I Think I Must Be Sick!

And I must be bored ... For some strange reason I figured out the number of photographs I took in the month of June.

98

It seems I have reached a new low!

I will try to do better in July!

Is "70" the New "50"?

This past weekend, we joined in the celebration of Barry's birthday - That's right, he turned 70 last week.

We traveled through the Minnesota corn fields... to the place where he and the missus currently call home.
Once there, we found that even with the distinction of age, Barry was still getting no respect...
of course, he was full of it...

and a bit of vino, too.

So, the question must be asked, Is "70" the New "50"? If Barry is an example of 70, I think it must be! May you have many more, Barry!

The Week in Minnesota

Today was a delightful day; it was in the 80's and the humidity was low and the sun was shining. In fact, it was so beautiful we decided to take the top off the Jeep and go for a cruise. It is not often that we spend a day this way in MN, we are usually in a hurry to get somewhere and just take the main roads. Today we visited Rich's family at the campground, Lon and Lee at another campground and Bobbi and David where they are camped at a son's house... huh, seems to be a theme here...

Earlier this week, we had some vicious weather in the state. We were driving from Mankato back to the lake when these clouds began to swirl; this storm eventually became a tornado that hit Owatonna, Waseca, and Austin (all of my family in those areas were fine). It made for a remarkable sky; I don't remember ever having seen so many layers to the clouds.

Just as we were approaching our turnoff, Mike spotted this snapper on the road; looked like he was blown out of the swamp... notice the leech on his back.

That night the wind blew and it rained alot but we came through it just fine and the next morning, this was the view through the raindrops on our front window.

This is the first time we have seen a deer in our yard in the two years we have been here. I think the storms disoriented her as she seemed lost.

The wild roses were flourishing after the rain. And over at the farm, all was well this week. The baby ducks made it safely across the road... The llama was as curious as ever when I walked by...

And the patrol was monitoring the area...

Summer begins tomorrow; I wonder what that season has in store for us.

Fish Beds, VBS, and Family

OK, I know that those topics are not related in any way, but it is what was on my mind this week. Did you know that fish actually make "beds" when they are spawning; it is where they lay their eggs. When Mike pointed these out to me, I was amazed. It seems they brush away the sand with their tail until they get to the rocky surface. I hope you can see these beds that we found by the dock on Lake Jefferson.




Last week, Mike and I had the opportunity to teach Vacation Bible School and we both enjoyed ourselves. There were about 40 kids who attended and we got to work with all the kids as we did the games portion of the evening. The theme was Discovery Canyon so we did all kinds of things pertaining to exploration and discovery. I actually had Mike go over to the brush pile with me and make 30 walking sticks for the older groups of kids. Here we are with the older kids.
And the middle group... Thank heavens for a good "escort" for this group!


And then the preschool, kindergarten, first and second graders... they provided a great deal of entertainment! Is it my imagination or does Mike look a little frazzled in this picture???



Since last week was a week in which Mike's mom was experiencing some difficulties with health and aging, and we spent a lot of time at the hospital, VBS in the evening was a blessing.



Mike had a birthday this past weekend so the kids and grandkids (except Ashley in SD) and one great grand came out for a picnic on Sunday. This family will not pose for pictures willingly or sit at the table to eat, but that doesn't deter me from taking a food picture anyway...
After all the chocolate covered strawberries were gone, some family relaxing was in order. Mac just enjoyed the surroundings. Tammy and Megan went for a ride on the pond. The "boys" challenged grandson Chris and Mike to horseshoes. Janet, Kaci and I took a walk with Amariah to check out the flowers. A wild iris was in bloom. And this was the contented look of Ammer as she rode on Grandma Janet's shoulders.

Mike enjoyed the time with family - a great way to spend a few hours on a beautiful MN summer day.

Hospitals and Helpers

We are getting to know the Immanuel St. Joseph Hospital in Mankato, MN a little too well. On May 20th, I had surgery there and was not at all pleased with the level of care I received or rather didn't receive. In the middle of the night, I actually had to use my cell phone to call information to get the number of the hospital so I could call and get a nurse to come into my room... kinda scary. In the morning, my surgeon actually had to call my hospital room to see if I had seen a nurse as no one was returning his call from the nurses station.

Last week, I met the the head administrator and shared these concerns and others with him. He listened and hopefully took some action. I told him we would not be returning anytime soon... but, hey, what do we know.

On Saturday, we got a call from Ma's nursing home (Mike's mom) that she was bleeding internally and was being transported to ISJ in Mankato. In the last 48 hours, we have been there a lot, Mike is there now, and I want to report that the nurses and staff have been wonderful! Ma suffers from dementia and is not always able to communicate her needs and wishes but the nurses attending her have been gentle, kind and very understanding and patient. She is on third floor in the ICU area where I was on 2nd, perhaps that is the difference - I don't know. All I know is that I have gone from being a critic to being a supporter.

Helpers make all the difference when you are in need. Individuals who can smile when cleaning up a mess, nurses who ask how they can assist us - the family, a radiologist who explains what is happening and what was seen or unseen, a doctor who agrees that invasive treatment is not merited for Ma, another nurse who tells us about options, yet another who gently re-explains what may happen and on it goes. We have come to realize the huge number of people it takes to make a hospital function and I have come to realize that the vast majority are truly caring helpers!

Speaking of helpers... they are everywhere! My mother physically has had a tough winter and is house bound these days. She has a lady that comes into her home 5 days a week for 30 minutes to an hour. This helper is a Godsend! Diane has a wonderfully positive attitude and seems to know what to say to make mom feel better. There are others from the church that bring mom communion regularly. A nurse checks in on her almost every week. And the most important helpers for mom right now are family members. Rich and Anita and their girls, Pam and Becky and Cheri, have administered to mom's need for months. All of them have given countless hours of help to make mom comfortable and able to stay in her home. Jeanne has been a frequent visitor and mom enjoys conversations with her.

Our Pastor is a wonderful helper! We intended to help out with Vacation Bible School beginning last night. When Ma needed us more, Pastor Shelly took the sketchy plans I had and said she was sure it would work out. In addition, she gave me some reading materials to help us administer to Ma. She knew just what to say and what to grab. And the information met a need we didn't even know we had.

It is easy to just cruise through life "along the side roads" and take things for granted. So I am glad events have forced me to stop for a minute and reflect on all those wonderful people in life who are HELPERS. Thank you! This iris is for you!