Anniversary Trip......

So yesterday we celebrated our 53rd anniversary with a big party, lots of good friends and family gathered to enjoy delicious food, conversation, laughter and share memories. Not.

Our first choice for what-to-do-for-the-day was to order our dinner from our favorite Port restaurant.....Twisted Willow. But they had a pipe burst a few days ago and are closed until January 5th while they repair the damage. Second thought was to get take out from the Pasta Shoppe in town....also a restaurant we enjoy. Closed for a few days. We didn't want to order something from anything out of town as we expected snow to start falling heavily late afternoon. So, in the morning, Dave drove to a nearby Sendek's and got some delicious carry-out items and all we had to do was reheat.

At 5:00ish we sat on the couch with our fireplace turned on (electric!) and looked through a scrapbook I unearthed from our college years. Fun photos and notes from when we met, dated, got engaged and then married. Wow we were young!

6:00 dinner was served and we enjoyed it on the card table set up right in front of the computer screen while we toured the Canadian Rockies. We've been to the Banff and Lake Louise area once in the RV, but there was so much more to see. Our tour guide was good and we really did enjoy the hour.

An anniversary "trip"......certainly nothing like really being there....but hey, it's 2020.

Something Silly......

A few nights ago we had a small zoom "party" and before it started I asked everyone to come prepared to share one of their weirdest holiday memories. Something that just didn't go right. A really horrible gift, a meal that was a disaster, the year the tree fell down....anything that you never wanted to repeat! It was a laughter filled zoom!

And one of the memories Dave and I shared was our annual Ugly Angel Contest. I start by explaining that Dave's lovely mom belonged to a group at her church who made felt Christmas ornaments for an annual fund raising effort. The ladies worked for months and the holiday gift "shop" made lots of money every year. She always made an extra ornament for our tree. Every year the ornament was unwrapped, accepted with love on our end and put on our tree. Sometimes we had to "swallow" pretty hard to keep from laughing and to give her a warm "thank you Mom"!

Privately we began to have a new game included in our annual holiday open house. We called it "The Ugly Angel Contest". All of the ornaments were displayed on a piece of poster board with their name underneath....guests were asked to vote on the one they thought was the ugliest.

For awhile it was Raunch Angel who took the prize....and she now resides at our son's house and decorates the back of his family tree.

She won until the year Pig Angel showed up. The game continued for several more years.....but when we realized that Piggy took top honors each Christmas we finally stopped. No ornament came close, and this felt beauty now boasts a place of honor in the back of our daughter's family tree.

We finally told Dave's mom about our little tradition and she took it in good spirits and with a laugh. She was just happy she and her friends provided us with a unique and fun family holiday game.

My New Holiday Tradition.....

Just a few days until Christmas. We sit in our decorated condo, it's a warmish day, and I just got back from my second year of making myself feel good. Now that sounds rather selfish, but my little expedition does make me feel good.

Dave and I are very fortunate and we've weathered this year with boredom knocking at the door, but no worries about food on the table or eviction or health care. Our lives are pretty much "normal" excerpt we aren't going anywhere! As I watched the months go by and took care of our monthly bills I realized that we were living way below budget. It was pretty obvious that this was due to the COVID virus and the fact we weren't taking any trips, or going to restaurants, the theater, the movies. 

So today was my day to drive on up to our local food bank and give out some anonymous holiday cards with a little surprise inside. I parked and talked to one of the women in charge. It was different than last year when I was able to interact quickly with families as they left the food pantry. This year the clients waited in their cars while the volunteers packed boxes and bags with the items they requested. The volunteer suggested I could just go down the line and give my card to anyone with a lanyard around their neck....the "identification" that meant they were waiting for food. 

So I took a quick walk from car to car....six in all....each driver lowered their window and I just said "happy holidays" and passed my card in to them and walked to the next car. As I finished and went back to my car the first recipient asked "What is your name?" I just smiled (behind my mask, waved and shrugged). She echoed my smile and said "This gift came at just the perfect time!"

So yes...that made me feel good. Six envelopes with $50 in each. A small contribution but I hope it helped to spread just a little holiday cheer during a difficult year.

A December Gift.....

When we moved up to Port Washington we did so because our condo overlooked Lake Michigan and we love watching that lake change hour by hour. We never get tired of walking along the shore. What we didn't really expect or even think about was the fact that our condo would put us in the middle of almost everyday sightings of some pretty interesting wildlife. At this point, if we walk along the lake or up the bike path we consider it a must....we keep walking until we spot something!

It normal now notice deer all year long, and the rabbits and squirrels. We see chipmunks and the occasional mouse or shrew. We've spotted the great horned owl who nests up the path and even seen her fledglings in the spring. Once I saw the fox run down the hill and disappear up the path in front of me. I've seen the wild turkeys awkwardly fly across from one side of our stream to the other. We see the salmon going upstream in the fall. I can't even begin to list all the birds we've seen.....small and large.

But about a week ago we saw a couple stopped on the path as we walked back toward home....they were obviously watching something. We all stood (six plus feet apart) and watched as the little weasel popped up and looked at us, then disappeared for a minute before popping up again as if to say "You guys still here?" His winter coat made him easy to spot. This is a stock photo but here he is!

I watch for him now every time I walk Fenway up the path....so far no repeat visit but maybe today.

This morning's walk down to the harbor gave us a real gift. People had been posting pictures of this particular duck on Facebook saying it was in Port Washington. So Dave, Fenway and I walked down at 9:00.....Dave prepared with his camera and long lens. Success! What a beautiful long tail duck.....passing through and stopping here on it's trip all the way from the Arctic. 

A big thank you to Mother Nature.....she shared a special moment with two very appreciative fans this morning. A December gift......

Well They Tried.....

There is a casual brew pub right next to our condo building. Just like every such gathering place the restaurant had a rough year. The owners tried to find ways to make people comfortable gathering outside by adding some fire pits and additional seating. The picnic tables and benches worked well enough over the summer and into our long fall, but as the temperatures dropped the owners decided to put up a big white tent. They were trying to provide some shelter from cold winds and snow so that patrons would still want to stop by for a burger and a beer. At least that was the idea.

The first time the tent blew down it ended up in our condo's north parking lot. It was sort of wrapped around an owner's car but luckily didn't do any real damage. The pub crew decided on a bigger tend with much stronger tie-downs etc. Dave and I watched as people gathered in it over the past few weeks but had no desire to join them.

The wind kicked up last night and when we looked outside this morning we could see that the pub's dining tent had given up. It was twisted and collapsing. Several of the fire pits also seemed to have fallen victim as well. The owners were notified and a few hours later they proceeded to dismantle everything.

Mother Nature two for two - Brew Pub zero. I seriously doubt they will try it again. You just can't mess with the elements.....well you can try.....

I Just Stopped......

I got my 2021 calendar today and spent some time transferring birthday and anniversary dates from 2020 to the new one so I wouldn't forget. I still use the old fashioned wall calendar and I've always liked to see my whole month spread out on the side of the refrigerator so I can plan my week(s).

As I made the notations I saw a number back on May 16th....it was the number 62. Hmmmm.....for a minute I couldn't figure out what that was for and then it came to me. When we started this formal COVID lock-down I began to count the days. I think I figured it wouldn't last for too long.....how could it? And the "62" on my calendar was the last time I made the calculation.

May 16th we'd been in basic quarantine for 62 days. It may be that I forgot to keep adding as the weeks went by because the weather was warming up and we were able be out and about. We could meet other couples for small groups for outside gatherings and visits. So the spring and summer weeks flew by.

Today is December 15th and when I do the math I see that we've now basically been by ourselves for 272 days. The new number stops me in my tracks. And the new number means an introduction to several hundred more days of being careful, wearing masks, practicing social distancing, washing my hands etc. etc. as the cold weather settles in.

We can do this......we have to do this. I'm sorry I did the math and can see that number in black and white. It's the last time I will do a count.....this will last as long as it lasts. Counting the days won't make it go any faster...one day at a time. 

What choice do I have?

Naughty.......

I don't remember where we got this wonderful soft-sculpture Santa but he's been part of our holiday decor for years. When we brought Fenway home years ago and decorated for his first Christmas with us I wondered if he would look at this as just another stuffed toy to quickly destroy. But, to my surprise, he treated Santa with great respect.

Every year Fenway would cuddle up next to Santa, never really moving him or doing anything "naughty" at all. Maybe dreams of sugar plums....or a new ball?

Then I found him on the couch this morning. Not quite as respectful of Santa this year.....another 2020 mood change???

Oh well.....something tells me Fenway will have a few new toys under our little tree....after all we are celebrating on our own so we want everyone to "smile". Chewy.com order in the mail!

Another Alteration......

Christmas 2020 and another annual tradition undergoes a bit of revision. Ever since we moved back to Wisconsin and settled in Bay View we've enjoyed going down to the city branch of the BMO Harris Bank to see the colorful display of Steiff animals. Every year the theme would change and we'd enjoy seeing the big and small creatures in new costumes and in a new setting. 

For years we took the two local grandsons and their delight made it even more fun.

Then the boys sort of outgrew this event so we shared it with friends....some who traveled in for a visit and others who lived nearby but who had never actually seen the display.

This year we drove down again. We parked, met our friends at the corner and marveled at the holiday happening on display in the windows. It stretched along one whole city block and was just as creative and engaging as always even if we couldn't go inside for a free candy cane.

Masks in place....finding ways to be merry! 

Solitude.....By Choice....

A friend recommended this book. The true story about a young man who, with a back pack and small tent, walked into the Maine woods in 1986 and lived there until 2013. Completely alone. No contact with any other people with the exception of one quick "Hi." when he passed a hiker on a nearby trail. Zero conversations....zero interactions.

This was a fast and fascinating read but I'm not really sure just why it grabbed and held my attention. Reading has always been a favorite pass time, but during COVID 2020 it's been difficult to pick up and concentrate on a book. I thought this would be something that I would do to pass the time but that hasn't worked out. So to pick up a book and find it hard to put it down was great.

I'm sure part of the "grab" was the fact that while I am struggling with so much sort-of-mostly alone-quarantine-time here was a man who chose to leave it all behind and just disappear. I'm not going to really give a lot of detail, but consider the idea of living in a tent in Maine in the winter, consider never lighting a fire for warmth because the smoke might lead someone to your location. The details of his life were absolutely fascinating. And there was some consideration, after he was found, about possible/probable mental health issues but the real "why" remained an unanswered question.

There was a paragraph that struck me. "According to more than a dozen studies conducted around the world, Knight's camp - an oasis of natural quiet - may have been the ideal setting to encourage maximal brain function. These studies, examining the difference between living in a calm place and existing amid commotion, all arrived at the same conclusion: noise and distraction are toxic."

It was a good read. It made me re-think some of my reactions to our alone time. We fill the hours with TV shows, puzzles, quilting, dog walking, zoom gatherings, phone calls, emails, web surfing.....lots of screen time. Perhaps my pass times are "toxic" but I'm not sure I'd be willing to give them up. 

I guess I'll deal with less than maximal brain function.

All Dressed Up.....Nowhere to Go.....

One of our favorite December traditions has always been hosting a holiday open house. It's fun to share our space with friends and neighbors when it's looking a little different. We don't usually have a lot of red to add color to our decor and certainly seldom have Santa Claus peeking at us from spaces all over our condo. We've had December open houses almost every year since about 1975......lots of different houses with lots of different friends from Wisconsin, and New Jersey, and Delaware, and Illinois. Wherever we lived, this holiday happening was a favorite.

Sigh. Not this year. We are all decorated but no one will be coming over. So I share a few pictures from what you would see starting at our front door.

The only good thing about this, if there is a good thing, is the fact I don't have to dust or make any h'ors d'oeuvres to share. 

Trying to find ways to celebrate the season while basically staying on our own. Hopefully next year the condo will be filled not only with our holiday decorations but also with the conversation and laughter provided by those who can join us!

A Small Tradition.....

Dave and I have celebrated 52 Christmases as a married couple....and most of those involved shopping for toys or gifts for our kids and then for our four grandsons. For many years, one of my very favorite things to do was wrapping the presents and putting them under our tree. I loved using lots of colorful paper and ribbons....and I was really good at tying fancy bows. Happy, happy memories!

But, probably for about five plus years now there haven't been any requests for "toys". Our "boys" are way past the Fisher Price stage and as teenagers and young adults it's really hard for us to get a wish list from anyone. Gift cards or cash are the gift of choice. Not as much fun to wrap.

I realized awhile back that I missed browsing through the toy aisle at the store.....I missed looking for that special truck, or game, or whatever that was on a little-boy-list. So we've made annual purchases for non-profit organizations gathering toys for kids much less fortunate than ours.

I spent a happy 30 minutes at Target the other day and dropped the bunch of colorful toys at a friend's house this morning. They are on the way to Milwaukee to a women's shelter....and will, I hope, bring some smiles to children unknown-to-me on Christmas.

Teddy bears, Matchbox cars, building blocks, puzzles, a few games etc. I don't get to do any wrapping, but it still makes me feel good to imagine little ones finding a surprise and parents breathing a sigh of relief that Santa didn't forget them this year.

A small start on our holiday traditions, many of which will be altered for 2020.....but this one was pretty much the same as in years past. Fun shopping for me....and a hand-off to an organization for families who need a little extra support.

Jingle....jingle....jingle....