A bear dress, insulating and two special guys

A very special little 4-year old had a jumper on the other day that I made for her older sister and I was thrilled until her mom told me that Katie really didn't like the snowman jumper.  While going through my fabric box, I found the leftovers from the original jumper, so I made Katie's bear a jumper to match hers.  Maybe she'll like it a little better.  It went in the mail today so she should have it by Saturday.

 This is a prototype of a new shop chair created by Ben.  He took an old airride seat from a truck and mounted it on rollers.  The one he uses at his job in the Garretson John Deere shop is able to hook up to air so he can move it up and down.  Isn't he creative?!!!!

 Uncle Glen decided that his shop/office needed insulation so it would be warmer this winter.  Now, all he needs is a bathroom and a bed and he could just sleep out there too.  I sat in Ben's new chair and watched them the other afternoon.  It was interesting and I always enjoy spending time with Uncle Glen.  Aunt Sue was out with me - I was supposed to bring the wine but it was too early in the afternoon and besides, I had to drive home.

 Notice who's handling the air hammer - need to keep it away from those older guys.  No telling what they might do with it.

 On Monday Dad and I went to Rock Valley and visited these two very special men.  Unfortunately, for the first time, I don't think Uncle Elmer had any idea who we were.  He was happy though and busy folding towels and napkins.  He said he likes to keep busy.  What a gentle, kind man.

 Then we walked down the hall to visit Uncle Marv.  Sharla happened to be home from Delaware and so we were able to visit with her for a while also.  What a beautiful young lady!!  The last few times we have visited Uncle Marv, I have enjoyed our visits so much.  He has a great sense of humor and I just like being with him.  He's a very special man.

That's it for a while.  We leave early tomorrow morning (Thursday) for Arizona - don't look forward to the trip but I do look forward to being out of this super cold weather.  So my next post will be from Arizona.

A BIG thank you to my wonderful, awesome, beautiful, energetic granddaughter for fixing the background to my blog.  She said I had really messed it up so from now on, I'll just let her change it for me.  Holly, you're the best!!!

Love to all,
Gramma and MOM

A Snowy Day and a Last Bagel Day





I took this on Tuesday morning through the window - the trees in the backyard were really pretty.  We still have snow on the ground plus beautiful sunshine today.  (It is cold, however!)

 This morning we went for a last bagel breakfast before we head out.  This has become Aunt Sue and my favorite bagel shop.  Aunt Jan and Maggie joined us this morning.  Anyone else wish to join us next spring???

That's it for today.  Finishing up lots of odds and ends today so I can pack tomorrow.  Then it's Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and a final packing day before the day of departure.

Have a super weekend!!!
Love to all,
Gramma and MOM

Christmas at the Koele's

 

 

Last Saturday Chase had a basketball tournament in Pipestone and since he is going to the Twin Cities this weekend, we had Christmas at the Koele's last Saturday night.  It was an unusual weather day.  It rained all the way to Pipestone in the morning; turned to snow during the tournament and then was snowing off and on all afternoon and evening.  Luckily there was no wind and the temps didn't drop so as long as we went slow, we were fine.

 

This was what we saw when we walked in - Amy's beautifully set table.  We had chili, wonderful warm cornbread with honey, french bread and goodies for dessert.  It was a great meal on a cold, blustery day.

 The shelf of goodies:

After dinner came the best part for Chase.  Kurt had Country Christmas music on the stereo/tv and we began to open presents.  Chase was first, of course and immediately put on his new warm lounge pants from Auntie Dee's family.

 This gift was actually supposed to wait until the Koele family had their own little Christmas time but Chase couldn't wait for Kurt and his mom to open their gift.  Besides he said - Gramma, you helped me make it - don't you want to see them open it?  Isn't he a sweet kid?!!!

It's a Scrabble board with the words "MOM" and "KURT" in red and green and then various tile words describing the two of them.  Chase came up with the most creative words and I just helped fill in.  Some of Chase's words included:  kisser, turd, smiley, cool, awesome.

 Kurt received a cigar magazine from the Hiemstras and he looks like he was really enjoying it.  I'd never heard of a cigar magazine - it was interesting.  Can you imagaine reading whether a cigar is mild, medium or heavy?  Give me a good old chick-book instead.

 Chase and Kitty.

 I made Chase his travel blanket that he had been asking for - now we need to get a few more patches of places he's been.

 wrong side of his blanket - Grampa really liked this fabric.

 Unfortunately, I had the camera and so didn't get any pictures of either Dad or I opening our gifts.  I received a BEAUTIFUL scraf from my #1 (meaning oldest) granddaughter which I have worn every day since I received it.  Thank you, Sweetheart. 
DeAnn, I love the napkins and can't wait to use them.  Amy tried to take them from me but I didn't let her. 
We received some new wiener/marshmellow forks from Amy & Kurt.  They're a bit too risque for my blog but if you want a picture sent to you personally, let me know.
Our last gift we opened was a huge surprise - we got a Garman from the kids --- a very nice one with all the accessories.  We have not programmed it yet - that is on Peter's "to do" list before we leave for Tucson next week.  THANK YOU !!!!!  It will be put to very good use shortly.

Dad and I stayed overnight at the Calumet Inn in Pipestone.  The Calumet is an old hotel - it's showing it's age a bit but is still a very nice, fun place to stay.  Sunday morning the roads were plowed but still a bit slippery.  We went to Chase's Christmas program at their church - "It wasn't supposed to be like this."  It was a nice program - Chase was the best looking Pharisee there.  They turned the lights down low so it was difficult for me to get a good picture until he walked out.

 I didn't realize that Pharisees wore chef's hats.

They gave apples or animals crackers away as the Christmas treat.  It was a fun morning but our day's excitement wasn't over.  Off to Grandma's 91st birthday party.

That's it for today.  Right now it's a bit cloudy out; sure hope the sun appears soon.

Love to all,
Gramma and MOM

Grandma's Birthday

 

As you know, yesterday was Grandma's 91st birthday and we celebrated with lunch at Bethany Meadows.  We had 24 people there - Karla was sick so she wasn't there.  We had a fun time - Aunt Evelyn had us playing,  "Family Feud" and I think the Haan Family won!!!

 

Grandma wanted family pictures taken as she always does so we obliged - well most of us did.  As you can see, Uncle Glen is "almost" smiling on the first picture but then back to his grumpy face on the second.

 These are the grandkids that were there.  Jay and Alicia were there for lunch but had to leave early.  We'll get their picture at Christmas time.  Told Jay that at Christmas we want a full reporting of who Alicia is, what she does, and how she puts up with him.  They both just laughed.

 Bethany Meadows had their Christmas Open House on Sunday afternoon so we had Grandma sit on Santa's lap.  Turned out really cute, didn't it?

I have lots to post this week - Chases's basketball on Saturday, then our Christmas party with them Saturday night and his program on Sunday.

It was a very busy weekend, but a super good one!!!!

We're off to Pizza Ranch this evening with friends from church.

Love to all,
Gramma and MOM

Amy's Birthday Gift & Christmas Decorating

Last week I took Grandma to Worthington to meet a couple of her friends for lunch.  The older lady and gentlemen are people that Grandma and Auntie Albertha went on a bus trip with about 15 years ago.  After the trip, they would meet once or twice a year at each others' homes and play cards for the afternoon.  Both Delores' husband, Fred's wife and Auntie Albertha have passed away.  Now they just get together and have lunch.  The older gentleman just happens to also be my Grandma Gorter's cousin - he is the last living person of that generation.  He is 95 years old, lives alone and still drives.  The younger gentleman is the son of Delores who lives about an hour east of Worthington; Fred lives about half an hour south and Grandma is about an hour west.  It was actually an enjoyable lunch AND Grandma bought lunch.

 Amy finally came to get her birthday gift.  She had seen a sign similar to this in DeAnn's home and has talked about one for her entry way.  I think it will look very nice there.

 Aren't they a cute couple?  Love does that to people

I decided that since Thanksgiving was so early and it seemed like we were going to be around a while, I wanted to do a little decorating for the holidays.  Besides Wil and Linda were coming and I wanted them to feel welcome.  Sue Bilotta made this snowman for me the first year we were retired and mailed it to me in this huge box.  Aunt Sue and Aunt Jan both really like it so I told them to come and get it after Christmas and they could have it til spring.

Now..... I forgot to even take a picture of Wil & Linda - can you believe that?  Linda had me take a picture of them in front of my tree but I didn't take one with my own camera.  Sooooo  just picture them standing next to the tree and each other with big smiles on their faces.

 This is my family of carolers - Uncle Rich gave them to me after Aunt Pat died - in fact I think they may have been her set.  She worked on them every year at their church.  They're made of socks over bottles and the church sold them at their Fall bazaar - apparently they were very popular.   I bought the lamppost in Garretson when their Christmas store closed.  I love them!!!

I have a few other decorations up as well and LOTS of Christmas music. 
I am finally finished with all my Christmas sewing - I really enjoyed doing it.  All of my gifts are sitting on my table ready for me to wrap, box up and ship.

Saturday we are going to Chase's basketball game - the only one we can go to this year and then to Amy & Kurt's for dinner and for a Christmas party afterwards.  Dad and I are staying at the Calumet Hotel in Pipestone and then will go to Chase's Christmas program in the morning and Grandma's birthday lunch in the afternoon.  Should be an awesome weekend!!!!  How blessed we are that we are able to do these things.

God has been so good to us again this past year.

That's it for this week.  Love to you all!!!!!
Gramma and MOM

Weekend in Sturgis

Can you believe that both Von and I forgot our cameras at Uncle Rich & Aunt Henrietta's both days that we went for rides.  Uncle Rich, of course, had one in his pocket so he's going to burn me a disc with the pictures he took.

 

This is Uncle Rich's yard - we saw deer and turkeys every day right outside their windows.  He had to put up a fence around the house because the deer were eating all his plants.

 

 Uncle Rich has done some decorating around the house but not a lot since they're leaving for Tucson on December 11th.  They have these interesting evergreen boughs that look like little puffs of needles.  Von brought back a whole box of greens to decorate her house.
Uncle Rich collects nativity sets and he had several sitting around - he thought he had about 200.  The ones he has out this year are very nice.  They're hoping to be on the Tour of Homes next year and then they'll go all out with decorating - I think Uncle Rich actually does most of it.  He really enjoys it.

 Aunt Henrietta preparing dinner.

 Looks a little crabby, doesn't she?  This is the family room which has a beautiful view of Bear Butte.  I really like this house - not the location, just the house.

 I made this apron last week for a very special lady - Mary.  I had the fabric left over from another project so it didn't cost me anything but it turned out very nice.  Wish I could just sew on projects and forget about decorating or cleaning or cooking.

Well, that's it for today.  Want to finish my last travel blanket today and have to wash the downstairs bedding.  Will and Linda are coming Friday and I am excited!!!

Have a great day!!
Love to all,
Gramma and MOM

Christmas Lights

Last Wednesday night we took Grandma to 212 with Aunt Jen and Aunt Jan and afterwards we took her to look at the lights around town.  I'm amazed at how many nice displays there are.  This one happens to be just a couple blocks from our house and plays music while the lights flash off and on.  It was one of Chase's favorite things when he lived in Brandon.  It's very well done and we go by often on our way home.

 This is our deck but the picture doesn't do it justice at all.  Dad did a great job with lights this year.

This is the front yard - he has lights on two trees and the little shrubs plus a star hanging in the front-yard trellis.

 I saw this shirt in an advertisement so ordered myself a birthday/Christmas gift.  Isn't it perfect?

That's it for today.  I'm busy sewing a special travel blanket.  Will put pictures from our Sturgis weekend on later this week.  We had an awesome time - it was so much fun and lots of sharing.

Have a great week!!!
Love to all,
Gramma and MOM

Clever Outdoor Decorating

When we were driving home from church on Sunday, Dad all of a sudden turned around.  Out of the corner of his eye, he had seen a guy hanging from the gutters with his ladder coming down.

 

Isn't this some clever decorating?  We've driven past a couple of times and it is VERY realistic.  It's not nearly as impressive at night, even with the lights on.

We're taking Grandma to 212 tonight for pizza (with Aunt Jen and Aunt Jan) and then we're going to drive around and look at Christmas lights.  I'll take some pictures of dad's lights - they're much more impressive at night.

As you can see, not much interesting is happening in my life but it is Tuesday so it's time for a blog.  I'm sewing an apron today for my friend, Mary who just happens to be Kurt's mom.  I also paid bills this morning and sent my park newsletter to the office in Tucson for printing.  If anyone is ever interested in reading it, just let me know and I'll forward a copy to you.  It usually takes me a couple of days to do it IF everyone gets me their information on time and that rarely happens.

Well, off to the sewing machine.  More pictures tomorrow.
Have a great day.
Love to all,
Gramma and MOM

Our Day with Grandma



Yesterday was an "awesome day".  Aunt Jen and I had talked about taking Grandma down to Sibley to see an old friend of hers.  Bernie & Charlotte and Grandpa & Grandma went to the same church in Sibley and the two guys played softball together and the four of them loved to play cards.  We moved from Sibley when I was probably 4 but they have remained friends all these years.  Charlotte (who is also Dad's cousin) passed away 7 years ago.  We let dad and Aunt Jan come with us and as always, we laughed a lot and had a great time.

 

 

First we went to Rock Rapids and had breakfast with John Smidstra which is a party in and of itself.  I really like him and we had a nice visit and a super good breakfast.  (And he bought which was even better!)

 

 Then we drove through the cemetery in Rock Rapids - I hadn't been there since Aunt Albertha died.  I still miss her - she was an awesome aunt!!!

We arrived in Sibley about 11:30 and visited for a while before Bernie's daughter, Alice Ann prepared lunch for us.  I thought we were just having sandwiches and chips but she had a jello salad, rolls, beef stew and apple pie.  It was great.  We sat around the table another two hours and just talked of old times.  Many of the stories I've heard several times before but Bernie and Mom still love hearing and telling them.

Bernie and Mom were soooooooooooooooooo excited to see each other.  They were almost like two teenagers.  I wish they lived a little closer together because I think they would enjoy having dinner together occasionally and just being with each other. 

 Dad and Alice Ann "got married" when they were just little kids.  Apparently the big thing to do with the little kids in Hills was dress them up and then pull them around in a coaster wagon.  Interesting, huh?

 

 After leaving Sibley, we went to George, Iowa.  When I was a little girl, the Petersons lived across the road from my parents.  One of their sons was Larry who married Helen.  He was a school teacher - in fact he even taught in Hills for a short time and was Dad's Science teacher.  There was an incident with Mr. Peterson that dad has never forgotten and still talks about once in a while.  Dad admires him a great deal and had the opportunity to tell him so.  Larry did not remember the incident but I think he was touched by how he had made a difference in dad's life.

Anyway, Larry and Helen live in this little town of George and Grandma had some newspaper articles about Larry's parents that she wanted to give them.  She said - just call them and see if we can stop.  I really didn't want to but I did.  Helen was extremely receptive to our stopping but Larry wasn't home but was expected shortly.  We were still 5-10 minutes away from their house - as we drove up, I saw a pickup truck drive up the alley and park behind their house so we pulled in right behind him and it was indeed Larry just coming home.  Turns out they had just returned home from Washington state and visiting their daughter that very day.  Larry was sooo excited to see Grandma and recognized her immediately.  We stayed in the van and Larry & Helen came outdoors - it was a beautiful afternoon.  We were there about a half hour and Larry had to hug Grandma three times.  It was actually very touching how much he appreciated seeing her.  Unfortunately, I did not take their picture - can't believe I forgot to do that.

We had decided to go to Stone Soup in Rock Valley for soup on our way home - so off we went.  God blessed us with a gorgeous sunset - the horizon was a brilliant pink and all of the clouds (even in the east) with pink.  Grandma said she'd never seen anything like that.

Doug & LaVonne joined us for supper.  Unfortunately the pea soup was spoiled.  Grandma and Dad ate theirs even though they said it didn't taste good at all.  I tried but I just couldn't eat more than four spoonfuls - finally told the gal it was not good and I couldn't eat it.  They brought me something else.

It was the only bad time of the day.

We got Grandma home after dark but she said she wasn;t tired at all.  This morning she was a little stiff - probably from all the riding but it was a "good stiff".

Well, that was our day away.  Today I made a turkey for tomorrow and cleaned - YUK!!!  Actually I had to put away my craft projects so we could use the table for dinner tomorrow.  I even ordered myself a Christmas present and Grandma's Christmas cards.  Now I'm going to take a little rest - I'm actually a bit tired.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I am so awed and thankful for the two of you, my daughters.  God has richly blessed both of you with wonderful husbands and families!! 

Love to you all,
Gramma and MOM

PS:  Thank you so much, Miss Holly!!!  The background is just what I wanted but I couldn't make it work.  Love you to the top of Denali and back down.