This Christmas post will be shorter than previous years for sure, with assorted surgeries and the covid pandemic keeping us close to home for the most part.
January was pretty normal with Jan and I attending basketball games for Sam, Gus, Leah and Aaron and several medical appointments in New Ulm and Fairmont. Jan was getting a knee replaced and I had another sleep study. Also typically this time of the year there was lots of blowing snow and cold and for us things started to go down hill. I had a loose tooth pulled which led to another cancer surgery in March, in the mean time I helped some with the Falcon project.
February. Seems like a theme here, doctor appointments and basketball, heavy snow and moving snow from one location to another. I did get some pt for a sore leg muscle and a new cpap machine which was a huge improvement over the one I got years ago. Jan and I celebrated our 49th on the 14th and are looking forward to our 50th next February. Who'd a thought that was possible. Jan and I did kind of commute to Austin for Sam's basketball tournament for a couple of days.
March. I got to some more basketball games at Byron and Stewartville. On the 4th Jan had her left knee replaced at New Ulm by a doctor that looks like she could be in high school, that must be an effect of growing old, most of the doctors we see these days look like kids. Speaking of that, the doctor I'm looking at for cataract surgery has the same birthday as our youngest, Eli. Anyhow they had Jan up and walking the halls later on the day she had the replacement done. Just a couple days later I got to bring her home to stay. We were to Mayo in Rochester for a biopsy of the place where the tooth came out and it's cancer again, so I was looking at more cutting in my mouth. Eli got the Falcon painted a grey color with a black stripe, so that project is moving along. I was back to Rochester for some more tests, ct and pet scans and a meet with the surgeon. Looks like it should be an outpatient procedure so there is that. Anyhow Eli and I spent the night at Gen and Steve's so I could be at St. Mary's by zero dark 30. Took more teeth, part of the sinus, and a 20mm tumor out of my upper jaw and let me go home after noon. Had the 2 week recovery as usual, so both Jan and I are on the mend. Actually I managed to just get that done about the time that everything shut down for the covid panic. One bright spot, at least we had some nice weather intermittently in March, so there is that I guess.
April. We are still recovering from our surgeries, slowly and with care. Jan's knee seems to be coming along nicely and she is back vacuuming with her regular schedule. I managed to get the Mustang out of the garage and do some short bike rides, but in the middle of the month we had a regular blizzard with high wind and 10 inches of snow. I did a shelf project in the basement so Jan had some more room to store things. About a week after the snow storm it was 70 degrees so we drove down to Ormsby to pick up supper at Bailey's, then went out to the old ball diamond to eat in the truck. As a child I spent a lot of time there while my Dad played and managed for the Ormsby softball team, today the fences are gone and the infield is getting weedy but the shelter is still up. I finished up the month with some riding on some of the toys.
May. Jan and I on the way to New Ulm on the 4th saw the first corn sprouting which is about the earliest I can remember seeing this indicator of a good corn crop, assuming good conditions from now on. I trailered the GS to Sioux City for his Spring check up etc.. The next day we had everybody, excepting our east coast family, the DeFors, over for lunch, the first time we have been together since Christmas last year. Me back to Mayo for a covid test and back two days later to meet with the orthodontist after my March surgery for a check up. Why covid tests can't be done right here in town at the local Mayo facility is evidently above my pay grade. We got a lot of rain this month as is indicated by the frequency of the mowing of the lawn. In the last few days of May, after my 76th on the 25th, I rode my "Wyoming Loop" trip. I have done this almost every year lately. From home to Spearfish, to Buffalo, to Chamberlain and home the next day. I hit unusual weather in the Hills that trip, from Newcastle through Custer State Park it was very foggy and cold.
June. The first half of the month was pretty quiet, mowing lawn and running errands. Jan was mowing at the farm and I was mowing at home. I did take a run to New Mexico with the Mustang to visit some of the sites that the Longmire tv series was filmed at. I had intended to take a bike but a worn tire forced me to change my mode of travel. We had a lot more rain and Jan and I were out to the farm, with her mowing and me working on the Falcon wiring part of the project.
July. As usual we start the month with our yearly trip to Lanesboro with the trailer to "camp" and take in their fantastic fireworks show. I did manage to get to a PGR mission at the state veteran's cemetery right up the road at Preston, it was really hot that day. After we got back home, Eli, Lindsey and the kids took the trailer over to Lake Shetek for a few days. So at least it's getting some use. I took the Mustang to Mankato to replace the windshield that got cracked near Amarillo, Texas on my Longmire tour earlier this year. I think that we have replaced windshields in almost every vehicle we have owned in the last few years. We had some heavy rain toward the end of the month 4-5 inches with flooding in the area.
August. I made a short run out to the Hills to check out the Mickelson trail conditions. After Gen and her friends walked the whole 100 plus miles of the trail last year I was inspired to try and bicycle the distance in the future so I was curious about the surface conditions, also an excuse for another ride to the Hills. Jan and I were out to the farm a couple nights for meteor showers and planet viewing, that was fun with the gang. Jan has been out to the farm mowing grass a lot lately and I actually had my XR185 out some for the first time in years. I rode down to central Iowa to check out the storm damage from the derecho that roared through that area. It was unbelievable the amount of damage, corn fields flat for miles, grain bins in pieces scattered about and groves either flat, uprooted or tipped over. I've never seen anything that wide spread or violent looking ever!
September. Jan and I were to Rochester for Sam's soccer game and the next day I started packing for another bike trip, for a play by play look at my previous blog. It did not turn out so well. After I recovered from that fiasco Jan and I returned to Rochester for some more Sam and Gus's soccer games. I did make a swing down to the SAC Museum at Ashland, Nebraska with the intent of going farther west out of there, but I could not find a place to stay and ended up almost back in Sioux Falls. That's one thing this year lodging has not been too difficult but scaring up a meal indoors has not been easy. Spent several meals eating on the curb or picnic tables if they are available. Phil and Laura, Jan and I did a cemetery cruise on the 29th, which would have been our Mom's 100th. We visited Mom, Dad and Kathy's grave sites at Cedar Hill west of Trimont and Mom's parents at Welcome, and our grandparents at the Galena cemetery. It was a good day to check out headstones to try and figure out who is who and what happened at that point in time.
October. Jan and I drove up to Wadena to spend a couple days with her sister Paula. One day the girls went shopping in Alexandria and I went out to Aneta, North Dakota where I spend some time over 50 years ago inventorying the plant in that exchange and also in the West Northwood exchange which had maybe half a dozen lines at that time, it was pretty remote. Jan and I were out to the farm some, her mowing and pulling weeds, me helping with the Falcon project. Jan and I drove over to Waseca or Officer Matson's return home from months of rehab after being shot in the head in the line of duty. We visited my Mayo doctor Martin for another check and more biopsies in my mouth and another ct scan. We did move our trailer out to the farm to get it under cover for the winter, hopefully the mice will be deterred by the dryer sheets. It has been uncommonly cold during this period with high temps in the teens and snow. I got the bad news again while I was at a PGR mission near Meriden, it's cancer, no surprise anymore. This will be number 5 or 6 I'm losing track anymore. This time it's on the lower left side and will entail removing a portion of my jaw and all of my remaining teeth. Jan and I spent a day cruising Goodwill stores in St. Paul looking for a set of dishes she saw in one of her vlogs, with no luck, but we had fun.
November. The weather turned nice and warm with one day hitting 80 degrees. We were back to Mayo for more information on how this round will go and I'm not looking forward to this one either. We did have some regular things going on, I got the Triumph to 10,000 miles, Jan got a new phone and the GS to 50,000 miles so there is that. On the 10th I was over to Mayo for the required covid test and on the 12th it was back to St. Mary's for the surgery. After all that cutting and sawing and stitching my mouth back together they ran me out shortly after lunch. Doctor Martin said with the way the hospital was jammed up with covid cases I would be safer at home with my anti biotics and painkillers. To add insult to injury Jan had to drive me home on roads that were extremely slippery, like 40mph in falling snow, but we made it. When we got home we found the driveway blown out by Eli and Lindsey and company, that was a welcome sight. The next major obstacle is trying to figure out how to eat and speak with no teeth in your mouth. As it turns out eating is just a matter of choosing softer foods and making sure that they are mashed up. One thing that is hard for me to deal with is the idea that I will never eat popcorn, peanuts, chips etc. again, not so much the taste but the texture of these things. Speaking turns out was not that bad either not that I was some great orator to begin with, I don't think that the hands free phone calling in our vehicle knows me anymore though. I spent the rest of the month recovering. Jan and I did celebrate Thanksgiving by ourselves for the first time ever I think.
December. I have managed to whip up a couple of dishes that make good leftovers like 6 layer dinner, one of my Mom's favorites and chili in the crockpot. It seems like these always get better the more they are reheated and I can just shovel them in and swallow. I thought that I would be on this extended weight loss program but it's been exactly the opposite, probably indulging in ice cream frequently isn't helping. I have taken a few drives just to compensate for being cooped up and doing some bike maintenance to keep busy. I have to admit that up until my latest surgery the covid did not worry me too much but afterwards we have been staying pretty close to home for fear of picking something up while I'm recovering. I did go into Menards this week for the first time inside a business in almost 6 weeks. Jan and I will be home for Christmas too and who knows when our governor Kim Jun Walz will allow us out of homes, maybe by this time next year? Better not be. Well, it's been quite a year for sure, but this time in mid December finds our family separated but in good health and longing to be able to touch another person, not that I'm ever getting tired of holding Jan, but you know what I mean. Maybe without all of the hoopla surrounding this time of year normally we can a little more easily pay some attention to the real reason for Christmas and contemplate what His birth means for us all? So Merry Christmas and a Happy 2021 for us one and all. I hope that this time next year finds us all in a better place. Pete Kuehl 19 December 2020.
PS The end of this year finds those of us not retired gainfully employed: Hans at the Pentagon, Rachel with a new job in Lofton, VA, Scuba managing a golf course, Gen at Mayo, Eli in his fourth year of electrician apprenticeship, and Lindsey at Baileys and the City of Ormsby. All of the grandchildren, Josiah, Annika, William, Samuel, August, Leah and Aaron are hitting the books and for the most part actually in a classroom. We are blessed with a great Family!!
