Baby It’s Cold Outside!!

Last summer we suffered from extreme heat and drought. This year we are above average in rainfall, and now we’ve set a record for the coldest high daytime temperature on July 27th. Yesterday was overcast with a few rain showers, and we reached a high of only 61 degrees. Nighttime temps were in the high 40s. Brrrr!!! I had the fireplace on most of the day and night. That made it nice and cozy inside.

Our campground was full again for the weekend. We even had someone camped in the overflow site next to the woodshed. Several of the families camping here have daughters playing in softball tournaments in the area. I bet they were cold. Although, I’m guessing they’d rather play in this cooler weather than the blazing heat of last year. We sure sold a lot of firewood!!

The birdfeeder has not had much activity lately, but yesterday it was very busy. Maybe the cold temps confused the birds, and they thought winter was coming and they needed to fill their tummies. I’ve had a hummingbird feeder out all summer, and yesterday I finally saw the first hummingbird. I don’t know where they’ve been all summer. Of course, it was too quick for me to get a picture.

There is a cardinal couple that occasionally visits the feeder. Yesterday it looked like they were kissing. The male would turn his back to the female and they both looked like they were eating. Several times the male turned around and looked like he was kissing the female. I’m not sure what that was about. Maybe he was giving her food. I choose to believe he was actually kissing her. How cute!

The soybean field behind us sure makes a nice backdrop.

We had some very beautiful summer days last week. On Thursday we washed the truck and car. I had seen and ordered a new product mentioned on an RV forum. It’s called the Love Bug Eraser and is supposed to clean bugs off your vehicles without doing any damage to the finish.

I had ordered the 3 pack for $14.27 including shipping. Both vehicles had lots of bugs on the front due to some nighttime driving in rural Wisconsin. This product worked great. Although, I did have to rub hard in some spots, the bugs came off much easier than anything else I’ve tried. The erasers are reusable. I’ll be interested to see how it works on the front of the 5th wheel. Those bugs just love to smash against that front cap.

Less than two weeks to the wedding. I spoke to Korey yesterday and all is ready. He can’t wait to marry his sweetheart Cathryn. She spent the weekend in the Twin Cities for her bachelorette party. Hope the girls had a good time!

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

More Visitors and a Ballgame

Last week we had two more visitors. On Wednesday our friends George and Norma came for a two night visit with two of Norma’s grandchildren. Kevin and George worked together about 30 years ago and have remained friends ever since.

They visited us last year in July as well. Both times the weather was very hot and humid. We teased that they need to pick a different time when it’s not so hot. Even with the heat, we had a great time and hope they come back again soon.

On Thursday I had lunch with a group of ladies I used to work with about 10 years ago at Kennedy Middle School in Germantown, Wisconsin. The group is a book club. Although, we do enjoy reading and discussing the books, most of the time is spent chatting and catching up on each other’s news. It was fun seeing them again.

In our old life, Kevin was in a Sheepshead card playing group with some guys he worked with. They would try to get together once a month. Our son Eric ended up joining the group several years ago. They still try to get together a few times a year when we are in Wisconsin.

On Saturday the group came to the campground. Eric came a little early and spent the night which was a bonus for me as I got to spend some extra time with him. Another of the players Art came with his wife Dawn in their new to them 2006 Gulf Stream motorhome. What a beautiful rig! We are so excited for them.

Another one of the players Paul brought his wife Anne, so I had fun visiting with the ladies while the guys played cards. We enjoyed a beautiful evening relaxing around a campfire.

Last night we attended a Milwaukee Brewers baseball game with Eric and his friend Jeremy. It just so happened that Major League Baseball announced the suspension of Ryan Braun just hours before the game. He has been one of the most loved players on our team. What a disappointing turn of events. The Brewers lost, but we still had a good time, as you can tell from the goofy grins.

Only 2-1/2 weeks until the wedding. The excitement is building!!

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

A Great Visit With Friends

When we began our fulltime RV adventure in 2010, I began reading the blog of Janie and John of Flamingo on a Stick. That year we got together for lunch when both of us happened to be in Las Vegas around Thanksgiving. The following fall the four of us worked at Amazon in Coffeyville, Kansas together. We always found something to laugh about during break time.

John and Janie are some of the nicest people you could meet, and we’ve become good friends. They are originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They spend much of their summer their visiting with their family and their adorable new granddaughter who just happens to be named Evelyn. How cool is that!

We were so happy they were able to come stay at our park for the past week. Both of them have family in southeastern Wisconsin, so they stayed at our park and did some family visiting. We shared some meals together and went on a 14 mile bike ride on Friday.

On Saturday morning Janie and I went to the farmer’s market in downtown Beaver Dam. We discovered a cute little coffee shop and then checked out the local yarn shop. Janie started knitting last winter and found some really cute projects at the yarn shop along with some beautiful yarn. I just may have to take the beginning knitting class at the shop.

The heat has descended on us with a vengeance. This week is predicted to be in the 90s with dew points in the 70s. Our site has very little shade, so by the end of the afternoon, our single air conditioning unit can’t keep up. At least it takes the humidity out of the air. Our next RV will definitely have two air units.

Last night we had dinner at Texas Roadhouse. This is one of Kevin’s favorite restaurants, I think mainly because of the blooming onion appetizer. He had received an email with a coupon for a free appetizer so we just had to go. And the best part for him is that I don’t like onions, so he gets to eat the whole thing. He brought half of it home for tonight.

Three weeks from tomorrow we leave for Moorhead, MN for our son’s wedding. I am getting very excited. It sounds like they have everything under control, and it will be a beautiful event!

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

Happy Fourth of July

Happy 4th of July. I hope everyone enjoys the day of celebration. As I have mentioned in previous years, the 4th of July is a special day for me.

On July 3, 1958 my parents sailed into New York Harbor as immigrants from Germany. I was 11 months old. They came to this country with a dream of a better life. Although, it was difficult at first, they worked hard and were able to make a good living.

I am thankful for the opportunities provided to me as an American citizen. Sometimes, I wonder what my life would have been like if we had stayed in Germany. Of course, I wouldn’t have met Kevin and wouldn’t have my two wonderful sons. So, I’m glad they brought me to the United States.

We have not been doing too much lately. Just everyday stuff. We did visit friends Ann and Ralph last Sunday. They were camping about 30 minutes from us. The guys went golfing in the morning. Then we all took a dip in the campground pool before heading out for a good dinner. We had a very enjoyable visit.

Tomorrow we’re going to visit some friends who will be camping about an hour from us. We used to camp with this group of friends every 4th of July. Now that we have camphost duties, we go visit the group for a day. We’ve let all the campers in the park know we will be gone tomorrow and to be sure and buy enough firewood as we won’t be selling any on Friday. On Sunday Kevin’s brother and his wife will be stopping by for a little visit as they head back to Iowa.

Next week our friends Janie and John are coming to stay at our park for a week. I’m really looking forward to seeing them again. They started fulltiming around the same time we did. We met through reading each other’s blogs. Two years ago we worked together at Amazon. I can’t wait to catch up with these two good friends.

Our campground is pretty full for the holiday weekend. The weather this past week has been perfect summer weather. We actually have had several days in a row with no rain. The park is finally drying out.

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