A weekend spent close to home

—Abigail held my camera and took a pic of us at arm’s length while we were between photo sessions on Saturday afternoon. – Photo by Abigail Olson.

By Allan Olson

Unlike last weekend, when I put about 13 miles on my feet, this weekend I don’t think I covered one mile total. Instead, I stayed closer to home, grazing on snacks and doing other things inside without getting too much fresh air or exercise.

After a busy week, my plan was to go to bed early Friday and sleep late on Saturday. Instead, we ended up going to the late show after the baseball game to watch the latest Avenger movie. To say I was lost throughout most of the movie is probably an understatement, but I did enjoy at least some of it, and of course, spending quality time with my family.

It was nearly 1 a.m. before I got to bed, and we were supposed to be doing senior photos at 9 a.m., but then shortly before we got home we were notified that it would be later that day. My wife got up early in the morning and headed to work, and instead of sleeping in I got up, too. I had a quiet breakfast, read my book for a bit, and then decided it was time to wake up kids and get them moving on their work.

They (largely the youngest three) decided that it would be more fun to work all day and make my crabby than to actually get their stuff done and go outside and have some fun. Eventually I got tired of arguing with them and decided I was going for a drive. 

For several years I’ve wanted to go check out the burned-out bridge; one time I even went down the road, but I think I was stopped by a gate or else bad roads – I don’t recall which. This time, I found my way down the right trail and decided to park and walk in, since I wasn’t sure of the road quality. Ultimately, I found that I could have driven to the end, but it was a nice warm day for a stroll. I was really hoping to find a wide menagerie of waterfowl greeting me at the end, but most of what was there was were well out of camera range, except for a loon that eventually paddled by and a couple of ducks that did a fly-by while I sat and enjoyed the sunshine and read my book. It was very a peaceful break from the house; if I would’ve had a pillow or anything else to prop my head up, I would’ve taken a nap right there by the river. Instead, I decided I’d better head back home and get some food before the scheduled senior arrived for her photo session.

At home, I was just starting to get the food ready when my appointment arrived. We took a few pictures outside in the yard, and then my wife came home and we all headed out for a drive to find some scenic spots. Susan, Abigail and I all took shots, and Abigail was very helpful at being a great assistant by carrying things and putting things away.

Back at home, I downloaded the pictures on the computer, backed them up and walked away, leaving the girls to take care of the ordering process, create invitations, etc. I only got up from my book to offer my expert opinion or assistance when asked. A few hours later that process was over, and the happy young senior was on her way back home, pleased to have that task completed and out of the way.

On Sunday, once again I had hoped to sleep in, but my brother and his oldest son were coming over early to work on invites for his graduation, so I got up and had breakfast and got ready for another day. Since Nikolai was awake, after breakfast we both headed out to the garage. He started cleaning up rabbit waste and I put the mower on the charger before assisting him with that process. We heading back inside, and I checked to see where my brother was at and he was still an hour out. Good, I said, and I went to take a morning nap. Marcus woke me shortly before my brother arrived, so it turned out perfectly.

While my wife worked on graduation invitations with my nephew, I put my brother to work on a few things. First he adjusted my washer and determined that it should still have some life left in it after over eight years of use and thousands of loads. Then we headed out to the garage to trouble shoot the PTO issues on the mower. Before he left, he problem-solved that and got it fixed, but determined that I need a new ignition switch – a relatively minor fix, compared to what it could be. I had another project, but the parts were still in transit, so it will have to wait.

After everyone had left, including my wife to work, the kids and I went for a drive. We headed to Lake Winnie to check out the ice conditions and grabbed a geocache near the campground. I had plans to find some others, but the road I wanted to travel was blocked by a very large tree and there was no way around it, so I took the kids home and headed to town to buy some groceries.

My plans for this weekend are really in limbo, depending on weather and some other plans of a friend. We were scheduled to go help with ponies, but with the late spring we will have to see if that pans out.

Please remember to watch out for the buses that will be carrying our most precious cargo. Also, snap a photo or two to preserve a lifetime of memories. Thanks for reading, and have a great week! Feel free to drop me a line at cltimes1@arvig.net or stop by the office for a visit.