I just want to say Merry Christmas to all!

A great time to reflect on our lives and our blessings, and we are truly blessed.   A different Christmas this year,  we are in Florida, shorts and sandals.   Last year we had Christmas Eve dinner with Mom, and she had a good day.  Today we will grill out by the pool. We are blessed to be able to travel and do the things we want to, while many in the world struggle.  We have MJ with us,  John is back in Michigan with his family.

So we wish you the Very Merriest of the Christmas season, may you enjoy friends and family, and find no lumps of coal under your tree!

Randy & Chris

Christmas Eve 2014

It already feels like we are nearing the end of November. And that means winter is approaching.   I did see some snow flakes in Menasha last week.   But we had a beautiful November day today. It made it to 60 degrees and sunny.   So we picked up some leaves for the last time, I prepared the lawn mower for winter now.   I know there will not be many more opportunities to work outside without frozen fingers!

But we have had a wonderful fall with many nice days. And our travels since New Mexico included Washington Island and Milwaukee. Next coming up will be Detroit for Thanksgiving, then off to Florida in December. For the Detroit trip, John gets my Mom’s grandfather clock since he spoke up once to tell her he would take it!   And we will make Florida for the Christmas boat parade, then I will come back for some work, and am planning to drive a car down for Christmas.   Chris will be there an extended time this year, and I am afraid the car we have left sit in the salty air all year won’t hold up.   Plus it gives us a chance to get some things moved down to Florida that we do not fly with.

Chris has been busy on her yearly hat making for Mary Jane’s elementary students.   She will have made 50 hats this year. MJ gives out the hats and gloves for Christmas and they are always a hit with the kids. Besides the fact most of those families can’t afford to buy them winter clothes.

So we hope you are having a wonderful fall also. And happy birthday to my brother!

Enjoy.

Bright November sunshine

Before the leaves fell

Joining the bitters club on Washington Island

Hats

hats,

and hats.

We have had so much fun the last couple of weeks! Marie and Albuquerque were fun and relaxing. We saw a lot of the beauty of New Mexico on this trip. And we tried to help out with a little yard work while we were there.   The end of the trip was up to Denver.   The ride from Albuquerque to Denver is awesome.   So beautiful, so many different views.   We will do that again! We met up with good friends in Denver for a Rehfeldt wedding.   Congratulations to proud parents Steve and Nancee and beautiful bride Kristin.   While we were there we spent some hours at the Denver Botanical Garden with Mark and Terry.   We enjoyed our hours there. We had a lot of fun, saw wonderful sights including the Castle where the wedding was, shared some beers, and took in the sights. The worst part was heading to the airport at 5am after the wedding. But it was worth it for seeing the blood moon eclipse while being up in the mountains.

Marie’s house

We were lucky to catch the showing of these horses throughout the garden

misting pool

Well summer is almost officially over!    The days are much shorter and I am told leaves are starting to turn in Wisconsin.   But we are not there!    We have traveled south and are still enjoying some warmth.   We are in Albuquerque New Mexico visiting Marie.  We took 2 weeks and are having a great time.  We are both working while we are here, but arranging some days off and time to sight see.  Time is going quickly as it always seems to.

We spent one day driving to the Jemez Pueblo and doing some sightseeing.   In 1540 Coronado and the Spaniards came through this area to explore and conquer.   In the early 1600’s the Spanish came to colonize and Christianize and the Jemez historic site are the remains of the church and grounds built about 1621.   It is pretty amazing stuff and one can only imagine the work it took to build walls up to 7 feet thick with local materials.   And the area is a beautiful drive and considered a must see drive.   The rock formations and coloring leave you awe struck in the bright New Mexico sunshine.  That is an area we could go back to!   So it was a great day,  Marie’s friend Fawn joined us on our journey, and we even managed to find a winery hidden in the hills.

And we have managed to find a few brew pubs, and of course  the New Mexican food we love.  Although one of our favorites this trip boasts Albuquerque Soul Food, and the chicken and waffles have made the national foodie shows!    And we spent one afternoon taking a trolly tour of Albuquerque to learn a little bit more.   It was an entertaining tour and showed us lots of places we need to go back and visit.

But this trip will be over soon.  We will end by driving up to Denver for a wedding this coming weekend.  So Chris and I will get some more sight seeing in and spend a couple of days with friends.  Then back home!    Hope you all are well, Enjoy.

Entrance to the Church at Jemez Historic Site

the church originally had a choir loft and wooden roof

The hillside above the church grounds. Millions of years ago volcano’s were common in NM

they say the hot sulphur springs are proof the volcano’s are still alive

The owner was inspired by Star Trek Next Generation to name the brewery Nexus

the Red’s did not come out on any of the pictures as intense as they are in real life

We are well into the Wisconsin summer and trying to do all we can to enjoy it.   I have been lucky enough to get some golf in.  We currently are camping in Peninsula State Park in Northeast Wisconsin.  Last year was the first year we missed in 35+ years, so it is fun to be back.  Seeing lots of old friends and relaxing.   And the park is always beautiful.   This year we do not have a truck or a trailer, so we rented a trailer from a local dealer.  It was made more difficult since last week was the Experimental Aircraft Association fly in and I think all the dealers in the state committed their rental units to the EAA.  But we worked out a deal and it is working out fine.  Marie has come along,  but she has a hotel room!  We have a few more days of enjoyment.   Oh, and we also made it to the Packers Shareholders meeting!

Peninsula Bay

We hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend, even those out of country!  A big deal here in the states to celebrate the country’s independence, although too often we may forget how good we have it.   We are living a good life here.   Work sucks some days,  but it is a means to an end!   We have been enjoying the summer.   We have made it to a number of farmer’s markets and there are more vegetables all the time.   Walking the morning market with some fresh sugar snap peas and a cup of coffee works well.  No boats this year, so no rides but no maintenance!  Our wonderful neighbors held their Independence day pig roast and fireworks before the 4th this year.  And somehow they managed to have more food and better fireworks than ever.     And being out for a walk or bike ride is very enjoyable, our summers are short but good!

For the long weekend we made a Michigan trip.  We spent a few days with Mary Jane and John in the Grand Rapids / Holland Michigan area.   We like Western Michigan a lot, and we are usually there on the ‘edge’ of the seasons and not summer time.   So we walked to lot’s of shops and of course a few breweries.   We took the car ferry across Lake Michigan.   I was again happy NOT to drive through Chicago.  2.5 hour relaxing ride is much better.   And we had very nice rides.    Next up will be getting ready for the Door County camping trip in a couple of weeks.  So we hope all is well with you, find something to enjoy in life!

Lake Butte des Morts

New Holland

Big Lake Brewery 2nd anniversary party

Founders Brewery

a great tap line up at Hop Cat

Grand Haven

Heading out on to the lake

the channel from Muskegon

Unloading the cars

Here comes the boat

Hello All.

Just a quick update from the Bauer household.  Nothing new and earth shattering!  We have made it into June,  1/2 way through the year already.     And the Wisconsin weather is starting to make us think summer.   I finally put more of my winter clothes away and brought out some of the summer gear.   A week ago I still started a fire in the fireplace, as night time temperatures made it down into the 30’s and threatened frost warnings for the plants.    But I think we have that beat now, think optimistic.   I have some plants in the garden and everything is growing well.   We had some rain last night and through tomorrow,  the temperatures are forecast to be in the 70’s and near 80 this week.  So I am much happier!

Marie is with us, she arrived in Wisconsin the week before US Memorial day.   Memorial Day weekend I took a couple of days vacation and we headed up to Hayward Wisconsin, the far northwest part of the state.   For a number of years now it has been our routine to visit with Dick and Carol who keep a very nice trailer on Sand Lake.   We no longer have our camping trailer, last year we rented one and drove it up there.  This year we went an easier route and rented a cottage!   It was nicer being next to Dick and Carol, but this was an easy drive up to northern Wisconsin.   The cottage was older but well kept and clean, and only 5 minutes to Dick and Carol.   We had another wonderful weekend.  The weather was better than we expected.  Dick and I spent a lot of hours on the water fishing, and did very well with our catches of Crappie.  Large sized pan fish that taste wonderful.   And we made time for some shopping and some favorite restaurants.   Thanks Dick and Carol, we had a blast.

So now it is settling into a summer routine.   I had to put a new battery in the lawn mower, and the grass is looking well.  It needs some fertilizer and weed killer but overall green and full.   The spring flowers have bloomed and the apples have formed on the trees.   We are forming our plans for our late July trip to Door County.   Last year we went to Europe and for the first time in 35 years we missed our time with friends camping.  So it will be special to be back this year.     And we are planning a Michigan trip for 4th of July weekend.   We have some things to get to Mary Jane and John so will meet half way and spend a few days enjoying southwest Michigan.  So the summer weekends are already getting booked up!

No progress on our house sale.   We are tiring of the process, obviously the value we and the realtors believe we have is not being seen by the potential buyers!  We have lowered the price to our bottom line and have had a lot of activity with people wanting to see the house.  But no offers.  Our realtor assures us the market is better than it has been for 8 years, so we agreed to keep it for sale another few months.   If nothing happens by then I think we will take it off the market for awhile.   But hope springs eternal we will find that right person yet.

We hope all of our family and friends are doing well.  We worried about family and friends in Texas during the recent weather problems, but it sounds like all is well.   Everyone deserves a break now for nice weather,   Enjoy!

I have been remiss in doing updates, not that you ‘all miss hearing from me!   Life has seemed as busy, or busier the last couple of months.   Wisconsin weather was good, then lousy, and now hopefully getting better.  It is time to get the yard cleaned up and have not done much yet.  The weather held us back, and then Chris was sick and had bronchitis,  then I had the flu and had pneumonia.   It seems we are still recovering!

But good weather helps, and we left Wisconsin and came back to Florida.   While it has been more rain than usual,  the weather has also set some new temperature records for April.  So I finally got warm!  Chris and I have been working from here, so our days are filled.  But we have spent some quality time with our 90+ year old neighbors Al and Viv.  Cocktail hours and favorite restaurants.   Chris and I made it to a local brewery (guess who’s idea that was?).   And we have had continued construction on the condo building.  Wait until this bill comes in!    A couple of weeks have gone by quickly and now heading home.   But it looks like the weather in Wisconsin will be welcoming.

The house is still for sale, and that is getting old.  We have had a lot of activity this spring and had some nice comments but no offers.  Lots of good things but most think the house should have more ‘finish’ and probably more room.  So we are considering what we want to do with the price.   Obviously the realtors just guess on a custom home like ours,  how much money do we need for our retirement?  We will see what is next.

In the meantime we are hoping for some nice spring weeks to enjoy.  We hope you are all well and enjoying life!

construction

Intercoastal in front of our complex

a calm ocean

barrel aged beers

Enjoying a beer!

It has been  a long week!  Chris and I arrived back in Wisconsin last Saturday Feb 14.   It is a shock leaving that wonderful Florida weather and hitting the cold Wisconsin winter.   And the last few days have been below zero Fahrenheit.  But that has been the easy part of the week.

We lost my Mom this week.   Assisted Living found her unresponsive in the bathroom Monday morning.   She was taken to the hospital and they guessed she has some type of infection in her system.   They found a UTI infection but did not think that was bad enough to be causing the systems they saw, and thought the infection may have entered her blood stream.  Skip and Claire spent a lot of time with her, but she was not recognizing or responding to anyone, and was very agitated and her body was in constant motion.  The hospital needed to restrain her arms to keep the IV’s inserted as they gave her antibiotics and tried to sedate her.   24 hours later and there was no change in her.   The antibiotics did not seem to be working and she had not calmed down at all.  The doctor felt she was in discomfort and pain, and we made the decision to give her enough morphine to calm her.   Mom was always very happy that even with her knee degenerated she had no pain, and that was one thing she did not want to have- pain.   Chris and I went down to Milwaukee Tuesday and we were all with Mom when she passed away Tuesday evening.

She has no more pain.   Skip saw her last week and she was doing well, and I spent some time with her before I went down to Florida.   I thought she was doing well, and am glad that when her time came to leave us that it went quickly.   She was ready.   She would have been 94 this week, and thought that is too long to live.   Having to depend on others to help her was understandably tough on her.  She had some wonderful caregivers, and some that should do something else with their lives.  Her friends and family are gone and she had few of us to talk to.   This last year she grew more tired, but she enjoyed decorating her apartment and outside of her door.  She still had a good memory and was very ‘with it’.  We say that assisted living will struggle without her, as she often would help the other residents who would forget their way.

Now that lent is here the church’s are very busy and finding and open time for a funeral mass was not easy.   Mom and I had discussed mass so I wanted that.  We will have a mass at noon on Monday in Greenfield.   We encouraged Mary Jane and Craig not to spend the high cost and the difficulty of traveling to get here for the mass.  The time spent with her while she was with us and keeping those memories is most important .

She is peaceful now.  She is with Dad again, and can talk to Lottie every day.

Emily A. Bauer (Nee Sikora),

Emily was born To Eternal Life on Tuesday, February 17, 2015, at the age of 94 years. Preceded in death by her loving husband, Russell. Loving mother of Duane (Claire) and Randy (Chris) Bauer. Beloved grandma of Mary Jane (John) Espina, Denise Bauer and Craig (Andria) Bauer. Emily was born in Milwaukee to Joseph and Anna (Nee Dudon) Sikora on February 20, 1921.

Visitation will be held on Monday, February 23, at ST ALPHONSUS CATHOLIC CHURCH, 6060 W. Loomis Rd, Greendale, from 10:00 AM – 12:00 noon. Mass of Christian Burial Celebrated at 12:00 noon. Private burial at St. Adalbert Cemetery. – See more at: http://www.churchandchapel.com/obituary/Emily-Ann-Bauer/Greendale-WI/1482394#sthash.GgGPvWw6.dpuf

Christmas Eve lunch

1979

Seems like I have been slacking in updates!   January has gone by and we are well into 2015.   January started off great, with Chris Mary Jane and I in Florida.   We brought the New Year in with Noel and Jo Ann in Estoro Florida.   They treated us wonderfully, and of course we left relaxed and our stomach’s full!   I stayed on in Florida until January 10th, and then headed back to real life!   December and January in south Florida were above average temperatures.  So even though Wisconsin temperatures were pretty comfortable compared to 2014, it still was a big let down to get back.   Marie came to Florida before I left, and has kept Chris company.   I returned January 31 and can stay until February 14.   This time Chris will come home with me.   We are lucky to be able to work as we travel, that is a big perk for us now in our last working years.  Being able to get away and enjoy some of life without having to burn our vacation time quickly.   No plans yet for what we do next in our travels.  Certainly we want to get back to Florida again, and we want to get to New Mexico this spring.   We will have to see how the cost of airfares rise around spring breaks and Easter and try to make some plans.

Since Christmas we have had  a lot of activity looking at our house.  We are told we have some very interested people, but no offers yet.  Oh well, it will happen when it happens.   We will just stay the course and continue to prepare for the next steps in our life.  Don’t stress the small stuff.  We are blessed to continue to enjoy life.   Being here in the warm weather is wonderful.   We spent part of the afternoon outside with our wonderful neighbors for cocktail hour.  At 90 and 93 years of age they are an inspiration!    We have met a lot of great friends, and certainly our Florida friends fit into that category.   Enjoyable to spend time with them and they are all very caring.

So we hope your winter is going well.  Stay safe.

cocktail hour

Ron and Verna, Marie and Chris