Thanksgiving...

...at the Lyons Vet's Hall. 1992?
Back: Sue, Myrna, Mick.
Front: Shirley, Mom, Janell

TGIF

We ended up with about 2 inches of rain over the course of the week, so I guess I’ll spend at least part of my weekend mowing. I also have a small garden spot that needs tilling, so I’m hoping it will stay dry, as predicted. It’s still getting cold enough at night that I’m running the furnace for a little while in the mornings. Just enough to take the chill off.
Also planning to load up Bubba and take him to a friend’s house near Blair. She lives across the Highway (91) south of Dana College, so we have a path that goes up into and around Black Elk/Neihardt Park. A very nice ride. Or we might get adventurous and go into Omaha to Lake Cunningham, although there is no water in it right now. It’s drained for maintenance purposes or something. Anyway, they have nice horse trails there. One of them goes behind the three Walter Scott mansions. When I first saw them, I thought they were hotels or convention centers or something; huge brick structures with meticulously kept landscaping – and a couple of layers of high voltage barbed wire. If they weren’t such pretty buildings, you might mistake them for prisons because of the fencing.
Lucy is ready for a rider, so I am trying to get on the schedule of some friends of mine who train horses for a living. I’m hoping they can come over Wednesday and “cowboy up.” Maybe next time Sue brings grandkids over there will be two horses to ride. Mick wants to go for a ride on her, too, so I need to get in touch with him. Anybody heard from him lately?
I suppose Myrna will go dancing again and Sue will do a round of golf. Don’t know what Shirl might do, but I think she works Sat & Sun and has a couple of days off in the middle of the week. I guess I’d better get out into the world and see Wild Hogs, from what I hear. We just don’t do very many movies.
We have a potluck at church on Sunday and a pie auction, to raise mission funds. Emily always makes a Hershey pie that brings in $75.00 or so. The same lady has bought it two or three years in a row, but last time I saw her she had shed about 150 pounds, so Hershey pie may not be on her menu anymore.
Anyway, have a good weekend, everyone!
See you in June, if not before.
Love
Janell

1954 or so

Here we are!
From left Myrna, Bob, Mom, Mick, Sue Dad and down in front is Shirley. Janell hadn't been born yet.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUE!!!

I hope you are doing something fun today - you're probably working, tho, so maybe you can get your boss to take you to lunch or something.
Anyway, have a good one!
Love,
Janell

Weekend

This weekend was spent in Grand Island. State bowling was the excuse for the getaway. 10 ladies from Norfolk and area went together. I did not bowl very well
at all. Just couldn't get the pins to fall.
After bowling on Saturday we had free time. Usually this involves shopping. Two
other ladies wanted to go to the horse races. I had not been to the races since
Aksarben had closed so this sounded more fun than shopping. We got there in time for
the last six races. I am not a big gambler and a $2.00 better at the races. They
have added a second "daily double" since we used to go to Aksarben. I spent $14.00
and cashed in 1 ticket for $3.80. Net loss of $10.20. This was a lot less than I
would have spent at the mall. Nancy is a great race fan. She and her late husband
would go to GI and the races when he was alive. Chris, her daughter, had never been.
We had a great time.
Going to the races naturally brings memories of Grandma and Grandpa G. It also gave
me an excuse to brag that I had my picture taken with a winning horse when I was a
very little girl. Grandma was holding me and only the top of my head is visible,
but I was there. I believe the horse might have been Master Bid, not real sure.

We were a little concerned when we arrived at our motel. The storm chasers vehicle
was parked in the lot. There were watches out but no warnings. A tornado did touch
down near Gothenberg, but nothing in GI. On Sunday one touched down near Hadar
which is about 8 miles from Norfolk. Tis the season.
We ate supper (or dinner if you prefer) at Texas T-Bone. A steak house where they
serve you portions way to big for the average person to eat. No wonder we are a
nation of overweight people. We went to a lounge for a night cap. Some played some
pool, others darts. I opted to get out of the smoke and went back to the room with
my book.
Sunday was team bowling and back home and do some laundry so I have clean underwear.
Sue

A chuckle for us

I don't usually share emails on my blogs, but in light of the topic of discussion, I'll share this prayer I got from Joani:

The Senility Prayer - Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.

Amen

Has this happened to you?

No one talks loud enough anymore. Everyone is mumbling or talking too fast and I can’t understand them. I always have to say, “Beg pardon?” or “Excuse me?” and get them to repeat it.

My thumb joints hurt almost all the time. I can’t grasp a pickle jar tightly enough to twist it off anymore.

There is never enough light on the book I am reading or the sewing I’m doing. There is no longer a ‘close enough’ or ‘far away enough’ to get so that things will come into focus.

My ankles are permanently lumped where I’ve sprained them and I have a callous the size of a horseshoe nailhead on my left foot that never stops hurting.

If I sleep on my side, my hips wake me up with aching. If I sleep on my back, I wake myself up with snoring.

So, what’s next?
JRC

Cindy

I will be glad to put up your google blog address, but you have to tell me what it is. Did I miss something?

Check out journalstar.com - celebrate - birthdays. There are two BD greetings for
Tammie, who turns 40 on the 10th.
Sue

curse

A few more bad things. Cindy broke her arm on Memorial Day. She was four years old
and fell down the back steps at Nanny & Grampa Denton's. Dad died on Jerry's Dad's
birthday. Grandpa Gatewood's funeral was on his 81st birthday.
A little humor about Cindy's broken arm. - I told her to craddle it in her other arm
while I took her to the emergency room (the hospital was 2 blocks away). When we
pulled into the parking lot she said "I'll wait in the car."

Let's hope today is a GREAT FRIDAY. With the added pressure of Myrna being 66 on the 6th (666).

We combined our Easter with Abby's confirmation last Sunday. Trying to save on the
high price of gas.

Today is the day to plant potatoes. I should till up part of the yard and plant
some. The good thing would be potatoes that tasted like potatoes and I wouldn't have
to mow that area. The bad thing is I would have to keep the weeds down and it would
cut into my golf time. With Jerry being on the road, we don't really eat enough
spuds for all the work. Maybe when I retire!!

We do wish Myrna a HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND MANY MANY MORE. Grandma Mabel told the girls
that the year your birthday falls on the day you were born (ie 6th birthday on a birthdate of the 6th) was your golden birthday. I don't know what you would call
the double digit year. Double gold? What do you plan to do for this significant
birthday? I will never have a Double Gold birthday as I would have to be 2525 years
old.

Have a Great Friday and a Happy and Blessed Easter.

Sue

Remember?

Remember the Gatewood Curse? Mom used to say if there was going to be a car accident in this family, it would happen on a holiday.
Here are the ones I recall: the slide into the creek on Easter Sunday – I barely remember it because I was asleep when it started and remember getting thrown into a back seat window and seeing nothing but squashed blades of grass. In those days, back seats weren’t bolted down and when we came to rest, the car was upside down. Bob was standing and holding the back seat up so it wouldn’t fall on us. Mom later told me that she worried about it blowing up, so she whispered to Dad, “Is it going to explode?” And he said, “No, as long as the switch is turned off.”
One Father’s Day, Shirley put a car in the ditch west of Lyons. On another Father’s Day, she got broadsided by somebody in Omaha.
Christmas Eve when I was about 10 maybe? Dad and Mom and I had gone to do our Christmas shopping in Fremont (he and I had secretly bought Mom a pair of electric scissors). There was a ton of snow on the ground and in many places, tall drifts lined both sides of the highway. Just north of Oakland we had a head-on with another car when we were both trying to pass through a place where it was drifted on both sides, but not wide enough for two cars. We had slowed way down, so it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been, but of course we weren’t wearing seat belts and Mom hit the windshield and got a big cut right on her forehead at the hairline. If I live to be a hundred, I’ll never forget how scary it was to see her with blood streaming down her face. I started screaming, "Daddy - Mom's bleeding!!" Junior Swanson came along and took Mom and I to the Oakland hospital, where she got stitched up, I calmed down a little and we all went and spent the night at Sue’s, who fortunately lived right across the street from the hospital at that time.
That’s all I can think of right now – maybe some of you remember others?
At any rate – drive carefully wherever you go this weekend!
Love to all
Janell

Commuter Sightings

Myrna, I liked this heading on your page, so i added it to One Square Mile. Yes, I'm a copycat!
Janell

weekend

Chilly, Windy, Rainy, even a little sunshine - all this weekend. Jacob opted out of
the wrestling on Saturday in favor of going fishing with his dad.
Due to a phone call requesting "bonding time", Jaydee & I went shopping for shorts
(for her) on Saturday night. Cindy had departed to Wayne to meet some old classmate
for some socializing. Walmart was her shop of choice. She did find 3 pair she liked
and some tank tops to go with them. We were back home in about an hour. It doesn't
take Jaydee long to make a decision.
Sunday was Abby's confirmation. I can't believe she will be in high school next year. There were 4 confirmands in the little Lutheran church in Pilger. Jacob was
in the palm leaf processional. He also is growing too fast. Abby's Aunt Kristie
had made a CD with pics and music. It was really nice and brought a few tears to the
eye to realize how quickly they grow up.
All the nice rains we had last week resulted in nice green grass that needed to be
mowed when I got home. I had to delay that project for a couple of hours because
a friend wanted to play some golf. We do have our priorities.
Monday, Monday, back to work and time to close out another month.
Sue