100 & Counting...

It's a significant day. Realistically, when I started blogging in June of 2014, I had no idea there would still be words and stories in my head. Pretty secure in saying, I'm the only person who's read every single one. And more than once. Ugh. Instead of celebrating this milestone, I decided to read the first 99 again. My eyes, my eyes. My head, my head. I tried to remain objective. Hoping to see them from the perspective of reader instead of inept writer. I was determined to find at least 10% worthy of reading more than once. This is going to be a hard sell. Some arm twisting and bribery may be involved.

 

Yay Neese...

Pending...

We've had a For Sale sign in our front yard for 3 years. Had you told me in 2012 the nicest home we've ever owned would take this long to sell, I would have had you committed. It's lake property people. Certainly not a mansion compared to some in the neighborhood, but still a nice home. I've lived in this house longer than I lived in my childhood home town of Rock Valley, Iowa, although it doesn't seem that long. Except for that stinking sign still out front.

 

The sign has truly worn out its welcome...

Dad & Skip...

Boy, it's been some week. As my Dad used to say, "I want to share this with you." I was knee deep trying to get my last blog posted. Remember, it was the one about all the letters I wrote my Mom and Dad? Spanning the years from 1974-1976. After we had moved to eastern Iowa, about 325 miles away. I had letters everywhere. Reading each one, copying down paragraphs from certain ones that I wanted to use. I probably had written down 35 snippets.

 

The letters from me to my Mom and Dad, 1974-1976..

Two years...

I've been tripping. Not literally the fall down kind. The memory lane variety. It all started with our basement. Our house is about 120 feet from Muskegon Lake. The basement is only 30 inches deep. A royal pain. The only thing I really hate about this house. Want the dozen containers holding all our Christmas paraphernalia? Go crawl around the basement cement floor for an hour.

 

Just before we moved to eastern Iowa. John, Denise, Shannon, 1973...

Elly & Dewey...

It wasn't exactly awkward, but still rather unusual. John and I started dating in the mid-60's. His only sister Elly, had already been married for several years with 4 children! Wow. Jim and Mag were champions when it came to spacing children! Meaning, Elly got married when John was about 2. She became a mother for the first time a couple years after I was born. I didn't see them very often. They lived in Sioux Falls at the time and were busy raising their family. A few years later they moved to Spencer. John and I were too busy making out to be real involved with Elly and her family. Oh how things would change.

 

Holidays with Elly and Dewey, mid-1970's...

Boo-boos...

Since my kids were evenly spaced, you'd think they wouldn't have much in common. And that was true as they got older. None of them were ever even in high school together. However their mother remained sane. Which was the whole purpose of having them spaced to begin with. But when I looked at some old pictures, I see the kids, mostly the boys played together quite a bit. At least for the first several years.

 

Absolutely priceless. Adam and Joshua, 1983...