WHAT A SPECIAL WEEK!

It's hard to know where to start in an update on this past week. It seems like a long time since we came home from our Alberta trip and yet the week has flown by.

This morning we said our goodbyes to Todd and Kristy as they left for Regina to do some errands. They will have a KFC supper at Laurel and Greg's, watch the Rider game and spend the night with the Diekrager's. Todd had hopes of taking Kristy to this game but the only tickets available were single ones so they'll have to settle for seeing it on the screen instead of live on the field. Laurel will take them to the airport in the morning to catch their West Jet flight at 1:50 pm to Calgary, the first leg of the four flights back to Kristiansund. It will be 7:00 pm on Saturday, Norsk time, when they land in Molde. They have an hour drive from there to Kristiansund. The timing is good as it will be bedtime when they finally arrive at 33 Mestergata for a much needed sleep in their own bed.

We had a wonderful birthday supper with Howard at Houston Pizza in Estevan. Ninety-three year old Aunt Viola Halvorson came on the Smile Van from St. Joseph's Care Home. Her son Hartley and Louise Halvorson were there to greet her and a reserved table for seven awaited us. Todd and Kristy were almost overwhelmed by the choices available on the menu. They shared a platter of items that they can't order in Kristiansund. The rest of us enjoyed halibut steak.

We were thrilled when Murray Halvorson and his mother Irene joined us after they had finished their meal. Murray is a Lutheran pastor in BC and had been in Regina for his daughter's wedding. He came to Estevan to visit his mother at the Estevan Regional Nursing Home. Viola and Irene had lived in Torquay's Village Pride apartments for many years, then both lived at Trinity Tower in Estevan until health problems meant a need for more care. The waitress brought Howard a piece of cheesecake with a glowing sparkler on it and a platter of sweets for the rest of us to share.

Then we went to Aunt Viola's for a short visit. She was thrilled with pictures that Linda and Ernie Wacker had brought her that day, especially one of the five Johnson sisters taken at their folk's house in Torquay many years ago. We'll have to get a copy made of that one. Todd and Kristy had a good visit with her, some of it in Norwegian! Then Todd sang the song he had composed as a birthday gift to his dad, "Southeast of Sixteen". That refers to the land location of our farm - SE 16 1 12 West of the 2nd. Todd played guitar and also a mouth organ for part of it. Viola was born on that farm so the song was very meaningful for her too. She shared a couple pieces on her harmonica too.

We stopped at Tim Horton's where Howard used a gift card to treat us to a coffee for the ride home. (Thanks Hartley and Louise.) The drive home was a fitting end to a 75th birthday celebration - lots of "fireworks"as the lightning and thunder rolled across the sky. We didn't get much rain until around four a.m. when we awoke to another thunderstorm with about half an inch of rain.

So now it's clean up time at the Johnsons. The washing machine just stopped so I better put another load in and leave my blogging for another session. Next time I'll add some pictures of our special weekend. To be continued........