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!

May We Present…

We would like to present the happy couple, Mr. and Mrs. Korey and Cathryn Breutzmann.

Yesterday was one of those life moments that you treasure for the rest of your life. The weather was beautiful, the event was fantastic, everything went off without a hitch, and our son married his love. Amazing!!

It truly was just a perfect day. Here are a few pictures I captured. I’ll post more when I get a chance.

Our boys clean up pretty well, don’t you think :)

Today we’re going to Cathryn’s parents home for brunch and gift opening. Tomorrow we head back home feeling tired, joyful and content knowing our son is happy!!!

This day I will marry my best friend, the one I laugh with, live for, dream with, love!

The Big Day Has Arrived!

It’s 6:30 in the morning, and I’ve been awake for over two hours. Although I’m tired, I just couldn’t sleep anymore. Too excited, I guess. After all, the big day has arrived!!

It seems the time has sure flown by since last November when Korey and Cathryn got engaged. I’m so thrilled the two of them will become man and wife today.  We couldn’t have asked for a better daughter-in-law. After six years of courtship, most of it living in different cities, the two of them will finally be together for the rest of their lives. I know she makes him very happy. A mother can’t ask for more than that.

We had lunch yesterday at Buffalo Wild Wings with most of the wedding party. A few arrived later in the day. As you can see, the guys were in a good mood.

After lunch we went to the hall and helped with some of the decorating. Kevin, Eric and I left a little early to head over to the park where the rehearsal dinner was to be held. We did a little decorating there, and then on to the church for the rehearsal.

Korey and Cathryn introduced everyone at the church.

The wedding party practiced their parts.

Qdoba does catering, and Korey had ordered the burrito bar for dinner. Everything was supplied, and it was easy to set up. The food was good, and there was plenty to eat.

My mom had helped me make some centerpieces, and they looked very nice on the tables.

Many of the attendees played some games. It looked like everyone had a good time. I challenged Eric to a game of bean bag toss. He was confident he could whoop his mother. He did beat me, but only by one point.

By 9:30 pm we had everything cleaned up and were headed back to the hotel. We were able to visit a little with Kevin’s brother and his wife who drove in from Iowa yesterday. We sure do appreciate our friends and family members driving in from out of state to celebrate with our family!!!

This day I will marry my best friend, the one I laugh with, live for, dream with, love!

Getting Ready

On Wednesday we left Wisconsin around 9:00 am for an uneventful eight hour drive to Moorhead, Minnesota. We’re here for our son’s wedding this Saturday.

We’re staying at the Days Inn, Moorhead. Our luck has been pretty good with this hotel chain, and we get Wyndham reward points which will lead to a free night eventually. There is a very nice pool and hot tub and an indoor mini golf course. Our room is on the second floor with patio doors leading to a balcony overlooking the central domed courtyard with the pool and mini golf. There are tables and chairs on the balcony which will be a nice gathering place once more people arrive.

Our son Korey (the groom) stayed with us Wednesday night. On Thursday we picked up the suits for Korey and Kevin. Both fit fine. There is a very nice suit shop called Halverstadt’s in the mall in Fargo. They got the suits for $150 including the shirt and tie. That’s about the same cost as a tux and they can keep the suits. The suits are grey with white shirts and teal ties to match the dresses. The two dads have ties that are a shade lighter. I’m thinking the men will be looking very dapper!!

Next we stopped at the Fargo/Moorhead visitor center to see the displays from the movie Fargo. Fellow blogger Judy had visited this visitor center a few weeks ago, and I laughed so hard when I saw the picture on her blog next to the woodchipper.

So, here I am playing tourist wearing the ear flap hat pretending I’m in the movie Fargo. If you haven’t seen the movie, it is a dark comedy that takes place in Fargo. I must say, the people we’ve encountered here don’t have the heavy accent like in the movie. But, I have heard uff-da a few times :)

 

The mascot for the University of North Dakota is a bison. There are a number of these decorated bison throughout the city. Thanks Korey for posing for me.

The ladies had manicures and pedicures in the afternoon. Cathryn, her mom, her sister and myself enjoyed some pampering. Here’s the bride to be getting her nails done.

Our son Eric arrived from Wisconsin in time for dinner. Cathryn had plans with her family so the four of us went out for dinner at Granite City. Then it was back to the suit place to get Eric’s suit. His pants were too long so they are tailoring them, and we’ll pick up his suit today. Three of Korey’s groomsmen from Wisconsin arrived in town at the same time as we were picking up Eric’s suit, so they were all there picking up their suits as well. It was good to see the guys. All of them have been friends with Korey since middle school. Korey spent the night with some of those friends at their hotel. Eric is staying with us. Musical beds :)

Now, we’re off to lunch with all of the wedding party members that are in town. Then on to the hall for decorating. After that, we’ll do some decorating at the park where the rehearsal dinner will be held. Then the rehearsal itself and back to the park for dinner. Another fun and busy day.

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

Now We’ve Seen It All

Just when you think you’ve seen it all, something new shows up that surprises the heck out of you.

Yesterday we were sitting outside enjoying another amazing summer day, when I saw a vehicle pulling a trailer holding a picnic table coming down the road. Now, that’s not that unusual. But, wait. The picnic table has big drums attached to it, and they’re pulling into the boat launch.

This I’ve got to see. We walked over to the pier, and sure enough. They already had their “boat” in the water. It had a trolling motor with a battery box attached under the table. I asked permission to take their picture, and they were totally willing. Apparently, they had seen this on YouTube.

The guy wearing the hat and his dad built it, and yesterday was it’s virgin launch. They had paddles to help with steering. We saw them leaving about two hours later with the table back on the trailer, so they must have had a successful first time out. Too funny :)

We had another busy weekend in the park. We weren’t totally full, but the people who were here sure bought a lot of firewood. We sold almost $200 worth which is a lot for us. I was a little worried they’d be up all night with big fires, and we might have some noise complaints. But, everyone behaved very well.

Last Monday Kevin and I played golf at one of our favorite courses, Kestrel Ridge in Columbus. We both had decent rounds, and the weather was great. In fact, after the cold snap last weekend, the entire week was beautiful.

Not much else new around here other than wedding preparations. Yesterday we loaded the beverages and coolers for the rehearsal dinner into the truck. Korey wanted to have the dinner at a park so people could mingle more. They are planning some games. It should be a fun time. He’s having it catered by Qdoba.

We rented a shelter at a park in Fargo. My mom and I made some centerpieces, and I have some other decorations to spruce things up a bit. Here’s one of the centerpieces. I’ll have many more pictures after next weekend.

The extended forecast for next weekend in Moorhead is looking to be pretty much perfect. I am so looking forward to all of the festivities. We’re leaving Wednesday and will come back the following Monday.

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