Update on what's going on

I got an email from my sister-in-law Rita today telling me how she caught up with things via my blog -- it's so great being able to keep in touch with loved ones from the Philipines, Indonesia, Paraguay, Canada, all over the United States, and who knows where else with just a quick (yeah, okay, long) blog entry! I love the emails, comments, etc. Keep 'em coming!

This weekend it dawned on me that I'm getting OLD! Okay, I've had creaks and aches for awhile, but my parents celebrated their birthdays yesterday (Mom) and today (Daddy). And I realized....my MOM is closer to 70 than she is to 65! And Dad is closing in on the big 7-0, too. Wow! (Sorry, Mom, I don't mean that in a bad way, it's probably just as hard to realize you have a daughter who is 41!) Is it me, or do people just turn like ten years older when you blink? I mean, kids I used to babysit have children. Babies I held in my arms are DRIVING. Kids who I used to have to bend down to talk to now have to bend down to talk to me! Anyway, happy birthday, Mom and Daddy!

Health-wise I'm doing much better these past few days. I did really well for about a month then started having problems again with my stomach, chills, shaking, fatigue, weakness, etc. My right foot was also very painful to the point where I could barely walk. I finally called my doctor after dealing with these daily for almost three weeks and she asked me to come in right away. Blood pressure still pretty low, severe plantar's faciitis (or however it's spelled) -- doctor's orders to wear shoes in the house, a definite no-no in this one! (hey, I'm married to a farmer with a hubby and kids and visitors coming in all the time after being in the fields and cow barn, need I say more about what may or may not be trekked into our house???) So I wore my sneakers that day then went and got a pair of Crocs the next day -- and got a pair for Tony, too. My feet are already feeling MUCH better! She also gave me a prescription for my stomach problems with strict instructions to call next week if there was no improvement so she could order an ultra-sound to check my gallbladder. I'm very happy to report that there was a big improvement the first day I took the medication, and I'm back to feeling 100% now, praise God! I still have to go in one morning for more blood work....I'm so tired of this all....but at least I have energy again, and was quite surprised and thankful when I told Tony last night (after the TOH show) that my LEGS hurt from standing all day, and not my feet!

Remember the 14 bushel of apples we got last weekend? Last fall, we sold maybe a total of 7 bushels of apples throughout September and October. I thought 14 bushel would last at least thru mid-October, or at least until the end of the month when I hope to go back down to the Cities for Honeycrisp as well as restocking other apples. Good grief. We have less than a bushel left! By Friday afternoon, we had sold about 12 bushels of apples with people requesting even more of the common ones (McIntosh, Haralson, Cortland) and some that aren't being picked yet (Honeycrisp, Gala, Fireside). I'm heading south again on Tuesday.....

We are getting ready for our pumpkin parties. The first one is this coming Saturday, then we'll add Friday afternoons in October. Tony has added duck races this year, too. So this week will be packed with him busy at the market getting the maze and everything ready while I bustle around with the admin side of things -- wristbands, give-away candy, buying food and making treats for the concessions, getting out the pumpkin party paraphenilia, and wondering if everything will be done in time...while getting in that trip to the Cities all day Tuesday and a trip to Fargo on Friday! Thankfully, though, things do slow down work-wise once the first pumpkin party is done!

The Taste of Home cooking show! I've had questions on how it went! It was busy; we had a GREAT location for our booth, about five slots from the entrance. Good set up, good products from the Market and from Watkins, you name it. Two years ago when the show was here before, they told us over 2300 people came through. I had three helpers scheduled along with me and hoped we'd be prepared. Well. The show didn't sell out. They even had more than 100 extra bags AFTER cutting the bags down from 850 to 800. Everyone in town saw the big advertisement in our paper for the show....two days earlier in Alexandria (an hour or so away), but only one person remembered seeing an ad for the Park Rapids show. Even today at church three ladies I spoke with didn't even realize there was a show yesterday...and would've been there if they knew! We did have brisk business off and on throughout the morning, but not as good as I was expecting. However, from what others said who have been there before, they had great long-term results from exposure at the show. So...that's what I'm hoping for! Maybe the calls and orders will start pouring in for Watkins...and the market will be innundated with customers from now until October 31! They did give each of the vendors one of the give-away bags, and there were some GREAT give-aways! Best thing, though, is that we found more participants for our home-based business show on December 6 (more about that in another blog) and I was asked to participate in a huge pre-Thanksgiving bazaar at a local church here in town! So...we'll see where that leads!

Luke and Susanna have decided they are coyotes and go around the house howling all the time. Either that or wild ponies. Or farm dogs. Or sheep. They do give us clues by the sounds they make.

For now, I'm heading off-line. Got a few more things to do before bed time as well as figuring out when I'm going to do what this week! I think, God willing, everything is under control...but you can keep us in your prayers!

And big congrats to my cousin's son, Brandon, who was baptised today! God is good. ALL the time!