Food and stuff

I do love food. And throughout my entire adult life I have had to try to balance loving food with my tendency to gain weight. The last few years my balance has not been that good. Probably winning a year's worth of ice cream wasn't a big help, although it was tasty, and spending 18 months at home during pandemic offered many opportunities to snack and now a painful knee, awaiting replacement, restricts my ability to get much exercise.

As a result, my orthopedic surgeon has referred me to a nutritionist to work on losing a significant amount of weight before having my knee replaced. I met with Karla today. It was an interesting meeting because she wasn't trying to prescribe a meal plan or even a calorie count. We just talked about some habits and tendencies that I have and agreed on some tactics for doing better & avoiding pitfalls. Since I was referred by my general practitioner, Medicare will pay for a series of appointments with Karla and I'm going to take full advantage. I will use the Weight Watchers methodology to track my food but, right now, meeting with Karla is more attractive to me then heading to my local Weight Watcher meeting to weigh in.

I stopped for groceries on my way home.  I'm on my way to a new knee.

■●■●■●■

In today's paper was the article I sent in about our class reunion.

Ah-Ha

 Sometimes you have to get to work on a project before you get a brainstorm. Sometimes it comes quickly or it may take a couple of sessions of elbow grease. I have been thinking about this bench over at the church.  I started scrubbing it but needed to go back with more soapy water.  Since there is another cousin's memorial there on Saturday, I wanted to get over there to work on the bench before then.  I hopped in the car this morning with 4 jugs of water and a scrub brush.  

The scrubbing was working pretty well.

I finally had my Ah-Ha moment though.  This bench needs to be power washed.  Then it can be sanded a bit and finally painted.  It is a little loose, but is constructed with lag bolts, so it should be able to be tightened to firm it up.  Maybe a few screws need to be added as well.  This bench is worth saving.

Here is today after my effort.  Much better than the before that I will post below.

It is a very lovely spot to sit.  I had my lawn chair and took a break from my work.  It is shady and very pretty.  I could hear some fisher-people on the lake below.

The bench is not damaged, but the algae has been busy growing on it. 
A good power washing and that will be gone.

The bench is very 'sittable' now.

Before...

Glenn has agreed to bring his power washer and there is a water supply at the church fairly close by.  I am hoping this works into Glenn's schedule next week.  It will be nice to have it done and painted & useable....and off my list.

Visits

Just back from the ortho. I like him. He's nice and reasonable.  He's going to give me a cortisone injection next Monday.  Then see him again in 3 months.  In the meantime,  lose weight.  It's what I expected. I feel better just having a plan.  I'm guessing knee surgery in the Spring at the earliest.

🦵🦵🦵

I wanted to write down what we did while Laila was here.  So this is what I can remember,   a few months from now it will be a blur.

Arrival Day:  Tuesday, July 13th - meet in Baldwin at 10am. Glenn collected Laila from airport. Lunch at Culver's. Visit at Dana & Erin's.   Home and then a trip to Aldi for grocery.  Wanda made herbal shrimp spaghetti for supper.

Wednesday, July 14th -  Wanda had  a meeting with Tom in Luck at 3pm, poured rain so we drove into the cemetery drive, but sat in car.  Tokyo for dinner.

Thursday, July 15th -10am memorial for Sonja at WD, lunch at the hall after.  Visit to cemetery after.  Checked out sitting area in memory of Ansgar & Frederikke at church.  Bon Ton after with cousins. Stopped at Angie's for a visit.  Margs & appetizers at Adventures.

Friday, July 16th - Met Glenn and Kathy and Lois for fish in Clayton at 6 Brothers.  Pontoon float at Big Moon afterwards.

Saturday, July 17th - Mary came to Rice Lake and then we went to Wanda's class reunion in for the evening at The Luck Golf Course.

Sunday, July 18th - 10am church at WD, delivered Aunt Johanne's bell pull to congregation, breakfast at Red Maple.  Lucky Days Parade.  McDonalds for supper.

Monday, July 19th - Lunch with Glenn and Kathy here and kayak delivery.  Wisconsin Point for the afternoon.  Dinner at Casa Mexicana.

Tuesday, July 20th - Wanda very tired, lazy day, Kwik Trip supper.

Wednesday, July 21 - meet in Baldwin @ 7am. Glenn drive Laila to Mpls airport.

Iowa Birthday Trip

 Our friends Jim and Janette who live in Belmond, Iowa were celebrating Jim's birthday on Friday.  Glenn said he would drive, so Lois & I joined Glenn and Kathy for a drive to Iowa.  We met in Baldwin and then beat it for Iowa.  

We had thought it would be fun to reenact a silly deal that Dad & Ev started at a 40th birthday party for Lois, then we kids reenacted it for Dad & Ev when we made a surprise trip to Arkansas.  I'm not sure Jim and Janette remembered the story, but we had fun putting bags on our heads when we got out of Glenn's van.  

Of course, there was not photo of that, but we reenacted it back at the park and ride in Baldwin.

Lois and Kathy took more time decorating their bags, mine was the basic off the shelf model.

Jim was very surprised to see us.  It was to be a surprise birthday party for him, and a family reunion of Janette's family.  I don't think he figured out it was his birthday party until we rolled in.

Glenn, Kathy, Janette, Jim, Wanda, Lois

I can't say enough about Jim & Janette.  They were such good friends to Dad & Ev.  Dad rented space from Jim for years for his Johansen Cabinetry business in Belmond, IA.  Dad always said Jim was like a son to him.  The 4 of them had many, many fun times together.  Jim and Janette came and visited in Rice Lake too.  After Ev died, Jim went over to see Dad every single day, without fail.  Janette delivered groceries many times too.  I'll never be able to thank them enough for the kindness and friendship they showed to Dad & Ev over the years.  I really wish that they lived closer, they are such fun to be around.

I'm glad we could help celebrate his 70th birthday.

A sitting spot

 Some years ago, I'm talking at least 20, my Aunt Johanne and her cousin-in-law Erling, got together and gardened a spot and added a bench & marker to make a spot for sitting.  This is just at the edge of the lawn at the West Denmark Church.  The project was a tribute to their respective parents, who were good friends with one another.

 Now, after years of no maintenance to speak of, that sitting area needs some attention.  When I was at church on Thursday for my cousin Sonja's memorial, the daughter of Selma & Erling explained to me what needed to be done.  She had already started with the gardening part of the work.  The old bushes were overgrown and lived their cycle.  She had those removed and was working to plant some native plants.  The bench needs some attention.

Marker in the flower garden at the sitting spot.

After the funeral lunch, I asked Glenn & Kathy and Laila to go look at the spot and see what we could offer as the Johansen part of this deal.  My first thought was that the bench should be replaced with a red steel bench, big enough to seat 2 or 3 at the most.  Something that would compliment the red roof of the church and also be maintenance free. Checking around for this item clued me in that this was going to be a 'spendy' option.  I'm pretty sure most of my first cousins would contribute to the cause, but there is a limit.

I was back at church on Sunday and mentioned my thoughts to Judy and Mary (another cousin).  They felt like the bench should be bronze or brown to blend in with the woods, rather than stand out.  They also thought that the bench should be sizeable as the Sunday School uses the bench.  I assured them that any ideas we have would be discussed before we made any purchases.

Huge Oak tree at church and sitting area in the background

West Denmark Lutheran Church

Wednesday, Laila was headed to the airport to fly home to Colorado. After I dropped Laila off with Glenn at Baldwin, I headed back up to the church.  I wanted to try to scrub the marker and bench & also water plants at the cemetery.

Judy has already planted the new plants.

I had a jug of soapy water and a jug of clean water.

It didn't take long before the plaque was looking like new.  I suspected it had a red background, I did not know it was bright red.  Yay.

The marker is clean, can you believe it?

I used the rest of the soapy water on the bench.  I ran out before I could finish the seat, but it was making a big difference.

I'll plan a trip over soon with more jugs of soapy water and continue scrubbing the bench.  I have a feeling that once it is clean, it could be painted to preserve the wood from further decay and this bench will last many years into the future.

I'd like to add some white violets to this flower bed, but I'll see how the plants grow that are already there and then see what Judy thinks.

I'm happy to help with this and am glad that I was told about the work to be done.  I also will defer to Judy and others for final decisions as they are at church every Sunday and have a better understanding of what the congregation will most appreciate and use.

I will add a stop here to my trips to the cemetery. I can water the plants and pull weeds.

Big Lake & stuff

  On Friday I had a phone call from my dentist's office. They left a message saying they had some fun news for me and that I should call them when it was convenient. I had forgotten all about it until this morning when Laila reminded me that I should give them a call.

 It's a long story but the short end of it is that they were calling me to tell me I had won a brand new kayak. It was part of their quarterly giveaway program for patients who filled out a review on Google.

Introducing "Aunt Wanda's Free Kayak Rental Service". 

Now available on Big Moon Lake at the Johansen Lake Cottage.

Laila and I headed for Lake Superior after having lunch with Glenn & Kathy at my house.  They took the new kayak to their lake cottage. It will get used there. 

Lake Superior never disappoints. 

It was a perfect day to just sit and enjoy the beach. 

We stopped at Casa Mexicana for Marguerites & Mexican food on the way home from the lake.  

Class of 1971

 

An impressive turnout for our Luck High School Class of 1971, 50th class reunion.

50 students were in the 1971 senior class; three of those students have passed, RIP Jim Bierman, Steven Hermansen & Jerry Hochstetler.

23 graduates and 2 former classmates (like me, Jeff Spofford moved before graduation) gathered to enjoy an evening of catching up.

Back row: Randy Erickson, Donna Ackerley Erickson, Claire Cook Chinander, Kelly Carrier Bexel, Jeri Schauls Bitney, Debi Moslet Baker, Jill Dversdall Thomas, Debra Giller Cardenas, Mary Stenberg, Jill Erickson Cook, Joyce Jackson Spofford, Wanda Johansen,  Neil Henriksen

Front row: Sandy Giller Jensen, Terry Mattson, Mike Murphy, Jon Anderson, Randy Hanson, Randi Ellefson, Marlys Trepanier Velander, Jim Tricker, DIanna Sorensen Lidberg, Marvin Gjerning, Jan Larsen Redmond, Jeff Spofford.

Also attending, but not in photo: Marlys Berg Murphy, Kathy Harvey Bohn

Thanks to Luck Golf Course and staff for hosting our very fun evening, all planned & coordinated by our Senior Class President Randi Ellefsen.

A big day

 Laila arrived on Tuesday. I met her and Glenn at the Culver's in Baldwin. We had lunch and then stopped at Dana & Erin's for a visit.

Wednesday, we had to be in Luck for a meeting I had at the bank. It rained hard on the drive over.  After my meeting, Laila & I had a good visit with nephew Kyle.  We ate dinner at Tokyo back in Rice Lake.

Thursday was the memorial service for Sonja, our 2nd cousin.  It was a very nice service and so nice to see all of the cousins we grew up with.

Sonie was a big baseball fan, and she loved The ⚾️ Twins.

After the lunch at the Parrish Hall, I stepped out the back door and took a photo of the Dane School building.

West Denmark Danish School

×××

About 15+ years ago, my Aunt Johanne got together with friend Erling Grmstrup, and they decided to put a sitting area on the front lawn of the church to honor their parents. Ansgar & Frederikke (my grandparents) were good friends with Kamma & Ansgar Grumstrup.  This sitting spot included a rather large kidney shaped flower bed under a flowering crab tree & a long wooden bench.  

Now, the bench wood is starting to rot.  The bushes were overgrown.  Judy is Erling's daughter and lives near the church. She has started revitalizing this sitting spot. The old bushes are gone and she has been working the soil.  She asked if the Johansen family could lend a hand.  

After the lunch, Glenn & Kathy, Laila and I had a little look at the sitting area and talked about what we can do to help.  

Now we are in search of a new bench.  And I will start stopping there on my trips to the cemetery to pull weeds, water & fertilize.

Then we took some silly photos around a huge oak tree that is nearby.

Laila and I stopped at Angie's and had a nice long visit with her, Owen, August and the little kitten Phoebe.

Then we stopped at The Bon Ton and we caught up with Lois & the cousins again at the afterglow in Sonie's name.

When we got back to Rice Lake, we had marguerites & appetizers at Adventures.

It was a long day,  and a good one.

Artsy

 Fooling around with some photo editing software.

Anything to avoid housework.

Floater

 Just before I was leaving the house, this pretty female Monarch butterfly floated around in front of the big window.  She kept fluttering by but I could not capture her in flight. I managed to get a few photos when she landed.

I saw quite a few Monarchs on my drive to Spring Valley today.

Nada

 An inch of rain was sure nice.

The Day Lily bloom is in full swing and the Coleus planter is pretty amazing.

Nothing much happening, almost nada.

 I'm procrastinating my housework until Sunday and Monday, but I'll be ready for Laila's arrival on Tuesday.

481 days later

 Finely.

These phone deals are never easy

So, when the phone guy says that you'll get a big trade in on your old phone, he might mean that you'll start to see some credits on your bill in 1 to 2 months.  And when the provider sends you a box and envelope & mailing label to send in your trade in phone, there may or may not be a label enclosed.  Anyway, this has been a pain in the butt for Laila who did the deal and who I have asked to contact the helpful store manager more than once.

The missing mailing label was a big problem as they only give you 14 days to send in the trade in phone, I had called customer service and she said she would send me a new label, but the days on the calendar were rolling by, so I asked Laila to see if her contact could email me a label, which he did.

Today, I got 2 boxes from Verizon.  One was a result of the customer service call and the other Laila somehow ordered on the website.  

But the deadline for sending in the trade-in phone was July 3rd, so these are just a little too late.

So, now if I can just see some confirmation that our phones were received at Verizon I will be somewhat reassured that this very excellent deal that the helplful Verizon manager sold us on, will really happen.

Summer heat

 90° and muggy. I hauled water around to everything that needed it.  The flower pots need a soaking almost daily when it is this hot. Some of the in ground plantings need it too. I'm already sick of watering,  I'm hopeful the Mother Nature will take over for a day or two this week.  It does seem like it is her turn. 

This Hydrangea was a transplant from friend Carol's yard at least 3, if not 4, years ago.  This year it has huge flowers and when the sun is on it, it is startlingly white.  This photo did not catch that pure white lack of color.

Hydrangea in front door garden.

The Day Lily bloom is going now.

Today's beauty is this peachy, ruffled flower.

It's a weird day,  I have errands to do,  but today is a holiday for many & traffic on most roads will be full of cabin people finding their way home.  So, I'm laying low. 

I watched "In The Heights" on HBO, very fun.  The underlying message was a good one all about community & the dancing was wonderful. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

July 4th, 245 Years of America

 Hot and humid and windy.  Perfect 4th of July weather.  

When I was at the brewery, the holidays were key to making our financial sales goals and we always hoped for great weather across the country.  This year, I have to think that beer sales will be maxing out.  It is perfect weather for drinking beer and celebrating the holiday.

🍺 🍺 🍺

My first day lily opened, there are many buds so it looks to be a good year.

First, 2021

My friend Ruby, who sold me this old ladder for $3, was asking if the Hops were climbing the ladder this year.  They are doing pretty good.  I've had to haul water down to them about every other day, if we could have some rain, they might be doing even better.

I was watering a couple of pots out front when this Hummingbird Moth flew in and started jamming on the Petunias.

It was the first of these Moths that I have seen this summer.  The photos are crappy, I was using my cellphone and he would not sit still.

Second on the Day Lily scorecard are these bright yellows.  They always have the most buds / blooms too.  They are so bright in the sunshine, wowser!

Another 4th of July has come and gone, I guess this would be my 69th.

Cheers!

Greta of Herold

Sad news came this weekend that family dog Greta has crossed over the Rainbow 🌈Bridge.  She lived with Kris & Anders in Herold, WI.

I always liked this photo, turned pencil drawing, that I took of Kris & Greta in The Barrens a few years ago.

 She has been a fine hunting dog and at Kris's side through good and bad days.  
You were a good girl Greta ♥️

Kris posted this poem in his tribute to Greta. 

IF IT SHOULD BE

If it should be that I grow weak

And pain should keep me from my sleep,

Then you must do what needs to be done,

For this last battle can not be won.

You will be sad, I understand;

Don't let your grief then stay your hand.

For this day more than all the rest,

Your love for me must stand the test.

We've had so many happy years-

What is to come can hold no fears.

You'd not want me to suffer so;

The time has come, so let me go.

Take me where my needs they'll tend

And please stay with me till the end.

Hold me firm and speak to me

Until my eyes no longer see.

I know in time that you will see

The kindness that you did for me

Although my face its’ last has smiled.

From pain and suffering I've been saved.

Please do not grieve- it must be you

Who had this painful thing to do.

We've been so close, we two, these years-

Don't let your heart hold back its tears.

-Author Unknown 

West Denmark quick trip

 I had heard from cousin Kathy that the cemetery has been the beneficiary of some volunteer work.

First, many years of vegetation was cleared along the fence.  That was a very nice improvement. 

Then the wrought iron fence got a crisp coat of paint. It really looks sharp. I'm not sure who is responsible,  but I want to send a thank you so I'll do my research. 

UPDATE: This project was the brainchild of Ed Johansen*  as a public service project for his workers at Polk Burnett Electric Co-op. 

(*Ed is the son of Dean Johansen. Different West Denmark Johansen clan, 
no relation to me.)

I ran over today to give Dad & Ev's flowers a good dose of water and Miracle-Gro & I sprayed deer repellent on the Impatiens too.   

This is the view from up the hill behind their bench. 

I walked up the hill to water the new hosta at cousin Sonie's grave, we will gather to celebrate Sonja's life on July 15th.  

I also wanted to pay my respects to cousin Reimert.  I wasn't able to attend Reimert's memorial last weekend. 

■■■

The main reason I ran over today was to drop off one of my artsy-fartsy-ied  photographs of two trumpeter swans that I took a few years ago & then used an iPad program called Waterlogue to turn it into a watercolor.   Pastor Linda had sent me an email asking if I had any thing like that for a spot she was trying to fill at the Dane School apartment.

She thought this would be perfect.  

I'm very happy to know it will be hanging in the old Dane School.

The traffic going over to Luck was not bad until Cumberland. East bound boats and motohomes and cars and trucks (mostly bearing Minnesota plates) were backed up from the Cumberland 4-way stop west for about 1 mile, or more.  

When I came home,  I went South to hwy 8. It was busy but there aren't any bottle necks like that Cumberland mess.  I bet that is a major cluster tonight.

☆☆☆☆☆

I'm already hearing fire crackers in my neighborhood.  I am not a fan of the noise, not too mention it is crazy dry.  I'll be sticking pretty close to home this weekend.