Wednesday, July 27, 2016

More Wisconsin Hospitality


We can’t believe that we have already been in Wisconsin for over a month, arriving on June 22 at the ranch of our friends, Karen and Ron, with our to-do list in hand.   We have definitely been busy taking advantage of being close to our storage unit and  with easy access to the city of Eau Claire.

Out seeking new adventures has been temporarily put on hold for now, although we do miss it terribly.   We have to admit it’s nice to be grounded and plugged in right now so that we can put items up for sale, and work through the waiting to get them sold.  That’s always the challenge and easier to do it when you’re not on the road.
 
We enjoying seeing the colorful Barn Quilts
 
We were pretty happy this past week when we sold our Jeep TJ to a couple from Minnesota that was driving by and saw it parked on the grass on our friend's property.   That was definitely one lucky day for us as well as for Ron as he sold his Harley motorcycle on that same day by someone who was driving by.  We will definitely be talking about this day for a long time to come.

There’s always time for R&R and for helping out at the ranch when we can since Karen and Ron still work during the week.  It’s just something that we want to do. The Schneider family is pretty unique and we feel that we are part of their family.  They know our kids & grand kids and we know theirs as well.
 
I has already been three weeks since preparations were underway in the house kitchen getting food ready for a catering job that we helped Ron and Karen with.  In the picture below, the Cookie Chef is making Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin and Gingersnap cookies.  We had quite the system going and it's always nice to have a Kitchen Aid available!

 

We had quite the production line going.

The kitchen smelled absolutely delicious!

Kabob's were being assembled by the men-folk.  Our grandson, Joseph was staying with us that week so we put him to work.  We were all busy.



At the party, getting the food ready to serve to the guests




Two Green Eggs grilling .


Joe was a big help!
Fireworks for the 4th of July was a spectacular display of lights that literally made the sky dance – therein referred to as “SkyDance 2016” at this venue.  We have never witnessed a fireworks display as great as this one.  We can honestly say that it was quite an emotional experience for us.  I'm sad to say that the pictures were difficult to capture.  Now we know what it means when people say, "you had to be there to see it”.  Yeah!

This was early in the evening.  Imagine this hill
packed with hundreds of people.

Everyone had a perfect view of the fireworks.



What else have we been up to?


Jeff enjoying a Moscow Mule in a "copper cup".

Having dinner with long-time friends,
 Dave (r) and his Dad, Mel (l)


Barn kitty's are getting bigger!

Zoey definitely loves our RV!



With Karen & Ron at their cabin in Hayward, WI
 
Jeff's son, Eric, grandson Jacob (9yr) and
daughter-in-law Michell

Granddaughter, Julia enjoying her new pastime - puzzles.

Julia sure does like root beer floats.

A bowl of milk has become a
regular treat for the kitty's.
 
A close call from a wind storm at our storage locker as the roof to one of the structures blew off.  We fortunately were on the north side of the buildings, but it does make you think about how volatile Mother Nature can be.
 

Last but not least, we joined Karen and Ron on their pontoon to hang out on the Chippewa River to listen to country tunes as part of Eau Clair's Country Jam .  Some of their friends joined us in their air boats and everyone had fun that afternoon.   This was certainly a first for us.  
 
  





Our plans are to be here for another 1-2 weeks and the back to Minnesota to spend a week seeing Jeff’s Mom.   Where we’ll be in late August has yet to be determined, as we are planning to take the two Minnesota grand kids (13 yrs. & 3-1/2 yrs.) for 2 weeks while Kay’s daughter, Jill, travels to Scotland.

Where will we be . . . Wisconsin or Minnesota????


Hugs ~