Fall Tasks

What a wonderful day with warm temperatures and bright sunshine. It was a perfect day to get some fall outdoor chores underway. Ray did most of the work. He pulled up the okra plants in the front garden. They were at least 5 feet tall! He also pulled out some very tall weeds that had gone untended in the back garden.

Then it was time to tackle the holly bushes. The bushes had large sections with dead branches caused by the summer drought. However, there were signs of life so we didn't want to dispose of them completely. Using his chain saw, Ray cut the bushes very low. We believe they'll send out new growth in the spring.

This is what the bed looks like now that the bushes are gone.
Several daylily plants were dwarfed by the holly bushes, but no more.

All summer long our ash trees have green leaves, but when the temperature is right in the fall, the leaves turn a shade of purple and are quite spectacular which is why they are named "Purple Ash Trees." The unfortunate thing is that the leaves begin dropping soon after they change color.

We have several more but it's impossible to get them all in one photo.

Another beautiful shrub also succumbed to the drought and Ray dug it out. It was a spruce of some kind so there is no chance that it would grow again. All the needles turned brown and dropped off.

We now have an empty spot where this brown dude
used to reside. Hard to get a great photo with all the shade.

I didn't pay much attention this summer to the few chrysanthemums we have. I don't know if it was the August/September rains or the dry summer, but this plant looks very nice.

I can't remember this plant ever being as pretty as this year.

Still more outdoor chores to do in the coming month. Let's hope for great weather like today.

Change of Seasons

Thinking back to earlier this week, we have had all kinds of changes of weather. On Monday the temperatures were hovering just above freezing and before my run I dug out a long-sleeved shirt and wore gloves for the first time this fall. The air was calm and invigorating. Just two days later, the temperature at the same time of day was 62! Quite a contrast as I was wearing short sleeves and didn't even think about gloves.

Ray spent a good part of Monday mowing using the Trac Vac (back in working order) to gather grass clippings. When he was finished for the day he noticed some smoke and soon realized that the tractor's transmission was low on oil and leaking. Not a good sign. He stayed home the next morning and called the implement store to pick up the tractor. He also removed the mower deck encountering some difficulty in getting this accomplished. Our Kubota is in line for repairs -- five days before they can look at it and then two days of work before it is returned.

In the meantime, we've had lots of rain but the skies are clearing and the next days should be really nice, but the grass will keep growing! After a summer of drought we're now breaking rainfall records for August and September.

This is the time of year when corn mazes are popular. I've been to several, but it would be possible to walk through a maze this year and see over the top of the cornstalks if the maze was built in some of the local fields. I hope it's not that bad for those who plan and market a pumpkin patch and maze. I've been hearing that the pumpkin crop is expected to be big this fall. Doesn't seem to fit with the other crop failures.

This afternoon we went to Greenwood to be photographed for the church photo directory. On our way home we stopped at Lowe's to get some wasp/bug spray. Ray discovered yellow jackets making a nest in our attic getting in through a hole in the eave. Having just come from the photo session I felt a little overdressed walking into a hardware store!

Friendship Tea

On Saturday I baked cookies and gathered what I needed to decorate a table at the Friendship Tea that had been planned for several months. I decided to attend the 2nd service at 10:30 today so that I wouldn't have to go home and come back for the 2:00 p.m. program. It was nice to sleep in a little this morning and have a leisurely breakfast.

The Pastor's sermon was on greatness. Jesus disciples had been arguing about who was the greatest in His sight. True greatness in God's kingdom is knowing him and serving others. We are living in a me first world always wanting to be first in line! God looks at greatness in a different way. His death on the cross was the greatest service of all. We don't want to be a loser but a winner. Jesus says become a servant of all people and you'll be a winner. Jesus is the greatest servant of all.

After the service I went to the Fellowship Hall and began setting up my table. Several other women had already finished and I was impressed with the beautiful settings and delicious looking treats.

Cookies & Nuts

Doesn't this look scrumptious -- fresh strawberries!

Here's my setting.

The tables are narrow but we only planned six to a table.

Our speaker was Nancy Cohen and she brought a message filled with humor and inspiration. She is the wife of Steve Cohen the founder of The Apple of His Eye Mission Society. Nancy has lived in both Russia and Israel and is a Jewish Christian and a Lutheran.

Nancy suggested asking the question "What do you think of Jesus"
to get a discussion started.

Here's a view of the all the ladies from one end of the hall.

And from the other end of the room.

I certainly have to admire Nancy Cohen. She told a little about herself and her family. She has a wonderful sense of humor and I think we all left with a better understanding of the world around us.

Stormy Fridays

We learned that the Friday when we were in Wisconsin (Sept. 7) storms with lightning and winds postponed many high school football games. Yesterday evening we missed both Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy since the local TV stations had continuous programming about the weather: rain, hail, lightning, etc. leading to many high school football games being postponed again after playing only a quarter or so with play to resume at various times today.

These storms seem rather unusual for Fall and seem more like Spring weather. For a while last evening we didn't think we would have any rain since it all seemed to go north, but about the time we went to bed the rain began falling and this morning we measured 1.5 inches.

Once a year our electrical provider, a cooperative (South Central Indiana REMC), holds an annual meeting. A few years ago the meeting was moved to Mooresville High School and as an incentive offers $20 to attend plus breakfast. We had never gone to one of their meetings before it was moved closer to home. The doors open at 8:00 a.m. but the meeting isn't scheduled until 9:45 so this year we decided that instead of arriving at 8:00 and then waiting for the meeting, we'd go a little later and avoid some of the long lines for breakfast.

Turned out that it wasn't a great idea. The breakfast lines were long and moved very slowly. We suspected that something was amiss. Finally, we got closer and soon realized that the servers were waiting for more food. It never came. We were lucky to get a sausage patty and a cereal bar. Eggs and French Toast were gone. Apparently about 300-400 more people showed up for breakfast than in the past and they were not prepared to feed that many. I believe more than 1,000 people were served. We should have gone to McDonalds and then checked in to get our $20 and sign up for the $100 door prize. I'm not sure what happened to the people in line behind us. Did they go home hungry and grumpy?

After the meeting we picked up the part for the Trac Vac and Ray spent the afternoon installing the new hitch and remounting the motor and it's now ready for use once again. It's been an expensive week: repairs to our Nissan and then repairs to the Trac Vac.

I spent the afternoon making a batch of cookies to add to the ones I made yesterday. Then I gathered and packed all the items I need to decorate a table tomorrow at church for a Friendship Tea. More about the tea later.

What's that noise?

For several weeks or maybe even a month or more, we have occasionally heard a strange noise when driving. We often thought the noise was noticeable only when driving at higher speeds but we had no  problem with steering. Today when we were driving home from the Rec Center the noise was louder than ever even at lower speeds. Obviously, it was time to check into the cause of this noise.

Ray called the car dealership. We have a 2008 Nissan that has given us good service. He left shortly after lunch and was home about 6 p.m. with an explanation of the problem. A small mud guard in the rear tire well had come loose and was rubbing against the tire! Now we have no more noise. Simple fix. (At least they didn't charge $95 for a test drive!)

Since he was at the dealership they ran through a checklist to make sure there were no other obvious problems. We had been told a year ago that the drive belts needed replacing because of dry rot and cracking so that was taken care of along with replacing several filters. Besides an oil change, they also repaired another problem. At the end of last winter, the button that activates the heated steering wheel somehow became dislodged and fell into the center console. With colder weather approaching, this was a good time to have that fixed as it's one of the features we enjoy in this car.

This week has flown by. We're still waiting for the part to repair the Trac Vac. We had our first taste of 40 degree on Wednesday morning. Got out a long sleeve shirt and gloves for my run. Some mornings the sun is so brilliant and the angle is directly in my eyes that even with sun glasses it is hard to see the footing ahead. That's why it's more comfortable when the skies are somewhat overcast.

On Wednesday we had free lunch for Seniors at the Rec Center. The lunches are usually held twice a month but we haven't been to one since early August. The owner of a new bicycle shop in Plainfield talked about benefits of cycling even for Seniors. He stated that in Indiana most citizens are within 15 minutes of a trail where they can ride bicycles. That was a surprising statistic. Plainfield has an extensive trail system and we're about 20-25 minutes away so we must be in the minority.

Our monthly date to play Bridge was also on Wednesday and we were the hosts. I had some zucchini cookies in the freezer and made a treat in the blender using frozen bananas and cocoa powder. I had made the banana dish before and yesterday I doubled it and the blender thought it was too much! Someone I was able to blend everything using a bit of fruit juice.

Expecting some rain tomorrow. If we get close to an inch, we'll have one of the wettest two months (August & September) either setting or equaling some kind of record. How crazy is that after one of the driest summers!

This past week

We've been home from our Wisconsin trip just a little over a week. Ray began mowing last Monday beginning after lunch when the lawn was dry from the heavy dew. First he had to have a flat tire on the Trac Vac repaired. Since all the rain following weeks of drought, the grass is growing vigorously and rapidly and making up for lost time. Ray was on the tractor until about 7:30 and only had half the front mowed.

On Tuesday noon he was ready to begin again when he realized the frame on the Trac Vac was broken and needed replacing. Because of the breakdown he couldn't catch clippings so the mowing was much faster. Fortunately he was able to order the parts to replace the broken frame (or maybe it's better to call it the hitch) and we're still waiting for the order to come in. The grass has grown and in less than a week needs mowing again.

Beginning last Monday we returned to the Rec Center for our usual workouts and one afternoon I went to Mooresville to donate blood. We had dinner out one evening as part of a demonstration/sales pitch to  learn ways to save on energy costs. At least it was a free dinner and we didn't buy anything.

We met the Walkers for brunch at First Watch on Friday. The restaurant's concept is to serve breakfast, brunch or lunch during its hours of operation from 7:30 to 2:30. I enjoyed my meal and then we headed to the Indiana Landmarks Center for a tour at noon. The building was formerly a large Methodist church that had fallen into disrepair. The transformation of a building so badly in need of repair to become the headquarters of one of the nation's largest conservancy and restoration organizations is a testament to some visionaries.

Next door to the Landmarks Center is the Morris-Butler House. Both buildings have had free tours on Fridays this summer. We learned a lot about life in the late 1800s during the tour of this house which is owned by Indiana Landmarks.

This brings me to Sunday. I went to the late service so we could attend the picnic at noon at the church shelter house. The pastor preached on faith telling us that our faith is weak and we are both a saint and a sinner at the same time. We can't create faith--it's done through the work of the Holy Spirit as he works in us to create and sustain faith.

Ray joined me for the picnic and enjoyed several games of corn hole. We had plenty of desserts following our meal. There's always a dessert contest and some pretty amazing high calorie entries. We headed home with two quick stops on our way home trying to avoid any reference to the Colts game wherever we stopped. Our DVR was recording the game. The Colts were playing Minnesota in the home opener and the roof was open on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. The Colts had a nice lead but then Minnesota started coming back when our recording ended. (Note to self: always add extra time when recording football games.) Ray found a recap on the Internet and we were pleased to learn that the Colts won by a last-minute field goal!

5 Years Old

We left Sturgeon Bay at 9 a.m. (Indiana time) and arrived in Greenwood at 5 o'clock. We decided to go directly to Greenwood instead of stopping at home. After a stop at the grocery store to pick up some things we needed, we headed to the Martin household for Jayden's birthday celebration. His actual birth date was a day earlier (Sept. 8) but the party was planned for Sunday afternoon and we just had time to make it. As we drove up to the house and stepped out of the car, who met us first with a great big smile and hug, but Jayden, accompanied by Gracie, his close friend and neighbor. Their Moms are best friends.

Jayden is about six months older than Gracie

We visited with other guests and then had some barbecue. Ray estimated several dozen adults and children milling around and enjoying the fine weather. Eventually it was time for Jayden to open gifts.

Very interested audience!

Can you tell he's excited?

Jayden & his Mom

After the gifts were all opened it was time for cake and ice cream. I was able to help some by cutting the cake and Nancy dished ice cream.

Avengers birthday cake -- half white and have chocolate

After eating our cake and ice cream we headed home. There was enough daylight left that we could see the lawn had grown while we were in Wisconsin. In less than a week we had almost six inches of rain -- rain fell on Sept. 2 as the remnants of Hurricane Isaac passed through the state and then another storm came through the state on Sept. 7. It looks like Ray will be busy all day Monday!

Days Four and Five in Wisconsin

Day 4 started out with a light drizzle but Ray and I decided to head out for a run/walk. The temperature was warm but by the time we returned we both were pretty wet and a warm shower felt good. It rained off and on most of the day and we spent some time in the Sturgeon Bay Public Library using their free wi-fi. Thanks to Carl, we had plenty of DVDs to watch -- we watched the entire first season of Homeland from the Showtime Channel. We enjoyed a delicious evening meal prepared by Sue Sergeant with some help from George. David and Bob Zielke arrived for the weekend.

Earlier in the summer Karen had invited everyone to a Cousin's Reunion on Saturday, Sept. 8 (Day 5), and was one of the main reasons we had traveled to Wisconsin. Everyone pitched in to get the house picked up and food prepared by 2 p.m.. In addition, all the guests were bringing a dish so we knew there would be plenty of food for everyone.

All the Cousins

Sonja, Karen George & Sandy all celebrated their 70th birthdays in 2012--
Karen & George in July and Sonja & Sandy in September.

Ray recalled a song that the three cousins sang many times in their teens.

Ray sings a song from his teen years:
I shot it out with Francie
I counted up to three
Before I ever got there
He got a blast from me
He asked me if I'd help him
I filled him full of lead
The next day I came back again
To see if he was dead
Oh, the buzzards had been over him
and picked him to the bone
And, when I rode away that day
I rode away alone.

I've created an album on Flickr.com with all the photos I took in Wisconsin. You can see them as a slideshow.  Or to see each photo individually with captions, just click here. You can scroll through the photostream (on right side of photo) or click on each one individually.

We're heading back to Indiana in the morning.

Day Three in Wisconsin

Today our run/walk was again in the park. We went the opposite direction from the day before and didn't make any mistakes and were soon back at the Scafidi's. There are now seven people sharing the house. George and Sue arrived Wednesday evening.

We all climbed in Carl's mini-van and headed north on the peninsula to visit the Ridges Sanctuary. Only George had ever visited before but it was his suggestion that we all go. We missed the entrance but realized we were only a short distance from the Cana Island Light House so we decided that would make a nice stop. There is a short causeway to the island with no cars allowed so we walked to the entrance and got a glimpse of the Light House but no one was interested when we learned there was a $6 fee, plus an additional $4 to climb to the top for a view. I did snap a quick photo before we left.

Cana Island Light House on the eastern edge of the
Door County peninsula.

We made our way back to the Ridges Sanctuary and paid our $5 entry fee. The sanctuary is 75 years old and has a an extensive trail system. Each ridge is followed by a swale, running parallel to the Lake Michigan shore line. I can't explain how the ridges formed, but if someone didn't tell me I couldn't have known when we were on a ridge or not. It was easier to identify the swale, because these areas are marshy and we crossed them using a boardwalk.

Here's our group crossing a swale using one of the many boardwalks.

This section of boardwalk even had seats and was more open.

The day had turned warmer and the sun was shining. A beautiful morning in the Sanctuary.

Sue identified this flower as a fringed gentian. 

We felt lucky to see wildflowers blooming since it was already September.

At the end of the trail we took, we posed in front of this rangelight.

Carl, Karen, Ray, Sue, Ron & George

Directly behind the Lower Rangelight is a boardwalk that we took back to the entrance and the Upper Rangelight. Rangelights were used in navigation but I can't explain how.

Obviously, it's a straight line between the two Rangelights.

We walked just a bit farther past the Lower Rangelight to access the beach on Lake Michigan. There we ran into an interesting man, Tom Shepherd, from Minnesota. His companion was wading in the water and it appeared she was walking on water since there was a sand bar not far from the edge of the water.

In the distance is Cana Island

We ended our excursion and returned to home base ready for lunch. The day before I made some pulled pork and we heated it for our evening meal and most of us watched President Obama's acceptance speech before heading to bed. And that was the end of our third full day in Door County.

Day Two in Wisconsin

Right after breakfast Ray and I enjoyed a run/walk through Potawatomi Park. The old firetower is closed for repairs. We took a wrong turn and our workout was a bit longer than planned. But the weather was beautiful and we enjoyed our time in the woods.

Another view of the Scafidi's home in the woods.

After lunch we drove to Sturgeon Bay to visit the site of where Veronica, Suzanne, Ray and Karen lived before moving to Chicago. The site is now home of Otumba Park.

Their home was at the base of a hill and is now
a parking lot for visitors to the park.

Just a very short walk from their childhood home was
this small sand beach on the edge of Sturgeon Bay.
Notice the industrial area across the water.

Ron took us on a walking tour from their former homesite to the school that she and her siblings attended. On the way we passed by a big older home that has been turned into the Sawyer Bed & Breakfast.

We'll have to investigate the possibility
of staying here sometime.

The old school still stands.

The lawn is mowed around the building but
weeds have grown through the cracks in the sidewalk.

Ray poses under the entrance marked "Boys."
He walked to this school until the middle
of third grade when the family moved to Chicago.

After our tour we returned to the Scafidi's house where we had delicious chicken barbecue for our evening meal. We watched several episodes of Homeland on DVD from the Showtime channel thanks to Carl's expertise in recording all episodes. We also waited for the arrival of cousin George Sargeant and his wife Sue who were flying in from Brunswick, Maine. More adventures tomorrow!

Enjoying the quiet life in Door County

When we arrived at Karen & Carl's house, we immediately saw Karen's hand in all the plantings and flowers that she cares for and nourishes. She definitely has a green thumb and love of gardening and a great sense of color and style.

One corner of the deck of their home

One of the several plant areas Karen created.
In the background is the home once occupied by
Grandpa Sid Everson.

Several years ago a distant Norwegian cousin sent T-shirts and yesterday Ray and Ron wore theirs. Aren't they handsome posing outside of the Sturgeon Bay Public Library?

The emblem on the shirt is a replica of an old Viking ship.

Ray and I went for a run/walk early in the morning. Later in the day, we played several games of corn hole and the women did quite well against the men. Today we learned the distance between the boards was six feet shy of regulation. Maybe that was why we all found it easy to score.

Ron seemed to score every time she threw her bags.

Here's a photo of the siblings on returning from the library and a trip to the grocery store.

Ray, Ron & Karen

In the evening we met Clarence Cihlar at a local restaurant. The conversation was lively and afterwards the Everson kids posed with their half brother.

The mother of the Everson siblings was a Cihlar.

That was the end of our first full day in Sturgeon Bay.

On the Road

Our usual Labor Day is spent cleaning the garage. At least that's what we've done for the last few years. But this year we changed plans. The garage was cleaned about a week or 10 days ago since we planned to be on the road on Labor Day.

We left the house at 7:30 a.m. under cloudy and overcast skies. We knew that our usual route north to I-65 had construction in two areas so we had figured out a detour route using county roads and that worked well. We drove through Chicago without a slow down or paying any tolls and arrived at Ray's sister's place ahead of schedule. Veronica served a delicious meal and soon the three of us were on the road to Sturgeon Bay. "Ron" (as she is known) was the navigator and she and Ray had an ongoing conversation about their childhood, etc.

We arrived at Karen's (Ray's other sister) vacation home in Sturgeon Bay about 5:15. Karen's green thumb is evident around the house. Hopefully pictures later. We headed for bed early and had a restful night. We were still on Indiana time.

This morning both Ray and I enjoyed a short run (walk for him) and are now in the Door County Library. I'm not sure what we'll be doing the rest of the week, but I'll post whenever I have the opportunity.

Repairing Oak Creek Bridge

Since last January, planning has been underway to repair the bridge that leads all residents of our street (20 homes) to their homes. When that many people are involved there are often many different opinions.

The date for the work to begin was announced -- August 20. Everyone had to sign a request to hold mail for the post office. Ray contacted the newspapers and made arrangements for delivery to a holding spot on the north side of the bridge. On Sunday evening, everyone parked their car in the small field also north of the bridge. When we wanted to go anywhere, we walked to the bridge and used a temporary pedestrian bridge to get to our car. Some who lived further away, rode their bicycles or had another car they kept on the south side of the bridge.

Turned out to be a great week for the project. The weather was pleasant and there was no rain making excellent working conditions for the contractor. By late Friday afternoon work was completed and we could again use the bridge and bring our cars home.

I took photos every day to show progress and they can be seen here. It should open as a slide show.

A rainy Sunday

Today's Scripture reading (Ephesians 6:10-20) and the sermon based on it was very visual. The pastor began by telling us we are engaged in a spiritual battle and the going is tough. We are the soldiers of Christ. Christian warriors need to be prepared for battle against sin and evil. Occasionally we give in and lose a battle against evil but Jesus forgives us because he already won the battle by his death on the cross.  The word picture of our armor, as described by St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, includes the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes or boots of the Gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit being the Word of God. We should never say "I hope to go to heaven" which is an indication of a very weak faith. We can say with confidence "I will be with Jesus in heaven."

By the time was returned home from church, the promised rain finally arrived. Isaac was later than anticipated but welcome in our neighborhood. By late this afternoon we had 2.75" measured on our patio. Other areas of the state received higher amounts. More rainfall is predicted for the next several days but probably in other areas of the state.

After eight weeks of practically no rain, we experienced a very wet August and September is starting off as wet too. The grass is very green again with some small patches that haven't recovered. Even with all the rain, water is still not flowing through the spill pipe on our lake. It's almost like spring -- mowing the grass every week. We're headed to Wisconsin and should return in about a week. Ray's already thinking ahead wondering how tall the grass will be when we return.

How not to grow tomatoes

Even in a summer of drought our garden has done well considering the circumstances. Ray watered faithfully for many weeks and our water bill was pretty steep. We have many jars of pickles in our pantry, frozen packages of green beans and okra, lots of frozen zucchini bread and soup and quite a few jars of tomato sauce. Earlier, just as the drought was beginning, I made strawberry jam and also froze some berries. We still hope to harvest more tomatoes for eating and for sauce, but it's a challenge to find them in what I call the tomato jungle. Or maybe you could say it looks like a hurricane swooped down and toppled the tomato cages.

Does it even look like a tomato patch?

The cause of this rampant growth can be attributed to a heavy application of 12-12-12 fertilizer last spring. The plants are big and top heavy and the tomato cages can no longer support them. (This photo was taken on Aug. 22.)

Isaac is a no-show!

For the last several days we've been hearing that Hurricane Isaac could possibly dump inches of rain on Central Indiana. The early predictions seemed to indicate rain would begin Friday and continue through Saturday. Since I signed up months ago to run in the 2nd annual Women's Half Marathon, the topic of conversation in our house centered on possible options should it be raining this morning.

Isaac turned out to be a no-show and the race was run without a trace of rain though conditions were hot and humid. The 2011 race was also held on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend but then it was hot and very sunny. Today, because of the approach of Isaac, the skies were overcast -- no sunglasses needed! The temperature was already in the 70s when the gun went off at 7 a.m. I finished in 2 hours 20 minutes. Sometime during the race my stopwatch battery died and I lost all my split times. :(

Ray again was in charge of photography and here are some of his photos. (Due to the overcast skies some photos were dark but I adjusted the lighting to make them look better.)

A table laden with hundreds of bananas

This table is filled with roses. Each finisher received a long-stemmed rose.
In the background is Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Colts.
(The smokestacks are not part of the stadium.)

Volunteers relaxing as they wait for the runners to arrive --
everyone received a beautiful pink finisher's medal.
The finishing line was on the old Washington Street bridge
that spans the White River but now is only for use by pedestrians.

Ray snapped me with less than a kilometer to go --
notice the dark skies.

More than 2,000 women were registered, but by the end of the race
the gaps between runners grew larger and larger.

Just received my medal, rose and bottle of water.

A volunteer handed me a bouquet of roses just for the photo --
wasn't that nice?

Rena Brown finished 2nd to me in our age division --
we both received a mug and certificate good
at a local running store.

There was a long line in the celebration area for some light food and a glass of beer from a local micro-brewery. The woman ahead of us asked Ray if he would like a beer since she didn't plan on getting one for herself so we both enjoyed a cool brew.

Here's a close-up of the medal we received. The butterfly on the right corner is removable and can be worn separately. How cool is that?