A Girl And Her Tree

After days of begging us to trim the tree, Lola was finally allowed to decorate her heart out today. She so loves puttering about with ornaments, lights, and garlands. She got her hands on my stack of felt hearts earlier this week and hung every last one of them in the tree several times over while she waited for the official go ahead.

She took care of the bottom half while Ryan and I decorated the top. I only had to move one or two ornaments Lola hung because they were too heavy for the branch she picked. She has a good eye for composition and color. When she was done she told me to turn off the lights, blow out the candles, and simply enjoy the light of the tree.

We had originally planned to set the tree in the entryway but changed our minds this morning. I am glad we did. It looks so much better in the living room. Afterwards we drank hot chocolate with marshmallows and watched Christmas movies together. We watched Home Alone and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Perfect, just perfect.

This And That

My friend Petra sent me a little bag of spices to make Dutch speculaas. Thank you, Peet! It arrived without a hitch. (Three years ago she sent me tulip bulbs for my birthday. All I received was an empty envelop with a note from the Department of Agriculture politely stating they had removed the contraband items.) My kitchen smelled unbelievably wonderful yesterday afternoon. The speculaas was delicious if I do say so myself.

We have about thirty pounds of sausage and an equal amount of steak, stew meat and other cuts sitting in the small entry outside the kitchen. It is the remains of Ryan's buck that I picked up today at the butcher. To accommodate this amazing amount of meat, we bought a freezer yesterday. It still needs to be hooked up.

The buck's head has been dropped off at a taxidermist. He'll be ready for mounting on the wall late June, early July. Just in time to incorporate in next year's Christmas decor. I'm thinking lights between his antlers and possibly a red nose. The taxidermist was very impressed with Ryan's deer, called him "a dandy." We're calling him Willy.

We have a tree. Ryan took the afternoon off on Monday and we took a little drive to one of the many Christmas tree farms in the area. The sun was going down and we didn't have much time to browse around. We didn't need it. We stumbled onto the perfect tree within minutes. Even the tree salesman was impressed with our decisiveness. Of course our decorating speed leaves a little to be desired. This weekend.

The Waiting Game - Opening Day

The Dutch Girl went deer hunting recently. For the first time in her life. Being a blogger, she brought along a journal and took notes while waiting for her buck. Don't tell her father-in-law. He would not approve.

Despite the fact that the woods look a lot different in the dark than they do during the day, I was able to locate my stand without a hitch. The light on my blaze orange hat hit the reflecting markers we had left the day before perfectly. Getting lost in the dark was one of my two big concerns. The other was wounding a deer instead of killing it. I didn't have to worry about either as it turned out.

My resolve to go hardcore without turning on the heater lasted about an hour and a half. With my toes nice and toasty, I must say hunting wasn't half bad. Of course, my stand was the cabana among the deer stands. A view to all sides, a shelf to rest my gun on, ample space for a heater, and a portable potty. All that was missing was the beverage cart. And a buck.

Just before sun up on opening day, a shot was fired close by. I thought it was perhaps my brother-in-law who was hunting about 300 yards away. He thought it was me. Ryan and his dad were hunting fifteen minutes northeast of us. Ryan, who generously gave up his spot to me, had the added excitement of sitting on top of a hibernating bear. Sometime in the previous two weeks, a bear dug out a den and went to sleep about twenty feet from his stand.

There was an animal raising a ruckus somewhere in the trees in front of me. It turned out to a blue jay. I am fairly certain he was telling on me. Aside from that blue jay, the only wildlife I saw for hours was a squirrel and a few chickadees. And then, out of nowhere and without a sound, a deer. Less than fifty feet away. My heart skipped a beat. Alas, it was a doe. We looked at each other for a minute or two, before she continued on her way. It was the highlight of my day.

Winter Prep

I read on a fellow Wisconsinite's blog this morning that it snowed last night in her neck of the woods. [Gulp] Snow! I am not quite ready for it. I may be in full Thanksgiving preparation mode and Christmas is only 50 something days away, but I like the sunny fall weather we're having. I want it to stick around for awhile.

Reading about her snowfall sent me into a little cleaning frenzy. The bird feeders have been cleaned and filled. The last of the window screens have been taken down and brought in. The outside faucet has been shut off and drained, and the garden hose is safely stored inside the garage. Lola's wading pool has also been stored away. And as soon as I bring in the last of my garden herbs (I just don't know where to put them right now), the outside is done.

And since it was such a lovely day, and I was busy cleaning anyway, I washed most of the windows as well. Martha would be very proud, I'm sure.

Countryside Snapshots: Harvest

There is a small apple tree on the border of our backyard and our neighbor's. We think it's ours, but we're not sure. It is filled with apples and they are almost ready to be picked. The apple tree at Lola's new daycare is already there. Yesterday I sent Lola off with an empty basket and when I picked her up, it was filled with freshly picked apples.

We set out to make apple sauce as soon as we came home. Lola was very excited about the process. She made certain that Ryan knew this wasn't just any apple sauce, it was home made. I have now added a food mill to my appliance wish list and I can see canning in my future. Very clearly.

New Do

We spent the past week in Elkhart Lake, enjoying some free time, good company, and many hours in the pool. Lola especially loved the pool. She would jump in around ten in the morning and would not come out for anything until the late afternoon, save a potty break or two.

As a result of all that bobbing in chlorine, her hair turned into one big dreadlock. Not even the half gallon of conditioner and detangling spray I used could untangle that mess. I was forced to resort to scissors.

I love it! She really rocks the bob and looks so big all of a sudden. Lola likes it too, but she did check with me several times if her hair will grow back. And if I do say so myself, I didn't do too badly at my first cutting job.

Mom also has a new do, by the way. I am now a redhead. Pictures to follow at a later date. Maybe.

Skinny Dipping

After working hard in the new house the weekend before we moved, we decided to take off early on Sunday afternoon and take the pontoon boat out on the lake. I didn't actually get to go, but Ryan and Lola had a great time. They made it back just in time to beat the severe thunderstorm that had been brewing for hours. In the midst of the storm Ryan realized he had left his wallet on the boat and ran back to get it. Within five minutes he was back, dripping wet and wide eyed. "The boat is gone!" he panted.

I thought (hoped) he was kidding, but no, he wasn't. The line that tied the boat to the dock had broken, and the storm had blown it into the bay. It was sitting right next door in fact. The two of us went out into the rain and anchored her down for the night. We thought we would just push her free the next day, then take her out for a spin around the lake and go swimming in the rain. Simple enough.

Things are never that simple though. Unfortunately the boat was stuck in the mud. Really stuck. In order to do any sort of pushing, we had to get into the muck with her. Before I knew it, we were chest deep in stinky muck, trying to find some footing. There wasn't any, just roots, weeds, sticks, and other unidentified objects that kind of freaked us out. For an hour we pushed the boat through the muck, slowly inching forward. Lola was cheering us on from atop the boat. My arms hurt, I could barely hang on, and did I mention it smelled really bad?

When we finally cleared the weeds and were able to lower the engine into the water, Ryan climbed back into the boat to start her up. I hung onto the back, dragging behind her until I was unceremoniously hoisted into the boat by my husband. When we got to deeper waters, Ryan and I jumped in to wash off the mud. It was everywhere. In my pants, my shirt, my underwear. What's a girl to do but go skinny dipping? We had the lake all to ourselves and enjoyed swimming naked until lightning chased us off the water.

The Hardest Goodbye

My cousin M. has been on my mind a lot this week. It is his dad, and my uncle, who is dying of pancreatic cancer. My cousin and his family live in Switzerland and have been visiting for the month of July. I saw them earlier this week when Lola and I traveled south for a few days. When M. and I said goodbye, he told me the next time we would see each other the occasion would probably not be a happy one.

M. and his family are leaving today. He has to tell his father goodbye and chances are, he will never see him again. I cannot begin to imagine his sadness. Just thinking about it breaks my heart. Not being there when you want to most is without a doubt one of the hardest things about living thousands of miles away from your family.

It is in my future too.

Quickly, While I Can

We moved last weekend. Our house is in total chaos with various painting projects taking place in the dining room, living room, and kitchen. Random pieces of furniture are scattered about while the rest of our stuff is packed into the garage.

I cooked our first proper meal yesterday, not pizza or something heated up in the microwave, with the one wooden spoon I was able to find. We are still eating off paper plates, using plastic silverware and drinking out of disposable cups.

Lola and I are enjoying having some time off together. I paint; she plays with her stuffed animals, taking them for rides around the block. Every now and again we take a break to go grocery shopping.

For the time being, we are off line. No phone, no internet, no television. To keep you updated on our progress, I must visit the local bar. Our town is so small, we can walk everywhere. Also, there is no mail delivery here. We are now the proud owners of PO Box 281.

The house came with kitchen appliances but no washer and dryer. More so than buying this house, the purchase of our first proper washer and dryer makes us feel very grown up. After Ryan and I installed them, we grabbed a drink and hung out in the basement, admiring our new appliances. They make really cool noises when you turn them on and off.

I have one more coat of paint to go on the twenty seven kitchen cabinet doors. If I ever talk about painting kitchen cabinets again, someone please stop me. I don’t care how much money I am saving.

Gone Fishing

Winners Of Strange Contests

I just read on the Dutch news that the greater Eindhoven region has been awarded the Intelligent Community of the Year 2011 prize by the Intelligent Community Forum. For those of you who have never heard of Eindhoven; it is a large city in the south of Holland, and home to Philips headquarters, of television and light bulb fame.

I did not know this particular competition existed before I read that interesting bit of news. I do know people like to compete for the strangest titles and awards. Even in our family.

The other day when we were out and about looking for a place to live, we wandered around on a property and emerged covered in ticks. After the tick count was complete, Ryan came out the winner. I must have pulled fifteen ticks off him that afternoon, and at least ten off Lola. Strangely enough not a single one was found on me.

When it comes to bear sightings, we are all in agreement that Lola has seen more black bears these last two years than anyone else.

But where moving is concerned, I am the absolute winner. When we move into this cute little Victorian home later this month, it will be the twenty fifth time in my life that I have moved house. TWENTY FIVE MOVES. That's a little more than once every other year.

For the next five years, I am not going anywhere. Wild horses cannot drag me.

How Sweet It Is

Easter Sunday brought us eggs, treats, and sunshine. Glorious, beautiful, warm sunshine. For a moment there, it seemed spring had sprung.

In the spirit of Easter and resurrection, the flowers I have been staring out of the ground for the last few weeks have finally surfaced. Tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, and crocuses are peaking from the dirt. Like us, they must be pleased to feel the warmth of the sun after all that snow. I haven’t had the heart to tell them more snow showers are predicted for the middle of the coming week. I too, am in denial.

After we returned from a few hours in Rhinelander to pack up more boxes, the three of us dug a few lawn chairs out of the basement and carried them around to the sunniest spot in the garden, just off the garage. Ryan and I basked in the sun, sipped from our cocktails, and watched Lola ride around on her bicycle all afternoon.

We ended the day down by the lake. Warming up by the side of the impromptu bonfire Ryan and Lola built, we watched the sun set on the lake and the stars come out. A little James Taylor in the background topped it off. Several geese joined us while dozens more flew in overhead, loudly announcing their return to Lake Lucerne.

It was an absolutely perfect day.

Trespassers Will Be Shot

Back when Scotland was just a stone throw away, I used to do quite a bit of hiking in the high and lowlands. Scottish law demands that owners of private land allow hikers the right of way. A lovely piece of legislature, opening up the entire Scottish countryside to all who wish to enjoy it. Hikers in turn are expected to keep up their end by staying on the path, picking up after themselves, and not disturbing nature and live stock. This practice is not known in the UP, Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The Yoopers do not allow you the right of way, they shoot you instead.

We left Rhinelander early Saturday morning for an impromptu visit to the Keweenaw Peninsula in the UP, just over a three hour drive from the Northwoods. It is still winter up there with several feet of snow. Ryan has traveled there a few times this season, to go skiing with his brother at Mount Bohemia. He wanted to show us this beautiful place on Lake Superior, look at some land, and putz around on snow shoes. And I was hoping to see a moose.

We picked Mount Houghton as our snow shoeing destination. We purchased a topographical map of the area, programmed the coordinates into Penelope - our GPS, and scouted the best place to park Big Blue and commence our hike. About a hundred yards into our ascent we stumbled upon a house. It was clear it was occupied for the weekend but no one was there when we approached. We quickly walked around the house and continued on our way. Ryan was very uncomfortable with this, but I did not see what the big deal was.

On our way down, we noticed a car parked by the house and decided not to barge through the yard but instead give it a wide berth. While we did not speak a word, it is impossible to be stealthy on snow shoes. Snow may fall quietly and muffle all sounds, it makes an amazing amount of noise when you walk on it. Whoever was staying at the house obviously noticed us creeping about. The next thing we heard was a semi-automatic rifle being emptied into the air.

We ran as fast as we could, which wasn't fast at all. The gun-toting Yooper got in his car and followed us. When he caught up to us, he stopped. We were in the woods, about thirty feet to his right. We ducked, feeling awfully silly because in no way were we reducing our visibility by crouching down. He did not get out of his car but drove on and stopped next to Big Blue, parked at the end of the road.

I had left a note on the dashboard with what we were doing, where we were going, and at what time we left, in case something happened to us. We stood at the top of the hill watching the man circle our car. He must have read the note, seen Lola's car seat, and decided we were not a threat. He got back in his car and drove off. We quickly made our way down, took off our gear, and left.

We were more shocked than scared, to tell you the truth. Other than this incident, which reads more frightening than it was, our weekend was wonderful. The countryside was lovely, the snow abundant, and the weather glorious. We even got a little sun burnt. But sadly, no moose.

Pyjama Party

Lola woke me up in the middle of the night crying for her mommy. I found her in the bathroom, sitting on the toilet. My happiness about her waking up to go potty (it's still hit and miss with lots of laundry around here) quickly subsided when I felt her warm body and heard her cough. She was burning with fever and obviously sick. I tucked her back in and snuggled for a little bit. Just before I went back to my own bed, I told her she would not be going to school the next day. She perked up. "Are we going to make party hats?"

She has been begging me to make party hats for days now. I have no idea why or where this burning desire came from. But what else is there to do when you're spending an unexpected day at home? Party hats it is. We taped some construction paper sheets together and cut out a circle large enough for a hat. Lola went to town embellishing the hat with glitter hearts, left over from Valentine's Day. Of course one was not enough, we had to make five.

While Lola was clearly feeling better by the minute, my health rapidly deteriorated. When it was time for her nap, I decided to take one too, rather than enjoying some free time. She slept until three, I woke up around dinner time. Ryan had come home in the meantime and spent the afternoon entertaining his daughter and looking after his wife.

I am feeling much better now and tomorrow will be business as usual. I will go to work as planned and Lola will go back to school. But at least we got the party hat project out of the way.

The Sound Of Silence

When I was growing up, I always listened to music. I woke up to it, I fell asleep to it, I made my homework to it, you name it. I did not like the sound of silence at all. I always needed something going on in the background to help me concentrate. Those days are over. Now I can really appreciate complete stillness around me from time to time.

Unfortunately it is hardly ever quiet at my house. Even when I am home by myself, there is still so much noise. When the fireplace is burning, a fan starts up after a few minutes to distribute the heat. Since we have fourteen feet high ceilings and no ceiling fan, we use a regular fan to move the warm air around and heat up the room a little faster. Our projector TV has a built in fan and the computer has one too. All those fans drive me nuts sometimes.

However, the noisy fans are nothing compared to what we came home to last Sunday after spending the weekend with friends in Oshkosh. While we were gone the insurance company sent over a guy to deal with the flooded basement. He ripped up the carpet, took off the base boards, drilled holes in the walls to pump hot air into, and installed seven industrial fans and dehumidifiers. And they are LOUD, I tell you.

He is coming back tomorrow to restore everything back to normal. I cannot wait. Oh, to listen to the sound of silence once again.

Indoor Waterpark

It’s been in the high forties and low fifties here lately. The snow is starting to melt away, meaning things are getting messy. The once white snow along the side of the road is now an ugly grayish brown. The spots of grass that are popping up look a little worse for wear. The creatures are coming out of the woods. Twice this week I have had to hit the breaks for suicidal squirrels. The thaw won’t last long. The forecast for the weekend shows dropping temperatures and more snow to cover up all that mud and chase us back inside.

In the meantime, the thaw is an awesome way to find out if your plumbing suffered any damage from the deep freeze of the last few months. Not the main waterline, we would have known that a long time ago. I am talking about the little pipe that connects to the outside faucet. When I turned off the lights in the living room last night, I heard a strange noise coming from the entryway. I followed the noise to the back of the coat closet to find large quantities of water spewing from the wall.

After running back to the living room to grab a flash light and my husband, we discovered the water was not actually coming out of the wall, but from a burst pipe hidden by two Styrofoam boards. We turned off the valve and took in the damage. Not too bad at first sight. Our coats were hanging high and dry and most of the other stuff in the closet was packed in plastic bins. The only object at risk was the vacuum cleaner.

The coat closet connects to the guest room closet and it was easier to grab the vacuum cleaner from that side. I walked around to the guest room and stepped right into a pool of icy cold water, over an inch high. It took my breath away, so cold. There was hardly any water in the closet because it had all flowed into the guest room. As I walked on the carpet, it waved due to the water underneath it. The room had turned into a giant waterbed. Just what you need when you're getting ready to turn in.

Sometimes it’s very convenient not to have furniture to fill up every room in the house. The air mattress we offer our guests floats and the Goodwill finds stored in the guest room are awaiting restoration anyway. The plumber has deemed us a ‘non emergency’ and will not show up for another week. I just hope our landlord can find someone to clean up the water in the meantime.

Or we could pump in some more water, open the downstairs windows and create our own indoor ice skating rink. That would be fun!

One Of Those Mornings

There are a couple of work reports I need to write that I really have to sit down for and concentrate on. However, the daily hustle and bustle of the casino hasn't allowed for it. My intended solution was to go in nice and early and arrive before everyone else. To aid in my early departure I had prepared everything the night before. I prepped the coffee, I laid out my clothes, and all the chopping and browning for my slow cooker meal was done.

I got up shortly after 5 am, got dressed, and made myself a cup of coffee. As I started loading the ingredients in the crockpot, something seemed off. Three cups of rice and only half a cup of water? I looked at the recipe again.

Snag #1: the recipe called for cooked rice.

No problem. I hauled out the rice cooker, filled it up, and turned it on.

Snag #2: sometimes our rice cooker jumps back to the "warm" setting.

When I walked into the kitchen twenty minutes later, my rice was not done. I turned it on again. Why hadn't I just cooked the rice on the stove? By this time, I was running seriously late. Lola had gotten up in the meantime and I dressed and fed her. When my meal was finally ready to go, it was almost 8 o'clock. We decided I would take Lola to daycare and Ryan would pick her up, instead of the other way around, so I could work a little later to make up some time.

I dropped Lola off and was on my way. I was happily driving along, bopping to the music, feeling pretty good. There was no sense in stressing over lost time since there was nothing I could do about it. The sun was shining and the roads were clear.

Snag #3: at the Oneida/Forest county line a power line had fallen onto the road and all traffic had come to a full stop.

For the first time ever since I moved to Wisconsin I was stuck in traffic. I reached for my blackberry to call work and answer some emails while I was waiting.

Snag #4: my blackberry was still sitting on my nightstand.

Since Big Blue has a built-in cell phone, I was able to let my staff know I was going nowhere at the moment and I would be very late coming in. I also called Ryan to chat.

Snag #5: Ryan was not too far behind me, on his way to a dentist appointment that had already been rescheduled three times.

I told him to let them know he probably wouldn't make it. Not too long after that though, WPS pulled the power line back up and everything started moving again. Ryan made it in time and I finally clocked in at 9:52 am. Only three hours late.

Happy 2011!

I started this post on New Year's Day, hence the title. I could have sworn there was a picture of an eagle here before. You see, as I was sipping my coffee outside on that crisp January 1 morning, there was an eagle soaring overhead. I watched that eagle for a good ten minutes, marveling at its beautiful and graceful movements. What a wonderful sight to start the new year with.

I went back inside to share it with you, only to find the router had crashed, bringing my resolution of posting twice a week to a screeching halt. The problem has long since been fixed but life happened and blogging did not. To bring you up to speed on our adventures, here are the cliff notes.

* The casino's Marketing Director left and I am now pulling double duty. It's been hectic to put it mildly.

* I have taken up belly dancing classes. Every Thursday evening, I shake my pelvis for an hour with four other middle-aged women. We look silly, we feel silly, but our pelvises love it.

* Lola has entered the Princess Phase. In addition to a tiny Cinderella doll with rubber dresses (that I have to dress and undress), she is now the proud owner of pink and silver princess sneakers that light up when she walks. While we were making our way to the cashier after picking them out, she told every single person in the store she had new shoes.

* Ryan and I went on a date this week. Nothing spectacular, just drinks and dinner. We are going to do this every month. I just hope our next dates go better than this one did. We must be out of practice. Come to think of it, we never dated. We pretty much met and got married. We obviously need to do it more often. Practice makes perfect.

* The whole family received ice skates from Santa Claus. We tied them under last week and went skating in the park. It was after dark and we had the rink to ourselves. We didn't skate very long but we had fun. It was Lola's very first time on skates. In two weeks, we are taking her skiing.

* While we were skating in circles, there were two cars parked outside the rink, one with its door wide open. We looked around but didn't see or hear anyone. Very strange. As we were getting ready to leave, a woman came out of one car and got into the other one with the open door. I have a sneaking suspicion we stumbled onto Rhinelander's red light district. Ryan isn't sure.

* There are four business trips in my immediate future. I am flying to Palm Springs at the end of this month, to the Wisconsin Dells in March, and Phoenix and Las Vegas in April. I could get used to this.

* And last, but certainly not least, I have one more trip planned. On March 17, Lola and I are flying to Holland for eight days. Finally I will be able to introduce my daughter to her aunt and her cousins. We cannot wait. It has been four and a half years since I have seen most of my family and friends. Ryan is not coming, he cannot take that much time off work yet.

You're all caught up again. As for the present, I am tending to a sick child. She has a cold, a sore throat, and a bark like cough. Poor girl. I hope she feels better in the morning. We are going to make cupcakes together.

I wish you all a (very belated) Happy New Year!

Best Ice Fishing Ever

My cousin and his family, the ones responsible for Ryan and me meeting, have come up to the Northwoods to celebrate New Year’s Eve with us. They arrived late last night. Just before we all retired to our beds, the men told us we needed to get up nice and early for the Big Surprise they had planned for us.

This morning it was revealed we were going ice fishing. Interesting choice of activity for four adults, two toddlers, and one infant, none of whom had gone ice fishing before. It was pouring rain outside, too. Clearly, there was something fishy going on. Why did we need to be there at 9:00 AM sharp? Ice fishing doesn’t seem to be that punctual of a sport. And why were all the efforts to get fed, dressed, and out the door on time only geared towards the (adult) women?

L. and I were shoved out the door at 8:40 AM with an address written on a piece of paper, our gps with English accent Penelope, and a cup of coffee for the road. Once programmed, Penelope took us straight to the Woodwind Spa just outside of Rhinelander, hidden in the woods. We were treated to an hour long full body massage, a foot reflexology treatment, and sacral/cranial alignment with reiki. Almost five hours later we left the spa again, fully relaxed, body and soul perfectly content.

Needless to say, L. and I loved ice fishing. You can take us out anytime!

A Family Tree

We finally finished trimming the Christmas tree last weekend. With the sounds of the season setting the mood, Ryan, Lola, and I hung every last ornament found in the Christmas boxes that have been packed away for so long.

We have an eclectic mix of old and new going on. Mickey, my very first ornament from my grandfather's store, handmade felt and woolen ornaments made by Ryan's grandmother, Dora the Explorer ornaments picked out by Lola, and quite a few Santa Clauses from my ever growing collection.

I love our tree. It is past and present blending together in the most colorful way, to become part of our young family history.

Our family tree

Mickey, who is as old as I am



Made by Ryan's grandmother

Dora, Lola's pick for the season

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas


I am linking up to Cheri's ornament party at Its So Very Cheri.