October 18 through October 21, 2014

Saturday:

We got on the road by 9:30 am and traffic was good, the sky was cloudy and it was misting. A quick stop in DeKalb for soda and we were back on our way.,,although we should have also gotten gas...good thing there were no traffic delays! We stopped for lunch at Iron Skillet and GAS! Carlo pointed out it took 24 gallons to fill up a 26 gallon tank - that's a bit too close on my comfort level gauge! Needless to say, the last 10 miles were a bit stressful - especially once the gauge advised LOW FUEL rather than the number of miles left to the tank!!!
When we pulled up to the drive, it was covered in leaves and there was still water at the easement. Unloading went quick, since I was able to get everything I needed into two tote bags. Surprisingly, there was only one dead mouse and I was excited to not have mouse dropping all over! After a quick inventory, I hit the grocery store to get stuff for our already planned meals while Carlo stayed behind to rest.
Once back, rather than food prepping, I napped for a few hours, got up for dinner and then went back to bed.


Sunday:

I was up by 7:00 am after getting lots of sleep to a yard full of feasting feathered friends!

By 10:30 am I had already finished breakfast, prepped all the food for our dinner guests, got ready, and even had a quick snack while Carlo blew the leaves from the driveway.

Carlo hung up some wind chimes that Jackie and Alex had given me for my birthday and a deer I gave my dear for Sweetest Day! <3 p="">

Stella and Bernie arrived at 1:00 pm - they brought us some Moose Sausage and corn. We had a great visit. We snacked, had a fabulous BBQ and the craziest time over dessert! "Give it to Bernie, he'll eat it"! The ice cream topping was the strangest thing ever and had no color - until you follow the directions and shake it vigorously!!! They left a little after 6:00 pm. We are hoping to see them again before the end of the year.

We were tired and watched TV after cleaning up the kitchen. Another night we missed dinner - which seems to be an O'Wich norm!


Monday:

I was up around 7:00 am and it was about 45 degrees. I thought it would be colder, but maybe the sun helped bring the temps up. We spent the majority of the morning doing nothing, followed by lunch and then we had a labor filled afternoon. Carlo started raking the leaves up with the tractor and sweeper and after over a dozen loads, he gave up and dropped the mower deck to mulch the rest. During the hours he spent doing that, I moved two yard carts of fire wood from the shed crib to the deck crib. We put the cedar furniture and rockers away for the winter. We fired up a couple of logs, waiting for Betty to visit, but she never made it down. It was starting to get colder and the wet wood was a little too smokey to enjoy.
Carlo ran to the store for mouse bait and I took some pictures before I started packing for our 5:00 am departure!

Tuesday:

Not sure on our upcoming schedules, Carlo fully drained the system and put anti-freeze in the pipes. Everything drained so much better than last winter...when most of the pipes were frozen!!! We were on the road just before 5:00 am and hoping to beat the Chicago traffic!

Until next time :)