Tim posted!

Tim has posted his monthly blog.

Till next time,

Suzi

Cornerstone, here we come...

It's getting closer to Cornerstone time. I thought we'd be leaving tomorrow, but it may not be till Monday morning. Tim has a job he wants to bid and a house walk through--and we are still doing things with the camper.

We discovered that we needed a new faucet for the kitchen sink for the camper. We went to Menards, but Tim was having some trouble squeezing in under the tiny cupboards under the sink. Cousin Terry was called down (he's 160 dripping wet) and lent a hand. Tim is really smart and handy, but Terry is really good at figuring things out with household and mechanical type things. Before long, the sink was installed, along with a new sprayer that came with it.

Next, we filled the holding tank. We then discovered that there is some kind of leak or problem with the water heater. Tim is going to look at it today in case we need to buy plumbing supplies from the trailer place which will not be open tomorrow.

We need to fill the propane tanks, check the tires, check the bikes and get them on, wash and pack all the bedding, clean the camper and make a grocery list (we will shop once we get down there) etc. etc.

I suppose my sister has the right idea--throw a tent and a camping stove and some sleeping bags in the back of the car and head on down. It sure would be easier.

But it is nice to have A/C and hot showers and running water (including a toilet) right there....The price we pay for our little luxuries...

Till next time,


Suzi

Whattav I got to show for it...

I'm closing up my first week off work, and what do I have to show for it? I've made phone calls about Christina enrolling in Post Secondary Education Options next year, I've gone through mail, I've pondered and thought about the many things I could be doing--I called my doctor's office about getting a note about flying with a pump--oh, by the way, when Cheri and I drive back from Tennessee in two weeks, I'll have her drop me off at O'Hare where I got a $69 ticket to fly back to Mpls.

I did bake some banana bread one morning before it got too warm and turned the air on. I have caught up on Gilmore Girls.

Still, packing & cleaning need to be done. When will I begin? But it is summer vacation, right?

Till next time,


Suzi

An evening surprise

My sister sees this all the time. After all, she lives in the Northwoods. But here in the suburbs, just a mile from Minneapolis city limits, this sight is not very common.

Last night, Raven (our German shepherd mix) and I were out for our evening stroll. It was later than usual, a little past dusk, and it was getting pretty dark. As we came back through the wooded area near our house, I looked through the opening in the wooden fence.

There was something there I hadn't seen before--perhaps some sort of statue? It looked like--but could it really be? It was so still, it couldn't be a living thing...

Then Raven noticed and started to bark. The statue started to move--quickly. It bonded away from us--toward our back yard and to the nearby county road.

I got Raven back home and went looking for the moving statue. It was nowhere to be seen, and I didn't hear any screeching tires on the road, so I figured the statue was all right for now.

It looked like a young deer to me--no antlers, and fairly small. A doe? A yearling? I didn't see any other deer with it or nearby.

It's been a couple of years since I've seen deer in our neighborhood. Come to think of it, I haven't seen our groundhog around lately. (Did I ever blog about that--we had our own groundhog burrowing under our shed--and two of our neighbor's sheds as well. He seemed quite at home.)

Maybe the deer scared Robbinsdale Ronny (the groundhog) off. We'll have to look for him again in early February.

By then, the deer should be easier to spot. We'll just follow their prints in the foot-high snow.

Till next time,


Suzi

A Week At Home

Monday morning, and I'm not rushing out the door or thinking about working at the seminary this evening. My regular 10-month contract at the seminary is over for the summer, and my temporary one month assignment begins July 9. So, this week before Cornerstone, I'm at home, getting ready, cleaning, packing, shopping, etc. etc.

It's supposed to be stormy for a good part of the week, so I'm hoping that will motivate me to do lots of inside work. Plus, it's been pretty hot, although not terribly humid. Dew points may rise with stormy weather on the way, though.

We had a good weekend, filled with scooter riding on Saturday and family and friends stuff on Sunday. It was our last Sunday at church in the building we've been renting from a Mennonite congregation. They are down to 12 members or so, and have voted to close their doors. Today people will pack up and put our stuff in a trailer--we'll begin meeting in the community center next Sunday--but we will be on our way to Cornerstone!

Okay--I've made an appointment for Raven's check up--I've got to go to Christina's school to pick up her portfolio--still working on getting her Post Secondary Education Option (college classes) paperwork ready...gotta get the cars in for their "check ups"....

Looks like I won't be napping too much this week. I'll save that for Cornerstone--in between beach/band/blab (seminar) runs....

Till next time,

Suzi

Waterskiing

Terry invited us out to his boat yesterday. I thought we'd just take a couple of trips around the lake and be done with it, but noooo. Tim jumped in the water, put on skis like he was 16 years old, and got up each of three or so times that he skied. I was proud of him, but a little concerned--he's really not a teenager anymore. He wiped out a couple of times, and today he's sore, but good.

Terry also skied--dropping one ski near the beach so he could slalom around a bit. Then Judd joined us and did some skiing too. I didn't worry about him so much--he's only 27.

Today I am sporting a farmer's tan--just in time for Cornerstone next week! I did bring sunscreen, which was a good thing since Tim didn't bring a hat (we scootered over to the beach, but we decided helmets weren't the best water/boat friendly head coverings.

Another hot day today. I've scootered in the last couple of days, and think I'll try again today. It's really not too hot to ride, a nice breeze is created riding, and you don't work up too much of a sweat as if you were bicycle riding.

Till next time,


Suzi

Last week of work for awhile....

Tim and I had a fun weekend scootering around town. The weather was beautiful, and we both got leather jackets from a lady on craigslist.com (I think that's the link). So now all I need are chaps. :)

Today I go in to work at 3:30, so I'm trying to catch up around here. Had an eye appointment, then went to get some grass seed and soil for some patches in the front yard. Got some dog food too, but the shelves were pretty bare. Hopefully, the food I got is not on any recall list. It's dry food, so I'm pretty confident, but it seems like there are always reports coming out about all kinds of pet food being unsafe.

Christina's done with school for the summer, so she's decided to go back to the Papa Johns to work part-time as well as Baker's Square. Plus, she's babysitting for cousins once a week. Hopefully she'll be rolling in the dough by summer's end and she can take us all on a nice vacation.

Speaking of which, Cornerstone is coming up fast! I just found out Dave King of IdeaJoy won't be there this year! Sad! He is my blogging father. The festival moved up a week earlier, and it's too early for his daughter, who gets out of school close to festival start time.

Hope you are all enjoying your early summer!

Till next time,


Suzi

Day off

Well, I took the day off today. It was supposed to be a productive day at home, but I mostly relaxed. I spent some time with Mark, who stopped at home before and after Tim took him shoe shopping. The morning started with our life insurance agent going over some things that should simplify our policies and IRAs.

This evening Tim and I rode his scooter around town, stopping downtown for an open air music concert. We went to Olive Garden for dinner and stopped at DQ on the way home. It was a lovely evening--fun to ride downtown in the open air.

Tomorrow is back to work, but the four-hour days aren't too hard to take. I don't think I'll be able to ride in, as I did yesterday, because storms are predicted.

Till next time,


Suzi

Summer schedule

Today starts my summer schedule, which really won't be regular. I'll work the next couple of Monday evenings at the seminary (the first summer session of SemPM begins this evening), and then I'll work mornings the rest of the week. However, I'll probably take time off because I worked extra over this past weekend. I was thinking taking Thursday off, but then I forgot about our monthly Thursday meetings in the afternoon.

After next week, I'll have three weeks off--the good part of the last two weeks will include Cornerstone and a trip to Tennessee with my sis.

Today I had my regular check up with my endocrinologist. 7.5 A1c, Dad--not as good as last time. The doctor told my not to be discouraged, but I will work on getting it back below 7.0. Already I'm adding evening walks to my routine.

Christina called today and asked me to pick up lunch for her and her friend Emily at school--she forgot her lunch at home. I was able to sit with her and her friends--something she invited me to do! This mother and daughter thing may be improving after all!! Friday is her last day of school.

Now I've got to make a salad for our AFS picnic tonight. I'll be late since I'm working at the sem till 8--but Tim is the AFS chapter treasurer, and he'll be distributing checks to students who worked fundraisers this year.

We hit two open houses for high school graduates this weekend. I guess it's a time of transition. Next year we'll be sending off our baby!

Woo hoo! I mean...boo hoo! I mean.....time marches on....

Till next time,


Suzi

Seminary graduation

It's been a busy week at work--wrapping things up for the summer in Anthropology/Sociology, and getting students registered for June courses and getting ready for graduation at the seminary.

I'm home this morning because I'm working at the seminary in the afternoon--helping get ready for the communion service tonight and commencement tomorrow. Yesterday was my last day at Anth/Soc, but I didn't get things ordered the way I would have liked. Ah well--I'll be back in mid-August, two weeks before classes start for fall. Hopefully then I'll be able to get on top of things.

Christina's class was at Bethel on Wednesday--they were in the biology lab dissecting fetal pigs. I went down to see her, and she greeted me with her blue gloves, pig in pan in hand, and asked if I wanted a hug. She is leaning more toward pursuing Bethel for college in the future because she said she saw lots of "cute boys." When I told her that classes at Bethel were over for the summer and that all the Bethel boys were probably no longer on campus, she responded, "Well, I saw some."

She will finish her junior year next Friday. She's already started on a senior year project. It's hard to believe in a year all the kids will have graduated from high school.

But for now, we'll enjoy summer, a lighter schedule, and plan for Cornerstone. It's only a few weeks away!

Till next time,


Suzi