November 11 - December 15, 2016 Wisconsin

We ate breakfast at Café LaBelle in Shorehaven, the Oconomowoc nursing home.  Speaking of Shorehaven, they are doing a major expansion, adding some assisted living apartments overlooking the lake.

Brant and LeAnn arrived this afternoon.  Laura and Greg came over with Taco stuff while the Hagens, minus Jack, went to a neighborhood party across the street.  They returned after a bit to the chaos here. 

Lula tried a take a chunk out of Bubbie so it was decided to let Laura and Greg take Bubbie back to their house until Brant and Laura leave Sunday

We are taking a family picture tomorrow after Jack’s robotics contest.

Robotics.  Jack is on the right in the red shirt

Went to robotics competition.  Jacks group won 1^st place.

We then all went to the eat lunch at Chocolate Factory.  All being  Jen, Brant and Mary and Jonah, joined by the rest later.  Then back to the robotics competition where Jack's team won.

The Chocolate Factory

Family portrait time, so after everyone was dressed "up" we drove to Kanow Park for pictures.  Surprisingly, it only took about fifteen minutes.

Corralling everyone to stand still for a picture

LeAnn was babysitting Sammy while Greg and Laura went to school party.   Sammy was here at Hagen’s participating in the general chaos.  Laura said when he starts acting like a drunk college girl, he's ready for bed.  And sure enough after awhile he started to stumble around, half asleep.  LeAnn took him back to his house so he could go to bed.

We all went to breakfast at Café LaBelle for breakfast this morning.  The whole gang.  Luckily the café staff had a sense of humor.  We are a loud bunch.

Mass breakfast at Cafe LaBelle

Rabidly attentive grandsons soaking up grandparent wisdom ...

After we went back to the Hagen’s house, Greg and Laura returned to their house.  I took Mary for a short walk before heading out on my own.  Greg came over with Seany to watch the game as I returned and they stayed a bit longer while Seany chased bad guys with Jonah.  

We left shortly to visit uncle Dan in the hospital. We took the freeway into Milwaukee and up I-43 to Grafton.  My, what changes they are doing to the zoo interchange. 

At the hospital we met Dona and Linda, and Gene and Margo.  Had a great time seeing everyone and Dan seemed to be doing better.

Bob and Jan at Sobelmans

After, we stopped in to see Bob and Jan and then went with them to Sobelmans for a burger.  Quite good!  And so were Bob’s manhattans in comparison to the ones we had at Sobelmans.

Made plans for a big dinner get together on December 9th, and then we left for the long drive back to Ixonia and bed.

This morning I was on tap to get up at 7:30AM to steer Jonah to the bus after eating breakfast and getting dressed.  Last year it took some close supervision.  Now he pretty much does it by himself.

At the bus stop I met up with Aileen, Tim’s mother (Tim and Jen live next door to Dave and Jen), and the rest of the bus gang including TJ, and Grant.  Little party out there!

Mary and I took another walk and then I went off on mine although I’m escalating my running everyday.  Hope the knees hold out.

Later we went off to Walmart to buy a few things and stopped at Culvers for ice cream before returning and eating dinner.

It was a super moon tonight.  Not much different from a normal full moon from our vantage point.

Tricia from Huckins sent some of our boat estimates today.  Not too bad.  We can still look forward to non-cat food meals.

Today Mary had to get up at 7:45 to get Jonah ready for the bus at 8:12.

We worked on our respective laptops all day.  I took a long run and then Mary and I went for a walk around the subdivision.

Mary trying to ignore Seany and Jonah ogling all the ice cream

Seany wanted to go eat with us so we packed up Jonah and then drove over to Seany's house and picked up him up.  Then went to the Chocolate Factory.  Again.  But what are grandparents for anyway?

It was a slow day, today.  Mary was sick.  I took Bubbie for her walk after getting Jonah on the bus.  Worked on the blog and then went out to walk.

Later I drove to Walmart with Jack after dinner to pick up some things.

Also OK’d the work to replace 5 of the boat's vinyl windows.  Boat repairs are beginning to be expensive.

We were not required for any childcare duties today so we slept in a little and then walked the dog.  It was unseasonably warm, 70’s.  We walked and did some computer work before the kids came home.  I went to the store and then stopped at Fongs for egg rolls.  We haven’t been to Fongs for decades.  Still pretty good.

At the store I got everything on the list but Bananas.  Again.

Early morning today, 7AM.  Mary, the ambitious one was up at 6.  We were assigned to get Jonah on the bus by 8:15 this morning.

I went out for my daily walk/run early enough so we could get on the road by noon to do some errands and shopping before picking up Seany from school at 2:45.

Seany School

We stopped at a pet store to get guinea pig shavings, Aldi for groceries, dollar store for cards and then on to the school to get Seany.

We made a stop at McDonald's where he devoured a whole happy meal while we had sundaes and then went to his house to play Mario Brothers on their Wii.  That only lasted a few minutes because Sammy came home with Laura so we played around a bit with them before we had to leave because Mary was beginning to feel the effects of Belle, their cat. 

We headed back to the Hagens and they all went to the Y to swim while I went to Subway so Mary and I could eat while watching Frazier episodes.

First though I stopped at a Kwik Trip to get cash and the ATM didn’t dispense any even though it was deducted from our bank account.  The Kwik Trip people gave me a number to call but it turned out to be a tech support number for machine technicians.  But I checked an hour later and the PNC bank (they operate the ATM) had indeed issued a $100 credit to our account. 

Bubbie, has taken to following Jen around the house which, we think, means Bubbie considers her the Alpha of the pack, not Mary. 

The weather has turned cold tonight.  I went for a short walk and it was COLD!

Tomorrow is the museum.

We actually made it out the door by 10:15.  Jen had to stop at her bank and then I made a stop at Kwik Trip to use the free ATM there before heading into Milwaukee.  I drove.

We parked in Macarthur Square parking garage, another place we have not been too in many decades.  Things are pretty much as I remembered them.  Course my memory could be suspect.

In the museum we met Greg and Laura and started off in the Old Milwaukee exhibit which I didn’t remember for the most part.  It was set in an era a decade or so before us.  But they had a candy store and of course we had to buy candy.   Jr. Mints!

I still remember this exhibit from 25 years ago!

Somehow we got separated and I found myself alone wandering thru the exhibits which I do remember from years ago.  They haven’t changed much.  My phone was silenced so I didn’t see or hear the repeated messages wondering where I was.  It was a surprise that everyone was ready to leave so soon! 

But leave we did and met Greg and Laura at a Buffalo Wings in Pewaukee. Dave had elected to miss the museum trip and posted a picture of the poor dog in the basement covered up in a nice warm blanket because she doesn’t like to be alone and David was down there.

We all had lunch, played a trivial pursuit game and enjoyed  a good time with the kids.  Then it was back to Ixonia.  I went out for a walk and then we had Jen’s yummy french onion soup for dinner.    It was 8 o’clock and I really was ready for bed!  These northern latitudes… ugh

It was a Cafe LaBelle breakfast this morning at ShoreHaven with the Hagens.  We then separated.  Jen and Dave went shopping while Mary and I went to Ben Franklin with the boys to buy ornament stuff for ornament creations.

Mary had purchased a sewing machine a few days ago and it was here so when we returned to the house, Jack unpacked it and was eagerly anticipating sewing stuff.  Meanwhile Bubbie, having been observed shivering in the 20 degree temps, will be receiving a doggie vest soon.   Next step down the slippery slope of age is a doggie buggy, a disturbingly almost common sight down in Florida.  Not in my lifetime!

Mary somehow napped in a chair in the midst of a cleaning frenzy.  The dog, a quick learner, napped right along side in the other chair.

I did my loop around the neighborhood and then took Jack to his Aikido class.  Picked him up at 8 and watched the Packers do their usual before we went to bed. 

We have a vet appointment tomorrow at 10:30 and then head to Green Bay for doctor appointments the following two days.

The news reports a half inch of snow up in Green Bay today.  Bubbie gets to stay here and be loved up the boys while we get to slog through snow.

The dog was out of the Vets office by 11AM and it cost less than $100.  Yeah!

The dog occasionally just like to sit and stare at a blank wall in a closet

We got back to the house, and packed while the dog took refuge in the dark closet until we left.  We have no idea why she does this, "stare at the wall" thing.

Seems there is more and more development along the 41 (now I-41) corridor.   All the highway construction in Green Bay appears to be completed.  Reminds me of the Marquette Interchange in Milwaukee several decades ago.  Except Green Bay isn’t all that large of a city.  6 lanes? 

We’re in our favorite hotel, Country Inn Suites.   We went to Anduzzis for some food and a drink and then just returned to the hotel.

Tomorrow I get my gums examined, my skin examined and probably zapped by Amber’s lethal liquid nitrogen gun.  Then we see Amanda for hair.

I asked our kids about my pony tail.  Dismissing the offered idea of getting a Farrah Fawcett hairdo (thanks David), my grandsons lean towards keeping it except Jonah who thinks I’d be cooler without it.  Sammy was too busy removing pots and pans from the kitchen cabinets to respond.  LeAnn said cut a few inches off and add layers.

So we’ll see what Amanda says after taking into consideration my expanding bald spot so lovingly  pointed out my oldest grandson.  The ravages of age … ugh

We were up early and made it on time to Dr. Laughlin, the periodontist for our 8:30 appointment.  Except it was really a 9:30 appointment.  We again somehow screwed up the calendar entry.  But they squeezed me in at 8:45.  I blame Google Calendar since we usually make these appoints while in the eastern time zone and forget to tweak the settings.

It was simply an exam because I have a front tooth with bad bone loss so I have to go through tooth surgery where they clean out the root and then do something with the gum tissue to form more surface area to anchor the tooth lest I lose it. 

We had to make three more appointments to get this done.  Surgery, post surgery and last checkup and cleaning. 

Next it was a cross town drive to Amber, the dermatologist where we both had a few spots burned off and Mary had a scraping.   Perhaps we are spending too much time in the sun?

Then it was back to the hotel to regroup and talk with the boatyard to get a handle on the escalating costs.  After we got that settled we went down by the stadium to see all the new construction going on across the street where they K-mart was located.  The area is designated as Titletown District.  The first buildings are being built now, one a 5 star Kohler hotel. 

Amanda, Mary and me

The we went to visit Amanda.  After being presented with thoughts about my ponytail, she, without undue delay or discussion, chopped off 4 inches and tidied me up a bit.  Then she did Mary.

We next went shopping at Woodmans after successfully navigating the numerous round-abouts to get there.  The roundabouts there, 5 or 6 separate ones, could be disconcerting to anyone new to the area. It can be hard time navigating around.  Well that's my opinion.

Woodmans is the only place in the country where I have been able to find this Old Spice body wash stuff except for a Walmart in Mississippi a few years ago.

Back at the hotel Mary had to eat soft foods because of her liver test tomorrow.  I went for Chinese.

Tomorrow it’s an early morning liver test for Mary, then back to Ixonia by way of  Simons Cheese in Neenah.  We usually buy a bunch of cheese for the kids to bring back with us when we are up here. 

Another early day today.  Liver scan at Bellin hospital.  The weather was forecast to be either rainy or snowy.  Luckily it turned out to be rainy. 

Mary went in, and was out in 30 minutes.  We headed back to the hotel by way of our old house.  Packed up and we were on the road before noon.

We made our regular stop at the cheese factory and got enough for Greg, Laura and Jen and Dave. 

Back in Oconomowoc we dropped off  Greg and Laura's cheese at their house.  We also added a cake too.  It was Laura's birthday!  

We made it back to Jen and Dave's before 3.

A converted Goodwill shopper

On the way to dinner at Judy's the next day we first stopped at Goodwill.  Mary found several pairs of pants.  I found nothing, basically because up here in winter, they don't have a lot of shorts in the racks.

Went to Dan and Judy’s for dinner.  Laurie was there and Don and Linda.   Another great time seeing everyone!

The next day we went to the cookie sale at the hotel where Jen and Dave had their wedding reception. A huge cookie sale from all kinds of institutions.

Gingerbread house construction

Jack and Jonah built a gingerbread house.  In the other room a dozen institutions were selling cookies to raise money.  I shied away from the churches and bought from the golden retriever association and animal shelters.  Yummy .

Dinner at Mazatlan 

We got back to the house and Greg and Laura came over.  We all went to dinner at Mazatlan, a mexican restaurant in Oconomowoc.

We had a plan today.  First we were going over to see Seany at his house, then we would walk to the winter park German event that was taking place in downtown Oconomowoc.

... and no bribery needed

One victorious note, Sammy came over to me and sat on my lap.  Unbidden! 

German Fest on shores of Fowler lake.  

The big Pretzel line

We drove over to Greg and Laura's and then walked over to the festival where Seany and Mary immediately enjoyed a hot dog.  Then we went to the cookie tent for some hot chocolate.  While in there we purchased a blank gingerbread cookie.  They provide the decoration fixings around a large table so the kids and decorate it and then eat it.

Meanwhile I found the pretzel hut and stood in line for 15 minutes before I could order two of the huge Bavarian pretzels.  I only bought one cheese container though.

While I was in line, Jen and the kids came by and we all met at the cookie tent where the pretzels succumbed to little hands and a few big ones.

Seany had to go to the bathroom and pointed out the porta potties so I took him to use his first porta pottie.

Seany finding an interesting book

While Mary and Jen explored the shops Dave and I took the kids to the comic book store across the street.   It's just like the fictional comic book store on a TV show, Big Bang.  Many old and new comic books, tables where kids were playing unknown board games, and a whole back wall filled with figurines of various fantasy and science fiction characters.

Seany wanted a comic book which I was about to buy but noting the price ($24.99) and that there were two other grandsons poking around I had to decline. 

Never to young to sit on a bar stool

Dave and Jen left soon after and Greg and Laura left to walk back to their house followed by Seany, Mary and myself.  But first we made a stop in a bar to wet Seany's whistle ... with a glass of water.

Then we hiked back to Greg and Laura's house where we got immersed in some TV show Greg had on, Ice Pilots.  We stayed to watch the episode and then left to go to the store for dinner.  Bought some meat and veggies and then cooked it all up at the Hagens.

We went up to bed but ended up watching to more episodes of Ice Pilots.

Mary seems to be over her cold today.  Or maybe better said she just tossed it over to me.  Now I’ve got a cold near the eve of tooth surgery.  My usual tact in the past was to run many miles which seemed to short circuit any cold I was getting and leaving me feeling fine after a day.  But that was when I was younger.

I went off for a 4.5 mile run/walk like I did the day before.  The cold remains.  Ugh …

We didn’t do much the whole day.  I caught up on some email but basically we just rested in anticipation of tomorrow when we have three boys to take care of.  At 7AM.  We need all the rest we can get!

I was up at 6:50 to drive over to Greg and Laura's house to pick up Seany who is joining us today on our debut, 3 child, babysitting event.  Back at the house with Seany, the boys engaged in normal ninja / army / star wars / super hero struggles while Mary and I grasped at caffeine and any other stimulate we could find. 

As a prelude to swimming at the Y, we all took the dog for a walk.  That's one old dog, two grandparents and 3 wiggly energetic boys.

Walking down the street, a neighborhood dog sprinted down its front yard to sniff  Bubbie but crumpled up in pain and big yelp and couldn’t get up.  The owners came out and couldn’t figure out how to get him in their car to take him to the Vet.  It was a sizable dog.  I went back to help  eventually we (Jacks suggestion) used a plastic sled to get the dog up and in their car.

Then we were off to the Y where I spent almost two hours in the pool horsing around with all three kids.  Talk about exhausting...

When Mary finally came down to the pool she took Seany and Jonah back to the locker room and Jack and I went to the hot tub for awhile to sooth his back.  He was hanging xmas decorations yesterday and used 2 stools stacked up on top of each other.  Of course they toppled over taking him along and hurting his back in the process.  He'll be fine in two days.  If that was me I'd be ambulatory maybe by spring.

Delighted with their $1 toys?

The one with the basket violated the one item per person rule.

We ate a light lunch at the Y's food counter as we usually do.  Then after inspecting the fish in the outdoor fishpond for a time, we left.  I made a quick stop at Kwik Trip so I could get more money.  Then it was a stop at the Dollar Store where a strict limit of ONE item person was … sort of enforced.  Mary broke it by filling a shopping cart.

Next was the Chocolate Factory for Ice Cream.  Wait!! Not so fast .. that idea was shot down! It was decided we'd go, instead to MacDonald's.  Oh my.  No Chocolate Factory?  Uh oh ... "The Times, They are a Changin"?

One remaining cone out of three

So we went to MacDonald’s, everyone got a cone, and then “they” all hit the play area leaving their cones on a table to melt.  Sigh …

Back at the house, ninja wars were in full swing when Laura showed up with Sammy.  Sammy, not quite old enough for Ninja warfare, ignored everyone else and wandered around doing things 18 month olds do.  Rearranging anything within reach

Greg and Laura left after a time.  Later in Ixonia we all had more yummy soup from Jennifer.  I went to Wal-Mart for a few things and then we went to bed early enough so we can get up before 7 again for the trip to Green Bay and more exciting doctor visits.

We left a few minutes before 7AM this morning.  Have I mentioned that we are not morning people?  Even so,  Mary was up at 6AM to take the dog for a pre-dawn  walk.  The dog, bless her soul, woke me up at 4 snoring so loudly I thought I was watching one of those earthquake disaster movies complete with the latest audio effects.  

Periodontist Office.  Note the disturbing lack of palm trees and sun. 

At the dentist office in Green Bay, I was expecting a 2 hour ordeal.  Instead I was ushered right in, found out my BP was 164/80 was surprised me, and then was swabbed and injected with some fancy painkiller.  At 9:15 the Dr. returned and started in.  He was done by 9:30.  He essentially snip out some of my gum material between my two front teeth to expose more of the tooth so it can be cleaned by flossing and brushing.  He took off a lot of tarter buildup way up the tooth which was causing bone loss.  Not any more though.

The worst part was the second of the two stitches he put in my gums where he had cutout some of it.  I could feel the needle going in and then the actual stitch being pulled tight and knotted.  Fun times!

On a good note, he said the tooth should be just fine now.  Meanwhile I have two stitches in my mouth which my tongue seems to unconsciously play with all the time.  And it kinda hurts.  I cant eat anything hard or crunchy for 4-5 days.  Otherwise it's fine.

On the way back we stopped at the stadium so Mary could take a picture for some Packer friends of hers back in Brunswick.

A spontaneous stop at the cheese store was a surprising disappointment.  They were out of string cheese and curds! 

We didn’t do much except stay indoors the rest of the day.  We got Jonah off the bus.  Had a nice chat with Jen next door.  And went on a long walk noting along the way that the pain in my teeth had subsided.

Also noted its the end of another November.

Today we got sorta of dressed up and went to Bob and Jans for dinner tonight.  But first we stopped at a Kohls in Sussex for some Xmas gifts which we ended up not buying because, as it turns out, we had already purchased the gifts but forgot about them.  Yeah.  Memory is fine...

Picked up Margo and did a mini tour of her house which was remodeled.

Dan, Judy, Gene, Margo and Mary and I were all there with Bob and Jan.  Bob made his infamous manhattans and we had a superb dinner.  Thanks Jan!!

We left rather early, before 8pm.  In the old days parties like this would go on well pass 10PM.

We dropped Margo off and went back to Ixonia and right to bed. 

We picked up Seany from school again today and then to McDonald's for a happy meal, and ice cream for Mary and I.  After a stop at Piggly Wiggly for dinner fixings we went back to Ixonia where the boys, sans Sammy, engaged in a wild army battle while waiting for Greg and Laura to show up with Sammy.  Laura made chili and brought if over. 

Earlier Dave came home early from work and made his fudge (kid fudge and adult fudge with Jack Daniels) .  He also made chocolate chip cookies which are mighty tasty.

We watched, It’s a Wonderful Life as the battle for mankind swirled around us.  Sammy, seemingly above toting around weapons and wearing body armour,  swooped over anything and everything he judged worthy of investigation.  He didn't miss much.   He also seems to have developed a taste for Uncle Dave's kiddie fudge.

Dinner with Bode’s today.   We first stopped over at their place for cocktails and then to Lakeside Supper Club on Silver Lake.  We stopped back for a late night drink at their beautiful home before heading back to Ixonia.

Dana is sporting a new knee and retiring soon!  Always great to see them.  And we may catch them in Florida once we get to Ft. Meyers and the west coast.

At Bode's home

The bar at Lakeside

It snowed 3-5 inches late last night.  We went to Greg and Laura’s, because Mary wanted to help decorate the xmas tree.

Ugh ...

Meanwhile Seany and I went to Fong's for Chinese food.  While we were waiting we walked over to the comic book store across the street.  He was enamored with bobble head character from star wars.

I'm  grandpa.  Of course I bought it for him.

Woke up semi early and went to Café Labelle for breakfast.  Then a fast trip to a Kohls on 124^th street, presumably because that was the only store that had the item Mary was purchasing in stock.

A quick dash back to Oconomowoc where I stopped in the Enterprise office to renew the car rental agreement (they only write them for 30 days at a time).  Very quick and easy.

Then back to Ixonia where I dropped Mary off and then drove to Green Bay to see the gum doctor for my next to last appointment.  It lasted exactly 7 minutes (he removed a part of a stitch that didn’t dissolve).

Looks very upscale and expensive.  It is too

Heading up to Green Bay I made a stop at the cheese store.  On the way back to Ixonia I stopped in at the Packer Stadium Pro shop for real packer type attire for certain people who have a fondness of dressing up in green and gold on Sundays.  

Then, since dinner was basically fend for yourself, I stopped at Fongs again. Good egg drop soup!

I was able to manage a short little ½ mile run in the dark before going to bed at 9.  Why all this running and walking you maybe asking yourself.  It's so when I go for my physical, er I mean Wellness Check (need to use the Medicare terms here), I'll be a fit old man who maybe shrinking but otherwise in ok shape and not a candidate for lifestyle restrictions as I like to call them... "What?  No more rum?  Meat once a week?  And take how many pills a day? ".

We hung around the house this morning until I had to pick up Seany while Mary stayed back to talk with some financial advisors.

I took Seany to McDonalds and then back to Ixonia where we met Jonah on his bus.  They engaged in a quiet ninja war (David was home early with a migraine ) until Greg showed up around 5 to get him.

Jack forgot his backpack on an outdoor bench at school this afternoon when Jen picked him up.  Punishment?  Accompanying grandparents (that’s us) to Walmart this evening.  On the way though we did stop at the school to see if the backpack was anywhere to be found.   It wasn't.

It's cold this morning!!   It's quite apparant we have acclimated to warmer climates.  The cold though is great for sleeping!  We did a few errands, and prepared for our kid watching tonight.  We will be left in charge while Dave and Jen go off to a resort for the night.

I was up at 5:45 this morning to see Jack off to band practice.  Tim next door took him to school along with his daughter Alex.  All these parents around here get up at the crack of dawn!

Then it was 20 minutes of relaxing before Mary had to slowly rise out of bed.  Taking pity on her I made caffeinated coffee while she muttered unkind words about early mornings.

Then Jonah burst out of his room and the circus began.  He wanted to continue his routine of going to Jen’s next door in the morning at 7:30.  I walked him over at 7:45.  

After we sat staring at the wall just as like our elderly dog before leaping into a cleaning frenzy in preparation for all the kids descending on the house this weekend.

We had been able to get all the kids together for a visit to my mother this evening.  But before that we planned on meeting Dave and Kathy at  Cosmos in Wauwatosa.  Turns out that didn't work out so we met instead at Il Mito, another restaurant on North avenue near the Lutheran Home where my mother is living.   And as a bonus Aaron, their son, and his wife Ashley also joined us.  

Me, Aaron, Ashley, Dave, Kathy and Mary at Il Mito

Il Mito is a tasty place to eat.  We seem'd have arrived a bit late and we were the only ones left in the place after a while.   We found out they close after lunch and then re-open for dinner.

Yes, mom it me.  George.

We met everyone at the Nursing home, all the kids and grandkids.  Dave and Kathy had to leave before all our kids arrived.  Mary, fearing Bubbie would need to eat/walk grabbed a ride back with Dave and Kathy who were headed west, to Sun Prairie to their daughter Maura's house.

Ahh, now I remember.  It's you, George!

Kids all arrived and the grand children took over the place as usual.  Jonah, ushered up to say hello to my mother, remarked that he first thought Boppa (my mother) was a man.  That little gem we kept to ourselves.  

Seany, Jonah, Sammy and Jack

After a few hours of laughing and stories we left.  Greg and Laura had to get the baby to bed and I met the rest at Chili's in Oconomowoc for a little food before we all went back to Ixonia.

LeAnn happily? shopping with me at Piggly Wiggly

This is Fihagenzin Xmas day.  Since we wont be here in Wisconsin during the real holiday, the creative minds of our children christened a new holiday, FiHagenzin.  It's a word made up of all the last names.  There was controversy over the name, some suggesting it should be Fishhagenzin (with the “sh”).  However, it doesn’t roll off the tongue as well.  So FiHagenzin it is.  Besides, “hagen” deserves a more central position in the name because we all invade their house for these events.

Turkey baking, bread making and other food activities were in full swing when LeAnn and I left for the store for a few additional items.

We returned in time for Brant, LeAnn and Mary to visit a place in Watertown ranked as having the 85^th best hamburger in the nation.  The Zwiegs Grill.   The recent visitors comments were more along the lines of a good McDonalds burger. 

Brent and I had to make another trip out so I could fill up the car with gas before the storm, and purchase orange juice, cups and plates.

Once back, Greg and Laura with their two kids Seany and Sammy, arrived and the party commenced.  Mass chaos.  Love it!!  

The poor dog couldn’t find a quiet spot.  White Christmas, the colorized version of the movie was playing as tradition dictated but a snafu in the playback cutoff the sizzling finale.

Birthday gifts (Greg and Mary have December birthdays) were first.  Then turkey dinner sans dressing and gravy because one was forgotten and the other was met with disdain, was very tasty.  Brine soaked turkey.  Yum.  Followed by pie/cake made by Laura.  Double yum.

Chaos of Xmas (FiHagenzin)

The party broke up after a bit and Greg and Laura soon departed.  And we went up to bed. 

 A first.  We went to bed before our youngest grandson!

Everyone except Jonah

Mary's birthday is today.  We'll just save any comments including the words, old, ancient, senior, elderly, Medicare .. for later.

LeAnn and Brant left around 9 this morning for the drive back to Minnesota.

There is still lots of lots of snow on the ground.

Bubbie took a non-leashed poop walk through the deep snow.   Walked out the garage to the back and up the walking path.  She ran through the snow, got buried and blasted through the drifts.  Pooped, then ran to a house 4 or 5 homes beyond Jen and Dave, and sat at the back stoop.  Before I got there, she seemingly realized it was the wrong house and ran around to the front to sit at the front door there until I came around and carried back to the correct house.

I was trounced at Mario Kart by the children and grandchildren on their Wii.  

We have appointments in Green Bay tomorrow so are leaving here before half time at the Packer game.

The birthday girl nixed a Chocolate Factory trip where we would take three grandsons there for ice cream and a little celebration.  Cranky old lady ... :-)

We are really staying in Appleton tomorrow where we were able to secure a hotel room since there is a home game today and hotels in Green Bay are all booked.

We arrived up in Appleton in the late afternoon.  The hotel, a GrandStay, is adjacent to the big shopping mall there right off of I-41.  We ended up finding a Subway for dinner since there wasn't much else open.

Later trying to sleep, I moaned my despair.   The bed in this place wasn’t all the comfortable.  And the pillows were atrocious.   And yet a few blocks away is a Hampton Inn. 

We were up early, neither of us sleeping very well.  First appointment were physicals, or as Medicare requires, a Wellness check.  Mary had to get more blood for her liver tests.  I had to give two vials of blood for my blood tests and pee in a cup which took me 10 minutes.  Ugh

Then it was off to the dentist's where I had a cleaning and Dr. Farrell filled a cavity and told me I should get another full cap crown in the spring when we return.  She's such a sweet lady giving me something to look forward too.

Then we took Mary to the eye Doctor and after that went to the UW Credit Union for some TOD forms.  Then to CVS for sleeping pills and finally to the Oilaire in Suamico where we purchased 4 bottles of olive oil.

We checked in to “our” hotel here in Samico before going to the Mongolian Grill on Oneida Street.  It's an interesting place where you fill a bowl with food (meat veggies, etc), pick  a sauce and then give it to the grill guys who dump the bowl on a huge hot griddle and cook it for you.  Really quite good.

Finally we got back to our room and ready to sleep.  Early day for me tomorrow.  8AM at the periodontist office.  It’ll be 9 degrees out when I leave.  Wind chills well below zero.  Yee Haa …

Yes, it was really cold this morning.  I made it to the dentist office and Kelly the receptionist had me first on the list.  Mary Ann (I think that was her name), a perky seasoned hygienists took me to her little cubicle and I was back in the chair again, for a cleaning.  Even though I went through one yesterday with Carmen at the regular dentist office, but they didn’t touch the area where I had my gums worked on.

So she asked if I wanted to be numbed and I immediately said yes.  Glad I did.  She used her array of little spikes and scarpers way up under my gum line.  And two surprises.  She used a voice activated data entry system, and sharpened some of her scraping tools on a sharpening stone while she was scraping away on my two front teeth.

Once that was over (20 minutes) I drove back to the hotel to meet Mary at the free hotel breakfast and then we drove off to the see Amber the dermatologist who burned a thing off on Mary’s leg. 

Then we drove to Milwaukee to see Dan and Judy at Briscoe County Restaurant.

Mary, Judy and Dan

Back in Ixonia we greeted the dog who seemed quite happy to see us.  Unloaded the car and I started off on a walk but it was just to slippery so I only went a mile or so.

Jonah singing and playing the triangle to a packed house

Next we attended Jonah’s Xmas concert at his school (Ixonia school) in a packed, standing room gym.  Then back to the house and bed.  Tomorrow I have to be up at 7:30 to stay with Jonah until the bus arrives at 8:15.  

After seeing Jonah off on the buss, I left to visit with Bob and Martha in Columbus WI at the Capri Steak house there.  MAry stayed behind, not feeling well.

Martha and Bob

We spent a few hours telling stories and catching up.  We cruised for many months with them as we did the Great Loop.  Cruising buddies for sure.  Wonderful to see them!  

The wind picked up when I returned and couldn’t go out walking so we just stayed in and made it a lazy night.

Seany holding up the "O"

I went to Seany Xmas concert later in the evening.  Mary still wasn't feeling well and stayed back so I enjoyed it by myself.  I find these concerts much more enjoyable and amusing now than I did years ago when our kids went to them.  Age maybe?

Mary is still sick today so I took Jennifer out to lunch by myself.  I picked her up at her office and we went to Five Guys.  I stopped in to see her new office digs and met a few of her co-workers at WTC.  Then back to the house to pack up for our departure tomorrow.

Among countless other items, we have dog food to lug back with us.

And we have lots to pack too!

 I made a reservation at the Laquinta hotel in Paducah, KY which is a pet friendly hotel.  And pretty nice too, or so say the reviews.

The jazz trumpet player ready to preform.

Tonight we, went to Jacks jazz concert!  The music was particularly well done!   We may have a jazz musician in the family.  The teacher was very energetic and really into it.  Nice to see such enthusiasm.

We returned and staged our luggage downstairs and then went to bed!  Tomorrow we depart!

November 1-10 2016 Cumberland Island, Huckins Boat Yard and on to Wisconsin

I was up at 7AM and did all the little detail stuff we had to get complete before we left.  Stowing extra lines, extra fenders, trash, re-cycling.  And a new one we haven’t done for quite awhile, filling the water tanks.  We aren’t going to be using the watermaker for a few months so I pickled them earlier and we’ll just use dockside water.   We have a bit over 300 gallons of water on board so it should work out fine.

I walked down to pay for our electrical usage and the rest of the time we spent here beyond the 30 days but they hadn’t completed the paperwork yet so Ralph drove me back to dock 15 (its ½ mile from the marina office) to take the electrical readings.  I noted again that the sailboat next to us was plugged into our 30 amp pedestal becasue his pedestal (#9) was burned out.  It's been that way since before Matthew roared through so Ralph and Cindy were working out a discount guess for us.

He returned and we made ready to leave as soon as Mary arrived back with Bubbie.  Brent and Susan, Steven and Sharon all saw us off.

We stopped at the fuel dock where I pumped out our holding tank and wrote a check to pay the bill and then we were off.  The fog, which had rolled in a few hours ago began to lighten but I had the radar on anyway.  

We made it through Jekyll Creek at high tide and across St. Andrew Sound without incident.  There were several boats boats within a few miles of us, all heading south. 

Anchor detail at Cumberland Island

The dock as we passed by to go anchored

We passéd the submarine base at Kings Bay and then anchored at Cumberland Island.  The winds were blowing a good 20mph but our anchor held just fine.

They we are.  Anchored

Law breakers

Nimble dog and limber grandmother easily scaled these barriers

We had to take the dog ashore but when we got close in the dinghy we saw the dock had a few closed signs on it.  But when a dog has to go, a dog has to go!  So we ignored the signs and went ashore anyway.  Tomorrow morning we’ll have to use the other dock which is further away because I suspect there will be park rangers about.

Morning docking opportunity between park ranger visits

The next morning I woke up at 8.  It was a very peaceful night at anchor.  While I got the dinghy ready and running Mary got dressed and rousted the dog.  Off we went to the far landing where I thought the docks were not closed to the public.  How wrong I was.  Closed.  If the signs weren't enough, park rangers were there foiling any attempt at nefarious dog pooping activities.

So back to the original landing where the park ranger boat we had passed on the way to the far dock was moving out of the anchorage.  I idled for a bit to give the boat time to make it its way further out to the main channel and then I quickly pulled up to the vacant, “closed to the public” dock and let Mary and the dog off for their walk of crime.  

I escaped off the dock a few hundred yards and texted friends Dave and Joanne and then returned to pick them up.  No arrests!  No pooping either but what are you going to do?

Back at the boat I started the engines and we hauled the dinghy aboard.  Then we started bringing up the anchor but Mary stepped on the DOWN switch while I was bringing up the anchor by stepping on the UP switch.  The relays had a kanipchen, spurted  momentarily and then ceased relaying.  Our windlass was effectively dead.

So now we had to haul up 120’ feet of 3/8 HT chain and a 70 lb anchor all sitting 25 feet down on the muddy bottom.  And with the winds last evening the anchor and some of the chain were sure to be buried.  

The windlass is equipped with a emergency hand lever which is inserted into the windlass drum.  But the hole was pointed down and inaccessible so I had to take the drum apart and rotate it a bit to get the hole facing up so we could insert the handle.  Once it was back together the handle allowed us to bring up about 4 links per stroke.  We'd still be there till Christmas if we stuck to that method.

Since it was relatively calm out (thankfully!) I got a pair of diving gloves just hauled it all up by hand.  I pulled it up and Mary washed the mud off.  

We had to move the boat ahead a bit to break out the anchor because I couldn’t lift it out of mud and hard sand bottom.  But we finally managed and it only took 20 minutes and a lot of sweat.  I foresee aches and pains tomorrow.

We were about the last boat to leave the anchorage, the last in a line of sailboats.

Passing through Fernandina we saw some evidence of hurricane damage.  The marina docks were in pretty bad shape.  And there were several sailboats up on shore.

Fernandina Beach Marina docks were all closed due to damage

Some of the unfortunate boats that washed ashore at Fernandina

I followed a new route through the south end of the Fernandina curve which is a tricky place because of shoaling.  Went through fine because it was high tide.  We rode the tidal currents pretty much to Sisters Creek where we avoided a tree in the middle of the channel.

The free dock at Sisters Creek.  Note the current

Sisters Creek runs into the St. Johns River where we really lucked out because the tide was still flowing into the river and we could ride the current through Jacksonville.  The current in the river can be 2 knots or more which would effectively gives us speed over the ground of about 6 mph.  Not this time though.   9 mph!

We encountered a large car carrier (a RoRo) and a container ship which I knew about because of the chatter on the VHF where the Jacksonville pilot was talking with an inbound ship and mentioned the ships departing that afternoon.

The St. Johns River and all its shoreside infrastructure appeared to suffer no damage from Matthew.

We had to slow down for the infamous Railroad Bridge in downtown Jacksonville until a train had passed.  The bridge is normally open for boat traffic.  We just happened to catch it when a long train was going through.

Then we cruised through and made the turn into towards Ortega (Jacksonville) into the Ortega River, then through the Ortega River Bridge and onto Huckins Boat Yard where, after some confusion we saw Joey waving his arms at slip 8 on their floating docks.  This was a first for us.  We are usually in the basin near the slipways. Nice though!  Almost like being in a marina.

A first for us being in one of the Huckins Slips

After we were all tied up and connected, we walked to Panera for dinner.   As we left the boatyard, the cats came out to greet us.  Seems they remember me but alas I had no treats to offer them.  Before, they had pointedly ignored Mary while she was taking the dog for a walk.

So tomorrow we talk with PJ and get some estimates for the work to be done. 

I woke up suddenly this morning, a little after 7 and noted a very dark, threatening sky.  I wasn’t sure where we were but was convinced we were anchored somewhere so I leaped out of bed intending on checking to make sure we were still anchored and hadn’t dragged during the night.  It took a few seconds to finally realize we were tied up at a dock and the dark, threatening skies were really the shed in front of us shading out the rising sun.  Oy vey…

I rousted the others up around 9:30 and we took the dog for a short walk before meeting with Tricia and PJ.  Tricia runs the office, a mother of two, ex-military and very good.  PJ of course runs the whole yard.  He is a sweet man and very competent.

The whole boat yard is pretty laid back and the boat owners who are here on their boats are fun bunch.  This is why we like this place so much.

The more suitable, but mundane boat name  

A Chris Craft Roamer was up on jack stands and was here in the yard to have the boat name removed and redone.   Seems the artwork was quite startling and the boat owners received a warning from the local authorities.  Either it gets removed or there will be a substantial fine.  He chose the frugal option.  I didn't see it before they redid the name but was told it was colorfully graphic.  

I talked with Justin and PJ and we settled on being hauled out on Monday.  I want to be here when they take it out so we can be sure what we have to do.  And I want to verify the positions of the thru hulls and transducers.

Later, John came by.  John is the canvas guy from Pelagic.  He’s been doing it for 24 years and I marvel at his experience.  He’ll have estimates for the 5 windows we have to replace and a few things I wanted for the forward facing windows so I don't have to roll them up.

Meanwhile we sit here and enjoy the solitude and relative peace and quiet.  And some time to do a few boat chores too.  No distracting parties any longer.

We did return to Panera again for a bowl of soup (lunch) before going to Publix where I bought the last bag of soft cat treats.  Of the dozen or so cats in the yard about 6 of them recognize me and come out to get a treat or two and be petted.  Of course  I do this after Bubbie has passed by.

Tomorrow it's going to be in the mid 80’s and humid, but then the temps will plummet to 50’s overnight and maybe the low 70’s during the day.  For us it’s a gradual training period to re-acclimate ourselves to less the hospitable climate we will be entering next week.  Wisconsin.

We made it up and had the dog walked by 10 today so went over to the Metro Diner for breakfast.  Yummy food as always.

Stopped at Publix for a few things including cat treats because the yard cats are clamor for food when the surround me.  I'm a sucker I know.

Back on board I did some planning and then fixed the Glendenning indicator light which had burnt out a few months ago.  It wasn’t a simple replacement job.  Had to fabricate a little spacer to hold the light and also fit tightly enough through the hole in the instrument panel.

At least I could still (barely) squeeze through this opening

After that I took my usual walk around the river.   I've been trying to return to at least a partial state of fitness after the months of partying.  So I've begun walking 4-5 miles a day until we leave.

On the return leg I stopped at Publix for more cat treats and then picked up a menu at the Chinese takeout place.  Panera, Publix, the Chinese restaurant and Metro Diner among other stores are located in the Roosevelt Square Mall a few blocks from Huckins.  Nice for us!

Then, while Mary walked the dog, I went back to the Chinese place to pickup the food order we phoned in.  We feasted while watching Fraiser through my phone's internet connection which I got working with our WiFi booster feeding our router which enabled the media player to access Netflix. 

Later I took the garbage out and was swarmed by the cats again.  Jerry, the night watchman here is off on the weekends so the cats don’t get fed.  Sucker that I am I walked back to Publix for ice cream and a few other things including cat food/treats.  As I approached the docks I spread out a whole bunch of food and all 12 cats bounded out of their respective hiding places to eat.

Earlier Mary confirmed we are being pulled out Monday at 8:30 which means we have to complete any prep work by Sunday evening.  Prep work is packing, freezer defrosting, oil changes etc.  Busy weekend ahead.

Today Mary defrosted the fridge in the galley today while I defrosted the chest freezer.   Then we started to tackle our packing chores because it's far easier to lift all the luggage off the boat onto the dock rather than lugging it down 15 stairs of a ramp ladder we have to use when the boat is up on jackstands.  As a start, we got the luggage out from under the forward berth.

Later I finally was able to get our Windows 10 machines connecting to the old HP printer we have on board.  The printer is at least 10 years old but still works fine except it's a balky when trying to get it to connect.  We needed the printer functional because we wanted to have a hard copy of the work we wanted completed while up in Wisconsin.

During a packing lull, we figured out where to stay on this trip north.  We also figured it would be three nights on the road because from prior experience we know we won't be leaving here until later in the afternoon.

All ready for us

I noticed they had positioned the large lift for us tomorrow morning.

It was a cool day, good for walking around the river!

After an unusually late morning walk (like the dog really minds getting up at 10:30) this morning we finished the packing ordeal.  We ended up with everything ready to go so before we move the boat to the slipway we'll off load all the luggage on to the dock.

Ortega River area is a great place to walk

I took a last walk around the Ortega river, and then we went to the Chinese place for dinner again (not bad but not great either) and watched a few Frazier's off the boatyard internet.  

Met and chatted a bit with Jackie, her husband Paul and Sandy, their 9 year old sweetie of a dog.  They too live aboard and are cruising around the same areas we frequent so I'm sure we'll run into them again.

Fed the cats the last of the treats I have.  10 of the 12 now come rushing out to meet me knowing full well I usually have cat treats.

Tomorrow we are up by 7:30 for the haulout at 8:30.

I was up early this morning.  Craig and Joey were moving an old Huckins boat off a tractor trailer (the driver slept in his cab all night in the parking lot.).   I was expected to pick up the Enterprise rental car at 10 so I asked Craig if I had time to run over to pick it up before they were ready for us to move the boat over to the slipway and the lift.  Craig thought sure, no problem.

So I get to Enterprise and its jammed with people.  Finally, after 20 minutes I'm able to get up to the counter and they get me a car.  But as it turns out, they don't have a full size sedan that I had reserved.

No sedan so they wanted me to take this

Instead they wanted to give me a red pickup truck with no tanato cover over the bed so it's wide open.  Not something we could use because we have lots of luggage which would have to be squeezed in the back seat.

And we ended up with this

So I said that won't work and they ended up giving me a brand new Chrysler Pacifica mini van.    Brand new, all sorts of buttons and gadgets.  And less than 3,000 miles.

I got back to Huckins just as they were setting the slings to lift the boat out of the water.  Craig had driven it over but couldn’t start the starboard engine.  Something is amiss with the DC-DC charger I have on that side.  The battery must have been really dead because it didn’t even click it over.

It came out of the water and everything looked fine except the line cutters on the props and the bend in the rudder blade.

Starting to lift

Way up in the air now

We waited around in the office for several minutes. 

Sara and Bubbie 

Mary had taken bubbie up to Sara’s office (she brings her puppy in to the office once in awhile and has a water bowel and a nice little fence in her office) while we confer with the boatyard folks.  Before we left I had taken most of the luggage off the boat and left it on the dock.  It sorta look odd, with a dozen pieces of luggage and boxes sitting on a dock next to an empty slip.

We got everything settled, and had a nice chat with Jackie off the boat next to us.

Moving us to our spot "on the hard"

Someone is impatient to leave

We left around 2:15 and drove to Valdosta,GA where there s a nice La Quinta Inn which is pet friendly meaning it allows pets.  In fact as we were taking luggage in I noticed quite a number of older folks with their pets.  Always older folks with pets.  Must be an age thing, having pets on car trips.

In a doggie hotel preparing for a walk

Once settled in we decided to eat at the nearby Outback Steak House.  I went over to pick up the order but had to wait for a while so had a drink at the bar.  The nice lady working the takeout desk actually brought all the food to me in the bar.

We were on the road by 10 today after a surprisingly free, and quite lavish breakfast.  Since they allow pets, I’m resigned to staying that LaQuinta's for awhile.  Sorry Hamptons.

An unexciting drive.   We've driven this route at least 25 times over the years.  But this was one of the best drives through Nashville.  Hardly any traffic congestion which I don't ever recall experiencing through here.

We stayed at the LaQuinta in Clarksville TN tonight.  Again, a surprisingly nice hotel.

Oh yeah.  Its election night.  We flipped back and forth between election bloviators and crappy TV.  Went to bed before all the excitement but Mary, anxious, and woke to discover the “you gotta be kidding me” results.  Then she woke me up.  The poor dog didn’t sleep well.

We left at a leisurely 10:30 this morning.  It's a 500+ mile drive to Rockford where they have another LaQuinta.  Uneventful if not long drive.   Cheap gas, $1.85 along the way.  Gets pricier in IL.

A nice hotel here in Rockford.  And pretty cheap.   $80.

We just made it to the free but rather sparse breakfast this morning,  and took the dog for a walk in the not so warm temps.  A stop at McDonald's for a supplemental bit of protein and we were on our way.

The toll on I-39 is still $1.90.  I did find a route to bypass it but it winds through Rockford and Beloit for a few miles.  One of these days we’ll take it just to see…

We arrived and Jen and Dave's house around 12:30 and took a few hours to unpack and arrange our junk.  Then it was off to the Piggly Wiggly for stuff, a quick drive by the old neighborhood which is literally resembling an old neighborhood with all the large trees and seasoned landscaping.  Quite a change from when first built the house, the only one in  large empty field.

We returned to the house in time for me to almost surprise Jonah as he got off the school bus.  Back in the house Jack demonstrated his robot before we went to to see Greg and Laura and their kids, Seany and Sammy.  We also mad a stop at The Pharmacy  and Dave the pharmacist, much to my surprise, remembered us.  Well, it did take him a few seconds.  He was our pharmacist when we first moved out here in the early 80's.

We stopped and got some pizza at Poppa Murphy's and went to their house where Laura baked the pizza and we fiddled with the kids.  Sammy is going to be a handful!