SUMMERNOOS

Annie got a nice Schwinn and we went out together on the Alcan Highway

Hi.  We had a wonderful, sunny, hot weekend.  On Saturday we put up 1,267 square bales.  On Sunday we finished with the squares bales after putting up 987 more.  On Monday, Tony baled 82 round bales.  Then on Monday night, the skies opened up and simply dumped these huge drops of rain on us.  It rained and rained and rained; then, it drizzled all day today.  Tonight the clouds have lifted; maybe it’ll be nice again tomorrow.  And, speaking of weather – on Saturday night, sometime after midnight, we had a Chinook blow in till 6 am.  It was rather incredible.  The guys say the gusts were between 40 & 70 mph.  I wouldn’t know.  Sunday and Monday mornings, because of the winds, there wasn’t any dew on the ground.  That is incredible for this time of year.  Tony claims, if he could have stood it, he could’ve baled all night those nights. 

Jon and Allyson and family arrived home last night.  They look tan and happy to be home.  I’m trying to decide who was the happiest to come home – the happiest was Michael or Jon.  Sunday night, Suzanne, Marilyn’s daughter and Allyson’s sister passed away. 

Ben was so miserable on Saturday morning after the truck crash incident; he went to Dr. A’s for x-rays.  They also gave him some shots and some pills for pain and muscle tension.  Today they called him to schedule an MRI and an appointment with Sports Medicine because upon further reflection on the x-rays, they think he has a fractured vertebra.

Chris and Bekah came out on Saturday afternoon to pick up some lumber for some projects Chris is doing to his “new to him” house.  It was very nice to see them.  As they were leaving, Paul and Mary Trotzke arrived for a short visit.  It was great to catch up a little with them.

Tomorrow Liz will have her first physical therapy appointment.  She has been working her arm some and it is verrrrry slowly improving a teeny bit in functionality. I have a cousin, Dick, who is arriving tomorrow for a visit.  Dick is my auntie Bell’s and Uncle Jake’s son, for those of you who knew them. 

Oh, Tommy and Andy caught about 60 pounds of salmon.  They caught so little because of the river being so high. 

Bill seems to be doing well.  I’ve forgotten to ask recently.  Kathy is being faithful to prepare him low fat and salt less foods.  Bill and Kathy spent the weekend babysitting their granddaughter in Fairbanks.  They came home looking relaxed. 

Garth wrote to say that they are in Connecticut with one of his sisters.  They are debating going into Maine.  He said the heat down there has been miserable, but becoming more bearable the more north they travel. 

Craig has been doing some work on his house site.  He is building across the field from the Moore/Grecu/Tate/Nerbonne home, I think.  I haven’t actually investigated myself, and I haven’t noticed it myself so I’m not real sure.  Mock me if you must, all you folks who live here!

Steve and Judy look a little lost since they have no company right now.  I’m sure they’ll find plenty to do with themselves in good time.  In fact, Judy is chomping at the bit to go see her new grandson who is doing well but will have to remain in the hospital until he is 36 weeks old. 

Matt Dean, from Tok, was here for the weekend.  He stayed with Tony and Wendy and helped us greatly with the haying. 

Del and Virginia Buerge will be here on Saturday and Sunday.  They will preach on Sunday morning. 

"don't worry sis, I'll take care of you!"

Esther & Ella snozzing..

I better get my beauty sleep.  Have a great week! 

Living Day by Day

Story of the day: Living Day by Day Calendar, why do you taunt me so? I stare at you with hope as the days draw down and the time keeps on slipping by. I put down dates of a return and still I am drawn to stare at you with a hopeful glance. Yes, that is the phrase that I keep telling myself each day as I work on my computer. And as the calendar hangs in view of my every thought that I share with each of you, I am pondered with the thought that I always knew what it meant to live my life day by day, knowing very well that today was all I had. And I can honestly say I thought that was the motto by which I lived my life. But, I don't really think that I truly experienced or understood the full extent of that saying until now. Living my life day by day has become such a normal part of my life, that I can't even imagine looking past this very moment in time that I have been blessed with. Taking in every moment of every day with my kids and the hope of talking to my husband really puts things into perspective, especially when that's all I have. Hearing my kids praying and thanking God for the air in their lungs and for being here on this earth another day has opened my ears to their thankfulness. The time that we have is so precious and "significant because it is so rare. It is completely irretrievable. You can never repeat it or relive it. There is no such thing as a literal instant replay. It travels alongside us every day, yet it has eternity wrapped up in it. Time forms life's building blocks." [Cory, Lloyd. Quote Unquote. Chariot Victor Publishing, 1977.] Knowing very well that I will continue to mark on my calendar day by day and flip it over month after month, I am still encouraged by the hope of each day that God has given me and the faith in Him for another day to look forward to. Each day I will continue to look at life from that perspective, living my life to the fullest day by day. I encourage each of you today to take a moment out of your day and absorb the blessing surrounding you. You know, the blessing that can't be stared at on a calendar, marked away, or flipped over, but only by implanting it into your heart. Have a blessed day! Quote of the day: William James "The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it." Bible verse of the day: Psalm 37:18 "The Lord knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever." Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for each and every day that I am here on this earth. I am so thankful for the air in my lungs and to be able to share each day with my kids. Father, though Jeff is not with us, I know that He is in Your hands and that each day Your Grace will fall upon him. I pray for peace and to not take for granted the time that I am given, but to use it wisely. I love You and I am thankful for this day! In Jesus Name I pray, Amen

SUMMER HAY AND OTHER THINGS

Today was beautiful, AND we hauled in 1,052 bales of hay.  Well, by “we”, I mean Tony’s crew – Tony, Matt Dean, Chris, Cody, Kathryn, Bradie, Jon Leo, and Jim Mason.  Steve and his brother, Ken, hauled the hay loads over; Andy took over the hauling tonight.  Then there is a crew in the barn to unload and stack the hay. May and Pat are part of that crew and even Rob pitched in for a bit. There were too few of us to be named tonight; thus my weariness. 

Steve’s brother has been here for nigh unto two weeks or maybe more.  He is younger than Steve and is the same but different than Steve.  It has been fun to have him around and to get to see Steve with his sibling.  J

Lauren and Dwayne and family were here for a couple of weeks; and now they are home.  Jon, Allyson, and kids are spending a couple of days with them.  Jon and family will be home on Monday. 

And, I haven’t heard anything new on Hannah and Chuck and their new baby.  No news is good news.  All must be well.

While driving home from Delta tonight, Jarred fell asleep and drove off the road.  Seth and Ben were also in the truck.  They went across the road, sailing over some culverts, and landing in some rocks that were on the side of the road.  Jarred and Seth seem okay; Ben is really sore. 

Lizzie had to go to the Dr again last week.  They want her to try to leave her removable cast off so she’ll exercise that arm more.  It is stuck at like a 135 degree angle, I think.  We need to get her on a therapy program.  Next week, we’re going to take her in for that appointment.  In the meantime, the other doctor gave her a few ideas of what to do. 

Jannis has gone away for the weekend.  I think she’s staying a day at Northgate before going to Whitestone to visit her friends there.  On Sunday, some folks from over there will return her and stay for our supper meal. 

Patrick and Gri spent a week in Kansas while Pat attended a piano tuning convention.  From Gri’s post on fb, it would seem that she had a great time touring around while Pat enjoyed whatever he did at his convention. 

Deb and Haley did go home, leaving Jon Leo to stay for another month or so.  Jon loves working with Tony across the road.  This year, he’s big enough to rake hay.  He’s pretty excited about that.

Marilyn is doing pretty good right now.  She’s even ventured out to her porch a few times to gaze at her flowers. 

Tommy and some guys wanted to go to the fish wheel several weekends now but it hasn’t worked out. Once, Tommy and Dwayne and Austin and some others actually did go to the fish wheel in Chitna, but once there, they found that their spot was being used by some friends of Sarah Palin’s father.  Sarah Palin’s father’s friends were just sure that WE had our dates wrong.  What was Tom to do?  He couldn’t be mean to them – then Sarah Palin might find out....and we wld be in duck soup with our next Prez, right? haha

Anyway, the fishing guys are going to try again this weekend.  The water has been high where they fish so the fish haven’t really been running.  They’ve heard that the fishing might be good tomorrow night.  We’ll see.

Have a great weekend!!!!  

WHERE HAS THE SUMMER GONE TO??

Hi all.  I’m soooooo tired that this won’t be long, but I thought I should write something.  It is haying season, and you all know the saying – gotta make hay while the sun shines! 

Marlys Johnson was in the area for some reason so she stopped by to peach.   She told a lot of cute, funny stories, but she did have a good word on six faces of pride (six ways that pride shows its face) to us.

We’ve had nothing but rain for days and days and days.  It’s been miserable trying to get laundry for my family hung and dry before the rain would come back.  Everytime we get some hay ready to bale, the rain would come again and it would rain for days.  We did get in two wagonloads one day of last week.  Yesterday the sun came back out for a long time.  Tonight we were able to put up six wagonloads of hay.  The sky looks clear still so hopefully tomorrow, we will busy still.  I just talked to Tony; he said we put up 1,195 bales of hay today and could easily do that much again tomorrow.

Jo has been caring for her nephews for the last couple of days – Logan and Hayden, belonging to Serena.   Hayden is only three and is the cutest little guy!  Logan is close to ten, so he’s not a little guy anymore. They went home tonight. 

Nic VanderHart stepped on a nail a couple of days ago.  Since Nic’s foot was still swollen, Ann took him to the Dr. today.  I don’t know what became of that. 

JonLeo, Debs son, and his cousin, Emily, were playing together today when they got tangled.  Emily fell and cut open the skin on her chin.  Jeni took her in so the Dr could glue the skin flaps down.  J

Hannah Davis had been having trouble with her pregnancy – cramps, bedrest, etc.  Tonight, they took the baby by c-section.  I think the baby was 33 wks along.  Owen Charles Davis was born at 4 lbs 13 oz, and he is breathing well on his own.  Good news!!!!

Pat and self came back from an 8 day stint in Kansas City. Pat attended a PTG national conference and convention. Piano Technicians Guild. I was invited and thoroughly enjoyed myself with the wives who have their own club going. We toured the city sights while the husbands labored away plunking on pianos and such…interesting stuff..ha!

In the evenings Pat was free and we spent some time together, mostly working out in the gym…awesome machines! HOW ROMANTIC IS THAT! haha…and swam in the luke warm pool water…ugh…during the day it was so hot that the water was like warm bath water... and the cement burned my feet so I gave up on that one…spent most of the hot part of the day in the cool atmosphere of the hotel…which was a 5 star luxury hotel. Very nice, except for the fact that it was also going through the 30th. anniversary of the horrible skywalk tragedy at that same hotel in 1982, that killed and maimed a bunch of people. Very comforting...NOT!

THE HYATT AT NIGHT WITH CENTER FOUNTAIN LIT UP

The hotel was not celebrating of course, nothing is mentioned per se, no plaques or stuff like that, but outside the news crews were dragging it all out again with survivors of the victims…pretty macabre... I understand that they had to pay out like $ 140,000,000 and the lawyer who won the case against them became a millionaire and retired!

...otherwise it is a top notch hotel.

One of the highlights of things we saw was the World War I Liberty Museum. An amazing structure with one of a kind WWI memorabilia. The only one of its kind in the nation I think.

 you can actually go into a replica of a trench (complete with water, mud and stench of decaying bodies) and experience what the soldiers did, with actual voice recordings...they have gone to a lot of expense and detail to make this an amazing re enactment...

IMAGINE FLYING IN THIS TIN CAN!

UNION STATION MUSEUM 

LOOK AT THOSE ARCHES AND MARBLE FLOORS!

FROM THE 28TH. FLOOR WHERE WE WERE LOCATED AT THE HYATT. NICE VIEWS AND I COULD TELL WHEN THE POOL WAS EMPTY OF PEOPLE...like at 6am...haha

PTG!!

NEVER SEEN

SO MANY NICE PIANOS AT ONE TIME !

KANSAS CITY IS KNOWN AS THE CITY OF FOUNTAINS, SECOND ONLY TO ROME! 

THE WIVES OF THE RPTS (REGISTERED PIANO TECS) HAVE THEIR OWN CLUB AND WE WENT TO VISIT THE CITY SITES!

VIETNAM WAR MEMORIAL AT LEFT

UNION STATION FOUNTAIN

 Another highlight was driving down to Springfield MO to visit my sister Sandra and her family. 


My sis Karenza drove 8 hours from TX to MO. I was very impressed since she has not driven much. Brave soul! We spent a very nice day and a half with my sisters in MO and the Burgess family. My nephew Benj 

and his wife Jeshua have a child, Charlize - she is the cutest thing...only 3 but already knows how to work the charm...haha. Karenza got her a ballerina outfit and she was twirling around non stop.

CHARLIZE - 3 - (SAN'S GD) IS A SWEET PEA!

LES HANSON GIRLS SANS MARINA

DON AND ALEJANDRA (HANSON) BURGESS

 My flowers were at full bloom by the time I got home. Everything looks green, because of the rains. Now we need some hot sunny weather to get our hay in and the garden produce. I hear the canning ladies have been canning tomatoes, peppers and greens non stop. PTL, although I do enjoy tomatoes right off the vine...ha! putting up stuff for the long winter months is a must though...

No more for now, trying to get the house in order after 10 days of absence...the little things...ya know


HAVE A GREAT WEEK END!
grib

PRE JULY 4TH.

Hi – well it has been pretty busy this last couple of weeks up here on the funny farm.

We had a wedding in the Jepsen family - their oldest boy Chris who graduated with my niece Erica Mehaffey and my daughter Alexandra May in 2008, got married!  Ah so young! thinking that I waited until i was in my mid 30's and still had time to have 4 kids…but everything is happening faster these days, a sign that one is getting older hum. perhaps…dunno…mobbed…

Also in the Jepsen family (my former neighbors), their youngest girl Lizzie injured her elbow and tore ligaments, mebbe surgery, or not, we shall see. For now she is walking around with a soft cast.

Since last writing we had John Basalyga back to preach again and Bro John Jeffreys came through too.  Oh, and Bro Gary Jarvis was here.  John Basalyga was actually here for most of that week while making forays to other places to preach.  Bro Gary Jarvis stayed for a couple of days, with his wife, and then preached before moving along.  I can’t remember, at this point, what any of them said. I was REALLY interested as you can c! oh well...

  

We had rain solid for ten days before the wedding, and now we’ve had rain ever since, but on the rehearsal day it cleared up.  On the wedding day, it was positively hot; nigh unto 85*.  It was perfect. 

We’ve had garden projects several times when the weather permitted to weed the garden.  Everything is growing well, but, soon, it might all drown. Rob and self went out to weed a couple of mornings since that is what my daughter May assigned us to (she's in command!)…and we got rained out. Rob kept saying :" Mom it's wet!"…haha….err…yeah Rob!

And its the sickies for the funny farm...  Odd random bug with fever and some cough stuff.

Jim Eastwood and his wife brought us some black cod.  We made a cod meal for supper tonight.  It was good eating.

Lauren and Dwayne Mithcell (Squires)  and kiddos arrived the day before the wedding.  Dwayne has been helping Steve put some siding on Garth’s house.  They are going to run out of lumber soon, though, I heard. 

Buongiornes were gone prior to the wedding.  They went to Fairbanks for some outing event having to do with special needs kids.  They had a good time, but were happy to be home. Flo went too and she had a good time although she will not admit it! We carted her around Pioneer Park and the MuskOx farm and whatnot…UAF museum, in a wheelchair…oh and in Chena Hot Springs! So now we can say that the Buongiornes have been to the Chena Hot Springs…so we don't have to go AGAIN! expensive and overrated, but hey, that's my opinion. 

Here is a link to the pictures from the Cultural Event in Fairbanks.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2024974755755.111035.1585591801&l=6d1059f0b6

Bill Casey has been home  (since his heart attach episode and is doing well.  Within a day, he was back in the garden organizing things and rotor tilling!  The Dr said to take it easy and do only things he was comfortable with.  Bill felt that was comfortable.  He’s trying to watch his salt and fatty intake in order to correct his cholesterol number.  Adjusting to his various new medicines has been difficult for Bill, but he’s figuring it out.  And Kathy is helping him find his meals.

Peter and Stacey arrived tonight.  Sam and Marki came last night, and Marki’s mom and little brother came too.  Sarah Grado and Simon were out on the weekend, but they’ve gone home. 

Late tonight, Joey, Jo, and Kevin took Marilyn in to see the Dr.  I’m not sure what exactly the problem is.  I know she has been having some kidney stone pain.  Tonight her pulse seemed to be very weak.  Danita came over to check.  It was decided to take Marilyn in.  That’s about all I know about that right now. 

I better get my beauty sleep.  Happy 4^th of July!!!!!