Book Review

Kyla gave me a book for Christmas. The Secret Life of Bees. It is one of my favorite books. I highly recommend it, especially for women. It kind of reminded me of Fried Green tomatoes. It is set in the south during the 60's civil rights movement. The main character is a 14 year old white girl coming to age. The story revolves around her trying to find out about her mother, but the real story is about the sisterhood between a group of women. I loved everything about this book. The author made me feel like I was right there. I could sense nature the way she described it, and the bees were fascinating too. If I could write it is the way I imagine I would write. It was like she was writing just the way I perceive. That is what made the book come so alive I think. I hope it is made into a movie. If you have read it, let me know what you thought. Or if you have read another book that you loved, pass along the title so I can read it.

Quote for today:
I believe in the sun - even when it does not shine
I believe in love - even when it is not shown
I believe in God - even when he does not speak
-Holocaust Victim

If a holocaust victim can still believe without seeing, I have no excuse to give up. It brings things back into perspective. I will stop my wallowing in self pity.

ANOTHER DAY GOES BY And the old clock goes tick tock

It is a gloomy here today, but at least it is warm. It is almost quitting time. Things are still pretty slow at the office. But I did get a call to list a house, so that is good. We close on a house we bought and fixed up in Garretson tomorrow and a rental we bought here in Dells. So it will be good to get that business completed and start on a new project. It keeps us (especially Greg) out of trouble. There isn't much more for news here. We are excited to spend New Year's Eve with Greg's sister Deb and her husband Brian. It will be a nice relaxing night and I am so ready for that. Let me know what you plan to do to celebrate the New Year.

Quote for the day:

If you would have your children be something in the world teach them to depend on themselves. Let them learn that it is by close and strenuous personal application they must rise - that they must, in short, make themselves, and be architect of their own fortune. -Edwards

Now More

It is always a let down after Christmas. All the glitter seems duller, and anticipation is no longer in the air. Now it is back to the real world drudgery. Actually I enjoy my job, I just need to find a creative outlet in a hobby. And I need to face reality that I am in a new phase in my life, and take a positive approach to all the changes.
I am going to try to post a quote in my blog everyday or at least every time I post. We'll see if they solicit any responses. I haven't had any comments for a long time so I'm not even sure anyone is still reading this. But I will post on.

Quote of the Day:

TIME is the chrysalis of eternity. -Richter

Post Christmas

First a cute little joke:
But Dust
========

A visiting minister waxed eloquent during the offertory prayer.

"Dear Lord," he began with arms extended and a rapturous look on his
upturned face, "without you we are but dust..."

He would have continued but at that moment my very obedient daughter
(who was listening carefully for a change!) leaned over to me and asked
quite audibly in her shrill little girl voice,


"Mom, what is butt dust?"

twas 3 nights before Christmas

Hello!
Well all the children are home. They all arrived on Saturday the 18th right before our Christmas party. So the festivities have begun. It is fun having them all here, the house is full of life. We have seen a lot of Ginger, but not much of Wyatt. He has only slept at home one night out of four so far. I suppose he has a lot of catching up to do with friends. But come on Wyatt spend some time with your family too! I can see where we are on your priority list, oh I guess we didn't even make it on the list. Ok, I'll quit crying.
Our Christmas party was a blast. We had 84 guests plus the 6 of us, so it was a full house. It was so nice to see everyone! I think we will have another party next year! We finally hit the sack at 4 am. Then we were woke up early by a phone call at 8 am. I am too old for these late hours. The Martell Christmas is here on Christmas Eve. That will be fun. My dad is coming for the first time in 5 years, so I am happy about that.
Last night Greg, Ginger, Kyla and I went out to Spezia's for supper. It was busy there. The food was just ok. But it was nice to have dinner with the girls. We had just finished a marathon shopping spree at TJMax. They have the neatest stuff there. Ginger was able to buy lots of gifts for her friends.
Kyla has been doing really well at her new job. She has had the highest sales both days They have been on the phones. I think her coworkers are wondering what her magic is. We all know that she is highly talented! Kyla has Christmas Eve off so that is nice.
It is cold here today! The skies are clear blue and sunny but it is -1 degrees! Yikes. The first days of winter have hit with a vengence! The high tomorrow is only going to be -1 degrees. But at least there isn't any snow and ice so hopefully there will be safe traveling.
That is all for today!

Only 12 days until Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas!
I'm not sure I'll write again before Christmas so I added the premature greeting. Today is a windy windy day! Our Christmas tree in the screened porch blew over, but there is no sense in setting it back up until this wind stops. Yesterday was a fun and busy day. It started out going to Erin's graduation in Brookings at 10 am. It was a typical college gradation ceremony, long and boring. But the party at Johnny Carinos was great! They have the nicest party room there. It has a fireplace, windows with a view and good privacy. I highly recommend it! And we had a great waitress too. The food is always top notch Italian. One interesting thing was the mussels. Have you ever had them? Well, I would advise taking a close look at the insides of one of those creatures. Kyla dug one open before she ate it. There is some nasty hairy thing inside. Seriously, some things should not be eaten. But Grandma and Grandpa seemed to enjoy them. I'll stick with chicken, everything else tastes like chicken anyway doesn't it? And I don't have to worry about any nasty hairy innards either. OK, moving along. We had a great time at the party, then we came back up to Dell Rapids to go to the Polar Express at the theatre. It was an entertaining show. Actually the story was lame but the animation was incredible. After that Deb, Brian, Tim, Erin and Jeff came over for Tom and Jerry's and Ginger Snaps (the cookie). They left at about 7:30. Then we went to an outdoor party at Ron and Cindy Friedbauers. It was really neat. They had tons of Christmas lights, a campfire, hot cocoa and cider and Christmas goodies. They had music hooked up. We spent sometime in the house and garage too. It was very festive. We left there at about 10:30 and went to Mark and Kellie Sneve's for a little get together. It was fun relaxing and visiting with old friends. We looked at some old motorcycle trip pictures and reminisced, had some more snacks, and enjoys each other's company. We finally made it home at 1:30. So it was a very fun day!
Are you all ready for Christmas? We are really looking forward to the kids coming home for the holidays. It will be so nice to all be together for a whole week. I'm trying diligently to have everything ready before they get here so I can relax and enjoy their company. I think I am on schedule!
Today is the local tour of homes. Kyla, Dianna, and I are planning to go this afternoon. It is always fun to see everyone's decorations and the interiors of other homes. Tonight is the car club Christmas party at the Prairie View. It is always a fun time. We do a gift exchange, and enjoy a nice meal paid for by the club. I have grown to enjoy this group of people even though the whole car thing isn't big for me.
Our LandMark party was on Friday night. It was really nice. We were at the Prairie View for that too. There were 12 of us there. Everyone gets along really well. I can't believe I have been selling Real Estate for 12 years already, and Greg for 4 years. Wow, time just flies!
Well, I hope I haven't bored everyone to tears. I hope that you are enjoying the preparations for Christmas as much as we are. Don't forget our party next Saturday the 18th, you are all invited!
-Jeannie

Monday

I haven't posted for a long time. Sometimes life gets a little crazy, or people do at least. Well, the holiday rush is starting. I love this time of year! Last night we went over to Steve and Dianna's to celebrate Steve's birthday, he's old! It was nice to spend time visiting with them. We haven't seen much of them this year. It was good to catch up on things. Cindy and Ron are going to have an outdoor Christmas party on the 11th. That will be really fun. It will be under the Christmas lights with a bonfire, caroling and other fun things. I'm looking forward to that. Also on the 18th we are having a Christmas party here. Ginger and Wyatt come home that day too. So it will be a busy, fun day. LandMark's Christmas party is on the 10th. And our niece Erin graduates from SDSU the next day. Busy, busy, busy.

Greg's mom is doing better each day. The use of her hand is slowly coming back. That was a very scary accident she had. Praise God that she is alright. We will be going to Deb and Brian's for Thanksgiving this year. Their new house is so nice for family gatherings. Only four of the cousins will be there this year. So there will only be 11 of us. But it will be nice to be together just the same. I think we will help Grandma decorate her tree that day too. I will start bringing down my decorations this week too. And Kyla, Allison, Greg and I will go to get our tree over the weekend. I think we might try cutting our own this year. That will be fun. And it is time to write the Christmas letter again. Seriously, where did this year go? Time just goes faster and faster.

Our bookclub has been reading some good books lately. Last month was The Plain Truth, it was about the murder of a baby at an Amish colony. I recommend it. We have also read Angry Housewives Eating Bon-bons, that was really good. Right now we are reading A Christmas Blessing. It is an easy read but I am enjoying it.

Well, that is all for today. I don't know if anyone is still reading this, but if so Happy Thanksgiving!

Grandma

This has been a very upsetting and hectic past week for me for numerous reasons. The only reason that is going to be mentioned here however is my mother's accident. Monday she fell in the garage backwards off the steps and landed on her head. Hard. Luckily, Dad was right inside the door when it happened and called 911. She was unconsious. After a brief exam in the Mitchell hospital, they decided to transport her by ambulance to Sioux Valley hospital in Sioux Falls. Deb rode with her and Dad and I followed in his van and Jeannie in the car. It appears that the only significant effect so far is the inability to use her left hand. They have started her on rehab and the neurologist seems unconcerned so we are hoping this will pass as the swelling in her brain goes down. Very scary stuff. Lots of prayers were said, and more are needed for a speedy recovery. Thanks to everybody for your prayers.

10-28-04

Here I am at the office, taking my turn staffing. I was supposed to write an offer on a house I showed in Valley Springs yesterday, but as I was walking out of the house to the appointment, she called and cancelled. She'd thought about it overnight and changed her mind. Well, I was disappointed, but I could see her point. The place WAS a dump, but what do you expect for $39,900? So it goes. People need a place to live. Although I would live in a tent before I'd live in this place. People are so funny. Some houses are immaculate. Others are stys. Everybody wants to get their place sold but some people won't make the effort. And it is a lot of work to keep your house ready to show at all times, especially if you've got kids. So the real question is, do you really want to sell your house? Well, do ya?

Friday again?

Man, where did this week go? It seems they are all a blur, fall is racing by, next weekend is Halloween already. I remember the first year we moved to town from the acreage, 1991. We had only been in the house for a couple weeks, we were so excited for Halloween, finally we would get some trick-or-treaters at our house. Jeannie decorated, we bought tons of candy. The afternoon of the big day, it started to snow. Before it was over, we had over 12 inches of very wet, heavy snow. There were a few brave spooks, but not many. Of course I didn't have a snow-blower, at that time not even a real snow shovel, so I was outside all night shoveling with a grain scoop shovel, to not much avail. Needless to say, we had extra candy, I'm sure to Wyatt's dismay. My, how things have changed in 13 years! Today jeannie had 2 closings and I had one, so that is always a satisfying conclusion to the transaction. We can pay the bills for another month. Today was just a real strange day. VERY foggy, hot and humid, misty showers all day. It really feels like it could storm. I heard someone say there was a tornado watch, which only means conditions are favorable, but still, on Oct. 22??? Give me a break. This country has crazy weather. Kyla had an interview at US Bank and it sounded like that went well, so all in all, so far anyway, a good day. We have decided to have a Christmas party at the new house and you are all invited. There will be no rhyme or reason to the invitations, just an eclectic mix, which is a great demographic for an interesting party. Dec. 11, 2004. Mark your calenders now.

Last weekend

Ginger and Wyatt made it home, or at least to the Cities, and it was a fun day. We stopped in Mankato and picked up Allie and got there about 1 pm. We did lots of fun things, went to an art museum, went bowling,ect. Not the usual go to the mall of america, which was fine by me. It turned out to be a long day though, cause we decided not to stay overnight Sunday, so after a good meal at Old Chicago, we tied the last remnant of the twins' college days, Wyatt's bed, to the pickup and headed west. I walked in the door at 4:07 am. That might seem crazy but I don't have a problem driving at night. I guess I'm lucky. We were up shortly after 8 am and off to work, but I must admit I was weary Monday night. The Garretson house saga continues. I worked over there yesterday again. Just once in my life I would like to build a new house from the ground up, where everything is straight and true. I enjoy doing the remodeling but it is very time intensive. Every day there is one day closer to being done, I keep telling myself. Today Jeannie is home getting ready for the big shindig tonight. She is hosting a women for John Thune rally tonight. Unfortunately, Johnny himself is going to be at a pancake feed at the Garretson American Legion so they'll have to settle for Kimberly, his wife. Somebody was going to prank us and put a bunch of Daschle signs in our yard but somebody squealed so now I'll have to stand guard.

Rainy day Thursday

Hello,
After weeks of gorgeous weather we have a rainy day. This will slow down the harvest a little so hopefully it is short lived. There isn't much new in my life today. Tomorrow is our Homecoming parade. It is very strange that we don't have any high school kids in our family anymore. It certainly takes the fun out of things. But we will have fun once we get going I'm sure. Our realtors are all going to dress up in black and walk behind the 41 handing out candy. The theme is occupations, so we are FBI. I bought little black hats and mirrored sunglasses for everyone. We will make the signs in the morning. Tomorrow we are also having a going away party for the secretary Lu. There are lots of changes in the air.
Kyla is going to be moving home on Monday. I think it is a good decision and even though she is dreading it, I think it will be fun. I guess I remember moving home and going to VoTech before I got married. It was a little weird. It doesn't feel the same as it did before I left for college. I felt detached and unsettled. And I think that is a good thing because it is just part of a transition. So I plan to make the best of it and enjoy our time together. Hopefully Greg and Kyla feel the same way. It seems kind of strange that all the ammon girls feel adrift these days. Hopefully it will be fun when all 4 kids are together in St. Paul this weekend. Greg and I aren't going up to visit until Sunday. That will give them time to see their friends and spend some time together without the rents. I'm hoping that we can spend some fun time together, but with us that is never a guaranty. Usually someone gets feisty before the day is up. Well that is enough for today. Toot to lou.

what is it anyway?

I've just read the 3 girls blogs, and everybody seems to be feeling rather adrift these days. I wish I had the answer, but first I would have to know the question. Seriously, I don't remember having these problems. I admit to struggling with my future as a young married man with a family. I wanted so much to get out of the packing plant. I would anxiously wait until Sunday when I would pore over the jobs section of the want ads with a fine tooth comb, looking for the perfect job for me. We went through some hard times back then, but I always knew something better would come, and it always did. But not right away. In between the good jobs, there were many years of the tedious grind. Until I finally got the job I was always meant to do, sales. I was always amazed by the people in college who had their major picked as a freshman and were steadfast in their decision. I always thought, "what's wrong with me? How come I don't know what I want to do with my life?" But you know what? I think, really, most people are uncertain about their future and even about their goals. Heck, my goal was just to pay my bills each month for many years. Sounds dismal I know, but really, life is made up of many tiny victorys. Maybe paying your bills is the only one you'll get this month. It ain't all pretty or easy, but we just have to do the best we can every day, work hard every day, and good things will eventually come your way. Not overnight. Maybe not for years. But it will. When I worked at the car dealership I had a poster that hung over my fish tank. And eventually after many years, Bruce splashed water on it so many times that I had to throw it out. But I liked it and I read it many times. The title was "10 rules for a sucessful life". I don't remember any of the other rules but the first one. It said " Rule # 1- Marry the right person. 90 % of your happiness or unhappiness in life will be determined by your spouse". Maybe I was born lucky, but I think about that, and how lucky I was to find your mother.

Good morning

I'm up and at em early today. Ever since we started sleeping on our Nikken magnetic mattress pad I've been sleeping better and getting up earlier. So every morning I'm up with an hour to spare. Of course I don't use it to do anything constructive but it is nice to start the day unhurried. I had a great weekend at the Stitcher's Retreat at Lake Shetek. It was so beautiful, the leaves were all turning and it was really warm. It has been an incredible fall! I didn't get much accomplished but it was sure fun seeing everyone and spending some time with my best friend LeeAnn. It seems we just don't get to spend much time together these days and it was fun to talk and talk and talk. I think we did keep the women next door awake though, we got to laughing about the weekender clothes and how they use them in hundreds of different ways. Seriously, is it really ok to use the mini skirt as a cowl collar, or a bunched up belt at your waist? And then there is the tulip skirt, you can bring it up above your bust and use it for a dress? Never mind that the back hangs lower then the front, and the elastic cuts into your fat at the armpits and makes an attractive little ball of protruding cellulite. These clothes are versatile. WOW! We got to laughing so hard. At a recent style show they had 3 women stand in front and share clothes. They seriously had to change right in front of everyone. So Joslyn's jacket went to Diane, and Diane's skirt went to Linda and Linda's top went to Joslyn. This went on several changes each time the model struggling to keep her flesh from flashing. How embarrassing! I don't know if they warned the models that they would be required to make a spectacle of themselves or not. And seriously, some of the resulting outfits were atrocious! Poor Joslyn, you've just got to say no. Anyway, LeeAnn and I came up with a few more ideas for Weekenders Transformers at 3 in the morning and of course burst into giggling fits. Ex. Mini Skirt turban, Large woman can wear 2 small minis as leg warmers (think the 80's), and don't forget tube top tucked into tulip skirt.And when the skirt gets a little worn, you just cut out some leg holes and Fido has a new sweater. The uses are endless. So now the $70 skirt doesn't seem so overpriced does it? And if you want to sell it for yourself you can attend the big conference where 1000 other women are wearing the exact same clothes vying for the most original idea. I can only imagine the other ways you can use that mini. I hope Judy doesn't read our blog, I guess I really am mean and heartless like people say. Maybe having a blog isn't such a good idea after all. Well enough carrying on for one morning. Catch you later.

That's what you get

It's Saturday morning and I've just finished breakfast and am heading to my project of the day, tearing out wet sheetrock. Thursday, sometime during the day, the water heater burst on one of my rental houses. This particular house happens to be on the second level with garages below. Luckily, I stopped by the garages to get something. When I opened the walk door, water was raining from the ceiling, soaking all the furniture and other items that we and the tenants had stored there. Racing upstairs, I found water gushing like a geyser from the heater. After getting the water turned off, I was kind of in shock. Called my insurance man and found out if I turn in another claim on this property, I'll get dropped since I'd already turned in a claim from an electrical fire on the same property 10 months ago. So.......call the experts. I called Intek, they are the best and had them tear up all the carpet, throw out the wet pad and set up the fans and dehumidifiers upstairs. I have been standing on a ladder tearing down wet double 5/8 sheetrock firewall and insulation from the ceiling. Last night I was exhausted. But, so it goes. It was an accident, nobody got hurt, the tenants have been incredibly cool about the whole deal, even though they are spending the weekend in Sioux Falls because the noisy fans make it impossible to sleep. I'm off to finish the job this morning, hopefully. If anybody thinks rental properties are the easy way to wealth, take it from me. The path is long and hard, the payoffs are years in the future and then only if real estate doesn't tank. In between, you can look forward to chasing dead-beat tenants that won't pay, keeping an eye out for smuggled in dogs and cats, illegal drugs, loud parties, leaking roofs, painting, mowing, spraying, fertilizing, advertising, screening tenants, and repairing the door the SWAT team broke down on a drug raid tip. You'd better be handy at carpentry, plumbing, roofing, electical, marriage counseling, and debt collecting. You must also be non-discriminitory but be prepared for the court summons anyway, and it doesn't hurt to have a lawyer on retainer. OK, I've had a bad week and I'm done bitching now.

Finally........

I'm back. To paraphrase Kyla, Wyatt was right. It's easy to set up a blog, much harder to blog on a regular basis. I'm still fighting the feeling that no one is interested in what I'm thinking anyway, so what's the point? Maybe it'll seem more natural once I do it more often. At the risk of sounding like my dad, I have to report that it rained last night, and today is gray and gloomy, although the temp is mild. The soybean harvest is in full swing (until the rain) and the combines were going all over the country yesterday. I've been spending every spare minute lately working on the house in Garretson and things are progressing well. We've decided to keep this one so we're working on financing. It still comes as a blow to me when we talk about these things in relationship to my life span. I wanted to put it on a 30 yr. mortgage to keep the payments low. Jeannie lovingly reminded me I would be almost 79 yrs old before it was paid for. Wow. Even on a 15 yr mortgage, I'm still almost 64! Staggering! Where did my life go? It's been a great life, I just don't feel like I should be scheduling my mortgages to coincide with my retirement! Which may or may not happen at this point, I've learned not to take anything for granted. So, my philosophy for today at least, is plan for the future but live in the moment. Pretty original, huh? Sometimes I wonder if I've ever had an original thought in my life or if even my thoughts are somehow subconsiously lifted from something I've read or seen.

Today I had time to open my email, something I don't do on a daily basis and here were several emails from Wyatt, asking for help with a cancer fundraiser he's in charge of. Jeannie pledged some money from us. I feel kind of bad but it looks like it might be the bottom half of the 9th inning, I think it's scheduled for tonight. Not enough time to make any meaningful contacts, but here's the website- http:www.active.com/donations/fundraise_public.cfm?key=unite. Good luck Wyatt. It's for an important cause. It seems like cancer touches everyone. My childhood neighbor on the farm, Ralph Lyman, passed on last week from cancer. He'd been fighting it for years. Although I've been gone from the Mitchell area since I was a kid, we kept in touch through my parents, and he bought a new pickup from me a few years ago. I feel real bad I wasn't able to make it for the funeral but we were in Rochester with Allie. Even though he had been sick for a while and his death wasn't a surprise, I still feel like I've lost a close friend.

Begging for comments

Ok, I know that there are a few people reading our new blog. I would love it if you would just post a tiny little message to let me know who you are. You don't have to comment or anything, just say Hi this is _______. Ok be a pal.

Today my imagination has gone wild. I have been trying to get hold of Kyla for 24 hours. I have left messages on her voicemail, I have emailed her, I have had Allison try to reach her in, case she is avoiding me, and now I have began to imagine all sorts of things that could have happened to her. And none of them is good. I'm sure she is fine and maybe her phone is lost or broken, and she hasn't checked her email. Who knows but I hate not being able to talk to her. So Kyla, if you read this, remember it is not ok to ignore your mother, it is cruel and unusual punishment. I don't even know where you live for crying out loud, how would I find you? Call home.

There isn't much for news. I am looking forward to a fun weekend at Shetek. I am going with LeeAnn to the Stitcher's Retreat. It is always so relaxing and a real get away. I feel like I need it.

Well Greg just came in and we are headed out to have some dinner. I'll write more later. Please comment.

Just sitting at a Realtor booth

Heeeelo,
I'm just wasting some time. We have an hour and a half before this Home Reduction sale ends here at the Golf Expo building in SFalls. It hasn't been so bad really. It is the first year for it so it wasn't too well attended, but it will be better next year. I did take a couple hours off and hit the nearby GoodWill. It is one of my favorite spots to shop. Seriously, I always find a treasure or two. Today was a good day for clothes and books. I love buying books there. For 50 cents you can get a good read and donate it back when you are done. And it is better than the library because you don't have to worry about returning it on time. I found a really cute outfit today too. You have to be willing to scrounge though the racks, but that is fun for me. I have decided it is my favorite hobby. And it really helped break up the day today.
Well about Mayo. We didn't find out anything new. Basically Allsion has Vocal Cord Disorder, they don't know what causes it and there is really no treatment for it. Allison was pretty discouraged by it all. It wouldn't be so bad if she wasn't so exhausted all the time. I think she will have to try some alternative medicine. I brought her up a magnetic sleep system when we went to Mankato. I'm hopeing that it helps. And she needs to watch that she eats a healthy diet. She is scheduled to go back in November for more tests. Overall it was disappointing, but I guess it is good to know nothing is really wrong .

Mayo

Well we leave to take Allison to Mayo clinic in the morning. We have to be there by noon. We are really hoping to find some answers to her condition. I have heard wonderful things about the hospital there. Please pray for Allison. Thanks.

Beautiful Fall Day!!

Good morning! This is my favorite type of day; the clearest bluest sky with the changing color leaves set against it and clean crisp air. I took a little walk last night after dark. Truth be known I had to go out on the sidewalk to see how cute my screen porch looked with the big round light and hanging candles lit, and decided it was so nice I should take a walk. That was while I was waiting for Greg to get back. Hey at least I made the best of it instead of getting irritated. Anyway it was refreshing and I was reminded that I need to step out of my normal routine more often. I realized how often I get stuck in a certain mind set of living. It seems like I limit myself without even knowing it. Not is big ways but small ones. Small routines that keep my days on a kind of treadmill of living. And since it seems to work and life is easy I don't venture off and really experience life. So I have decided each day I am going to do something out of the ordinary, even if it is just a very small thing. I don't know what it will be today, but I resolve to do it. LIFE IS SHORT! I challenge anyone reading this to do the same and let me know what happens. Take the time, each moment is only spent once, then it is gone forever!

Another wasted day

Yes, today was one of those days that really we wait all year for. I had plans and plans and more plans for all I was going to get done today. And guess what? Only about 10% of what I had planned actually got accomplished. But hey, I spent as much of it outside as I could, even if an hour of it was leaning against the side of the pickup, shooting the bull with the boys from Dell Rapids Chevrolet Pontiac. I stopped in to pay my bill and sales were slow so it was a)hard to get away or b)easy to stay, depending on your viewpoint. I prefer easy to stay, so I did. Anyway, from there it was a date with the lawn grooming eqiupment since they hadn't seen the light of day for awhile. The hurricanes must've forced rain up here from the Gulf cause it seems like a long time since I've seen the sun. Mowing the lawn was enjoyable, just to be outside. Once I was done here, it was off to Garretson to do lawn work on the house we bought at auction this spring. It'd been awhile since I'd been there and the lawn showed it. I rounded the corner of the house on the mower and what the??? Ahuge branch, nay, half the tree had fallen on top of the garage. Wow. That's another full day cutting that up and hauling it out, time spent I hadn't anticipated. The clever neighbor next door hollered over and asked if I knew where he could find some fire-wood. I wanted to suggest he start burning his shack that passes for his house, but wisely kept my council to myself. At 6:35 I bailed off the mower and raced back to Dells with my little trailer full of grass in tow, to show a house at 7 pm to this young client I'm working with. He wanted to show his folks and I don't blame him but I hadn't planned on cutting it this close. Screech to a halt in front of the door with grass clipping flying at 7:01 and sure enough, they're waiting. Being late for appointments is kind of my pet peeve. I don't like it and I was mad at myself for cutting it so close, but why is it, whenever I'm late the other party is always early? Frustrating! An hour and a half later they left, reassured that their young cherub was in capable hands. I'm finally able to answer just about any of the FAQ. There is so much to this business you will never learn from a book. It will only be learned from doing it, again and again. Or from screwing up so badly it's seared into your memory. Fortunately, I've managed to avoid looking too incompetant, at least I hope so. Driving home from the showing, all I can think about is FOOD. I walk in the door and what do I smell? Candles. Jeannie has decided to have another seance and has decided to fast, as well. When she suggests the late movie, I readily agree to hot buttered popcorn for supper. The movie was "Cellular" and I highly recommend it. 2 thumbs up, 4 stars, whatever. Well, maybe not 4 stars but it was pretty darn good. I won't give away the plot but anything with Kim Bassinger, William H. Macy and Jessica Beil (that doesn't look right, Beal maybe) the girl from Seventh Heaven anyhow, has got to be OK. AND, I am making a prediction right here and now. Tom Cruise, you're history, Brad Pitt, slide over cause CHRIS EVANS is gonna eat your lunch from here on out. Remember you heard it here first.

The time is right

Well this is exciting for me to make my first entry on our blog. I guess that is an indication of the excitement level of my life. Today I've been busy selling tickets to a style show for a benefit for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Judy Dearduff is putting it on in Memory of Cole. I hope there is a big turnout. Another exciting event coming up is the Women For Thune rally we are hosting at our house. It is scheduled for October 20th. We had John Thune at our house to meet the graduating seniors early this year, so I'm looking forward to another event to try to gain some votes for him. If we can gain more women votes and new young voters I think he will win in Minnehaha county.

Life at our house is quiet these days. It isn't so bad though. I just have to adjust and find some new interests. So in a way it is kind of exciting. It is a new phase. And we're young enough to do whatever we want to. A couple of weeks ago we took the motorcycle up to Olivia, MN to watch our nephew, Ben play football. We spent the night in a tent, Greg's folks were there with us. The next day we left to go see the Amish colony in SE Minnesota. We rode for hours!!!! By the time we got there everything was closed and we were five hours from home so we started back. We spent the night at Blue Earth at the fair grounds. Then Sunday morning we set off for home. We put on 650 miles in two days.

Ok, that is all for my first entry. Please comment if you have a minute.

Welcome to my world!

Good afternoon and thanks for stopping by our blog. Thanks to Allison for suggesting it and to Wyatt for setting it up. I'm quite certain I don't have as interesting a life as my children do but blogs seem like a good way to touch base with a lot of people. An impersonal way? Perhaps. But who has time (or is willing to make the time) to touch base with all the friends and relatives on a regular basis? So here we go, my awkward attempt to ride the wave of digital technology.

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

First post.

So, Mom and Dad, this is your blog. You post blogs by logging in at http://www.blogger.com (I will tell you your username and password, Mom - Dad, you will need to set yours up yourself by checking your email and following the directions they give you).

You can do formatting stuff like bold, italics, different font colors,

Block quotes, which can be fun (and have a nice graphic with them on the page

or you can link to other pages, like mine.

I'll show you how to do all this stuff if you need help. Good luck.