What a Difference a Year Makes

A year ago I never would have thought that Case would decide to retire in July.  A year ago I wasn't thinking of getting ready to put our house on the market.  A year ago I thought that everything was in the hazy future.  It wasn't in the distant future.  It was this year.  This year has made the most changes our lives than any other single year. 


I need to correct myself.  The year 2010 was the second most changes in a year.  The number one year of change was without a doubt Father's Day 1986 and the year following.   When Father's Day 1987 dawned, we had 2 babies under 10 months old.  Last Father's Day -  zero babies.  This year - 2 babies.  At the time we did comment to one another about last year's Father's Day and how different and how wonderful Father's Day was this year.  Now that was a year of change. 

Don't Know What to Label This

I have been a bit under the weather so inside, quiet projects are on my agenda.  I ended up labeling all the chargers in the house and garage.  We must have been good this year because Santa was generous.  That means more chargers.  I certainly can't keep them straight as to which one goes to what.  We probably could read the company name on the charger and match it to the object.  However, when we are looking for a charger, we are out of juice for the needed device laying stone cold in our hands.  We are not of "sound mind" as the saying goes.  Lots of waving of arms and frantic searching goes on.  I don't know if this is an age-related problem, technology-related problem (didn't grow up with chargers), or some other problem.  The result of my efforts are correctly-labeled chargers.  This is a good thing.  I have also marked right-side-up for the cords for electrical appliances that get plugged in and out - not left on the counter.  This has not been a problem.  It is merely  laziness of not wanting to try a plug two times before getting it right. 

Back Home - Retirement Style

We are back home after enjoying Christmas with some family and friends.  Lots of activity.  Lots of traveling.  Post-holiday time in retirement is sleeping in, leisurely unpacking, and playing with our new toys.  This is a good thing.  Yea for retirement! 

New Schedule for Christmas

Retirement in the Northwoods has been a good thing for us except for holidays.  Since we are the ones that moved away, we are going back for Christmas.  Lots of preparations today - putting together some traditional foods to take and packing presents, clothes and the usual stuff.  We are leaving before daylight tomorrow.  That sounds monumental, but it doesn't get light here until about 8 am.  (Hayward is much farther west in the time zone than Chicago.)

Merry Christmas to you and wishing you all of His blessings this season and all year.

Tracking Animals in the Snow

I have been tracking animal prints in the snow.  Many of the larger critters use the road like we do.  I find that very amusing.  They are doing the smart thing to conserve energy.  Up to now I can identify deer, fox, coyote, vole, and squirrel.  Because I am a novice in the Northwoods, I have a particular way of doing it.  I identify the track and then decide to follow it or track the prints where the animal came from - depending on what it is...

Blissfull Afternoon

Yesterday I put on my favorite Christmas CDs.  (Wouldn't be Christmas for me without Karen Carpenter. Christmas Portrait: Special Edition   You youngsters ask someone who she was.  In my opinion one of the clearest voices I ever heard.)  Case had the wood stove going.  Outside the snow was gently falling.  We wrapped presents all afternoon and finished before dinner. 

Retirement Cashes In

We have reaped a financial benefit of retirement!  To obtain an annual sticker to park in the National Forest trail heads for skiing, snow shoeing, fishing, hiking - you get the idea - you need to stop in at one of their offices.  Fortunately there is one in Hayward.  Laura, the ranger behind the counter, said that we didn't need to pay the usual fee of $80 per year.  Case is now a senior citizen so we only pay $10.  Not $10 a year but for life!  Is this a great country or what? 

I remember when my Dad became a senior citizen.  He loved getting these types of deals.  We love it, too! 

Winter Wonderland

I have experienced beautiful winter scapes yesterday and today.  My snow shoeing group went to a trail which no one had been on since the recent big snow.  The trail was narrow with evergreens brushing your shoulders knocking off some snow as we went.  The sun was shining in a pale blue sky.  Even though it was below zero, there was no wind so being bundled and moving along kept us warm.  I removed my hat halfway down the trail.   When we stopped to take some pictures, snow floated down from the top branches of the trees.  It looked as though glitter was falling to earth.  It was beautiful.  I had never seen that before.  Today the trees were dressed in frozen fog.  The dark trunks with the contrasting silver gray tops were spectacular to view as I was driving to town this morning. 

New Retirement Activity

Retirement should be about doing the things you enjoy and about the opportunities to learn new things.  I joined a women's walking/hiking/snowshoeing/kayaking group.  Some of these activities are things I enjoy and some are new that I look forward to learning.  This group likes being physically active as well as being philanthropic.  For December the group is snow shoeing and gambling.  Both are new to me.  I purchased snow shoes and it is fun!  You can go where ever you want to go.  No need for trails.  I have been getting in lots of good time with all the snow lately.  Now to gambling...never have gambled in my life besides raffles at the kids' school.  I always thought of it as a way to donate.  You don't really expect to win.  In this county there is an Indian Reservation, and there is a casino on it.  Every Sunday the LCO Casino gives anyone aged 55 and over $5 to gamble with.  Yes, you read that correctly.  They give away $5 for free.  So....the group meets after church on Sunday to obtain their $5 each and gamble for a charity!  After everyone has gambled their $5, we "cash out" and gather at the entrance to pool our money.  It takes about 15 - 20 minutes.  This week the money is going to the Hayward Food Pantry.  Oh, the things I am learning in retirement. 

Colorful Field Trip

We just returned from Iowa visiting our daughter Lucyna.  I have dubbed this foray as a "colorful field trip." 

Not wanting to drive the expressways we decided to cut through the country.  The roads were a bit snowy at times but certainly travel-able.  The plus part was there was no traffic.  I mean - no traffic.  There were a few cars in the towns we went through, but we didn't have to follow any slow-moving vehicles or plod through construction.  It really was a pleasure.  We drove straight south until we reached the Mississippi River and crossed over to Red Wing, Minnesota.  Yes, that is where the Red Wing work boots are made.  In fact I have a pair and wear them often now that we are in the Northwoods.  The whole town is Red Wing this and Red Wing that.  We even ate at a restaurant in the former Red Wing Pottery building that had been converted to little shops.  We didn't know that Red Wing made pottery.  The original kiln was kept in tact and is now surrounded by the parking lot.  The part that was colorful was right after we crossed the bridge.  A 10 year old boy was shoveling snow out of his driveway.  He was wearing the brightest purple coat I had ever seen.  Stopped to get gas.  Everyone in the Kwik Mart, everyone sitting in their trucks at the pumps was wearing bright purple and gold.  Ah, yes, we were in Viking territory with just crossing a bridge.  So we enjoyed our Minnesota leg of the trip viewing everything purple and gold: garage doors, flags, outdoor Christmas trees, signs.  Stopping to get gas in Iowa - again at a Kwik Mart - (They have this area of the midwest wrapped up.) - I walked in only to get knocked in the head with a huge kiosk of black and gold - University of Iowa Hawkeyes - which happened to be our destination.  Now we saw all the same things as before - just in black and gold. 

Lucky for me that I look good in hunter green and  gold.

More Time When Retired

I truly appreciate that I have more time now than I had while working full-time.  How did I get it all done?  How do the readers who still work full-time get it all done?  I look back in amazement. 

Now I have more time to email, talk on the phone (non-peak hours), Skype, and have fun with my blog.  :)    The best thing that I am doing with more time is being physically active.  My body likes it and my head likes it.   I don't need to feel guilty just sitting around the rest of the day if I want to.  After lunch I took a 2 1/2 mile brisk walk.  After I send the blog, I am going to sit in front of the fire and read. 

Retirement time is good time.

Possibly one of those retirement things...

In the past some friends with retired parents have commented to me that they don't understand their parents - that they are retired and have fewer day-to-day worries - why do they find things to fuss about?  I have remarked to them,  "That is the situation exactly."  It is because they have less worries that it is necessary in their minds to find these things.  Usually, these things are quite small in the scheme of everything. 

Since our move on October 1 (Has it been 2 months already?),  I have been fussing over a laundry cup.  In Mt. Prospect I had switched to the mega Tide jug that lays on its side so you can put the provided cup under the spigot to retrieve the detergent.  This is nice for my arthritic hands.  When we moved, I brought the mega Tide, of course.  Now that I am retired, I am bothered by this detergent-lined cup that just sits around being messy.  Before I was retired, the cup would just sit around with no problem.  Now that I am here.  Now that I am retired, this messy cup cannot just sit around.  I got so peeved this morning that I called the good people at Proctor & Gamble.  "Exactly what do you expect me to do with this messy cup?"   The woman was quite sympathetic, actually.  She explained, "Some people throw in the cup with the load, and it comes out clean."  I tried it, and it works.  I am relieved that this major problem has been solved.

I am retired. 

Thanksgiving and...

We said we weren't going to do this...put up a tree.  For Christmas we will be visiting friends and family and won't be at home.  For that reason and others we said we weren't going to put up a Christmas tree this year.  However, a Christmas tree fell from the skies, so we have one.  A 10 foot red pine fell over.  I swear we didn't "help" it fall.  We counted the rings, and it is 14 years old.  We could tell that four years ago the trunk had gotten a huge gouge.  (We have only owned our property for 3 years.)  It continued to grow but in weakened way.  The big winds that we all had a few weeks ago definitely sounded the death knell.  It finally fell during a snowstorm and there you have it...or really, we have it.  We decided to put it up on the screened porch where we could see it from a couple of windows.  Two strings of LED lights were found which only decorated the part that shows through the windows.  It definitely has a few "Charlie Brown" spots, but we are thrilled with it.  Still haven't decided if we are going to decorate it with ornaments.  Maybe I have some unbreakable ones that didn't get sold at the estate sale.

Thanksgiving in the Northwoods

I took a walk after the feast. Two inches of fresh snow.  The sunshine is bright in a cloudless sky.  Brightly enough that I could feel the warmth of the sun on one side when I came into a clearing from the trees.  What a quiet, pleasant feeling!  Part of my walk followed the tracks of Foxy who did a complete job of surveying the entire property - down to the lake - a few steps on the frozen lake next to the shore (I didn't do that!) - up the hill - around the back of the garage - paws on the stump to check for food - then off into the woods.

A Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving to all!

A Lovely Retirement Day

It's morning.  Freezing drizzle outside.  This is no longer a problem...we will stay home.  A fire is started in the wood stove and I begin baking for Thanksgiving.  It is a lovely retirement day.

His Retirement Stinks - I broke a tooth

Social Security

Case applied for Social Security on line.  It was as easy as they advertised.  Thought we were done.  Wrong!  Social Security needs to physically see original documents, verify that they are originals, copy them, then return them.  Website said that we could mail them in and they would mail them back...uh, no, we won't be doing that.  After locating the nearest SS office, off we went to Superior, WI - about 90 minutes away.  We were in and out of the office in less than 10 minutes.  Why waste a visit to a city?  Stores everywhere...we were like sailors on shore leave.  We didn't buy anything exciting - brackets for shelves, throw rugs, Menards and Target kind of stuff.  In our home town we have a Walmart with groceries but not a Super Walmart!  We bought 6 of the brand of mandarin oranges that we like, 6 of the croutons that we like, and 6 of the salad dressing that, yes, is not at our Walmart.  This was a day well spent if you are retired.

Official Snow Reports

This is the official report for O'Hare Airport, Chicago.  No snow for the season thus far.  Click on this link if you want to play along at home. 
O'Hare Snow Report     Then click on monthly avgs/totals, Chicago O'Hare, snowfall, current year.

I found out that my plan to use the Hayward Airport was a bust.  They don't keep track...because it is too small and/or all the flights are private.  So on to Plan B.  The government NOAA station in Duluth, Minnesota covers where I live.  If you click on the link, you can see the entire area.  My house is near the "y" in the word Hayward.  The map estimates between 6.2 and 7 inches.     Snow Map of northwest Wisconsin      The website cleared the snow storm map of November 13-14 so you can't see it.

  Plan C:  Wait until April and compare the total winter snowfall. 

Snow - Part 2

We woke up to more snow overnight.  Snow outlines all the limbs and branches.  It is a beautiful sight.  However on the ground, it is wet and slushy and 33 degrees - definitely a waterproof  boots type of day.  At church the priest apologized because last Sunday, after the mass was over he jokingly asked us to pray for snow.  He said that snow was better for deer hunting.  This morning he said to be careful for what you pray for - continuing that he didn't specify how much snow and when.  He has a great sense of humor. 

S N O W !!!!!

Our first snowstorm of the season rolled in last night, continuing until Sunday evening.  Maybe not "rolled in" because one of the lighter weight chairs on the screened porch was knocked over.  It looks beautiful!  I have kept the ingredients on hand for chili for this occasion of the first snow.  Good supper tonight!

Snow was always a subject that loomed large in the minds of people I talked to.  With that thought I have decided to keep a running total of snow accumulation for the Hayward Airport and O'Hare Airport.  We are about 17 miles east of Hayward and were about 6 miles from O'Hare.  I want to keep a documented tally and not just my best guess so I am using the airports.  I will let you know the websites that I will be using.

It finally happened.

The adrenaline and excitement of moving has worn off.  Yesterday was quite a blue day.  We are not settled yet and that is exactly what I want.  I knew that a day like yesterday would come - just didn't know when. Change even wanted change can be difficult at times.

Today is a new day with the sun shining and picture postcard views from every window.  Making chocolate chip banana bread hasn't hurt either. 

There ARE places to eat lunch.

The last months before I left work, I kept telling everyone that I will never go out to lunch again once I am in the Northwoods.  In the northwest suburbs lunch is limitless:  Italian beef at Johnnie's, classic ham and cheese at Honey Baked Ham, etc.   I thought that lunch out would be a thing of my past.  So glad that I was wrong.  I have joined a group of women who hike, snowshoe or kayak (depending upon the season) every Tuesday morning.  The group travels Sawyer County and beyond the county for a particular trail followed by lunch at a local establishment.  Today was the Hayward Recreational Forest Trail with lunch at Crossroad's Coffee and Tea.  (I had the spinach tortilla veggie wrap. Yummy!) 

Yes, Virginia, there are places to eat in the Northwoods.

Visitors before Breakfast

    Upon rising I raised the shades as I always do.  There was one young deer laying down and eating grass in our yard.  Not laying on its side but with its feet curled up underneath.
    We had seen twin fawns with spots in June with their mother in the yard.  They ate awhile, then the mom gave them a signal (which I didn't see or didn't understand it if I did see it).  Off the three of them went with mom in front walking and the twins jumping and skipping with each other behind. 
    So I went to another window, raised the shade, and there was the twin about five feet from the window.  They would hear a sound, stop chewing, and turn their ears in that direction.  After identifying that there was no danger, they would continue chewing.  The sounds were two gray squirrels playing their continuous game of chase me.  Also, two blue jays came around making a raucous.  They stayed for an hour or so.  Of course, they may have been there all night.  After breakfast, I went outside to where they were laying down.  I could see the grass matted down where they had been. Then came to me who ate my lilies that I brought from Mt. Prospect.

Explaining Daylight Savings Time

Trying to explain Daylight Savings Time to our pet birds has proved to be difficult.  Clocks and DST don't mean very much to them. They get up when the sun is up and go to sleep when it is dark.  I am not fond of this spring and fall clock moving business either.  It usually takes me a week or more to get adjusted to it.  In retirement it should be much easier.  We no longer use alarm clocks.  It's wonderful.

My First Wreath

On my Northwoods list of things I want to do was to make my own green things for Christmas.  You remember the huge tree that fell across our lane to the road during the wind.  It was a balsam (Christmas tree type).  As I was dragging the branches to the fire pit, I decided to keep some choice ones and make a wreath.  Never made one before, but it turned out rather nice for a first try.  And it smells wonderful.  You may be thinking that it is too early for a wreath.  Not in the Northwoods!  The radio has been advertising where to bring your evergreen boughs for money.  I have seen pick up trucks and larger carrying green boughs to the wreath making places since October 25.  So enjoy your fresh evergreen wreath at Christmas.

Northwoods Wildlife

I don't mean animals.  Oh, I do mean animals...that we see, watch, or try not to hit with the car.  But now I am referring to the social scene.  There are so many clubs, service organizations, girls' nights out, book groups, hiking clubs, church committees.  Man, there are so many that I have had to start saying no.  I could have 2-3 organized activities a day if I wanted to.  I thought I came here to retire.  Clearly, there will be no shortage of things to do and people to be with.  The first one that we joined together is the Chequamegon Lions Club.  We are the only club in WI that doesn't have a town.  We all live in the Chequamegon (she-WAM-mee-gon) National Forest.  There were over 40 people at the last meeting.  It is very active with a variety of service projects and fundraisers for local needs. 

Need to go...book club at 1:00.

Cleaning up after the Wind

Last Tuesday and Wednesday we had strong winds like Illinois did as about everywhere else in the Midwest.  All evening the lights flickered. By 9 pm it was like having a strobe light.  We just knew it was coming so we found flashlights and waited.  Sure enough - we lost power.  We could hear limbs hitting the roof and whole trees falling.  In the light of day (because the power was still off - 18 hours total) we surveyed the damage.  Five trees total: on the steps in front of the house, in back of the house, two nearer the lake, one behind the garage.  No damage I am happy to say.  On the lane from our house to the road there was a 12-15 inch diameter tree that had fallen.  Case had to chainsaw us out.  He loved it.  So today we cleaning up branches and chainsawing the trees for firewood.  It will take several days to finish it all.  That's OK.  We're retired. 

Northwoods Pet

We told ourselves we were NOT going to do this, but she is so cute! 

One of our very few neighbors are animal lovers.  They have been putting out their dinner meat scraps in the same spot every night.  A female fox comes by after dinner, eats, and moves on.  She does have a den in the area and had a litter this spring.  Others have seen the den, but I haven't though I have seen her walking around.  One night WE had a pile of scraps so I walked around the house, down the stairs, across the yard, down another set of stairs toward the lake to reach the fox dining spot.  I forgot to bring a flashlight, so much stumbling was involved.  I didn't really put a coat on, so I was cold.  By the time I got back to my well-light, warm house, I decided that the fox can fend for herself. 

The next night that generated scraps Case says, " This is better than having a dog."  I relate the above story, so he volunteers to go with me with flashlight in hand and coats on our backs.  When we return, he agrees with me that the fox can fend for herself. 

The next night that generated scraps, Case volunteers to handle it himself but with a twist.  There is a small stump about 10 feet on the other side of the garage.  He has decided that this will be the fox dinner place #2.  Sure enough, the scraps were gone by morning.  Of course, we wondered if another animal had eaten it but no matter.  Whoever ate it, we were OK with it. 

After a full afternoon of working outside, we stood on the porch watching the sunset in the west which also happens to be the direction of the garage.  The fox walked up the driveway, looked at us, trotted to the stump that was empty, and trotted back to the driveway.  She proceeded to sit down, look at us, stare at us, waiting for us to "go to the stump."  She is so beautiful:  black legs and feet, full tail, golden red color and of course, like all foxes, looks like she is smiling.  We had nothing to give her at the time but Foxy needn't worry.  There will be scraps later.

Quite a Week to make me Weak!

Another quick trip to Illinois to yes - finally - clear out the house and garage.  It is done.  Now, to sell the house.  That happened in a few more days I am very happy to say.  Buyer is pre-approved for a loan so we are thinking it looks good.  The price ended up being about $50,000 less than the original price 4 months ago.  However, we did follow our plan of either making a change in listing or lowering the price every 2-3 weeks until it sold. We followed through with the plan and it sold.

I think that our retirement frame of mind will be much better with the major financial arrangements completed. 

Border Wars

Whenever the Green Bay Packers play the Minnesota Vikings, this area calls it Border Wars because our local television station is in the twin cities of Superior, WI and Duluth, MN.  What a game last night!  I'm not really a big sports fan, but I couldn't miss this match up.  Glad to say that we (Wisconsin) won! 

A Downside to the Northwoods

We received a post card from Sawyer County that it was time to clean out our septic tank.  If you don't know what a septic tank is, you can skip this blog entry.  Looking through the phone book for someone to handle this task, we saw some interesting choices:

• Scott's "I take crap from everyone."
• Fragrant Septic
• Lynn's Honeywagon
• Yesterday's Meals on Wheels 

Instead of choosing, we called a neighbor who recommended Fragrant.  His truck had a picture of a skunk smelling a flower.  Suggestions to us:  switch from Tide and use single-ply.  On the upside, he said we had a good-looking drain field.  If I had a nickel every time I heard that, I would be a rich woman.

Another lesson learned about people in rural areas.  They are not on time.  They are early.  They get up and get going.  I remember that fact from growing up on a farm.  I greeted Fragrant at 8:20 for the 9:00 am appointment.   Someone who shall remain nameless was still in his pj's.  He is used to starting his day at 10 am.  He will learn to become Northwoods or learn to dress quickly. 

I Hope I Never Get Tired of...

I hope I never get tired of everyday occurrences in the Northwoods.  After dinner we took a brief walk.

The moon is almost full.
The sky is clear.
The water in the lake shimmers in the moonlight.
We consciously breath in the pine-scented air. 

I hope I never get tired of  everyday occurrences.

Saw a Sign in a Farm & Fleet

"Chocolate...it's not just for breakfast any more."

I laughed out loud for a long time.  I didn't buy it but may go back.

Not all Wine and Roses

We made a quick trip to Illinois for financial appointments and what we thought was the last load of our stuff.  Realizing early on that this would indeed not be the last trip to move, we were in very poor moods which would escalate.  Plus each of us would drive a vehicle separately so all the cars and the pick up would finally be in Wisconsin.  Here are the main points - too long to write out.

• left too late in the day
• rush hour traffic
• cell went dead
• charger in other car
• one of the cars got a broken alternator or something - it won't go - is the bottom line
• find a uhaul place that is open
• Tad near Milwaukee talks us through the streets of Madison 
• Madison has too many traffic circles.
• tow dolly home a busted car
• Ashley Furniture semi knocked out 100 yards of guard rail and ended up in a ditch at a Dells exit
• that's what we saw after standing in traffic for 30 minutes
• more hubbub farther down the road
• ran over dead deer 
• enough guts left that we had to wash the pick up, tow dolly, and busted car when we got home at 1 am

Standard Northwoods Lunch

Case seems to have a fire in the fire pit going most of the time.  That means two things to me...smell of good wood and a good lunch.  So we have developed the habit of a s'mores lunch.  Easy to make, easier to clean up and wonderful to eat.  (Yes, I still have diabetes in the northwoods.  However, if a person with diabetes covers what they eat with the correct amount of insulin, there is no problem.  One s'more is 24 grams of carbohydrate: one sheet of graham cracker, 1/4 Hersey's bar, one marshmallow.  Works for me!)  Another glorious day in the northwoods. 

Homecoming - Northwoods Style

I grew up in Homer - a rural community of 1200 in central Illinois.   The community revolves around the public school in small towns everywhere.  So Homecoming was a very big deal.  Lucyna and Tad attended a private high school in the fast-moving suburbs of Chicago.  Homecoming was big to the school. 

Friday night was Homecoming at Hayward High School.  I had to see it for myself.  I wanted to find out the differences and similarities between small town a "few" years ago and today: plus current suburban and current small town.   It costs $4 for an adult whether you are in the suburbs or in the Northwoods.  Kids of all ages painted their faces with school colors (black and gold).  The Homecoming court was introduced at half time.  The king was a guy from the marching band.  Go Band!  They had a 50/50 raffle - split the pot - just like the suburbs.  $91 was the total for the evening and my $1 ticket did not win - just like the suburbs.  Like Homer there were decorated floats that paraded through town earlier that afternoon. 

Unfortunately, the Hayward Hurricanes (Yes, hurricanes in the northwoods.  I am assuming that they had a Native American name at one time and changed it.  Sitting behind an Ojibwa mother whose son sacked the opposing quarterback a few times, I am glad we are the Hurricanes.  All the jackets and helmets say, "Canes".) did not win.  Still, I am glad that we went.  Small town life at its best.   

Experiments in Botany and Zoology

Wanting to bring a bit of home with me, I dug up a few perennials from my yard.  I wrapped them up in wet newspaper, put them in buckets, and soaked them well. Even though I didn't plant them until 5 days after digging, they were still perky.  I had hopes.  The spring wildflower bulbs I will need to wait to see success.  However, a plantain lily and Solomon's Seal were enjoying their new spots.  Going into the plantings I knew it was an experiment.  There are lists of what deer eat and what they don't eat.  I needed to find out myself.  They eat plantain lilies (lasted 3 days before eaten).  They do not eat Solomon's Seal (yet).

This is the time of year that little orange ladybugs want to get into your house before winter...as in waiting by the door for you to open it.  We have learned to brush them away before entering. Some fast fliers have gotten by us and are on the inside of the windows and screens since we have the windows open (another beautiful day).  I have learned a zoological lesson that ladybugs do not swim.

Poachers!

As we went to drop off the weekly garbage and recycling at the Township for $3.00, we saw a flock of eagles.  Someone had poached a deer out of season, took the antlers and the hind quarter meat, and left the rest for nature to take care of.  The eagles get first dibs.  We noticed that flock of crows waiting around on a nearby tree for the eagles to finish and leave.  This is big excitement on Morgan Road.  A neighbor reported the poaching to the DNR.  Bet they are deputizing a posse to hunt down the scoundrels right now.  Perhaps I should volunteer.  I did serve as the Neighborhood Watch Coordinator for my street in Mt. Prospect.  Or perhaps I should get back to unpacking boxes.   

DMV that is Not in Cook County Illinois

Eager to have Wisconsin license plates and Wisconsin driver's license, we headed for a big town several counties away.  Our local DMV is open 3 half days a month and doesn't do plates so off to Rice Lake we go.  It has a similar number system like Cook County.  The wait wasn't too long although others around us were complaining about the wait time.  If they only knew what it is like in the real world.  A grandmotherly-type welcomed us at the door and asked the usual questions in a helpful way.  "Do you have your checkbook or some cash with you?  We can't take credit/debit cards.  Wouldn't want you to wait and find that out later."  The woman at the counter was friendly as well, but her typing skills lacked.  She made me 9 pounds heavier than I wrote on the form.  I told her that with eating Wisconsin cheese that I would probably be gaining weight, so I didn't have her re-do it.  Then she described some new cheese that she had eaten and where she had gotten it.  I don't think that she realized that I was making a joke.  Guess that cheese in Wisconsin is not something to joke about.  They are serious about cheese.  (Note to self: probably shouldn't make a crack about the Packers either.)  This is one of many Wisconsin lessons that I am learning. 

On the way out the Grandmother stopped us and made sure that everything went well and to welcome us to the state of Wisconsin.  Take that, Jesse White!

No Matter Where You Go - Your Stuff Goes with You

We spent months sorting through stuff so we wouldn't have to pack it.  We spent weeks preparing stuff to sell on the internet and for the three day moving sale.  We spent days packing the stuff that was left.  All important stuff, I am sure.  Following U-haul's tips, we used small boxes easy to carry and labeled all of them.  However, in our effort to leave Illinois by October 1, we packed creatively.  All the boxes are labeled "miscellaneous."  Not much of our stuff has been unpacked, needless to say.  (Don't try to call me on my cell.  The charger is in a box labeled...miscellaneous.) 

So after church we came home and decided to leave our stuff safely in boxes and be outside to enjoy the beautiful weather.  Plus I decided to cook out for dinner.  We had s'mores around a bonfire. 

This comes to you from WISCONSIN!

We arrived at our new home early Thursday evening.  Being a parent is a difficult job at best.  You parent the best you can and do all the things necessary to raise your child the right way.  No parent sees the fruit of their labor until the child is an adult and doing well.  That day has arrived for me today!  In less than 24 hours we have satellite TV, internet, and one working computer with others to go online soon.  All of this is thanks to our son Tad who took off work today to get us physically moved in and set up electronically. Sleepless nights, measles, and many Boy Scout meetings have all been worth it.

There is sunshine and full autumn color with the sugar maple, birch, and aspen trees...a lovely way to wake up to retirement. 

Now it's time for the garage

The attic is cleared.  Now it's time to finish the garage.  We have been working on parts of it all along.  We certainly couldn't handle a 2 1/2 car garage with a 20 x 10 storage addition in one day.  Started at 8:30 am and gave up at 5:30 pm.  (There were a couple of food breaks.)  Pretty much done.  The problem is that there is about 25 pieces of Styrofoam to get rid of and the recycling bin and trash bin are full.  Someone in the house who shall remain nameless has a penchant for saving the boxes of everything he buys.  So now we have all these boxes to flatten and recycle and all this rigid Styrofoam that held the products in place.  Too tired to worry about it now.  Time to eat.

Over dinner we hatched a plot to dispose of the Styrofoam.  When it got dark, we prepared for action.  Black clothing.  Blackened faces optional.  We would take as many pieces as we could carry and go to look in neighbor's recycling bins.  Any that weren't totally full, well, you can guess.  We did this separately so not to attract attention.  When our arms were empty, we went back to pick up more.  Oh, so much for dark clothing, the stark white Styrofoam glows in the dark.   

There is this woman who moved in 18 months ago down the block, but she doesn't live there.  Every two weeks she comes to her place and there are alot of cars in the street.  Never met her.  No one on the block has.  She wasn't home.  Her bins were still by her garage, so I pulled her recycle bin to the curb and filled it with the last of my stash.  As I was strutting home with a satisfied look on my face,  she drives in.  Even though I was very tired, I found the energy to sprint home.  

My partner in crime returned from his journey.  Congratulating ourselves on a job well done, we then focused our eyes on the three bags of trash that didn't fit in our trash bin.  We actually stood in the driveway discussing the situation.  Since our life of crime was already started, we decided to become career criminals.  We disposed of the 3 bags in the same way - not in the direction of the neighbor who returned home.

We are going to have to leave the state to avoid capture.

Clearing out the Attic

Before the sunny fun of retirement begins, a little rain must fall. 

We attended church at the early time to have the whole day to clean the attic.  Ladders, gloves, and vacuums were gotten out to tackle the project.  What a mess!  Years of dust and recent bits of the inside of the roof (we had a new roof put on last week so with the pounding...you see the picture) covered everything like icing on a cake that we didn't want to eat. 

If we were playing a drinking game that you take a drink every time something happens, we would have been drunk by 10 am - if the something was us saying, "why did we keep this?"  As you know, we don't drink so we had to keep going. 

Among the treasures that were found: 

• empty, original box from pots and pans we received as a wedding gift
• class notes from our college days: 3 years worth from me (graduated in 3 years including summers) and 8 years from Case (don't forget dental school)
• ribbons that Mom and I used to braid the ponies' mane before we took them to a show
• Tad's 6 foot diameter solar system project from elementary school (I think he got an A.)
• Easter bunny dressed in a red tuxedo from my 7th Easter
• tax receipts from 1985 through 1999

All of these items and more were spread out all over the house.  At 1:30 the door bell rings.  It was a young couple who wanted to see the house to possibly buy it.  Two weeks ago they had written down our open house dates.  We cancelled those dates and said that on the website.  "Sure, why not? Come on in."  They looked agile enough to step over boxes.  They decided not to buy the house.  Not for the reason you think...the husband was very tall and the top of his head was too close to the basement ceiling...that was the reason.

Sad to say that the attic did not get finished on Sunday.  We have to finish eating that cake another day.

Not a new chapter but a new book...

  A good friend recently commented to me that I was not just starting a new chapter in my life but a whole new book.  This blog will be my view of retirement, the Northwoods of Wisconsin, and life in general. 

   First things first, get out of the northwest suburbs of Chicago.  Easier said than done.  Our house is still on the market.  We have lowered the price four times.  Whether the house is sold or not, the final trailer will pull out of our driveway on October 1 and head north.