Now It Feels Like a Wisconsin Winter

Simply Dunn - Dunn County Pottery

Back to my job today after having five days off for the Christmas holiday.  I guess I was ready to move on from all this holiday hoopla.  I'm getting better about not feeling guilty that I didn't put up all the Christmas decorations, or bake all those delicious cookies.  Do we really need all those sweets anyway?  The only thing I missed this year was my mom's homemade German stollen and her saffron buns.  I do have my mom's stollen bread recipe, so one of these years I will give it a try.

The warmer air has moved on and now it feels more like a Wisconsin winter.  It's -2 degrees tonight and the temperature will just continue to drop.  The cold temperature tonight didn't stop me from going out and running my 3+ mile route.  I had to prove to myself that I still have it in me to run in not so perfect conditions. When I was much younger, I ran in every kind of condition you could think of.  Minus 15 degrees, no sweat, I would run it.  Well, seventeen years later, I've lost that certain spunk.  Have I become soft?  Maybe just a little........ 

My featured photo was taken at Simply Dunn of Dunn County....owned and run by my favorite potter, John Thomas.  I love John's work and I hope to share more photos with you from time to time.    

Still Celebrating

Christmas hasn't quite ended yet for our family!  We have this tradition now with my husband's older children.  Several days after Christmas, Bike man's son Mike and his wife Lynn always cook up a big spread of food and invites the sons & daughters, grandkids, in-laws, boyfriends and local friends.  My daughter-in-law makes everything from scratch, bless her heart, and it always taste wonderful.  I don't have a picture of this, but Mike always steams a big batch of shrimp and coats them in Old Bay seasoning.....a big favorite with the grandkids. 

The granddaughters always manage to hide their faces from my camera.  I think it's a girl thing.

Now, I have to say, this is the side of the family that also LOVES cats.  We helped arrange for Lynn and Mike to adopt two Ragdolls.  This pretty gal with the dark face is Mimzy.

The cat in the box is Roxy girl.  Sorry about the red eyes.  As you can see, her coloring is lighter and softer.  Roxy and Mimzy were adopted about 1 1/2 years apart, but they are best friends now.

And look! Oh my gosh, my hubby is playing pool in the man cave.....wow.

Mike's a pretty good pool player.  I was very impressed.

I'm always intrigued by all of their family books in the man cave.  I'm talking about a whole wall devoted to books......books of all kinds. 

It wouldn't be the man cave without the mounted fish.  I actually remember the night when Lynn and Mike pulled up to our dock after dark when they caught this big northern.  I think Lynn actually caught the fish.  Anyway, it was Mike's intentions to release this big fish, but it never recovered from being hooked and it was slowly dying, so Mike and Lynn decided to keep it and get it mounted.  It's really beautiful and those red Christmas lights really add to the ambiance, hee, hee!

Spending time with family is always nice, especially when the grandkids are there.  We also had a big surprise last night.  Bike man will  become a great-grandpa in August.  So, I guess that means I'll become a great-step-grandma as well.  Our granddaughter Lena is expecting in early August.  This might be an exciting summer with our son also getting married around the same time.  Should be interesting.

Enjoying the Fresh Air

Still no sunshine.  I've lost count now, but I think it's been two weeks since we've seen sunshine.....really!  The temperatures have been above freezing, but of course that will change very soon.  So, we headed out on the lake this afternoon for a little ice fishing.  Don't worry, we have about 10 inches of ice despite the mild temperatures.

Chris, Trisha, Bike man and I enjoyed a nice toasty fire this afternoon.

For anyone that doesn't know, this is a tip-up.  This is how we Wisconsinites catch walleyes and northerns out on the ice.

Nice job Trisha.  Trisha caught her first walleye through the ice.  It was actually a nice day to be outdoors.  We've got to take advantage of this wonderful mild weather because soon, old-man winter will return with snow, sub-zero temperatures and lots of cold wind.  Snow is in the forecast for tonight.  We certainly need the snow to insulate our hosta plants and other perennials.

Merry Christmas From Tainter Lake

Merry Christmas everyone!  I know my blog posts have been far and few between, but I hope to get back into the writing spirit in 2015.  Life has become busy, but I really do miss my blogging journal and connecting with all of you.  Thank you for following my blog in past years and I hope to share some good thoughts and activities with you soon.

Look who's home for the holidays?  My daughter-in-law to be, Trisha, our son Chris and our daughter Becca.  It's so fun to have the kids home and share the holidays with them.  The downside to this, is that we didn't travel to my hometown this holiday to see my parents.  A phone call to my folks reassured me that they were fine and enjoyed a wonderful Christmas dinner today at a local church.  

We did our usual tradition and opened gifts last night on Christmas eve.  Just had to prove to you all in this photo that we are the family that believes in practical gifts!  Thoughtful Chris bought his sister a much need taillight for her vehicle......of course he'll install it for her.  What a nice brother.

We enjoyed a simple Christmas meal today with a baked ham, baked squash, homemade cranberry sauce and this wonderful "Minnesota" baked dish created by our son......wild rice & hash brown hot dish. It was really delicious.

Sauteed onions, colored peppers, garlic, crumbled sausage, hash browns, seasonings, whipped eggs and cheese.  So simple folks.  I'll try to remember and add this to my turtle recipes tab.

Of course it's Christmas, so the cats need a treat too.  Canned food is their very favorite.  I just open the cupboard door and they instantly come running......

Yup, all four cats take up the space in my tiny walk-through kitchen.  Each cats gets their own bowl too.  If I didn't do it that way, one or two of the cats would not get any food, as the bigger cats eat fast and furious.  Just another day at the cat house.

I'll be enjoying another three days of much needed time off from work.  A lot has happened over the last six months and I can't wait to get you caught up on life here on Tainter Lake.  I hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas.

Over the River and Through the Woods.....Really!

Over the river and through the woods to Jeanne & Jake's house we go!  Really, we had to cross the Wisconsin River and go through the woods!  So first, my family headed to Southwest Wisconsin to spend Thanksgiving holiday with my parents.  Sorry, forgot to get photos of our Thanksgiving meal, however we had a second post Thanksgiving meal at our son's soon-to-be in-laws, Jeanne & Jake (Trisha's parent).

Jeanne & Jake live in Muscoda,Wisconsin. which just happens to be about 20 miles from where I grew up in Richland Center.  Jake built their beautiful log home about ten years ago and the craftsmanship is amazing.  I just love all the wood.

Can you tell this is a family of hunters?  I didn't snap a picture of the basement, but there are lots of  antler sheds displayed on the wall....nice.

Jeanne's large dinning room table accommodated all of us; my parents, our daughter and son, Trisha and her parents and of course Bike man and me.  We had a delicious homemade meal prepared by Jeanne & Trisha.  I'm so happy our son found a wonderful young woman to marry.  The wedding date is set for August 1, 2015.  Let the count down begin!!!

Co-op Retreat

It started in the morning with food and excellent coffee.

And then more delicious food at noon.....good quality food....local & organic.

We have an amazing General Manager (Crystal), who runs our Menomonie Market Food Co-op!

Yesterday was our annual Board of Directors retreat at Crystals house. Our agenda was full, but we took in all the useful information to plan for the Co-op's future.

Did we plan this?  All wearing blue?  No, but somehow we all chose the same color and blue represents reliable and responsibility.  Blue also seeks peace and tranquility,  So there you have it!!!  The two other board members wore green....harmony and balance.

Our GM also gave us an update on our new Co-op expansion.  The floors plans are set and ground breaking should take place the first or second week of  November.  Whoo hoo!!!

It Was Time

More than 28 years, this screen porch and deck has served it purpose.  We moved into our house 28 years ago this month and I believe our deck and screen porch was built 30 years ago.  It has served it's purpose with our family, however the untreated wood had seen it's life and it was time to remove the rotted wood.  Not sure why old man Oscar used untreated wood to build a deck, but that's what we inherited when we bought our house.  

  

It was a slow process, but thankfully our son Chris came home this weekend to help us.

The weather was perfect today.  Highs around 60 degrees and sunshine made for a pleasant day.  

As the wood deck was dismantled, I took the time to look for childhood treasures from Becca and Chris's era.  I remember those years when the kids were young and many items got dropped underneath the deck.  So what did I find?  A tennis ball, several plastic dinnerware items from their playware, straws, a pen and pencil and broken glass.

After the deck and screen porch were removed, I asked Chris to pose for a picture to send to his fiancee, who just happens to be on business in South Carolina..  After years of talking and planning, we are finally getting this project completed.   Thank you Chris for helping.

We will be putting in a new sliding glass door within the next several weeks and hopefully a new wood deck next spring.    

Beauties

Our apples this year were sparse, but the few that were on our apple tree were simply beautiful.  We finally picked them a few days ago.

So, of course I had to bake a pie today.  I used some of our apples and some of the apples my dad bought for me while he was visiting Bayfield, Wisconsin.  My recipe for a homemade apple pie?  A little white sugar, a little brown sugar, lots of cinnamon and some quick tapioca.  Fill a single pie crust with the apple mixture and top with homemade streusel.  Bake 50-55 minutes @375 degrees.

Guess who had the first piece of pie?  Our son Chris.  Chris is home this weekend to help his dad with chores around our house.  Gotta feed those hard working men!

My Momma

 It's always fun to have my mom come and visit me, and even Becca came too!

We enjoyed a girls day today, beginning with a trip to the Grain Bin store to buy some bulk items and some freshly made scones....yum.  Then we headed to Menomonie to enjoy lunch at Acoustic Cafe.  Lots of good conversations and catching up with family affairs. Mom is here for a couple days and then will head back to Southwest Wisconsin.  This is a once a year trip for my mom, so I appreciate her coming.  Oh yeah, and my four cats LOVE her too!  

Good Bye Bitter Sweet

I actually felt bad to see Bike man cut down the Bitter Sweet bush that was growing along the lake bank.  That was my favorite bush to take photos of in the early winter with it's beautiful red berries.   But........

Oriental Bitter Sweet is considered an invasive plant and will eventually spread and take over our lake bank, so tonight was cut, pull & burn!

Bike man cut and pulled the Bitter Sweet bush and I walked the branches up the lake steps to burn in our fire pit.  It only took about an hour or so to burn.  The smell was rather pungent.  Goodbye beautiful red berries.

On a side note, it was my husbands birthday today......and I forgot!  Yes, I totally forgot after 30 years of marriage.  Thanks to our daughter who called later today and reminded me it was her dad's birthday.  Forgetting my hubby's birthday just proves my job & my life is way too busy and I really need to slow down.  I felt upset with myself for forgetting this important day, but my hubby was really nice about my forgetfulness.  After working late last night, it was nice to just be home tonight with Bike man.  No birthday cake, but just a bowl of ice cream.        

I'm Still Here

I apologize for my absence and lack of blog posts.  Life is busy and sometimes exhausting.  Maybe I'm just getting old, but it seems that I can't keep up with blogging, emails and Facebook management of three (yes three) Facebook pages......Lisa, Colfax Public Library, and my Arbonne FB page.  Social media can be good in one way and can be bad in another.

On a personal note, I'm loving fall.....the warm weather, the beautiful colors and the wonderful fall fruits and vegetables.  Our trees are turning colors fast and the pine cones are dropping heavy this year.  I've been taking some time off from work since I have a lot of vacation time to use up.  Over the last 14 years, I apparently was too dedicated to my job, but now I NEED to take time off for my health and peace of mind!  Oh yeah, and I'll loose those vacation days if I don't use them, so it's a no brainier to take the time off.

I hope you enjoy my Amaryllis photo.  Can you believe the Amaryllis was blooming  several weeks ago?  All of our Amaryllis plants spend the summer outdoors.....they love it.  Sometimes they even bloom again in January or February!

Thanks for checking in.

Riding To the Mississippi River

Please excuse my blogging absence as it's been a very busy summer and then throw in lack of effort....just being honest my friends.  So, let me tell you about our annual bicycle trip.  We took off on Labor Day and biked to Durand......33 miles.  We camped overnight.

We took off the next day and headed for the hills towards the village of Maiden Rock.

Continued south along highway 35 to the Mississippi River and then to Stockholm.

Of course we had to take a few breaks along the way.  Our second night camping was in Pepin, WI.  42 miles

We headed south along the Mississippi River through Alma & Fountain City,

 two very lovely river towns!

Our turnaround point was Trempealeau, or actually Perot State Park.  Our camping spot was perfect that night.  60 miles

We stayed awake later that night so we could watch the bats in the moonlight.

Headed back home via Buffalo City along the back waters of the Mississippi.  Oh my gosh, it was so humid and warm that day. 

We continued on along the Mississippi River and headed back towards Durand, where we camped for our last night.  Encountered lightening and rain, which is not bad for 4 consecutive days of riding.  60 miles.

Headed for home and ended our bicycle trip after completing 222 miles.  Not bad for no training on the bike this summer.....no training for Bike man too.  Was our trip fun?  You betcha. Thanks for checking back in everyone.