My raspberries are finally starting to turn ripe, and maybe with some sun, we will have a nice crop this year! It is about the only thing the deer do not eat before we can harvest them on our acreage in the city.

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It is nice to see that Christian James, a graduate of Ottumwa High School in 1996, is

working so hard to save a life (or more than one) from colorectal cancer by batting 5,000 balls in 24 hours to raise $75,000 for his Foundation to make it happen. What a wonderful idea! This is what we call GOOD NEWS!

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I’m looking forward to my first great grandchild around the 30th of August which is very exiting!

My granddaughter, Amber and her husband, Damian, have shared each stage of the pregnancy with us, which is amazing — quite a change from when I had my babies. We, however, do not know the sex of the baby, which is O.K. ... we never knew at that time either!

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Have a nice summer, and I’ll tell you about the new baby in the fall!