2013 Year end update part 1

Well, I guess that it is that time of the year again, that I need to bring the rest of our small world up to date on the year of our Lord 2013. Like a typical blog I may slide some photos in somewhere, so stand by. As usual I will start with the month of January, which stands to reason, I think. Jan and I had spent the first few days of the month in the Cities at a nice motel with the rest of the family, most of the time. Rachel, Hans, Josiah, Annika, and William, were all there too, so we had a really special time over New Years. We all agreed that this was an idea of Rachel's that needed to be repeated some time in the future, although we came close in the Hills this Summer. There were a few days of above freezing weather, and then more cold, a typical winter. I see that I had our new Triumph out a couple of times, so the weather had turned quite nice temporarily We were also getting over to Rochester and here in town to Grand kids school programs, and running Jan's Mom and me to Doctors appointments in Fairmont. I think that I mentioned some time ago that this getting older business is not as much fun as I hoped it would be when I was a child. Jan and I ran out to Sioux Falls to pick up a new shower enclosure to replace the one we have been fighting with for a few years now. Believe it or not, but as of now it has turned out very nice. Let me see, we are up to February. It started with my Aunt Dorothy Boltes' funeral. Dorothy was my Dad's sister and the last member of the Kuehl family of 8 children. Like most down time, I do spend some time out in my shop tending to the bikes. Since I can't ride, I sit and clean and polish stuff that I won't take time for in the Summer. The biggest project in the house this month, was a paneling job in our treadmill room. It has never really been finished well. Jan picked some finished pine, that is actually produced in Hill City, South Dakota. I also picked up a power miter saw to assist in this job, man, I wish I had done that 30 years ago. I have done most of the oak trim in the house over the years with a hand saw. That power saw made a world of difference, and Eli and I are still using it for trim work. Anyhow, the room came out quite nice, if I do say so my self. On the 14th we celebrated our 42nd anniversary, my how the time does fly when you have someone to love around. The weather this month was up into the 40s and down below 0,  kind of a roller coaster ride, so to speak. Next up, March. I was starting in on redoing our 650 Honda, which has been laid up since last Summer with a bum engine, for the second time in a couple of years, but that is a whole different story. Jan, her Mom, and I made a run to Rochester for Gus's birthday party early in March. We also got some inches of snow that needed blowing, so it must have been reasonably deep. Then a couple of days later we got 2 inches of rain, which, naturally, turned to snow later. Jan and I drove out to Sioux Falls and Flandreau to hear a blues group we have followed for a few years, it was late by the time we got home. Got all of the parts needed for the 650 rebuild and dug in, only to discover a small part missing, that required a run to the Lakeville Honda parts counter. I took the concealed carry class here in St. James along with 15 or 20 other people looking to claim their 2nd amendment rights, so now there are a few more of us out there that may or may not be armed, that being the point of the exercise. I did finish the 650 (Harry) work, and he fired right up when I got done, wonder of wonders. April was next. We were hoping for warmer weather. I do spend a lot of time complaining about the weather don't I? Phil, Laura, Jan, and I made a run to the Hills just to check things out. We spent a couple of days in Deadwood, and the weather did co-operate for once. We actually saw 50 degrees for the first time about here, then 6-8 inches of snow a couple days later, so back to reality, however ugly it can be in the Spring around here. Our drain project started out by jackhammering out the old drain pipes in the basement and replacing them with plastic. Part of the job got rid of the floor drain that had never worked correctly, I think that it had been partially filled with concrete when the floor was poured 60 years ago. Now the run to the street is the only future problem in that regard. We plan on jetting that section of pipe every year or so to get rid of tree roots, rather than digging up the lawn to replace that pipe, not that my lawn is that nice you understand. I actually got a bike out now and then so it wasn't too cold or I was desperate, one or the other. Jan and I also started out to Virginia later in April. We had a nice trip except for getting caught in a speed trip in a crummy little town in West Virginia. I tried to avoid that state one time by going around through Washington D.C., which turned out to be a mistake. Anyhow, we spent some time at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. It seems that just about anywhere you are out there, history is all around you. Jan and I helped Rachel move from one home into the house they had just bought in Norfolk. Luckily she had a mover do the heavy lifting, but we did spend several days getting thing arranged, pictures, books, and window dressings hung. Hans got back from more training about then, the first part of May. Jan and I headed home on the 8th and arrived the next day at our house. Mom and I drove up to St. Peter to meet my brothers for lunch, for Mother's day. Suddenly we had warm weather, with a high temperature of 102 on the 14th, and 80s on either side, and I was down with a cold at the time, rats. My brother Paul had his 60th birthday party at Bailey's in Ormsby, and Jan and I took the Harley to the party. Jan and I helped Eli, and Lindsey move to their next home, a real cute one here in town that I have always admired. Phil, Paul, and I changed out the kitchen door to the garage at Mom's house one day. Now it is a good steel insulated unit with a dead bolt lock. I made 2 short trips to Iowa in 2 days, the first one I was sure the battery was toast on the BMW, so I turned around and came home. The next day I got to Mason City and realized that my billfold was laying on the counter at home, so I limped home at 55. Lucky I started with a full tank of gas. After that I put a credit card in the pockets of jackets I might be wearing the next time I do that. Phil and I made our traditional pilgrimage  up to Cambridge to check out the bikes and have a burger and fries at this joint on the main drag. I wonder how long we have been doing that? June started out with a Patriot Guard mission in Sioux Falls. It was cool and rainy and I know that I took a bike to this one. My sister Kathy was home at this time, having come home to attend Paul's birthday party that was held last month. I was getting out more on the bikes too. I ran the Triumph (Tony) in for his first check-up, which is primarily an oil change anymore. I was also up to Phil's to help change a tire on his dirt bike, to get it ready for our trip to Colorado in the late Summer. The bathroom project was coming along with the walls getting tiled, finally. Patriot Guard missions are picking up now too, except they are mostly Veteran funerals and not combat related, which is a good thing, now that combat operations are winding down. Jan and I went down to Peterson, Mn., and met the Theobalds to watch Steve play softball and see their parade, which is always fun for all. I headed west on Tony on the 17th. I spent the first night in Spearfish, and ran over the Big Horns to Riverton. I had planned on going further west to Dubois and south from there, but the weather looked really nasty in that direction, so I headed to Casper for the night. The next day I made it all of the way home, somewhere over 700 miles at one time, and I never got wet once. Both of the days were complicated by stiff cross winds, which probably contributed to an eye problem I developed on the trip, part of the cost riding, I guess. Rachel, Josiah, Annika, and William, rolled in from Norfolk toward the end of the month too. We had a picnic out at Lake Hanska with everybody here plus Rachel's mother in Law Donna, who came down from her home in Bloomington. The end of the month saw us convoying the whole family west to the Hills, minus Steve, and Hans. Steve had to work another day and Hans was tied up with the Navy. So here ends part one of our saga. I need to proof read it a couple of times and find some pictures to illustrate us a little, and part 2 will follow when my fingers stop bleeding from all of this typing.