The Past Week

There have been a few hours on the water this week and several hours on the backroads of Minnesota. Does anyone remember the old Hamm's Beer commercial... In The Land Of Sky Blue Waters...

I can spend hours just watching the water and daydreaming... And I am proud to say I have done just that this past week.

And I have been over to see mom a couple of times. On Tuesday Mike and I met Judy and Gary from Cleveland for a game of golf at Straight River Golf Course over by Faribault. It was a refreshing and relaxing morning spent with friends. And after lunch, we went to Kenyon. From Red Wing there are many ways to get to Kenyon and I think we have taken them all in the last couple of weeks. I love the countryside this time of the year; the corn is almost ready to be picked and the soybeans are drying up quickly. Ahhhh and the barns and old buildings always draw my interest.

I know this must have meant something to the person who painted it, I just wonder what that something was...

This one looks good in "negative", don't you think?

Today, Mike and I took MN 19 to Goodhue Co. 7 to Co.9 to MN 56 and ended up having a fine afternoon with my brothers, Anita and mom. Many of you ask regularly "How is your mom?" Although there isn't any easy answer, I will tell you that she made a dessert for today and refrigerator pickles and supervised the roast that Jim put in the oven. Supper was very good. And then I will show you...

Mom by her zinnias,

with the inlaws, (Monica was upnorth with her mom so missed the gathering)

and with the kids.

When Jim and Monica and Mike and I head out of state in a short time, Rich will once again be the primary caregiver for mom. I hope he knows how much I appreciate him, even though I don't always agree with him.

Isn't mom a beautiful lady? 91... sometimes I wonder if I will ever get close to that and if I do what I will be like...

On the way home, we were treated to a fabulous sunset.

Next week, we are off to The Great Minnesota State Fair - I'm excited!

Addendum to Last Post

The two old ships that we saw on the Mississippi were replicas of those famous Columbus ships. This appeared in the Hudson, WI paper. They will be docking in Winona on August 23rd.

"The “Nina” was built without power tools. Archaeology magazine calls it “the most historically correct Columbus replica ever built.” The “Pinta” was recently built to accompany the “Nina.”Columbus sailed the orignal “Nina” across the Atlantic on his three voyages to the New World beginning in 1492. The “Pinta” was on the first voyage."

Cool Huh?!

Life At The River

We have now been residents of the Treasure Island RV Park for a week. Life in the Red Wing area is very different from our last location; we have neighbors who come and go, and no one has offered us any produce or a beer. Even though we are next door to a casino, it is more peaceful and the pace is slower for us. Overall, we are glad we made the move!

One of the good things about this location is that I am closer to mom. When I was in Kenyon last week, I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures of the butterflies in mom's garden of zinnias. It is too bad she doesn't get outside more often to enjoy these beauties. (Bobbi, you have to plant zinnias next year; the butterflies on these flowers were as plentiful as those at the place in Branson.)

On Saturday, our good friends Kathy and Tom came down for a visit. It has been a long while since we last spent time together and although we didn't make it out on the water, as we had planned, we did enjoy the ice cream in Nelson. What is a trip to the river, without a trip to Nelson.

While at the creamery, I couldn't resist doing a bit of photography. What do you think of this "reflected" picture of the four of us; it was fun trying to take the picture without the camera showing. No, I did not set a timer... I am holding the camera in this picture. And then I had to play a bit with the natural light coming in the window. Thanks guys for indulging me!

On Sunday we made a quick trip to Cleveland for church and then to Mankato to get my new glasses. Mike stopped so I could take this picture along one of the country roads; it just seemed to say "August in Minnesota". On our way home, we stopped in Kenyon and enjoyed a couple of hours visiting with mom.

Monday and Tuesday we spent ON the river. There is nothing like the Mississippi River to keep us entertained. Just like the San Diego Harbor, there is always something happening.

In Pool 3 , the corps was dredging and building up a sand bar,

the flowers in the back waters were making great reflections,

and the trains were whistling their way along the tracks.

We cruised up as far as Prescott, WI where the St. Croix River joins the Mississippi and just outside of town we saw this beautifully restored tugboat. When on Pool 4, we encountered these magnificent old vessels,

and we spent time fishing by Methodist Point where I attended girl scout camp years and years ago. I remember this ramshackled building and the cross looks just the same.

Oh, and Mike caught a couple of stripers.

Overall, it has been a good move for us and we are enjoying Life At The River.

A Tree is Planted at the Sawmill

On Sunday afternoon, a small group of Bob's family and friends gathered at the Geldner Sawmill to plant a tree in his honor. Here are a few pictures to tell the story.

Bob's presence was missed as they got ready for "Sawmill Sunday" and as they sawed the first log.

Keith had the honor of planting the tree while we looked on.



And then others took over.


Bob's son and grandson got into the shoveling. Looks like Ryan is trying to hide behind the tree.
This picture of Robyn's son looks so much like Bob, complete with the tongue... must help when you are doing hard work.



The kids posed for pictures; it would be fun to have these pictures repeated in ten years... or even two years. Both the tree and the "kids" will change in the years ahead; hopefully they will stay a connected family.

Now it is time for us to move on. After a busy Monday that includes breakfast with Adrienne for me and breakfast with LeRoy for Mike, we join Corky for lunch and then go to Leo and Sandra's for the evening. Tomorrow we leave the golf course behind and head for a casino campground on the Mississippi River near Red Wing. We look forward to seeing many of our friends and relatives in our new location. Till later...

"The Storyteller and The Missus"

Most of you have heard Mike tell a story or two and many of you probably think he is a pretty gifted teller of tales. Well, this week he proved it when he consented to be the storyteller at Vacation Bible School.


Each night this past week, Mike donned various "robes" and told kids stories from the Bible. In the picture above, he is wearing an old "drop cloth" as he prepares to tell the story of Abraham. He got to tell each story four times a night to kids ranging in age from 4 to 12... Over 40 kids attended VBS this year.


As luck would have it, I forgot my camera on the night he wore an old pair of curtains and told the story of Joseph and his coat of many colors... that was a good one! Last night, he talked about Jesus recruiting his apostles - not sure where that outfit came from, we just found it around church.

But the kids enjoyed the story and the younger ones really got into the part about Simon Peter - they loved the fishing activity that followed. Follow-up activities were the responsibility of The Missus.

All in all, VBS was a fun (and challenging) way to spend four nights. Who knows what exciting things we will find to do next week!