Black Hills Expeditionary Clinic 2016

There were 14 of us from the Dickinson Roughrider Judo Club, Bismarck Gentle Ways, Red River Judo, Saint Cloud Judo Club and Custer.

We got started about 9:00 am setting up mats on the lawn between the tall pines. The temperature was about 58 F, sunny and almost calm.  Back in June I used the blade on the tractor to create a flat spot for the mats and planted new grass.

Our training began with John Vetch, godan (5th degree black belt) in Ao Denkou Jujutsu. Vetch sensei reviewed the material that we had learned from Rick Clark sensei, the founder of Ao Denkou, in June at Dickinson. John is a terrific teacher and everyone was enjoying the give and take of practice.

About 11 am I started our study of the throws of the Gokyo no Waza with deashi barai (advanced foot sweep). The Gokyo no Waza is the teaching syllabus of Kodokan Judo, an invention of Dr. Jigoro Kano. We talked about the difference between a sweep (barai) and a reap (gari). Then we practiced ko soto gari (minor outside reap), a reap. As everyone was catching on quickly we moved on to ko soto gake (minor outside hook), a hooking motion. I showed a nice counter to tai otoshi (body drop) with ko soto gake that everyone thought was pretty cool.

We followed with o soto guruma (large outside wheel). These 4 techniques are contained in the 1^st dan of the Gokyo no Waza. We followed that with hiza guruma (knee wheel), ko uchi gari (small inside reap) from the 2^nd dan; sasae tsurikomi ashi (propping ankle lift-pull foot throw) from the 3^rd dan; ashi guruma (leg wheel) from the 4^th dan; osoto gari (major outside reap) and okuri ashi barai (assisted foot sweep) from the 5^th dan.

At noon we broke for lunch. Carol and I had set up the garage with two long tables and 14 chairs.
Carol provided delicious hoagie sandwiches with potato chips. After lunch everyone went for a tour of the house as many had never been here, there were lots of ooohs and aaahs. The fish pond in the front entry was a special hit.

About 1:30 pm we resumed practice with osoto guruma (major outside wheel) and harai tsurikomi ashi (sweeping lift-pull foot throw) from the 6^th dan, and ouchi gari (major inside reap) from the 7^th dan.

As that included all of the leg techniques from the Gokyo no Waza, we took a break and then started
working on Modern Arnis, a Philippine martial art using sticks as training tools, that was taught to me by Jose Bueno sensei, (Grand Master Jose Bueno). It had been about 10 years since I had practiced some of the drills so I was happy to discover that John Vetch had a background in Modern Arnis through his study of Ao Denkou and a Kali Club (another Philippine martial art that practices with sticks). John's education was very similar to mine and so he was able to fill in some blanks and we were able to push into the depths of my memory. After practicing some stick drills we switched to a kansetsu waza (joint lock) drill that was also taught to us by Grand Master Jose Bueno. Stick training really messes with the brain and after about an hour everyone was beginning to slow down so we switched back to judo.

The last session of the day was an open session, participants had an opportunity to ask questions. Jeff Ficek asked about kata guruma (shoulder wheel – sometimes called a fireman's carry) a difficult throw where tori (the thrower) picks up uke (the person being thrown) on his shoulders. There are good technicians that can pick up people in this manner, amazingly over twice their weight but I am not one of these people, my body doesn't bend in this fashion. A few of the attendees were able to demonstrate a good kata guruma and we had a good discussion.

There were no further questions so we did one of my favorite drills, standing uki otoshi (floating

drop) into a crash pad, it is an incredible looking throw using only the hands as connection to your partner. I use a method that requires the incorporation the core muscles and to a large extent this powers the throw. Each participant throws everyone else for a total of 12 throws and then the thrower changes. After everyone got in their dozen throws including me, I switched to sumi otoshi (corner drop) a throw that is more difficult to do than uki otoshi and also more difficult to fall from as the fall

requires kind of a backward flip with a twist and is more spectacular. Another dozen throws each involved a dozen falls each also. Both throws are great drills for learning how to incorporate hip muscles to generate power.

At the end of practice Sam Rudd, one of the instructors from the Saint Cloud Judo Club gave a passionate speech about the history of our judo organization. I was deeply touched.

About 4:30 we pulled the plug, picked up the mats and cleaned up the practice area. We retired to the garage to drink beer and sing the praises of the day. After about 45 minutes Carol served a 14 pound lasagna, a delicious lasagna, 30 minutes later there was nothing left. A lot of people sampled my home brew garage beer, some people even liked it.

The last of the crew left about 8 pm. It was a very, very good day!

The picture at the top of the page is a graphic I created especially for this event, I printed them on t-shirts and presented them to the participants at the clinic.  The graphic shows a boat and a crow with the Japanese kanji "Ichi Go Ichi E" which means "one lifetime on meeting", the idea that every moment is very special and will never come again.  I have another translation that I have been using as a koan and more recently, 20 years anyway, as my e-mail address "Not Twice Today".

Warm regards to all,

Vern

 

Ski Report

Last Friday, the 1^st of April, Carol and I drove to Casper, Wyoming, about 250 miles one way so I could satisfy my new addiction... downhill skiing. We started about 9:00 am, there were reports of black ice around Lusk and we thought that the later start would allow the sun and snow plows time to solve the problem. It was the right decision, there was a few miles of ice and slush on the roads but generally the roads were good and we got to Hogadon about 1:30 pm. They had had a foot of snow overnight, the temperature was in the mid 20s and the wind was howling, blowing the snow over the tops of the 1950 buildings, it looked like a scene from a movie about the Arctic Circle. Carol parked next to the fireplace and I headed down slope.

It seems everyone had showed up for the powder and by the time I got on the slope the snow was starting to get packed down. I chose an easy slope called Morning Dew, that, to my mind anyway, appeared to be a mix of easy and intermediate slopes. It was the longest run going from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the chairlift, about 600' drop in elevation. My goal was to ski from the top to the bottom in one continuous run without stopping or falling. My last two runs were about perfect. This was my 7^th time skiing.

My first was back in 1968 at Detroit Mountain, in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota with Tim Berreth and Duane Orson. Tim is a good skier and I think Duane had some experience also, I started on the bunny slope, learning how to snow plow. After some time they convinced me to try an intermediate slope, I recall crashing into a snow fence or maybe I went over it. We each had a bota-bag filled with Tawny Port wine, so I am sure I was enjoying a fine analgesic effect.

The second time was just before Christmas this past year, I went skiing with daughter Kristen and her husband Gabe at Terry Peak in the northern Black Hills. I started out on the bunny hill trying to remember the snow plow. Gabe and I took a group ski lesson after lunch. The instructor started us on the bunny hill but soon we were riding the chairlift to the top of the mountain... I fell down getting off the chairlift and they stopped the chairlift in my honor (until the old guy could get up). I was mostly snow plowing but on more gentle slopes could bring my skis parallel after I did my snow plow turn and that was really satisfying. Great skiing with Kristen and Gabe.

In February Carol and I headed south on a road trip to visit my sister and her family in Colorado Springs, and Carol's sisters, two in Phoenix, and one in Boise with a stop in Las Vegas to visit our daughter Amy and her husband Daniel. Carol had planned a stop in Jackson Hole so I could ski with the big boys, of course on the beginner's slope.

When we got to Boise, my brother-in-law John said that I had to ski Bogus Basin with his nephew Steve. John made all the arrangements and I hooked up with Steve on Saturday morning for the drive up the mountain. It was raining in Boise and we had our fingers crossed that it would change to snow and it did, it was snowing, wet and thick at the top of the mountain, you could hardly see. I got a lift ticket and rented some gear and up the mountain we went. I could hardly see but was going so slow that running into anyone wouldn't have resulted in much of an impact. I continued to work on the snow plow, working to drag that up hill ski parallel after the turn. Steve showed me how to plant a ski pole to start the turn.

A few days later we found ourselves in Jackson Hole at the Snow King Resort. Carol had presented a seminar at Snow King Resort when she worked for the Department of Labor and wanted to go back and stay for a few days so she was as excited as I was. I was warned that the ski area was steep by the hotel front, but was told by the lift ticket office I could do it. It was steep and I skied the 'Easy Trail' three times, and on the last trip down the hill, still snow plowing and falling frequently I decided I needed another lesson so as I got to the bottom of the hill I skied directly to the ski school and signed myself up for a private lesson. After dinner (lunch for city slickers) I met my instructor Jim Sullivan, he had been working/skiing on the mountain for decades. Jim was a pretty spry looking 69 year old with an easy smile. Up the chairlift we went and he started building my skill, first utilizing my well developed snow plow and converting it into a parallel skiing experience. I had a great time and for the first time actually accomplished some parallel skiing. Our lesson ended spectacularly, he said show me what you have learned, and I did a beautiful face plant fall.

I was pretty pumped with my experience at Snow King and a week later Carol and I drove to Terry Peak. Terry Peak has a beautiful, modern lodge, with a diner and bar on the top floor, huge windows give a great view of the skiers. The lower level is the ticketing counter, the rental equipment, pro shop and bathrooms. They have 5 lifts: a magic carpet, a triple chair lift and two high speed quads. I got ski a package: lift ticket, equipment rental and a group ski lesson for only $3 more than the lift ticket and rental. I practiced the stuff that Jim had taught me the week before and after dinner had a group lesson with Karen “Care Bear”. I was the only person who signed up so I had a personal lesson. Karen is a marathon talker, I could hardly get a word in edge-wise. But when we started down the slope she was all business and she had me doing one drill after another to get that up-hill ski to parallel with the bottom ski and slowly I started to get control of that upper ski. Carol got a nice video of my skiing on the last run of the day and posted it to Facebook. On the way back to Lead we stopped by a ski shop and I bought a set of used skies, boots and poles.

The following week, I went skiing with neighbors Tom and Maggie on the 24^th of March.  It was the last week of skiing at Terry Peak. Tom and Maggie are better skiers so we split up in the morning, I hit the easy slopes working on the previous weeks lessons and was amazed that I was pulling that up-hill ski parallel... finally! I was having a great time, after 3 runs down 'Stewart Slope' I headed for 'Surprise' an intermediate slope. Later I skied a couple of runs with Tom. It was good skiing with Tom, I tend to take my time getting mentally ready at the top of the run, sometimes hanging around for a couple of minutes and Tom just goes for it so he got me moving a bit more aggressively down the slope. I was handling the intermediate slopes much better this day and was really satisfied with my skiing.

I have fallen head over heels for skiing... quite literally, but only once head over heels. What a great activity for retirement. Looking forward to next year.

Trippin'

“Going south to warm my bones.”  That is what my father used to say when he and mother headed south for a vacation.  I am not so sure that was my intention for going south but it certainly was pleasant.

We headed south on Sunday the 14^th, Valentines Day, specifically to drive through Denver on Sunday to avoid traffic... we still ran into traffic and were delayed about 45 minutes... I could not live there, the traffic would drive me insane.

Our first stop was in Colorado Springs to visit my sister Diane, her husband Rich, my niece Jessica and her husband Joel, and their three kids.  We haven't seen much of Diane and her family in recent years, so it was great catching up again. 

Sunset on the top of Sandia Peak

We arrived in Alba-quirky on Monday the 15^th and met Andrew and Linda Yiannakis for hors d'oeuvres and beverages.  Linda and Andrew are lifetime martial arts practitioners/instructors.   They gave us tickets for the tram to the top of Sandia Peak, Carol had made reservations at the restaurant at the top of the mountain for supper, so unfortunately we had to cut our visit with Linda and Andrew short.

We drove to Phoenix on Tuesday through the mountains to the east of Phoenix... a very pleasant drive.  We drove through the Tonto National Forest, a forest of saguaro cactus... wish we had stopped to take a picture. 

We stayed the next three days with Carol's sister Mary.  The temperatures in Phoenix were in the high 80s and one day broke 90F, so we sat on the patio during the day soaking up the heat.  Carol's sister Phyllis also lives in Phoenix and she and her boyfriend Dale met us that same evening at Mary's house for adult beverages and fried chicken.

On Wednesday the five of us visited Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture school out in the dessert.  Interesting place.  Interesting spaces.  Lots of use of concrete and stone.   

 

Thursday we visited the Phoenix Japanese Garden, a strolling type garden with a large pond.  It was well maintained.  Grade wise I would give it a B.  Not a destination like Del Ray, Portland or Anderson Gardens.  Later that afternoon  we visited Phyllis and Dale's house in Sun City.  They purchased a fixer upper and flipped it, it is very nice, Dale did a good job.  It is cute.  We sat outside, I picked some grapefruit and oranges from their trees.  I had never  done that before.

Friday we hung out for most of the day.  I got in a nice two mile hike.  That evening we had supper with Urban, his fiance Jodi and his two girls.  It has been 10 years at least since Urban and I had visited.  Funny with good friends, you just kind of pick up the conversation where you left off 10 years before.  Urban was a judo student at NDSU back in the 1990s.

Saturday we headed for Las Vegas to visit our daughter Amy and her husband Daniel.  Sunday we did the zipline on Freemont Street... the long one, where you lay down... I did my best George Reeves Superman imitation... cross one off of Carol's Bucket List.  From there we ate at the Strip Burger, a little open air restaurant on the strip, great burgers and great malted milk shakes.  On Monday I visited my friend Marcus at his home.  Marcus was a judo student back in the early 1980s, then we lost contact with each other until I ran into him at the Martial Arts Hall of Fame seminar in 2007.  In the last couple of years he restarted judo training and earlier this year passed his shodan examination (first degree black belt).  Marcus and I did some judo in his backyard, talked a lot about judo, cleaned up his outdoor G scale model train layout, had a beer and went out for a sandwich. Always great visiting with Marcus, he is a true marital artist and a great friend!!!!

While I was playing with trains, Carol and Daniel attended the HOA meeting, the primary reason we were in Las Vegas at this time. 

Carol doing Tai Chi at Hoover Dam

Tuesday, Carol and I got a guided tour of Hoover Dam.  We got to go into the generator room, then the tunnels through the dam.  Dam, it was cool.  That evening Carol and I attended the Circ de Soil performance of Mystere, as usual it was awesome, incredible feats of athletics and dance, put to a great story.  Fun.  After the performance we went for sushi at Sushi Rokku in the Caesars Palace Mall. We ordered a modern version of sushi that was good, grade A-, next time, if we return I will order classical sushi.

From the face of Hoover Dam

Godbe mill in background.

Wednesday, Daniel and I drove out to Red Rocks, parked the car and headed out on one of the trails.  As soon as we got to the bottom of the gulch, we got off the trail and went cross country from there, scrambling over rocks.  The temperature was in the 70s and sunny, very pleasant.  We got about 5 miles of scrambling, my FitBit showed I had 92 floors that day.  Later that afternoon we drove to China Town for lunch and shopping... I bought a new shodo brush (for Japanese Calligraphy) and some ink. Carol found some liquid silver jewelry at a pawn shop.

Thursday,  we started our journey to Boise to visit the youngest of Carol's three sisters, Cynthia and her husband John.  On our journey we traveled through the Great Basin on US93, stopped in Pioche to take some pictures of the Godbe mill and mining facilities and a graveyard, where 76 people were buried before one died of natural causes.  We stayed at Ely, Nevada, another mining town and had supper in jail. 

 

Godbe silver mill.

The following morning we visited the Nevada Northern Railway Museum, a 40 acre park, a complete railroad maintenance facility with working steam and diesel locomotives.  

Then later in the morning we were back on the road arriving in Boise about 5 pm.  We met John and Cynthia at a local bar that has a lively atmosphere.

John decided that I should go snow skiing at Bogus Basin with his nephew Steve.  So Saturday morning John dropped me off at Steve and Denyse's house.  Steve and I jumped in his Jeep and headed up to the mountain. It was raining in Boise so we had our fingers crossed that it was snowing at the higher elevation.  It was snowing at Bogus Basin, the temperatures were in the mid 30s and the snow was pretty wet. I got a lift ticket and rented some equipment and we headed for the chairlift.  Steve skied with me for a couple of runs, giving me some valuable instruction... this was only my second time skiing this year and third time in my life.  I make 11 runs. The snow was packing down and becoming icy. 

Cynthia and John showed us all the good places to eat and drink in Boise.  The food was very good and so was the company. 

We left on Monday morning, after John and Cynthia went to work, for Jackson, Wyoming.  Carol reserved a room at the Snow King Hotel and Ski Resort.  Carol had been to Snow King back in the 1980s to present a seminar when she worked for the Department of Labor and had been impressed but hadn't stayed there.  We had supper at the hotel, a good meal but not great, I would give it a B-.

Tuesday morning I rented some equipment and headed for the chairlift, beginning slope, of course.  I had been warned that Snow King was steep for a beginner... and it was.  I stuck with the “Easy Trail” and made three runs.   As I was snow plowing down the slope I decided that if I was going to conquer this mountain I would have to take a ski lesson, so after my third run I stopped by the ski school.  After lunch I met Jim Sullivan, a 69 year old guy who had been the assistant ski instructor for years and the slope manager for another dozen years.  My friend Tom P. refers to this relationship as, “rent a friend”.   Anyway Jim was a good friend for a couple of hours, and a master instructor.  I had a delightful time as he showed me how to go from snow plowing to parallel skiing.  We started on the Easy Trail and soon graduated to the intermediate slopes and part of a black diamond.  At the end of the lesson I did a face plant fall, I caught my downhill edges in the snow and smack!!!  It wasn't pretty.  But I was pretty satisfied, as I felt that I was really skiing, and not just plowing snow.  Carol and I finished the evening at the Million Dollar Saloon and Steakhouse.

Wednesday, we drove north out of Jackson, we were hoping to get a view of the Grand Teton Mountains but they were shrouded in low clouds.  We did see deer, elk, mountain sheep and wolves though.  As the roads in Yellowstone are not plowed at this time of the year we cut off on US26 and drove through a blizzard in the mountains, thankfully the road is pretty straight with broad curves and gentle hills.  After a couple of hours at 30 mph we were out of the blizzard and the mountains.  Pretty easy sailing, in fact a bit of a boring drive to home.

Happy New Year

Photo by Daniel Ortiz

At this time of the year we start a fire in the fireplace first thing in the morning when we get up (6:30 – 7 am). We sit around, enjoy that first cup of coffee, read, check our e-mail, browse Facebook, watch the sun come up and have a leisurely breakfast. Most mornings we see deer in the yard and birds at the bird feeder. I usually head for the shop sometime between 9 and 10 am. At 10 am if it is cloudy Carol throws another log on the fire, if the sun is shining she lets the fire go out. I come back in about noon for dinner (what city folks call lunch). It can be 0 degrees F outside and on a clear day it will be 80 F inside and we will have a couple of windows open. After dinner I head back out to the shop and work until 7 pm. I usually take the last 30 to 60 minutes of my day to work out – I hit the speed bag, work with jo or bokken, swing the club bells, do pushups, dips and pull ups, or something else. At 7 pm I head back in, “honey I am home”, Carol comes running to kiss her lover. We sit down and have supper on the couch while watching something on TV.

Youngest daughter Brittany got married this summer to Brady Swanson. Our daughter Kristen put on a beautiful shower for the bride and groom early in August. The wedding was a few weeks later at the Stave Church at the Hjemkomst Center in Moorhead, MN. The bride was radiant in a full length white mermaid dress and the groom was handsome in a dark tux. The reception was at the Baymount Inn in Fargo. There was a sit down supper with music, dancing followed. Brittany and Brady moved to Karlstad, MN after the wedding, he has a job with American Crystal Sugar and she as an LPN at a local nursing home. Brady is also farming on his father's farm. Brittany will continue her studies to become a RN at Thief River Falls Community College.

Middle daughter, Kristen is at college and will graduate with a degree in business in May 2016. She worked an internship at the Fargo Forum this summer, they liked her so much that after two weeks offered her a part time job until she graduates, to become full time upon graduation. Kristen joined the League of Women Voters and is enjoying her role in being a citizen. Her husband Gabe was promoted to manager at Joseph School of Hair Design – west campus. They have been wonderful hosts the many times we were in Fargo this year.

Our eldest daughter Amy is also back in school. After a few years in retail management she has decided that she would rather work in the field of medicine and is working on completing a undergraduate degree in pre-med at the College of Southern Nevada next year and moving on to medical school at the University of Nevada. She is planning to graduate as a Physician's Assistant in 2019. Her husband Daniel was laid off at the Airport and is currently looking for work.

Amy's daughter, Aliyah, our one and only granddaughter is living with her father, Scott, this year in Grand Forks, ND and attending 7^th grade. Aliyah plays a double bass in the orchestra and is on the volley ball team. After a couple of years at a magnet school in Las Vegas, Aliyah says that math and science classes in Grand Forks are pretty easy. Either place, Aliyah is a straight A student.

Carol is becoming a good bridge player, playing Thursday afternoons at the Senior Center with the ladies from our neighborhood – when they play there is a lot of laughter and wow! are they loud. After Brittany's wedding I dropped Carol off in Park Rapids at one of our neighbor's lake cabins for a 4 day Bridge Boot Camp. She said they played 130 games during those 4 days.

Carol has been getting more exercise this summer taking several hikes with the neighborhood women. She also keeps a very neat and clean house, and she especially loves to cook and we have something delicious and unique for every meal.

Carol and I took a road trip to South Carolina to visit neighbors Jeff and Pauline, who have a winter home there. We started with a side trip to St. Cloud so I could attend Mark Larson's Spring Aikido Seminar at St. Johns University. Then south through Des Moine, Iowa, then on to St. Louis, Missouri, where we stayed with Leigh English and his wife Shiela Mapes for the evening. Leigh was my first judo instructor and we arrived in time so I could do Judo with Leigh and his Judo club which practices Monday evenings in his basement. I was so sore after 2 days of Aikido training I could barely move. I hadn't seen Leigh and Shiela in many years so it was wonderful getting a chance to visit.

On the road to Myrtle Beach we stopped and saw the sights along the way: Japanese Garden in St. Louis, Mammoth Cave, the Corvette Museum and factory in Bowling green, the National Laboratory in Oak Ridge where they refined the Uranium for the first atomic bomb, the Baltimore Mansion in Ashville. Then on to neighbors Jeff and Pauline's place just outside of Myrtle Beach. Jeff got me out on the golf course, it had been almost 40 years – I shot a 111. We went fishing in the bay and I got to smell the ocean again. Lots of good food and great conversation. A week later we packed up the Mustang and headed for Savannah, then a night on the Florida gulf coast, on the beach, toured the battleship USS Alabama and submarine USS Drum, spent two nights in New Orleans (not impressed!), spent a night at an old plantation house that was occupied by General Sherman and his officers (we stayed in the Sherman bedroom), toured the battlefield at Vicksburg. By this time we had been on the road for 3 weeks and were excited to get home so we got on the Interstate and beat feet for home.

We also continue to get together with our neighbors on Wednesday evening for supper, we feel we are so lucky to have been included in this fine group of people. We have a great time together and help each other out when required. It has been great fun.

As for me, I continue to work around the house, but this year at a much relaxed pace, about 40 hours a week. The early part of the year I completed building some book shelves, installed the bathtub and shower in the master bedroom and started cleaning up the remaining construction materials. By early summer I was building slash piles and moving dirt. I dug out behind the master bedroom and created a 4' wide walk way and cutting garden – the wide path allows me to move wheelbarrows and tools freely to that side of the house, which is blocked off by the big rocks. Mid summer I started working on the fish pond in the front entrance and for Carol's birthday in September added the fish to the pond. This fall our son-in-law, Daniel, and I built a rock wall in the drainage channel, what we affectionately call the “moat” and moved several huge rocks for stepping stones and guard stones at the front entrance. My latest project is the installation of solar panels on the garage to heat hot water for domestic hot water pre-heat and space heating. We got the panels on the garage on Monday the 14^th, I am hoping to have all the plumbing completed and the system collecting heat by the middle of January.

It hasn't been all work though, we drove to Fargo in February for the 20^th annual Kangeiko (Winter Training Festival) our annual judo training, annual meeting and reunion. We have 5 judo clubs stretching from Dickinson to St. Cloud so it is great fun getting together. Then in late August Carol and I went to Dickinson for a judo seminar and celebration for one of the Dickinson Judo Club members who received his black belt. I miss judo, but am not excited to take on the responsibility of another club here in Custer. Something will work out, it always does.

It has been a good year for rock climbing. I did a first ascent in the Whistle Stop area, about 4 miles north of Keystone, SD in May, cleaned it, drilled it, bolted it under the guidance of Mark Strege, it is a long 100' climb that is rated at 5.9, I named it “Long Haul.” I helped Mark put up another climb on an adjacent rock, a 60' climb rated 5.10, Mark led it and named it “Stoner.” I can climb all but the last 5 feet of Stoner, the hardest part of the climb, so I am hoping to work out the moves and get it next spring when the weather warms up.

After I dropped Carol off in Park Rapids after Brittany's wedding I returned to Custer via Veblen, SD, where I worked on the family farm growing up, and visited with my uncle Roger and his wife Jo-Ann. Roger gave me the grand tour of the community of Veblen, the corporate dairy operation with 20,000 cows and an equal number of calves, the abandoned farmsteads where people I once knew lived. It was a sobering reminder of what progress looks like. It had been a couple of years since I had seen Roger, he was such a hero, such a good role model to me when I was growing up.

We had a steady stream of guests this year: Brittany and Brady were here for a couple of days in May, Judo buddy Sam Rudd was here for a week over the 4^th of July, then Aliyah was here for two weeks and a few weeks later Amy and Daniel were here for a week before Brittany's wedding, John and Susan Helgeland stopped by, as did Ken Nysether, Nick and Mary Lambert, and cousin Jerry Borgen. 

“its beginning to look a lot like Christmas...” Socks have been hung from the fireplace mantel with care, in hopes that St. Nicolas will soon be here. The smell of pine and fresh cookies fills the air. Every room of the house has received special decorating attention from Carol, there are Christmas trees, Santas, manger scenes, that fill the eye with delight.

Wishing everyone a most joyous happy New Year.

Love,

Van