August 7, 2011
Another nice week-end. Friday night we ate at Beanies with Joe & Rose, Paul & Sharon. Saturday morning was the flare shoot at the yacht club. Saturday night we all grilled out-usual suspects plus Bill & Julie and Jerry and Marge. Breakfast this morning at the Firehouse with J &R and Russ and Dorthy, followed by church. How ironic that the sermon was based on Jesus calming the seas!! Hope he's on the side of Oliver and Bill, as they leave tomorrow morning to begin the trip to New York.
Here is Oliver's parachute flare (turns out these things cost $60!!!!!!!!)
Here is the smoke flare-they just painted the treatment plant-hope it isn't all orange now!!
Wow-I look as big as June Allyson ion this picture-thanks Dan!!!!
Here's Oliver's travel buddy-should I be worried?
August 1, 2011
Hard to believe it's August already. Oliver and Bill leave next Monday or Tuesday to take the boat to New York so our boating season is about over. We had a nice week-end. It was Lions Fish derby so it was quite crowded in town but on Friday night we had dinner with Joe and Rose at the Hungry Lion-one of our favorite places-and we had an unusually good time. Joe shared a little escapade that he had in his 20s, involving an interesting "camp" he visited, and we laughed so hard that Ken (the owner) and Jean(our waitress) just had to hear more so we ended up at the bar with them. THEN we stopped at the Yacht Club, so it was a very late night. Saturday night found us with a big group at Victor's and of course, at the Yacht Club. Sunday was to be a rest day but our neighbor Dave called to see if Oliver wanted to go to West Bend with him to pick up his amphibion plane so Oliver went and I went down to the beach to watch them land. Of course, I had NO intention of getting into that scary little thing, but I did take almost 100 pictures as Bill and Oliver, then Sandy and Mike, then Pete and Dick Thomas took rides. When DSave asked if anyone wanted to ride back to West Bend, the devil took over my body and the next thing I knew, I was strapped in and off we went! It was not as smooth on the lake as Dave would have liked but it wasn't too bad. I thought we were going straight to West Bend but no! We circled around and did a touch and go right by the breakwall, then circxled and flew over our house, and then did another touch and go by the beach! All the while, I'm watching a dark cloud building to our north but we had no trouble making the short flight to West Bend. After Dave, Dick and I drove back, we had a "seaplane" cocktail party on the deck. I felt so brave!!! Another item crossed off my bucket list!!
Mike and Sandy back from their ride
Oliver, Dave and Bill taking a rest
My sister says I look like I'm getting ready to pee--she wasn't far from being right!!
July 27, 2011
Oliver had his visit with the OS and is actually quite happy with the results. He does have a vertebra with a couple of fractures in it-no idea how it happened-but the good news is it will heal with time. In the meantime he was put on corticosteroids and it has helped immediately. Almost no pain right now. Will start a new NSAID after that and the doc also prescribed patches that contain lidocaine to apply directly to the site of the pain. This will be helpful on the boat trip if we can get Walgreens and our prescription benefit manager on the same page. The PBM won't authorize payment without more info from the doc and Walgreen's is not being proactive enough. We'll pay for it out of pocket but it's quite expensive so of course would prefer not to do that!
We had a fun week-end. Friday night there were 2 bands at the bandshell so the Yacht Club had the beer and wine sales going. Oliver helped neighbor Bill with the bar as we were swamped!! Made more money by more than twice than any previous evening. Fish Day was huge too-I guess people must be so sick of our current poliyical situation that they're drinking more! Or maybe it's just the hot weather.
Speaking of weather, here's a picture of a weird fog bank just off shore
Today is rainy, dark and gloomy- a perfect day for a second cup of coffee in bed and updating the blog!
Yesterday Sue, Cody and Rocker came over. We walked the big dogs while Rocker waited in the crate and when we came back, Skipper and Rocker had their first play time together. Boy did they have fun! Ran all around with Rocker trying to climb Skipper's back and then Skip would spin around fast and off they'd go. Next time Marina gets to play but we thought it best to introduce one at a time. I think the Rockstar can fend for himself, since he lives with 3 big Airedales and one Welsh terrier!
Less than 2 weeks now til Oliver and Bill leave with the boat!!
July 22, 2011
We had a nice trip over to Grand Rapids on Tuesday, despite the heat. There was very little traffic in Chicago and we breezed right through and then stopped in Portage, IN at our favorite gas station-they have GREAT snacks and we had yummy ham and cheese puff sandwich. We stopped at Sunrise to say hi to Mary and Deb and then went to the house. Tom had made a wonderful Italian chicken casserole for dinner and we had a nice evening. Ashley and David brought baby Cooper over and I held him for hours! he is precious. We were going to play golf on wednesday, but it was too hot so Mary and I went and did a little shopping. Tom took Oliver and I over to see thier new condo (underway) and the model. We found a teeny tiny baby bird that had fallen out of it's nest, so we borrowed a ladder from the workmen and Oliver put it back in. The condo is going to be really beautiful! That night we went to the Club for dinner, and Ashley, David and Cooper joined us again. We left yesterday morning at about 8:30 and stopped at West Marine when we got to Milwaukee. Picked up the doggies and stopped at the Baltica Tea Room to buy a beautiful Swedish wool blanket I saw the other day, for the living room in georgia. We were exhausted last night so went to bed early. Today it is raining and Oliver has an appointment at the Orthopedic Surgeon-we are hopeful he will have something to offer for his back. looking forward to a quiet week-end.
Here's Tom and Oliver in the kitchen of the new condo
Mary holding baby Cooper
Grandpa Tom and Cooper
July 17, 2011
If Fish Day is one of the best days of the year, the day AFTER Fish Day is one of the worst! We had a great time this year-of course, we always have a good time during the Fishmas season! Thursday night, which was Fishtivus, we joined 15 or 16 of our freinds at Newport Shores for dinner and a little Vinyl Groove. This was after we spent 4 days washing, waxing and then re-washing the boat, so we were ready to have a good time--and we did!! Friday--Fishmas Eve- we made a few more runs to the boat with supplies--you cannot bring liquor onto the grounds during Fish Day so all has to be brought in ahead of time-wouldn't want to run short! We enjoyed a Fishmas Eve dinner with friends-the ususal suspects-at the new Victor's Pier Shanty and most of us enjoyed it very much. I had a yummy paella-very unusual for Port Washington! We brought our car down Friday (it can be impossible to find a parking spot) and we decided to walk home so that it would be there after the fireworks--when we might NOT feel like walking!
Fishmas Day dawned cloudy and we were a little concerned about rain but by afternoon it was sunny, hot and perfect! We walked down to the marina and then up to watch the parade. It seemed a bit shorter this year but our Yacht Club had a float and the South Chicago Drill team was here-alwasy a crowd (and Oliver) favorite! After we stopped by the house to check on the dogs, we headed back down to the Yacht Club to work our assigned shifts-Oliver filling the baskets with fish, chips and shrimp, ready for frying, and me filling the "boats" with the fried goodies. Libby called to say she and Erin were here, so I walked back up to the house to meet them and bring them down to the Club. My dear freinds Luann and Bo covered the rest of my shift for me so that I could spend time with the girls. I walked back up the hill later with Libs and Erin, we shopped the craft fair and then they left. Back down the hill I came (!!!) and stopped at the boat for drinks with Joe and Rose. We decided to go to the Club for some fish and when we got there, it was a madhouse! There was a good band playing at our location so we were swamped. I ate quickly and then started serving. Now, that is the job I LEAST like!! The math makes my head hurt!! Beer is $4, fish and chips $5.50, water and pop $1.50, chips only $2.50---you get the picture! You have to add all this up in your head, take the money, and then tell the cashier how much change you need! I was glad when most people just started ordering beer-I can multiply $4 by anything all day long and be right!!!!
Worked like crazy for about an hour and a half and then Oliver called to see Tom and Sue and Vicky and Paul were at the boat for the fireworks. We enjoyed some wine and some wonderful cupcakes that Sue had made before the fireworks started. They were really wonderful this year but seemed to be much more right overhead than ususal and our boat ( and we) were covered with fireworks paper!! After they were over, we sang a few of the traditional songs---Fishmas Tree, Oh Fishmas Tree, I'm Dreaming of a Hot Fishmas, We Wish You a Merry Fishmas, all the old familiar songs-and then they all left. Oliver and I plugged up the hose and washed the boat down-didn't get all the crap off but at least we were sure it wasn't burning! Fortunately we remembered where we had parked the car 2 days ago and got home by 11. The dogs were of course traumatized by the fireworks so we had to drag Marina out from under the bed but otherwise they were fine.
We aren't going to make church this morning and hope we are forgiven our sins, both the ones we can recall and those we can't!
Only 364 days until next Fishmas!!
Here's the Yacht Club float
The Drill team-they come every year and are always last, since everybody wants to see them!
Here's Baby Erin having her first drink at the Yacht Club
July 7, 2011
We've had a REALLY busy week! On Tuesday, our new roof was started and it was a crazy day. There were 10 guys here and they were all over the place, ripping up the old roof and pounding in the new. The dogs were a little confused but they were great-hardly a bark all day long. It was really, really hot and about mid-day, they were all sitting under a tree and then some went down to the beach for a swim. They sure enjoyed it. They came back yesterday to finish up and fortunately it was somewhat cooler. At the same time, our yard guy was here mowing so it was quite the hectic couple of days. This morning we walked the dogs and then headed down to the boat. We took a nice boat ride-the lake was calm and warm, although it looked foggy a little further out-and when we came in, we took on a little fuel (to the tune of $1200!!). Now we're just about ready for Oliver and Bill to leave in a month. When we were coming in, we saw our friends Jerry and Pat leaving the harbor in their new boat-that Jerry handmade from scratch! It is a real beauty. This afternoon Oliver went for an MRI of his back-after a couple of months of therapy, he is no better, so they are looking for other causes and possible fixes. We just finished painting the house where all the gutters were torn off, before the new ones get put on tomorrow. It's cocktail time and we are looking forward to it!!!
Here's the guys working on the kitchen and garage-the high part is already done.
Here's Port Washington, as we were leaving on our boat ride
Here's our friends Jerry and Pat in their new boat!
July 4, 2011
Happy Fourth of July to all! We attended a very patriotic and inspiring church service yesterday morning. The weather today is absolutely perfect here-sunny, warm but not hot, and calm winds. Today we plan to walk our dogs and then spend some time at the boat before a cook-out and fireworks. We generally watch the fireworks from the house in case Marina and Skipper get upset but we have a great view. We had a nice dinner out Friday night and a cook-out at the marina Saturday, and yesterday a good afternoon with a group of friends from Christ the King church, to discuss all our future plans.
It's official now-Oliver and neighbor Bill will leave Port Washington with One Oliver II on August 9, headed for New Jersey. June and I will fly to Syracuse on August 17 to make the rest of the trip with them. There, 1-O-2 will be put up for sale at the dealer where she was delivered to us in June 2006. We'll miss her but it's time to move on! I hope that Bill and/or Oliver will be good "bloggers" until I join them!
Last evening I took this picture of the lighthouse from our sitting room-it was gorgeous as the setting sun lit up the lighthouse.
June 28, 2011
Well, since it appears I have been whining about the bad weather, it's time to post a couple of pictures of GOOD weather! We had a very nice week-end, with warm sunshine, a good dinner at the Hungry Lion with Joe & Rose, Russ & Dorothy, and Bill & Julie and then another good dinner at the Pasta Shoppe with joe & Rose and Paul & Sharon--no wonder we keep gaining weight! I managed to get the boat washed and Oliver has entered the entire trip to New Jersey into his chartplotter. I've made a few marina reservations as well as flights for June and I to join the guys in Syracuse, so all is ready.
We sat on the deck last night with Bill and June, to have a few beers and celebrate their anniversary, and I took these beautiful pictures.
June 10, 2011
Well, since my last post, we have actually had 1, no make that 2, decent days! Earlier this week, it was hot for 2 days and actually sunny, but then a front moved in and it rained and got quite chilly. The day we were supposed to pout the baot in was really horrible-35 knot winds and cold-so we scheduled for the next week. But then when we went down to help Mike and Sandy launch, Mike Burt offered to put us in that afternoon so we took him up on it. We had our safety inspection done the next day and found that one of our running lights on the top of the mast was burned out. Of course, we couldn't find one in town so had to order it. It took a week to get here and then we didn't want to wash the bot the two hot days, and then yesterday was rainy and cold, so finally today we raised the mast, Oliver worked inside and I washed the boat. I got soaking wet and it wasn't more than about 55 out--everybody but me was in heavy coats! Got it done though and then we raced home so I could have a hot shower. Now we are getting ready for a cozy dinner with Joe and Rose at Fire Ridge golf course. Tomorrow we're going to help Bill and June Driscoll start installing their new kitchen cabinets. They have remodeled their entire downstairs and I am trying to convince Oliver that when we remodel the kitchen in Georgia next fall, we should have someone else DO IT ALL!!!!
Here's our boat coming out of the shed
Here's our pulley system - we can put the mast up in about 10 seconds!!
May 30, 2011
Just realized you CAN'T see by the pictures how bad the weather has been, as for some reason I couldn't upload Julie's pix. But trust me, it HAS been bad and continues to be bad. yesterday was the Community Fest in Port and it was foggy, chilly and finally rainy-ruined the event and they finally called it off early. Last evening we enjoyed a cozy Mexican dinner at Beanies with Joe and Rose and Paul and Sharon. It was Rose's birthday (Thursday) celebration, and we did walk the dogs, but other than that, an inside day for sure.
The boat was supposed to launch Thursday but was postponed until next Tuesday. On Friday morning though, when we helped Mike and Sandy launch, Mike offered to put us in that afternoon so we did. Just as the boat was being backed down the launch ramp, the Coast Guard (who were there writing up a ticket) decided they would board us for a safety check! Really-with about 12 people milling about on a 2 foot wide dock-sounds like a prefect idea! They didn't count on Sandy being part of our crew however. She told them in no uncertain terms-no, you're not. Not today. And so they didn't!! So, with help from our friends, we moved 1-O-2 to her slip and there she has sat since. We did get our safety inspection done on Saturday, so we are set for the season. Now if the weather would ever cooperate.
Woke this morning to the fog horn-again. Can't see your hand in front of your face. BUT it is supposed to be sunny and 80 today so we shall see.
The highlight of the weekend was a surprise visit from friend Sue and her new birthday present-a darling 10 week old Border Terrier named Rocker (as in, they are off their rocker, since they already have 4 dogs, a cat and a fish!!). This little guy is seriously cute and I cannot wait to watch him grow up. Skipper and Marina are going to love a new playmate!! Here's darling Rocker with his new Mommy
May 24, 2011
As you can see, our weather continues to be less than ideal! Today it is only in the low 50s and headed down!! What in the world are we doing here???!!! BTW, these great pix are courtesy of our friend Julie. Isn't she a great photographer?
We've had some fun times in the past couple of weeks. We've helped/watched several of our friends' boat launch and are planning to launch One Oliver II either Thursday or Friday. Thursday is the planned day but I REFUSE to launch when it is 40 and rainy, so we will decide Wednesday night. We've also enjoyed several dinners out with friends Bill and Julie, Rose and Joe, Paul and Sharon and Russ and Dorothy. Have also spent more time at the Yacht Club and an evening with friends and neighbors Bill and June. Had a nice walk with Sue and Cody the other day, so life is good (except for the weather).
Saturday night is the fitting out party at the club and I'm sure we will over-party once again. I'm back playing the bells at church so will be up early Sunday morning.
Last Monday I joined about 16 other family members at the airport to greet nephew Dave as he returned home from Kuwait. He was so excited see Libby and baby Erin!
Marina and Skipper enjoy my favorite room in the house, the sitting room, overlooking the lake. (If the fog would lift and we could actually SEE it!)
May 15, 2011
Earmuffs-check, Parka-check, Mittens-check
Welcome sweet springtime!!!
May 14, 2011
Good grief-the weather here SUUUUUUUXXXXXX!! Haven't seen the sun since we got home, it's foggy, damp, cold, rainy,nasty!! Yesterday I had to put gloves on when we walked Marina and Skipper! A week ago we were on the beach and now we're back in jackets, sweatshirts and gloves. Ignore the previous post about how much we love it here!!
On a more positive note, we had a wonderful time at the Yacht Club last night. It was a meeting night so there were lots of people there and we enjoyed seeing our friends after so many months. As usual, our pledge to leave early fell by the wayside and it was close to midnight before we got home but t was worth feeling crummy this morning!~!
Stay tuned to see if we get back in the car and head south, or if by somemiracle, the weather improves.
May 12, 2011
We are home! Got here yesterday at about 1:30. Oliver was having a fit as he watched the outside temperature drop down to 54! We were in shorts but had to change into jeans and sweatshirts before unloading the car. But as soon as we got into the house, we remembered why we love it here so much. All winter we talked about possibly putting this house on the market but now we think we'd hate to not have this house.
We had a wonderful visit at Bunny's. Really enjoyed theri new puppy, Sunni. Here she is with Marina.
She plays a little rough though-here is Oliver after a little scuffle with her
It really wasn't as bad as it looks-just a little scratch on his face a couple nicks on his arm but he bleeds a lot because of his aspirin regimen.
Marina and Skipper are wonderful travelers-never a peep out of them and they are great in hotels as well. But they are really glad to be home.
Next up is launching the boat on May 26.