Finally Friday

I feel better, thanks, but not because it's cooled off. There will be record highs broken all over the state this weekend the way it sounds. Mom, Allie and I (and Sugar) are going to Mnpls. this weekend to take Kyla a new (to her) mattress and boxspring. Actually, it's our old mattress and boxspring but it's better than the one she's got, so it's getting re-gifted. Allie will get Kyla's and when she's done with it, it'll finally go to the dump. We like to get our moneys worth out of our bedding products.
I am the secretary at the office this morning. Christy has taken a long weekend to go camping with her family, and good for her. I hope the a/c works in their camper! My broker, Lee and his wife left last night on a weekend motorcycle trip. Friday's are always busy here at the office but I feel up to manning the fort alone today. Busy=time flys by fast.
Uncle Brian from Mitchell is building me a small trailer to pull behind my motorcycle for the Sturgis trip. The more I thought about it, the more I wasn't comfortable with trying to strap 2 tents, 2 sleeping bags, 2 bedmats, 2 softsider bags and more probably, onto my motorcycle. We'd look like we belonged in the circus. Trailer is the way to go, I hope. I've never pulled one with a bike before, but lots of people do. It will also have room for a small cooler and lawn chairs too. We'll be all set! 12 days to blast-off!
Have a great weekend!

Not much, but thanks for asking.......

I hate to let my blog sit idle, but I also hate it that I don't have anything exciting or frankly, even interesting to blog about. Life just seems to trudge uneasily along, we walk around the house and each other, vaguely uneasy, never fully relaxed or at ease, carefully choosing our words. I feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. I feel like I should be somewhere else, doing something, but I don't know what it is. I feel like I should work all the time, because then I don't have to think about what my life has or is becoming. And I can't even define what I am becoming. I feel like I'm being pulled along by lifes changes while I stand by helplessly on the sidelines, watching everything unfold. My jaws hurt from unconciously clenching my teeth. I exhort to everyone to move on with their lives, and I'm seemingly unable to myself. It's hard to remain optomistic. My mom is not well. My kids aren't happy. My wife is not happy. I feel powerless to change any of it. I feel like Jack Nicholsen in "About Schmidt". Not many of you faithful readers have seen this movie, I'll wager. It wasn't a big hit. But it tells the story of a man that, even at the end of his life, is struggling to find purpose and meaning in his very existence. The movie won't make you feel good. But just the fact that other people have the same questions is a comfort in it's own way, I guess. Rent it sometime and tell me what you think about it. I don't follow such things, but Nicholsen should've won as Oscar for this role.

Beach Bum

I told you all a while back I was going on the South Beach diet and if it didn't work, you'd never hear another word about it. Well, like anything else in life, the end result is directly equal to the amount of effort that's applied. Since I started strong but faded on the back-stretch, I am stuck at 196 lbs. Much better than where I started but not where we need to be. I'm not discouraged or disgusted, I'm just in a holding pattern. I just have to be super vigilant about not gaining it back. One of these days I will find my motivation and go after those last 10 lbs. Until then, I will continue to walk past the Wells Blue Bunny Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream, 2 half-gallons on sale for $5. I can't have any ice cream and cookies, can I johnandleeann????????

The political campaign is picking up steam slowly. Last Sat. we were in 2 parades, the first in Colton , the second in Canistota. They couldn't have been more different. Colton's parade route was 3 blks long, packed with people, and done real quick. Canistota on the other hand, wants to get their moneys worth, once they get you to town. The parade route had to be 3 miles long. Some blocks there were only 2 spectators. We quickly realized that we were the only entry that had parade walkers. Everyone else was riding on a float or 4 wheeler. OK, now I get it, it's 103F and poor Grandma and Jeannie are losing ground fast. They hung in there like troopers though and we made it through. We enjoyed a cool lunch in the cafe across from the world-famous Ortman Clinic.

Work continues to be busy, which is a good thing. Winter will be here soon enough. Kyla and I leave for Sturgis in 20 days, which will fly by in the blink of an eye. I am excited for the trip and hope she won't be disappointed. It's been a long time since we've been camping together in a tent, but it must be done, in order to experience the consumate Sturgis. Unfortunately, no campfires. The Black Hills are always tinder dry this time of year, so there's always a fire ban. North Dakota is half burned up already. It is scary dry here, and worse by the day.

dogsitting update

I defy anyone to prove to me there is a stupider dog on the planet. This afternoon I rushed home from Sioux Falls about 4 pm to let the dog out, since she'd been locked in the house since before 9. Of course she's happy to see me, she dances on her hind legs, she rolls and stretches in the grass, she sniffs the ground for unseen tidbits. She doesn't pee. I know she has to, but maybe she's got a shy bladder, so I go in the house so as to not stare at her while she does her business. I fetch in the mail, clean off the counter, waste about 10 minutes I could've been doing something constructive, then go back to the door. She's standing there, looking at me with her black shoe-button eyes, and waiting. I let her in, tell her what a good dog she is, pick her up for a little doggie lovin' and SHE PEES ALL OVER MY GOOD PANTS! It doesn't do any good to get mad, there is no shame, there is no comprehension. Lights are on but nobody's home at the Sugar residence. JEANNIE, COME HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dogsitting

Jeannie left last night for Blue Cloud Abbey, a Benedictine monastery in northern SD. It's certainly not where I would spend a week of my vacation, but she meditates, paints, and uses the quiet time to get her head straight. I don't mind so much being a bachelor for a week, but I'm also dogsitting for Sugar, which is not my favorite thing to do. I tolerate this dog, because Jeannie loves her so much, but she is high maintainence. Last night she laid in the back entryway all night, waiting for Jeannie to come home. I'm sure we'll be fine, just a little adjustment on both sides.

Last weekend was Hot Harley Nights in Sioux Falls, a huge fund-raiser for the Make-A-Wish foundation. There was reportedly 7,000 motorcycles in downtown on Sat. night. My friends and I rode down for the parade. It started at J&L Harley, which is basically out in the country on the north end of town, and wound through town, ending up in downtown, where there was a band, vendors and LOTS of people. I would put the crowd at 20,000, easily. We didn't stay too long, visited with some friends I hadn't seen for a while, ate some good chislic and headed back north. It was fun.
Work has just been super busy, which is a good thing. 3 of my listings have gone sale pending in the last week. I had 2 open houses yesterday and 2 more next Sunday. The downside to real estate is working weekends in the summer, but that's just the way it is. There is no such thing as the perfect job.
30 days from today Kyla and I will be in Sturgis. She has never been on a bike trip, let alone Sturgis, so I'm looking forward to it with great anticipation. We're only going to have a few days, and there's so much to see and do, we'll be busy non-stop. I can't wait!

Dogsitting

Jeannie left last night for Blue Cloud Abbey, a Benedictine monastery in northern SD. It's certainly not where I would spend a week of my vacation, but she meditates, paints, and uses the quiet time to get her head straight. I don't mind so much being a bachelor for a week, but I'm also dogsitting for Sugar, which is not my favorite thing to do. I tolerate this dog, because Jeannie loves her so much, but she is high maintainence. Last night she laid in the back entryway all night, waiting for Jeannie to come home. I'm sure we'll be fine, just a little adjustment on both sides.

Last weekend was Hot Harley Nights in Sioux Falls, a huge fund-raiser for the Make-A-Wish foundation. There was reportedly 7,000 motorcycles in downtown on Sat. night. My friends and I rode down for the parade. It started at J&L Harley, which is basically out in the country on the north end of town, and wound through town, ending up in downtown, where there was a band, vendors and LOTS of people. I would put the crowd at 20,000, easily. We didn't stay too long, visited with some friends I hadn't seen for a while, ate some good chislic and headed back north. It was fun.
Work has just been super busy, which is a good thing. 3 of my listings have gone sale pending in the last week. I had 2 open houses yesterday and 2 more next Sunday. The downside to real estate is working weekends in the summer, but that's just the way it is. There is no such thing as the perfect job.
30 days from today Kyla and I will be in Sturgis. She has never been on a bike trip, let alone Sturgis, so I'm looking forward to it with great anticipation. We're only going to have a few days, and there's so much to see and do, we'll be busy non-stop. I can't wait!

4th of July, 2006

It's July 5th today, time to put this very strange holiday behind us. I don't even know how to describe what it was like, very disconcerting. We spent the weekend camping down by Yankton like we have so many years in the past, all big, noisy crowded affairs filled with nieces, nephews, our own kids, coming, going, fighting, laughing and always eating.
This year, it was just Grandma & Grandpa and Jeannie & me. Deb and Brian and Tim and his girlfriend came down for a picnic on Sunday, but the other 4 days were just us. Not that it was a bad thing but just so weird, to go from a huge family get together to 4 old people, hanging out. It was great spending time with my parents and we had some great card games but it was like, where is everybody? this is going to take some getting used to, and frankly, I don't like it. As usual, you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.