Still Runnin'

Full is the moon once again.

I'm guilty.

Guilty of not being a better blogger, of late.

Guilty of not responding to your comments.

Guilty of simply being so busy that there was no time to breathe.

My dear and patient followers,

The Retirement Party was wonderful., a great success.

I promise to fill you in more, a bit later, I'm afraid.

Our week since, has been on the road again.

Thurs., we lost a dear, dear lady friend to the dreaded cancer.

Fri. we spent with her loved ones and finished the cooking and baking for Sat.'s party.

Sat, we actually were well enough prepared for the day that we rested.

We visited for hours with many friends and family, co-workers.

It was a perfect day and Bill was so surprised to have so many show up to help him celebrate his milestone. After clearing the last bits, and I mean bits, of food away, we collapsed.

Retirement, so far, has been good.

Sun. we slept in until 8...very unusual for us early-risers of 5 a.m.

Some habits are hard to break...I love the sunrise and Bill loves that first cup of coffee watching it with me.

Back to Sun. By 9:30 company started rolling in to see if they could wake us and start the clean up. We informed them the kids were taking care of it for us. That was a white lie. We just did not want our guests to feel they had to help us clean up our party. The kids did help and we had everything done by noon.

Mon. was our day of rest and thoughts and prayers for our dear friend, Betty or Ms. Betty, as our GrandLoves caller her. Her funeral was 5 hours from here. She knew our hearts were with her as we took care of her little Ginger dog, so Teddy could go to the funeral, having left on Fri. to spend time with her family in MN.

I will miss her so much. We had coffee every morning together. Before she became so ill after fighting cancer and going into remission 3 times, her tiny body just could not take it any longer. I will miss her constant humor, her smile, her laughter, her tears. I will taking long walks with her on sunny afternoons and cool evenings. I will miss her sneaking up on me in my garden and scaring the begeebers out of me. I loved that lil' gal. She was one of a kind and kind she was. She will not be forgotten, our lil' Betty Boop.

On with Tues. I had a doctors appt. a two hours drive south. It was for my dead hand. A couple of dreaded cortisone injections to hopefully find some answers, and another two hours to home. Time will tell us whether or not I will need extensive repair done on my wrist and thumb. It sounds like a rebuilt thumb, at the least.

That brings us to yesterday.

Wed. was a real roadtrippin' day with Mel and Slim. Slimmer had some furs to sell, and we all had friends to see.

First stop was in Rudolph, WI. at the Wisconsin Dairy State Cheese Company where we loaded a cooler half full with many varieties of cheeses and fresh butter.

Did you know that it takes 10 pounds of milk to make 1 pound of cheese? It also takes 21/2 pounds of whole milk to make 1 pound of yellow butter and 12 pounds of milk to make 1 gallon of ice cream. No wonder the average cow needs to eat 90 pounds of feed, and drink a bathtub full of water to produce 5-6 gallons of milk a day. That's enough milk for 80 people to enjoy one-8 ounce glass of milk each day!

Thank You cows.

Next, was to Jacks in Wisconsin Rapids, WI. to sell the furs. While Slim was busy doing that, the rest of us walked around and picked out apple trees to plant. Jack has many side jobs. He's a fur buyer-seller, he loves gardening so he buys and sells fruit trees and shrubs of all kinds for our growing zones, and later the berries and roses. We each came home with another apple tree. Mel got a Wolf River Apple tree and we got a Sweet Sixteen. Now, to find a place to plant them.

Next stop was at the Sportsman's Bar and Grill to meet our friends for another fine visit over burgers and beer. Mine was a Bluecheese Burger and OMG, it was fantastic. The best food and company is always a slam-dunk combination. We were also so happy to see Tom and Sandi at Bill's party. That's a long way to come for a gathering and we loved that they did. On the road again.

This time we took another detour starting home.

We stopped at a hardware store in Redgranite, WI which has discount everything. Slim had orders for fishing baits and tackle. While he filled up on those, Mel and I filled our baskets with everything from paper plates to condiments, a Remington hat and Bone Scull shirt for unbelievable cheap...even socks.

By this time, it's getting on late and hungry.

But not yet. Now to Wausau, WI to Walmart for Aleve. I have a doosy of a headache, backache and my hand feels like a heavy club. Mel's legs are swollen and she can hardly move but we are still having fun with recall of many other trips we've taken together so many years ago.

Finally, FOOD., SUSTENANCE!

Around the curve to Al Mexicali or something like that. They are packed.

Back up out of the crowded parking lot. Around the block, oops we passed the turn to Hong Kong Buffet. Finally, TEXAS ROADHOUSE, we will wait in line if we have to.

We all had the best cuts of Ribeye Steaks and Primed Beef. Have you ever had the Skinny Lime Margarita? Awesome......What a great way to end a great trip with my sister and brother-in-law. It was fun getting together with them again. It's been way too long.

One thing tho, next time we stop at Aldi's and maybe a roadside sale or three....hint. That's what Mel and I love to do....maybe, I will drive next time.

Today, I have another funeral of an old neighbor and friend to attend.

Bill will be attending from the apple orchard. He has a tree to plant and a rototiller to buy. Finally, after all of these years, we are getting a tiller bigger and more sufficient than my little Mantis. I love that thing, but it is Bill's turn, don't you think. After all, he has two gardens and I only have one.

Thanks folks, for listening and taking time out of your busy day to read this jibberish. Have a glorious day.

and

BlessYourHeart