How Sock Monkey Saved Our Weekend.

Last week my mother had to have her knee replaced. Apparently, all those years of chasing my sister and me around the house has finally caught up with her. She lives five hours away in South Dakota so I planned to leave Friday afternoon after work and return home on Sunday afternoon.

Lady Di was still a little dizzy from her ear surgery and Number One Son had a piano class on Saturday, so they elected to stay home. Plus, it was homecoming week and N1S was excited to see the local football game. And of course, 'see the game' really means hanging out with your friends and seeing how much Mountain Dew and Skittles you can get for five bucks.

So I asked Sweet Pea if she wanted to visit the golfing grandparents with me. She, of course, said yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,...

So Lady Di was nice enough to sneak some of SP's clothes into my suitcase along with her leopard print bathroom bag and we were ready to go. I made sure to bring along a Star Wars color book, some paper and crayons for the trek.

Unfortunately, about a half hour into our journey Lady Di called to say that SP had forgotten her pillow which was packed with her jacket, stuffed animal and most importantly her purple blankie. Then around a half hour later, SP asked if I could hand her pillow back so she could rest.

"Uhhhh, can you just use the blanket under the seat?", I offered.

"I like my pillow better.", she countered.

'I might as well get this over with.' , I thought.

"Mom just called and said that you left it on your bed. Sorry.", I consoled.

Surprisingly, she was only a little disappointed but she brightened up when I told her that Grandma's sock monkey is probably really excited to sleep with her tonight.

After that, she used the blanket as pillow to rest. Thank you Sock Monkey!

Around hour number two of our drive, the dreaded backseat question emerged from the shadows.

"How much longerrrrrr?"

About three more hours.

"Uuuunnnnnggggggg......"

Luckily, I thought of a game to play. Since we were driving to South Dakota and it was the first day of October, we played 'Count the Combines.'

I didn't grow up on a farm but like most small SD towns, we lived in the middle of farm country. Tractors cruising main street were given about as much notice as mini-vans at a soccer field. And my hometown community has seen more than a few wedding parties being paraded through town on a flatbed trailer complete with straw bale seating.

But for me, harvest season is special because it's the one time of the year that I get to actually see combines in action. I don't claim to know enough about farming to know anything about what they are actually doing. I just think if looks cool to see corn and bean fields getting mowed down in straight sections with the rows going on and on for miles. Each cornstalk standing broomstick straight marching single file all the way to the horizon only to meet the blue sky and a few cotton ball clouds. And as it gets dark you can see a small cloud of dust surround a few headlights, as the combine, like a caterpillar devouring a leaf, steadily munches away into the night. I would encourage anyone to take a drive in the country this week to see what I am talking about. And, if any farmers want to take a short break next year and let me drive one, I'll make myself available. As long as you are OK with few crooked rows.

As our game started, I spotted the first few combines which gave SP a picture of what she should be looking for.

When she spotted her first one she yelled, "There's another compound!"

"You mean 'combine', right?"

"Oh yeah. I got mixed up."

We saw mostly red and green machines. A few yellow ones and one gray with a red stripe. In the last hour of our trip our total reached sixteen combines discovered. Only one combine away from our record last year. But it was getting dark and getting late and SP zonked out in the back seat. We passed four more machines but I didn't tell her until morning. So now our new record is twenty combines spotted. Our new record didn't last very long because we spotted twenty six working combines on the way home on Sunday.

On Saturday, we got to visit Grandma in the hospital. She was a little pale and weak but in good spirits. SP gave her the birthday and get well cards she and N1S had made and she put them on her table to show the nurses.

Since Grandma's hospital was in Sioux Falls, SP and I made a little side trip the Ronald McDonald House there. This was where Lady Di stayed for two months while N1S was in the hospital growing from his premature birth. We had a big box of pop tabs to donate and SP got to sign the guest book. Sometime you should ask Lady Di about the time she almost burned Ronald's house down making toast.

We also got to visit with an old college classmate of mine who happens to own a restaurant in Sioux Falls. We showed up at Michael's Steakhouse and Dave gave us the best table in the house. We got to catch up a bit and enjoyed a great meal. Plus, Dave and his sister offer homemade cheesecake from their parent business, Epiphany Desserts. So after stuffing ourselves at dinner, SP, my dad and I all enjoyed a piece of the best cheesecake I have ever eaten. SP couldn't eat all of hers so she took it home in a Styrofoam to-go box which she decorated with a sad face with her finger nail.

"This is how my tummy feels.", she groaned showing me the box.

We did eat a lot.

This was a nice weekend to see my folks, my sister and my Grandma Peg. I really wasn't able to actually help them with anything until Mom can come home from the hospital. But I did get to eat cheescake...and see combines.

Up On The Housetop

It's that time of year again. Time to risk life and limb in the attempt to properly show your Christmas spirit. I'm talking about putting up Christmas lights. Some people like to tastefully decorate their houses with a few strings of lights on bushes and trees. They usually use a balanced pattern with symmetry and artistry. My lighting philosophy is 'the more lights, the better'. I come from the Clark Griswold school of holiday lighting. If an airplane, flying overhead, cannot see my house, then I need another extension cord.

I tend to exasperate Lady Di. She is very artistic and creative and enjoys elegant white lights twinkling slightly in the winter breeze. I like color! Lots of color. Like a Crayola box with the stomach flu, kind of color. In the last few years I have been able to decorate the house my way. Mainly because I am still ignorant enough to climb up a ladder and hang over the edge of the roof to put lights up. Lady Di has been much smarter and avoids the ladder. She does keep the first aid kit handy and the speed dial set for 9-1-1.

When it comes to my holiday decorating tastes, anything goes. I don't mind mismatched nativity sets showing Baby Jesus playing wreath toss with Frosty. I don't mind a Santa sitting next to a camel with a gingerbread man on it's back. I don't mind candy cane lined driveways, or giant candles by the front door. A sleigh and reindeer on the roof always amaze me. I like flashing, blinking, and twinkling lights. So far, Lady Di has held me to 'lights only' on the house. But who knows, maybe a small army of toy soldiers will invade our yard this year.

I pretty much like any kind of holiday decoration, except inflatable displays. One reason is they seem too complicated for me to bother with. Anything with a motor and blower is not worth the headache for me. I also don't care for the way they lay on the front yard during the day when they are deflated. Plus, I'm sure, as soon as I put one up, the first strong winter wind will take it all the way to Mexico.

I probably get my love of holiday decorating from my Mother. She is a decorating demon every year for every holiday. At Christmas time, my Dad calls their house, "Little Vegas". They live across the street from a nursing home in a small town. The nursing home residents always tell my Mom that they look forward to seeing her yard at Christmas time. She even won her town's award for 'Most Festive Lights' last year. Whenever we go to visit we can usually tell when we are within 5 miles from Gramma's house by the 'Aurora Borealis' glow from her house.

So my goal is to create a winter wonderland before the winter comes. My plan was to get the roof lights done last weekend since we had nice weather. An extra work day put those plans on hold. Now I won't get another chance to plug in until Thanksgiving week. This is the latest that I will start decorating in quite a few years. I have decorated in the cold and snow before. I usually start with gloves until I realize it's impossible to untangle anything with gloves on. Then my fingers freeze and I have to descend the ladder to thaw my hands inside the house every half string.

Even if I don't find the time to light up the block this year, I will still get to enjoy holiday decorations. Every year, as a family, we pick a night or two to drive around town just to look at the lights in the neighborhood. I usually hear a lot of 'Wow, look at that one!' from the back seat from the kids. My sister and I enjoyed drives like this with our parents when we were young and I hope my kids enjoy them as much as I did. Hopefully, I can find the time to get our house up to a respectable level for viewing.

But it is worth it, right? Is it worth watching the electric meter spin like the Price Is Right wheel? Is it worth risking frost bite and/or a trip to the emergency room when I fall from the roof? The big payoff is when I make the whole family stand out in the street on the night after Thanksgiving and, with much pomp and ceremony, flip the switch. If I don't trip a circuit and put the whole block in a blackout, it's a success. I then bask in the glow of the kids' Oooo's and Ahhhhh's. Then they say, "We're cold! Can we go in yet?"

Aye, Aye Captain

Ethan got to visit both sets of grandparents in the past two weeks. Last weekend we went to South Dakota for my class reunion. Ethan and Emery got to spend the weekend with Gramma and Grampa. They got a ride in Grampa's convertible and played on the slip and slide. On Saturday night they attended a block party hosted by a neighbor. The kids got to dance the 'hokey pokey' and the 'chicken dance". Ethan hung out with the 'DJ' and got him coffee. The block party had a tropical theme so Ethan and Grampa got to wear their hawiian shirts. The kids even attended Gramma and Grampa's church on Sunday. The church was serving a breakfast to raise money to fix the roof. We weren't expecting rolls, sausage, eggs, waffle sticks mega breakfast. I have a hard enough time staying awake in church on an empty stomach.

On Monday, Ethan went 'up north' to Bemiji to visit his MN Grandparents. Little Sister wanted to come too but we had to bring her home for soccer. Plus, she got to stay with Gramma two months ago for a week. On the first night Ethan called home to tell us that we forgot to pack his toothbrush and pajamas. Therefore, he got go shopping at Target for new ones. He picked out a travel toothbrush because he liked how short it was, and skull and bones pajamas because they were cool. I think he hopes we forget to pack things in the future so he can go shopping for new things. Things like socks, snacks, video games, legos, etc. Ethan also got a ride on Grampa's four wheeler and pontoon boat. Grampa even let Ethan captain the pontoon around the lake with Rosie as his first mate. Ethan got to see the loons with their baby on the lake too. He also got to see a lot of deer and an eagle. He was so busy, he only played his Gameboy twice for the whole week.

Emery and the rest of the family caught up with him on the following Friday. He took us all for a pontoon ride and Uncle Greg took both kids for a ride in his speed boat. I think Ethan had fun being at Gramma's house for a week without his little sister. Little Sister had fun being the center of attention at home for a week. They both said that they missed each other and were glad to be together again. Although, Emery did wait until day number four to ask where her brother was.

Now what are we going to do?

Since I had to work this weekend, Lady Di thought it would be a good day to visit Gramma Ollie. The kids love to visit Mom's gramma. Gramma Ollie is 92 years young and hasn't lost a step. She still lives in her house and is sharp as a tack. She does crafts all year round. She still mows her lawn and sometimes shovels snow in the winter. Now, Gramma Ollie is getting ready to move into an apartment.
On the way to Gramma's house, Lady Di noticed a small house for sale in Gramma's neighborhood. She pulled over to read one of the fliers to compare prices with her gramma's house. Number One Son asked what Mom was doing.
"I'm just reading this to compare prices for Gramma Ollie.", said Lady Di.
"Why?", he said.
"Because she is going to move to an apartment."
"Why?", he repeated.
Lady Di answered, "So she can live close to people that she can play cards with. And she won't have to mow the lawn or shovel snow anymore."
Then N1S exclaimed, "What! Gramma Ollie's retiring?"