A House of a Different Color

Earlier this week, Kathie and I finished staining the stairs to the dock to match the stain we had applied to the upper house deck. The next day, we stained the lower deck and the support posts. Yesterday, we stained the end of the house that has the screened porch. Then help arrived. Travis and Rachel came to stay with us for a few days, knowing that part of the deal was assistance with staining the house and garage in exchange for a few days in the woods. Today, we finished the lake side of the house (both levels) and the woods side of the house, as well as most of the garage. All we have left is the peak of one end of the garage and the southwest end of the house, which we will surely have done by noon tomorrow. Kathie and I are just amazed at the progess we have made in such short time, and we love the results. We hope you will agree, although maybe this photo won't be enough and you will have to come for a visit (or another visit) to really appreciate the change. We think of the color as a kind of Lincoln Log brownish red. Please do come for a visit or another visit (in spite of what the Sawyer County Record says about Gus and our welcoming messages).

Gus Makes the Newspaper!

Our very own Gus, the cute little bear that greets folks at the end of our drive in WI, has made the newspaper. Now, we think it is kind of funny for him to sometimes hold his "Go Away" sign instead of his "Welcome" sign. Evidently, not everyone sees it that way though. Gus appeared on the editorial page of the Sawyer County Record on September 6th, unbeknownst to us. In case you can't read the fine print, here is what the editors had to say:

"Is this the message we want to see at the ends of driveways in the Northwoods? Yes, it's a free country, but our reputation as a friendly place to live and recreate is in jeopardy when property owners post signs on the roadside telling people to "go away," no matter how "cute" they are. There are two letters from readers on this page questioning the welcome visitors receive in our area. Hayward has always been a friendly place. Let's try to keep it that way and show our visitors the respect they deserve. It's time to lose the "Wisconsin full, go home!" bumper stickers."

We don't know who took Gus's picture and decided to bring him to the attention of the paper's editorial staff. Our various neighbors have enjoyed seeing him, and all of them that we spoke to agreed with us that his "Go Away" sign is kind of funny. We are not on a main drag, so we aren't sure how many Wisconsin visitors he has actually offended and chased away. Maybe a realtor showing the available lot next door took offense. In any event, it is kind of amusing to us, as well as ironic, that we (essentially visitors to Wisconsin ourselves) are being challenged to "get with the program." I think I'll write a letter to the editor in reply.

Chairs and Glider

We are back in WI for several weeks. I brought up the glider and the two adirondack chairs that I made back home. I came up here yesterday with the pickup loaded to the gills with these new pieces of deck furniture and a number of other items. The glider was almost finished except for actually hanging the seat onto the base. I transported the chairs in pieces--didn't think I could get everything packed if they were assembled. So, I did the final assembly up here this morning. Kathie and her Mom arrived this afternoon and immediately gave the glider a test glide.

BWCA

As some of you know, we spent some time in the BWCA recently. Here are the details. Kathie and I, along with Jessica, Mike, and Josey, did the trip.

To break up the drive north, we drove to Minneapolis and stayed with Will on the 24th. Alas, Sandy was traveling, so we weren't able to enjoy her company, but Will did a fine job of seeing to it that we had a bed for the night. The next morning, after wishing him farewell, we went to an old favorite--Steamworks--for coffee and waffles with lingonberries. Then we got ourselves back to I35 and headed to Duluth and points further north.

For lunch, we stopped at Betty's Pies, just north of Two Harbors. This place became a favorite of mine years ago.We stayed at the Bluefin Bay Resort that evening. Many of you will remember this as the delightful place we stayed for the several days surrounding Will and Sandy's wedding. One of our motivations for staying here, rather than at the campground at Sawbill was the chance to go up to Grand Marais, including another dining experience, this one being Swen & Ole's. Given that Mike and Jessica are culinary students, we felt they needed the Betty's and Swen & Ole's experiences. Here are some shots near the Bluefin and at Swen & Ole's. (I obviously need to lose more weight and/or improve my posture!) The one of Josey has her fascinated by the waves in Lake Superior as viewed from our second floor window. A gorgeous mountain ash was just outside the window.




We drove to Sawbill bright and early and had breakfast at the outfitters, after which we began to pack up for the trip. We entered the BWCA at Sawbill. The trip we planned was similar to the Cherokee Loop that SCO has listed as one of its suggested routes. We did the trip over four nights and the better part of five days, staying at Cherokee an extra night.













The portages up to Cherokee are not too bad, and I found out that though I'm older and not as strong as I used to be, I can still do this!! It was good to be back out after many years not being able to revisit the wilderness. We found a great camp site at Cherokee, one with a very well-placed, if not perfectly flat rock, situated by the fire and useful as a "table." There was also a nice flat rock for sun bathing, staring at sunsets, and canoe landings.

It was interesting to have Josey along for the trip. She took to the canoe well, and except for having to watch first out of one side and then the other, thus tipping the canoe awkwardly back and forth, she was fine. She took to the portage travels naturally, blazing the way for us and beating us to the end every time. Of course, these busy days left her without her usual quota of naps, so she crashed at the campsite without fail. She always stayed nearby when we were in camp, and she took to sleeping with us in the tent quite well. One evening she sat staring at a brushy area for the longest time. We knew she had spotted some little critter. Eventually, she pounced on and killed a mouse that was unfortunate enough to have attracted this attention.



For entertainment one day, Kathie decided we needed to make boats out of natural materials. The results were interesting to say the least. From left to right in the picture, you see Kathie's entry, mine, Mike's, and Jessica's. Kathie's turned out to be the best sailing vessel and won the race (last seen heading far across Cherokee). I cheated and tried to use a rubber band to make a paddle--I thought this marvelous invention would surely win, but the paddle got caught in the opening and only spun a few times. Good design, bad engineering. Mike probably did the most work, soaking bark to make ties to lash together twigs. His was the Kon Tiki entry, but it did not want to sit upright very well once the sail was attached. Jessica's boat looked like something out of Kevin Costner's Waterworld movie, and it also tended not to want to stay upright.




We left Cherokee on the third day out and traveled to the north end of Kelley Lake. The fourth day, we traveled to Smoke Lake. The final morning, we did our single final portage back to Sawbill, paddled back to SCO, took those much-wanted showers, bought the mandatory new T-shirts and sweatshirts, visited with the Hansons, and then started our drive home. Lunchtime occurred with our arrival in Duluth, so we had a first serious non-freeze-dried meal at Grandma's. It was a great trip.

Dinner Party

One of the significant benefits of having a child doing degree work in the culinary arts is being treated to interesting new dining experiences. Jessica and her boyfriend, Mike, are staying with us for a few days, and they agreed to prepare a meal for us and a few good friends. Both are students at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI. They started yesterday with menu planning and continued today with shopping trips. At about 2PM, the preparations began for the actual dinner party, which was planned for about 6:30PM. They were really "on top of their game", because everything came together right on schedule and continued right through until about 10:30PM. It is probable that every pot, pan, appliance, burner, oven, and measuring utensil was in play at some point. There was much chopping, mincing, dicing, mixing, and so forth going on for hours.


Everything was wonderful, starting with sangria, hors d'oeuvres, and conversation in the back yard (on a beautiful summer evening). Then we moved to the table for the rest of the meal. Hors d'oeuvres consisted of proscuitto-wrapped melon and strawberries with balsamic glaze and maple-glazed scallops wrapped in bacon. The appetizer/first course was a goat cheese souffle served over baby greens with a pear balsamic vinagrette. For the entree, we had pan-seared tuna steak with lentil succotash and baby bok choy. Dessert was a lemon burdino (kind of a custard/cake combination). There were several excellent wines to choose from as well of both red and white varieties. Good friends and excellent food--what could be better? I suppose that would be the chance to feel such pride in knowing that your own children made all of this possible. We just sat back and enjoyed the experience.


At the end of the day, after being on their feet for hours and chopping, whipping, and what have you, both of our chefs were rather worn out. Kathie brought out the big gun (a serious vibrating massage machine) to give each of them a bit of relief. As I write this, each of them has now crashed and burned or is on the verge of same. As for us, contented sleep also beckons.

Decker/Drake/Frink Family Reunion

The annual Decker/Drake/Frink reunion was held today at the Community Park in Clarence. Unfortunately, no Drakes were present this year, but the Decker and Frink blood lines were both well represented. We had a wonderful time getting reacquainted, and as always, the food we all brought to share was wonderful. There were all kinds of great-tasting casseroles, German potato salad, home-grown tomatoes, breads, and other yummy things. The desserts were especially tasty this year, including fresh peach pie and a raisin pie to die for. Phyllis gave us orders to go back at least two extra times to refill our plates. I must admit that I complied.

We all agreed that we want to work hard through this next year to set the schedule for next year's reunion and to advise everyone early enough to get even more family to come in 2007. So those of you who are reading this, please watch your mail for details about next year.

Above is a picture of everyone who attended--Uncle Ed and Aunt Irene, Bob and Phyllis Hunwardsen, their daughter Lynn and her family, Kathie and I, and all the children of Bob and Anita Decker and their families. Other miscellaneous photos are attached here as well.

Canadian Pacific Train

Here is my new toy--an O guage Lionel train modeled on the Canadian Pacific SD90MAC engine and a set of CP cars. I found the hobby electric train store to end all hobby electric train stores here in Florida. Got some extra track and switches too. Am beginning to think about layouts, scenery, and other playing. Stand back, Henry! You and Grandpa are going to have some fun now!!!

Ohio and the South

As you may know, we have been traveling by car recently. Our first stop was Troy, Ohio, where we visited Paula, Ron, and Zipper. Zipper is turning out to be a pretty sweet dog. She has her first official haircut now in the style of the breed (Soft Coated Wheaton Terrier). However, she is still very much a puppy and wants to play nearly all the time. We have Josey with us, and she had a bit of a difficult time tolerating all the puppy playfulness. We have not seen so much teeth-baring and snapping impatience ever before. Maybe they will become friends sometime in the future. Zipper is a great friend for Paula and Ron, as you can tell from these photos. We had a great time playing cards, playing Perudo, seeing a couple of movies (including Pirates of the Caribbean, which actually includes a scene of pirates playing Perudo), eating Paula's great cooking, and visiting.


While there, Paula was using her cutting board--the one shaped like a pig that Robbie made for her (with a little help). Aunt Paula commented how much she likes the board and how she always thinks of Robbie when she uses it.

Our two-day trip to Florida from Ohio included a stop overnight near Atlanta. In Acworth, Georgia, just north of Atlanta, we stopped to see Kathie's relatives David and Vi. Their daughter Lori, son-in-law Tim, and children Brennan and Amanda also joined us. David and Vi prepared a wonderful barbecued chicken dinner, and we enjoyed visiting and seeing their home nestled in the Georgia pines.


On the day between Atlanta and Clearwater, Florida, we passed numerous signs for Georgia peaches, which are in season. We were finally unable to resist and pulled off to visit the Lane Packing Company, which offered fresh peaches in about every form imaginable. We sampled the peach cobbler with ice cream and a peach fritter, and of course we had to purchase a quantity of fresh peaches to take to Florida. We have been enjoying them thoroughly, while here in Florida, although I have to admit that I prefer fresh Colorado peaches, which I have frequently been able to buy when in Snowmass in August for professional meetings. Fresh peaches are probably my favorite fruit. Yum!!!!

It has been quite hot and very humid, but then what's new? Maybe more humidity here!! We have been helping Kathie's Mom with some home maintenance projects, usually early before it gets way too warm, and two evenings ago we attended a Florida State League baseball game (class A minor league) between the Tampa Bay Yankees and the Clearwater Threshers. Today, Mom treated us to a most amazing exhibit called Bodies--the Exhibition. (Note, the hot link I put here. Do yourself a favor. Go examine the Bodies web site!) This was simply amazing--an exhibit of at least 16 actual human bodies and many separate body parts, prepared with a special anatomical process, and presented in a very fascinating way to let you marvel and learn. I was blown away and highly recommend a visit to one of the exhibits that is around the country if you are ever in the vicinity. I don't know if they are traveling or not, but you can probably get more information here.