It's still winter here

Last Saturday we attended a birthday party for our grandson Gus at his home in Rochester. Except for the DeFors all of his cousins, aunts, uncles, minus Joe, grand, and great grandparents were there. This first photo is Gussie and his uncle Bill having fun at his level. The weather - boy I'm on this subject a lot lately- was clear but cold again or still, I think about +12. Not warm but the sun was melting snow on the roof and the roads. I'll throw in a few pictures from the party and you can jump to the Tatertot blog to see more. As usual you have to start at the end of the photos and read back toward the top to get these pictures into sequence. That is another skill that I have not mastered yet, getting pictures and text co-ordinated. Oh well, the party was a big success, everybody had fun and got home safely. Last week I had my VA physical at our local clinic and as usual- I use that word a lot don't I- I learned something new from the PA I have been seeing out there. She was checking my feet out and remarked what a good thing it is to have hair growing on your toes, something that never occurred to me, as it is a sign of good circulation in your legs and feet. She said not to worry about losing hair on your head as it isn't the same thing. I remarked that my hair does seem to be migrating south on my body to my nose and eyebrows etc. Back to the story, she said I have nice feet- I have always been rather fond of them myself and tried to protect them- she said " you would not believe some of the feet I've seen". I have put a lot of miles on those feet and I intend to put a lot more on them before I am done here. Now if the weather would just straighten up I be able to get some more miles on. Other than that I have been putzing with the bikes some, put new brake pads on the RT and have the rear wheel off to get a fresh tire for it, and moving the trickle charger around to keep all of the batteries in good shape. The funny thing about this blogging stuff, I sit down trying to think of something to say and the next thing I know I have a page full, anyhow, be healthy, be solvent and stay in touch.

I have to admit it's getting better-sort of

I imagine that it is time to bring my few faithful readers up to date on goings on here. Last Friday Jan and I revisited the Doctor (actually she is a PA) for a followup check and at least my lungs are now clear. She surprised me when she told me that she wanted to put me in the hospital on my first visit. I guess that I dodged that bullet. I have been doing this on the VA's dime so it isn't quite as painful. While recovering I have spent a lot of time scanning slides into memory. I am up to about 1973, I think and it has really been a trip down memory lane. I hardly recognise that couple in those early pictures, me with lots of hair and that little blond farm girl from Alpha that took me in.

I see that it was the first picture on a roll, it was taken at a campground in Riverton, Wyoming I'm pretty sure. Anyhow, back to the present time. After seeing the Doctor last Friday Jan and I ran up to Mankato just to bum around on the day before our anniversary, she goes to Target and I head for Barnes and Noble. We did have lunch at Red Lobster mainly because Jan had a gift certificate, ordinarily for us, eating out means the Irish Steak House (Hans' favorite). Saturday we drove to Rochester to see the Theobalds and I went on to the Cities for the motorcycle show. I don't think that I will be going again as several manufacturers didn't show up due to costs I guess. Gen and Jan had a good time shopping and everyone seems to be coping with Lewis's loss as well as could be expected. Steve made us steak, baked potatoes, and corn for supper and it was much, much better than Red Lobster, I kid you not. Oh ya, about a month ago when we were down there I lost my everyday watch somewhere and figured it is either gone forever or lying next to the driveway somewhere. The thing was I had just bought a couple of batteries for it so I wouldn't have to look the next time it went dead. I bought it in San Jose in 1980 when I was there for training and my old watch crapped out. Anyway, we pulled up and I got out of the car and there it lay on top of the snow bank next to the driveway, still running with the correct time and date! This was after rain, snow, and some nasty weather.

Monday Jan and I baby sat Leah and Aaron in the afternoon while Eli and Lindsey went looking for cabinet options for their new home when it gets built. Yesterday Phil and I cruised up to Cambridge and Rush City for our semi-annual pilgrimage to the bike shop and Dennis Kirk for some parts and a new pair of riding boots that I have been wearing around the house to break them in. I may get my Aerostich and helmet out of the garage later and watch "On Any Sunday".

Other than that not too much new around here, as usual the weather is turning cold and windy today. Last night I drove home from Phil's in a snow and rain storm, it's a good thing it was above freezing so it was just wet. At least it flushed the mud off the GT. I'm going to tack a few pictures on here too from our past. Take care and stay in touch. The pictures at the top of the page are from supper that Jan and I ( in a supporting role) hosted Sunday evening. The towels were Kathy's anniversary gift to us. I couldn't think of a better way of verifying that we got them.

Dog my Cats, what next!?

After my last blog where I was complaining about how I came down with a cold at a most inopportune time, I got some more bad news. Last Wednesday I think, in the evening I was so cold I was wearing a stocking cap in the house, was the time that Jan figured that maybe I should see a doctor. She got me in the next day and sure as hell it's pneumonia now!! So I'm back on anti-biotic and cough syrup and Tylenol and lots of fluids. I think that I am getting the short course in what it really feels like to be 90 years old. Those of you that can remember him, John Denver had it all wrong about " it turns me on to think of growing old" or some such nonsense. Then he had the audacity to kill himself in a plane crash before he could test that theory out. I was feeling pretty good about my progress from last Falls' brush with death, doing some exercising at home trying to get in shape for riding, if the weather ever turns nicer, and getting some walking in trying to build some stamina on the icy streets in town. Now that we have had some warmer weather and the streets are bare, guess what, I'm reduced to looking out the window at the puddles and dry paving. It is getting to the point where I am almost afraid to leave the security of my house for fear I'll pick something else up. Mentally I am also starting to scale back some of the projected long distance rides I have been dreaming about because unless I can get back into shape and stay healthy 5 and 600 mile days are going to be a thing of the past. My best day was years ago when I ran from Lewistown, Mt. to home in one pass, a total of 905 miles. I got home late at night and when I did the math I wanted to get back on and do the other 95 miles knowing that I would never be that close again, but Jan talked me out of it, probably a good thing come to think of it. I don't think that I will be going off-roading with Eli this Spring down at Zumbro Bottoms, it almost killed me last Fall and I was relatively healthy at the time. Well, I have spent some time getting some of this off my chest now if only I could get this other thing out of my chest I'd be a much happier man. I think that I will dredge up some pictures to brighten things up. Take care and stay in touch and healthy. The pictures that I picked are from our annual picnic in Owatonna, just so that we can remember what green grass looked like. We have gone to the same park and the same location for several years now and have never had bad weather or crowds.

adding insult to injury

In regards to the title, not only has it been one of the 4 coldest January's since they started keeping records but I developed a cold over the weekend. I don't think that I have had one since last year sometime. What made it all the more pleasant was this was the big weekend at the lodge in Whalan, Minnesota. The idea was that all of the local children and grandchildren were to spend a couple nights at this lodge on the Root river down in the bluff country. Well, the job Eli had been on for at least a month that gave him weekends off, fizzled when someone bumped him off that job and onto a road job. He spent the weekend in Sioux City in the motel and Lindsey and the kids were home. Anyhow, I had a cold, Gen was developing a cold and Steve had a black eye after being elbowed at basketball the night before. Jan, Sam, and Gus luckily were healthy. I have to admit that the facilities were top notch and the scenery was great too. It surprised me that there were not more snowmobilers running around because there was a lot more snow there than here. I may be trying to make a funeral tomorrow in Glencoe for the wife of a co-worker of mine. She has been having health problems for quite some time and finally just failed I guess. I know how impatient I have been on my recovery but at least I'm recovering. I can't imagine how hard a lingering illness must be on everyone involved. Gerry Stepien had worked at the head office in Chaska for years before she retired some time ago. I will add some pictures here to give my readers an idea of the lodge area from this weekend. As usual St. Jan is taking good care of me still, rubbing Vicks on my chest, etc., but we don't have a chunk of scratchy wool to put over the Vicks. Anyhow, I think that I will live for a few more days ( I hope) , Jan is already making reservations at the KOA in Rapid City for the end of May, so if this snow ever melts I will need to get the toyhauler into shape for travel. Stay warm and stay in touch.

winter continued ad nauseum

I just read a blurb that wondered if SAD is a real disorder. This person must be living in the tropics somewhere, you bet it's real. I have had advice that I should try snowmobiling to get out in the winter, but I'm just not interested, besides where would I store it? My garage is overflowing now with toys. So I spend a lot of time this time of the year pouring over my assortment of maps and flying over routes on "Google Earth" to get a feel for what is out there. The thought did cross my mind of loading up the GS and heading down to west Texas to get some riding in, but that would be hard on the budget for the upcoming summer. PGR missions are slowing down somewhat with the slowdown of combat around the world but there is a statewide series of rides to Minnesota soldier's grave sites. So far I have been thinking about running down to Atlanta early in the year-to beat the heat-to a buddy's home and maybe my dream tour to the west coast again, with a long loop through the Pacific northwest on the way home. Oh well, it keeps me hopeful during the coldest part of the year. On to a different subject, the inauguration of our first black president. I have to admit that I voted for the other guy but that I am kind of hopeful for Obama's success. Things in this country really have changed since I became aware of the race problem in 1962 when I was stationed in Biloxi, Mississippi for training. Coming from a small town in Minnesota I had never met a black person. We used to go to Gulfport to a service club run by the local Missouri Synod Lutheran church, which I attended on a fairly regular basis. One evening a couple of us went to the local Sears store just to look around and there were two drinking fountains, one white one colored. I asked the lady that ran the club what the deal was and she said " don't drink from the colored one it is for Negros" or some thing to that effect. That was the South in the 60s. The county that we were in was dry but there was a bar on every corner, they all paid the sheriff to look the other way. All I could think was " you are not in Minnesota anymore". My sister Kathy and I were in Washington for the 25Th anniversary of the Vietnam Wall, she read names and I tagged along. We were at the ceremony at The Wall on Sunday I believe and heard Collin Powell speak among others. He gave a terrific speech and when he left just about all of the vets in the crowd were urging him to run for president. I have to tell you I would have voted for him in a heartbeat. On to a more pleasant subject. Jan and I had Eli, Lindsey, Leah, and Aaron over for supper the other night so we got some pictures. Saturday night we watched the two little ones so Eli and Lindsey could get a night out for a change and wouldn't you just know it we left the camera over there so I can't include any from Saturday, but I have some from our dinner party downloaded so I will throw a few in. Watching those two in not that big a deal Leah is such a snuggler and Aaron has cut one tooth so he is a little cranky for him, which is not very cranky. Well, that's about it for now, I just heard the mail box clunk so I had better see if anything important has landed there. From the Great White North- to borrow a Canadian term- take care, leave a comment, stay warm, and tell those around you that you love them.

winter deepens

I think that being cooped up by this weather is hard on a person's frame of mind. We have been having near record cold, yesterday morning it was a -23 and that is Fahrenheit not Celsius. Today it is almost 10 above and now they are talking about freezing rain ! I am just starting to get rid of the ice from our last go round with freezing rain. I wonder how people deal with the cold in the arctic and the lack of sunshine, but then I would imagine that citizens of Venezuela wonder how we get along with the cold that we have. Lately also we have been getting snow about every other day so it is starting to really pile up. I have been out scooping or blowing snow off the walk and driveway every day this week. I'm such a whiner. Last weekend Jan and I spent the weekend with the Theobalds in Rochester, mainly so that Jan and Gen could go shopping together childless. Just about all of them were nursing colds in various stages and luckily Jan and I escaped picking that one up. Oh the joys of small children, you get to catch everything that is going around at day care and later at school. Anyhow, I made the rounds of the bike shops just browsing, although I did pick up an off road helmet for dirt biking if this weather ever breaks. Jan had to take a picture of me watching tv with it on. It is a good thing to get them broken in before the season rolls around. I remember when I first got my Aerostich riding suit I watched tv in that one too. So I will include a picture of the newest addition to my collections. I thought that it would be a good idea to get away from an open face helmet with my rebuilt jaw hanging out in the breeze. This one will give me some protection the next time I kiss a tree in the woods or rocks in the mountains. In regards to my surgery recovery, the leg in finally healed up to where I don't bother putting any kind of dressing on it, although I wonder how it would be with french, maybe not. Now if it would just quit itching and my jaw would quit hurting when I take the first few bites, things would be even greater. I walked up town today and over to Mom's but she was still uptown. She hadn't been out since Sunday so I am sure cabin fever was setting in over there too. Well, take care and stay in touch.

piano man

Today we had the piano tuned up, hoping that it would fix a kind of rattling sound when the keys are released. Although he did find an old plastic paper clip in behind the keyboard the problem is still there. He says that the keys can be removed as a unit but he was unwilling to do it for fear of causing more trouble. On Sunday we had Eli, Lindsey, Leah, and Aaron over to watch the Vikings lose to the Eagles. Leah had on the Viking cheerleader outfit that Jan gave her for Christmas, so I will show a couple pictures of her.

Of course I had to show one of her little brother too just to even things out. You may or may not be aware that we had freezing rain on Saturday and as of today it really hasn't melted much even though it has been in the high twenties and clear the last two days. I waited until around 2pm to let some of the ice disappear and went for a good walk. I suppose for a couple miles anyhow. We do have a treadmill but I don't like it much, my legs feel like lead after I get off the thing, so I much prefer walking outdoors if at all possible. I see the thermometer at the bank said 29, so it is pretty nice, clear and quiet to boot. It feels very good to get out and walk for a half hour or more without the limp that has all but disappeared. The recovery marches on. I just finished " Eisenhower, a soldiers life", and it was a good long read, with incredible details of his life. This one ended at the end of the Second World War, so actually there was a lot of life after that. I just wish that I could remember 10% of the facts brought out. Saint Jan and I plan on heading to Rochester over the weekend to watch the boys while the girls go shopping somewhere. Bill Peck, another EAFB comrade also called over the weekend so I heard from him too. I plan on trying to get to see him sometime this Spring as we have not seen each other since 1966 when I was discharged. It should be interesting. We also have an appointment at Mayo the end of March to see about putting some teeth back into my new jaw. We shall have to see how involved that is, like will it interfere with next Summer's riding etc.. I am getting along pretty well with the teeth that are left so it can wait if need be. Well, time will tell won't it?