North-South-East-West Dakota Christmas 2006

Again this year, I decided take the full week off between the two holidays and travel across the states to catch up with family and friends in South Dakota. My two canine travelling companions were so anxious to get on the road. We left the morning of December 22nd. The sun was unusually bright for a late December morning and gave off enough heat to raise the temperature to the mid 50's by mid afternoon which made for perfect travelling. I made my mid-trip rest stop in Ipswich this time because they have a nice city part along the highway that Sam & Rowdy love to explore.

Here are Rowdy & Sam back in the truck after a run thru the Ipswich Park, ready to hit the road again.

As I got closer to Highway 14 I began to gradually see more and more patches of snow in the grasses that turned into small drifts. But when I crossed the James River in Huron, it was as if a curtain was dropped from above. The sun was gone, the fog rose up thick, damp and cold, and I knew I was in eastern Dakota again. By the time I got to Arlington the streets were a mess and all trees, outdoor Christmas decorations, and sidewalks were covered in a thick sheet of ice.

Dale, of course, was worried and so glad to see that I made it, admonishing me weakly for travelling in such nasty weather. Brother Dave and Pat didn't brave the roads to come to Arlington. Earlier in the day I was puzzled by this, but not after I crept along the highway through DeSmet, Lake Preston and finally Arlington. After an hour or so of unpacking the truck laden with Christmas gifts, food goodies and dog beds and blankets, I was able to relax and catch up on all the latest news from Arlington.

On Saturday I went uptown and bought some of the last ice melt I could find in town and went to work on the terrible ice on the steps to the newspaper box and the walkways in front of both doors. The sun managed to come out later in the day and helped a lot. And I decided to take advantage of the light and ice and take a few photos of the winter sparkles.

Later in the afternoon, I had a long phone chat with Randy and caught up on his adventures of living with and caring for his mom, gardening, and musical outings with a brass quintet. He seems much more relaxed and has found a way to incorporate all his passions into small town life with an elderly parent and failing health. He never did like life in Denver with all the traffic and pollution and noise. We made plans to go for a drive sometime over the holidays and invited me to bring the folks to the candlelight service in the Lutheran Church on Christmas Eve. His quintet was going to perform throughout the service.

Sam & Rowdy enjoying their Christmas gifts of chewbones from Matt.

So on Christmas Eve, we all got up and Mom wanted to open the gifts that had accumulated over the week. I had some gifts from Pete & family, they both had gifts from everyone. And even Sam & Rowdy got a treat or two from Matt. Later we drove down to the church for the late morning mass. The church seemed so small and modern to me after all the old ornate churches in small towns I had visited over the summer on bike tours. It was decorated beautifully as usual. After the service I had a chance to visit with some of the ladies who expressed wonder and worry both to me about Mom. They were so glad her health was on the mend, and realized when she was gone, there were many things she took care of at the church they weren't aware of. So now, they are making a point of questioning her about the 'whys' and 'wheres' of all the preparations she does for mass each week. One of the ladies has a very cute precocious little girl who follows Mom around and watches everything she does and where she puts every candle, alter cloth and vestment. I think she kind of enjoys it a little bit, thought would not admit so. We came home to a small meal of pork loin and all the trimmings. In the afternoon, we made and received various phone calls and watch a movie made from a book Mom had read and really enjoyed - 5 People You Meet in Heaven. Mom and I decided to go to the Christmas Eve services at the Lutheran church about 4, we were early, so took a drive around town to look at the decorations.

Mom really enjoyed checking out the tops of all the trees that glistened in the late afternoon sun.

When we returned to the church, it was full to overflowing. I had forgotten just how large the Lutheran congregation in Arlington is. Up here on the western side of North Dakota, the majority of the population is Catholic, but not down in the eastern side of both Dakotas. It was a beautiful service and the quintet sounded great, although we were seated way in the back (Mom didn't want to get too far in front as she said she felt a little like an outsider). After the services, I felt like I was in the winter version of Arlington Days because I saw so many old friends and their families I hadn't seen for years. It was particularly nice to Grace, Sue & Mike and the whole family - which is four generations now. I think Mom enjoyed it as well. We went home to a small supper, and then decided to go to the Christmas eve evening mass at St. Johns. The crowd there was much smaller but very nice.

Marguerite & Jack on Christmas Day in Watertown

Christmas morning was quiet and we all decided to make a trip to Watertown after lunch to visit Uncle Jack in the Jenkins Living Center. Mom hadn't been up in quite awhile and seemed anxious to see him. The day was calm and sunny and Dad always enjoys riding and checking out all the farms on the drive up. The center was busy with visitors and found Jack right away. He seemed glad to see us and was moving around all the time in his room, but still in his wheelchair. I think these visits are always a little conflicting for Mom. She worries about him, but at the same time is glad he is safe and taken care of. I know she sees his frustration in losing his independence, but knows he isn't able to live on his own anymore. I found some unopened gifts from Kathleen, so opened them up and we all sampled all the candies and goodies she sent along with an old photo of Kathleen, Peg & Leland taken I suspect sometime back in the 60's - it was great. We stayed for a couple of hours then, decided it was time to get Dad home before he stiffened up like the tin man without his oil can.

On Tuesday, Pat and family were able to drive up from Sioux Falls, so we had a nice meal with them. I was so busy listening to all the wonderful stories that Aislynn created, I didn't get too involved with the meal-making. Andrew is getting so mature (he looks like he belongs in New York or LA - not South Dakota) and as most teenagers are at that age, longing to be anywhere else but with the family - I remember those days well.

Aislynn taking her "babies" for a stroll in the snow (which they hadn't had yet in Sioux Falls).

Aislynn & Pat watching Marguerite open her Christmas gift.

Aislynn busy creating 'famlies' to live in her new doll house - a pop-up book gift from Grandma for Christmas.

Aislynn and I had great fun filling her new dollhouse from Grandma with cut-outs from magazines and making up stories about all. Later, Katrina wanted to explore Grandma's attic for a costume for a future party with a theme of the 60's. And Aislynn had great fun modeling all the pieces we found.

Here is Aislynn once again posing with that big smile after a trip to Grandma's attic and the theater costumes.

After a small supper, Pat packed his family and dog up to go back to Sioux Falls.

Later on Randy and I made plans to go for a drive out to Lake Poinsett. It was a nice drive and so easy to visit with him again for hours. We decided not to stop in to any of the old hangouts, went for a short walk along the beach, then headed back to Arlington and some blueberry pie - he still has that big old sweet tooth he always had. We sat up and chatted with Mom for a bit, but then he decided to go home when he noticed I suddenly looked particularly tired. Guess he saw the first signs of the flu bug that bit Mom and I overnight.

I had planned on driving Mom to her rehab in Brookings on Wednesday morning, however, we both were not feeling up to it. She was worse than I however. And Dad was weather worried again about an upcoming storm the radio/tv were predicting to be statewide and bringing feet, not inches of snow. My initial plan was to drive across the state to Rapid City on Thursday, but Dad wouldn't hear of it. He insisted I'd be stuck in Arlington and possibly not able to make it back to Mandan in time to go back to work. So reluctantly I packed up my truck, stocked up on crackers, soda water and pepto bismol tablets and headed for the interstate. I really didn't feel so bad, just tired and a little queasy. The weather was cloudy, but calm and warm. To my dogs' delight, I made plenty of stops. Finally someplace about 20 miles west of Chamberlain, I was so tired, I pulled into the parking lot of a small country church and took a nap for about a half hour. The rest of the trip was good and arrived at Martie's home just as she was pulling into the driveway after work. Her daughters were out shopping at the malls spending their gift card money and Roger was still at work. I was glad to be off the road and feeling a little steadier. Later it was quite a change of pace from Arlington - with the teenagers chattering all over the house and their young dog Ted so excited to have some buddies to play with. We decided to go out for supper to Chilies. My stomach wasn't steady enough yet to have anything, but was nice anyway to be around all the activity and catch up on all the Rapid City news stories from the girls.

On Friday, Ceci and I decided to take a drive up to Spearfish and visit Paula. Ceci is at that tender age of such rapid change and uncertainty. Sometimes she seems like a little girl, especially when I see her with a lapful of dogs. And then I'll look over and can't find any of that little girl in her and she seems ready to go at it all on her own. But most of the time I think she has all those teenage doubts in the back of her head, searching for the right thing to say or do. Besides all of that she is so tall - everytime I see her I'm amazed at how she has grown. She is turning into a real beauty, inside and out.

Paula asked Ceci and I to help her learn to play a card game that Tim's girlfriend, Leslie, liked a lot. After reading and re-reading a list of rules in a paperback of card games, I think she felt confident enough to play with her son's numero uno and win.

Later on we visited in her newly decorated living room and I had to get some photos of her silly gift to Jim - the crows. I guess he likes to birdwatch from his porch as they go after the fallen walnuts in their front yard. We also got to see a lot of Mike's published art - he seems to be doing quite well in his field and she is sure he will eventually be able to support himself with his art.

On Saturday, I joined Martie and Roger at the ice rink and watched them curl. They didn't have enough members for a full match, so did a lot of practicing.

Martie & Kathy visiting about either the next shot or where to go for a cup of good coffee.

Roger is getting ready to throw the stone - he's gotten very good at this in the past year or so.

We later went out for a cup of cocoa. Martie and I did a little shopping in the afternoon. After watching a dvd movie, Mike came over for supper. One of the annual traditions when I go to Rapid City is to get out a board game when Mike comes for supper. This time Liza's boyfriend Steve joined us. It was a lot of fun. I can really see the difference college has made in Liza. She seems so much more relaxed and mature. Just doesn't seem to sweat the small stuff like she did just a year ago.

I decided to drive back to Mandan on Sunday, rather then Monday. I knew I would have a lot of laundry and chores to finish before I went back to the office, so thought I'd give myself extra time for it.

Boy was I glad I did, as I got within 5 miles of Mandan, I realized there really had been a snowstorm - we got about 10 inches. It was really beautiful though, as the snow obviously just fell straight down with not wind. All the evergreens looked like a christmas card. The streets were plowed out but my driveway was not. After unloading the dogs in the back yard to play in the stuff and phoning Dale to stop the driving worry I knew he was having about me (but he had to make a specific point of how he enjoyed listening to Randy's quintet - 'they are loud enough even for me' -in church that morning), my first chore was to shovel snow so I could drive into the garage. Worked off all the candy calories in that hour and a half I think. Felt good to exercise so I decided to do my neighbor's walk as well.

The holidays are over and January is here - we had a little thaw the next few days, and now a cold spell has set in with the 'Alberta Clippers' that are coming in.