge's home for dinner yesterday.  They serviced Kumla.  Kumla is a Norwegian dumpling made from potatoes.  They are rather time-consuming to make.  Ruth taught Erleen to make them.  Perhaps she will make them for those of you who visit us here.

Snow in Portland?

The death of an old client caused us to make an unexpected trip to Humbolt County. However, on the way we found out that we did not need to be there after all. So we went as far as Portland to celebrate Grace's birthday.

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While in Hannaford the temperatures were in the 60's and 70's, we woke up to an inch of snow in Portland (hence the pathetic snowman).

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The kids made Mama's cake with a little help from Grandma and Grandpa. We all had a great time.

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As we made out a card for Barnabas' birthday, I was reminded of my "adventures in babysitting" with the Cain kids several years ago in Pennsylvania. I don't recall how many years ago it happened, but Gracie had just learned to crawl.

It was early afternoon; the kids were sleeping. Nathan was at work. Erleen and Melodee decided to go shopping in Hagerstown, Maryland. It was a warm, peaceful day so I volunteered to babysit.

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Gracie and Barnabas woke up and were playing quietly in the living room. My cell phone rang. It was my office with an emergency. I peeked into the living room and saw Jerry and Abe with a jar of peanut butter and one of jelly which they were eating with their fingers. I told the office I would call back. After cleaning PB & J from the kids, the divan and the floor I called the office back.

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Before I could do anything, one of the kids asked me where Gracie was. Another look into living room which was absent Gracie and I hung up on the office again. A thorough search of the main floor did not turn up the missing child. Careful searches of the basement, second floor and the attic rooms were fruitless. I began to panic.

I began a second search beginning at the top and ending in the basement. Once again, no Gracie. as I sat near tears I noticed a slight movement in a three-foot high pile of dirty clothes. I tore through the pile and at the bottom, you guessed it, there was Gracie.

Back to the phone again. As my office answered, there was a blood-curdling scream from the living room. I dropped the phone and ran to the scene of the emergency. On the divan, screaming was Barnabas. I didn't see any blood or broken bones and at first was not sure what the problem was. Then I noticed that his hand was between the cushion and the end-piece of the divan. This seemed to be the source of the problem. A quick look verified that a large furniture staple was attached to the divan by one end and the other end had gone through his finger and out again.

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Several attempts to free him failed. Meanwhile he continued to scream at the top of his lungs. In desperation I fumbled for my pocket knife and cut the fabric. The staple had gone through his finger and out again like a fish hook. I was able pull the staple out with only a slight increase in the volume of the screaming. The finger was bleeding profusely. I washed the puncture and looked for a bandaid. Of course there was none. So I wrapped the finger in toilet tissue and had him hold it.

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Back to the office emergency. I needed to receive a FAX. So with the the cell phone between my shoulder and ear I began trying to figure out my son-in-law's FAX machine. At that moment, the land-line phone rang. I continued to work on the FAX machine with the cell phone between one shoulder and ear and the other phone between the other shoulder and ear. The call was from Erleen. I yelled into the receiver: "GET HOME NOW!!!"

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With the exception of that one fiasco, I remember having a wonderful visit with Nathan, Melodee and the kids. Grandparenting is great. If we had known grandkids were so much fun, we would have had them first.