Beautiful snake

We went with grandson to his scout meeting.  The program was on reptiles.  They learned about four types, where they lived, looked like, AND were able to touch them.

I did not get a picture of B touching one.  

We are basking in the sun here.  The temp is in the 70s.  G and I are here with the other grandparents.  It is a perfect week with family. 

Shopping for clothes or not.

I desperately need new clothes and shoes.  I would be embarrassed to acknowledge how many years I have worn the ones I currently have.  So today I went to the mall.  I walked the aisles of many stores.  The current styles are not for me!  Finally I said I would not even look at the price, if I just found something I liked I would buy it.  But still no purchases.   The only thing I found was a beautiful pair of earrings that cost $800.  Even though it was on sale, I did not want to give Gerry a heart attack.  To be truthful I have never had a piece of jewelry that cost that much so am not going to start now.  A $20 pair would be just fine.

I will admit that I had a great dinner at a fine restaurant, including wine and a decadent dessert.

Gelato  with caramel, ganache , and something else crunchy.  

 My next post will tell the story of why Gerry was not with me.  I need a picture for that post.

A Difficult posting

Yesterday my brother, Harry, died.  He had an aneurysm couple days ago.  He was airlifted to a great hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  They did surgery and he was put on life support.  Yesterday his siblings met and we made the decision to remove him from the ventilator. It was horribly difficult but the damage to his body was too much.  Three of us were at his side, holding his hands so he was not alone. 

Today I am planning the memorial service.  I am the coordinator, but all siblings are very involved.
There are legal, practical and emotional issues everywhere.  But it will come together.  I wanted to post a photo but am finding it difficult just using my Chromebook. 

Weather update

Yesterday we had wind gusts up to 65 mph.  We could hear noise on the south side of the house at night.  This was the cause of the banging noise.  It could have been much worse.  Now the challenge is to keep Gerry off the ladder until the wind dies down.

But I will not complain at all.  Southern Minnesota where many of our brothers and sisters live people were not even allowed on the roads due to the terrible conditions. The Governor declared a state of emergency.  There were reports of snow banks six feet tall.  But their  worst problem was the high winds. And people who were out on the roads against all advice not to. 

Our day

Today was a busy day for Gerry and me.   After exercise class I picked him up from the dentist where he had a root canal.  All is going well with that.  Then we attended the autobiography class, follow by a quick lunch, and then a movie.

We don't go very many movies, but today saw "The Green Book"  Sure was a reminder what life was like in the South in the 1960s for African-Americans.  Back then it was called the " The Negro Motorist Green-Book" .  We had never heard of the Green Book. It was a book which listed accommodations, restaurants  and businesses that were safe to go to for African-American when traveling in the US.  It does have it critics who say it missed an opportunity to tell it as it really was but we enjoyed it.

Telling my story

I have again joined Gerry in the autobiography class he is currently taking.  These are two hour classes once a week for ten weeks.  I am not as passionate or dedicated as he is.  He has been writing for a couple years now and attended many sessions and has written literally  hundreds of pages.

For our first class we were to write about a "branching point" in our life.  That is something that happened that caused you to go a different direction. There are no  parameters other than that.
I actually spoke of a tree and its branches.  The tree trunk was when I met Gerry.  The branches were various things he introduced me to or that happened because I had married him.

After telling how we met, the branches were 1) How folk music was part of our life when we first met and how it still is.  We have heard Arlo Guthrie several times. 2) Motorcycles. That is not surprise of course. Told of trips including one were it rained 5 inches that night  3) The many places we have lived. 

The snow has melted here and it was only in the 20s today so I was able to walk and sit in my woods today.  No pictures as it looks quite gray and bleak. 

House Beautiful

I may have told you of the Amish woman who does house cleaning for me.  In addition to everything sparkling when she leaves, she has a knack for arranging  everything so it looks like out of a magazine.

Even a book shelf with little on it.  Two comments on that.  When we had our new flooring installed, we had to remove everything from shelves.  They were packed away and somehow have not found their way back to the shelves.

The second thing I would like to bring to your notice are the silhouette pictures of our grandchildren.

These were a Christmas gift for Gerry and me.