whirlwind....

whew...
ever since Thanksgiving it has just been a whirlwind for us.
The perfect storm, with everything happening it seems...     just a hodgepodge of stuff....
Steve's mother moving off the farm;  my mother needing more care; Sumi starting a new job and needing our help in picking up Sofi from daycare daily & taking her to YMCA swimming lessons; a new septic system needed at our place...3 baptisms coming up, and a move to China down the road for Abe & Angela;  oh, and Abe's book is out (I helped edit :)     www.BeNorthDakota.com
     --here's a promo--   

Abe Sauer

My book of jokes about North Dakota and the Midwest is now available. $8.95. If anyone knows anyone who would like to review it, let me know and I'll arrange for a review copy to be sent.

How to Be: NORTH DAKOTA: A Guide to the Plains (Volume 1)

www.amazon.com

A book for everyone who has looked at the vast expanse of Ole and Lena jokes and asked, “Is that it?” How to be: NORTH DAKOTA offers regional history and culture through lessons and activities about becoming "North Dakotan." Local humor with universal appeal...

Well, I made it to Isla... luckily blew in on a late flight & made the very last ferry.  I sat atop, by myself, enjoying the wind and all...came to pay the taxes & take advantage of the Dec discount!

But....
 Here's a reminder of what I'm missing back home
no snow right now         that stuff melted
super cold temps right now tho....    
snowman in front of our barn
and gram's barn & old milking parlor which will soon become a dog grooming & boarding kennel run by her niece...      lots of memories there, & hard to think of the change for all of us...
(less hard though in winter...    :)

the snow always makes it a pretty sight...

I love taking Sofia to her swimming lesson at the YMCA and look forward to her coming back to Isla as more of a swimmer...
I plan to check in at Hernandez de Cordoba school here to see if she can return for a short session...
She still remembers her classmates and teachers from last year and likes to talk about them.
I want her to be able to keep her Spanish ability and it's such a good experience for that.    Kids have a way of keeping you in the moment.
I need that right now. 
 
 here's an old photo from the farm when our guys were young....  let's see...30 years ago?
It's great they got to grow up on the farm & have a close relationship with grandparents & nature.
I'm afraid it's nostalgia time.   I am caught in a time warp. I need a time toggle switch in my brain.
Sitting on an island in the Caribbean;  reminiscing about old days, that seem not that long ago...
how life changes.
Gram's latest saying --  "Stop the World, I Want to Get Off."
A whirlwind at home....and just plain windy here on Isla.