Tuesday, July 13, 2010

My Friend, Kari


Kari's Mom introduced us online 6 years ago. Both of us were having the same kind of problems. Jude thought we'd benefit from emailing each other. We did. Life is easier when you know you have a friend who gets what you are feeling. It didn't matter to either of us that we were on the other end of the internet from each other rather than the other side of town. When Steve and I thought of this cross-country trip, I knew I just had to add Bejou to our itinerary! I was so excited to finally be meeting her. We drove up from Minneapolis on Saturday. We got a message (because our cell phone reception was sketchy) saying that Kari and her family were helping her Dad bind and bring in the hay and to give her a call about an hour out. Unfortunately, we didn't get the message until we were about 10 minutes out. Fortunately, they were already back from haying, and it worked out fine. We greeted each other with hugs and tears. We spent the afternoon talking, laughing, meeting the kittens and sheep, enjoying Kari's world famous pumpkin bars and playing Wii Mario Kart with Terry and Lovi. After a dinner of real brauts(!) grilled expertly by Mike and yummy pasta salad (and more pumpkin bars along with chocolate cake), we talked some more, watched the kids swim, watched some tv (Dirty Jobs rocks!) and turned in. (Coco, Kari's and Mike's lab-rotweiller mix, spent the night by our bed. She's so cute!)

Sunday was filled with some new experiences for me! I had never had caramel rolls. Kari's were excellent. Are you getting the idea that she's an awesome baker and cook? :0) And I'd never ridden a 4-wheeler. We drove over to Jude's and Lonnie's house after breakfast. We met Jude and Lonnie for the first time (although I'd talked to Jude on the phone one Christmas) the goats, the chickens and Jude's dogs and then took off for some 4-wheeling around the fields. Wow! I finally got the hang of steering and giving it gas at the same time but Kari had to help me get out of the ditch. I was afraid that I'd tip over. Steve took a ride with Lonnie and Mike afterward and came back wanting to buy a couple 4-wheelers. We went to lunch at the Ness Cafe and then drove around seeing the sights. Finally I'm able to picture where Kari works, where the kids go to school and Bejou proper. We also went through a great exhibit of a really small church, a log cabin, a tank and helicopter (as a tribute to the military) and a house full of historical items in Fosson. Very fun. Too soon, we had to load up the car and head out. I cried as we pulled away, sad to be leaving but thankful that I'd finally met my friend!

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