Midwest Meanderings Part 2

  Loving our time in the Midwest! This extended time with our children is precious and we hope they still feel that way by the time we leave!
   And this is how Shane gets his 2-3 hours of biking during the extended bad weather season. We are thinking that if we could hook him up to their home's electrical system he could generate all their needs….

Our friend's dog Oscar- an absolutely awesome lab.

Napping buddies. Oscar's normal activity and sick Shane's temporary activity.

Meredith teaching Nikelle and me how to geocache….. on a cold, rainy,windy day.

It is all about dressing for the weather and wandering all around an empty field.

Hmmmm….. the GPS lead us to a storm sewer????

On to the next geocache- hopping the fence to reach the cemetery. We had fun but never found it.

My boys that are really men but are still boys to me.

The family

Our cousins and good friends joined us for Sunday lunch.

   Tristan and Dave headed off to hunt in the northwoods and I headed south to socialize. I stopped at my former place of employment to visit ( no photos). I miss those lovely ladies I used to work with but I DO NOT miss the work! One night at my cousin's home-Tom and Dawn. I got to meet their adorable first grandchild Channing. And here are Channing's parents- Trela and Randy.

Tom and Dawn's log cabin home-love it!

A beautiful sunny crisp day for a walk in the country…. frost on the ground.

 An afternoon visit to our old neighborhood and the hobby farm across the street. We spent many hours here watching animals being born. Pat and Betty adopted us and our kids and will always hold a very special place in our hearts. Betty caught me up on all the neighborhood news. And our former home- looks familiar and holds many memories but doesn't feel like home anymore.

  Spent 2 nights at my only sister's(and brother in law's) home. Special times just visiting with my sis.
  My friend Linda planned a lovely potluck lunch- I got to make out the guest list ( had to limit it since I could have kept adding names). Was delicious but mostly the company was top notch! Apparently people must be bored in November because we had a record turnout. The theme was flip flops in honor of my normal footwear. Most were wearing boots due to November weather.

My hostess and her faithful companion Lisi

In case you were wondering the hunt was successful! Tristan's big 10 point buck. Dave got a buck also but not much in the antler department. Our boys will eat well this winter.

Happy men!

Gene's cabin

Crazy amount of clothing needed to walk here.

Yup-kind of pretty!

Midwest Meanderings Part 1

  Time to post on week #1 of our November in the Midwest…. we are actually well into week #2. We flew into Minneapolis, hopped the light rail and trundled down the sidewalk to Tristan's house. We must have looked like very well to do homeless folks as we dragged our 1 month supply of suitcases along behind us! We spent one night there and had one brisk, crisp walk before heading down I-94 to Wisconsin. The scenery and weather was so different than 2 months ago. In the 20's instead of the 90's! The yellow maple glowed against the background of brown and grey. At least Minnehaha Falls isn't frozen yet!

There is a must stop place on the way to Berlin- Norskes Nook! I am pretty critical of non-homemade pies but these pies will rival or surpass any you have had! Also the lefse is delicious. The waitresses fill out their Scandinavian outfits well-which proves how good the food is…. We had lunch there but chose a pie to go. Raspberry Sour Cream as recommended by our DIL. It surpassed our expectations!

  Dave had some more electrical work to do for our kids so he got right to work. And we lounged about and supervised! I did earn my keep by raking leaves.

On Shane's day off we took a field trip to the local cheese factory. Wheels and wheels of deliciousness! Wisconsin is still the #1 dairy state. California apparently thinks it is #1 but this cheese says otherwise. Also I have yet to see happy cows on rolling emerald hills in CA.

Dave had work to do in the Milwaukee/Madison area and I had socializing to do. Was great to catch up with Randy and Cathy and get to a gospel meeting. Despite the crisp weather I have managed to walk 4-5 miles per day. I really don't want to take that cold weather fluffiness back with me to CA. I can't help but check the weather...

A must in my book is a trip to Mama Mia's. We have been going to this restaurant (although a different location) since I was a child. The pizza is good but the garlic bread is the absolute best! rusty an the outside soft in the middle and dripping with butter and olive oil. Totally worth every calorie!

On the way back to Berlin we stopped at a nationally acclaimed creamery in Fondulac. Deliciousness!! And I was the first customer to place a star on Fallbrook on their map.  The theme of this post has become food…. All for now….

Great times with good friends

    As I sit here in my wool socks AND Cabelas shearling lined slippers and think of the 8 degree wind chill outside….. I remember that just 1 week ago we said goodbye to our guests from Michigan. Don't get me wrong- I love being here with our kids and the weather is a small price to pay for such wonderful days together. Besides as Dave says,"Think how warm it will feel when we go back!" Yup- Berlin,WI is to have a high of 30 today and Fallbrook a high of 81….. Have I mentioned lately how wonderful our DIL is???? She seems to not mind that we are staying here many days- we will be in and out a bit though. There are deer to slay and people to visit. We are trying to be useful and Dave has some mad electrical skills and I am a great leaf raker! We braved the cold last night to take Shane and Nikelle out for sushi as a belated bday celebration for Shane. 29 years old- how did that happen so fast?!
   Anyway on to the rest of this post. Rod and Linda came to visit us from Michigan. Rod and I are second cousins and probably met when we were 1 yr old or so. Linda came into our lives from Canada when Rod started dating her and brought her by for our stamp of approval-ha! The four of us were born in March, April, June and Sept of the same year. We hadn't seen them for about 8 years so it was wonderful to catch up in person while showing them our new domicile.

Carlsbad. Dave teaching Rod to fly.

Then on to our favorite hike at Torrey Pines.

Nothing like a walk on the beach on a sunny day.

After a delicious Korean lunch and sightseeing in La Jolla we stopped at Mission Beach.

The lovely Crystal Pier at Mission Beach

A gorgeous sunset with my husband in the distance and my loyalty to my new state in the foreground.

Sunday Brunch in La Jolla at Las Brisas. Best view ever!

Yummy dessert

Linda knew these lovely ladies: Sharon and her mom Winnie so we met them there.

Isn't it great how we have matching hair color?!

We stayed for the sunset in Laguna Beach

Monday the guys golfed and we shopped for yarn. Linda knits and I crochet so this place was perfect for us. All the wool behind Linda is locally grown, spun and dyed.

I found a new place to feed my addiction!