Answer Blowin' in the Wind?

I never expected to feel so excited about a new clothesline, but I was. I purchased it last winter and just this month got around to getting it installed. It is a retractable one and can be kind of hidden behind my deck when not needed.

And fortunately the very first day we had 40 mph winds, so I washed a load of dog blankets and bike shorts to get them dry and smelling fresh in about 10 minutes!

Rowdy was a little curious that first afternoon about the flapping in the wind.



Hopefully, this will help out on the checkbook a little when I pay the electric bill - they raised our rates again this year. I don't use a lot of power, but every little bit helps - besides - I just love how the sheets feel and smell after drying in the breeze.

Now I can make good use of the time when it is too windy to ride bike!

He Could Go Home Again - June 14, 2008

All spring Dale has been talking about going back home. Since getting an electric wheel chair, he has gradually ventured out of his room and even outside of the building when winter was finally gone. At first he brought up the idea of riding down to the house from the nursing home on his electric wheel chair. But after talking with a number of the nurses and aides, he agreed he doesn't have a sturdy enough chair to get across two sets of railroad tracks and a somewhat busy highway. So he agreed to let them drive him the half dozen blocks or so to his home on 3rd street. Due to a rather wet and windy early spring, and a few days of not feeling up to the trip, he wasn't able to get there in May and finally on June 14th, the weather was perfect. I happened to be in Arlington after finishing a bike tour that took me around southeast South Dakota. So before I headed back up to North Dakota, I stuck around to help with the arrangements for Dad's visit. Amy (one of his favorite nurses) told me the night before that they would take him down around 1 PM and pick him up again at 3 PM. Since we don't have any way for him to get inside the house and up the stairs, we set up a few chairs and tables next to the porch outside for him.

Mom and I cleaned up the yard the night before (we picked up 4 wheel barrows full of sticks blown down in a wind storm).

Amy laughed when she lowered him out of the van, because he took off right away and headed for the door. He said on his way down the alley - "See you later!" She said - "Don't you think I should go up and ring the doorbell for you to let them know you are here?" For some reason Mom and I were watching out the front of the house and not in the alley, so we didn't see them drive up. Amy was kind of surprised at how anxious he was to get going!

Dale adjusting his hat in the sun by the front porch with Marguerite.

The first thing we had to do was get a hat for him, the sun was pretty bright. He rode all around the house on the sidewalk, and then down the block to look at the progress on renovations on a house two doors down (he said there hadn't been much done since he saw it last fall!) Then he wanted to look at all the gutters we installed above the doors to prevent icy sidewalks, and I had to run the garage door opener for him a number of times so he could watch it from both inside and outside the garage.

Dale checking out the new gutter above the back door.

Dale making his way around the south side of the house.

Later he seemed content to sit and visit with Marguerite and just watch the cars go by just like he used to when he sat on his old porch rocker. He kept telling me that everyone has new cars.

Much to Dale's disappointment, this is as close as Nermal would get to Dale's electric wheelchair. So I carried her over so he could give her a little scratch between the ears.

I think he really enjoyed it, but he later told me he was glad to get back 'home' - and that is how he really thinks of the nursing home now I think. He tells me over and over how wonderful they are to him and the nurses and staff aren't appreciated enough.

We are hoping to get him back for a small picnic on the 4th of July if the weather holds out.

Easter Farm memories

I read this article in today's Bismarck Tribune and decided to post it to share with all the other farm boys and girls out there. Just click on the image to enlarge it to read in a seperate window. (Sorry, but the Tribune didn't post this article on their website)

I've also been scanning a lot of old photos from an album of Mom's and discovered she loved to take a lot of Easter photos over the years that I'll share here.

April 1957 Easter Sunday - Michael, Peter & Paula

April 1959 Paula, Michael & Peter on Easter Sunday

April 1961 - Dodey Martie & Paula on Easter Sunday

April 1967 - Paula, Peter, Pat & Martie

Happy Easter Everyone!

Dale's 80th birthday

This is the year Dale turned 80 on March 5th. I felt it was a milestone birthday that needed to be celebrated, even if it did happen to fall in the middle of the week. So Mom and I planned a small celebration. We knew he wouldn't be comfortable with a lot of people and noise, so we decided to have a card shower.

I was able to take a few days off and drive down to Arlington with a cake I ordered from a neighbor. The day before his birthday, he had a visit from Lyle Rapp, Helge Larson and Grace Oleson Nemitz. Mom said he enjoyed it all, but it did tire him. So when I arrived late that afternoon, I just spoke with him by phone so he could rest. Pat was able to come up from Sioux Falls to spend the day with us also.

Dale in March 1952 with his dog Chipper and piles of snow.

Even though Dale is in a nursing home, he still almost missed a celebration due to the weather. Mom told us how many birthdays he had spent over the years sitting on a snow plow clearing the streets or moving snow out on the farm. This year there was another small snow storm which may have contributed to a train/semi-truck accident in Arlington. As a result, all streets that crossed the railroad were closed until the cleanup could be finished. Dale was a little frustrated in the morning knowing we were all on the other side of town unable to get to the nursing home. By lunch time Pat, Mom and I decided we would go out of town a few miles to get around the train, but by then they opened up one street.

Dale received so many cards and he enjoyed discovering who remembered him. Surprisingly he got a card from three of his previous teachers, (one Sunday school teacher, one elementary teacher and one high school teacher) still alive and living in Arlington. He explained to me that in those days a teaching certificate only took 6 or 9 weeks to get, and these teachers weren't too much older than he.

Cards received for Dale's 80th birthday.

He also told us that he will never forget his favorite birthday gift of all time. It was back when he was 6 or 7 years old. At that time, they received a lot of goods from the Sears catalog. Any order placed by mail on a Saturday was sure to be filled and returned before the next Wednesday, unless bad weather, then it would be in the mailbox on Thursday. He made it known he liked two items in the current catalog, both pencil boxes. One was 19 cents and the other with 2 drawers was 29 cents. He said he was so happy and surprised when he opened the package from Sears that day to discover the 2 drawer box! What a treasure.

The cake was a great item and all the ladies had to ask who were all those lovely children.

Randy Ivers and his mom Elaine were in the nursing home and we asked them to join us. I think Dale liked joking around with Randy, who always takes great joy in good food - and lots of it.

As usual I couldn't get a smile out of Dale once the camera came out. Here he is waiting with Mom and Pat for the cake to be cut and served with coffee.

Dale watches the entertainer (karoke) from Dell Rapids pack up his equipment to leave.

We all left around 4:30 but Dale made me promise to come back after supper. I really think he is just so grateful to have company. It must be tough for him to see the same faces day after day and not be able to even venture outside for a little break or solitude.

David is planning on driving to Arlington this weekend to spend some quiet time with Dale. He isn't bringing his two very active young sons along this trip.

I think we all wish we lived closer to make things easier, but all are so grateful that he can be in Arlington and close to friends he has known all his life.