And then it was Sunday.....

And then it was Sunday! We got up, had our coffee and went to the Highway Cafe' for yet another large breakfast! The Cafe' was a quaint little place with the sweetest waitress. We were a little weary, but still quite happy, and sharing stories of family members that made differences in our lives. It was quite nice.

I noticed that we were smack dab in the middle of an actually good cell zone! I checked my phone and had like a thousand messages! I called home and all was well. I then checked my email, and low and behold, Auntie K sent pictures of Oscar! Funny thing was, he was on the couch, snoozing in the same position, just different spots. I think Auntie K wore him out! Later I found out, she made him actually exercise! He refers to it as "camp". I think he had a great vacation of his own!!

After breakfast, and back to Grandpa's. Lil Deb and the Hubby went back to weeding, while I finished with the tiller. While weeding, Lil Deb's legs had become a favored rubbing toy for "Old Joe", Grandpa's semi retarded kitty (long story.....). Anyway, Grandpa was quite happy that Grandma's Peonies and Roses were getting the attention they so deserved. He and I walked around a little and he talked to me about how much he missed Grandma, and how good she was to him. He knew she had a tough life as a farm woman, and how much work it was for her to raise the family while he work at JD and ran the farm. He was truly proud of her, and I think that pride is where he draws his strength each day. It was quite an honor to hear this from a man who does not normally speak about personal emotion. Of course, then he started telling dirty jokes again! Funny Guy!!

Grandpa took us to White Tail Campground for Dinner (which as you now know is lunch!). We went in his "mule" and drove pretty much all around the county looking at the places he "used to mow"! I parked the mule at the camp ground, and in we walked. The place was filled with stuffed animals. Deer heads, a Moose, bear, Badger, fish and other natural wonders. Grandpa asked me what I thought, and in my head popped "What a lovely room of death you have brought me too!". Of course, I did not say anything about the stuffed animals, but was quite shocked at the mysterious appearance of a camp ground where there used to only be fields in my youth. They had a pool and everything. The place was packed! Since we had just had breakfast, I was not too hungry. I had french fries, and then Debbie ordered an item completely new to me. Deep Fried Pickles! Debbie said they were just okay, and that she has had better, I on the other hand loved them! In fact, they sound good right now!

After lunch, diner, whatever, we drove around the county for another few hours (actually the whole thing only took about two hours, but just felt like we drove forever...). Grandpa took us to a high end neighborhood that sprouted up on the hill, filled with wealthy people from Chicago who came to retire or have a second home. He was telling me the land these houses were on cost about $90,000 per lot and how outrageous that was. I then told him how much our house was in Oregon, he looked at me sideways for a second, and then back to his house we went!

Back at the house, Mark was there, and then others started showing up. Donnie Johnson rolled in with the one tooth left in his head, and then a couple from Arizona showed up. The Mr. wore an Iowa Hawkeye jacket in Wisconsin Badger country. I wondered if he would be allowed to survive! Just kidding, they were supposed to help Grandpa with the Garden but did not because they did not want to let their home schooled children learn the jokes Grandpa was telling! Hmmmmm. My Brother and his son showed up, and then one of my cousins. Again, another day with lots of people in the house and on the farm. Grandpa sat on the porch, just grinning at the family he created. It was so nice to see him glowing.

Another cousin, My Uncle M and his son gave shots to some of the cows and one kicked the syringe out of my Uncles hand. Of course then Grandpa and I started making jokes about the "Kung-Fu Cattle" that Uncle M was raising!

After a while, Hubby and I went to my Aunt J's farm up the road to watch horses in Drill team practice. My Brother announced, and everyone seemed pretty busy with the whole thing, so I played with a little dog name Taco. I got to spend some time with my Sister-in-Law and Aunt J's two sons. I only got to speak to Aunt J a little, but she was in her world. Horses and kids! She is great that way.

Through out my time there so far, I discovered that everyone has their own ideas about Grandpa and how he lives. I tend to stay out of it if possible, and go right to the source. If Grandpa is happy, then so am I. That simple.

Back at Grandpa's, I started drinking with Uncle M. We spent several hours talking in front of the shop. We covered his plans for Grandpa, the farm, his future and the farming market. We talked a bit about my life, and what the last 20 years were like. It was really good conversation. At some point, Hubby came to tell me that is was very late, Lil Deb made supper and Uncle M and I missed it. So it was time to head back to the Inn.

This is the point I discovered how drunk I actually was! In the house I could see Grandpa and Lil Deb were exhausted, and so Hubby too us back to town.

I remember asking him not to drive too fast (my head was spinning a little). I remember a deer in the road, and having to search for the door handle to get out of the car. Lil Deb told me the next morning, that she came up the stairs behind me and wondered if I was going to fall backwards on her! I guess I took the stairs a little "odd", and at the top stair had to wobble to catch my balance! All in all, I did pretty well, and best of all, NO HANGOVER!!!!!

And another day down, and the next day we had to pack up to move to the next destination......