Biking Pictures

There are some beautiful spots along the trail in the Lanesboro, MN area.

The bike paths are wide, paved, and rather flat.

Just the way I like to ride. 

I got a few good pictures of Warren riding.  

The ones he took of me were all blurry.

We got a gal to take our picture.  

I think I shall have to find a purple top for our next photo.

Our weather was perfect.  It was not hot nor humid.

Lanesboro, MN

Warren and I are off on a mini vacation to Lanesboro Tuesday morning.  We will stay at a B & B we have enjoyed before.  The bikes will be packed in the back of Warren's pick up as the trails are plentiful.  We will also bring along some books to read.  It will be a three day two night get away.  We are hoping it recharges us for the fall harvest season ahead. I plan to take lots of pictures and bore you when we return.

My Dad has had some health issues lately.  He went into the hospital early on the 12.  At first they said he had food poisoning but now are not so sure.  He came home on Tuesday.  Every day he shows some small improvements in his ability to get around but as of now he is using a walker with assistance.  Therapy is helping him regain strength and a bit of mobility.  Cindi has been his around the clock nurse and without her they would not have been able to have him home.  Mom and I have taken care of the many details and phone calls that have been needed the past week or so.  Health care  is not an easy road to travel.  Hopefully with a bit of time and assistance they will be able to enjoy life again.

First Day of School

Our two sweet neighbor girls came for breakfast on their first day of 

school Wednesday.  Most mornings they join me for breakfast.  Hannah 

has to catch the bus earlier for middle school so the over lap time

is about five minutes tops.  Kelsey usually has an omelet and Hannah cinnamon

toast or granola..  Both served with Sunny Delight.

Iowa Irish Fest

In 2007 a Waterloo Irish Pub had an afternoon party in the parking lot behind their building.  Every year this event has grown.  Now they commander a local park and the block in front of the pub.  We went for the first time last year.  This year I came armed with a camera. 

 

There were some real and not so real Irish dancers.  

This group of dancers travels the world and wins award.

They had Highland Games.  

This one involved lifting a pole and if successful tossing it end over end.

Just to get the pole off the ground is a feat.

 

 A pitch fork is stuck into a gunny sack that has been stuffed with straw.  This is tossed behind and above you over a pole that is raised higher after every round.  Both gals and guys competed in this game.

They also threw rocks and a weight over a bar.  Warren and I could just imagine how the games came into being years ago in rural Ireland.  Being an Iowa farm boy Warren recalls that he could toss bales seven high.  Being German they were tossed up to the one stacking bales and no Tom Foolery was allowed.  

There was no Guinness in his household.

I became fascinated by the question of "What is a guy supposed to wear with his kilt."

 

Work boots? Sandals? Tennis shoes? Cleats?

Tall socks, no socks?

Kilt hose and flashes.  

My next question is what do you wear under the kilt?

Rain in the forecast

The rain today will make cleaning the outside of my windows a bit of a challenge - oh drats - I may just have to forgo that bit of work.  We pick up friends late this afternoon for a short visit.  Other friends will join us on Saturday. What began as a camping weekend has become a bed and breakfast get together.  Warren and I were the only non campers in this group when we all had young children in the 70's.  Slowly, without any fanfare, our friends, sold, wore out, or encountered mysteriously disappearing camping equipment. 

The one mainstay of this gathering is the hog roast.  Accompanied with the great food everyone contributes to our time shared.  We named this get together "Sowside".  I suspect "Swine and Wine" might be more fitting.  No exercise this weekend unless one considers talking and eating an aerobic endeavor.

They are all grown up now.  Our daughter has two children and Chris is an actor in LA.  The little guy is married.

One main stay is the sampling of meat before it ever gets to the house.

The other main stay is Paul rounding us up for a group photo.  He encounters much grumbling.  The memory photo of everyone together is priceless.

Summer Time and Family Fun

"My favorite summer time is when all of my grandchildren are here; seeing them playing and laughing together makes my day. Going outside to enjoy a nice cup of tea and reading a good book on my hammock. Seeing my grandchildren on my hammock with one of our dogs, Maddie, just relaxing. These are my favorite summer activities."  Kelsey will know how this got onto my blog.

 The kids love to be dumped out of the hammock - sometimes Grandpa is the one doing the dumping - at others times it would be one of them.  The first few days everyone was here the weather was very nice.  We did not even have the air on.

 On the first Malissa and Stacey went shopping for the day.  I took the girls for pedicures.  Warren and Sage met up with us at the ice cream store after then ran a few errands and looked over the selection of Legos at Target.

All the kids got in on making the fire truck and boat.  It was a rainy day so that day indoor activities prevailed.

My parents, sisters and husbands, and my brother came on the third.  Cindi thinks family get togethers should include water balloons in warm weather.

Everyone who was not in the garage was fair game.  No one came away dry.  

This was taken just before I got a small dose of water. 

There were countless gator rides.  Sam and Sage soon got the hang of steering and had great fun driving around the farm stead.

 On the first day we measured the corn and the kids.  Every one of the kids grew a smidgen while the corn grew a foot or so in 10 days.

 Maddie and Sophie never had so much attention.  They miss the kids almost as much as we do.

One year we went to Grandma and Grandpa Camp with Kelsey and Hannah.  There we discovered carpet ball.  With in a week of being home we had made our own.  It is something anyone can play.  We pretty much make up our own versions of the game from time to time but the object is to get the most balls into your opponent's pocket by hitting the wiffle balls with a hard rubber ball.  It may have an official name but we call it carpet ball as the inside is covered with outdoor carpet.   

This is the first time the kids have been here for the 4 of July.  They decorated their borrowed bikes for the kiddie parade and then took in our small town parade.  It did not take them long to figure out that when you wave you are more likely to get candy thrown your way.  Candy in Australia is rather more expensive than here in the states so it is not a part of their parade tradition.   The rain held off until after the parade but by evening it canceled the fireworks.  We had so much hoped to share fireworks here on the farm with them.  We are almost directly one mile from where they set off the firework display.  It is our tradition to set out front to watch while eating popcorn.  (We leave the noise and traffic to others.)

 We introduced Sam and Sage to S'mores.  It was a first for them.  We roasted marshmallows over at Malissa and Matt's.  Hannah insists our homemade marshmallows are the best so we made some for everyone to enjoy.  We had a great evening around the fire pit while the kids jumped on the trampoline.  As it got dark the fire flies made an appearance.  Every kids enjoys capturing them and putting them in a jar.  We talked them into a catch and release program as we have never know them to live long in captivity.

I have had a time trying to get the spacing on this post correct.  It will just not do what I want.  I make the changes but they do not stay.  So here it is - the way it is.

A Wonderful Time with Family

This is the only picture taken of all of us while 

Stacey, Rhett, Samantha, and Sage were

staying with us on their trip to the USA.