Range of Motion and Total Knee Replacement

Sometimes I experience groin pain in the leg that I had tkr on. Today is one of those mornings. I always lose my range of motion over night and experience some pain in the knee. The only way to help that is to get into the rocking chair and rock. Monday when working out on the bike I did not have a rocking chair to limber in prior to riding. The experience is always painful at first. I have to do some bike rocking by going back and forth and then coming up as high as I can on the bike with the bionic knee. Finally I go backwards and then can go forward but not without pain for the first 10 to 15 rotations.Once in the swing of the rotation, the pain becomes tolerable, I speed up and my leg limbers up. I am waiting for the day when I have no pain, will it ever come?

We live in a split level home which means we are always climbing stairs. Going up is pretty good, coming down is another story. Once I have rocked for a while and/or rode the bike, climbing is much easier. Most things are better though. Walking is no longer a problem and I don't think I limp any more. Range of motion is a huge problem for me. I believe weight, swelling and varicose veins to be a major problem when it comes to managing pain and range of motion following total knee replacement. The day I can put my leg back and comfortably put my foot on the base of a folding chair at church, I will say, yes, success!

I started reading the book The Shack. It sounds like a compelling book.I asked my librarian friend what he has heard about it. He said people either really like it or don't like it at all. I will have to see what I think. I also order the first book in Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series and American Lion (the Andrew Jackson book), which Ardmore is now reading. I read The Host by Stephanie Meyer about a month ago and would highly recommend it to anyone.

Here's hoping for a warmer night. The temperature fell to -23 last night. It was fascinating to see it change on my way home from Roseau at 7 pm. When I left the museum, my car read -13 by the time I had driven about 8 miles it had fallen to -26. We had -22 when I arrived home.

Snow again yesterday

We woke up to snow again yesterday. I thought it was only about a 1/2 inch until I went out to start the car before heading to work, the car had about 3 inches on it. The drive and the road past our house was ok but the road going east 3/4 of a mile from our home was very drifted over. I was really looking forward to getting to highway 89 thinking it would be good, no such luck. The road was totally drifted in and there were only two tracks down the highway all the way to highway 11. It was the worst it has been in many years. The wind must have really blown to drift it in that bad, which means I must have slept well as I never heard it. Everything but the road 3/4 of a mile from our house was plowed when I went home in the evening though.Winter is NOT my favorite time of year!

I will have to finish this later!

Later... made arrangements for Britt and I to stay at a motel in Brookings, SD on Monday and Tuesday night. We have a meeting for the 2010 SITES exhibit Between Fences. Brookings is quite a distance from Roseau, about 400 miles and with the winter we have had, we decided we had better drive during the day only so decided to go down on Monday. I think it is at least a six and a half hour trip if the weather is good and we can't count on good weather so need to allow more time.

It is always enjoyable to go to these meetings. We have plans to visit a couple of museums on the way down and back. We learn something new on exhibit designing every time.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

Well that is what the song says, right? We must have gotten about 4-6 inches this morning and so for the third time this week, Ardmore will crank up the snow blower and head out and do the driveway. Good thing it happened today and not yesterday, we order 2,500 gallons of diesel for the farm yesterday and the fellow had absolutely no problems turning around in our yard. Today would be a different situation; one can't even see the driveway!

I love when we have a heavy snowfall and always have this desire to go out walking, so this morning I did. It is totally different from walking in Hoyt Lakes. When we lived in Hoyt Lakes I would love to go out walking at night when it snowed. The street lights always seemed to be shrouded and there was no wind because of all the houses. Here one is comfortable in their yard but get to the road and it is a totally different story. This morning it was great walking south and I felt warm but the return trip was against the northwest wind and having a scarf around the face was a necessity. I didn't wear my down coat and my legs were cold even though I was dressed for what the weather was like. I had purchased a pair of flannel lined walking pants and wore long underwear, still not enough. My bionic knee was a little cold too so I put on my flannel pjs when I got in. It is a little stiff now.

Yesterday, I decided to go swimming at AmericInn. It felt wonderful, the hot tub limbered me up so I was ready for exercising in the pool. I followed the swimming protocol set up in the Total Knee Replacement & Rehabilitation book. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is undergoing tkr, it has the best exercises and techniques to get one's knee rehabilitated. I am going on my sixth month and can say the process is long and requires a lot of work. Riding a stationary bike is another important thing to do. I rock in a rocking chair a lot and bring my foot back as far under the rocker. Rocking really helps prior to going on the bike. It limbers the knee.

After the driveway was cleaned out, I went for another walk. It had gotten a bit colder by that time but I wore my down coat and that kept me warmer on the legs. I enjoy walking but sometimes it is just too cold to go far.

Thought for the Day
I have had lots of things to do this weekend and am reminded of the saying "don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today."

2009 Christmas is a past event

It was a very quiet Christmas this year. Ardmore and I were "home alone." We did have the full fledged dinner and we opened our gifts in the afternoon on Christmas day. I think I actually enjoyed the peacefulness of the day after all the busyness of work over the past several weeks.

Today is warm enough, 25 this morning, and swimming sounds good. It has been so cold lately that I have stayed away from the pool and have been working out at LifeCare therapy instead.

I have a problem and would like some help. I have a great assistant at work. I decided to give her a gift at Christmas as a way of showing appreciation. Two days later she reciprocated with a gift to me. I didn't want her to do this as I feel she felt obligated. How does one handle a situation like this? I think, perhaps, I should have given her this at a different time, not the holidays, then she would have no reason to feel she had to reciprocate. Perhaps I answered my own question.

James and Michelle's family spent Christmas at Michelle and Dave's. It sounds like they had a wonderful time. They said Damien is walking very well now and was too busy to even stop and eat. He is like the energizer bunny, he just keeps going and going and going. I couldn't help but laugh at Breanne the other day when she told me she thought he was ADD. I just think he is a little boy who is very enthralled with all the things he sees. Imagine life when you first become aware of new things, it must be almost overwhelming! They all think he is adorable, and of course, he must be. James took several photos and videos of their time together and will download them. I can hardly wait to see them.

Breakfast is calling, I am eating candy and surely don't need to eat that! A turkey sandwich with mayo and lots of lettuce is calling!

Lazy Snowfall

This morning we woke up to another snowy day.About a week ago, we receive an agriculture magazine that predicted snow every few days for the next month. This is definitely the case. Ardmore blew out the yard with the snow blower yesterday and it looks like he will be doing it again. So far about 2 inches have fallen and it continues to fall.

There is an endless list of things to do at work and I am picking at it one at a time. Here I thought I would go out to California the first part of January and my staff reminded me that we had a Between Fences meeting January 6 and 7. I will have to change my plans to the middle of January. We start working on the exhibits for Woman's History Month sometime after the first of the year and my staff can do quite a bit so I should be able to go for a while.

Christmas is just two days away. I really would like to go out to California for Christmas but will make that a priority for next year. Ardmore does not like to leave our house in the winter. He fears frozen pipes, etc so I go alone. I have a wonderful time when I go though as there are so many things the grandchildren and I do when I am there. I think we went to about 5 movies the last time I went.

Last night I went to see Four Christmases. Can't say how I would rate it. It was about four dysfunctional families. Fairly amusing but a little over the top. Perhaps a 5 or 6. I enjoy Christmas movies, they get me in the spirit so look forward to the new ones each year. There always seems to be one that focuses on dysfunctional families. I prefer Home Alone, the Santa Claus, etc. as this type of humor is easier to handle.

Saturday, Ahhh...

What do you do with your Saturday's if you work outside of the home? Saturday is always a day to do some cleaning no matter if you want to or not. Today will be a cookie baking day with some cleaning and resting, and getting my Primary schedule ready to be sent off.

This was supposed to be the week I went to St. Cloud to a meeting but after the snow on Wednesday I had some "road fear". There was talk of icy spots and I don't like icy roads so I opted not to go. I sent my list of things we discussed about the amendment that just passed instead. I hope that they are added to the list of ideas as they weren't just my ideas.

So that meant I could put up the tree and do some decorating, right? Wrong! My right hand person was sick on Wednesday, Thursday I had our volunteers doing a project and needed to have that accomplished, Friday my right hand person was still sick and so I headed to work.

Well we did get the tree up last night. I was disappointed in finding out that some of my lights were not working. This is a tree that has the lights on it already so we had to hang some in that area. Then I love red lights on the tree too so I put on three other strands of red lights on. I looked at it again this morning and added additional decorations to the areas where there it looked a little bare. No light and motion on the tree this year. First time in about twenty years I will put them someplace else with a garland instead.

Are you a reader? If so here is a game for you to play:

* Grab the book nearest you. Right now. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence. "Sometimes finding the right balance is relatively easy."
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
Haven't read enough of the book to add a couple of other sentences.
*Post a link along with your post back to this blog.
http://lovethejourney.blogspot.com/ Friday 56
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Now if you like book blogs here is an excellent book ring: http://bookblogs.ning.com/

Thought for the Day
Cock-crow at Christmas
(from Hamlet)
by William Shakespeare

Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated,
The bird of dawning singeth all night night long;
And then, they say, no spirits can walk abroad;
The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,
So hallow'd and so gracious is the time.

A Christmas Treasury of Yuletide Stories & Poems
Edited by James Charlton & Barbara Gilson

Dinner on Wednesday

I decided that I was hungry for something good with lots of vegetables tonight. I don't do a lot of cooking any more. When I get home from work, Ardmore tells me he is not hungry because he has been eating all day! Go figure, retired and winter, what does he do?

Well I cut up two chicken breasts into bite size pieces, cubed a green pepper and chopped an onion,and some carrots, added a little OO to the pan and put the vegies on one side and chicken on the other and sauteed them. Seasoned the chicken with stir fry seasoning and Chinese 5 spice and everything with salt and pepper. After they were done, you add about 2 cups of fresh broccoli and cauliflower and cover for about three minutes. Take a can of Swanson's chicken broth, add 2 tbsp corn starch and some soy sauce, blend and add to mixture,continue cooking and stirring frequently until it starts to thicken. Add about a cup of fresh spinach and turn off the skillet. Check and stir every once in a while. I served it over Jasmine rice. One could add celery, garlic, and mushrooms. I was too lazy to go chop more or downstairs to the pantry for mushrooms. It is good and of course, healthy!

I finally got our computer camera to work and was able to visit with James face to face on Skype. I called Ardmore down to talk too. Needless to say, he was impressed. James had just moved to a house and took the camera around and gave us a tour. Fun!

Michelle is in finals week, we have had a couple of short phone visits. So far she said it as gone fairly well. She has quite a bit of things that need to be done during this week so I don't call her, just let her call me.

Little Damen is walking more and more now. Breanne said he is also starting to talk. I can imagine what a talker he is going to be when he starts. He loves to hear his voice and will suddenly start screaming to hear the sound of it. I really feel like I am missing so much by not being there but at least we can call and talk. Now if I could only get them to have a camera for Josh's computer we could talk face to face.:>)

Yesterday I went to see my os. I have been having some problems with my hip on the side that I had the knee replaced. He said it is bursitis. He also felt I was doing too much.I would be so bored if I didn't do the things I do. He then said I had to make a choice, either slow down or accept the pain. Humm. Everything was in good shape otherwise, which was very good to be told. Well not quite true, he did tell me my other knee was bone on bone, but I am not going there as I don't have any pain to speak of.

Monday, the start of new week

Yesterday the Roseau Public Library held its annual Christmas Treasures. The Library Friends put it on and do such a great job. I am always impressed with how many people volunteer to help. I wonder if they specifically ask people or do the people just step to the plate and volunteer? It is always so classy. They opened the evening with the strings group. I can't remember the name but they are all women, their group name has something to do with Hope, I think. Several readings were presented and the Roseau High School special Choir, The Eclipse sang three songs and the HS Jazz band played three songs. The attendance was outstanding considering how hard it was snowing. We must have gotten a couple of inches during the afternoon. It now looks like winter.

I worked only half a day today and decided to take the rest of the week off. I have a doctor appointment in Grand Forks tomorrow and then a meeting in St. Cloud on Thursday evening. I have worked so much lately and have way too much vacation and comp time so need to take some of it.

Ardmore and I talked about where to put the Christmas light strings and he wanted to do our evergreens in the front yard so I agreed. He put one string on today and will put another on tomorrow. He had spent most of the afternoon banking the well house with snow and didn't want to put more than one set of lights on today, said he will finish it tomorrow. They look so festive!

Thought for the Day
If you could live any where in the world for one year, where would it be?
I would love to live on an island in the South Pacific. A place where the weather is always moderate, lots of beautiful sandy beaches to walk and lay on plus the ocean to swim in. I would want to have my family there too, so we could all enjoy the restfulness of that one year. I guess, I want some peace and calmness in my life! How about you?

Saturday, at last...

This morning I woke up at 4:00; what does one do at 4? Well, when you have tkr, you rock in the rocking chair and sometimes go on the stationary bike. You go get a cup of herbal tea and read a bit while rocking, of course. Then when the tea is done and you still aren't ready to sleep you go to the kitchen, pick a cupboard and clean it out. Now that should be enough for a day even! But, sleep was still evasive. I went back to the family room, filled the Christmas candy dish with both plain and peanut red and green M&Ms and red and green jelly candy. Seems this year we just can't get enough of those. I am not home during the week much, but when I “check” the candy dish there is always some missing. Perhaps we have trolls in the house. One knows how much trouble Trolls are. I couldn't blame the disappearing candy on Ardmore, could I?
Oh, back to the sleepless in Minnesota person...I discovered that I purchased a white strand of lights in a tote in my room. I had already alternated red and green lights so I set about changing three 25-foot light strands so they would be red, green, white, etc. By the time I had finished that, I decided enough was enough; it was 6:30 am, so I headed back to bed and feel instantly to sleep and slept until 9.
It was cold this morning, -1F at 9:30 am. I had to plug in the car to drive to Roseau later. Yes, I said plug in the car. In Minnesota we have block heaters on our cars so they start easier in the winter. They have an electrical plug on them that we plug into an extension cord.
After being out and shoveling off the walk too, I decided I might as well go for a walk. As I headed down the driveway I felt like I was walking on a million diamonds with each step. It had snowed about an inch the day before (about time). Sometime during that evening it had cleared off and when I went out the sun was dazzling off the snow, thus the diamonds. Beautiful sight! The trees were also decorated with the fresh snow so everything looked so white and clean. By the time I got back to the house, I was hungry; after all I had been up 1/3 of the night! We had omelets with ham, green peppers, and onions topped with cheese. Yum!
Yesterday was Ardmore's 74th birthday. Where has the time gone? Each of our children called to give him birthday greetings. Even our granddaughter Breanne called, her grandpa was delighted!
I didn't do much work for the rest of the day, but I did go swimming and to the grocery store. I really feel that is enough for a day off from work!

Thought for the day
Saturday is a day for remembering. I remember going to my grandparent's house in Eveleth during the winter. The house was a big rambling house with a dining room between the kitchen and the living room. Perhaps my aunts' and uncles' would say, it wasn't that big Charleen, but to me it was as a child. One of my favorite memories is walking into the house in the winter and hearing my aunts harmonizing at the piano. All of the Rosses have great voices and could harmonize together. At our family reunion in 2007, we were treated to those great voices once again. Memories are the best parts of life.
What is your favorite memory of winter at your grandparents home?

Where we are today

STS arrived at the museum at about 10:30 am unexpectedly. Very pleasant surprise. The leader and I are good friends and he had to show me his new grandchild. Pretty cute baby boy and proud grandpa!
Then the crew went to work... They took everything out of a wardrobe that we wanted dismantled and put it in boxes so our volunteers could sort, catalog the numbers, and rebox the items. then they dismantled it. They also put away all the Christmas decorations that we no longer were going to use this year.
Which reminds me, I need to put up my Christmas tree and decorations. Now it so cold I will have to wait a bit. It was 11 above F when Mickie and I went for lunch today, too cold to go out and put up anything. Brrr!
My camera is up and running now after a day of struggling to see why it wouldn't show on the other end of Skype. I had worked with the MN Humanities Center so we could talk with theie board members on Friday but we couldn't get it to work. Then I called a friend who it an IT designer at Digikey in Thief River Falls this evening. He got me up and going. They will be very pleased to hear that. Some people can do some amazing things, he is one of these people.

Sweet, Sweet Success!

After all the hard work designing and installing exhibits this past month or so, then having a resident bring a beautiful restored 1930 Model A Ford in for exhibition, and putting together the traveling exhibit, Traveling Through Time in Minnesota's Historic NW, Britt and I had the joy of seeing others enjoy and comment positively on exhibits. One of the board members had put together a great program for the evening and the potluck dinner was delish. I can't say we feel the exhibits are totally done right now but they will be in a couple of weeks.
One of the trials of putting together the ship immigration exhibit was finding items that the people would have kept with them and not put into storage while on board the steamer. I have search the internet for this info and can't find anything. Tonight I decided to call one of our social study teachers, Arron Nelson, who incidentally is Roseau High School's Teacher of this Year. He and I brainstormed and now have some ideas. Museum staff will need to contact the schools around us and inform them that we have this traveling exhibit and invite them to bring in their students.We never run out of things to do.
Breanne called today and we visited a couple of times. She said Damen is now walking. Well walking about 4 steps just to get to the nearest thing to hang onto and walk around. I wish they had a camera so I could see him and talk to them.
I purchased a camera about a month ago but haven't used it yet. I am not sure how to but will know tomorrow. On Friday I am attending a Minnesota Humanities board of directors meeting via Skype so will need to be familiar enough with using the camera by then to be able to answer a few questions. This is all in conjunction with our last Smithsonian SITES exhibit, Key Ingredients: America by Food. We will be having another SITES exhibit, Between Borders in the spring of 2010. We are excited to be able to have these exhibits.
It seems we have several things coming up in the way of exhibits. Our wonderful volunteer Woman's History Month program committee has been organizing upcoming exhibits and programs for March 2009.
My tkr knee seems to be a little better today. Last night I woke up at 3 with a terrible back ache on that side. After an hour, I went upstairs and did several exercises and ended with about 15 Bridge exercises. That amazingly took care of the back pain and it hasn't bother since. I also had a massage this afternoon and that always helps.

Thought for the Day
The Christmas holidays have this high value:
that they remind Forgetters of the Forgotten,

& repair damaged relationships.
Mark Twain - letter to Carlotte Welles, 30 December 1907

Challenging Week

This is the week to answer a few questions from mmadness.com

1. What was your biggest challenge this past week? Striving to get exhibits ready for an upcoming exhibit
2. What was your biggest accomplishment this past week? Seeing things come together!
3. What was the most exciting thing that happened in your life this past week? Having James call from Taiwan. there is so much craziness in the world right now, India has these terrible terrorist attacks, the stock market is like a roller coaster, up and down as well as the commodity market, hearing his voice and knowing he is having a safe and great time made me feel very good.
4. What one thing made you the happiest this past week? Having a quiet Thanksgiving and not having to leave home. JUST VEG!

Must go, final things to do at the museum, big day is tomorrow!

Quality Time with the Hubby

The past three weeks have been more than a little crazy at work. We are trying to get our exhibits ready for this coming Sunday and the grand opening of our Traveling through Time in Minnesota's Historic NW traveling exhibit. We have redone several exhibits in the museum and are only about 1/3 done. I took three posters I designed today up to Polaris for the walls on a Sno-Mo-Cade exhibit. There is so much still to do that I know it isn't going to get done but we definitely have made a running start. But... all this work means late nights at the museum and not a lot of quality time with Ardmore.
Last night the guilt set in and I decided we would have to find some time to spend together so I pulled our our church magazine, the Ensign, and we took turns reading two articles, the First Presidency message was wonderful, then we read one about sharing what we have with those who are struggling. Tonight we did the same thing, read two stories bother were excellent and motivational.
We also listened to a couple periods of the Roseau Girls' High School hockey game, which they won after playing a very challenging game against Bemidji. The game ended with a score of 5-3 in favor of Roseau. Roseau has not lost a game so fare so it was good for them to play a team that worked hard to show they could play hockey too. I am going to have to start going to the girls' games, they are very good and destined to the state tourney's in March. Go Rams Go!

Movies and the weekend

One of my favorite things to do it to watch movies on the weekend. This started when I was about five when my mother took me to my first movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. We lived ten miles out of Eveleth Minnesota in a location called Leonidas, so at that time we rode the train into Eveleth to see movies.That was when families didn't own two cars. We went often but I think my favorite at that time was Cecil B. DeMille's 1952 movie The Greatest Show On Earth starring Betty Hutton, Cornell Wilde, Charlton Heston, and Dorothy Lamour and perhaps, the greatest clown ever to grace the big top, Emmett Kelly. The story was like magic to a young girl of eight. The trapeze acts were outstanding and, of course, there was the love story. That was the beginning of a life long enjoyment. Now I order movies through Netflix, which is great as I don't always have time to watch them from beginning to end at one time. It is also a great past time when I am exercising the tkr on the stationary bike.
This weekend I watched two movies, Amazing Grace is about the life of antislavery pioneer William Wilberforce. It takes place in the late 1700s. This morning I finished watching Two Weeks, about the death of a mother with cancer and how the children handle the last two weeks of her live. this one stars Sally Fields and made a person think about how they would want their children to handle their death if they were placed in the same circumstances.
Other than that the weekend was spend working. Saturday I went to the museum and worked on the installation of the carpentry exhibit. There is sure a lot to do this coming week! I am going to leave it right there.

On a light note

Today was a day to accomplish many little things such as go to the bank, complete a couple of exhibit signs, and enjoyed a Cenex cream cheese topped cinnamon roll during coffee break. If you have not had one of these, you must try one. They truly are yummy!
The exhibit painting has come a long way and tomorrow the floor will be painted on one and we can put the exhibit together. I need to locate a piece of old green or gray canvas to make into a tent for the American Indian exhibit. I will be happy to see that one painted too. I need to get the Sno-Mo-Cade photos enlarged for the background and also paint the exhibit walls. I made arrangements to have a classic car cleaned at Ford today. It will be on exhibit over the winter. I wonder where it was purchased, maybe locally?
James flew to Taiwan early this morning to visit a young woman he has been conversing with on the Internet. I always find this to be interesting. Ardmore and I were in each other's company for months before we developed enough love to marry, now days with email and Internet visits via camera, relationships develop in a whole new way and often lead to marriage. Some marriages work, others don't. I hope that whatever relationship he develops, it will be good.
Busy day again tomorrow, time for shut eye.

Weekend View

Yesterday we started out going to Bismarck but the roads were so icy that we decided we would go home and try again in December. We had really looked forward to going to the temple and felt quite put out about the icy roads. Perhaps if we would have driven on the conditions would have improved but it was misting and the temp was at 28, not good for driving.
In the end, it was probably for the best. I had been very stiff and after the 6 hour ride who knows what my condition would have been. Last evening I went for a walk to our neighbors. They don't come north very often (live in Mound, MN) and I hadn't been there in about two years. We had a very enjoyable visit and Vivian was pleased to have the company. It was dark by the time I was going to head home, so called Ardmore to come and get me. Went for another long walk today, used two canes. Some times I do that, especially when I have had some back pain like I did this morning.
Breanne sent the cutest photo of Josh and Damen. I am going to put it right here. Isn't Damen's smile adorable?

Museum Musings among other things

Each day seems to see us progress a little more. Yesterday we had our two faithful Thursday volunteers in. I call them the "Sister Chicks." They work so well together and are the delight of my Thursday. I decided it was time to treat our staff, Marie, and the Sister Chicks to pizza so ordered two pizzas from Pizza Ranch. I love that they deliver, it is so convenient! One of these wonderful volunteers remarked later about how much fun it was, and it was fun.
It was so busy that I forgot to send in my article to the newspaper. Sometimes I need a list that pops up and reminds me of what needs to be done every five minutes. Who would ever think working in a museum could be that busy, but it is.
Our registration room has four tables with items from exhibits that need to be put away, given back to the owner, or cataloged. That, of course, does not include the items that are on the ongoing list of "things to be cataloged". It is so nice to have volunteers do the regular things that need doing such as the membership mailings. Membership reminders are sent out monthly and come back throughout the month. We send need thank you notes and membership renewal cards. Kudos to those wonderful volunteers. If you volunteer for us or any museum for that matter, kudos and thank you!
I worry about our young couples today. My granddaughter's husband works as a superintendent for a home construction company in California. They have laid off individuals two times in the past year and he has been transferred to other home construction sites. I feel relieved every time this happens, but also wonder about the life of the person who lost their job. Will the recession deepen? I hope not, but when I hear that another 36,000 individuals lost their jobs , I think there is a reason to worry.
I have tried to encourage our granddaughters to look into a position in the medical field. Neither of them finds this to be very interesting but I feel that if they were to try it they might be surprised. We have an aging population and medical care is one of the fields that is solid.
A little about my tkr now. For the past three days I have decided not to ice after doing any exercises. I have not noticed any additional swelling or pain and discomfort than what I had before. I also noticed that I don't have as much pain coming down the stairs anymore, in fact, today I was even able to carry a cup of milk downstairs without spilling any, a major feat! Usually I would put my cup on the stairs so I could use both hands to go down, now I only needed to use the railing. Success comes in small degrees. I do find that rocking in the rocking chair and then riding the stationary bike is my salvation for less pain and more range of motion.
A friend blogger with tkr, Marie, is at 8 month mark from her surgery. She records her struggles with her range of motion and stiffness. It seems we women suffer more with stiffness than the men do. Perhaps it has to do with our hormonal structure. Whatever it is, it seems that exercise is the key and that it takes about a year or so to fully recover.
Today we are on our way to Bismarck, ND on a temple trip. I wonder how I will be after driving 6 hours?
Fall is such a great time to get good tasty apples. My favorite is the Honey Crisp. Lately I have had an apple a day and use the following dip:
3 tbsp caramel
3 tbsp dark chocolate chips
2 tbsp of crushed toffee (Heath crumbles in the chocolate chip section)
Warm the caramel for 30 seconds, stir in the chocolate chips until smooth and add the toffee, dip in an apple slice and enjoy!

Thought for the Day
If we do not lay out ourselves in the service of mankind whom should we serve?
Abigail Adams

I admire Abigail, during the many absences of her husband, John Adams when he was working with the Continental Congress or as a diplomat in Europe, Abigail managed the farm and family finances. She expected the new nation to "remember the ladies", and look where we are today!

Volunteers

It is amazing what a volunteer can do in just a few hours! Yesterday, one of our volunteers arrived at about 10 and worked until 1. She removed labels and took off the adhesives on the backs so they could be reused. She cleared out exhibit items and cleaned out the cases. Volunteers are such an essential part of the museum. At this time, we have several volunteers working on an upcoming exhibit for Women's History Month in March 2009. It will be the first time we honor women in our county and I can see a real value in their service. Yesterday several educators were compiling the names of former rural school teachers. It was gratifying to see how they are so dedicated and organized. It reminds me of how much could actually be accomplished if we had two volunteer every day of the week for several hours. We could do so much more. One of the areas we need volunteers for at the present time is for designing programs for both school and off-site. There is so much more we can do for our county residents, schools, and organizations. I wish I had someone who could put together PowerPoint programs from our photographs and artifacts that could be used for programs off-site and in the museum.

Today we will have preschoolers come for a tour. They will be shown the dairy info and a short video about we get milk. The internet is a wonderful place to find information like this and we can do so much with it.

We worked on the exhibits yesterday. Britt painted while I designed posters. We have such a short period of time to finish the exhibits it is overwhelming, but I have faith we will get them done.

Time to rest again...

Veteran's Day

I always think of my dad when Memorial or Veteran's Days roll around. My dad served during WWII and although he never spoke very much about his service time, the few times he did, left an impression. One of the times he would talk about was when he was in France on the front lines. One dark night, they were in their fox holes waiting out the night when one of the soldiers behind him lit a cigarette. This was like a flare going off for the enemy and suddenly they were under fire. My dad told of how he lost some of his best buddies that night. All because one person decided he had to have that crazy cigarette! Often in our lives, it is the things that we do without thinking of the consequences or outcome that are our downfall. That circumstance was one of those times.
Our prayers must be for the leaders of our young men and women who are serving in areas of dispute now, such as Iraq and Afghanistan. I was listening to a former military Lieutenant on CSPAN tell of his time serving in Iraq. He spoke of how they were unsure of how to handle Iraq following the initial attack and what looked like an immediate win and how it has taken years to get to the situation where we can actually now see some progress. I feel that we are progressing only because they are hoping to have us leave their country. Now that Obama is in what will the result be? How long will be remain and what will the end result really be like.
Shopping
Today I went to Grand Forks to look for a winter coat. I wanted a coat that would be long enough so that if I wanted to walk when it was 10 - 20 below F I wouldn't feeze too much. I found a down coat at Eddie Bauer. That of course, didn't end the shopping day. I went to Target and Bath and Body and stocked up on toiletries. Picked up some winter gloves and a head cover that will keep me warm during the walks I plan to take. Then I headed for the Jelly Belly section and stocked up on about 15 different flavors. Ardmore and I are going to the temple in Bismarck this week so I thought it would be fun to have a treat for the road.
Tomorrow
Busy day at the museum again tomorrow. The art class is coming in to check the painting job I hope they will do. We also need to paint a couple of the other display areas and get the bunk stained. We have taken several of the exhibits apart so now need to get them together again. I called a noted military artifact collector in hopes he would exhibit some of his wonderful collection. He has collected WWII items for many years and has a fine collection. We don't have long to get our act together so we best get hopping!
Total Hip and Knee Replacement
I was thinking of the many things that have improved since I have had the two surgeries 9 and 4 months ago.
1. It is much easier to climb in and out of the car.
2. My back pain is not as bad as it was, although now I seem to have more pain on the opposite side.
3. My stamina is improving daily.
4. I can sleep without the awful pain I had before the hip surgery.
5. The trip to Grand Forks went well. I was able to walk for about two and a half hours back and forth across the mall, many times as I went to at least 10 stores for one reason or another. Super Target, I decided, was too much for my knee to handle as I didn't know where things were and knew I would give up before I got everything I needed.
6. Driving long distances don't bother me as much as they did before, Bismarck will be a real trial run though.
7. Exercising gets easier each day.

Repair Time

Winter is repair time on most farms and ours is no different. On Friday, Ardmore took off one of the drill's press wheel tires and spend most of yesterday afternoon and evening working on putting back on. He is still not done. In order to do this job, he had to remove the gang from the drill and go from there. This is a difficult job for one person to do alone. He should be done tomorrow though.
We escaped the snow that so many received this past week. It was reported that Dead Wood South Dakota had 44 inches of snow. I saw on weather underground that Rapid City had 7.29 inches of precipitation. That would be equal to a lot of snow! And here we are in northern Minnesota with the green grass still open. There will be no snowmobiles running here for some time.

Woke up to the sound of wind and rain again. Yesterday it rained off and on all day today will be more of the same. With the wet weather, we had STS in yesterday helping us rearrange the exhibit cases for our new exhibits. I think it looks very nice and I think the platforms are a great asset. The last of the wall panels was put on yesterday and now the class is going to cut paneling for the bases of the exhibits. It is going to look very nice. We have an art class coming in next week to check out the American Indian exhibit background and see what they can do with it to make it look like a photo we have. We have lots of work to do prior to getting the exhibits completed, but yesterday we came a long way.
My knee has been very stiff and sore since yesterday. Perhaps a bit of weather relationship. I also seem to be having some problems with the groin and hip area, it felt like my leg was going to give out last night. This is all puzzling.
As my friends know, I follow several blogs, one of these is a blog called The Daily Bitch which is writing by a mom with twins, one of whom is disabled. She recommended a great mom's website called Advice for Moms which always seems to have great ideas for family life. So my young friends if you are looking to good advice, this is the place to find it!
Thought for the Day
I will teach you the good and the right way. 1 Samuel 12:23

New U.S. President

After receiving 52% of the votes and 378 electoral votes, Barack Obama, is our new president and his wife, Michelle is first lady. We will also have little children running the halls of the White House, once again. This is the first African American to be elected as president and definitely a historic moment.
I will express my frustration at seeing McCain loss but I also had some trepidation about his choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate. From the first time I listened to her speak, I became worried about his judgment. With Hilary Clinton no longer on a ticket, did he think we must have a woman (any woman) and that would get him elected as president? I have nothing against Palin except her lack of world politics and leadership. If McCain wanted a woman, perhaps he should have looked for one that was a US Senator or Representative. As it is the republicans are out the door of the White House for at least 4 perhaps 8 years. AS things have transpired in this election, she has done several things that have caused me to wonder. One of these is her acceptance of a phone call with a Canadian comedian. I do take offense that when the press got wind of this they complained that McCain should have had more control over this incident, then compared it to Obama having received a call like that. Why wasn't she compared to Biden, after all she was not the presidential candidate.
We also now have legislature that is DFL affiliated. There is no balance of power which means the republicans will have to learn real fast how to reach across the aisle and shake hands if they want any of their policies passed. Perhaps this is all for the best... Maybe, just maybe some work can be accomplished. We will see.
I do not believe that Obama will get all the "changes" he wants, we live in a realistic world, not an idealistic world. Money is always a factor and right now money is a great factor. Congress must figure out a way to balance the budget and it can't be done without raising taxes. Like my husband said the other day, we paid more taxes under the Clinton administration than we ever had. To expound on that, where did the tax funds go during his years? We had a cut back in military spending, which put us in a precarious position as a nation, thus 9/11. Enough said. I will support our president and our government, because it is necessary and the best thing to do. United we stand, divided we fall...or is it fail??

D-Day for McCain and Obama

Today is the day many of us have been waiting for, either with a relief that we won't have any more political campaigning taking up the air waves or with the relief that they can finally cast their ballot for their favorite candidate.


Our township decided to vote by mail so we received our ballot about a month ago and have already voted. It was quick and easy and in the mail box before we knew it. Several states have allowed for advanced voting and lines were long yesterday. I am curious as to whether everyone will have the opportunity to vote this time. If the lines are as long as they appear to be, we will have some unhappy people. Then again, once the tally is done, people will either be happy or unhappy with whoever wins.


One of the advantages of living in the US is this wonderful right to a vote your conscience and not have anyone force you. We will have some voting irregularities but that is just a part of voting in any election. Since the 2002 election, the US has tried to implement practices that will eliminate voter fraud but this will still continue to be a part of any election.


I spend a lot of time rocking in a rocking chair prior to going on the exercise bike. This warms my knee and increases the range of motion. I haven't had much time to go swimming lately, we have been harvesting our soybeans. I miss swimming and will be starting again in a couple of days.


We finally had nice enough weather to do that. It is very wet in our fields and we had to leave about 3-4 acres as we can't go there. Ardmore decided to put a load of soybeans on the truck yesterday while it was in the field. He has been doing this. i had parked it a little farther from the road and he ended up with it sinking and had to get the tractor to pull it our. That was the first and only time we have been totally stuck this year. We are done combining for the year! Hooray! Couldn't be soon enough either, it is suppose to start raining again tomorrow and then snowing. We had one of the warmest days since 1903 yesterday, it was 70 in Roseau. Today is suppose to be nice also then the cold is suppose to arrive. We will be in the teens in the morning by Saturday. Brrr!

The fifth day of the week, Thursday, tomorrow is Friday!

What makes Thursday so special? Is it because it comes before Friday? Is it because the week is half over on Thursday? Whatever the reason, today is special because it is today!

Yesterday I returned to pt for more ultra sound on my tkr. It really does help although I really had a double dose of care due to going for a massage afterwards. I almost fell asleep during the massage. I had more pain that I have had for a long time during the massage. Perhaps I haven't been taking care to give myself massages lately. I felt so much better after Pam was done.

During PT, my therapist did some stretching along my scar and showed me how to do it myself. She said it would help to stretch the scar and make it more pliable. I am three and a half months out now and hope that this will help with the knee stiffness and pain. I even took a 1/2 hour after lunch to go work out on the machines for 15 minutes. It helped some.

Wth walls and dividers are all up on the exhibit platforms. We have only to put the plywood walls on the south wall and it will be done. Now comes the painting. Our staff will have to do some real planning for this to work out right.

FIVE THINGS I LOVE ABOUT THURSDAY

1. The fact that tomorrow will be Friday.
2. I tend to feel more relaxed on Thursday.
3. People set goals to have finished by Friday so Thursday is good.
4. My newspaper column is finished and sent to the papers.
5. I sleep better on Thursday night.

That's all folks...

What is so great about Today?

I thought it is 7:15 when I awoke this am but it was only 6:15. By the time I had checked the clock, I had already wandered upstairs and decided to boil eggs. Here I could have tried to sleep another hour. As it was I had a backache and decided I needed to take care of it so stayed home.

What do you do when you decide to stay home from work? After a couple hours of trying to take care of the back pain, it finally subsided so I took the laptop upstairs and baked a batch of monster cookies and worked on some exhibit things that were haunting me. It is so easy to work at home, no interruptions, no noise, and total devotion to the job at hand!

At one-thirty I was on my way back to work with cookies in hand for the Roseau HS shop class who have been putting up our exhibit platforms. We used a platform design method from the Wisconsin Historical Society that we were shown at a consortium workshop a couple of years ago. The platforms went together very well, and the shop teacher told me how we could improve them if we make more. It is wonderful to have such a great group of young people to work with. They are polite and conscientious and they are almost done with the project!

When I came home this evening Ardmore was in the field combining. It is such a slow business. I could see where he had gone into an area and had to back out as he almost was stuck. He was only able to take off about 200 bushels of soybeans, but that is 200 more than we had this morning. It is suppose to be warmer tomorrow so he should get some more off.

Today being the middle of the week I decided to put in a favorite childhood poem. When our children were young, like most parents, I derived a great deal of pleasure reading to them.
Because of their short attention spans and the rhyming and rhythm of poetry, it was the first reading material I introduced to them. I also liked to use poems that taught them something besides just reading learning to listen, although one must learn to listen before they can listen to learn.

A.A. Milne was one of our favorite authors so for this Wednesday I choose Vespers.

Vespers

Little Boy kneels at the foot of the bed,
Droops on the little hands little golden head.
Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers.

God bless Mummy. I know that's right.
Wasn't it fun in the bath tonight?
The cold's so cold, and the hot's so hot.
Oh! God bless Daddy -I quite forgot.

If I open my fingers a little bit more,
I can see Nanny's dressing-gown on the door,
it's a beautiful blue, but it hasn't a hood.
Oh! God bless Nanny and make her good.

Mine has a hood, and I lie in bed,
And pull the hood right hover my head,
And I shut my eyes, and I curl up small
And nobody knows that I'm there at all.

Oh! thank you, God, for a lovely day.
And what was the other I had to say?
I said "Bless Daddy," so what can it be?
Oh! Now remember. God bless me.

Little Boy kneels at the foot of the bed,
Droops on the little hands little golden head.
Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers.

-from When We Were Very Young

That is my thought for the day!

Frosty morn

This morning was frosty and I had to use the windshield wash on the car. How easy it is to just run the whippers to clear the window. I know the time will come when freezing and shivering, I will be scrapping snow from the windows. I can never figure out why there isn't enough room in three shops to put my car!

Yesterday morning, the blue jays were scouting our back yard. One landed in a spruce tree right outside the kitchen window while I was washing dishes. What a beautiful contrast he made against the evergreen.

Time is running out...

With nine days left until election, everyone should have their mind made up as to who they will vote in as our next president, either John McCain or Barack Obama. I am amazed at the amount of campaign money Obama has raised, over $150 million, the most any presidential candidate has ever raised. My next question, how has he done it and who are the contributors? Election night is going to be very interesting this year. I vote for my party platform, and I am conservative so I am a republican. I have voted across party line though in my district if I feel the man has the needs of our area at the center of his convictions. I am a McCain-Palin supporter.

I have been trying several new techniques to improve my range of motion. One is to do more squats at a counter going deeper each time and moving my feet back farther each time as I bend into the squat. I also stop on each step when going down the stairs and bend down my good foot with my bad foot on the upper step. This pushes the range of motion in my knee a little farther. Icing after doing any type of exercise that really exerts the knee is the best thing I can do after as it helps relieve swelling and pain.

I finally finished reading The Host by Stephenie Meyer. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in life after deaf from a science fiction take. Although it was a long book, over 600 pages, I breezed through it in a week. Meyer is a Brigham Young University graduate and has several young fiction books that are very popular with the youth. I have one of them at home right now and plan to read it eventually. I have several books that I want to read right now but find that time is hard to come by without letting something else slide.

The kids were in from the shop class on Thursday and Friday and did some more work on the platforms. I think they will finish the project this coming week. I am going to contact an art teacher and see if she has some students who would be willing to assist us in paining the platforms, one for a Native American exhibit and the other for an immigration exhibit. Lots to do and think about this next month.

We have sure seen commodities drop in price the past two months. Oils is not in the upper $60 range and grains are tumbling right along with them. It was sure strange to pay only $14 for gas on Friday when I would have paid $35 about two months ago. Feels good though.

Later

After almost getting stuck five time, Ardmore decided one hopper was enough. The forecast is for showers tonight and tomorrow, then snow showers on Monday. Hopefully they aren't too bad and we can get some more soybeans off.

Back to my walk. My back has been bothering me off and on all week so today I decided to use two canes when I walked. About half way to the bridge I ditched them beside the road and walked about 1/2 a mile. When I got back to where they were, I was glad I had them, my back started to ache as well as my knee. I immediately iced it when I got in the house. I had not taken a pain pill since early morning and then only half of a 350 mg. I should have taken one about a half hour prior to going on my walk.

I am laying in bed looking at my bookcase thinking, it may be mess but it is so convenient. I roll up my shirts and they hardly wrinkle, plus I can see everyone without going through the whole stack. Same with the pants. I also have the books I am reading on the first shelf and the magazines I am reading on the bottom, with a top to decorate. Someone else may think it is a mess, but to me it is an organized mess!

We only have five more weeks and we will be opening a new exhibit. Yikes!

Autumn Days

With soup simmering on the stove and clouds loafing across and otherwise blue sky, I decided to walk to the bridge. As I walked to the car to get something I heard the overhead doors on the shop open. That meant only one thing, Ardmore was going to go out to try the soybeans. I struck out east down our driveway into a fierce wind from the west. I thought it would be warmer but the wind was harsh and cold. By the time I got back to the house it was blowing with more vengeance and was I glad to get inside.

We have been fighting the weather ever since the soybeans ripened. It seems to rain three or four days, with just enough to continue to make it too wet to try. Today looks like it might be fairly decent. The only combines running in our area to this point have been those with 4- wheel drive, tracks, or duals; we have neither.

I remember what it was like in 1985 following a seven inch rain on August 3, Minda Haugen's wedding day. We watched the rain during the reception from the windows in Minda's parents home. The drive home told of the devastating situation we were in. We owned a pull type combine at that time and literally dragged it through the field to harvest timothy grass seed. It seemed to rain every day that fall and we never did get any other crops totally off. Some of the wheat was taken off on the frost, but that didn't last long as we had snow. I remember swathing in a snowmobile suit, no cab on the swather. Ice and snow would build up on the rollers under the canvasses. We couldn't fill the combine but about 1/2 full as the grain would freeze in the auger, and in fact once it did break the auger. It was awful. I would never want to go through something like that again!

Soybean harvest

On Friday, Ardmore decided to try to combine the soybeans. He always asks me to come and get him when he takes a truck out, and it is invariably just before I am leaving for work, which always makes me late. This time was no different only... He took the truck out and drove it into the wet field and with mud flying behind the back wheels, pulled it right back out and took it home. End of trying to harvest. Saturday he asked me to drive the truck across the chisel plowed field to where he was going to try to harvest. I thought it would be better to fill the combine and drive it home and empty it in the yard for the first trip. He only combined about a 100 bushels and decided the call it quits. It is still too wet and it is scheduled to rain again tomorrow! The question is, will we ever get the soybeans off?

We had stake conference in Winnipeg this weekend. We did not go. Ardmore does not like to stay over night and we can't go through the border before 9 unless we go through the Roseau crossing which adds an additional 45 minutes to our trip making it a 3 hour trip. He and I both had meetings on Saturday but I can't take the long trip two days in a row. I think about how it would have been to cross into Canada if 9/11 hadn't happened. We live only about 5 miles from the border. It is a small crossing and the plans were to make it accessible with an id card similar to a credit card. The cameras and the machine were all in place, then September 11 happened and all that changed. Now we need to have id and a birth certificate or a passport. Hours at our crossing have changed from 8am to 10pm to 9am to 5pm. It has made things so much more complicated. Government intervention in the way of making our country safer.

Now a little update on my thr and tkr:
The swimming definitely has helped as had the rocking chair and riding the bike. There is still considerable stiffness and I have problems with range of motion. I like to go on the computer when I am in bed just before I go to sleep. My knee does not cooperate with the bend I want and then it swells and gives me pain off and on all night.

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday!

This has been one of the busiest weeks.

The school class was in Monday and Tuesday, we didn't have school on Thursday or Friday, MEA.
Yesterday was spent tying up loose ends and working on the board meeting info for next week and preparing for today. Today we had three programs. A bag lunch program showing the documentary Riding the Rails it is about the young people who rode the rails during the depression. Well attended and enjoyed. We had the same thing this evening and although the attendance wasn't as good it the noon program, it was still pretty good. They want more documentaries.

I'm over tired now after two nights of tossing and turning, I think I will sleep like a baby!

Yesterday

First day of the week at work:

1. Get up in the morning and get out of bed (Bus Driver - Guess Who)
2. Call the school to see if a teacher and his class have time to put together museum exhibit platforms
3. Ride the bike to limber the limbs
4. Talk to Toots on way to work
5. At work now - check email, teacher comes in to check out project
6. STS bring in the items from the old jail, a bunk and a door from a cell. Heavy but exciting stuff'
7. School records paper work comes through
8. Electrician comes in to complete the final job, installs a switch for the storage room in the gallery, wonderful! We will no longer stumble on something when we try to locate the switch on the wall behind the door
9. Teacher and students arrive and begin the project
10. Work is done, swimming therapy!

Misty, foggy, and warm...

As you can tell by my heading, that is what we are contending with again! We had about an inch of rain today. Ardmore asked me yesterday if he should take the bean header off the combine and park them both. My answer was no yesterday, today, I'm not so sure that was the proper answer.We will need some very warm weather with wind to be able to get back in the field, but we live in northern Minnesota and it is the middle of October so...

Breanne and Josh celebrated their first wedding anniversary today. Michelle had little Damen. She said she had to take him out of church because of his screaming. He loves to hear his voice so every once in a while, just screams. No crying, just screaming! It was so funny when I was talking to Breanne yesterday, every once in a while Damen would scream. She said it is so loud it pearces her ears.

It seems like Michelle's life is so busy, even on what should be days off. Take yesterday as an example. She had three piano lessons up in Valley Springs, which is about an hour away. Besides being a full-time student she teacher 10 piano lessons each week. Thank goodness she doesn't have any small children under foot.

My knee is so stiff today. I try to flex it but it is just too sore. I did walk about a mile and a half, but no cycling tonight or rocking in the rocking chair. I am swimming about 5 times a week, which seems to help with the stiffness and the range of motion. My goal is to be able to sit in church and put my foot up on the cross-bar at the base of the church chairs. This is going to be an accomplishment. I find that walking down the stairs has been easier this past three days, and doesn't cause me pain behind my knee until the last three stairs in our split entry home when I go to the lower level.

I made some Romagrotte for Ardmore this evening. This is a Norwegian treat that is enjoyed by the people in our area. I make this in the microwave.

Microwave Romagrotte
1 cup milk
1 cup cream
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1/8 cup sugar
Salt

Place milk and cream in a 1 1/2 quart bowl and heat to scalding, add the sugar and a little salt. Melt the butter and add flour, mix to paste and add to milk/cream mixture and mix well.
Cook on high stiring every minute until like a pudding. Top witha a little butter and sugar-cinammon when you serve it. This was commonly served by the pioneers as it was made for ingredients they had in their homes and it was quick.

That's all Folks!

Hurrah, the newsletter is about done

After spending the past week, off and on, working on the historical society newsletter, today it went off to a board member to do the final editing. Tonight, I found out that something needs to be added so will have to do some more editing tomorrow but it can be printed and sent off on Friday, I hope.

The hot tub at the pool was still not working this morning. The owner ordered a part and said it should be here today. He wouldn't stamp my card today either. I hope the part came as the hot tub really is great for my stiffness and helping me work on my flexibility. I am surprised how much my flexibility has improved though. Before I had to go back and forth on the bike many times before I could finally cycle, now I just go back and forth about three times and over and after about 10 rounds I am going smooth as can be. Not any pain either. I ice for about 20 to 30 minutes following the exercises. Hurrah!

Picked up a new library book today by Richard Russo called Nobody's Fool. It starts out well written so it should hold my interest.

What to do in the middle of the night...

What a busy day yesterday was, the time went by way too quickly. I had PT at nine and Mickie and I went for coffee afterward, then it was work, work, work. (Well, not quite, Roseau Electric had their customer appreciation lunch, which Mickie and I gobbled down. Delish, hot port sandwiches!) First we had to get the info on our upcoming lunch movie out to the public and then I spent the day working on the newsletter. When my phone alarm announced that I had a 4 o'clock appointment I was shocked. After my massage I spent an hour swimming and headed home to Ardmore. The house was not welcoming, it was dark outside and dark inside, he was fast asleep and it was only 7:30. I think the rain does that to him. He is probably disgusted about the fact that the soybeans are still not ready to be harvested and we have rain AGAIN.

We decided we need to purchase another fan for another grain bin, this is the fifth fan so now all the bins will have fans! Hurrah, no more worries about that, we could use another bin dryer though. I guess $1,800 more is a little more than we should spend until we know the soybeans are off.

I'd like to be positive about things right now, but with the way grain prices are falling, wheat's gone from $7.22 on September 22 down to $6 yesterday, that is a drop of over $18 since January 2008, Canola is at $13 after being $25. I can't fee optimistic about our future farm earnings. All I can say, is thank goodness we don't owe a whole lot of money. Well, maybe with the insurance that we have had to pay this year, that is not totally true, I think we have about an $11,000 crop insurance bill, that will be due soon, along with our other payments. Farming is not for the faint of heart...

Well I better try to get some sleep not, it has evaded me for the past three hours, but at least the pain in my knee has subsided. I had decided to try and sleep in the king size bed with Ardmore, bad move, too hard and my knee became very painful so I moved back to the bed downstairs. TKR must be taken care of or it will not take care of you!

Thought for the day

It is difficulties that show what men are. -- Epictetus

Thoughts from past and present

This weekend is general conference. I have listened to several of the talks yesterday and today. Several times, I felt the Spirit whisper, listen, this will help with what you are physically enduring. I was reminded to pray more often. There was also a documentary about President Monson today. It was so interesting. I marvel at the caring he has given the elder that he served as a bishop and a stake president. He never forgot one of the elderly widows in his ward at Christmas.

I feel I am finally making progress on my range of motion. I went in again yesterday to work out in the pool. The hot tub was a cold tub thought which was not good, in fact the pool was warmer than the hot tub by several degrees. I hope that it is warmer the next time I go. The hot works wonderfully with the flexibility exercises, but overall exercises are great in the pool. By the time the evening rolls around, I need to massage my legs to get to sleep though. A small price to pay for a good nights sleep.

Michelle told me that she went swimming but that it was so difficult with her sore ankle. I wonder if she is massaging it? I think that would help with the circulation and help it heal faster.

Our neighbors have started combining soybeans; this can cause a mixed emotion in one who is not sure if his crop is ready or not. Ardmore decided to try to combine and after one truck load decided that our crop is not ready. He also decided to transfer one of the electric heaters that go on the bins from a bin with wheat to the bin he is going to put the soybeans in. It is an excellent chance that the wheat is dry in that bin anyway.

It is always a little stressful when we get this late in the season and find we are up against the weather. Looking at the radar, it will rain before morning. I hope it is not much, we have had enough this fall and don't really need any more.

PT with ultra sound again in the am. I think I will do that this week and ask if we can give it a try without it.

I started reading The Host by Stephanie Meyer this past week. She is a BYU graduate and Brian recommended the book. It is a gripping story of how a group of spirits take over the bodies of humans as hosts. Different from anything I have ever read before. I highly recommend it.

Politics & the VP debate

Ardmore and I watched the VP debate tonight, he watched CNN while I was looking at Fox. Both of us are republicans, I don't like the controversy and there isn't much on Fox but CNN is far too Democratic. Ardmore was upset before the debate even began. Palin was finally herself. It was interesting to listen to her talk and to see Biden's reaction. She is a middle class working woman who has traveled in political circles most middle class women don't have the opportunity to even connect with much less travel with. I wonder, how did she got chosen for the VP position? Where were the powers that be during the time the McCain was looking for someone? I don't think we would be in the position of questioning a VP's platform if Romney would have been chosen instead. Somehow, sometime, somewhere, a decision was made that will either break or make the republican 2008 campaign. Was Palin chosen because Hilary was not? I don't think we will ever know. I know I vote for the platform, knowing that the President has to listen to his cabinet and others who know far more than he could possibly know.

This afternoon was Roseau's customer appreciation day with a dinner held in the city center. There was a great crowd. I hope I can get the count.

Two of our children are laid up now. Well Michelle sprained her ankle last week. She is out of the boot now and says it is only painful at night. She attended all of her classes and even taught her students right from the day after she sprained.

James took a tumble on his bike after a 20 mile ride and fractured his collar bone. Tomorrow he sees an orthopedic specialist. I hope it isn't too bad.

Pool therapy went well this am. There were three young people in the pool when I arrived. It was fun to watch the interaction between the two young men and young lady. Therapy went well, I was very stiff in the morning so needed it desperately. I hope this helps with my stiffness and range of motion.

Electric Heat

Well, I gave in and turned on the electric heat this evening. For the past two nights it has been in the low 30s to 40 and when I wake up I can't get back to sleep because it is too cold. I will not have that tonight, by 4 it will be warmer on the floor.

I started pool physical therapy yesterday. I am not sure if my range of motion increase today is from the ultra sound treatments or from the pool workouts but my range had increased and I was able to walk down the city center stairs without pain after my workouts. By the time 3 o'clock rolled around, I needed ice though. it might help if the leg was elevated on my computer, it is on the floor so it can be used for that purpose. I am enjoying the pt at the pool immensely. I probably should have done this sooner. It really is painful when I first do the flexing at first but it is amazing how much it helps.

Yesterday Breanne and I talked on the phone. She said Damen is crawling all over and pulling himself up on everything. He tries to climb upon her lap when she is sitting, by pulling on her pants. I wish I was there to see this.

I've been spending a fair share of time working on the newsletter at work lately. Today my newspaper article took precedence though. Tomorrow the newsletter will take precedence.

Ardmore has finished chisel plowing the fields where the crop is off. We must be lucky as may people can't do their fields as they are too wet. This evening he was picking rocks.

With our government in Washington not making any decisions on bailing out the banks, the stock market and commodity markets have been hit hard. We have seen wheat go down by $3, Canola by $5, and Soybeans by about $4 in the past month. It is harvest time so this isn't so unusual but it would be nice to see it be more stable. I'm not sure what should be done to take care of our financial situation. We live on borrowed money and a bail out of 70 billion is going to be a big chunk, although the economists say that the stock market 700 point drop cost trillions. Something has to be done to level us out. It will be interesting to hear but goes on over night.

Autumn is here

No sever frost yet but we needed more blankets to stay warm last night. This morning the temp at 6 was about 40, too cold for me. I will soon need to turn on the under floor heat.

The trees have really started to change with the maples turning a beautiful red. We difinitely have four seasons.

The Women's History Education Committee met last night. I hope they felt it was productive. I had copied every fifth year of school census records from the stored records in the basement of the courthouse for genealogy purposed prior to the 2002 flood. This was not much of a help as they did not list teachers, which what they need, the women educators. We are now waiting for the Minnesota Historical Society to send back their portion of the agreement so we can have the records brought over to the museum. I will need to start moving things to make room for the several boxes of info. It may even be smart to place them in a file cabinet instead.
Yesterday, we had two missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints come in and help me move some things in a wardrobe. We are now ready to take the wardrobe apart so we can make room for more items. I need to order shelving but haven't received the quote yet. We always have so many things to think of.

Today I am going to start hot tub and pool therapy for my tkr. Hopefully this will give me the range of motion I need and remove some of the stiffness. Hope it is as helpful as it appears to be.