Happy 25th Years To Us!!!

Today marked our 25th wedding anniversary. So what did we do today? We worked, ha! Today was designated as a work day so there was no getting out of chores. Before our work began this morning, we drove back over to the Grain Bin & Market to pick up some more of those delicious cinnamon rolls and sticky buns....they really are outstanding. This time Chris came with us since he's never been there. After we got home I started in on all the yard work. Lots of leaves to pick up and put in our compost pile. After four straight hours of raking my body started to ache, so I decided to switch gears and wash windows instead. I was washing them inside and out so I only got about three windows cleaned. I'll pick up where I left off tomorrow.

Update on Grandma
Grandma Winnie came through her surgery last night ok, but was very sleepy this morning. Ted's sister sent an email this morning and this is what she told everyone..... " the GI doctors performed an endoscopy and injected endonephrin into the tissue and tried sealing the ulcer with clips. The bleeding ulcer was located in a difficult area just below her stomach making the procedures ineffective. At about 5 PM last night they performed angioplasty and inserted 18 coils in the aretery at the site of the ulcer . They were pretty confident that this would stop the bleeding." Now grandma will just have to get stronger before they will release her again. As of this morning her vitals were strong. That's the news for now.

The Soup Kitchen

I wanted to show a picture of Kim's County Shoppe, which also features a small soup and sandwich cafe in the back of her gift shop. This shop is only three places down from my workplace. The sandwiches are pretty tasty and Kim features a different soup everyday. My favorite soup is her chicken and dumpling, or the beef dumpling. I use to eat there a lot, but now I cut it down to every two weeks or so.

Update on Grandma
The doctor finally found the source of her bleeding and she went into surgery tonight. An ulcer was found below the stomach...it's called Duodenel (upper or first area of the small intestines). The doctor will be putting in "something" to stop the bleeding, but Ted's sister Winnie Lou did not know what that something was. I'm sure we will learn more tomorrow.

She Came Home From Hospital, but then......

Just a quick update on grandma Winnie. I never got the chance to tell everyone that grandma finally came home yesterday (Wednesday) from the hospital, but had to be rushed back by ambulance this afternoon because she started bleed again...rectal bleeding. Grandma's blood pressure dropped extremly low. I don't know all the details but hopefully will find more out tomorrow. I hope this time the doctor's can find the source of the bleeding once and for all. All I can say is that grandma must be one tough lady to go through all these hospital stays....poor thing. Please keep praying for grandma. Thanks.

I Cherish This Ring

I promised Jen that I would post of picture of the silver ring my dad made years ago. I love this ring! I've worn this ring on and off for many, many years. The picture isn't the best, but I tried. I'm still learning how to use my camera for close-ups. If you want to check out Jen's blog to see her metalworks, look for her link under "my blog list" (the quench bench). I hope to buy a piece of Jens jewelry in the future. I can't decide if I want a ring or a pendant. I don't wear earing so that's out.

Hey dad, do you want to comment on this ring? What's the story behind this beautiful ring you made? I keep thinking you told me you made it in college, or was it after college?

I Was Sad and Happy All Within One Hour!

I was sad and happy all with one hour. Why? Well first, I stopped by Joan's house tonight to see LC, remember LC (a.k.a. Library of Congress) kitten? Joan wasn't home, but her husband was, so he said LC was doing just fine. He told me we should walk out to the far shed because that's where LC hangs out. As we walked into the shed we started calling for LC, but LC was nowhere. Within a minute or so, I looked down in some straw and there lay little LC....dead as can be!!! My heart just sank. Now I know my friend Joan will feel really, really bad because I'm sure she will blame herself for LC's death. Joan always feels bad when one of her barn cats die, she's has such a good heart that way. I just feel really bad because I had this cool idea tonight that I would take an updated picture of LC and put it in my post. Guess I'm not doing that tonight! After I left and drove home, I know LC was going to the graveyard tonight....Joan's husband promised me. Poor little LC.

So what made me so happy when I got home? My husband surprised me by buying a new gnome. Yippee!!!! As you can see, this one is a Christmas gnome. If you read my blog you'll know that I love gnomes. Gnomes kinda grow on you. Once you buy one, then you'll want more. Beside Mr. Christmas gnome, Ted also bought Mr. Little Christmas gnome that can sit down. Now when my garden gnomes are all covered up in snow for the winter season, I can enjoy my seasonal gnomes.

If anyone sees a really cool gnome or lots of gnomes, please take a picture and post it on your blog for me. Let me know how you feel about garden gnomes ok?

A Busy Day With A Beautiful Ending

As I was driving home tonight I had to stop and take this picture. The sky was so beautiful with the different shades of orange, yellow and then the blue sky behind the bright sunset. How could anyone not stop for one minute to just take in nature's beautiful gift. One of the things I love about winter is the colorful sunsets that Ted and I get to see while out ice fishing until dusk. There's nothing better than sitting around a warm fire out on the lake and seeing the sunset.....yes, we do built a fire on the frozen lake with our copper bowl. We never forget the hot dogs either. On a cold winter night, hot dogs with toasted buns over the fire are #1 in our family!

Today flew by so quickly. From time to time I have days like that where I work on 3 - 4 different tasks all at one time. Not sure why I do that, but it just happens that way sometimes. In the morning I couldn't resist getting a treat for my co-workers. Lela from Cafe 44 made these cute pumpkin face sugar cookies. It was a pretty thick cookie so someone asked me if that was a cake. The cookie had a nice hint of almond flavor. Like I said before, it's in my family blood to be attracted to bakeries, so I visit Lela daily to buy a cup of Java and to drool over the sweet treats. No one said I couldn't just look..... right?

I Felt Like a Celebrity

I did something tonight that I've never done before! I taught a spinning class at the health club. Our regular instructor is gone all week, so instead of no classes this week, I volunteered to teach tonight. They wanted me to teach on Wednesday as well, but I wasn't too excited about leading a 6 am class. I've gone to the 6 am class twice now and it's really hard for me, especially when I haven't had a cup of coffee yet. Coffee always comes first...that's my routine, but I discovered a long time ago that you can't drink coffee before a spin class. If you do, you'll get a very sour stomach half way through class...trust me! The women in my class tonight were all beginners. Five minutes into the class I realized that the women were already hurting, so I eased the class alittle and didn't work them extremely hard. As it was, all the women had red faces after about ten minutes. After class some of women wanted to talk with me and ask if I was going to start teaching on a regular schedule. Oh geez, thats all I need....more schedules.

When I drove to work this morning what did I see? I saw a thin layer of snow covering the leaves. Yes in deed, we had snow flurries last night. Someone was making fun of me today for wearing my winter parka to work. You know who you are!!!! Hey, I get cold. What can I say.

First Taste of Winter!

Burrr, it's cold outside today. A high of 39 degrees with a 20-30 mph wind blowing. At this point we are experiencing sprinkles of rain, but tonight we will probably be dealing with snow flurries....bring on winter.

I decided to start digging into older photos to post. Here, you will find a photo of Ted's son Mike and his daugthers (starting at left), Charlene, Chandria & Sherissa. Sherissa is currently studying at the University of Alaska - Anchorage, and will be coming back home in December to finish out her college studies at UW-Stout. Charlene is a freshman at UW-Stout in Menomonie, WI and little Chandria is 10 yrs old and living with her mom in Red Cliff near Bayfield, WI (Lake Superior). Ted's older daughter Traci also has three children and she lives in Minnesota. Can't wait until Becca and Chris get married and then hopefully we'll have even more grandchildren!!!!!!!!

Update on Grandma Winnie
Grandma is still in the hospital, but has been up and walking around. Her chest tube is still in, but the IV was taken out, which was administering the antibiotics. The bleeding has stopped so the doctor did not do a colonoscopy....that's good news. Grandma is still experiencing pain, which will sometimes affect her appetite, but she was eating a plate of fruit when Ted called her today. No word yet when Grandma Winnie will be released from the hospital. Grandma's hospital stay has now reached two weeks, and that doesn't even count her actual surgery four weeks ago. Please keep grandma in your prayers.

Changing to a different note, our cat Annabelle has been acting really strange lately. As the weather is getting colder, she has become more active and is pinging off the walls and furniture. Just now as I'm sitting here typing, she darted across the floor with her back arched at me! She actually does that a lot and I've discovered that it's her way of saying "come and play with me." Last night Annabelle kept trying to climb up the Ponytail plant so Ted put tinfoil around the base of the plant, but she still kept pawing at it so the tinfoil would fall down. I thought cats aren't suppose to like the feel of tinfoil? Well anyway, I think it's time to put her tent up again so she'll have something to run and jump into....honestly, she does that! Maybe she needs kitty Ritilan!

What am I reading this week? When Men Become Gods by Stephen Singular. A book about the Mormon Polygamist fundamentalist group from southern Utah and it's leader Warren Jeffs.

The Rough Guide to Blogging by Jonathan Yang

True Discipleship by William MacDonald, a book about living your life according to what Jesus taught in the New Testament.