A Thousand Words : Olivia
The finest inheritance you can give to a child is to allow it to make its own way, completely on its own feet. Isadora Duncan
Olivia is two, I love her very sparkly shoes! She is our great niece, her Mama says " She gets them on all by herself! " :)
Posted by: farsideoffifty on 7/03/2009 at 9:00 AM | Comments (5) | Permalink
Tags: a thousand words
Busy Week Updates
A busy week continues..
Our Son in Law Andy had surgery for the removal of a bone spur on his elbow, it went well. We returned home last evening. The little boys are so busy. They are off with friends and hardly have time for old geezers. Grandma does know how to get a hug..blocking the TV while they are trying to play video games with their friends ..works for me. Hugs were given, Grandma was happy!
This morning, Jess had her baby, little Renee Arvilla was born by C Section at 32 weeks. The wonders of Facebook, I got to see photos right away. Renee weighs 3 pounds and 14 ounces, you can pop on over to her blog Feelin' The Wind, and say Congrats! We live just down the road from the proud grandparents, and Jess was a fixture at our house while growing up, she now lives far away in Louisiana. We thank God for his goodness in the safe arrival of this very precious little girl!
Far Guy and Chance had an interesting morning. They were called to the Fire Hall to check out why the security alarms were going off. As Far Guy left the house I hollered "Don't go in there alone." A Deputy was waiting, their first search was fruitless..so Far Guy sent in Chance..he had a great time searching but came up empty pawed too..it was most likely a bird or a chipmunk. Far Guy says the mosquitoes were so huge that it might have been them. There is a joke that pokes fun at the Mosquito as being the Minnesota State Bird..those of us who live here, know it isn't a bit funny.
Today is my day to catch up, Far Guy is feeling pretty good, so our many different activities will continue. We did have an interesting visit to the Dentist..during the last very painful "Flare" that Far Guy had, he kept telling me that something was different in his mouth. Indeed it was ..it seems that after all these years..he is getting a wisdom tooth, it is just poking through the skin..he will have to have Oral Surgery.. that could be a big bump in the road..as it is on the right side of his face..which in Far Guys case is his Trigeminal Neuralgia side. The Monday visit to the Dentist for a normal teeth cleaning caused him a great deal of pain. His teeth are just one of the triggers for the nerve pain. Luckily Mondays Dentist visit did not put too much of a damper on the evenings festivities, I tagged along ( I was bribed by the promise of some Onion Rings and a burger at a local bar) where a few of his classmates were meeting. We got to see blog reader Ann, and visit with her! The eventual arrival of the classmate Pharmacist was enough to jar Far Guys memory..that he had forgotten to take his 3 o'clock medications.. see that new wisdom tooth is worthless. :)
Posted by: farsideoffifty on 7/02/2009 at 12:50 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink
Tags: updates
Wistful Wednesday: July 01, 1978
My brother, Carey got married! The wedding took place In a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. We all drove from Minnesota to Missouri. It was hot, we all stayed in a motel with a pool, it was really, really hot, I don't think the church was air conditioned. The girls were just little, Trica was the Flower Girl and my Mom sewed her dress and pinafore. My baby brother, Jody is on the far right..he was a groomsman, he was still in high school. This was thirty one years ago. Happy Anniversary to my brother and his lovely bride who live far, far away in Oregon! The lovely bride wore her mothers wedding gown, it was a beautiful wedding, despite the hot weather.
Jen was not yet three years old, she wore a dress and a pinafore too..her dress had little pink flowers instead of green flowers like the real flowergirl who was six years old. This was during one of my contact lens phases, I struggled with them for several years, until I eventually gave up on wearing them completely and went back to glasses. It was the only wedding that Far Guy and I were ever in other than our own:)
Posted by: farsideoffifty on 7/01/2009 at 6:00 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink
Tags: wedding, wistful wednesday
Cotton Grass
One morning Far Guy and I were out early, we often take the short cut to the main highway. I love this road, you never can tell what you will see. Turkeys, deer..even that wolf years ago. The road skirts a wetland area and one of my favorite wildlife lakes, Guyles Lake. The sad news is that someone has begun logging on the south east side of the lake. The good news is that a pair of Trumpeter Swans live on the lake now. We noticed something white blooming, the early morning light was catching them just right, we had no idea what it was. We went back that afternoon to take some photos.
Common Cotton Grass is really not a grass it is a sedge. Sometimes the plant world frustrates me why don't they just call it Common Cotton Sedge if that is what it really is? What is the difference between a grass and a sedge anyway? A sedge has a solid stem, grass has a hollow stem. Just a slight technicality makes it a sedge, but everyone calls it a grass just to drive you nuts. It's scientific name is Eriophorum angustifolium, kinda rolls right off of your tongue doesn't it? It begins blooming in June, it likes to live in deep peat bogs or acidic wetlands. What was it used for? Lots of these plants that are native have many uses. Was this the plant that I read about that Sacajawea used inside the papoose carrier that she used for "Pomp" as a diaper like absorbent material ? I can find no reference to the exact plant material used. These cottony fluffs certainly could have been used, they were used to make candle wicks, as tinder for lighting fires, in paper making and as stuffing for pillows.
Have you ever wondered about the "olden days" and had a curiosity about diaper material..probably not, until today! I know some of the new Moms today can't imagine life without disposable diapers, well I can't imagine life without cloth diapers either.. what did they use before cloth diapers? :)
Posted by: farsideoffifty on 6/30/2009 at 9:52 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink
Tags: cotton grass
Party Weekend
It was a party weekend, Saturday was a two function day, first my Aunt and Uncle (my Mom's brother) celebrated Fifty years of marriage, it was just a thirty mile trip. Their children put on quite a spread and we had lunch. My Aunt Judy is a scrapper so looking at her scrapbook and all the old photos was very interesting. She is so much a scrapbooker that the guest book was a scrapbook page, as was another page where you could write a personal message!
A scanned copy of the leaflet that was given to the guests.
We came home and played ball with Chance before going to Far Guy's Uncles Eightieth birthday party, they were roasting the hog right there, the potato salad was great! I found out later that it was one of my cousins who does some catering that provided the potato salad recipe. The kids did a great job organizing and planning this party for their father. It was well attended by family, neighbors and friends. Saturday was a fun day, and a no cooking day for us! They did a great job keeping the hot stuff hot, and the cold stuff cold. The cold salads were nestled in containers of ice. They also needed lots of ice for the keg that was on tap. Far Guy cannot mix alcohol and his medications...I cannot drive after even a half of glass of beer..and we had taken two vehicles..so we both skipped the beer. I came home before Far Guy to play ball with Chance and to feed him. He refused to eat until Far Guy showed up.
Do they look related? Far Guy ( I make Far Guy wear his hat on windy days) and his Uncle.
Sunday afternoon was the birthday party for the twins (our great nephews) who live next door. When we arrived the first question was "Where is Chance?" Yes, we left Chance home again..we had cake and ice cream and then the real fun started. A Pinata! The kids took turns hitting it, I believe the adults had as much fun watching as the kids did trying to hit the fire truck pinata. The little girls were wild women, hitting it with such force..it was funny..they were very aggressive! Eventually the boys were able to wound the pinata..but it took a big boy to deliver the final whack that brought all the candy out! Amid much cheering and laughter all the kids ran to get some candy..just rewards for all that hard work!
Birthday Party Bash
It was a boring weekend for Chance, but with the weather turning warmer, and sun shining into the car..he stays home where he is cooler and safer. We have a super busy week coming up, beginning today, so if I am absent a day or two..be assured that it is only the busy season of summer activities that keeps me from blogging..and maybe a few wildflowers too! :)
Posted by: farsideoffifty on 6/29/2009 at 11:08 AM | Comments (4) | Permalink
Tags: summertime celebrations
