WI in January

We have been at our place in WI for a week now and plan to be here yet another week. There is very little snow so far, and the locals are very concerned about the effects on the economy and spring lake levels. Usually, there is a significant influx of tourists who enjoy snowmobiling, ice fishing, and cross-country skiing. There is some ice fishing going on, but we haven't seen the adventurous driving of cars onto the ice that we have seen in other years. Still, it is pretty and quiet here. With the lake frozen and a bit of snow, the view from our place is quite nice.

I forgot to bring my camera along, but I rigged up the iSight camera on my Macintosh computer and took a few shots. They aren't the highest quality, but I thought you would like to see what we are doing.

We have done lots of relaxing, including reading books (I finished two so far), completing a picture puzzle, and watching a few movies. Kathie bought me the first season of Six Feet Under for Christmas, and we have been watching one episode of that each evening. (What an interesting show. I highly recommend it.)

A few days ago, we trekked into Hayward so that I could get a haircut and check on how to install a different chain sprocket in one of my chainsaws. We also made the mandatory stop at the bakery and the local coffee shop, and Kathie bought a pair of gloves to replace the ones we seem to have lost on our way up here.

We brought some new wall hangings along with us and have put those up, including two very nice fishing-theme needlepoints that Mom did for us. There has been some pinball playing, and we plan to play some ping-pong today. Hunkered down in a cabin in the woods like this, it is also easy to overdo the snacking and eating, but we are enjoying that too. I've been working on a DVD project for my kids, and Kathie has been working on an afghan.


Josey has been lounging on the deck and chases squirrels every once in awhile. We have also taken her for walks on the frozen lake, where she can run and run (and slide). She seems very at home here. We think she has begun to know "go to the lake" and "go home" as two important phrases in her limited vocabulary.


We spent quite a lot of time the last few days clearing out a couple of dead trees (which I had worried might fall on parked cars sometime). That wood was tootsie-rolled (this is what you call cutting up a long tree into short fire logs) and stacked, and the limbs and some other brush we had cleared up has been burned. I also got around to trying my hand at some chainsaw carving. This is something I've been contemplating for some time. I have the right equipment, but I don't have very good technique yet. I started with a little bear, which is the usual subject matter for carving. The only books I could find with which to get started all concentrate on this basic carving. They claim that once you master this, you can branch out into other things. We shall see. Anyway, here are my results so far. Clearly, this one will have to be scrapped as a first experience!!

Christmas, 2006

The major snowstorms in Denver interfered with Travis's travels home for Christmas. He was supposed to fly home on the 20th, the day over 2000 flights were canceled. However, he did eventually make it home on Christmas Eve. Jessica had arrived on the 20th from Providence as planned. Both had to return to their respective homes on the 26th, but we did get to enjoy Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and part of the 26th together.


Josey was the first to dig into her presents. She worked on her stocking for awhile and then moved on to the devouring of unwrapped goodies. She even dressed up for the occasion with a gold ribbon.



Jessica modeled some new undies and also the scarf that was picked out for her during our recent trip to Italy. In one of the shots below, Jessica and her Mom both model their new Italian accessories.




Travis loved his new audio mixer and immediately began to delve into the owner's manual.



Kathie and I also did well on the gift front. She received a new Palm Pilot, and I received a new high-accuracy miter guage and crosscut sled for my table saw.



Later, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner, and then Jessica taught Kathie and me how to do an official wine tasting. It turned out that Jessica had to miss one session of her wine tasting class back at Johnson & Wales. Her instructor said that would be OK if she would do this make-up work with us, even offering extra credit! Because Kathie and I were still recovering from seasonal coughs and colds, we weren't sure that our aroma-detectors or taste-sensors were fully up to the job, but we had fun anyway. The process is quite involved.

Expanded Shop

For those of you who care...my sweet wife was kind enough to allow me to expand the size of my shop. Previously, I occupied about 1/4 of the basement, and now I have essentially the entire west end of the basement as my shop. This has allowed me to arrange my power tools better, as well as my benches. Part of this was necessitated by my acquisition of a couple of new power tools as well as an expansion of the size of the table on my table saw. I can now work more efficiently, I think. I also gained the ability to more easily work with larger pieces of wood. My lathe is much more accessible too, and I improved the dust collection system layout.

I'm sure this is all as thrilling to you as it is to me, so here are some pictures.

Travis's Steamer Trunk

One of my recent shop projects was an old-fashioned steamer trunk that I made for Travis. Here are some shots of him with it. It wasn't really meant to be a Christmas present, but I did surprise him with it when he was here for a very brief holiday. (The Denver snow storms trapped him there, and he was unable to get here until Christmas Eve and then had to return the day after Christmas.)



The chest is made of oak--some solid and some oak veneer plywood. I lined the chest with aromatic cedar, and there is lots of brass hardware, as you can see. The finish was a mix of burnt umber oil paint and linseed oil that I hand rubbed onto the chest. Two coats of polyurethane varnish completed the look. This was a fun project--one I had wanted to do ever since I first saw the plans. I was pleased that Travis was interested in having one for clothing and other storage.

Six Word Memoirs

On yesterday's edition of Weekend America, I heard a segment on a contest sponsored by Smith Magazine. They are sponsoring a Six Word Memoir Contest.

I couldn't help this weekend but think about what six words I would use to describe my life. So far, I like this best: Stubborn, constructive, committed Iowan; adores family. I know this isn't as cute as some others I've seen on the Smith web site, but it feels best.

Way back when all of you were first starting these blogs and encouraged me to join in, various challenges were put forth. I specifically remember the challenge to recall what you were doing exactly ten years ago--I think I failed at this one. However, that doesn't stop me from challenging all of you to write your six word memoirs!! And, if you are truly inspired, you can enter them in the Smith contest too.

Pfefferneusse (Peppernuts)

Each year, in memory of my mother, I'm obliged to make peppernuts, or pfefferneusse, as my German ancestors would call them. They aren't nuts, and they don't have pepper in them, so go figure. Anyway, most of you know what they are--tiny little cookies made from flour, lots of butter, Karo syrup, sugar, a tiny amount of milk and baking soda, and two spices (allspice and cardamom; some use anise, but I don't care for that).

Many years ago, thoughtful, sensitive son Rob made a gift for me based on Mom's peppernut recipe. I have had it framed and hanging in the kitchen for over 16 years.


I didn't take a picture of the dough or the dough "in process", but you would be correct to imagine modeling clay. The dough is very, very stiff and thick. In the last stages, it is a real bear to stir. Then it is cooled further before being rolled out--like the snakes you used to roll out with modeling clay in grade school.


These rolls are cooled further overnight, and then the baking process commences. Each roll is cut into many, many, many, many, many, many small 1/4" or smaller slices. These are then, of course, arranged in rows and columns (the obssessive-compulsive in me requires this) on a cookie sheet and baked.



The results are wonderful, little, golden brown goodies that combine to fill up an appropriate container. The one you see here was filled to overflowing by the time I was done, with the extras filling another mixing bowl.


Now, there are many ways to eat these delights. Personally, I dislike just chewing them up like cookies, although to each his or her own. My prefence is to just let each one melt in your mouth (resulting in slower consumption) or to drop a handful in a glass of milk and fish them out with a spoon after an appropriate amount of time. Yum!

When I worked at NSF back in 1998-2000, I made some of these for friends there. They didn't recognize them, though they claimed to know what peppernuts were. Later, they brought me some they had purchased. They were enormous and were frosted! Naturally, I didn't think these qualified as peppernuts, but I guess there are lots of ways to make them. Just "google" for peppernuts or pfefferneuse on the web, and you will see what I mean.

Quality Time

Last weekend was a good one for many reasons. Betsy, Pete, and Henry came to stay with us for the weekend in order to attend Carrie's PhD graduation exercises. Since we won't be together for Christmas, we took advantage of the occasion for selected gift exchanges too.

Soon after Henry arrived, he started "reminding" me and Grandma that we could perhaps see a movie. I think his exact words were, "Grandpa! Watch Dumbo!" So, here he is cuddled up with Grandma and some pizza watching Monsters, Inc. (We decided to introduce him to a new title.)


On Saturday, Rob hosted an open house to further honor Carrie, who had received her hood and PhD at Friday's graduation exercises. (See Betsy's earlier post on this subject.) There were lots of good eats and good feelings. Oscar helped celebrate, and Henry helped Aunt Carrie open her gifts.





Back at home, I pulled out a sure-fire win-over-the-grandson's heart toy, that being my electric train. This was the first time Henry has had a chance to play with it, so it was a big hit. Since he also loves the farm and farm animals that Great Aunt Paula made for us to play with, we set that up in the middle of the track loop. Some of the animals even went for a ride. I anticipate that getting this out whenever Henry visits will now be a requirement, along with the farm and the Dumbo DVD.


Because there are so many of us in the family, we decided a few years ago to draw names. Otherwise, everyone was going broke buying gifts for everyone else. Anyway, this year, Kathie and I had Betsy and Pete's names, respectively. So, we gave them their gifts on Sunday morning before they went home. Of course, buying gifts for Henry is fair game, regardless of the name drawing plans, so he received some things too. Here he is tearing into one of his gifts. Also, Betsy is admiring the new Italian leather purse (purchased during our recent visit to Italy) she received. Pete received a jig saw from me, which I failed to capture on film.



Hope everyone has happy holidays! Today, we were expecting both Jessica and Travis to arrive. Jessica just walked in, but Travis is stuck in Colorado due to very heavy snow in the Denver area. We don't know if he can get rebooked to get here in time for Christmas or not. We have our fingers crossed.

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday this year. Except for Will and Sandy, who we had visited at their place the prior weekend (to see Iowa lose to Minnesota!!), everyone was able to be with us. This includes Paula, Ron, and Sarah, Jessica and Travis, Rob and Carrie, and Pete, Betsy, and Henry. Oh, yes! There were also four dogs in attendance: Josey (ours), Franklin (Pete and Betsy's), Oscar (Rob and Carrie's), and Dayton (Sarah's).

Kathie and Jessica cooked up a storm over a couple of days, and Carrie contributed some delicious potatoes and a great green bean dish. Thanks, Carrie!! Everyone ate too much, of course, but it was all too good to pass up.


Great Aunt Paula spent some quality time with Henry working with clay and making hand prints and various critters. We look forward to these being fired and returned for display.



Grandpa got to spend some quality time with Henry too. Playing with the farm toys is always good, but this time we also went for a ride on a real tractor and played in a leaf pile behind the house.




Grandma got out the roller coaster that she picked out for Henry and that he has learned to love. We discovered later that it also makes a great track for races with those tiny "Hot Wheels" cars. And there were the usual card games and other table games.




Later in the week, Paula, Ron, Sarah, Kathie, and I went for a "field trip." We ate lunch at a pub in Mount Vernon, visited Uncle Ed and Aunt Irene, and then paid our respects at various cemeteries. Kathie and I were sorry to see everyone return home.

Recent Visit to See the Kids

This is a little overdue, but I thought I should at least post a few shots from our visit to IL. We participated in celebrating Pete's birthday, albeit a little late, and Henry's, albeit a little early. Betsy has already posted some of this same news, but I figure another perspective can't hurt.

When we arrived, Henry was just waking up. Evidently finding out that the Hawks had lost another game (this one was to Wisconsin) just wore him out.


For Pete's birthday, we dined at Ra and enjoyed sushi. Henry really loved the edamame (soy beans). Here he is trying them, along with Grandpa Herr.



Other shots of the happy family include this one of Betsy and Aunt Liz, Betsy and her boy, and the entire family.




The next morning, Kathie and I gave Henry his birthday gift a little early. I had built an easel for him and it was accompanied with an appropriate set of coloring resources, paints, and chalk. He seemed to take to it readily. Maybe there is a budding artist here???



One of our last outings was to the Choo Choo Cafe, which serves great burgers and delivers them to tableside by electric train. Now that is a great place!!