Garage II Done!

Actually, this new second garage was done ten days ago, but there has been a big pile of gravel in front of it until today. The final grading around the garage was just completed, so now I can post a picture without the pile of gravel cluttering the image.

This is what you would now see upon entering our driveway.

This view was taken from near our fire pit. The original garage looks big in this picture, but it has less than half the square footage of the new garage. I have our car in the old garage right now, and the boat is parked in the new garage. There is still space there for my pickup (or a large electric train layout, should that become a good idea!).

The new garage was sided with a no-maintenance product. Our thinking is that in a few years, when the old garage and the cabin need new stain, we may reside them to match the new garage. I still need to paint the entry door to the new garage, but that will have to wait for warmer weather next spring.

White Stuff

We have white stuff falling from the sky today here at the lake. Enough to leave maybe a 1/4" on the deck by the time it was easing up. We had considered going fishing today, but I think we will wait for a sunnier day.

Leo

Kathie and I got to meet Leo this past weekend. Nana is very happy about her new grandson.

And Maia loves her new baby brother. (Unfortunately, I didn't get to see Maia, because she was away with her dad for the weekend to participate in her Aunt Amanda's wedding. Maia was a flower girl. I understand Mike and Jessica had her practicing with a basket of confetti paper at home!)

Leo is doing very well, as is his mother. He takes lots of naps in his little swing, and he loves watching the rotating mobile, listening to the music, and looking up into the convex mirror at the bottom of the mechanism.

Leo's Nana and mother thought this picture was too posed, but I like it!

Fascinating Book

I have just finished reading a truly fascinating book. Published in September, 2011, the book is actually a set of transcripts of a series of tape-recorded interviews of Jackie Kennedy starting in March, 1964 and concluding in June, 1964. This was a surprisingly short time after Kennedy's assassination in November, 1963. (Also, note that the assassination occurred fifty years ago next month!) Those of you who were, like me, young adults during the early 1960s may find this as fascinating as I did. The younger among you may enjoy it as well, although you may not be as familiar with some of the issues or persons mentioned in the interviews.

I read the book on my iPad using iBooks. This enhanced electronic book contained video and audio recordings. For each of the individual interviews in the book (seven, as I recall), I was able to listen to a recording of that interview with Arthur Schlesinger asking questions and Mrs. Kennedy responding, while at the same time I could follow along by reading the transcript and seeing selected photographs along the way. Hearing Mrs. Kennedy's voice was amazing, and her candor in dealing with many of the topics, including her opinions of prominent individuals of the time, was quite something. Schlesinger was a member of President Kennedy's staff, so his questions and contributions to the interviews were also interesting. I very much enjoyed revisiting the history of this time through their recollections, and I came away with a deeper understanding of some of the more significant events. Honestly, Mrs. Kennedy showed some attitudes in her responses that are surprising now (e.g. women's roles), and I have to believe her thoughts and opinions must have changed in later years. Caroline Kennedy is featured in a video preface to the book and describes both Mrs. Kennedy's intentions in doing the interviews and her own (Caroline's) decision about publishing the interviews at this time. Michael Beschloss, a presidential historian, offers some concluding thoughts.

Given current events and the horrendous behavior of Congress and the Republican leadership (or lack of same) that we are now seeing, I found some things in the book that really grabbed my attention. Permit me to share a couple with you. In one section Mrs. Kennedy is discussing how much the President read, and she cites his interest in the Edmund Burke address to the people of Bristol, England in his 1774 “Speech to the Electors of Bristol.” the Anglo-Irish statesman-philosopher said, “Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgement; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.” I suggest that our government would be much more effective if our elected representatives would heed this advice. Tea Party members, especially, would do well to think about this.

In another part of the interviews, Mrs. Kennedy opines that the New York Times v. Sullivan Supreme Court decision of March 9, 1964, was most unfortunate. The decision decreed that a plaintiff in a defamation or libel case must prove that the defendant’s statement was made with actual malice, in full knowledge or reckless disregard of its falsity. This ruling granted new license for publication of vicious comments about presidents and other public figures. This made me think of the incredible and unbridled distortion of facts and the lying that occurs constantly on our so-called cable news channels and in campaigns and on the Internet. In my opinion, Fox News celebrities have an especially terrible record in this regard–witness their constant attacks on President Obama in terms of the ongoing false claims about his citizenship, birth records, religious views, etc. By the way, on the day of President Kennedy's assassination, there was a full-page, right-wing attack ad against Kennedy in a Dallas newspaper, and "wanted for treason posters" railing against the President's record were being distributed throughout the city. You can read a bit about this by clicking here.

Enough from me! Consider reading the book, and let me know what you think.

Fall, Garage, Puffballs, and Neighbors

Fall colors are very nice right now in northern Wisconsin.

The new garage is coming along nicely and may be finished by the end of this week.

The inside has been insulated and the shiplap interior is in place. Much of the electrical work is done with more to follow tomorrow. Windows and the main door will be installed tomorrow or the next day.

Lots of fungi are growing up here right now. I was told about this enormous puffball mushroom and decided to go take a picture of it. I placed my camera's lens cap atop it to give you some perspective. That lens cap is about 2-1/2" in diameter. My first impression of the puffball was an interesting one, given the crease it has near the dandelion blossom. I'll let you decide for yourselves what it reminds you of.

Jerry and Tyler came by for a visit this afternoon. We spent quite a bit of time watching the guys work on the garage. Tyler was fascinated by all the sawing, nail guns, and constant motion and banter of the workers.

Wrist Update

No pictures this time, but for those of you wondering about the progress on my broken wrist, here is an update. Yesterday, I visited the clinic in Hayward for a followup examination. This was six weeks after the accident and five weeks since the cast was put on my arm. I had used a strap-on brace/splint the first week.

My wrist was X-rayed again (with the cast still on), and the doctor then met with me. She said that the bones are partially healed. We looked at the X-ray together, and she showed me that there are, in fact, two breaks on the radius, both now filling in with calcium, and that the nub at the end of ulna was separated from the bone but is also now reconnecting.

She was willing for me to have the cast removed, and that has been done. Thank goodness, because it was starting to be quite uncomfortable and smelly (sorry if that is TMI). However, she wants me to keep using the brace/splint for another three or more weeks to give the wrist a chance to completely heal. At least I can take it off to wash my arm now! When the cast was off, I could tell that although I feel much stronger, there are positions that are still painful, particularly if I try to tip my hand down. So I'm OK about continuing to use the brace for awhile.

There you have it. The doctor did share something with me that I found quite interesting. She described how after such a break, a certain kind of cell enters the area and essentially cleans up any debris that might be there (e.g., bone fragments) before the healing and calcium buildup begins. I had never heard of such a thing before. What fascinating mechanisms our bodies have evolved!

More Garage Progress

I'm back north, and here is a quick look at progress on the new garage. They started yesterday morning, so this represents just two days of work. By the way, fall colors up here are quite beautiful.

Good Friend

I've been fortunate in my life to have a few very special friends, friends who have supported me in good times and bad and with whom I or Kathie and I have enjoyed many fun, memorable times. Here is a photo, taken a couple of days ago, of me with one of those most special friends.

David visited us the past few days after attending his 50th high school reunion in central Iowa. We had a great time reminiscing and catching up with each other and enjoyed a couple of fun outings, including dinner with Rob and his family and a drive out to the area of Cedar County where I was raised. We talked about the possibility of traveling together with our respective significant others and maybe other friends some time next year when each of us turns 70 (yikes!). It would be great if we didn't have to wait even that long to see each other again.

Fritz's 1st Birthday

Yesterday was Frederick's (Fritz's) first birthday. Betsy had a party for him last Sunday, to which we were invited. Here is a part of what happened that day (in Fritz's imagined own words):

OK! I'm ready for this party to get underway. Got my bib, and the tray is ready. The decorations are up. Let's get going!

Alright, Mom! Nice cake! Let me have some of that. You can skip all that singing, cuz I want some of that yummy looking chocolate cake.

That's a decent sized piece for starters. No need to get me that silverware. My hands and fingers work just fine.

I don't want to let a crumb go to waste, so licking off the plate works well for that.

I like all of it, the frosting, the chocolate cake part, the sprinkles. Yum!

This is so incredibly good. Why don't you let me eat like this more often?

OK, I'll try to be more dignified. Did I tell you, Mom, how much I appreciate the cake and this party?

Dad, did you see the balloon Mom put up for me? Quit trying to lick my fingers! I'll take care of that myself!

Mom! Mom! Mom! Grandpa's taking pictures of us. Try to cooperate.

Thanks for changing my clothes. I tried to be neat with the cake, but it was so incredibly good, that I may have gotten a little on my clothes. And maybe some in my hair. And maybe a little on my fingers. And around my mouth. Oh! There are gifts. Look over there, Mom. Let's open gifts.

See these cool books I got? Henry? Clara? These are my new books. Mine! Mine! Mine! My grandparents gave me these books. What a great birthday party I had. Thanks everyone. Special thanks to you, Mom and Dad, for making all the arrangements.

Losing An Old Friend

A strong straight-line wind blew through our Iowa property last week and, unfortunately, snapped off a significant part of our beloved white pine. This poor tree has had to withstand a number of weather events in recent years, including ice storms, and so the cumulative damage in terms of broken limbs was becoming more and more evident. Last week's storm was finally too much.

In a week or so, we are having it removed. Our plan is to plant some new trees in the yard soon, including a couple of new white pines. I guess we won't be around long enough to see them achieve the stature of this one, but there may eventually be stately new replacements in the yard.

More on Garage II

This posting is mainly for those of you interested in construction projects–you know who you are! However, for the rest of you, I'm starting with a picture of our mountain ash tree, a tree that stands a short distance from our front door. It is particularly pretty this year, with lots of clusters of orange berries. I recall that two years ago, it had only one such cluster, so it has really come along. Those of you interested in the garage can read on. The rest can glance at this photograph and then find something more useful to do.

After the brush and a few dead trees were cleared from the site, loads of dense sand were brought in and compacted onto the footprint for the garage. The compactor even made the cabin shake! I enjoyed watching them use a laser to get this perfectly level and at a graded height equal to that of the existing garage floor.

The area from the driveway to the front of the garage and the other sides of the site were graded for eventual access and water runoff.

Next, forms were put into place for pouring the concrete. Lying on the ground in front of the site is the drain which was integrated into the garage floor. Plastic sheeting was put down over the entire area.

The temperature and humidity were fairly high the day this was all done, so I didn't envy the guys having to work the heavy concrete into place. Rebar was placed around the perimeter and in the perimeter footings.

I had never seen one of these gadgets before–a motorized unit that did the initial smoothing of the concrete surface.

After all the concrete was poured, there was some final finishing and polishing.

This picture may give you a better idea of where the garage is situated. It is parallel to Garage I and about eight feet away from it. The curb around the perimeter of the pad has now been poured too, so construction can start soon. Remaining steps prior to that are to make frost stress relief cuts in the floor and to pour a four foot apron at the front of the garage entrance and to do some finish grading.

Garage II

You know how one thing can lead to another? Remember that new bigger boat? Well, getting it into our existing garage was going to require some changes. It might have been possible to enlarge the door to that garage so that the boat could be backed in, but even then the boat would have consumed all the available interior space with little, if any, room for maneuvering or other storage. So, we decided to add a second garage. This one will stand between the current garage and the road to our property (that is, further away from the lake), and it will be larger, of course. In fact, it will be large enough for the new boat, additional storage, and vehicle parking, especially in the winter. In past winters, the boat has filled the garage, so that when we were here, we had to leave any vehicle outside. This has been somewhat inconvenient, given the big snowfalls we have experienced the last few years.

Anyway, enough rationalizing. Excavation and grading started yesterday, and so I can share some early pictures. I love watching big equipment like this at work. Skilled operators make the backhoe arm seem like an extension of the operator's arm and hand. Next steps will involve fill, packing and then the pouring of the new garage floor. That should happen in the next few work days.

Oh, did I mention that the new garage will be finished on the inside? That will give us options for temporary sleeping space for guests or for me to store my electric trains or even make larger train layouts! I know, I know. Boys and their toys.

More Lake Fun

While I was in Minneapolis with Will and his family, Kathie hosted some of the members of her investment club. (Might have had something to do with my departing the premises.) All reports suggest that they had an excellent time on a pontoon outing and some fishing, golfing, and other playful activities. Here they are at Treeland's posing with the model of the world record Musky. Later, all but Kathie gathered in front of the fireplace back at the cabin before heading home.

Following their visit, we enjoyed a long Labor Day weekend with Jessica, Mike and Maia; Tom and Kristen; and Travis. Another pontoon boat outing was called for.

We stopped for a picnic at Chipmunk Island.

Tom and Kristen also posed with the Musky when we returned the pontoon boat.

Later in the weekend, Mike and Tom stoked up a fire, so that Maia and everyone else could make s'mores. Maia may have preferred roasted marshmallows to s'mores.

I got this nice group picture of all the family members before they headed back home on Monday.