Back At It

During a quiet week with Brett and Jen and the girls, we got to see the girls off to school every morning and return most afternoons.  We also got our annual dental inspections done and had a few more social gatherings.

On Friday Sept 19 we hit the road, northbound, and arrived at Northern Pines Camp in Park Rapids MN for a 3-week Nomads project.  We met with the camp director during the afternoon to learn what he had in mind for our group to work on.  Four more couples joined us on Saturday and Sunday, so we have 10 people here.  It’s a great group and we’ve had a lot of fun getting to know everyone already this week.

After a busy 4-day work week, we all are enjoying the start of a quiet 3-day weekend.   We started with a number of our larger tasks and have made good progress already, but only a couple projects have been completed.  We started off the weekend on Thursday night with a bonfire and roasted hot dogs.

It’s a beautiful, unseasonably warm weekend here.  The sunset tonight was gorgeous!

Fall is Here

Last week we moved our groceries from the cabin to the motorhome on Thursday so that we could pull up the jacks and roll down the road to Brett and Jen’s place.  Friday morning the flowers were still standing and colorful, but we heard that a hard frost hit that night, so we apparently got out just in time.  We had a great summer up at the Whiteface and will miss everyone up there!  Here is how things looked when we left:

We now have this week to do some socializing, get annual dental checkups, and some delayed back-to-school shopping with the granddaughters.

We also got to a hockey practice for Anna.  She’s just starting hockey but is making great progress.

This week we have our pre-employment drug tests for Amazon, and more socializing with friends and family before we leave for our fall Nomad project in Park Rapids MN.

It has been a relaxing summer, but the time is coming to get back to work.

Goodbye Cabin, soon

Our summer at the cabin is wrapping up quickly now.  We just pulled the raft and dock out with the help of our neighbor.  We have 3 full days to transfer all our stuff from the cabin to the motorhome and spend one more day in Duluth for laundry and groceries before leaving on Friday morning for Elk River. 

This past weekend David and LeJoy came for a visit.  They brought a box of apples from a tree in their yard so LeJoy and Paige made Apple Crisp and Applesauce.  Bob and Dave went to McCarthy State Park for a hike.  We had such a nice time and it was hard to see them leave.  They have the honor of being our last company for the summer.  Another reminder that our time at the cabin is ending.

                                                                    last boat ride

After the left, we had a beautiful Sunday afternoon, when we could sit alongside of the motorhome and watch the renewed Vikings team record their first (of many) wins this season.

As we go on our golf cart rides around the circle, we think of all the things we did up here this summer:

• Having kids and granddaughters up here at various times
• Spending time with Grandma Joyce and doing things with her (celebrating her 85^th birthday in July)
• Picking raspberries
• Getting to know neighbors better, meeting new neighbors, and seeing old neighbors
• Playing cards and games with neighbors
• Enjoying campfires
• Going for a couple of boat and motorcycle rides
• Spending time with cousin Steve and family
  
• Having KJ/Rob and Almekinders visit
• Walks around the circle
• Quiet time reading our Nooks, knitting, and playing Cribbage (Bob enjoyed this more than Paige as he usually won!)

Today is windy but sunny and quite warm.  The forecast, however, is for a high of 45 and rainy by Wednesday.  This is nature’s way of preparing us for the move south!  We get to spend a week at Brett’s where we’ll take care of medical appointments and spend time with all the granddaughters and other family before we start our Nomads project in Park Rapids.