Wednesday, May 25
After a great night of sleep the temp this morning was 47 F. Seems just like home. The high today was about 55 F. It rained off and on all day long. The weather channel said it was sunny and in the 60s in Anchorage. Missing the best part of summer once again at home I guess. Oh well this too shall pass.
7 AM wake-up this morning so we could have breakfast with Sonny and Suzy this morning. Breakfast was tasty but no reindeer sausage. The conversation was exceptional and we had a wonderful chance to catch up with two cousins who happen to be great friends as well. Ed and I had a bridge engagement at 10 and I suggested breakfast at somewhere about halfway between the multiple living locations but they came all the way to Waukesha for breakfast with us. We certainly couldn't ask for more. Sonny is going on the Rolling Thunder motorcycle parade in Washington D. C. this coming weekend and getting ready for the trip down there so couldn't get together except for lunch or breakfast today. We wish him a safe journey there and back and a wonderful time with all the bike buffs in D.C. We hopefully will be able to see Suzy again before we head to Florida.
10 AM found Ed and I at the bridge game. My first time partner and I set up simple and few bidding understandings and were off to the races. While it's hard to judge the early rounds things just felt good about the game today. As the travelers began to fill up we most often found ourselves with very good boards. We ended up with a 69% game, which is huge for those who don't know bridge. Had a wonderful and I'm sure Bill my partner did as well. He would probably accept and invitation to play again sometime.
Stopped to see Pat after the game. She is doing well. Spent about an hour walking the halls and watching Ed take care of a couple of chores for her. She seemed to recognize Bonnie and I today but of course we can't be certain. She was in a cheerful mood though and laughed a lot but couldn't be certain what she was laughing about. The disease is really crappy and watching a person or their mind waste away is really difficult.
The evening was quiet. No visitors but there were a lot of phone calls for Ed. Kind of snacked for dinner no one seemed to want much and no one wanted to prepare anything for the gang. So it was kind of a grazing night. But then it gave me time to get the writing caught up and get our seat assignment on Airtran for our trip to Florida next week. More later.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Tuesday, May 24
Awoke earlier today than yesterday. Bonnie was already up and out for a walk when I got up at 7 AM. By 7:30 Bonnie was back and we all enjoyed a leisurely light breakfast.
Early chores consisted of putting Christmas decorations in the loft of the garage and cleaning out the back of the truck. Ed had a bridge game at 11 so about 10:30 he was on the road leaving us to fend for ourselves.
After a trip to the hardware store to get gloves, ear muffs, and safety glasses we came back to the house and got to work. I spent the next two hours cutting the grass and Bonnie spent the time cleaning out flower beds. Ed hadn't gotten to the beds yet and the grass was quite long because it has been very wet in Wisconsin this spring much to my brother's chagrin.
The chores got done and Ed returned from playing bridge. His partner told him he should have sent his brother. Once he arrived we began preparing dinner. Tim and Nancy, neighbors, were supposed to come down and join us. Had steak, salad, mashed potatoes, and veggies. It was very tasty. Had lots of good conversation and consumed a couple bottles wine. A fun time was had by all but Nancy never did arrive.
We chatted about the Champagne region of France and some place we might like to visit if we mad it there while we are in Europe last this summer. Have the info written down and will take it under consideration.
The day had been sunny and in the low 6os, a very pleasant weather day. Sleeping would be very nice.
Awoke earlier today than yesterday. Bonnie was already up and out for a walk when I got up at 7 AM. By 7:30 Bonnie was back and we all enjoyed a leisurely light breakfast.
Early chores consisted of putting Christmas decorations in the loft of the garage and cleaning out the back of the truck. Ed had a bridge game at 11 so about 10:30 he was on the road leaving us to fend for ourselves.
After a trip to the hardware store to get gloves, ear muffs, and safety glasses we came back to the house and got to work. I spent the next two hours cutting the grass and Bonnie spent the time cleaning out flower beds. Ed hadn't gotten to the beds yet and the grass was quite long because it has been very wet in Wisconsin this spring much to my brother's chagrin.
The chores got done and Ed returned from playing bridge. His partner told him he should have sent his brother. Once he arrived we began preparing dinner. Tim and Nancy, neighbors, were supposed to come down and join us. Had steak, salad, mashed potatoes, and veggies. It was very tasty. Had lots of good conversation and consumed a couple bottles wine. A fun time was had by all but Nancy never did arrive.
We chatted about the Champagne region of France and some place we might like to visit if we mad it there while we are in Europe last this summer. Have the info written down and will take it under consideration.
The day had been sunny and in the low 6os, a very pleasant weather day. Sleeping would be very nice.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Monday, May 24
The day started out leisurely. We slept in 'til 8 AM. Yeah, I know most don't think that's sleeping in but it was great. All had a quiet breakfast and talked about the day's activities. We poked around outside for a while after breakfast but didn't really get much accomplished.
My brother, Ed, had a couple of plumbing projects that we needed to tackle so we started to work on them. The projects involved replacing the inlet valves for the clothes washer in the basement and repairing the valves in the tub faucet assemblies. Both jobs were accomplished with only two trips to the hardware store. I think that's a record.
Had a light lunch and chatted for awhile once again.
About 1 PM we went to visit Pat at the nursing home. She was happy to see Ed and I doubt that she recognized Bonnie or I. We chatted a while walked the halls, chatted a while, walked the halls, and did it some more. Pat was putting a few words together that were understandable and sometimes in appropriate places. I hadn't seen her for almost a year and she seem better than the last summer but still fully involved in the disease. We were there for a little over an hour and then moved on. It's really tough on my brother and my heart goes out to him always.
We went out and did some grocery shopping and other shopping and were back home in the middle of the afternoon. Had many phone messages including one from Kelly for Ed to check his email. Seems he seldom does that. Seems there were a couple announcing visits from folks in Europe. He answered those quite quickly after he read them.
While going through his email he got a call from Holland regarding one of the visits in the email. While he was on the phone one of the neighbors came up and asked if we were available for dinner that evening. Bonnie and I had dinner just about done so Tim thought another night might do but we still haven't set that one up.
After dinner we were outside and Ed decided to show Bonnie what bee packages looked like. We went into the lower garage and there were five packages waiting to be put into hives. Many of the bees were dieing so Ed decided that he had to put them in the hives right away. We all packed up the truck and off we went to the bee yard to insert the packages. Pictures will follow soon. Ed got stung twice, Bonnie and I not at all. Success!
A relaxing drink or two when we got home with a movie and then it was off to bed with another day of "rest" completed.
The day started out leisurely. We slept in 'til 8 AM. Yeah, I know most don't think that's sleeping in but it was great. All had a quiet breakfast and talked about the day's activities. We poked around outside for a while after breakfast but didn't really get much accomplished.
My brother, Ed, had a couple of plumbing projects that we needed to tackle so we started to work on them. The projects involved replacing the inlet valves for the clothes washer in the basement and repairing the valves in the tub faucet assemblies. Both jobs were accomplished with only two trips to the hardware store. I think that's a record.
Had a light lunch and chatted for awhile once again.
About 1 PM we went to visit Pat at the nursing home. She was happy to see Ed and I doubt that she recognized Bonnie or I. We chatted a while walked the halls, chatted a while, walked the halls, and did it some more. Pat was putting a few words together that were understandable and sometimes in appropriate places. I hadn't seen her for almost a year and she seem better than the last summer but still fully involved in the disease. We were there for a little over an hour and then moved on. It's really tough on my brother and my heart goes out to him always.
We went out and did some grocery shopping and other shopping and were back home in the middle of the afternoon. Had many phone messages including one from Kelly for Ed to check his email. Seems he seldom does that. Seems there were a couple announcing visits from folks in Europe. He answered those quite quickly after he read them.
While going through his email he got a call from Holland regarding one of the visits in the email. While he was on the phone one of the neighbors came up and asked if we were available for dinner that evening. Bonnie and I had dinner just about done so Tim thought another night might do but we still haven't set that one up.
After dinner we were outside and Ed decided to show Bonnie what bee packages looked like. We went into the lower garage and there were five packages waiting to be put into hives. Many of the bees were dieing so Ed decided that he had to put them in the hives right away. We all packed up the truck and off we went to the bee yard to insert the packages. Pictures will follow soon. Ed got stung twice, Bonnie and I not at all. Success!
A relaxing drink or two when we got home with a movie and then it was off to bed with another day of "rest" completed.
Off to Wisconsin
After a wonderful night's sleep Bonnie and I joined Ed and Joyce for Breakfast at the Hampton Inn. Had waffles, sausage, and fruit with a lot of good conversation. We changed out plan at breakfast and decided to head to my bother's that afternoon instead of waiting until Monday. So we finished packing up, checked out and loaded up the car for a short jaunt back to Chad and Heidi's before we started the drive to WI.
Heidi's family was still there and we all had a wonderful morning of conversation and watched Rachel open the rest of her gifts. That girl got a lot of turtle stuff but then that is what she wants to do with her life. No, not be a turtle, study them and bring them back for endangerment. A noble avocation is you ask me.
We all enjoyed a lunch of left over food from the day before and there was a lot of it. The food was still delicious and the company was fantastic. I called my niece Kelly and her husband Jeff to find out if we would be welcome for dinner that evening instead of Monday in the original plan. They said they were looking forward to seeing us and the steaks would be ready when we arrived. All in all a wonderful way to start our journey to Wisconsin. We said our goodbyes and loaded up for the 5 hour drive north.
As we journeyed north we ran into some nasty weather just south of Springfield, IL. Wind and heavy rain were with us for an hour or so. The sky was very dark and ominous. We watched for the possibility of a funnel cloud but fortunately none were sighted. We did follow a Target 18 wheeler through the storm. Our speed on many occasions dropped to forty-five or lower as visibility was ofter very restricted. On the north side of Bloomington, IL the rain pretty much ceased and we pulled off the highway for a pit stop, a stretch and to change drivers. My brother was pretty much exhausted from the last hour of tense driving. We also refreshed ourselves with some custard from Culvers before we returned to the journey north.
Our next leg to South Beloit, IL was pretty much uneventful but once again the skies were getting ominously dark. Just as we pulled into Kelly and Jeff's it began to rain once again. We switch Joyce's luggage to her car and then went inside for a pleasant reunion with the Graminske's and a wonderful dinner. While we were eating it once again began to thunder and flash lightening. The rain came down in buckets and was mixed with pea sized hail, very loud storm in general. We turned on the TV to catch the weather and found that there were tornado watches throughout the region. We didn't resume our trip to Wales until the weather system had passed by far enough that we thought we would not catch it on the road.
We said our goodbyes once again and were on the road to Wales and Milwaukee. Joyce followed us until we reached Mukwonago, WI. We then went our separate ways and each were shortly snug at our destinations. Boom-booms continued through much of the night. We all went to bed relatively early and I laid awake for some time listening to the thunder and watching the flashes of lighting eventually drifting off to sleep.
After a wonderful night's sleep Bonnie and I joined Ed and Joyce for Breakfast at the Hampton Inn. Had waffles, sausage, and fruit with a lot of good conversation. We changed out plan at breakfast and decided to head to my bother's that afternoon instead of waiting until Monday. So we finished packing up, checked out and loaded up the car for a short jaunt back to Chad and Heidi's before we started the drive to WI.
Heidi's family was still there and we all had a wonderful morning of conversation and watched Rachel open the rest of her gifts. That girl got a lot of turtle stuff but then that is what she wants to do with her life. No, not be a turtle, study them and bring them back for endangerment. A noble avocation is you ask me.
We all enjoyed a lunch of left over food from the day before and there was a lot of it. The food was still delicious and the company was fantastic. I called my niece Kelly and her husband Jeff to find out if we would be welcome for dinner that evening instead of Monday in the original plan. They said they were looking forward to seeing us and the steaks would be ready when we arrived. All in all a wonderful way to start our journey to Wisconsin. We said our goodbyes and loaded up for the 5 hour drive north.
As we journeyed north we ran into some nasty weather just south of Springfield, IL. Wind and heavy rain were with us for an hour or so. The sky was very dark and ominous. We watched for the possibility of a funnel cloud but fortunately none were sighted. We did follow a Target 18 wheeler through the storm. Our speed on many occasions dropped to forty-five or lower as visibility was ofter very restricted. On the north side of Bloomington, IL the rain pretty much ceased and we pulled off the highway for a pit stop, a stretch and to change drivers. My brother was pretty much exhausted from the last hour of tense driving. We also refreshed ourselves with some custard from Culvers before we returned to the journey north.
Our next leg to South Beloit, IL was pretty much uneventful but once again the skies were getting ominously dark. Just as we pulled into Kelly and Jeff's it began to rain once again. We switch Joyce's luggage to her car and then went inside for a pleasant reunion with the Graminske's and a wonderful dinner. While we were eating it once again began to thunder and flash lightening. The rain came down in buckets and was mixed with pea sized hail, very loud storm in general. We turned on the TV to catch the weather and found that there were tornado watches throughout the region. We didn't resume our trip to Wales until the weather system had passed by far enough that we thought we would not catch it on the road.
We said our goodbyes once again and were on the road to Wales and Milwaukee. Joyce followed us until we reached Mukwonago, WI. We then went our separate ways and each were shortly snug at our destinations. Boom-booms continued through much of the night. We all went to bed relatively early and I laid awake for some time listening to the thunder and watching the flashes of lighting eventually drifting off to sleep.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Here We Are in St. Louis
Meet Me in St. Louis
Arrived at the St. Louis airport on time. Had two checked bags so
called my brother when we got to baggage claim. Then almost immediately picked up our bags (very good service) and waited for my brother to pick us up. Was not yet noon and already the temp was in the upper 70s. It was very warm for our Alaskan bodies. It was a very happy time when my brother pulled up to retrieve us, wonderful reunion.The trip to the Bladow home in Maryland Heights, MO was fortunately uneventful, the conversation was light and we were trying to catch up of the past 6 months since we had last seen one another. We were greeted with many hugs when we arrived and began a day of grazing and chatting that seemed to be unending. The graduate, Rachel, was radiant and just as pretty as I remembered.
We were wined and dined continuously while we were at the party. Seemed like Heidi and Chad (Rachel's parents and our nephew and niece) couldn't feed us enough. They were the most gracious host a hostess anyone could ever want. The food and drink was delicious and the libations were wonderful. I heartily recommend attending a party at the home of the proud parents, Heidi and Chad.
During the course of the day we were reacquainted with many and had a wonderful time meeting new people, playing games and watching the children of all ages play. Learned a new game in the afternoon called Blokus. The game is fast paced and addicting. We also played cribbage and the "kids" played on the hill grass surfing, dueling, and rolling down the hill. Ed, Don, and Andre came away with a new teenage hero. He is a friend of Rachel's named Josh. What a guy. The young kids were rolling down the hill and he some how convinced the lovely girls to not just roll down the hill but to do it in tandem with him. He would lie on the ground the girl would lie on him and they would get a push to roll down the hill. Both would return to the top and the next girl would take her turn. We sat in awe of this inventive young man.
Rachel had many friends an family with her on her great day of celebration. We and hopefully Rachel had a most wonderful time. Graduations themselves are not one of my most favorite events to attend but the graduation parties are wonderful. The Bladows from Alaska and Wisconsin retired to the hotel early as the Alaskans were very tired. But a spectacular was had by all and we thank our hosts for wonderful food, gracious company, and extraordinary weather.
Bound for St. Louis, MO
Off to St. Louis
At 10:30 PM on Friday, May 20 we are off to St Louis for a graduation party. Not either of our graduations but that of a lovely grand niece, Rachel Bladow. We will join them at about noon on Saturday. We are looking forward to the party and seeing many of our relatives and meeting new friends.
We will be tired but will certainly enjoy the party regardless of the time or lack of sleep.
Flying on Frontier Airlines was pretty much like flying on any other of the cattle cars that they call airlines these days. It cost $50 more per person to fly with six inches more legroom. We had hoped to sleep most of the way but alas people bumping you when you are in an aisle seat seems to be the rule of the day. Didn't feel the six inches was worth $50 and still do not. We arrived at our interim destination of Denver, CO on time and had breakfast as we waited for our connection to St. Louis. Left Denver on time on United Express.
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