We made it back home to Oshkosh Wisconsin!   Unfortunately it was in time for the temperature to be dropping!   But not too bad,  we just had to break out the warm coats we were wearing when we left in December!  But it has been good to see old friends again and start visiting our old ‘haunts’.  It seemed a little ‘weird’ for both of us to be back in the apartment.  We lived here just last year and then were gone for 6 months, so it is still new.   Everything was good when we got back and we are into some more ‘cleaning’,  there was a lot of paperwork and files related to our old work lives that will not be needed anymore.  So we plan some changes to rid ourselves of some file cabinets and a desk this summer.

We had a very nice ride home.   We had no reason to hurry so took in some sightseeing.  We started our trip in Jacksonville Florida having a nice evening with Jeff VW, an old high school friend of mine.  We all had lots of weekends together over the years and lot’s of stories to reminisce about.  Jeff showed us some nice spots along Jacksonville Beach and we talked about his hopes to retire this year.   We will be getting together more in the future.

Upon leaving Jacksonville we headed for Northern Georgia.  We made plans with more old friends, Dave and Stacey and Curt and Lynn.  Dave and Stacey have a home in the mountains north of Atlanta that we met at.  We drove north to Savannah and then through Georgia.  A pretty ride and interesting as we drove north to see hay being cut and knee high corn.  Now in Wisconsin we see fields being worked and some just planted.  Northern Georgia is in the mountains and the town we stayed in bills itself as Helen Georgia a Bavarian town.   And it was very nicely done.  After grilling out one night at Dave’s we all spent a day walking through shops and restaurants.   It was a rainy day so we did spend some time in some establishments.   And in a nod to our younger days we spent some time in a German bar playing sheepshead and telling stories!

On leaving Helen we took small mountain roads north.  We were in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky.  Our destination was Danville Kentucky.  I have an old boss who lives there that had told me to stop by if we made it to the area.  And since Kentucky always looked interesting when I drove through it, and they happen to have some bourbon there, we decided to make it to the area!   We did some sightseeing in Danville, visiting the house where a Kentucky doctor did the first successful abdominal surgery in 1809 and our first distillery! And my old boss drove us around the area giving us a tour and we had a tasty dinner with another old work mate.

Leaving Danville was a short trip to Louisville where we planned our next stop so we wanted to see some country side.  Kentucky is horse country with green rolling hills and lot’s of limestone water which makes good bourbon.  We stopped at Four Roses distillery and Wild Turkey distillery.  We had lunch in a small Kentucky town.  When we got to downtown Louisville we stayed across from the Louisville Slugger baseball bat museum and had time to take the tour!  It was fun and we left with our souvenir bats and back to the hotel in time for the Manager welcome party and local beers and wines.   Which prepared us to make it to a nice restaurant for dinner.  Downtown Louisville has a large selection of restaurants and they all seem to offer bourbon flights for tasting which gave me a chance to try some new bourbons, and I took advantage.  The next day we visited the Muhammed Ali museum and Churchill Downs. Both were well worthwhile.  The tour at Churchill Downs was very interesting and the guide was very knowledgeable having gone to the track all the years since his mother started taking him as a little boy.  Great stories. And we saw where the millionaires sat on Derby day and where the other 180,000 people were.     Beside the beautiful seating there is even a crystal reproduction of Churchill downs on display.  And I had my first mint julip with lunch.

The next days plan was to get through Chicago traffic which we did safely.  The usual slow downs but we did OK and stayed in Kenosha Wisconsin overnight so we could get home fairly early the next day.   Now more plans and a continuation of our learning about retirement life.   Marie comes into Wisconsin this weekend and we will spend a couple of nights in Milwaukee.  Then next week up to Hayward for my fishing trip with Dick and Carol.   And later in the month over to Detroit, July to Door County and a few side trips to fit in the next couple of months.  Life is good!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is almost 6 months since we arrived in Florida.   It does not seem possible.  The days continue to fly by.  The sad part is seeing our neighbors leaving, we have had so many days of sharing fun time.  We have shared grilling out, cocktail hours, coffee and cake, and had an A&B building breakfast.   All of which we talk about doing more of next year!  The positive of condo life is seeing neighbors and asking what is on their agenda, or what we can add to it for later today or tomorrow!  But we have good friends back home that we will be able to share time with soon, and we look forward to that.  Marie is coming to Wisconsin late in May, so we need to be home by then!   And we have plans to be in Hayward to end May and start June.  So our plans are starting to form for the ride home.  We plan to spend some time sightseeing on the way home, so at least a week on the road.  We will put more plans together over the next few weeks.

We want a warm June Oshkosh.  Will I have to wear socks and shoes?  Charles just sent a picture of it snowing in Switzerland, that is the closest I want to come to snow.  We continue to feel blessed for the life we live, and pray that it continues.  I shared my retirement party with Steve who is now going through radiation treatments.  So as we look forward to the end of his treatments and spending time together we know it could have been any of us who was in his place.  So each day remains special.  Enjoy life until we see you, then let’s party.

 

Another month has gone by already, it seems hard to believe.  But we have been busy so that must be why!  Friend Mike visited with us after Marie left.  We did some local sightseeing, and brewery tours; and took a few days to Tampa.  We met friends Jeff and Becky there and toured Cigar City Brewery and the Ybor City area.  Besides our hotel horror story it was a wonderful time!  We ate and drank our fill, and even had a local cigar.  After Mike left Chris and I started emptying out the condo.  Our tile was coming and some furniture was destined to move on, so may as well have less to move as the tile went in.  I removed all the baseboard in the condo before the crew came.  Luckily they removed all the carpet and hand carried all the tile up to our 2^nd floor condo.  We are very happy with the crews work and craftsmanship.  In 3 days carpet was out and tile in.  And we are very happy with our clean bright condo.  We had talked for a few years about more bedroom storage so the next trip was to IKEA.  We had picked out a dresser we liked so one wall is now dressers and plastic bins have been put away.   I became quite good at assembling dressers and drawers, and night stands.   We also added a dining table we have been without for a few years.   In a small condo we wanted space that the original dining table did not leave  us.  We finally found a drop leaf table to mirror the antique we have at home.  Small for most of the days that are just Chris and I but affording us the ability to seat 6.   Neighbor Ron helped me (actually I watched) put in all the new baseboard.   He is a craftsman and it really finished off the rooms.  Everything but the closets are freshly painted, and they may get some work next year.  But we are thrilled with our new condo.  And it was time for some relaxing after a few weeks of work.  We took the South Florida Tri-rail to Miami Beach for a day.  New sights to see.  How can you beat a $5 day pass that included the Miami metro rail.  It was a fun day.  And to finish off the month we made a trip to Ocala to visit Chris’s Swiss cousins.  And to meet cousin Elizabeth that Chris had not seen in 60 years.  The Swiss brother and sister had some to Ocala to visit her and we did not want to miss the opportunity to see them all.   We were treated so well in Switzerland, and now treated so well in Ocala.  It was fun to catch up and continue to piece together pieces of family history.  Chris is blessed with wonderful relatives and it is a shame a lot of years went by without contact.  So some of our Florida friends will be leaving soon, the snowbird season is coming to an end.  But Chris and I have no plans on when we will leave here.  We need some time to relax yet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over a month into retirement and time is flying by.  We have not settled into any routines, each day is new.  We have some projects underway.   We have made progress on some painting and just signed to have tile installed throughout the condo.  That is something we have been thinking about for several years and now is the time to get it done.  So we looked at lots of tile and think we have found a reliable company to deal with.   Will let you know how that project goes!

Marie took us on a cruise for Chris’s birthday.   We left from Miami for a three night cruise to the Bahama’s.  It was relaxing, plenty to eat and drink, and we had great weather.   Our friend Audrey is an experienced cruiser who helped us find a good deal and showed us the ropes!  I enjoyed being on the ship more than going on shore, and since it was only 3 nights I was still finding my way around onboard.  There is a lot of real estate to explore onboard,  I may have missed a couple of bars.

And we went up to Port Canaveral to visit the girls’ cousin Jackie and husband Tom.   They treated us great and we had a good day of catching up, and stories!   And Chris was treated to another birthday cake.  We need to go back for some sight seeing.

Marie was headed home to Albuquerque today, but Mr President is campaigning  and her flight could not get into West Palm on time.  Try again Sunday morning. That is what she gets for voting for him.  Our friend Mike is coming down for a week starting next Tuesday, although it looks like Wisconsin is having its own heat wave!  But we will get him some sight seeing and sun and taste a few new beers!  And when he leaves we will try to get the tile project done and then a few things need to follow that up.  March will be busy.  So take care.

 

 

Well into January and enjoying life!  Florida weather has been wonderful, especially since I was home for below zero weather in Wisconsin.   But after I retired January 6,  I flew back down to the good weather.   Although it does look like Wisconsin is having a mild January.   I spent my first week of retirement preparing our windows new blinds we had ordered.  The windows needed a fair amount of patching and paint.   But they look good now, and the rest of the winter I will work on patching and painting other walls, slowly…       The second week of my retirement we went to the Florida panhandle to pick up Marie who was staying with old friends.   And on the way home from there we spent a couple of days in St Augustine.  St Augustine is the oldest continuing settlement in the United States.  Lot’s of history and an enjoyable time.   Our old friend Jeff VW joined us for an evening.   We especially enjoyed a tour of the Flagler College, the first major building ever constructed of concrete and wired by Thomas Edison 8 years before the white house.  It is impressive.    We have not settled into a routine yet, just enjoying each day as it comes.   It is wonderful, and will continue with that plan for as long as we can!  Best of health to all for 2017.

 

 

We are almost to Christmas and we wanted to make sure we did not miss telling anyone that we wish them a very Merry Christmas.   Many blessings to you and yours.

We certainly feel we have had many blessings.  We will enjoy Christmas in Florida, and the weather has been beautiful.  Above average temperatures here in south Florida.  Mary Jane flies in Christmas Eve and will be with us.  We came directly from Chris’s retirement luncheon on Dec 1.  My work has allowed me to to stay until after Christmas.  Then I return north until I retire January 6.  And hopefully that will be the last of cold and snow I see!  We will not be back for awhile.  We had a nice Thanksgiving in South Haven Michigan.  Then Chris’s retirement luncheon, they honored her with a very nice lunch in Waukesha and many old friends and the owner came into town.  The drive down to Florida was good, and now we have been enjoying each day.  And January will be better!

Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

 

We have had a beautiful fall here in Wisconsin.  Above normal temperatures and lots of sunshine.  The way I think it used to be!   But it has been above normal and there are averages, which means it will need to be below normal some days.  So yesterday morning we woke up to some snow and howling winds.  Back to some sunshine today.   The leaves are off the trees though,and we are in the grey days of early winter with bare trees and ominous clouds.   But we will take the blessings we have had.   The Oshkosh Christmas parade this week had the warm weather and the crowds with their children were out.  And we have many blessings to be thankful for as we head into this Thanksgiving week.   We have a house rented again in southwest Michigan for the holiday weekend and will share time with MJ, John, Skip, Claire and Denise.

And the following week Chris will be retiring and we will go to Waukesha for her retirement party at the office.   And then from there we start heading south to Florida.  So we will be there for the Boynton Beach Christmas boat parade the following week.  I have been given permission to work from Florida until after Christmas which I greatly appreciate.  Of course they don’t know what they will get out of me, since I am retiring Jan 6,2017,  what are they going to do fire me?  I have started transitioning my workload to someone and have some projects to work on in December.  So it is an exciting time.  We have spent a lot of time on Social Security, Medicare, insurance and what do we need to take to live in Florida for a number of months?   All good things.   So more excitement to come as we prepare.  We even have new phones (and yes I finally have a new smartphone and a new phone number) and there will be other things to take care of.   It will be good.  So we wish all the best for everyone on this holiday, and my next pictures may look a little different!

 

The month is going by quickly.   We continue to have a great fall with above average temperatures.  It has been filled with chances to get outside and chances to see good friends.  We took a trip to Washington Island off the tip of Door County.  Friends Steve and Janet invited us along last year and we enjoyed their friends so much we had immediately planned to go back.  We traveled up on a Thursday and stayed until Saturday morning.  In between we enjoyed some fresh air, some biking, too much food, and lot’s of great conversation.  It was great.  And we left early for another special event, Mike Ortiz’s wedding day.  It was hard to leave Door County but at the end of the day we were very happy we did.  A very special ceremony we were blessed to be present for.  Judy radiated the love in the room and we know Phil was there.  Thanks to all of our old friends for spending time with us, Darren thanks for spending some time with us old folks.  And I made it to this years Packer game.  My homebrew friends shared a warm Sunday, steak, lobster, great beers, even brandy Alexanders.  A lousy Packer game, but still a great day.   We sure have a lot of fun!

The end of the month we have our annual physicals coming up.  So some lab tests and visits with the doctor.  And planning ahead for November and a Thanksgiving trip.  And hoping this good weather continues.  Get out and enjoy it.

cooking at the game

 

 

 

 

Things are right in the world.  The Green Bay Packers came out strong Aaron Rodgers throws 4 touchdowns in the first half, and they beat the Detroit Lions.  The Wisconsin Badgers had a big win yesterday.  Work will be more upbeat this week!  And Wisconsin has had a nice weather run in September.  Temperatures well above normal,  you know I like warm!  It looks like fall is coming this week, but still just getting back to what is expected for the end of summer.   So we are hoping for a nice long fall and not an early winter.  It can hold off until January!

And our next step towards January and our retirement.  We picked up a new car for Chris yesterday.  This will be our car for our retirement travels.  We hope to see a lot of country and wanted something dependable and comfortable.  So we had our car guy start looking and found a 2015 Lexus with 15,000 miles.   So now Chris has to learn how to work everything, since this is her car!

So we hope that early fall is good for you.  We had stir fry again today with fresh vegetables from the Farmers Market. It has been fun walking the market and choosing what we want to eat.  Looks like snap peas are done but brussel sprouts, beans, broccoli  all have some weeks to go.

Enjoy!

Unbelievable summer is almost gone!  And I am way behind in updates.  Time to start getting back on track.

It has been a busy summer.  Bike rides, Door County camping, EAA, a trip to Colorado for me.  Marie came north in May and was with us until August.  Mj came in June and we explored downtown and even got a boat ride in.  Door County took 3 weekends of July.  I worked 1/2 days during our 2 weeks there which enabled me to get some golf in.  And always good to get some time with old friends.

We made it home from Door County in time to see some of the EAA from our roof top, which was pretty cool.  And we moved again in August,  just one apartment over.  We gave up our 3 bedroom apartment for a 2 bedroom which was always the plan.  It was our easiest move ever!  And we have been enjoying Saturday morning farmers markets on Main Street in Oshkosh. http://www.osfmi.com  We love interacting with the community and with all the current fresh vegetables we have broken out our wok pan to enjoy them.  We did miss the farmers market for Irishfest weekend.  We have missed very few of those over the years, and enjoyed it again this year.  Lot’s of music, food, and a few beers.

And Chris and I are taking a serious look at retirement.  Chris has told her employers that December 1st will be the end of her 49 1/2 year career with them.  A big step.  And I may not be far behind her.  So lot’s of things to research and think through.  But it is exciting.

So we hope everyone has had a wonderful summer, and look forward to the next time we see you.