Americans or no?????

When we were down on the farm my brother and his two boys were there...they are from Oklahoma. We were on our way to visit Mom and Dad..Cory was picking on the way we talk..making fun of how we say some words...like house.

Then Cory said, "You talk Wisconsin and we talk American!!" So I guess we are foreigners here in Wisconsin!!!!

New Blue!!

Alicia and Chris have been needing to get another car...the Cavalier just can't do it anymore. Alicia has been using my car to get to work some of the time. Last week Chris and his sister went looking at cars....one of them that was mentioned was a purple PT Cruiser....Alicia says well Mom has always wanted one...the thought was that they could buy my car and I could get that....well it so happens that the purple one was a stick shift...not something I would like for everyday driving. There was also a blue one with some upgrades...moon roof, leather seats and both CD and tape players... So here she is!!!!!
PS I no longer have a "granny' car !!!

Ed's Cafe

Last week when we were in Iowa to clean up the farm, we went to a little town for breakfast. The first day I called Pete to see where there were...thinking they were a ways from Kingsley yet...well they were just coming into town...so we met and had breakfast at Ed's Cafe. This place has been there for a long, long time...Brant used to go there for snacks when he worked in town. A few years later Pete helped with the remodeling job on it...it still looks the same...3o some years later!!

Robbie, Chris, Mason and I ate there on Thursday, but on Friday the guys went there by themselves...they sat in a booth and had breakfast....while leaving Rob heard a couple of older ladies say..."10 years we've come here and sat in that booth and now someone takes it!" Whoops..the visitors sat in the wrong place.

This is an old town cafe where the people of the town come and sit..help themselves to coffee and visit...Chris said that he thought the people just stayed overnight cuz they were all the same people sitting in the same places.

Everyone there was very friendly and remember Mom and Dad and asked about them...small town America.

Raking

Mason is a "Daddy's" boy and so today it was nice enough to outside and help Daddy rake the yard. We also took Mr. Kitty to his new home..Chris said they have it all set up like a house inside the barn they use. Sad to see him go, but he just couldn't be in the house anymore..

Country View

Great-grandma sharing some of her gift of candy from Levi and Kayla with Mason.




After leaving the farm we...Levi, Kayla, Chris, Mason and I took Mom back "home"..we got there at supper time. Dad was at the table so we all went to say Hello.. Later Mom took us to show Levi and Kayla their room. Dad looked and responded so much better than on Wednesday...that made us a feel better!

Family Time

Grandma with who was the youngest great-grandchild (Mason) until Wed. March 17th when Traiten joined the family. Welcome!!



Grandma and the grandchildren that were there. Cory, Evan, and Issac in the front with Grandma. Mason, Chris, Colin, Laura, Zory, and Levi.



Mom and the five kids that were there. Janna, Brant, Ruth, Syd, and Pete. Jenae was unable to come. We missed you!!



In the evening there was time for homework and just sitting around eating and visiting. Zory, Colin and Cory set up a place for this.

Moving from the farm.

Checking things out and discussing what to do!




Loading.....




The tractors heading to Wisconsin for resale.




One of the loads that came to Wisconsin. This same trailer hauled a couple loads to the scrap metal yard.


We have been working at the farm this week...going through everything and dividing it all...lot more there than we thought...we made it through and all was "peaceful, calm and still" and I think we all had a good time together.. I know I enjoyed being with the siblings again. Mom was able to come down with Janna on Thursday and again on Saturday. We took her "home" tonight and saw Dad again...he was not good when we stopped there on our way down...today he was Dad...I got scolded for leaving him there alone today...on Thursday it made no difference!! He was Dad today and that made me feel good leaving... ( Janna was the one who picked up Mom..but Dad didn't know that)
Mom did good about it all...just wanting to keep a lot of things and take them with her!!!
The tractors were loaded and sent on their way on Friday and arrived safely in Wisconsin on Saturday morning.
We do need to go back and do a final clean up and finishing getting rid of the rest.
Peter and Zory and Cory came on Wednesday, Janna and family were there on Thursday and they came again on Saturday. Sydney and Colin came on Thursday evening as well as Brant. 53 years worth of accumulation..takes a while to sort out.

Emily and Erin are eight!!

Eight years ago I was blessed with not one but two grand daughters on the same day!! It was an exciting time and they were so much fun to watch grow and learn..and as their Mommy said in her blog..they are two very individual girls. The collage is a picture of each year except this year...there are two..one picture is of their "Little House" outfits and the other showing off their new rain boots and some of their new clothes..

 

Saying good-bye to the home place.

Chris, Mason and I are leaving in the morning for Iowa...we will be meeting up with my brothers and my sister Janna ( Jenae is waiting on a new grand baby!!) to clean up the farm.. It has been sold and we now have to say good-bye. Dad and Mom have lived on this place since March of 1957.

There are many memories for all of us and for all of the grandchildren and even the great-grandchildren. I know my grandchildren will always remember all of Grandpa's cats...they even had their own house! And the last of the cats is now in Sydney's care and living it up!!

Thanks Dad and Mom for caring for us all these years and it is nice to be able to do a little for you in a time when you can no longer do it for yourself.

Learning young!

This a picture of my little helper...the other morning...it keeps he occupied for a few moments!

it's done!

A week ago Chris and I started on their laundry room...it was to be painted John Deere green and yellow and then the top coat of tan that was to crackle....welllll it did not turn out at all....like Alicia said it look really nice in her head...but not on the wall...so we painted it all tan and went from there..the decor is still John Deere.
For a coat rack we used the bottom panel of an old piano and dry brushed it with the green and used the keyboard cover for the shelf. And of course we needed to put some vinyl letters up too.
The bird house was a gift from Chris' folks.

Pretty shoes

Today I got to wear nice shoes to meeting..still am wearing bandages on the toes, but there not much discomfort. Flip flops are still the general wear..but shoes are an option!!

Waited 8 years for this!!

It was eight years ago in January that I lost among other things my piano in a house fire. Not too long ago Alicia asked if I still would like to have one...well for one thing there is no room in my house for one. She said she would not mind it in her living room...so I decided to get one that she knew someone from work had for sale. I played it and it sounds beautiful...now just to practice some so I can play for myself.. Found out that bifocals make it a challenge!!

Come for tea

With Jenae writing about Dad and his immigration..it made me think of some of my things that bring back memories. Grandma Faber always wanted a set of Blue Willow dishes, so when they moved to Kingsley the family got together and bought her a set..later I had some pieces of that set..they were destroyed in the fire in 2002..some have given me some old pieces from elsewhere.. I set my table with some of them and then used the little Dutch girl that Mom had and a teapot that has a note in it that it was Grandma deBoer's teapot for the centerpiece. The napkin rings were some that Mom had too.
Having tea in the mid afternoon was always a custom at Mom and Dad's...Dad needed a cookie or some cheese to go with it. I have some nice memories of having tea with the folks the last days on the farm and in the apartment. We even have had a chance to have tea with them in Sibley.