We Have Heard Our Public

Quite a number of regular blog readers have reminded us that “it’s been awhile” since our last posting.  Yup, over 2 months!  At the time it seemed like we were doing very little, but looking back now I guess we really were busy.  Here are the highlights (in no special order):

The previous post mentioned we had volunteered at a Habitat for Humanity project in Virginia MN (about 30 miles away).  We put in 4 days there over 6 weeks: painting, finishing woodwork trim, installing doors, and forming a curved sidewalk.  There is going to be an open house this weekend to celebrate the completion of the house we worked on.

The prior posting also mentioned visitors and we had quite a few.  Paige’s mother came to visit here a couple of time (both alone and with friends) usually for a single afternoon but at least one over-night when the electricity was out in a great part of Duluth and impacted her apartment building for 4 days.  Paige’s sister and niece came from Arizona.  They hadn’t been here in a long time.  Paige’s cousin Tim and his son, Nick, were here for another weekend.  Bob’s brother and his wife got into camping this year and stopped by for a weekend as part of their loop through northern Minnesota (It was their first visit here).  We also got together with 3 of our Nomad friends: the Hilmo’s and Easley’s came to the cabin for visits, and we met the Norton’s for dinner in Virginia, MN.  Sophia, Ann, and Olivia spent a few days with us in August which we thoroughly enjoyed!

There were not many projects at the cabin this summer but we did replace and renew doors on the sauna.  They’re looking good.  We bought a new door for the outhouse but installation will need to wait until next year.

We also helped cousin Steve and Deanna move into a lovely year round house which is next door to their family cabin around the corner from us.  This move occurred in June so we’ve been able to spend a lot of time with them this summer boating, eating, and playing cards.

Bob’s doctors said that cataracts are a common result of last year’s retinal reattachment; they were right.  Early in August a lens was replaced but the follow up inspection in Sept showed the work is not yet complete.  We are still dealing with multiple drops until next week when we will learn more.

We have had 2 trips to the Minneapolis area to assist sons and grand-daughters, plus get some routine medical exams out of the way.  David and LeJoy’s wedding was a big part of the most recent trip. 

We have spent a bit of time on the water: in our own boat, cousin Steve’s pontoon, a Vista Queen Sunday brunch cruise with friends and attending Duluth’s Tall Ships festival to ride on one of those ships.

Much of our time, recently, has been with assisting Paige’s mother.  Between doctors’ visits, X-ray appointments, hospitals, and multiple rehab facilities there has been a lot going on.  She has been battling severe back pain with no real plan for relief yet.  The doctors are as frustrated as she is.  Yesterday we moved her from one rehab center to another where she is more comfortable. 

The next couple of weeks will involve lots of rehab, then a move to an assisted living place nearby. Pam and Paula will be coming next week to help with this move.  The move is to a smaller 2 bedroom apartment which is very cute and in a building just across the parking lot from her independent living apartment.  Because of these activities, we have delayed our departure and canceled our participation in a Nomads project in Missouri for late October.

A Quiet Summer

Nearly a month has gone by since our last posting.  This helps to prove how mundane our lives have been.  We would like to do a little outside painting and add some waterproofing to our dock, but we haven’t had more than 4 dry days in a row that we can remember.  The 4^th of July weekend was rather busy with about a dozen guests joining us for the holidays.  We still haven’t washed the motorhome and it is really filthy now, after a trip to Superior for routine maintenance and coming back through yet another rain over 12 miles of road under construction.  We were towing the Canyon at the same time and it was even more dirty.  While waiting in line at a car wash last week, a boy came by and broke out laughing and pointing, saying “Your truck is REALLY dirty!”  As if we didn’t know it.  It hasn’t been all rainy; we have had some nice sunsets like last evening:

  

For a change of pace, we volunteered to help paint the interior of a Habitat for Humanity house in nearby Virginia last week.  There were about 10 other volunteers from Wells Fargo also there so a lot of work got done.  We met the buyer, who was putting in part of his “sweat equity” and heard how excited he and his family are to get into a house of their own later this year.

We expect to have more visitors later this month and into August.

Well, That was Different!

We have volunteered for lots of activities in the past, but this week held a “first”.  We volunteered to help at Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth.  They have had activities all week long, ending in the ½ and full marathons on Saturday.  Friday the organizers held a pasta meal and the William Irvin 5k run.  We joined the traffic control group for the 5k, and held posts at the sculpture garden, where the runners got their first view of Lake Superior.  Our job was to make sure the spectators didn’t get in the way of the runners.  Just past our location the course dropped to near the lake level and turned back along Duluth’s Lakewalk and then back to Canal Park.

This race started at 6PM.  The first runners came by about 15 minutes later and kept coming for over ½ an hour.  There were more than 2400 participants, most of whom were enjoying themselves.  The crowd included a number of “characters” (like a Forrest Gump look-a-like, and a couple of ballerinas).

Meanwhile, at the lake, we think summer is about to arrive.  We have had a lot of cool and damp weather, and now the forecast is for warmer and damp.  Our 4-legged guest has been having a good time with walks around the point nearly every day and swimming in the lake to retrieve her tennis ball on most days.  And now that the weather has improved, we plan on getting some projects done – sealing the dock, washing the RV, improving some landscaping, etc.  Need to get the place spiffy before the Fourth of July when we’ll have the family here.

Quiet Times at the Lake

Two weeks since our last posting!  How time does fly; but it’s not like we have lots of activity.  We have been busy cleaning up the leaves, mowing the lawn and hosting all the kids/grandkids for Memorial Day weekend. Here are the girls at Grandpa Cliff's gravesite.

Like many past long weekends, the weather was miserable until the actual holiday.  We put them to work stacking our wood pile. 

The golf cart always gets a good workout when they’re here.  It turned beautiful as our company packed for their return trip to the Twin Cities.  It has since turned back to wet and windy again. 

Last Tuesday we, too, returned to the Cities for a number of medical appointments and a high school graduation – congratulations to Valentina for completing high school!  We returned to the lake on Friday and helped with another graduation party on Saturday: cousin Steve’s youngest son, Ryan, who also completed high school this year.

There were also 2 additions to the extended family when 2 of Paige’s cousins became first-time grandparents within 2 days of each other last weekend.  Both cousins Dan and Steve had grandsons.  Congratulations!

This week we get our grand-dog, Stella, on Thursday.  Brett will be bringing her up here as they will be leaving on a 2+ week of vacation.  This year they’re going west – Yellowstone, Zion, Bryce Canyon.  Stella loves being at the lake better than travelling! 

So, we’ll be hanging out around the cabin for awhile.  Just hope the weather improves.  Looking forward to some visits from Paige’s mom, Joyce.

Back at the Lake

We have now been parked at the family cabin on Whiteface Reservoir for a week.  We had considered driving up here last Friday evening, but thought the better of it since we would be sharing the roads with the fishermen heading north on opening weekend and since we prefer not to arrive after sunset.  Instead, we loaded up the granddaughters on Saturday morning and had a more relaxing drive.  We also took the time to stop at the girls’ favorite drive-in for lunch and ice cream.

Two years ago the lake was still ice-covered on fishing opening weekend.  This year the ice was gone, but snow flurries were in the air and the temperatures were in the low 30s.  The wind was biting cold – a huge difference from our winter weather in CA, AZ and TX!  But we have had a continual improvement in weather every day and the stillness of the morning lake has been very peaceful.

 

The granddaughters didn’t seem to mind the bad weather last weekend and even decided to clean up their swing.  Unfortunately, the swing was too old and broke in half so Brett will replace the wood and they can finish their project next weekend when they come up for Memorial Day.  We’ll have a full house then with Dave and his family coming up also.  Looking forward to that.

 

It’s also been good to be back here and reconnect with our Whiteface friends.  We saw a lot of them last night at the Friday night happy hour and some had come over during the week to say hi also. 

We’ve been able to spend time with Paige’s mom and helped her purchase a new mattress to help alleviate some of her back pain.  She is moving about more freely now and is almost back to normal after dealing with the back and shoulder pain issues.  She plans on driving to the cabin soon.

Family Times #3 & #4

We have had a quiet week at “Camp Winnebago”.  We have had to arise early every morning to disconnect from power and drive to the Service Department’s parking lot by 7:00 AM.  We have been here many times, but this might be the busiest we have ever seen them.  Many of the other customers we have met schedule all of their service work here at the factory.  The mechanics are always friendly and helpful, plus they know what they are doing, and have all the parts needed.

All of our planned work (as well as a couple of surprise extras) was completed early on Thursday, which allowed us to get the motorhome back early enough to do a complete housecleaning, and still have time to go out to dinner with new friends.  Plus, we extended our stay to include Thursday night, so we could sleep in while our neighbors were going to the service department early on Friday morning – life has some occasional pleasantries. 

Our annual Riewe campout at Lebanon Hills got started early on Friday afternoon (family time #3).  Bob’s brother Denny and his wife came to visit with us for a while, then Brett brought his daughters to spend the weekend with us, and finally David and his family arrived to park his trailer in the site next to us.

Saturday, Bob took some of the girls on a geocaching hike, while David took his own, longer, hike through the county park. That evening we had the whole group around a campfire.  Sunday brought a big group breakfast before we split up: David and his family to NE Minneapolis and we brought the granddaughters to their home in Elk River.

We have parked the motorhome along Brett’s curb and will be here for the coming week, doing “Grandparent duties” (family time #4) each morning to see the girls off to school, and at least one vocal concert at the middle school, with maybe a soccer match possible.  During school hours, we are visiting with friends and getting some doctors’ visits out of the way.

Family Time #2

For a few years now, Bob’s cousins have held an annual reunion in southern Minnesota.  We have attended once or twice in the past, but it has usually been scheduled when we are still too far south to attend.  This year’s gathering was delayed enough that we could make it.  Leaving the motorhome at the Winnebago Visitors Center, we drove about an hour and a half to meet the rest of the clan.  Thirteen of the sixteen cousins were there, along with many of their spouses, some of their children, and even some grandchildren.  We didn’t get a total headcount or even any pictures, but a good time was had catching up with everyone.  

Now we are back to Winnebago’s plant where we will remain for most of the coming week.  Their service people will start on our list of (mostly) minor repairs on Monday and we should learn how long we can expect to be here at “Camp Winnebago”.  We have stopped here in the past and have usually had a good time socializing with the other owners who are having service work done.