We talk about how hot it is, how cold it is, how windy it is, the rain, the snow, if it is foggy, and the list goes on. Often it is more of a complaint and shared misery of being uncomfortable. Weather is important in this area as farmers need certain weather for their crops. This has been a year of extended extreme cold last winter, a cold and wet late spring and neighboring towns were flooded three times! My town does not flood but many people had water in their basements, and sump pumps ran all summer. The farmers couldn't get crops planted on time because the fields were too muddy to get machinery in there without getting stuck, and the ground temperature wasn't warm enough. Either that meant what did get planted might not sprout, or we have a hard frost after the plants start to come up and they are frozen, so fields have to be replanted, and that is expensive for the farmers. This year the length of the growing period before maturity was too short for the crops to produce well, so everyone was praying for a late and warm fall. Now at the end of October, the hope is that snow will not come too soon since harvesting is behind. If we get too much snow too soon, the corn may end up staying in the field all winter.
Snow? We had our first snow before October 15th! It wasn't a lot, but enough for the houses to have white roofs, and a few patches on the lawns for a brief time. At the same time North Dakota was having a blizzard! Since then we have had some very chilly days, extremely windy days, some summer like days and pretty, sunny days with hardly any wind. Normally October is a month that is one of the least windy months, but not this year.
Last week we had a bit of everything, and a very busy week for me. Monday was extremely windy and wet, and I was very happy I didn't have to go anywhere. I spent quite a bit of time working on getting our Friday morning Bible study lesson prepared.
Tuesday was windy but not like it was the day before. At 10:00 I had to be in Sioux Center to get a routine bone density scan. The report says I am normal so I don't have brittle bones and that is good news. From there I made a stop at Walmart to pick up several needed items and fill in some grocery gaps, and got home a little after 12.
At 1:00 my van was picked up to have an oil change, check up for winter, and replace a right turn signal bulb. Later in the afternoon the station owner called and said the turn signal seemed to have a wiring problem after the bulb was replaced and they didn't have time to investigate, so they would pick the van up the next morning. Awhile later he called back and said the man that brought the van back said the light was working, so we cancelled the morning appointment. I am so thankful for that as it could have been expensive.
At 2:00 my niece came to give me a haircut and we visited until 3:30 when she had to get home in time to give another lady a haircut. Barb has a beauty shop in her home, plus owns a downtown shop in a neighboring town, so she is busy. I am so thankful she is willing to come to my house because they have steps to get into the house and I can't do steps without having railings on both sides.
Then I was finally able to relax and take a nap before supper and watching my favorite tv shows.
Wednesday I had to be in Sioux Falls before 2:00 for a six month checkup with my oncologist. Everything looked normal, as usual, and made the appointment for the next six month, and last (yippee!) visit in April. Then it will have been 5 years since I had a hysterectomy for cancer, and I will be considered cancer free. That is not to say I will never have cancer in other areas but it all looks good for now.
The weather on Wednesday was dreary, but not windy. We were getting light rain at home when I left at noon, but by the time I was half way to Sioux Falls it was just a very light mist. I could count the period size drops on the windshield, just enough to keep things damp. You would have to stand outside a long time to really get wet. The 100 mile round trip went well and I was happy to be home again around 4:30.
Thursday was a nice day and temps close to 70 degrees. I didn't have to go anywhere but I did have to bake a banana cake as the ripe bananas had to be used or soon tossed. I also wanted to give some of the cake to the two gals who come for Bible study on Friday morning. Mmmm, that cake is good!
Friday was a beautiful day with hardly a cloud in the sky, and a nice day to drive in the country. Bible study was 5:45 to 7 am. At 10:30 I had to go to the clinic here in town to have my finger pricked to check how thin my blood was. The number was within the limit so back again in one month. From there I went to Orange City to renew my driver's license. I had originally thought I would do that this week, but after looking at the weather forecast for this week, I thought I needed to get it done before.
Back to the weather, this week is going to be much colder and chances of snow a couple of days. It is not supposed to be much snow but it might stick around longer and I didn't want to take a chance that roads could get icy, so the trip was made Friday and now I can put license renewal out of my mind. It has become time to get the winter coat out again. So far we had been able to just do sweatshirts or light jackets. No one is ready for winter but here it comes, regardless. I don't need to be anywhere this week.
All my medical appointments seem to fall in one week and that can be a good thing. Last week was unusually busy for me and I am not used to that. Some of you will think it wasn't that busy, and for you it probably wasn't, but it does wear me out.
'til next time. . . .
