Book Signing

I know I can count on one hand the number of times I have read a book twice, other than children's books. Even if the books are good, I just do not re-read books. I don't watch movies more than one time, either. Usually.

My book club chose to read the One Book South Dakota as our selection in March. I read it in AZ, enjoyed it, and Skyped the discussion with my book club. I enjoyed the book and discussion so much, I loaned it to a South Dakota friend in the resort and asked her to read it before we both headed home for the summer. I REALLY wanted to talk about the book again. She read it and we did talk the night before we left for home.

In June, another friend shared the author of the One Book South Dakota would be coming to our local library in July through the Humanities Program. The book would also be discussed at the library the week prior to the author's discussion.

Last week book club attended the local discussion at the library led by a retired pastor. It was an interesting evening because of the variety of men and women attending and the comments and opinions that were shared by the group of about 30. Following the library discussion, my book club and my CV/SD friend who drove 100 miles for the library event, met at a local restaurant to discuss the discussion and the book one more time. It was at this point that I decided I REALLY needed to read the book again, before the author came to town.

So what book am I talking about?

Tonight the author came to town and shared what authors share; some personal background, some thoughts about this book and others he has written.

He shared the poem he composed as a fifth grader and his first story written when he was a third grader. 

He read some of his book to us. His wife held the microphone.

William Kent Krueger was eloquent, humorous, personable, and down-to-earth in a midwestern kind of way. It was a delightful hour.

Linda heard him speak in Sioux Falls last night, but she & hubby drove 100 miles to hear him again and to be with book club again this week.

Judy got her book signed. When she stepped up to the table, Kent complimented her necklace and talked to her about it before signing her book.

Lori asked him a question about one of the book's characters and he answered her question with a personal revelation.

I laid the book on the table and said, "I rarely read a book a second time. I have read this one twice and will most likely read it again." He sat back and smiled and said, "Thank you. Really. Thank you."
Then he asked if he could inscribe the book. I said yes, and said my name, one l and two es.

He proceeded to write my name with 2 ls and 2 es. Then looked up and said, "Oh dear. I am so sorry." He looked at what he had written and said, "What should I do?" I replied, "Cross it out and write it right. That way everyone will know it's the real thing." And he did.

Then, he commented on the unusual spelling and he had never seen it spelled that way before. Was there a story behind the one l, rather than 2? I said, yes there was and I shared it with him. 

Book club gathered at the restaurant again tonight after the book signing. We discussed the book again.  This time we also talked about the author's presentation and some of the comments from the audience. 

I have read Ordinary Grace twice and discussed the book six times. I would be ready to talk about it again. I totally get why it took three years to write the book.

As for the spelling of my name? Read MY book.

This was my third author presentation and book signing. J A Jance in AZ at the Apache Junction library and Janet Evanovich in Minneapolis at a Barnes & Noble bookstore. 

Aventure in The Hills

Four of the nine day, in-state camping trip was spent in the Black Hills with South Dakota friends who also happen to reside in the same winter resort. We got together last summer and had so much fun, we decided to do it again this summer.

We came out of the restaurant Sunday evening to a double rainbow.

People were pulling over to the side of Hwy. 16 to take photos. A woman from Kentucky chose not to pull over, but to stop in her lane. YIKES! watchful driving on the part of Hubby prevented what could have been a terrible start to our time in The Hills. (Remember? Last summer on this trip, a deer decided to run into the van.)

 The Black Hills is so unbelievably green this summer. The area has had more rain than usual.

The double rainbow lasted quite awhile. Nice!

Monday's adventure was in Hill City. We had dinner at the Alpine Inn. Then toured Main Street to walk off some of the calories.

 This was a photo op for a fellow AZ hiker who had been in Hill City the week before we arrived.

 The scrap metal sculptor has some new pieces for sale. One of the mules (Star) from last summer is gone.  August trip to the Hills 2014

 Gary Underwood is the artist. We had fun identifying metal pieces in each of the animals.

Some Odds & Ends

I happened to look out the window Thursday night to see some beautiful colors as the sun was setting.

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Hubby and I were eating dinner in the kitchen the night before we left on the in-state, nine-day camping trip when we happened to look up in the corner of the gutters and noticed some insects busy at work.

I am not certain how, but the hornets created a very artistic home near the back door. Hubby waited until dark and the proceeded to spray the **** of the nest and them. He knocked the nest down in the morning. They haven't come back.

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The beginning of the in-state, nine-day adventure took place at a wedding of Hubby's great-nephew and his lovely bride. The after-wedding-ride around town was in a rather unusual mode of transportation.

The great-nephew is a farmer/rancher. He also restores old tractors, a hobby he had in high school. He is also a HUGE John Deere fan. He cleaned up, painted, and brought the old manure spreader and restored tractor half way across the state.

And away they go. Only in small town SD...

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Remember my dilemma last winter over new chairs for the living room? This is the post: New Chairs? Not! Once we got home this spring, the hunt was on, especially since I seem to be having some back issues this spring, (I think thyroid related.) but new chairs were on the agenda. Locally, I found something I liked. I brought one home. Tried it out for a couple of days and then ordered a second one.

The seat sits higher. The back is comfortable...and they recline. Woo Hoo! I am done chair shopping!

McBe Turns 3!

Officially his birthday was July 21st, but family gathered on Sunday to help our grandson celebrate his birthday. When asked how old he was, he replied, "Five."

It was a perfect day to have a birthday lunch and party on the patio.

Clothes, books, and balls were the gifts this year. He was much more interested in the balls, than the clothes.

G'ma gets a Thank You hug

G'pa gets his Thank You hug

It was hard for Big Sister to stay away. Presents are exciting, even if they are not hers.

Auntie's Thank You hug

Watching and waiting...

He knew what to do with the bat & ball

G'pa Bob playing with McBe

Health Update

We have been anticipating my July 17th appointment with the endocrinologist. This was to be a semi-annual check-up to monitor the thyroid replacement hormone and an ultrasound to check on the neck and all the organs and glands that reside in the throat area. I certainly wasn't expecting any bad news, but then I wasn't expecting thyroid cancer last September.

But we had a little hiccup on July 2nd. As we were returning from our geocaching road trip from Iowa on July 1st, Hubby was tugging on the seat belt strap that went across his chest. When I asked if there was a problem, he said he was feeling some "discomfort in his chest." We had a discussion of how long, how often, how severe, etc. He agreed to call his cardiologist the following morning if the discomfort made another appearance Thursday morning. It did and he did. He had an appointment within 30 minutes. After some discussion,  the cardiologist decided to do an angiogram procedure that afternoon. Doc wanted to check what was going on in Hubby's heart that was different from the angiogram procedure he did last October when everything looked pretty good. Curt now has two heart stents and is feeling better. He was hospitalized for 24 hours and was able to enjoy the Fourth of July with family and friends.

But on the evening of Sunday July 5th, I experienced an itch in both legs, from the ankle to the knee, that was so intense, I scratched and rubbed until my legs were red and nearly raw. I was unable to sleep more than a few hours. I tried oils, lotions and Benadryl. I tried pain relievers. Nothing helped. The following day, during the day, it wasn't an issue. Monday night...same thing. Nothing relieved the itch. Again very little sleep. It went on for four days. FOUR NIGHTS. I did some online research, called some friends...it must be Restless Leg Syndrome, although none of the three had the symptoms I had. Because we were leaving town for nine days and nights and living in the camper where there was no place to go when I could not sleep, I called the clinic and bared my soul. I got RLS drugs for two weeks and something to relieve the stress and anxiety. I slept well Wednesday night and Thursday night. We left town on Friday. I discontinued the drugs on Saturday because the itch was gone. Just like that it appeared and disappeared. Hmmmmm...

When I called the clinic I was not able to see my GP but was able to see a PA that day. By Wednesday I did not care WHO I saw. I wanted to and desperately needed to sleep. The PA was a former student who listened to my saga, saw my tears and heard my desperation. She gave me drugs. At the time, I also made an appointment with my GP for today, Monday.

I totally trust my GP after she ordered the tests that found the cancer last fall. She knows my story. I knew I would have had the appointment with the endocrinologist and I often have more questions after meeting with him. Besides, I had asked to see her the end of May when I had such severe aches in my arms and shoulders, I almost cried when using them for everyday chores. She ordered blood tests that found a below normal autoimmune issue. That appointment with a specialist is in September. Unexplainable aching muscles... Hmmmmm...

At Friday's appointment, the endocrinologist asked how I was feeling. I replied, "Great!" I mentioned the restless legs episode and the thought I might have fibromyalgia and had an appointment in September. He asked another question which led to Hubby and me sharing the recent two episodes when I TOTALLY lost it. I mean uncontrollable anger, frustration, tears, and unable to understand why or unable to control the feelings. They erupted instantaneously like a volcano spewing hot lava. It takes several hours to subside to the point where I can actually talk without falling to pieces. Was I this way before the thyroid cancer? No. How often does this occur? Lately, about once a month. Hmmmmm...

Doc talked about the dosage of hormone replacement. He shared it is best to be on the high side, hyperthyroid, rather than on the low side, hypothyroid. He ordered a blood panel to check my levels. I had one the end of April. Unfortunately, the results of Friday's blood panel and the ultrasound would not be available until Monday, today. The office would call me with the results of both. OKAY.

We enjoyed the rest of the weekend with family celebrating McBe's 3rd Birthday. When we got home Sunday night and after the camper was unloaded and back in storage, I did some online research on hyperthyroid symptoms. Oh, my...I have recently (in the last two months) experienced more than half of the listed issues. AH HA!

I shared the recent issues with my GP this morning and what I had learned about Hyperthyroid. She agreed with my findings and was quite certain the endocrinologist would adjust the hormone dosage. She also explained it is a very fine line and could take years to find the right number. YEARS????

So the good news is the hormone dosage has been adjusted. There will be a blood work follow-up in six to eight weeks. The ultrasound did not revel any issues in the throat area, but I will have an low-dosage iodine treatment in December to continue to monitor the missing thyroid and all it's neighboring throat vitals. That means a 10 day low iodine diet followed by two shots for two days, a low dosage of iodine on day 3, and a body scan on day 4. This is standard procedure following a diagnosis of Papillary Cancer.

The itching legs, the aching muscles, the emotional outbursts (and other issues) now have an explanation. It may be a month or two until some of them subside, but at least there is a reason for the unusual symptoms. I can deal with them if I know the why and know they will go away. Most of the time I really do feel "Great!"

The South Dakota Magazine's Geocache

continued from the last post...

Congratulations! You have discovered the South Dakota Magazine's  geocache

on the porch of the Berdahl-Rölvaag House at Augustana College. (We made it so much harder than it was!)

The Johannes Berdahl family left Norway in 1871, settling in Dakota Territory. Their son Andrew built this house near Garretson in 1884. Inside are relics from the wedding of Andrew's daughter Jennie and noted author Ole Rölvaag, who was married and honeymooned here.

And the rest of the story...

The Beaver Creek Lutheran Church sits front and center on this hidden treasure of land on the northeast corner of the campus of Augustana College.

the back of the church building

small man-made lake was home to this family of ducks

I have not read Giants in the Earth nor his other two books, Peder Victorious  or Their Fathers' God,  about "the struggles of the men and women who settled the Northern Plains."

tiger lilies adding some color to the 

transplanted buildings

fourth building on this historic setting is the Eggers School

 oops! did not realize the sign had a beginning to the story

All the buildings were closed and locked when we stopped that Wednesday as it was late afternoon, early evening. I think it would be interesting to see the treasures that are housed in each of the different structures. We had no idea this little 'museum of buildings' was in Sioux Falls or near the college football field. Again, one of those geocaching surprises.