Listen Closely!

The Waddler

Priviledges

As far back as I can remember, the words "Aunt" and "Uncle" before someone's name, meant that these people were very special people in my life.



When my brothers and sister got married and started having children of their own, it was a priviledge for their children to address me as "Aunt Juliet." And I must say I have enjoyed getting to know ALL my nieces and nephews.



With the fast passing of time, and belonging to a large family, I'm also a GREAT AUNT.




Like any relationships, you want to spend time with them if it is at all possible. So when opportunties come to watch any of my great nieces and nephews, I am honored to be asked. On October 25, Gary and I were able to watch Megan, Caleb, and Jacob. We had a great time playing Apples to Apples. (Megan will agree with me that the answers the boys picked were somewhat different than what we would have chosen.) In the evening, we took a nice long walk in the dark. (We have nice street lights.) The stars shone brightly, and we all enjoyed going around several blocks twice on this nice cool Fall evening.




Then yesterday evening, Candice stopped by with that beautiful great niece Brielle. I was so glad they could stay for supper. I enjoyed holding Brielle on my knee and feeding her green beans....mmmm good.

With any relationship come responsibilities. I pray - although we can have lots of fun - my deepest desire is to be a godly aunt. So when Brielle was getting into my books, Ann-Marie was able to get a photo of her holding the book, A Woman's Walk with God by Elizabeth George. For me, there is no greater joy than to see each of my family member walking with the Lord.

Celebrate!

It's official: GARY IS NOW 65!

With my hand out of commission, his birthday was very low- key. We had breakfast at Stockhome Inn, where they gave him a balloon, sang "Happy Birthday" plus gave him a hugh cinnamon roll with a lighted candle in the middle. (He even shared the roll with me...mmmm good.)

For his birthday gift, we went to Bergner's to purchase a new suit for him. Gary rarely shops for clothes, so we just enjoyed the sales and suited him up with much needed items.

Since Gary is a Bears fan, his daughter purchased a sweatshirt and pajamas with their logo. He will enjoy wearing these items.

I just want to wish my hubby a very Happy Birthday...along with my brother-in-law, Frank G.

Visiting the Parks Narrative - Part 3 of 3

First, let me thank my beautiful, talented daughter for acting as my personal assistant and typing my blog entries. She also helped put my Slide shows together (see below). Isn’t she the greatest?

On to my post:
With bike riding out of the question due to my hand injury, we decided to visit some new parks, along with an old favorite.

Our Pastor’s wife had mentioned the spectacular Cave Point Park to us last year. We decided to check it out and enjoyed the rocky and rustic scenery.

Our next park was Ellison Park which was suggested by our hostess, Charlene. This is a truly amazing park! We saw a walkway that would have left us suspended over a wide canyon-like expanse. I couldn’t go out on the walkway, due to my injury. But Gary did and appreciated the amazing view! We also took a walking trail through the park with another couple we had met.

Our third park visit was to Peninsula State Park, one of our most favorite parks in Door County. We normally love to go bike riding on the trails in the park, but (thanks again to my hand) that wasn’t going to happen this year. :-( Instead, we walked through the park, taking photos of the beautiful fall scenes (see below).

During our trip, we also ate in the town of Egg Harbor where we tasted homemade brats, ice cream, and various pies (Gary especially enjoyed the pies!). We tried two new restaurants unique to Door County, the famous Al Johnson’s (with the goats on the roof), and Second Story (which Gary kept referring to as “Second Level” – that’s my guy!).

On our way back, we stopped in Appleton, Wisconsin, to visit with my dear friend, Judy Waggoner. We took her out for lunch at Applebee's and had a good time talking and catching up!

All in all, we had an…interesting…and good…trip to Door County. Coming home, it started to rain, and we began to see more leaves fall off the vividly colored autumn trees.

Once my hand is well, I plan to blog on “Blessings in Disguise,” along with my new appreciation for people with disabilities!

Visiting the Parks

The Peninsula Players & Sherlock Holmes Narrative Part 2 of 3

First, let me thank my beautiful, talented daughter for acting as my personal assistant and typing my blog entries. She also helped put my Slide shows together (see below). Isn’t she the greatest?

On to my post:
Whenever we visit Door County in the fall, we look forward to going to a play put on by The Peninsula Players. This year, it was Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure.

We got to the park early, so we went down to the lake and just enjoyed the beautiful scenery. As the sun set, the park employees went around and lit some pretty spectacular jack-o-lanterns. See the photos below.

There was also a hearty bonfire where we sipped on hot chocolate and cider. YUM! At 7:00 p.m., the play started!

Greg Vinkler played the part of Sherlock Holmes and did a fantastic job. We got so wrapped up in it; we almost forgot it was a PLAY! There was a lot of humor and a lot of mystery, so you know that fit me to a “T.” I wish you all could have been there with us – I know you would have loved it. I know Ann-Marie would have loved it (then, you should have taken me, adds Ann-Marie).

Stay tuned for Part 3 of our Door County story, Visiting the Parks…

The Peninsula Players & Sherlock Holmes

Giving Door County a Hand Narrative - Part 1 of 3

First, let me thank my beautiful, talented daughter for acting as my personal assistant and typing my blog entries. She also helped put my Slide shows together (see below). Isn’t she the greatest?

On to my post:
This past week, Gary and I headed up to Door County to enjoy some much deserved rest and relaxation (or so we thought!). We packed up the truck, putting our bikes in the back, in anticipation of exploring the many bike trails Door County has to offer.

Our first stop was to Kiel, Wisconsin, to visit with Peggy and Dennis Robinson. The Robinson’s are involved in a ministry that helps churches expand their buildings. We met them during the time they spent helping First Baptist add on to its building. After taking them to lunch and seeing the status of their current building project, we headed for Sister Bay, Wisconsin.

Someone had leaked the information to our sweet hostess, Charlene Rice, that Gary LOVES to keep busy (even on vacation!). So, she happily gave us a list of projects that needed to be completed around her home. Mainly, she needed the trees in her yard trimmed of dead branches.

We had heard it was going to rain Monday and Tuesday, so we decided to tackle the project on Saturday morning. All was going well, and we had accomplished a LOT. Even our hostess commented on how pleased she was with all we had done.

We decided to trim one more branch before stopping for lunch and a bike ride. Gary asked me to hold the ladder as he trimmed the branch, because the ladder needed to be held steady. BAM! The tree branch fell to the ground and bounced back up into the ladder AND MY HAND!!!

At first, I thought I had just bruised my hand, until Gary saw the blood flowing. We quickly realized it was actually a quite serious injury. After consulting with Charlene, we learned the closest clinics were closed! So, we had to drive 27 MILES to Sturgeon Bay to the Aurora Clinic.

A very wonderful doctor examined my hand and decided to give me five dissolvable stitches and twelve ugly stitches outside my hand. I had to have a tetanus shot and was given a sling. The doctor told me I was under strict orders to do nothing the rest of the day (there went the bike ride!). We were told I would need to return the next day to check for infection.

The next day, we returned and received the good news that there was no infection. I had to continue wearing the sling for another day, but that was okay, since I had an exciting evening to look forward to with the Peninsula Players.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our Door County story with the Peninsula Players…

Giving Door County a Hand

Fall Trip Narrative

First, let me thank my beautiful, talented daughter for acting as my personal assistant and typing my blog entries. She also helped put my Slide show together in the middle of the night (see below). Isn’t she the greatest?

On to my post:
Every year, my mom looks forward to getting outside for a fun autumn drive!

This year, my sister Jan’s birthday gift to Mom was supposed to be taking her for the drive. We planned to end the trip with an ice cream treat from The Union Dairy in Freeport, Illinois. We chose Thursday, October 9, for the journey.

Well, Jan’s husband ended up needing the car on that day, so my sister Louise graciously took on the driving responsibility (way to get out of it, Jan!).

After getting Mom situated in the car, we headed for Edward’s Apple Orchard West for cider and doughnuts. Mom treated her girls to cider and the locally famous and delicious Edward’s Cider Doughnuts!

Next, we drove to a place that brought up a lot of really great memories!

As kids, we Rehfeldt’s used to go to John and Emma’s farm and play with their children. Now, many, many, many, years later, we visited the farm house. It has really changed a lot over the years, but we enjoyed reminiscing about the “good ‘ol days,” when we were all kids. We even remembered getting the cows and bringing them home in the evening!

Our next stop was the home where Mom grew up, or as we refer to it, The Homestead.

By now, it was time for lunch, so we headed for The Union Dairy! Jan treated us all to lunch. Jan, Mom, and I had to hide when Louise started dancing to the oldies music being played outside. “No, we don’t know that lady at all!”

Mom stayed in the car and ate her entire meal down to the last bite! This is very unusual with Mom, so we KNEW the food had to be GOOD! For dessert, Louise treated us all to The Union Dairy’s specialty of homemade ice cream. YUM!

After all the festivities, we were all tired and stuffed! We drove Mom back to River Bluff and said goodbye! It was a fantastic day to spend with my mom and sisters.

And I didn’t have to treat anybody to anything. (as my sisters reminded me!!!)

My Mother's Annual Fall Ride

Polish Dinner

With such a large wonderful family that I was fortunate to be born into, I enjoy the various opportunities to get to know some of other siblings mother-in-laws. Saturday my sister Louise had my brother, Bruce, his wife, Yola and her mother Kristina. Yola and her mother are from Poland and wanted to make a Polish dish of Pierogis. The package above is pierogo made with meat. Another pierogi package had sauerkraut and mushrooms in them. The last package of pierogis had cheese and potatoes in them.
They look like a large square encased noodle with the different fillings. MMMM Good! If you like pasta, you would enjoy trying a pierogo.
Above is Yola, Louise and Kristina...the cooks
One thing Kristina wanted to do while visiting was to pet a Llama. So after supper, we rushed to William's Tree Farm to see the Llamas. Even though the sun was setting, we were abel to get a few pictures of her feeding and petting the Llamas.
So if any one invites to try some Polish food, go for it! You'll like it. I know that for a fact. Gary and Bruce seems to be enjoying it.

Well, you can all take a break from my blog. Gary and I are off to Door County. Next posting will be about that trip. Pray for a safe trip.