Beautiful Fall Weather

The weather here in Wisconsin has been absolutely beautiful for the past two weeks. October is just a few days away, and we are still wearing shorts. Highs have been in the 70s with lots of sun.

We did get a heavy rain a little over a week ago. The clouds looked just like a wall coming in from the west. Luckily, we didn’t get any of the severe weather associated with this storm, just quite a bit of rain. Since then, it has been fantastic.

Because of this wonderful weather, the fall color has been late in arriving. We leave a week from Monday, and I’m hoping we’ll get some color by next weekend. I love to see the leaves change.

Last week this truck pulled up at the boat launch.

The Beaver Dam Lake Association paid to stock fish in the lake. They released hundreds of northern and walleye.

Because of the beautiful weather, my hanging baskets are still looking great. This hummingbird spent quite a bit of time feeding.

I’ve been busy gathering hickory nuts. In the morning I go for my three mile walk, and then I spend about 30 minutes picking up nuts. So far this year between acorns and hickory nuts, I’ve earned over $360 selling them on eBay. Not bad!

That money will help pay for an expensive day last week. We both had our teeth cleaned on Tuesday. Luckily, no cavities for either of us. But the bill was still a little over $200 for both of us. Then, we took the truck in for routine maintenance before we hit the road. That was another $200 bill. We also both got our hair cut with our favorite stylist, so a $500 day. Yikes!! But, these are things that need to be done.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

An Enjoyable Movie

We watch a lot of movies. During the summer we borrow them from the library. We also frequently rent movies from Redbox and DVR movies from our DirecTV satellite.

I must say we haven’t seen anything really good in quite a while. In fact, lots of movies are clunkers. But, last night we got a movie from Redbox that I really enjoyed. It was called “Now You See Me”. I was entertained throughout the entire movie, and the end was quite a surprise. I highly recommend this one. We also enjoyed the new Star Trek movie which we rented last week.

We really like Redbox. There are kiosks in most all areas of the country. If you sign up for their text alerts, they send you a free code every month. We’ve also gotten free codes from Orville Redenbacher popcorn.

Last weekend the camping club we belong to had their outing at our campground. There were eleven units in attendance including us. We had a great time visiting with everyone. Unfortunately, Sunday brought rain so everyone was out of here quite early. We needed the rain, just wish it would have held off a little longer.

Yesterday Kevin and I went golfing. It was a beautiful fall day. We both had decent games, and we found five balls. There was no one in front of or behind us, so we had a relaxing and very enjoyable round.
Today I’m heading out to spend the day with my mom. She is about an hour drive from us. She and I are going to have some girl time before we head out in less than three weeks.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

One Person’s Junk…

You’ve all heard the saying about how one person’s junk can be another person’s treasure. If you’ve ever looked at items for sale on eBay, you would definitely agree with that saying.

This brings me to tell you about what I’ve been spending some of my time doing the last two weeks. Our park has lots of hardwood trees including hickory and oak trees. Our first year here I noticed some people were coming to the park in fall and picking something up from the ground. I asked one couple what they were doing. They told me they were gathering hickory nuts. I asked what they did with them. They told me they taste good in bakery, and that they sold some of them at flea markets.

That got me thinking. I had done quite a bit of selling on eBay when we were getting rid of the stuff in our house. Would people buy hickory nuts on eBay. Sure enough. I’ve been earning over $100 each fall just by gathering some hickory nuts in the park.

This year I thought I’d see if anyone would buy acorns. Sure enough, people were paying for acorns. We have tons of acorns on the ground in the park every year in late August/early September. In fact, we have a few sites that campers avoid this time of the year because the acorns are constantly hitting the roof of the campers.

I couldn’t believe people were willing to pay for acorns. Growing up in Wisconsin, they are everywhere. You can find them for free with just a little bit of looking. I started listing them last week, and I’ve already sold over $100 worth.

One lady in California told me she wanted them to feed to her “sweet pet squirrel”. Another buyer plants them and then sells the seedlings on eBay. A third person wanted them for a wedding favor craft. I even had a request for how much it would be to ship them to Brazil. That turned out to be $25 just for the shipping. I’ve haven’t heard back from that person.

So, a little time spent gathering acorns has certainly paid off. The hickory nuts have just started falling, so I’m gathering them as well. I hope I don’t turn into a squirrel :)

Last week my friends Sue and Judy came to visit me. The three of us used to work together at Kennedy Middle School in Germantown, Wisconsin. We went to lunch at Culver’s and then sat outside and enjoyed lots of great conversation. It was such a fun day. Sue brought a craft they’ve been doing to show me. What a cute idea for giving someone some wash clothes as a gift.

We also had five couples camp with us over Labor Day weekend. We met all of them in a camping club we have belonged to since 1981. We’ve been friends for over 15 years and always have a great time together. This time was no different. Lots of laughter, golf, card playing, games and eating. The campground was almost full for the Labor Day weekend. The weather was very nice.

This past weekend was hot again. The campground was over 1/2 full. Today and tomorrow is predicted to have temps around 90 degrees with high humidity. It’s also been very dry for several weeks. I’m ready for a fall cool down and even some rain.

We leave Wisconsin four weeks from today. Today we’re going to have our drug screens done for work at Amazon. We’ll start working there in mid-October. Then we’ll take the winter off and have some fun exploring the Gulf Shores area from Louisiana to the Florida panhandle. In January we’re going on a cruise with our kids. Lots to look forward to!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

An Invasion and a Spy

A couple of weeks ago I noticed a lot of vines were suddenly appearing on trees and bushes in the park. Driving around the area, I noticed they were not only in the park, but all over the place.

The vines are bright green in color and very noticeable. On Monday there was an article in the Beaver Dam Daily Citizen explaining what they are. The article was titled “Wild Cucumber Invasion”. Because of last year’s drought these wild cucumber vines are having a prolific season this year. The plants are native to Wisconsin and considered a weed. Since I haven’t seen them before, I’m guessing the winter freeze will kill them off.

Yesterday we had quite the excitement in the park. At 7:30 am a car pulled in and parked facing the road. There appeared to be one person in the car, and he just sat there until 8:00 when Kevin went outside.

Kevin walked over and asked if he could help. The guy said he was a private investigator and was investigating some guys doing construction work at a house across the road from the park. He had a business card, wasn’t bothering anyone in the park, so Kevin left him alone. After all, we are a public park and sitting in your car didn’t seem like a crime to us. There weren’t any children in the park or the house across the street, so we didn’t think there was any danger to anyone.

A few hours later the park attendant came to the park. She is employed by the county and comes by a couple of times a week to collect camping fees and put up reservation notices on the sites. I was out walking while she was here, and Kevin was mowing. Apparently, she didn’t like the guy sitting there and called the sheriff after she left.

Next thing I know, there is a sheriff’s car flying into the park. He pulled up behind the guy and spent about 15 minutes talking to him.

Then, a second police car comes flying into the park, and both of them talk to the guy.

And then, another sheriff’s car comes flying into the park. All three of these guys talk to the guy for quite a while.

I finally went out to watch. Kevin got off his mower and also came over. One of the officers came over to talk to us. We explained that Kevin had talked to the guy, and we didn’t have a problem with him sitting in his car. The officer said the guy wouldn’t show them any credentials and wasn’t being very cooperative. I did hear them discussing with him about being a taxpayer and the park being public property.

Eventually, the officers and the guy all left. One of the officers told Kevin the guy was not to come back, and if he did we were supposed to call them back.

Dodge County is a large area. I guess not much goes on in the county since three officers had a couple of hours to spend on this incident. We really wish we would have been consulted before the police were called. Since we live at the park, if there were to be any repercussions from this, we would be directly involved.

Makes you wonder what he was doing here in the first place. Was one of the construction workers cheating on his wife, or is one of them collecting disability and working, or are any of them illegal immigrants. So many possibilities. I wish I knew what that was all about!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Little Free Library

Have you ever heard of or seen a Little Free Library. Here’s a picture of the one we have in our park. It’s attached to the side of the shower building.

The Little Free Library was started by Todd Bol as a tribute to his mother, a teacher and bibliophile. He put up a miniature version of a one-room schoolhouse on a post outside his home in the western Wisconsin city of Hudson a few years ago. Since then the movement has grown to almost 5,000 libraries in 36 countries. Wow!!

We got our little library at the park last summer. Since then many people have taken advantage of exchanging or reading the books. We have books for both children and adults. All of our books were donated, many of them from the local library. Our little library was built by a local volunteer with the organization.

Summer seems to be going out with a bang in the Midwest. We are expected to have temps at or near 90 degrees all week. Our air conditioner is getting another workout.

The weekend weather was fantastic again. We only had 8 sites in the park occupied, so it was very peaceful. Kevin and I sat outside and read for much of the time. At one point, I noticed this little guy enjoying the nectar of my hanging plant. I’m not sure if it is a butterfly or a moth. It stayed at the plant for quite a while, but it never stopped moving. So, you have a bit of a blurry picture.

Here’s a picture of the step going into our fifth wheel. Our friendly little snake has startled a few people coming to knock at the door. He’s really not there to scare anyone away. Honest!!

Our friend Mary told us about the fake snake trick to keep birds from pooping all over your site. The first week we were back in Wisconsin, birds were constantly pooping on our steps. A few $1 snakes from Walmart solved the problem. We also have snakes on our table and truck. Once in a while, we get a stray bit of bird poop, but the snakes have cut back the problem by at least 90 percent.

A few of my friends have asked for more wedding pictures. We haven’t seen any from the professional photographer yet, but here are a few more taken by us amateurs.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Another Year Older

Saturday was my 56th birthday. Thanks to all of my Facebook friends for the birthday greetings. All of my family members called to wish me a happy birthday, and Kevin cooked me a delicious dinner, so it was a very good day.

On Friday I made the hour drive into town to Eric’s house to do a little touchup painting on his garage trim, do some laundry, and pick up our mail. Then I headed over to my mom’s to meet with a realtor she had contacted for a market analysis. She is researching selling her property so she can buy a smaller home. Eric met me after work at Dairy Queen and treated me to a Blizzard for my birthday. Thanks, Eric.

Kevin and I spent the weekend relaxing. Only about one-third of the campsites were occupied, so it was a nice quiet weekend. We spent Saturday sitting outside reading and enjoying the gorgeous weather. Kevin made us a delicious steak dinner.

He had asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday. I said I wanted to go for a bike ride on the Wild Goose Bike Trail and attend the Beaver Dam Must-skis Water Ski show on Sunday evening.  Sunday morning we rode our bikes for almost two hours and 12 miles on the trail. It was another beautiful day. Back at home Kevin made a beer butt chicken, and we had an early dinner so we could get to the ski show by 6 pm. Beer butt chicken is my favorite way to cook chicken. It is so moist and delicious!

I get a kick out of watching the water skiers perform. Kevin doesn’t enjoy it at all, but since it was my birthday wish, he went with me.The team was proud to announce they placed third at the state competition and eighth at the national competition. Both were their best finishes ever. My favorite part is the pyramids.

I’ve discovered a new product for washing the outside of our windows. This is my job, but I can never reach the top windows without hauling out a ladder. I do the ones I can reach with the step stool, and then Kevin has to finish the ones I can’t reach.

I had seen an ad for a Windex product that comes with a long handle and is streak free. You do need to have a hose. First, you spray the window with the hose. Then you wet the pad, wash the window, and hose it down again. No wiping it dry. It worked very well, and the windows did dry without any streaks. The handle was not long enough to reach our highest windows, but the bottom piece is threaded. Kevin has a long handle with a mop on the end that he uses when we wash the fifth wheel. We screwed it into the Windex handle, and that made it long enough to do all of our windows. The box states you can do up to 20 windows with each pad. The replacement pads are a bit pricey, so I dried the pad I used and will see if it is reusable next time.

And, just in case you haven’t seen enough wedding pictures, here a few more of my favorites. We haven’t seen the ones the photographer did yet. These are ones that were taken by friends and family.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

You May Have Been Wondering…

You may have been wondering what I was doing all summer. I wasn’t able to show you because I was working on lots of surprises.

It began last winter while we were still in Texas. I had offered to sew/quilt some clutch purses for Cathryn to give her bridesmaids. Since some of her family members read this blog, I couldn’t show them to you. I made a total of twelve of them for her to give to whomever she wanted. The main fabric matched the color of the dresses, but each purse was unique with either a different button or different lining fabric.

While in Texas, I also finished this counted cross stitch wall hanging for them.

Cathryn had lots of wedding related pictures on Pinterest. One of them was mason jar candles. I asked her if she would like them for the rehearsal dinner. The initial plan was to hang them in trees. While I was in Moorhead for the wedding shower, we visited the shelter at the park where the rehearsal dinner was to be held. The trees were all too big to hang the jars in. As I drove back to Wisconsin, I wondered how we could incorporate the candle jars into the decorations. We have several garden flag hangers, and I thought they might work for the candles.

We ended up hanging two jars on each of our six stakes. We staked them into the ground on both sides of the walkway going to the shelter. I think they looked very nice.

We set them up again on Saturday night at the entrance to the reception hall. As people were leaving, they lit the pathway for them.

My mom and I also made centerpieces for the tables at the rehearsal dinner. You can see them on the table in this picture of some of our family members.

I kept one of them to use as a decoration in our home. It matches nicely with our green décor. The rest of them I gave to Cathryn to use as gifts for people who helped her with wedding activities.

But, I spent the most time on a twin size double wedding ring quilt for Korey and Cathryn. There are over 1,400 pieces of fabric in it. I worked on it regularly for over two months. It is by far the most ambitious quilting project I have ever undertaken. I learned a lot while making it. It’s not perfect, but I’m pleased with how it turned out. I appliqued a B in the center for their last name. This was my first attempt at applique. I think they like it!

I hand sewed a circle on the back and appliqued the label in the center.

Cathryn is also crafty. She embroidered handkerchiefs for her bridesmaids and parents. Each one was a little different. I must say my hankie got used during the wedding service. She also gave us these hangers made by one of her mom’s co-workers to hang our dresses on. Very nice Cathryn.

Now that the wedding is over, I’m busy doing some spring cleaning (a little late this year). Yesterday I washed windows and screens. Today will be cleaning out the kitchen cabinets. Next week will be going through the other cabinets and getting rid of clothes we no longer need.

And, here are a few more wedding pictures. I love the colors in this picture.

Here are all the guys.

And, I really like this one. Three happily married couples.

Cathryn’s dad arranged for a vintage car to drive them from the church to the reception.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!