December 14, 2007

It's Friday, Must be quest for a boot-tray day! So, with all the snow, we needed somewhere to put our wet boots. Off to find a boot-tray...now you'd think that an area that tends to get a lot of snow would have an ample amount of places that carry them and an ample amount of boot-trays...no such luck. Most people we asked never even heard of them and the others were sold out of them! How many people need boot-trays??? Obviously, many. So, things are always in the last place you look and going to Do-It-Best was our very last option and they had them...several. It seems the people in Portage don't shop at Do-It-Best as much as we do!


I had hung this way too contempory light by the door and have been unhappy with it from the start. So, while going through some things I had packed away at home, I ran across a kerosene lamp. Not wanting to start a fire, Carlo converted the lamp to electric and it works on a switch. The design fits right in and it's quite rustic...love it. So, speaking of fire and not wanting to start one - I was getting ready for Rick and Katie to arrive and took out the vacuum. When I was finished with the floors, I cleaned out the ashes in the fireplace. Carlo, luckily, asked why the screen was open. I told him what I had done - thinking he would be happy that I helped and that he wouldn't have to scoop them into the bucket and take them outside and blah, blah, blah. Well, he said that there were hot embers and that wasn't really a good idea. So, we changed the vacuum bag and threw it out. Sometime later, I noticed the bag was smoking on the deck. I guess the hot ember story was true. Why did I even question it? So I went to the deck and not knowing how to handle anything that is burning, I buried the bag in the snow. To think, my good intentions could have turned into a horrible situation. I don't think all the fire extinguishers we have there would have helped if things took a turn. I'll mark this up as a lesson learned!

Carlo was kind enough to bring a quilt I made for him up to the cabin to hang on the wall. It's hanging from a walking stick I got when I was in Colorado. It looks good, even though the room isn't totally finished. It fits in well and the colors are great! You'd think I used a crystal ball on this gift, huh???

Of course, the birds were waiting for us to arrive! This time we bought 40# of feed instead of 20#. We fed the deer and the squirrels too. I have never seen so many birds. We had woodpeckers, some red-headed birds and some 2 foot blue ones. I even saw the eagle flying this weekend. It was incredible to see the birds flying around as it snowed.




Rick and Katie settled in and we had dinner. I made a salad to go with our pizza and fried mushrooms from Tamarack. Katie grabbed the bowl, aka trough, and killed it off. Yep, we teased her about it! She not as innocent as she looks...cute but not innocent. Good thing she likes salad!








And here they are posing in their "grandpa wear"! It's always nice to have a piece of him with us! We played Hoopla - one of many games for our relaxing game weekend!

December 13, 2007

One of my favorite things to keep an eye on is a barn at the 108 exit. I swear, everytime I see it it leans further. I wonder how long it will be before it totally collapses!


When we turned onto the mile long private road, this is what we saw. It didn't look as bad as it was to drive on. Wisconsin had the same ice we had before the snow hit so it was pretty slick.

In lieu of a Christmas tree, I decided to take a picture of our neighbors tree. He keeps it up all year!!! When we got to the cabin, one of our neighbors had plowed the area where we park. It was incredible to have it already done for us!

After we unpacked and got the cabin opened, we went shopping for a door wreath and to stock the fridge. No doubt about it, we eat good - but we only ate healthy because we were expecting Rick and Katie Friday evening!

November 30, 2007

We left Friday morning at our usual 9:00 departure time! Carlo has to work tonight after being off 18 days - ergh! I needed to get home to my bed and sleep this cold away. Tylenol, Zicam, Shower Soothers - this is a rough one! I slept almost all the way home!

Until next time - two weeks to be exact! And next time we might be tackling something off our To-Do list!

November 29, 2007

Thursday was much of the same ~ rest...rest...rest!

Carlo cleaned out the fridge and freezer and put the medely of food together for the wildlife. He also fed the birds (we have lots of bird feeders!), the squirrels and the deer. Several beautiful birds visited the feeder - Woodpeckers, blue birds and some dressed with red too. They were quick and hard to capture in a photo. But there is one on the feeder - sort of getting ready for flight!

Later in the evening, we went to Tamarack Pizza. Carlo insisted on paying the night before at La Tolteca (even though I lost the bet), but tonight I paid up! We had another delicious meal here.

During the night, we had a dusting of snow. I was very excited to be there to see the first snowfall. It makes everything look fresh and clean.

November 28, 2007

Okay, so on the way to O'Wich we make a bet about the road. I think it's not done ~ Carlo thinks it is. Dinner is riding on this bet. Much to my surprise - it was done! A little disappointed in the finished product, but done none the less anything is better than the holes and ruts we had to deal with in the past. So - looks like La Tolteca is my treat later on!

We had nothing planned for this trip which was a good thing since I am so sick. I should've stayed home but I just love going to O'Wich and what difference does it make...sick at home or sick at our home away from home?

Upon our arrival we found we now have a digital meter for our electric. Can't get a land line for the phone, but we can get digital on electricity ~ Whatever! We settled in and warmed up with hot chocolate and Baileys. Yummy!

We swapped out the ugly green recliner for Dad's brown one. It looks much better and there is a lot more space to walk around the furniture. We offered the green recliner to our neighbors who asked if we had a sofa sleeper instead since they didn't need a recliner - "Uh, no - I have a recliner - take it or if your don't want it, we're gonna burn it!" They showed up about an hour later!

I covered three pillows with the same fabric as the valances and we bought a clear plastic table cover and got rid of the ugly green printed one. Now you can see just how beautiful the cedar table is and it's protected. Carlo was very happy the satellite worked - and yes I must admit, I was too. With being sick I was able to snuggle up on the couch and watch General Hospital between my naps.

When I woke up we went to Walgreens for several cold remedies and then to La Tolteca. Once we got back I ended up sleeping for the next 12 + hours. Maybe it was the hot chocolate and Baileys or the Strawberry Margarita or the cold meds - or a combination of all of them, but I slept like a log. I don't usually have a problem sleeping anyway but this time I slept through until morning!

November 6, 2007

We don't do much on the day we leave to head back to reality ~ so, with O'Wich all buttoned up we headed home.





ADIOS WISCONSIN AND WELCOME TO ILLINOIS




Do you know that the Wisconsin/Illinois state line is 1/2 way between here and there? Of all the times we've made this trip, this was the first time ISP was there to welcome us! Trooper Kenton gave me a welcome to Illinois gift of a neon pink envelope (he actually charged me $75 for it!) He even invited me to a get-together to celebrate all the pink envelopes he had been giving out. There's a $30 charge for admission to the event and a $40 upcharge to move the gathering closer to my house! Fun times! Can't wait!

Trooper: 83.3333 in a 65
Me: I think the odometer is off - maybe 72
Trooper: Airplane overhead

Trip home from O'Wich - 3 hours AND 25 minutes

Stopped by ISP - 25 minutes, $75, pink envelope

Can this be written off - Priceless!

We did make it home safely and look forward to going back, although next time it might take a bit longer!

November 5, 2007

Today we had three down bursts of rain, snow and sleet - then sun. The predicted snow never arrived and I was quite disappointed. We cleaned up inside and out and got the cabin ready for winter. Oh, and Carlo worked on the satellite. You'd think with the 40 mph winds we were getting that the leaves would be gone - nope, not yet and the satellite work has been retired until our next visit!

We ran to get feed for the deer, birds and squirrels. Funny, they all eat different stuff!

Our neighbor Paul stopped in to discuss paving the road. See what I mean - hot topic of conversation. Hopefully the next time we go up to O'Wich the road will be paved, graveled or cindered.

Carlo ran to Do-It-Best while I got dinner ready. He was picking up some items needed to hang the light fixture. Although the trip was meant to be R & R, I am very excited the light is up. It looks great and certainly lights up the table area - without us using the floor lamp!

(before on left/after on right/close up below)