5 April 10

Don't know why, but I awoke at 0250.

After breakfast I went out and finished the garden tilling. I was able to till for the third time a new area for Elon and Ezra. We now have about 7200 square feet of garden space plus whatever we do down at the creek (last year it was about 1000 square feet). This works out to something like 1/5 to 1/6 of an acre. We'll probably expand again next year.

Josh has been weed eating the fence line. I bought a new Kawasaki weed eater; it will also handle a blade for cutting up to 2 in thick weeds. We didn't have the right size nut for the blade, so we tried Ehler's and the MFA sawshop without success, so when I go to Nevada sometime, I'll stop in Nevada Small Engine and buy two.

Elon has another Approver's Choice picture (the one here).

Our road (800 Rd) is as bad as the rest of the dirt--yes dirt--roads. We took the cars into Eldo last week to the car wash to wash the mud off the car undersides. I still had a bad wobble in the Escort, but when I left work Sunday, the sun was shinning just right, and I could see the mud. With the help of a stick and my tool--I used the file--I scraped off some more dirt. The problem was solved.

Had a great day at church yesterday. We had a meal before the service. Lots of food there. I was on call for the hospital ICU all weekend, but Ethel was kind enough to split a shift with me on Med/Surg. Thanks Ethel.

The rest of us are doing well. The boys' plants are growing well. My lettuce is coming up. While I was tilling the other day, everyone else planted the potatoes finishing just in time before the rain. Thanks everyone.

Elon has some great lightning shots on facebook; here is one:

28 Mar 10

Howdyt

Even though the garden was ready, the rains have pushed planting time back. Some places have to be tilled again. I finally planted my cabbage and broccoli in the trays. I plan to only put a few out this spring reserving the rest for this fall.

Elon's plants are growing well. His peas are starting to sprout. We hope to have them out this week.

The weather calls for temps in the 70's this week.

I had the message at church today on 2 Thessalonians.

I was also have children's church but couldn't do both--it is too much for me.

Gerry's aught to be back this week. It will be interesting to hear their report.

It looks like the noise from the car isn't the belt, but the air conditioner pump. I was kinda fearing that. The noise still doesn't last too long, so maybe we can squeak a few more weeks out before replacement.

Anna has her 6, 12 hour shifts out of 7 days; plus she had her ACLS last week. I go back to work Tuesday. Josh should have a good work week with the temps up.

School is pressing on; it won't be long before it is done.

Thankfully we are all in good health.

Cheers

10 March 10

On-call today. Anna was on-call last night.

I renewed my Basic Life Support (BLS) yesterday.

The garden is mostly tilled. It was just too wet to do it all. I was starting and stopping frequently to get the caked dirt off. Now it has rained, and I will have to wait for awhile, but I'm soooo thankful to have done what I have.

The Escort was having trouble again. It turned out to be the battery. I didn't remember when I bought the last one, but it turned out to be in 2008, not very long, but anyway, I can start the car again.

Vicky and I have been married for 32 years now. I posted a video on FaceBook. Where has time gone.

The clothes washer was making new and strange noises. After an internet search, we wanted more info on a Maytag Brovos. The dealer showed us a Fisher Paykel top loader high efficiency. It was bigger than the Maytag high effiency Neptune. After some prayer and research, we bought it. So far so good.

Happy Anniversary Vicky

On February 24, it will be 32 years. Thank you Father.

29 January 2010

Well, a lot has happened in the past month.
My mom died after a short battle with bladder cancer; she was 90. Her mind was stable up to the end. I miss her. I'm so glad we got to see her in October. Her friend, Anita, was so precious to help my ma out every day.

It has snowed and been cold. There was a thaw that saw the near collapse of the roads in the countryside. In front of our house the ruts were 8 inches deep. Finally it got cold again and the town could smooth the road and lay some gravel. It is not perfect, but it is SO much better.

Work has been stable. Very little flu.

We have been healthy.

The children had a wonderful time at a recent church outing.

Our seeds have arrived, and we are planning our gardens.

We can still pray and read our Bibles. May God continue to protect us.

19 December 09

On call again. The Lord Jesus has taken care of us.

Anna got a dizzy spell last night at work but is sleeping now.

Josh has been busy working. Part of the time he worked for a member of our church family doing farm work.

Ezra has been on call, too, because it is too cold to brush hog (there is a cab, but it is open).

Elon bought a new camera, a Canon Xsi, and has been taking many pictures with it.

LaSara crocheting. First she did a hat, now she is working on a scarf.

Vicky has been busy too. Her hip has been bothering her lately, but today it is better.

I found this on line:

Why Christmas?

There was once a man who didn't believe in God, and he didn't hesitate to let others know how he felt about religion and religious holidays, like Christmas.

His wife, however, did believe, and she raised their children to also have faith in God and Jesus, despite his disparaging comments.

One snowy Christmas Eve, his wife was taking their children to a Christmas Eve service in the farm community in which they lived. She asked him to come, but he refused.

"That story is nonsense!" he said. "Why would God lower Himself to come to Earth as a man? That's ridiculous!" So she and the children left, and he stayed home.

A while later, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. As the man looked out the window, all he saw was a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening.

Then he heard a loud thump. Something had hit the window. Then another thump. He looked out, but couldn't see more than a few feet. When the snow let up a little, he ventured outside to see what could have been beating on his window.

In the field near his house he saw a flock of wild geese. Apparently they had been flying south for the winter when they got caught in the snowstorm and couldn't go on. They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. They just flapped their wings and flew around the field in low circles, blindly and aimlessly. A couple of them had flown into his window, it seemed. The man felt sorry for the geese and wanted to help them. The barn would be a great place for them to stay, he thought.

It's warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm. So he walked over to the barn and opened the doors wide, then watched and waited, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside.

But the geese just fluttered around aimlessly and didn't seem to notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. The man tried to get their attention, but that just seemed to scare them and they moved further away. He went into the house and came with some bread, broke it up, and made a breadcrumb trail leading to the barn. They still didn't catch on.

Now he was getting frustrated. He got behind them and tried to shoo them toward the barn, but they only got more scared and scattered in every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where they would be warm and safe. "Why don't they follow me?!" he exclaimed. "Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?"

He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn't follow a human. "If only I were a goose, then I could save them," he said out loud. Then he had an idea. He went into barn, got one of his own geese, and carried it in his arms as he circled around behind the flock of wild geese. He then released it. His goose flew through the flock and straight into the barn--and one by one the other geese followed it to safety. He stood silently for a moment as the words he had spoken a few minutes earlier replayed in his mind: "If only I were a goose, then I could save them!"

Then he thought about what he had said to his wife earlier. "Why would God want to be like us? That's ridiculous!"

Suddenly it all made sense. That is what God had done. We were like the geese--blind, lost, perishing. God had His Son become like us so He could show us the way and save us. That was the meaning of Christmas, he realized.

As the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet and pondered this wonderful thought.

Suddenly he understood what Christmas was all about, why Christ had come. Years of doubt and disbelief vanished like the passing storm. He fell to his knees in the snow, and prayed his first prayer: "Thank You, God, for coming in human form to get me out of the storm!"

--Author unknown

18 November 09

A lot of happened since my last post.

First, on this day in the past Luke was born. Happy Birthday Luke.

I picked a tomato last week. Can you believe it? It sure did taste good.

Still getting a few green beans.

Waiting for the ground to dry so I can start mowing the green mulch and tilling the garden for its winter rest.

Mark and Kara made a surprise visit after going to see my ma. It was wonderful to see them.

Elon won a photography on Facebook. Way to go E!

Ezra has been busy brush hogging for Edward. One time out the front bearing went out and the wheel fell off. Another time saw a flat tire. Farming for sure.

Anna has been busy at work. Her experience continues to grow.

I had some interesting patients that I won't go in now.

Vicky has been busy in many ways.

Josh has had steady work in construction.

James and Jenny just got back this past weekend visiting with my ma.

Just a short summary. Have a good day.

21 October 09

We left for my mom's last Thursday. It took over 13 hours to get there. We were blessed, because we had no car trouble, no sickness (motion sickness that some have), good gas mileage, etc.

Arriving late we have a few moments with Grandma before she and all of us went to sleep. The girls--Vicky, Anna, and LaSara--had the guest suite that Mark and Kara had stayed in some years past. It was very nice--two beds, bath, closet, microwave, and refer. The boys stayed at Grandmas. Josh, Ezra, and Elon slept in Anita's room, and I slept on the couch.

On Friday Grandma and Anita took us to IHOP for breakfast. We accidentally ran into Betty Link, a long time family friend. Grandma wore out after 30 minutes or so. Anna helped her into the bathroom, and Betty and I got her to the car. She did admit to pain and feeling cold, which is rare considering that she is very warm natured. Betty got a blanket and I got the car keys, so we could warm her up. When we got back to the apartment, Grandma went to sleep for about 8 hours, while we tried to do some shopping.

Saturday Grandma was feeling better as the antibiotic was kicking in. We drove around GR, Cedar Springs, and Yankee Springs areas, where I showed the family most of the places I had lived and/or gone to school. LaSara had something bite her--bee, fly?--that made her hand swell up when we went to Payne Lake. That evening we ate again at the apartment dining room where Aby (?), the chef, makes and serves supper.

Sunday, Grandma was feeling better yet. We took the late morning and afternoon going to Lake Michigan. I couldn't remember much, so it took a while to find some place. After praying about it--O God find us a good place to stop, we saw a place called Rosy Mound. It was very nice. We took Lake Michigan Drive home, and I got to show them some other places where I had gone to church in my teens and where my Grandma Lindquist lived when Ron--my cousin--and I were put to bed, because we were naughty.

Monday we left Grandmas. It was really a great time--reminiscing, looking at some old pictures, just being together.

She was doing better--much better--than she was Friday.

On Monday Anita was going to call hospice to come and start Grandma's care. Carol--my cousin--had made arrangements already; they just needed the call to start.

So we'll keep in touch.

Rain and more rain

Yesterday, Wednesday, it was pleasant, dry, and wonderful, but our resident weathermen were warning of lots and lots of rain. Well, as of this writing, it has rained over 3 inches and still raining hard.

Vicky has her stiff neck and inner ear inflammation again, so she is sleeping. May God help her.

Josh is off today; caint pour concrete in this rain.

I had a meeting today at work. It was raining when I left, but it only got heavier as I drove to work; same thing as I drove home. Water is out of the ditches again.

Anna worked last night and is now sleeping.

Ezra has been brush hogging for Edward, except today of course. I'm afraid he would be hogging nothing but water today. I went to pick him up last evening, but while I was on the west side of the barn, he was on the east side of the barn. We didn't know it for about 30 minutes. Edward finally figured it out.

Ezra, Elon, and LaSara are tending to their chickens. They probably won't be running around the field for awhile--the chickens that is.

The green beans are loaded! Only bad thing is a frost or freeze is due this weekend. I'll have to ask our weathermen about it.

My ma is still sick, but I don't know to what extent, so we plan to journey there and find out.

Have a good day.

29 Sept 09

The past few phone calls from my mom have me worried. Some one has called hospice, some one is bringing a hospital bed, there are going to be nurses, some one came and gave her a shower. She is 90. Because we don't know what is going on we plan to visit her.

The green beans are coming along real well. Hope to get some soon--if the weather holds out.

Elon's squash is soooo good.

I cleaned and vacuumed the shed out. Must have been 10 Recluse spiders. Vicky helped, too. I wore gloves, since I figured if I came across a Recluse, I would have a little protection. Burned grandpa's old chair; it was pretty yucky. I'm not sure the cat would even use it.

John, the mailman, said to me, "Len, I'm sorry to tell you this, but your tire is nearly flat." Sure was, too. Added air and went to Alison's; it was a rock hole. The roads had recently been regraveled.

Not much else happening. I took out a facebook, because the children said Merle needs friends. People whom I haven't seen or heard of for years found me; it is pretty interesting.

God bless.