A Really Good Day

One of my favorite times of the year to have a picnic is in April. 

No bugs. 

It wasn't really a picnic. Lynette and Anthony were here so we gathered together to eat and play.

It does my heart good to watch the younger members of my family running and enjoying themselves.  Paislee spent most of the afternoon running, her dress flying out behind her.  Most of the rest were playing kickball and she thought she was playing, too. 

There are a lot of photos here. I can't describe the feeling they give me.  They are just photos of family enjoying themselves on a very good day, and yet it's more.  It's sun and blue sky and green grass, running and cousins and dogs and play and the joy of life, 

It's a picture of our life on a very good day.

It's family, and it's ours. 

It was the calm before the storm.

 

Score!

Barry is playing basketball again this year. We went to Barry's first basketball game a week ago.  It was a tournament format, and after winning two games, went on to a championship game, lost, and the team received 2nd place medals.  I enjoy watching those boys run up and down the court on their skinny little legs.  Barry, as a player gives his most help with assists, but he made one basket today and since that's what they really all long for, had a big grin on his face.  They do very well, for they are usually out classed in height, being a short bunch of kids.  They were out classed in skill in the last game, but gave their best. The games were an hour away, and started at 8:00.  We drove through a clear blue morning, just after the fog had dressed the trees in a beautiful hoar frost, hoping the 3 degree temperature would warm up to the expected nearly 32.

This week his games were nearer, in a bigger gym with two games going on at a time.  They lost pretty badly to a team that was bigger and better.  (That team went on to smush another team in their second game.) In the second game the teams were more evenly matched and the Pleasanton team put on their best game.  We sat in the stands "under the basket", and aside from fielding a stray ball periodically we had the best seats to watch Barry's team score and score again during the second half. I tend to let my mind wander during these games, especially when Barry isn't playing, but I was paying attention when he made a basket.  I mentioned it to him after the game and got another big grin.  

Zane is officially taller than I am now.  He turned 12 at the end of the year and has changed from a little boy to a big one.  There's a difference in him that I can feel, but can't put into words. It shows in the way he holds himself.  He's more in command of himself, his behaviors, his attitude.  He talks to me of real things.  I like being around him. I looked at him today, and, yes, he's good looking, but he also has an aura of budding maturity, and it shook me.  I'm not ready for a teenage grandson. Life is going fast enough. I'm proud of the way he is now.  He's making a good start on life. 

It's A Dog's Life

Some people really like dogs. Some people really love dogs. I don't.

Some people can't live with out dogs. I can. 

  I can tolerate dogs that leave me alone. There's a story that when I was very young, walking, but too early to remember the incident, that I was knocked down by a fair sized dog.  I was terrified of dogs for years, scared of them by a few more, and now I just prefer to stay out of their way.  I don't like the way they have of putting their cold noses in the back of my knees.

 I don't like being licked or jumped on, either.

Other people in my family don't have my opinions on dogs, and Lorene's family is the proud owner of a new one, a mini Aussie-doodle.  They love it.  I'm also pleased to announce that their other dog, a huge mastiff/rottweiler/Australian shepherd mix has settled down and 

doesn't jump at me the minute he sees me.   

We had a dog when the kids were growing up.  I was NOT in favor of the idea, but I gave in after saying I wouldn't have anything to do with it, no matter what.  Jim was just as eager for the dog as the kids who vehemently averred that they would take care of the dog.  They didn't, but Jim enjoyed good ol' Charlie for years before he died this summer.

Zane is 12.  He has changed this year from a little boy to a big boy.  I don't remember that change being so definitive with my own kids.  I'm a little sad.  He's growing up.  He's taller than I am, an achievement he's been striving for for the last two years.

I like reading non-fiction books best.  I read in the paper, last year I think, about this man who had given so much blood and saved so many babies in Australia.

It's a history of figuring out how the Rh factor works and what could be done about it to save babies. I didn't know much about it, but I learned that without giving the shot which is plasma with the Rh antibodies to women with negative blood before they give birth the first time, all the rest of their babies won't survive.  I enjoy reading about the years of scientific research and testing. 

I also read a book about WWII that was done either for or with Smithsonian involvement.  It was an easy read because they told the story in small bites, frequent recaps, pictures and maps.  I wish I would have taken a picture of that one.  I took pictures of these pages because they made me "feel."

 

Staying Home

Two days after the previous post we got our first snow of the year.  An old wives' tale says that the number the first snow falls is an indicator of the number of snows in the year. We'll see how that plays out.  I've counted before and we don't usually get 26 snows in our area, but it's always fun to count.  

To count, it has to be a snow you can track a rabbit in it.

We needed to replace our service truck this year.  To me, it seems a complicated process. We buy a truck with a flat bed and then it goes to another company to have a service bed put on it.  Then to the sign company so everyone knows it belongs to Underground Construction. It is now the truck that hauls the boring machine, the old one is demoted to do something else. 

When we started our business 21 years ago, we were at some trouble to get a name for our business that would be a good fit.  There were no other boring companies in the area and we thought Underground Construction would be a good name and fairly self-explanatory.  It isn't so much.  We have been accused of being an excavating company, asked to dig basements and foundations and been mistaken for one of the now several boring companies in the area that have "construction" in there name.  We have to look carefully at our bills, since once in a while we get billed for someone else's order.

November means deer hunting season in our area.  Jim went deer hunting once before we were married, and didn't go again until Anthony became part of our family.  Now, we have discovered that the nature of venison makes it easier for me to chew than beef.  So, Jim has been fortunate enough to get a deer or three every year, so we eat it and enjoy it.  

Zane wanted to come along and see what hunting was like.  They spend most of their time sitting in the blind, and it was a cold day.  Jim got a nice buck; Zane got a fun picture, and laid claim to the antlers. He isn't a convert to the hunting game.    

We celebrated Thanksgiving as usual with all our family, including my folks, in spite of the COVID warnings.  

 

Going East

Everyone, well lots of people talk about "seeing the colors" on the east coast.  We have see the changing leaves in Wisconsin and this year we had the chance to see them in Indiana.  We took a longer way to see some new country, going through Iowa instead of Missouri and splitting the trip with an overnight stay somewhere in Iowa.  We stopped at a small cheese factory and bought some gouda cheese.  That's the only kind they make.  We found that we really don't like gouda all that much, but I grated it and put in in soups and eggs, and we like it that way.  

We celebrated Lynette's birthday with a cake.  She chose the color of the frosting, she probably should have chosen someone else to make it. I got too much liquid in it and we ran out of powdered sugar, thus the interesting outcome.

Even though we don't have the variety of colors in our part of Nebraska, I love the gold and blue colors we do have.  

My brother in Texas is planting milkweed to entice Monarch butterflies to his area. So, I sent him all the milkweed pods from the 8 plants in my flower garden.  It was well over 100 seeds.  I have other spots of milkweed so I'm not shorting myself.  

We have some butterflies and the gorgeous October day I took these photos we had several enjoying these marigolds.  

Jim is making progress on his chicken house/garden shed.

I think it is important for kids to read and I love to see that Lorene's boys enjoy it. 

I don't read as much as I should and I enjoy non-fiction best. 

Boys, Boys

 When I told my mom we were going to watch the boys play football, she said you wouldn't catch her out doing that.  Of course, where she was it was cloudy, chilly and windy.  When we went it was sunny and warm (with a jacket on) and windy.  

After some trouble finding the football field in a little town of 300 people (depending on GPS was a mistake, using our common sense and eyes would have been a lot better), we were greeted by running hugs from our grandchildren. And I thought, "That's why I watch the boys play football."

There is a mom that has a son on Barry's team and takes wonderful photos.  I wish there was one such on Zane's team.  Lorene's camera is okay for these actions photos, but mine is horrible.  

I really enjoy watching the boys play and noticing how they improve during the season.  Barry is a killer flag snatcher and watches so that he can run to be in the right place at the right time. I can see him sizing up the situation and running like mad to get there.  Zane threw two passes that were caught and run for touchdowns and was responsible for one 2-point conversion, which they were doing for the 5th and 6th graders instead of having them kick the extra point.  Younger than that, they just forget any extra points at all.  

They run on an 80 yard field, but that's still a long way for the little kids. 

Where Has September Gone?

Where has September gone?  I didn't recognize the passing with many photos.  We've had hot days and cold ones. In one week we had the furnace on and a couple days later the air conditioner.  We've had  on which the sun rose and set red because of the haze from western wild fires.

These last three glorious days are the epitome of fall. Clear blue skies with yellowing ash trees in the afternoons. Crisp, starry early mornings,  followed by the yellow and red before the sun's appearance.  Perfect days, with just the right temperature to enjoy a sweater in the morning, and a little breeze in the afternoon to stir up a few leaves to fall.

We started the month with a visit from Lynette and Anthony who visited on the way to a wedding.  Lynette requested potato bowls (chicken nuggets, corn, cheese and gravy over mashed potatoes) for our family dinner and offered to make the chicken nuggets.  That was a good deal.  

All I was responsible for was buying the boneless chicken thighs.... 

And the rest of the dinner.

I like summer time meals, because then we took ourselves outside to watch the fire, burn marshmallow, (those that enjoy that sort of thing) and eat the mermaid ice cream that I forgot to take to Barry and Christian's birthday celebration.  It's one of those no churn recipes with sweetened condensed milk and cream and I found it too "coating the inside of my mouth", to enjoy it.  Barry and Christian loved it.  I used three colors and blopped it in the pan randomly to make sort of a tie-dye effect.

 Raspberry Trifle

Outside with family

The end result of a game of Five Crowns.  We all contributed to the doodle.

Jim is on the roof again.

Miss P

I do enjoy watching the boys in their activities.  More so than when it was my own kids.  I wonder if it is because I know it's important to be in their lives, or if it's because I don't have to get them home, bathed and bedded after all the excitement.

Anyway...

I happened to be watching Barry closely near the end of his game when the other team was very close to the end zone.  During the play, I could see Barry's face and on it I could see the purpose on his face  to get the ball carrier's flag as he angled toward him, running at full speed.  He would have got the flag, but he tripped and fell.  Yet, he slowed the runner just enough that another boys could grab the flag.  What I like best about these games is watching them learn to work as a team; that to assist is just as good as to score.

Finishing August

There is a joke in our house, starting with my mom who was told as a girl that if she didn't eat her toast with her egg, she would get impetigo.  Her brother didn't and was plagued with the stuff. 

Jim has never eaten his toast with his egg.  He's of the kind that eats one thing and then another.  

So, here, by accident he is eating his egg, with his toast.  

It was one of those "who are you, and what have you done with my husband" moments.

Ha.

Paislee turned 4 this month.  We all helped celebrate and Christian helped with the decorations.

Jim is off ready to work on his chicken house/garden shed.  Metal on the roof is next.

This is the place to get BIG melons. 

Barry turned 9!!, believe it or not.

All the cousins celebrating together. 

I made these cakes.  Since they were celebrating Barry and Christian's birthdays together due to the covid situation, I made two small cakes and cupcakes.  Barry's cake was vanilla under the chocolate frosting.   

A favorite gift--a circuit board.

We've been planning another picnic at the farm all summer to get together with some friend with children.  It didn't start as planned since there little boy was stung 5 times by a very aggressive and chasing bumble bee, and Zane stabbed himself rather deeply with a pocket knife.  Since we had a certified EMT on site, all was well.   

We stayed behind to do a little four-wheeling around the farm, but midway on our way back to our picnic site, the four-wheeler started acting up, so Jim high-tailed it back, and it died -- a bit far to want to push, since we weren't at a convenient loading place even if Jim brought the pickup closer.  After fiddling a bit and putting on the reserve tank, we zoomed right to the pickup and loaded up.  So much for any time spent four-wheeling. I'm glad we weren't any farther away.  

Chicken House -- Part 2 and more

Jim worked long and hard getting these rafters completed and all the same size, now they are on after a hot morning's work.  

They got part of the sheeting on after lunch.

Good helpers on corn day.

A nice looking family.

Blogger is being extremely annoying just now.  It won't center my photos like it has always done and it has decided that I want blue underline as a default type and I don't know how to change it.