June 8, 2011

My night was disrupted with leg and arm cramps and the morning came much earlier than I expected. I was up at 5:00 to walk off shin cramps and to suffer from sleep deprivation! How is it one gets cramps in the shin? I don’t know which is worse, shin or calf cramps…oh, hell…all cramps just suck!

By 8:00 all three of us were jumping into work. They constructed and I stained. I had 11 sheets of 4x8 OSB to stain. To say I’m stained out is a good description of how I was feeling…and it’s not over. I was totally done with the last sheet as the brats were grilling.

Garry and Bernie worked until 3:00 and I had already dozed off by then. They decided to leave their tools behind so they could start early in the morning.

If it doesn’t rain, the roof will go up tomorrow! I worked on a grocery list to get some last minute things to finish up the week. $90 later and dark stormy skies hovering overhead, I was back and unloaded and it was just 6:15. It is so hot and muggy out. The deer and turkeys must know there’s a storm brewing – they seem to be gathering up some last minute morsels. I’m not sure if the wildlife I am seeing are the same ones or different ones…so either there are a lot of deer and turkeys or they are walking in circles! The storms were right over the cabin by 7:10 and I decided to go to bed, hoping it would all be over when I wake up!

June 7, 2011

I got up fairly early to a warm, dry morning, a front yard full of turkeys (there were five, but they were big) and a backyard full of deer (there were three but they were big too)! Of course, I spooked every last one of them!

At first, I thought the deer were dogs!

Hard to believe this is my last vacation Monday and a chance to be here for a full Monday! Temps are expected to be DANGEROUSLY HOT, HEAT ADVISORY NOON – 8 PM, H: 98 HEAT INDEX: 100 – 105 DEGREES. TONIGHT: PARTLY CLOUDY, SULTRY, L: 77 – YIKES!

There were lots of turkeys down by the river. They were huge. One was in his full plumage strutting himself around for all the others! I hope my trigger happy neighbors don’t see them or any of the deer, if you know what I mean! Suppertime!

Garry and Bernie arrived at 9:00. The morning consisted of removing railings, sinking 4x4’s, sawing the eave, removing the gutter and lunch. While they were busy doing all of that, I was staining the boards that will become the rafters. I also broke with them for lunch, but I stained from 9:30 until 5:30 at which time I had to go buy more stain. It was the hottest day of the year and they stopped working at 2:30. Luckily I was in some shade. I stained a total of 30 boards of various lengths from 8 foot to 16. At the time I was doing it, the chore itself totally sucked, but I’ll be glad once they’re installed…then it’ll be just a little touch up and a minimal amount of time on the ladder!



After I picked up the stain - yesssss, more stain, I stopped for dessert although I hadn’t had dinner yet. C’mon, it’s vacation…there are no rules as to what order to eat your meals vs. treats in. On my way to visit with Betty and Steve I saw a deer on the side of the road.


Then on my way back I stopped at Carla’s for a quick visit. I got back around 8:45 and took a much needed shower before enjoying some leftover steak. By 10:30 I was done and in bed and hoping it takes a long time before I have to wake up – Garry and Bernie are supposed to be back at 7:30 – that’s early!

June 6, 2011

We were up on and off throughout the night due to the weather radio giving out warnings of bad storms in the area. When I finally got out of bed it was to black skies and a terrific thunderstorm (terrific as in awesome and terrific as in size) and of course, lots of rain! I love storms and feel lucky to have had so many good weather days before these set in. I was also glad that we didn’t wait until today to hit the beach! It was exciting to see a lot of turkeys along with a doe and her baby in the yard this morning. Add this to the chirping birds and it was a peaceful ending to the storm. By 10:00 you’d never know there was a storm and unfortunately the materials delivery has been postponed until tomorrow. Does this mean I get an actual vacation day?!!! We went to town to shop and have lunch at Krista's Kitchen before my weekend visitors left for home.

We had a fun filled weekend and I will admit it is difficult keeping up with Jackie and Alex’s high energy levels!

Once I got back to O’Wich the sky was cloudless and sun was hot and the breezes were very warm. The woodchuck was helping himself to the birdseed that was on the ground before making his way to the space below the concrete slab where he has two separate entrances!


The driveway chime kept sounding because of the doe was behind my car. She stayed there long enough for me to snap her photo and turn off the chime.


The hummingbirds seemed to be enjoying their nectar as other birds and flying bugs danced in summer flight! It is awesome to be able to enjoy all of this. The rest of my day was nothing but l-a-z-y and when it was over I was in bed at 9:00.

June 5, 2011

Another busy day! Once we got up and moving we started our day with a tasty breakfast at Paul Bunyan’s in the Dells. This restaurant is never a disappointment.

From there it was 18 holes of golf at Pirates Cove.

Yes…mini golf…but it sounds so impressive to leave out the word mini! Talk about hoofin’ a course…up stairs…down stairs…around the path and repeat! After the game was over, we went to the Family Fun area where Alex and Jackie played a game of giant checkers and Alex tried out the pedal bike. Alex then suggested we go back to the beach which was a good idea since I was exhausted from all the walking…wish they had carts! It was a busy day!

Alex enjoyed the water much more during his second visit!

Once we got to the beach there were many funny moments; lots more people than yesterday, many people that were there were totally inked, many people were toothless, and then there was the guy with the ankle monitor.

I ran into Taylor, who we know from Bud’s and found out where she went once she left there. We hung out there for 2 ½ hours, stopped at DQ and we were all resting by the time the clock struck 4:30. It didn't really strike or even ring...but the hands on the clock certainly indicated the time! It was a busy day. After our 3 hour nap, we grilled steak and veggies for an awesome salad dinner, watched the Wizard of Oz and relaxed until bedtime. And did I mention it was a busy day?!!!

June 4, 2011

Carlo needed to head home this morning since it was his last day of vacation. He will be back in six days. Before he left, Garry came by to fix the caulk in the shower, installed the stained trim and to visit a bit. After we got into gear, Jackie, Alex and I went for stain - yes more stain, stopped at Wal-Mart and then went to Sliver Lake Beach for a couple of hours.

It was nice and relaxing and it was good to be out in the sun on such a beautiful day. Alex loved the water and the sand. We headed back to O’Wich for a quick lunch and a long nap!
When we woke up, we sat outside, walked down to the river, ate dinner and sat outside a little bit more. We had a great day and I for one still looked forward to going to bed – even after my nap!

June 3, 2011

We split forces to better tackle our work projects. I hit the Laundromat and checked some 56 emails.

Carlo cleaned up the back deck. On my return, pulling in behind me was the propane guy to reset the tank back on its blocks after being tipped over in the (clearing throat) flood. Soon after this was done, the septic suckers showed up and by 1:15 we were on our way to Menards. It was a successful shopping extravaganza and we got back in time to unload, clean up, fog and meet Jackie and Alex at LaTolteca for dinner. After dinner we went for a few groceries then sat on the deck until about 10:00.

It was a very long and busy day and I for one was happy to put the day and me to bed!