Miscellaneous drivel

At All Saints Lutheran Church they have a weekly husband's marriage seminar. At the session last week, the Pastor asked Ole, who was approaching his 50th wedding anniversary, to take a few minutes and share some insight into how he had managed to stay married to the same woman all these years. 'Vell,' Ole replied to the assembled husbands, 'I've tried to treat her nice, spend da money on her, but best of all I took her to Norvay for da 20th anniversary!' The Pastor responded, 'Ole, you are an amazing inspiration to all the husbands here! Please tell us what you are planning for your 50th anniversary." Ole proudly replied, 'I'm a-gonna go get her.'

Well, we haven't quite made 50 yet, but we celebrated 42 last week - I was ten when we got married (snicker).

We celebrated our first anniversary and then two days later I drove Ole to the AFEES station, put him on a bus and sent him off to Navy boot camp. Nine weeks later he showed up at my office a very tanned, svelt hunk of a young man in a Navy uniform. He was home for two weeks and left for Great Lakes, Illinois to go to Navy school. I was able to join him where we lived outside of the main gate of the Great Lakes base in an upstairs efficiency apartment with the bathroom down the hall. We suffered through a Chicago winter with the wind blowing off the lake right through the single pane window that we had in our apartment. The radiators would clunk and bang but there was no way that one radiator would keep our apartment warm that winter.

When he finished school it was back to Minnesota for us for a month's leave, then I put him on a plane headed for Keflavik, Iceland. I joined him there three months later and spent two years there with him. He was then sent to an air craft carrier based on out Florida, so I lived in Florida while he was out to sea. Then it was back to Minnesota where we've lived ever since.

I must say, it's not been a boring 42 years - that's for sure. Lots of things have happened in those years and there's not a lot I would change if I had the opportunity. Probably just the part where Ole broke his back in three places - I'd change that if I could.

I've been really busy lately - I know, I know - that's always an excuse for not keeping up with my blog. I was asked to build a web site for our church, so that's been occupying most of my alloted computer time. I've finally got it to where I want it and have it up and running, but there's constant updating with information and pictures to be done. It's almost like a full-time job, at least now in the beginning stages. I hope it will become less work as time goes on.

I think I told you previously about the dog situation. Beau has gone to live with Lovely Daughter and she has an appointment for him with a dog behavioral specialist next Friday. He's a vet that will give Beau a complete physical to make sure there is nothing physical that caused his biting, and then will work with him regarding his behavior. Beau has always been an assertive dog, and that't not always good, especially when you're a German Shepherd. I think there was more competition between Beau and Daisy than what we realized. Daisy was here first and thus thought she was the top of the pecking order. Beau was getting to the point where he was threatening that position and I think that's what made Daisy so neurotic about everything. Since she's an only dog now, she's a perfect lady and is so calm and peaceful - something that she wasn't previously. She's a joy to have around now. So I hope everything goes fine for Beau when he sees this vet because the alternative is not good.

Other than that, not much else is new in the world of Ole and Lena.