Ahhh Summer is Almost Gone!

Sadly, Summer has come and is nearly gone. I woke up this morning to a crisp 41.8 degrees, I can't say this makes me sad, nor can I say I am jumping for joy. I am ambivalent about it, don't really want to see the summer days go by, but boy am I ecstatic the mosquitoes are no longer feeling the love. Unlike last summer where I felt cooped up, recovering from the hip replacement and the ensuing staph infection, this summer I have had some really great times with my kids. My daughter Seonaid came for a short visit in July, and we got to visit some places we hadn't been before. Crystal Cave for example, is outside of Menominee, about half way between Stanley and Minneapolis/St. Paul. Tucked in the hills of the dairy farmland we spent a really nice morning on a great tour. The cave about 7 stories down down down.... had some really nice examples of crystal for which it's named. As caves go this was nice, because I as a tourist has no problems navigating the trails. I have been in a few caves, my first, Colossal Cave outside of Tucson has the romantic history of being the hideout for a gang of bank robbers, and when I was a kid during the Cold War, the hiding place of choice, in case the Russians felt the need to bomb us to "smithereens." One thing about caves, that can be counted on in fact, is that they are wet and cold. Not so bad for me, having lived in this cold climate for a while now, but Seonaid was freezing. Yes, 41 degrees calls for a wool jacket and a good amount of teeth chattering. It was nice day out complete with bats flying, hard hats, and some good laughs.

Spring? Are we there yet?

The calendar says we are in Spring heading towards Summer, but it is only just apparent now that it may be true. This week we have had snow, yes snow and of course rain. May 2 it was snowing, and windy, and freezing cold. Today when I took Harry out it was around 45 degrees and that's a good sign. Mind you I am not afraid of winter, I have actually liked the 2 winters I have spent in Wisconsin, but the calendar says it is over, and it says it has been over for over a month now, so I do think it is time for it to GO! Please don't come back until November or December.

I am trying hard to get ready to plant my kitchen garden. I purchased a composter and put it in service yesterday after I got home from school. It's one I can just turn, so no need to get in their with a pitch fork and turn it manually which is nice. the next thing I need to do is figure out what to plant, and plow up the land. I figure we will have corn, beans, tomatoes (several varieties), bell peppers, lettuce, squash, pumpkin, spinich, onion, potato, garlic, carrots, turnips and some herbs. I am going to can as well. I am hoping my apple tree produces this year, last year we only had 3 apples. my little plum tree usually produces quite a lot, so will figure something out for them as well. I want to get some raspberry and blueberry bushes and some strawberry plants to kind of round things out.

Matt and I are meeting at Sam's Club this morning to go stock up on dry goods and frozen stuff. There is a lot to do before school lets out, and I have to get much of it done this week end, I want to be able to walk out of school on June 2 and not have to return again except perhaps as a guest, to sell my books. I will miss my friends that I have made. It will be sad not to see or talk to them on a daily basis, but I will not miss the politics of this work place, that is for sure. I am looking forward to getting started in photo restoration, and photography. Freelancing my time in geneaology look ups and helping others in their quest to find out about their roots, will be fun and different. Also, getting to know the people of this town will be such a blessing. I have been here two years, but I really don't know anyone by name, and they don't know me by name either, that is going to change. Here we go, a great week end I hope of getting things accomplished.

Spring Is In the Air, Rain Is On the Ground

 St. Joseph Orthodox Church, Wheaton, IL

Spring is here, I think. The snow is gone and it is raining, a good sign that it truly has arrived. It did take forever though, but by golly it has arrived. All of Wisconsin's seasons have something wonderful to offer for the senses, even winter. It's a good thing because, I am not sure if I would stick around during the winter if it didn't. I drove into Eau Claire today to go to the Dentist, and I have to admitt I missed the snow off in the pastures and rolling hills. Three weeks ago they were white and pristine, today brown and trying hard to green up a bit. They will, and when I make the drive into Eau Claire I will once again be amazed at the beauty. A week and a half ago, Nikolaus and I made a trip to Wheaton, IL to meet up with our priest from Hesperia, CA,  Fr. Paul Schellbach and his wife Patty. It was a cold and dreary start, I left Stanley snowing, and we had pretty nice weather in Wheaton.

Palm Sunday is the day when I can see spring in action. We went to St. Joseph Orthodox Church, a new, but small church on a residential street across from Wheaton College. The church was packed, people holding both palms and pussy willows, a Russian custom, the smell of incense wafting through the space. Afterwards, a spaghetti dinner in support of the church basketball team. It was all good. Driving back to Stanley after the luncheon took me back to memories of visiting my great grandparents in Rockford, IL, traveling through N. Illinois to my my father's hometown of Stockton, family friends in Princeton, Illinois, memories surging, unstoppable lovely memories.    

Is There No End To Winter?

There are less than 30 days until spring is officially here, and to be honest it looks like it will be much much longer. I have been told that this is a particularly long winter, I'll second that! Snow fell all day long yesterday and that kept me inside watching old movies like the Maltese Falcon, and grading long ignored papers. Getting ready for the Spring parent conferences is a sign that it is nearly here and that the school year will be over soon.

My job has been non-renewed, looking forward into our new Governor Walker's agenda, there were 20 teachers from our district who were not re-newed. Non-renewed is different than a layoff, they now do not have to call anyone back, nor use senority to hire anyone back. My district has once again made a decision to go backwards, to the detriment of the children I believe. This sadly is typical, My dilema, look for a job where age and experience are not valued, or go back to school for something different? Life is too short to play endless games, jumping through hundreds of fiery hoops, only for it all to end with disappointment. I am tired of the disappointment, but how does one live a life without it? It is what it is. I hear that saying more frequently now, but I guess it is true. The flakes are falling again, will it never end?

RECALL WALKER/IMPEACH WALKER

SNOW DAYS

Today is a snow day, the day when school districts call the day off due to snow, rain, etc.  It has been awhile since I have written, in fact I think there are a couple of posts in the editing box which haven't been edited or looked at in months. I'm stuck, life has been happening and I have been stuck in the middle of it. This has been a long winter. The snow was almost melted and then bang, 2 feet overnight, and it is still snowing hard 24 hours after it began. I love it though, even though I don't like the driving in it part. The roads are generally cleared though, except when it is snowing faster than the plows can plow. So here I sit, glad for the extra minutes to sleep, but I am bored, bored bored. It's not that I haven't things that need to get done, but I am not feeling like doing them so much. Nik is at his daycare, and Harry is on his chair, hanging over the sides. You see, he can't fit when he's on his back. Feet in the air in an almost cartoonish manner, head hanging down off the seat. I have always wanted to get a photo of him doing this but he's too fast and smart for me. Please stop the snowing, enough already!

The first major snow storm in December, I painted the kitchen a warmer

color palette. I am still working on the trim, one of those things I could be doing today.

Rennovations, Snow and a New Puppy

    October found me ill with respiratory issues. Teaching Kindergarten brings the germs, and I catch things so easily. It wasn't until November that I got the cure in the form of a Z Pack. In no time I was feeling better, ready to get moving with the rennovations at 728 N. Emery. My living room is attrocious, really bad. Someone took wood paneling and nailed it to the walls, sort of in a not quite right manner. The trim for the windows was not even, there was foam insulation that leaked out and bubbled up along the edges. The ceiling was papered and painted over, and the walls under the paneling had at least 10 layers of wallpaper. I began the process of taking down the paneling and stripping the wallpaper over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Multiple layers of wallpaper. Underneath? A colored plaster wall, complete with a built in border of yellow plaster. Needless to say, this was at one time I think, a fairly exquisite home.

  

  In October I got a new puppy, a Standard Poodle which I named Harry. He is about a year old, and full of energy. More energy than I have energy for, but I had wanted a Standard Poodle for a long time. In fact, the weekend my husband passed away we had discussed getting one soon. I had decided to wait until I found something more permanent, looking through the craigslist adds I found one, a cream colored male poodle. I emailed and on a Saturday drove out to the farm where he was staying and drove him to his new house. Maggie the 14 year old Queensland mix was not happy, but I figured she would get used to him and eventually tolerate his puppyishness. His first day in his new home he escaped and had quite an outdoor adventure. Meeting a mole in the street, he wasn't sure of what to do, it was extremely humerous, chasing squirrels, and finally being caught by a neighbor in back of my house. He has been a great companion for Nikolaus, who pulls him onto his lap every evening to pet and love. He has been work, but he makes me laugh and that is very important for sad times.

Harry the Dog, Mr. T Hairstyle

Beginning with October 28, the Birthdays and anniversaries began. This used to be a time of happiness and joy, but not so much anymore. Seonaid's Birthday was on October 28, my wedding anniversary November 4, Randy's birthday November 11, my birthday November 23, followed up with Thanksgiving. This year was particularly difficult, my kids live on opposite coasts, I began to feel isolated and without many friends. What kept me going was taking down the wallpaper, and facebook. I worked hard and that began to really affect my hip pain. Having the pain made me realize that I was going to absolutely need the hip replacement as soon as I could afford the time. The pain, emotional and physical took a toll on the attitude I 'm afraid. Geez, Christmas would soon be here! How fun, not! At least I would get to see my two oldest. Matt was going to come early, and Seonaid would only be able to take a few days, but a few days was better than nothing.

We had a blizzard in the middle of December, and a day off from school. Thanksgiving was lonely, really, really lonely. In the past we always had a real family affair, needless to say it wasn't going to happen this year. I did get a turkey, and roasted it, cooking all of the trimmings. It just felt plain odd to have just the two of us sitting there at the big table. Limited conversation from Nikolaus, too much food, made for a sad holiday. Calls from the kids came, and that was nice to hear their voices, but the sadness stayed pretty much through Spring.

After the first real snowfall, blizzard.

Pumpkin Festival in Thorp, WI

We are experiencing Fall weather here in Wisconsin, and that Fall weather includes rain, heavy cloud cover, some wind and very cool temperatures. To me, a Desert Rat, it's not just not cool, but downright cold. We had our first freeze this week, and it was a hard freeze, the ground had this gray/brown color to it, and the corn which was green the day before was now brown. My biggest worry of course is the condition of the roads and I was a bit leary of riding over the bridges in the case ice formation. Everything worked out, but that first 29 degrees I am afraid is just a very small hint of what is yet to come.

Nik and I ventured out this weekend to Thorp's Pumpkin Festival. As you may recall last week I found an auction bargain of a desk and chair for $5.00 in Thorp. It's a small town, like all the towns in this area, but it's not small on hospitality.

I have been impressed that these small towns really support each other in their endeavors. People come out of the proverbial woodwork to these small town events, and this was no different.

The streets were lined on both sides and down the middle with vendors of furniture, vegetables, flowers, candy, leather goods, maple syrup, and cheese just to name a few. Of course there were food vendors on every corner, brats, ice cream, pastries, and it was all very Wisconsiny. I'm not sure that that is a word, yet anyway. One thing I have learned here in Wisconsin is that the weather doesn't keep anyone home. If they want a good time a few rain drops just don't matter. That was the way it was yesterday, rain, sun, rain, sun, it didn't matter, a good time was had by all.

I made it a point to talk to some of the vendors today, tell them about my blog, where I came from and to ask them if I could put them in the blog. They all said "Sure!" I think they were just as interested in why a Desert Rat like me would come to Wisconsin without a gun to my head. Everyone always says the same thing when they find out that I have moved from Las Vegas to Stanley, "You know it gets cold here, don't ya?" I just have to laugh because I do know it gets cold here, but I have no idea HOW cold it will get here. The people all had one resounding comment today, "Don't forget to get some long underwear." I just smiled and and shook my head. LOVE IT.

I met some vendors of maple sugar, chainsaw sculptures, Gouda cheese, and log furniture. All of the vendors were completely down to earth, and more than willing to chat about their product, but also the area, and of course they all wanted to know about Vegas. I'm not here to talk about Vegas, I'm here to talk about WISCONSIN.
Thorp's Pumpkin Festival was great, reminded me of a very small 4th Ave Street Fair in Tucson, but totally midwest in flavor, with Whoopie Pies, hand made baskets, pumpkins, lots and lots of pumpkins. All shapes, sizes and colors.

What impressed me was the fact that there were quality products. Yes I bought the cheese and it was, without a doubt some of the most incredible cheese I have ever tasted. It is made the old fashioned Dutch way, aged on oak planks. Holland Family Cheese is good old fashioned cheese. Their facility can be toured, and the cheese is available to buy.

One of the vendors I really liked was the log furniture maker. I suppose that I really liked it because Nik liked it. Rarely does Nik ever outwardly appear to like anything, but the look in his eye when he saw this set was something to behold. He liked it, really liked it. It was neat, and different, and totally western. All we need to do is to find those packed away cowboy boots, and ut up the Western art.   

Another vendor that was there was the chainsaw sculptures. I have to admit that I have always wanted one of those bears. Barngrover actually means keeper of the bear pits. Long ago, my husband's family kept the bear pits in Bern, Switzerland. Then we were known as Berngruber.On our weekend trips to Big Bear, CA we would see the chainsaw Bears and everytime our eyes would gaze upon those wooden creatures, we would always say the same thing. "We should get one of those sometime." It's nice to know I still have access.

Then there was the Maple Syrup. yes I also bout a jug of Maple Syrup, which I tried this morning on a waffle. It was perfect! The best I have tasted, and looking at the information on the jug, I have plans  to try all of the different ways one can use Maple syrup. I should have no problem keeping a good stock, as they are just down the road a piece.

When I go out into the community for these small town events I gain so much insight into the place, and the people. It makes me feel as I belong too, even though I am really a newbie. I learned a lot this weekend about Thorp, WI my neighbor. It is great to have such great neighbors!

Short Post Script: I won a handmade quilt from a raffle ticket I bought in Cadott at Booya Days. It is gorgeous, and I feel great.