July 25 - 31, 2011 - WI
Tuesday, July 26. We sure have been having a nice time hanging out with Dan and Sharon. It's not like there has been a lot of activity going on, just being together to share meals and each others company has been enjoyable. Not only that, the weather has improved greatly the last 2 days, making it especially nice because we can sit outside, tell stories, joke around, and enjoy the evenings. I can't believe the time is flying by so fast.
We've also made it over to see Mom most days since we've been here and just seeing how much she enjoys having company is a rewarding thing. Today, we took her lunch, some of her favorite things. Dan picked up a rotisserie chicken from the store where he works and Mike and I brought sweet corn, tomatoes, and fresh cantaloupe and we all had a picnic lunch on the patio. She absolutely loved it and definitely ate well. After lunch we sat on the patio overlooking the small lake. It was a perfect summer afternoon in Wisconsin.
Thursday, July 28. Now we are in a rainy weather pattern. The skies rumbled and rattled and so did the roof of the motorhome all during the night. I think after living in Arizona, I prefer the weather that doesn't change much - hot and dry, hot and dry, and more hot and dry.
Mike got sick in the wee hours of Wednesday morning and was in and out of bed frequently. He either has some bug or got sick from something he ate - we did have some pretty rich chicken with lunch. Who knows? Since he wasn't going to be doing much, Dan was working this morning, and it is supposed to rain all day, I decided to head to the outlet mall in Wisconsin Dells to shop. It was a good idea, as I found some good bargains.
Today was another shopping day, as I have been planning to go to Costco and Trader Joe's in Madison after my haircut this morning. I went back to Tania in DeForest where I've gotten my hair cut for the past 2 summers - she is one of the few people that I've found that does a great job with razor cuts. In fact, today she has an apprentice with her that is learning the process. The apprentice was told that I have the perfect hair for that type of cut - full and straight - and the hair responds well to the razor.
The rest of my afternoon was spent shopping. As I drove to the west side of Madison, through downtown, and then back on the eastern side of town, I was reminded of so many times in the past; Rusty's where Mike and I met, downtown Madison, Few Street where we owned our first home, Oscar Mayer where Mike worked, Covance where I worked, and then back to Portage.
Rachael and the kids came up tonight and we had a nice time with them.
Friday, July 29. Moving day. It's sad to leave Dan and Sharon, but hopefully we will be able to see them again before we head west in mid-August.
We packed up and headed to Spring Green where we met up with Pat and Roger at the Wisconsin Riverside Resort. They bought a 24-foot motorhome last spring and we finally get to have a weekend of camping together. The resort is a nice place located right on the Wisconsin River and it is bustling with activity; canoe rentals going down the river, the pool is full of families and kids, the bar and restaurant are hopping, and we are just enjoying an outing together.
Spring Green was the childhood home of Frank Lloyd Wright and the community reflects this. The Wisconsin River and the beautiful hills surrounding the river made a lasting impression on him, thus it was the location of his primary residence, Taliesin. This part of the state is known as the driftless area because of its deeply carved river valleys that were not covered by glacier. In this area, the river flows to the west and is said to be of Pre-Illinoian age, about 500,000 years old. The river is fast moving with a strong current that shifts regularly, many islands and sand bars make it a popular canoeing, kayak, and tubing river.
I got an extra special surprise when my brother Randy from Missouri pulled up at our site. I knew that he had arrived in the area yesterday, but wasn't sure if he was planning to stop by. We had a nice chat, then he had to leave and we had to get to the pool. Friday Night Fish Fry right on the grounds was also a nice treat, sitting on the patio overlooking the river.
Saturday, July 30. It's been a wonderful day, starting with a nice walk, followed by egg mcmuffins and fruit for breakfast, followed by a dip in the pool, followed by relaxing and reading, followed by a concert on the grounds behind the restaurant, followed by a visit by AJ (Pat's son) and his 2 dogs, Tanner and Samara, followed by dinner preparation, followed by a visit by Mike's classmate and friend, Mark, his wife Kari and 2 of their grandkids, followed by some campfire therapy, followed by a walk with the dogs. What a day! We should sleep well tonight.
Sunday, July 31. So much for sleeping well. At 4:15 this morning, Frisco woke us with some deep growls and active barks. I peeked out the window and there was a young man, drunk as could be, sitting at our picnic table with his head resting on his arms. He got up and staggered around, then came and stood leaning on our motorhome next to the door (I was watching from the window in the door). He then attempted to open the door and when Mike said "Hey" and I said "you've got the wrong house", he said "sorry" and scurried away quickly.
Pat fixed the breakfast this morning; french toast, bacon, homemade applesauce, and fruit - yummy stuff! We were just cleaning up the breakfast at their RV when I thought I heard the door on our motorhome close. I walked around to the other side and nobody was there but I heard our son Pat's voice. He had been out for a morning motorcycle ride and stopped by to chat for a bit, saying it was a necessary thing this morning as he needed to clear his head. After attending a funeral yesterday, he had to take Savana's kitten to the vet and $300 later still didn't have good news. He was real sluggish and ill - the vet doesn't know what is wrong but they are trying antibiotics and prednisone to try to knock it out. The unfortunate thing is that Savana and Tracey are on vacation in Europe and won't be getting back home until later tomorrow. We're praying that the kitten pulls through for Savana's sake.
It is now quiet around here as Pat, Pat and Roger have left and we are sitting in the AC. Perhaps we will go to the pool later on if it quiets down over there. For now, we just plan to be lazy for the rest of the day. Temperatures are supposed to reach 90 again today with high humidity.
After a nice nap, Mark and Kari came by for a visit. Its always nice to catch up on the news of Monona and Mike's classmates.
I fixed a green salad with some leftover chicken from the freezer for dinner. It was light and refreshing and just enough to satisfy. Once the sun went down, we walked Frisco along the river and watched a group of canoes coming in from their floats.
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July 18 - 24, 2011
Monday, July 18. Mike, Tom, and Dan had planned to go to Prairie du Chien today to visit their sister Patty, but the weather kept them from doing it today. Record temps of above 95 degrees are expected for most of the week, accompanied by high humidity levels means for heat indexes much above 100 degrees. It was already uncomfortable when I woke up.
I was surprised to see 2 Sandhill cranes in the front yard of one of the houses that I walked by this morning. Then later in the day, there was a pair of them in Dan's yard, right in front of the motorhome. I remembered the days back in the mid-80's when I used to do the crane count every spring. Back then, the species was on decline and they were tracking the habitat and breeding pairs. Their numbers have returned in abundance and they are even considered to be pests in many areas, Portage included. Regardless, I think they are beautiful birds and enjoy seeing them in close range - sorry Sharon!
I busied myself with some laundry and house cleaning (inside & out) when Mike and Dan went to Madison. Yes, he purchased another guitar, this time an electric Fender. Dawn offered to give him a really good deal at Full Compass and he couldn't pass it up. Some day he will lull me to sleep with beautiful music but for now he is still in the learning stage. Twang, twang, twang.
I also made a batch of fresh tuna salad from tuna that I got at the farmers market last week - yum!
Tuesday, July 19. I started prepping (washing, scraping, and sanding the rust spots) the other side of the motorhome storage bins for paint this morning. I only worked on it for an hour, as it was already a stuffy 80 degrees by 9 am. I did make some progress though.
We headed over to see Mom and she was in good spirits, although there was other craziness going on in that room today with people shouting and laughing - it's usually so quiet. We got on the conversation of home gardens and we heard about her grandfathers garden over and over. It seems to be a good memory of hers from her childhood.
Sharon had to go babysit 2 of her grandkids tonight, so I went along for the practice. Before we left, her son Chad, his wife Becky and their 2 kids, 5-year old Cody and 3-year old Briana came by for a visit. They've really grown, as I haven't seen them in 2 years. Nice kids.
Reanna is 5 years old and Ryan is 3 so they both kept Sharon and I going for the evening. They had a great time playing in the sprinkler in the back yard and the swing set. That was followed by bath time and then snacks and TV. Reanna told me that bedtime was when the fireflies came out (I thought that was really cute), and she talked me into reading a Scooby Doo book. After that, they settled in and went to sleep right away. Wow! I'm not used to being around energetic little ones - we were both exhausted by the time we left there.
Thursday, July 21. We went to see Mom yesterday and heard the exact same conversation that we heard on Tuesday. At least she is cheerful and happy to see us.
This afternoon, we drove to Baraboo to a music shop so Mike could get his new guitar set up by a professional. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get it tuned right. While he was waiting, I browsed a cute little kitchen, household goods, and baby store called Bekah Kate's. It was a great shop with all kinds of things that interested me, I could have spent hours there.
Mike and I met Pat and Roger at the Owl's Nest for their steamed shrimp special tonight. Jerry, our favorite bartender from the days when we still lived here, made us some delicious Old Fashioneds and after dinner, Patty and I shared a grasshopper for dessert.
Friday, July 22. It's 7 am and I'm sitting here having coffee, listening to the raindrops hitting the roof and hearing thunder off in the distance. It's a soft rain and it's coming straight down, so all of the windows are open and the air feels cool for a change. We've had record temperatures in the mid to upper 90s the last few days and it felt so good last night to be able to open the windows for sleeping.
We went to visit Mom this morning and she was not her usual cheery self today. She couldn't understand why she had to be where she is and kept telling us that she wasn't having fun and wanted to trade with us. She wasn't even enjoying the root beer float that we took her. After a while, we took her outdoors and walked around the grounds, the flowers and lake cheered her up a little bit and she wasn't quite as unhappy when we left. Poor thing, I feel bad for her but know that she is in good hands.
Ron, Becky (Dan's daughter), Brooke, and Elizabeth and their little terrier, Pepper, came up later this afternoon and we all went to Baraboo to the Pizza Ranch - it was Brooke's choice to celebrate her 11th birthday. Mike wasn't feeling good so he didn't join us, but we all had a nice time anyway. We then sat around outdoors for a while, another hot and stuffy evening, but Sharon and I just couldn't stand to be in the AC any more. The girls are spending the weekend with us.
Saturday, July 23. It's another hot one, almost 80 degrees when I woke up. Elizabeth and I took Frisco for a nice walk this morning and we found the cutest bird's nest. I'm going to take it home with me to add to my collection. I wonder if there is some way that I could preserve them, probably just to keep them in a safe place. I marvel at the construction genius of those little builders. After our walk, we went for a little bike ride - it was nice to have Elizabeth's company.
I finished my painting project on the motorhome bins this morning - Yay! They have a good coating of protection on them again and I hope that it helps to inhibit the rust in the future - it definitely looks a lot better now. I have the propane tank and the rear hitch left to do.
Mike and I went to see Mom this afternoon and her mood was much better. She wanted to sit outside, it was a little muggy, but since she enjoys it so much, we found a shady place to sit and chat. We watched a group of dark rain clouds coming our way and before long, it was raining, so we moved to a sheltered place and just sat and watched the nice, soft rain fall. By the time the rain let up and the sun came back out, it was really muggy so we had to finish our visit from inside. On the way home, we were talking and it seemed to both of us that she realized that she had had a bad day yesterday and was still struggling with that today, although her mood was much improved. That must be the way that dementia is - what a sad, sad thing.
Sunday, July 24. Elizabeth and I went to the Wisconsin River for a walk this morning with Frisco. It started out nice and cool, then we walked in the rain for about 15 minutes, getting fairly soaked, and then the sun came out and it turned hot again. Back home, I realized the humidity is 87% - yuck!
Today is Marty Party Day. Our dear friend, Marty, has suffered from Ovarian Cancer long enough and has decided that she will no longer be treated with chemotherapy and will let nature take it's course. So today we will celebrate Marty. Since we can't be there in person, we will record the celebration in photos to send to her. Now I have to put my creative thinking cap on.
Elizabeth had Frisco doing tricks and I was recording the video - something to send to Marty. I also wrote a poem, took some photos, and copied some photos to a disc to send her. Hope you're having a good day, Marty.
We met Becky and Ron at Culver's in DeForest and dropped the girls off to them. We then headed to Rachael and Rob's house to see how Reanna and Ryan (he had his tonsils removed on Thursday) were doing. It was a quiet afternoon doing crafts and play dough at the table with the kids. It's fun, sure haven't done a lot of that in the last several years. Ryan was sure a quiet little guy today, not his usual high energy self.
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July 11 - 17, 2011
Monday, July 11. Crazy thunderstorms woke me up this morning and proceeded to rock and roll the motorhome for about an hour. It was so dark that it still appeared to be night time. We both found it to be kind of enjoyable but Frisco sure wasn't happy with it. The rain was a welcome sight to see around here as the ground has become parched and dry.
We headed to Full Compass where Dawn and Rich work, they arranged to give us a tour and for Mike to try out several of the guitars that they sell. What an impressive workplace that is. After Dawn gave us the tour, we saw Rich's workplace and then we all headed to their modern cafeteria for lunch. Back to the showroom, Mike selected several different guitars and headed for one of the recording studios where he could plug them into various amplifiers to hear the sound. He is still undecided as to which he might purchase, but has narrowed his selection down to just a few.
As we were driving toward Stoughton on the beltline, we realized that Pat was in the car ahead of us. After tailing him for a little bit, he recognized us and we all pulled into a small Gyro shop where he and a coworker were stopping for a bite to eat. We sat on the grass and yacked with those guys for a while before heading home.
I joined Dawn and a couple of her friends for a good workout of water exercize at a local pool, followed by dinner at *bleep*tails at the Pour House. Nice day!
Thursday, July 14. The week started out without a lot of things to do and every day has been busy. We've found some time to take care of some projects on the motorhome, visited with Mom and Dan, hung out with Tom and Karen, and visited with some old friends.
When we went to Tom and Karen's yesterday, the weather was perfect, with temps below 80 degrees and low humidity. The dogs were happy to see each other and Tara (a 1-year old Airedale) has really grown and turned into a sweet dog. She and Frisco had lots of fun. After dinner, their neighbor Jeff stopped by with his year-old Golden Retriever and Frisco's terrorist behavior came to the surface. He growled, snapped, barked, chased, and intimidated that poor dog until we had to leash him and make him sit with us. Not only that, he seems to be prejudiced against Labs and Retrievers because every one he sees he gets defensive. Those are times for a real short leash.
Friday, July 15. After my walk with Frisco this morning, I decided to go to the Stoughton Farmer's Market, not a real big one but there were plenty of choices to buy local fare. Dawn met me there and we stocked up on goodies for the weekend. I bought walleye, tuna, chicken, eggs, mixed greens, spinach, cheese curds, and raspberries.
Dawn's daughter Adrienne came with her 3-year old daughter Lyla and 5-month old son Nolan and we had a great time hanging out with them. Lyla liked our little house on wheels and she and I had fun playing ball. Mike and I got a little taste of what we will be experiencing a few months from now - we sure are looking forward to that event in our lives.
A friend of Dawn's invited us for a pool party at her home this afternoon, so we joined several of the "Stitch and Bitch" ladies (a group of gals that have been friends for over 20 years) and their grand-kids. The grand-kids ranged in age from 5-months to about 14, most of them boys. They were busy running, jumping off the diving board, squirting squirt guns, playing games, eating snacks, and having a great time. It was nice to hear them all laughing and playing so hard.
Saturday, July 16. Today reminded me so much of the days when we lived here and went on long Miata drives with Pat and Roger. Dawn and Rich offered us the use of their Miata if we chose, so we thought it would be a good thing to do. Roger planned out a route for us that took us through the back country roads of the southern Wisconsin countryside. Our first stop was at the Beckman Mill in Rock County, a still-functioning grist mill where grains are ground into flour. The grounds are beautiful with some historic buildings and one of the nicest produce gardens I have ever seen.
From there, we headed into Brodhead and stopped for a Bloody Mary and some great conversation. On to Orfordville, then to the New Glarus Brewery to sample some of their wares. Now, we have had Spotted Cow many times and really like it, but didn�??t find anything on the sampling menu that we liked. The brewery is headquartered in a brand new building that is outstanding. As we headed out of town, we passed the old brewery that was more appealing to me than the new. New Glarus was started by Swiss immigrants and the town still reflects the tidy buildings of the Swiss countryside.
We then headed back to stop for dinner at Toby�??s in McFarland, one of our all-time favorite eating establishments that also makes some of the best Old Fashioned *bleep*tails around. A long day of fun in the Miatas and lots of fresh air made for an early to bed night. What a nice day!
Sunday, July 17. We picked one of the hottest days of the season to pull up stakes at Dawn and Rich's house and head to Dan and Sharon's in Portage. Before we did that though, we had Pat, Tracey, and Savana over for a wonderful breakfast. I fixed bacon and eggs with spinach, chives, and feta cheese and Dawn fixed yummy pancakes, all tasty treats to start off the day.
We made a stop in McFarland to empty our holding tanks and then headed up to Portage. We were all setup in about 5 minutes, thankfully because it was hot and humid. Dan had a 30-amp plug installed for us so there won't be a problem keeping the RV cool for sleeping. What a guy!
We spent the afternoon and evening catching up on the family news, relaxing, and having a nice light summer dinner of grilled chicken, several cold salads, and some yummy cantaloupe. It was early to bed for all of us.
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July 4 - 10, 2011
Monday, July 4. Happy 4th of July! Fireworks were going off all through the night last night, making for another stressful night for Frisco. Gunnar, the dog of some folks that were at the party last night was shaking so bad that they had to leave. Frisco seems to be accepting it a little more that he had in the past but tonight will probably be a real test. The fireworks will be shot off from the fairgrounds that are less than a mile from where we are.
We picked Pat and Tracey up this morning and headed to the Sugar and Spice Eatery for a yummy breakfast. It's very difficult to keep the fat down in your diet around here, but I've been doing a pretty good job of keeping it down. After breakfast we hung around their house for a while before heading home for a nap (the random *bleep*tail party last night made us tired). Before I took a nap though, I helped Dawn clean out one of her flower beds that had just gotten out of control. I'll have to take some pictures of her beautiful gardens to share with y'all.
After naps, we prepared for today's random *bleep*tail party. Two couples came and we had a nice chat and more good food but took it easy on the *bleep*tails today. At dusk, several of them headed to the fireworks, so I cleaned up and went to the motorhome to comfort Frisco. From the sounds of it, the fireworks were great, but we only imagined the beauty from the shelter of the RV.
Wednesday, July 6. Yesterday was clean up the house and do some laundry day. Pat stopped by after work for a while to chat.
Today's activity was to go visit Mom for a while. for some reason, we just couldn't get moving too quickly and it was almost noon before we headed to Wyocena. The time really didn't matter, as it's better to get there before or after a meal. She was in great spirits and the day was beautiful, so we visited outdoors in the shade. Dan met us there so it was nice to see him again too.
After we got home, we went to the little Mexican restaurant down the street with Pat, Tracey, and Savana. The food is always good there and the prices are good too. When we got home, we sat around chatting and enjoying the nice cool evening.
Thursday, July 7. I finally got busy working on the rust spots on the storage compartments of the motorhome today. Last summer, Pat gave me a bottle of rust retardant that I had forgotten about completely. He reminded me the other day when we were talking about this project. So today, I cleaned the areas well, scraped and wire brushed them, then applied a coating of this clear liquid. Amazingly, many of the rust spots returned to their original silvery metal color and those that were a little worse became black, but mostly smooth. I will apply another coat in the morning and then it will be ready to paint. I also ordered some replacement gas springs that should arrive on the Federal Express truck today. YAY! No more holding them up with a shoulder or head.
Dawn was not going to be home for dinner tonight, so I offered to cook and invited Pat and Tracey to join us. Pat had a union meeting, but Tracey and Savana came over for Reuben sandwiches, potato salad and watermelon. It was another cool evening and we sat out on the patio watching the birds and butterflies flitting around Dawn's beautiful gardens.
Sunday, July 10. The weekend flew by, starting with happy hour on Friday afternoon with Chris and Norm, followed by fish fry at the 1855 Saloon in Cottage Grove. Good times, for sure.
Saturday afternoon was Savana's graduation party where we got to see lots of her family once again. The turnout was great, had lots of good eats, and a wonderful time.
This morning, I went with Tracey and Carolyn to the Shoe Box in Black Earth for some fun shoe shopping. I did buy a pair of shoes for the cool weather in San Francisco this winter. The place has an incredible selection of brands and also a fun bargain corner. We were all satisfied when we left there.
We joined Pat and Tracey for dinner tonight, chicken tacos to use up some of the leftovers from the party. We called it a night fairly early, as all of the working folks have to be thinking about getting up early in the morning.
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July 1 - 3, 2011 - WI
Friday, July 1. A rainstorm woke me up early this morning but it sounded so nice that I went back to sleep and didn't wake up until 8:00. That doesn't happen to me very often.
I looked out the window and saw Rich's Miata sitting there with the top down. When he came out to go to work, he stood there scratching his head - how could he do that? It was a first for him and he was out of his routine last night - too bad because that will take a while to dry out.
We headed to Wyocena this afternoon to visit Mike's Mom. She was resting in her bed when we arrived, so Mike started whistling as he approached her. She opened her eyes, through up her arms and exclaimed, "You really made my day!" Her excitement really made our day too. Dan and Sharon met us there and we had a nice visit.
A Friday night in Wisconsin just isn't right without a fish fry, so we met Pat and Roger, Gary and Susie, and Dick and Bobbie at the Owl's Nest in Poynette. After my recent stomach problems, I opted for the broiled fish and a baked potato - not quite a fish fry but still tasty - and best of all was seeing our good friends again.
Saturday, July 2. Pat came by for coffee, Dawn and I went for a long walk, then we fixed some breakfast this morning. Over breakfast, we talked about what to do for dinner. I suggested doing some chicken on the grill at Pat's house, Dawn offered to make potato salad and a key lime pie, and in short time we had a party planned. Pat called Tracey to let her know the plan and he invited his friend Dan and his 2 sons to join us.
Dawn and I headed for the grocery store for a few missing items, and then proceeded to cook up a storm. We loaded up the car with picnic baskets, coolers, chairs, and ourselves and drove one whole block to Pat's house. It looked like we would be gone for weeks. Had a great time and lots of good food.
Sunday, July 3. Pat, Mike, and I hung around having coffee this morning and then headed to Madison to get batteries for watches at Hilldale Mall. Boy, has that area changed since I worked there back in 1966.
Dawn's only plan for the weekend was to have "Random *bleep*tail Parties" so we prepped for that this afternoon. A few of their friends starting drifting in late in the afternoon and we had a great time.
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Created on 07/01/2011 10:21 AM by bridge
Updated on 08/01/2011 07:21 AM by bridge
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