And She Said "I Think Not".....

We've certainly had a run of warm weather considering it's winter in Wisconsin. The past three days have been in the upper 50's and even 60 degrees! Record breaking temperatures seven days in a row. Any snow we had is long gone. This warm weather is great for getting outside and walking around but it's also more than slightly confusing. You can tell that birds and wildlife think spring is here to stay.....and I hope they aren't surprised next week. It would be sad to see bird eggs covered with snow.

On Saturday we met friends in Cedarburg for dinner and conversation. It happened to be that community's Winter Festival.....complete with parade early in the day and lots of street vendors. The snowball fight, ice skating and other winter activities were all cancelled, but the little town was still full of people roaming in and out of shops when we got there about 5:00.

After a pizza dinner we walked a few blocks to The Stagecoach Inn to continue our evening together.....and passed ice sculptures along the way. Hmmmmm....

I'm not sure what these were supposed to be....and can only imagine the frustration as the contestants tried to create something special.

But it was Mother Nature saying...."Winter Festival in Cedarburg on Saturday, February 18th?? Not this year." And, after all, she is in charge!

Well Everyone Makes Mistakes......

I think the groundhog was wrong this year....at least the one who covers our area of Wisconsin with his weather predictions. We are in the midst of an early spring (I know, it may not last)....enjoying a span of sunny, blue sky days with temperatures in the 50's! Good for walking outside....not so good for Winter Festivals scheduled in some nearby towns.

I covered about two miles on my morning walk with Fenway. Well my walk covered that much ground....... he probably managed more than three because he zig zags back and forth at the end of his leash. With so little snow left on the ground new smells are evident and must be examined! And Fenway pee must be added to the mix.

It was a great bird spotting walk too. Several cardinals and lots of chickadees zipping through the brush. A big red-headed woodpecker making his way up and around a tall tree.....I could hear him hammering away and then he'd move on up the trunk of the tree. Since the leaves aren't out yet he was easy to spy. And of course crows scolding from the top of the American Legion building....and geese overhead.

The spring was quietly babbling.....with most of the snow gone it's slowed down a bit, but the soft water music was a nice to hear as we made our way up the path.

And to top it off I spotted my first merganser paddling around in the harbor!

So I really thing someone.....or something....was wrong about the prediction for six more weeks of winter. I vote for an early spring!

Memories Do Come Flooding Back.....

Yesterday I had the pleasure of sharing the story of our sailing adventure with some members of the Port Washington Senior Center. I was the "featured" speaker for the February Valentines Tea.

Dave and I developed a power point presentation and have had fun sharing it with several groups over the past two years. We do the talk together - taking turns. But this time it was just me.....sharing my perspective about living together in a floating small space. I told the 40 guests about our two-year journey.

Every time I look at this power point pictures I get a lump in my throat and the memories come flooding back. What an adventure we had! Peaceful evenings at anchor sharing wine and card games in the cockpit, learning to find extra storage space wherever possible, creating balanced meals in a very small galley, meeting hundreds of new friends.....all doing the same thing in their boats. Snorkeling in the Bahamas, using uncooked ziti noodles to catch red snapper while anchored in Tilloo Pond, reading more than 200 books! Having porpoises swim right alongside our bow.....rolling sideways to look up at me as I whistled and banged on the side of the hull.

One night we listened to another cruiser as he played the bagpipes at sundown in the anchorage at Mile Hammock Bay. Haunting, unexpected, beautiful. Remembering walking on beaches from North Carolina to the Bahamas, back up to Maine and all the way down again to the Florida Keys. Using a dinghy to get to shore instead of a car to drive down a road.

As I told the group, we learned to sail after our youngest went off to college....so we were in our 40's. And we left to live aboard when we were 53. If anyone, when I was younger, had ever told me I would own a sailboat never mind live on one full time for two years I would have said "No way!"  But.......a door opened, an opportunity presented itself and we were able to grab it and enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

I miss it.....I'm so glad we had a chance to do it....and it's fun to share the story......

....because the memories come flooding back.

Happy Valentines Day........

Today was a good day....beautiful here in Wisconsin. I woke up to find a nice card and box of chocolates on the dining room table from my Valentine of over 50 years (counting the Ripon College dating years!)......and we had temperatures of almost 50 degrees with SUNSHINE!!! Great day for several long walks.

And also a great day to share my privileged life with others who need a little help to get through their week. I've been going to D6-FAWN (Forward Action Wisconsin Network) meetings for several weeks. It's an attempt to connect with others who share some of my post-election concerns and find a way to get more involved on a local level....trying to make a small difference where I can.

And one of FAWN's projects was to gather food for local food pantries and deliver them on Valentines Day. So.....the word went out to some of my neighbors, I made a run to the grocery store, decorated the bags and boxes and connected with a fellow member to make the deliveries.

It was a good day - and a good day to share with others less fortunate.

Maybe it will be an annual tradition!!! Goodness knows I don't need the chocolate....in fact, as sweet as it was of Dave to remember one of my favorite things, I put the box down in our lobby to share. It was gone by 4:00. Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Reconnecting......Alaska to Wisconsin.....

We are so happy to have good friends visiting this week. Janie and Phil flew down from Alaska to spend a week in Port Washington. (Now do you have any friends who think that a trip to Wisconsin in February will be a winter get-away?)

We've had fun talking, laughing, sharing memories, playing dominoes, introducing them to some of our friends.  Phil and Dave visited the Harley Museum and found the "machines" that their next wives will allow them to purchase.

We explored our "new" Milwaukee Art Museum and stopped for more art at MOWA  and for a local brew in West Bend.

And Janie and I meet an interesting character right in Port Washington!

A busy week sharing our home with such best-of-friends. Fun to look at what we see on a regular basis through "new" eyes. And looking forward to a summer trip to Alaska to explore the area they call home!

Blood Pressure.......

As I age my blood pressure is changing and going up a little bit. I've never had to think about this before....now my doctor is just "watching" it and told me to check it once in awhile when I could use a cuff around my upper arm. So today at COSTCO the technician checked it for me....155/89....a bit on the high side.  I'll check again in a few days/weeks and then talk to my doctor.

So anyway this afternoon, as I begin to get ready for dinner, I stumbled across the live feed for the Devos hearing on Capital Hill. One speaker after another standing at a podium and voicing their descent (the three I happened to see were Democrats....one from Michigan, one from Massachusetts and one from West Virginia). The current speaker is of Cuban descent....his parents "saw the writing on the wall and fled Cuba" for a better life in America.

Sort of interesting to listen to their rhetoric.....agreeing with it as I do. She is not qualified and should not be head of the Department of Education.

I was interested.....until the camera panned back and the new view demonstrated that the person speaking was basically speaking to a bunch of empty desks. Hmmmmm.......aren't our representatives supposed to be working for us.......the people who elected them? Shouldn't they at least be in the room?

I figure they've all decided on their votes and don't need to listen to any resoning coming from the opposition. So they just don't bother to show up.

Good thing I can't check my blood pressure right now because I am mad.

.....It's Baaaack!!!!

I think it's been about two weeks since we really had a sunny day. Grey skies greeted us as we woke every morning and stuck around all day. Low clouds, grey Lake Michigan merging with a grey sky. Brown and grey trees without their mantle of green (we have to wait for spring for that!).....basically no contrast anywhere.

Everyone was talking about it.....and about their moods and about how the lack of sunshine was just so damn depressing!!

So what fun to wake this morning and notice that the light outside our bedroom shade seemed brighter.....pulling it up and there it was. BLUE sky!!!

Not the best photos.....but here's the proof. The sun has not deserted Wisconsin!