Last day of May 2024

 Is 9:22 pm as I start this on Thursday evening and it is raining here in Clarinda, IA.

Yesterday was my older brother Don's 85th birthday.  I spoke with him on the phone but he didn't have much to say.  Not sure he really grasped it was his birthday.

For more than a year now I have been reading this 785 page book about the editor and his newspaper that he started in 1890 when the city of Bloomfield, Nebraska was platted and up through the 1930's.  It is written by the editor's son-in-law and he copies much from the newspaper through the years.  There are many obituaries included which, as he explained, gives a lot of information on the population of that town.  One obituary describes a man who never married and

he finishes the obit with this:  "He bought a small piece of ground about 13 miles north of Bloomfield, where he lived in single blessedness until his death."  Never heard of being unmarried as "living in single blessedness".  Interesting.  By the way, I am within 25 pages of finishing it. after only a year a so.  I looked up to see if this book is available on the internet---found one used one for $95.00. 

Well, it is now 10:30 am on Friday.  63 degrees--had .7" of rain overnight.  Cloudy now and to rain off and on the rest of the day.  I failed to mention that on the Monday before we drove to Callaway we were finally released from a week of boiling any water we drank or cooked with, due to a construction outfit digging into one of the water mains uptown.

These two photos are taken from our back deck of a tree that has had dead branches break off in about every wind storm.  It shows a large branch that is now resting on the crown of a smaller tree.  Too high to reach.  Hope if it ever is blown from that smaller tree it happens with a wind from the south.  If it is a north wind it will land on the hedge for sure and maybe on our wooden deck.

See the small tree split in one
of it's upper branches.

  Some photos below of the flowers around our house.

A year ago we had a crack in the bubble over the shower in our travel trailer.  Replaced it and got some caulk to seal it in.  When started using the trailer this spring found some water leakage again in the shower area.  When I examined it I found all the caulking was lifting up and curling and not sealing anything.  On reading up on what I had bought last, I found it was not for EPDM or TPO rubber roofs.  Got a roll of tape that is good for either and spent a few hours cleaning off the old caulking and putting down this tape to seal it.  Hope this is the last time I need to go up there.

In June of 2015 when getting our pickkup topper on, I had them install a vinyl "protectant" on the front of the pickup hood.  It has gotten quite pock-marked in the last 160,000 miles of driving so decided to remove it.  With it facing the sun to warm up the vinyl and its adhesive, it took several days to peel it off.  Have now worked several more days removing the adhesive.

A robins nest has some babies in it on downspout at back of the garage.

Phyllis has worked the last couple weeks arranging for people to help with ushering at the Glenn Miller Birthplace Festival which starts next Thursday.  Met with several people at the Museum Wednesday and I am to accompany another gentleman to Kansas City, MO this next Wednesday to pick up three girls coming in for the Music Scholarship Competition on Thursday.  Two of the girls will be staying at our place Wednesday night and Thursday night and they will be returned to Kansas City airport to return home.  One is from near Dallas and the other is from Connecticut.   You can view what will happen by clicking HERE

"I started with nothing and I still have most of it left."   All for now, Lynn

Memorial Day 2024

 75º with bright sunshine at 1:45 pm Monday here in Clarinda, IA.  

While in Callaway last week we got to visit for an hour or so with Dixie (Henry) G'Schwind.  She was a few grades behind me--I think in brother Darrell's class, at Lower Lodi Grade School, and in high school.  She is having some health issues.  They had had a bad wind storm a year or so ago and lost some large trees near their house and I had a hard time recognizing where she lived.  Her husband, Dick and son Doug, where there for a bit and got to visit with them also.

Saturday morning we put some flowers in the pickup and went out to the Clarinda Cemetary.

This is Phyllis'

Dad's parents Edward and Edna Cabbage's grave.

This is Phyllis' Mom's parents Lester & Etta Runyan's grave.

Phyllis' parents Melvin & Pauline Cabbage's

graves.

Phyllis' dad's sister Millicent & Ed Guthrie's grave.

Our daughter-in-law Patty's parents, Fred & Fern Baze's tombstone.

Another stop we made while in Callaway last week was to see Madeline McFate.  We had become acquainted with her and Monte Joe when they came to Kenwood RV Park some 12 years ago.  Monte Joe has passed on now.  She was showing us a quilt she made with many things from the McFate ranch and family.

I made this video for the sound.  Was eating on the deck back of our house and the birds are quite vocal.

Rather tranquil scene by our planters on the deck.

More another time, Lynn

A busy week just past

 72 degrees with bright sunshine in Clarinda, IA at 3:00 pm on Friday.  Had just under an inch of rain overnight and and dumped .65" yesterday evening that would have come probably Tuesday.  We left Clarinda early Tuesday in a heavy rain and was in some rain most of the time till we got west of Lincoln, Nebraska.  We went to Callaway that day and stayed overnight Tuesday & Wednesday nights with Sharleen & Lynn Stivers.  

A CHS 1961 classmate, Nancy Cantrell Willis's visitation was that evening and her funeral Wednesday morning.  About 8 of Callaway's class of 1961 attended and we had a good visit,

While at the cemetary we

placed some flowers on Mom & Dad's graves there.  Been 46 years for Dad and 38 years for Mom.

Oh, 16 years ago today was the funeral of my sister, Louise.

Here is a strange story for you.  More than four years ago I lost my set of car keys along with some house keys.  We retraced where we had been the day before, even advertised on the local radio station and talked to several stores we had visited to let them know what to do with the keys when they found them.  I had new keyfob made and copied the keys from Phyllis' set and went on our way.  In those many years I have tipped over my recliner chair to clean up the popcorn, peanuts, and many other things dropped in it.  But last week when I did that the key fob fell out.  We had to twist and turn to search everything under the seat and finally located the set of keys.  This has been many years and all the time they were hiding under me!

We played several games of Pegs & Jokers with Sharleen and Lynn each of the two evenings we were with them.

On Tuesday we visited a while with our closest neighbor when I was growing up.  Norman Downin lives alone in the same house, though his parents, Morris & Elsie Downin and his sister, Carolyn are all gone now.  He has several men working for him, tending his 500 plus head of cows and the other ranching and farming.

Yesterday, Thursday, we stopped in Broken Bow, Nebraska and had lunch with the Fergusons.  Gail is the only one I didn't get a photo of (she was near the window which was a bad background) and we had good visit with all.  Helen Ferguson, Jake's widow, had her son with her.  He had come in at 1 am that morning from Minneapolis and was going back on Saturday.  Don Ferguson has been in an assisted living place for many years, but has had some health issues and is now in a nursing home there in Broken Bow.  With any luck he should

be able to return to Off Broadway assisted lving within a few weeks.  He had returned to Off Broadway a few days ago to call bingo for them, something he did regularly while living there.

After visiting Norman Downin on Tuesday we drove by the "old home place" where I grew up between 1947 and 1961.  Most of the out buildings are gone, but the house looks the same as when I left home for business school in June of 1961.

With this weekend being a 3-day holiday we won't be going anywhere.  Will take flowers out to the local cemetery where many of Phyllis' relatives are buried tomorrow.

Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend.

Lynn

Heading to Custer County, Nebraska

 Time I get another post.  72º here in Clarinda, IA at 3:00 pm Monday.  Got .9" rain with some hail and a lot of wind last evening.

The rain was coming so hard shortly after these small hailstones fell that they quickly melted.

This tree, just 30 feet from the deck, has had a lot of broken limbs in the last few months.  There are several still up there that are broken off but hanging on other branches.  If we have a wind from the south it will be okay, but hope to not have a hard north wind as probably some of it would be on the deck.

This was on the deck a few days ago.  I thought some sheep shearing had gone on.  My head was lighter.

Nancy Willis Cantrell, with whom I graduated in Callaway, Nebraska in 1961, passed away last Friday after battling cancer for several years.  By rough reconing, we have lost about half of our '61 class now.  Her funeral is this Wednesday in Callaway and we are leaving Clarinda in the morning to drive the 300 miles west.  Will attend the visitation that is from 5 to 7 pm and we will be staying in Callaway with Lynn & Sharleen Stivers.  The Stivers' have been neighbors in Kenwood in Texas for many years, though they wre not able to go down last winter.

Some of the flowers Phyllis has around the place.

Later, Lynn