Memorial Weekend

We have been in North Dakota for almost a year now and have never visited Fargo.  We decided to use the Memorial weekend to do that.

We left work a little early Friday and headed out.  I doubt most people faced the traffic we did when we began our trip.

North Dakota is not heavily populated and this is the type traffic we face most days.

Just south of Minot is a wind farm with many of these wind turbines.



We took a little detour on our way to Fargo and drove down some of the country roads.  We came upon a small cemetery with this mini-mauseleum across the street.

We stopped to take this picture and soon our car was swarmed by these bugs, not sure what they are but they were all over the car.  We kept the windows closed tightly.

Finally arrived in Fargo around 7 PM and headed out for dinner.  Famous Dave's is a bar-b-que restaurant that we have visited in Duluth and Bismark. 

The food is always great and it is a fun place to visit.

The next day we crossed the Red River and explored the countryside in Minnesota.  The contours of the earth were amazing.

The colors of the differing terrain were like an artist's pallette.

Farmers work hard shaping the ground and creating this beautiful scenery.

Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes of which this is one.  There really are so many lakes to explore.

More farmland and the beautiful scenery created by the farmers.

The dirt is so dark and rich in the Red River Valley that the crops truly seem to grow overnight.

The farmers truly have a touch of artist in them.

Lest you think we had no holiday traffic, I wanted to share this picture of Pelican Rapids, MN and the busy street we found.

Heading back to Fargo we came upon this General Store and decided to stop.  They carried most grocery items and a few "Made in MN" things.

This was the beginning of our trip and our exploration in Minnesota.  Saturday evening and Sunday we spent exploring Fargo and I will have more photos to share later. 

Sunday Phunnies

Signs that You're Burned Out
Your friends call to ask how you've been, and you immediately scream, "Get off my back!"

Your trash can IS your "in" box.

You wake up to discover your bed is on fire, but go back to sleep because you just don't care.

Visions of the upcoming weekend help you make it through Monday.

You blasted your Daily Planner with a .357 Magnum a week ago, but still haven't been able to miss a meeting.

You leave for a party and instinctively bring your ID badge.

Furniture, At Last!

At long last, our friends arrived with furniture for our apartment.  I was especially happy to see a stove-complete with an oven, and it works!

They also brought us a refrigerator.  Not my favorite color but it works great and it is so nice having a full-sized fridge again.

The living room now has a love-seat,



2 recliners and a couple of benches (which we use as end tables).

This 6 foot table is super nice for my sewing machines.  I will really enjoy being able to sew again.  My first project will be curtains for our little abode.

Now, these 2 armoires are a real blessing-someplace to keep our books and clothes and we do not have to use the bins any more.

I know to most people this little apartment does not look like much but to us it is such a blessing.  We feel so blessed that our friends are willing to share their home with us.

Sunday Phunnies

Only in America ... can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance.

Only in America ... are there handicap parking places in front of a skating rink.

Only in America ... do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.

Only in America ... do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and a diet coke.

Only in America ... do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens to the counters.

Only in America ... do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.

Only in America ... do we use answering machines to screen calls and then have call waiting so we won't miss a call from someone we didn't want to talk to in the first place.

Only in America ... do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.

Only in America ... do we use the word 'politics' to describe the process so well: "Poli" in Latin meaning "many" and "tics" meaning "bloodsucking creatures."

Only in America ... do we have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering.

The Long Road Home

We leave the city everyday going to work and everyday I am amazed at the beauty of the hills and plateaus up here.

This photo shows the rolling hills with flat tops.  It looks like you could just walk across the top of the hills and they would be all connected but actually there are lots of hills next to each other.

A few trees scattered here and there across the prairie.

The long view of Highway 2, the road home.

This house always reminds me of  "The Little House on the Prairie" but actually it is not very small at all.

The sky is so large and dramatic.

Prairie and sky meet together for a dramatic appearance.

You can see storms rolling in for miles and miles.

The many colors of the stormy sky.

The wind was really strong today and that causes the sky to change shape rapidly.

This is right outside of Minot and almost home.

The prairie definitely holds a beauty all its own and I do love it.  Hope you enjoyed this little ride home with us.

Our New Apartment

We have officially moved into our new apartment.   Our landlords/friends will be bringing furniture next week.  In the meantime we are back to using camp chairs in the living room, once again.

The kitchen has quite a few cabinets and will soon have a stove and refrigerator.

We are looking forward to getting a stove installed.  Currently we are using our friend's refrigerator and stove upstairs, a bit inconvenient but at least we get to use it.

Our bedroom with our new bed.  The first bed we have had that belongs to us in almost a year.  We feel so blessed.

Our teeny, tiny bathroom.

Well, that concludes the tour of our little home.  Once the furniture arrives I will post more pictures.

Weekend in Minnesota

We left North Dakota after work on Friday and headed for Fargo, ND where we spent the night.  Saturday we went on to Minnesota.  The topography of western MN is very similar to eastern ND, flat and straight.

We drove for hours through farm country.  It is still early spring and the farmers have started turning the ground over.

The dirt is so rich and dark up here.  We use all sorts of additives to get our dirt to look this good.

The quality of the dirt must be why the crops grow so quickly and so large in this area.

There was a lot more green in MN than in ND, but that will change soon.  The hills of ND are beginning to turn green and will be beautiful before long.

This is a grain elevator and every town up here has one, some are large and some small but they are everywhere.

While exploring we saw this house which was built in 1918.  The house and barn sit on about 5 acres of land.  It can be purchased for about $40,000.  Since it was for sale and empty we got out and took some photos.

The house needs lots of work and the grounds are covered with all sorts of trash.  It would cost a fortune to fix this one up.

Since this was my birthday weekend, my hubby asked where I wanted to go for dinner.  We were in Wilmar, MN and had no idea what was available but we turned the next corner and found this.

Culvers is a fast food restaurant that we have fallen in love with and we do not have one in Minot.  We have really missed Culvers so there was no question of where we would have dinner.

This is one of the reasons we love Culvers-Concrete Mixers!

We had a lovely weekend and headed back to Minot after church.  Looking forward to settling in to our new apartment.

Settling In

We are finally in our apartment and have started making it a home.  We had ordered a bed, a real bed, our first bed in almost a year, and the box spring would not fit around a corner.  We had to special order a split box spring.  So for the first week we slept on the mattress on the floor.  Finally, last Friday, our box spring arrived and they set up the bed.  This weekend for the first time in almost a year, we slept in a bed that belongs to us.  Ahh, the comfort!  I feel really spoiled!!

Our friends, who are allowing us to live in their basement, have gone to pick up their furniture.  They are selling a home in Ohio and buying the one we will share.  They will be bringing back with them some creature comforts that we have not had in almost a year.  They will be furnishing us with a table and chairs, love seat, recliner and a few other goodies.  In the meantime, we have purchased some camp chairs and are using our well-worn travel bins as tables.  We are really looking forward to their return and the use of some real furniture.

Our trip to Granite Falls, MN was nice.  We visited the church I mentioned but did not have time to visit since we still had a 7 hour drive home.  I did get photos and hope to get them uploaded this week.

So for now it is back to work and wait for the rest of the furniture to arrive!

Sunday Phunnies

The Perks of being Over 50

Your supply of brain cells is finally down to manageable size.

Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember them either.

Your joints are more accurate meteorologists than the national weather service.

People call at 9 PM and ask, "Did I wake you?"

People no longer view you as a hypochondriac.

There is nothing left to learn the hard way.

Things you buy now won't wear out.

You can eat dinner at 4 P.M.

You can live without sex but not without glasses.

You enjoy hearing about other peoples operations.

You get into heated arguments about pension plans.

You have a party and the neighbors don't even realize it.

You no longer think of speed limits as a challenge.

You quit trying to hold your stomach in, no matter who walks into the room.

You sing along with elevator music.

Your eyes won't get much worse.

Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off.