White Pines Inn

Friday, Dec. 17, was a beautiful, sunny, crisp winter day - a great day for an excursion. So, the four "ScoutAbouts" (Chuck, Linda, Carmen and I) headed to the White Pines Inn in Mt. Morris, Illinois. Our objective - to scout out the Dinner Theatre for a possible Learning In Retirement trip. Carmen had set up a free reservation for all of us to enjoy the buffet lunch and the show - a comedic rendition of the Christmas classic, A Christmas Carol! (Thanks, Carmen!)

The two hour ride to the White Pines Inn passed quickly. Much of the route followed the incredible Rock River - filled with wind-blown chunks of ice and areas of rapidly flowing open water. Along the way, we spotted billowing smoke from the gigantic stacks of a near-by nuclear power plant, and an enormous statue of  Black Hawk, the Eternal Indian, situated high atop a bluff overlooking the Rock River. (Check out more information about this statue.)

I've got to admit...once we arrived at our destination, this ScoutAbout was a little worried. We were in the middle of a State Forest looking at a log-cabin style building surrounded by smaller log cabins. Very few cars were in the parking lot, and it looked somewhat deserted. As we approached the "lodge," we saw a sign above the door - Family Restaurant and Dinner Theatre. Phew! All my worries were abated, and we entered. Since we were a little early the hostess sent us to the gift shop (and restrooms) across the way.

Around 11:45, the hostess began seating people. I am not quite sure where all of these people (and their cars) were hiding, but there they were - in line waiting for a table. We were seated at a table right inside the entry door, closest to the buffet. Speaking of the buffet...all I can say is, "Yummmmmmmmy." There were probably eight different salads, three main entrees, and three kinds of bread to choose from. You wanted to savor each mouthful, yet at the same time, couldn't wait to sample the next item on your plate. And for dessert, a choice of all chocolate or chocolate and white cake with VERY creamy frosting!

After lunch, the show began - a comedic version of "A Christmas Carol" with only two actors. I wasn't sure how that would work, until they explained that members of the audience would participate as the other characters! Well, they warmed us up with the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas. Previously, the audience has been divided into 12 groups and each group was responsible for their part. Luckily, the ScoutAbouts (along with a few tables around us) were assigned day 12, so we only had to shout out our group part once. The song did get the audience laughing and warmed us up for the comedy to come. Without going into too much detail, this was one of the most innovative ways to do a play that I have ever seen. The audience members chosen (at random) to play parts in the play, really put all they had into it. The rest of us were nearly rolling in the isles with laughter. And guess what! Carmen was chosen to play the Ghost of Christmas Future. She did an excellent job! Carmen, I think you have a budding career in Theater.

We were so impressed with the friendliness of the employees and the high quality of the food and entertainment, that Carmen made reservations for an LIR Special Events trip to the White Pines Inn next October to see a different play (with audience participation). I can't wait! It should be outstanding - and the Fall colors along the way should be awesome.

Enjoy a few pictures from our ScoutAbout adventure!

"Still Plays with Trains" LIR Class

The four week model railroading class I attended (through LIR) ended today with a tour of Kalmbach Publishing, the company that publishes the Model Railroad magazine. Chuck did an absolutely fantastic job teaching the class. We not only learned a great deal about model railroading, but we each put together a train car and made trees for the scenery. It was the best class I have taken through LIR so far! Enjoy the slideshow from our class and our tour of Kalmbach Publishing.

Click here to view our slideshow

Osthoff Christmas Market 2010

December 7th was a bone-chilling, cold day. Armed with my mug of hot coffee, I met Linda, and together we enjoyed a "girls day out" ride to the 2010 Osthoff Christmas Market in Elkhart Lake. Along the way, we made note of a few other places we would like to stop on the way home.

We arrived at the gigantic, white, heated tent shortly after they opened. The holiday smell of the fresh Christmas trees led us up the path to the entrance. Inside, Father Christmas wished us warm holiday greetings. As we walked toward the numerous booths to begin our adventure, Linda felt a drip on her head. Soon, we noticed that it was "raining" inside the tent. The heat inside and the overnight frost on the roof were colliding and creating a light misty rain. Thankfully, that did not last long at all.

Booths of every kind lined the perimeter and center of this huge tent: holiday decorations, clothing, food, wine, home decor, jewelry, and on and on.... Of course, Linda and I found "just what we wanted" and then ate a delicious bread bowl German soup lunch. Yummy! After one more trip around the aisles, just to make sure we did not miss anything, we headed toward home, making sure to stop at the wreath factory and cheese factory we noticed on the trip to the Market.
It was a wonderful day for a visit to a unique, winter craft fair!

Chinatown in Chicago

LIR Trip to Chinatown in Chicago - November 4, 2010

Learning in Retirement is a great organization. They offer so many wonderful and educational classes and trips for those that have the time.
On Nov. 4, a bus filled with 55 LIR members headed to Chicago's Chinatown. At the Cultural Center in downtown Chicago, our guide, Jason, boarded the bus. From the moment he boarded, Jason began a history lesson of what we were seeing as we drove through downtown. What a knowledgeable guide, and what a good speaker! We learned about the great Chicago fire, the railroads, the stock exchange, history of some of the buildings, etc. Upon arriving in the present Chinatown, Jason described every detail. Our stops in Chinatown included the Museum, a Chinese bakery, and the Phoenix Restaurant (amazing authentic food). After leaving Chinatown, we toured Little Italy and the Greek neighborhood, all the while listening to the interesting history of each. We even drove past Harpo Studios (home of the Oprah Show).

What a great, informative day! Thanks LIR!

Melting Pot Halloween Mystery Dinner

Halloween is such a great time of year. Adults get to relive a small part of their childhood and dress up in costume. When Malena told me that the Melting Pot was offering another Mystery Dinner and we could come in costume, I jumped at the chance. Not since I was married have I spent Teachers' Convention weekend creating costumes. Here was my chance. I decided to go as Sherlock Holmes - who better to solve a mystery. So I began planning my costume. I had an old black trench coat that was just the right length. All I needed now was the hat, the pipe, the cape, the magnifying glass, and a pair of men's pants with cuffs. A trip to Goodwill produced the pants, even though I had to take them in about six inches in the waist. I had planned to make a cape out of a black tablecloth I also found at Goodwill. I did not like the black on black, so instead I cut up an old, ripped duvet cover. Not only did I get a cape, but I was able to cover the two baseball caps (placed on top of each other facing opposite ways) I used for the hat. The hat I had found at the costume store was pathetic, although the pipe was just what I needed. There was even enough fabric for a tie (an afterthought). I did get a magnifying glass in the kit (from the costume store) with the hat and pipe, but found a much bigger and much better one at Pick 'N Save.

The Mystery Dinner was great. Kim and Malena came in costume, too, as did many of the guests.
We actually did guess the right suspect in the murder mystery, but then changed our minds at the last minute and got it wrong. And we even had two Milwaukee police officers on our team. Always go with your gut!

Malena wanted to go karaoke-ing  after the dinner. Here is the link to our very scary experience:
http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/YOTwEvSYhjUqYdS0  :) lol

Blessing of the Animals

On October 2, Rick and I decided to take our furry friends to church for the Blessing of the Animals (part of the feast of St. Francis of Assisi). Quite a group of animals and owners turned out: dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, turtles, and even a stuffed animal. Father Dave began blessing the animals in the line that Rick and I ended up in. He bent over each animal and placed his hand just over the animal's head. Well, when he came to Gemini (Rick's German Shepard), something very unexpected, and scary, happened. Gemini lashed out at Father Dave, scraping his thumb. Thank goodness, Rick and Father Dave have very good reflexes, otherwise this would have been a lot worse. For the life of me, I don't know what triggered Gemini's response. He is normally such a good boy. Next year, we will have to remember to bring Gemi's ball so his entire focus is on playing.

Did you ever have "one of those days"?

OK.  I know I am getting older, but in this case, that is no excuse. I was cleaning the house the other day - actually doing dishes. I loaded the dishwasher and noticed that I was out of Cascade dishwasher soap, so I looked through the bottles under my sink to see if I had a different kind. I found a sample bottle of another brand and squirted it into the dishwasher soap dispenser, then turned on the water saver mode. While the dishes were washing, I filled the sink and began washing those dishes that can't go in a dishwasher. A little while later, I glanced at the dishwasher. I couldn't believe my eyes! Soap suds were pouring out of it all over the floor. I felt like Lucille Ball in one of her I Love Lucy episodes. Of course, I looked at the bottle of dish washing liquid that I had used. Yup, it was concentrate, and I had obviously used way too much. To put a positive spin on this act of utter stupidity, my floor is nice and clean now!

Sister comes to visit

Wow! It seems like forever since I posted on my blog. I was busy planning a visit from my sister, Nancy. She is from Louisiana and visits every year in September, so I like to try to find new and exciting things for us to do.

This year my friends Carmen and Malena joined Nancy and I for a trip to the Fireside Dinner Theater to see Hairspray. The play was excellent! I can't remember when I saw a more perfectly cast performance. They were just awesome - even better than the movie. Malena brought her Hairspray CD so we sang show tunes all the way home.

I enjoyed my Labor Day weekend trip to Galena so much that I thought Nancy might like to see the quaint town. We picked a gorgeous autumn day to make the 3 hour drive. Along the way, we played our own version of Password, and we were both pretty good at it. While in Galena, we ate in the outdoor patio at Vinny Vanucchi's Italian Restaurant. The homemade mushroom soup just blew us both away! After lunch, we shopped and shopped and shopped. I bought a DVD version of Password for us to play at home. OMG! It has the hardest words to try and get someone else to guess. We both had a good time laughing at how bad we both were. I am hoping that the more we play the better we will get, just as we have with Trivial Pursuit.

All good things must unfortunately come to an end. I can't wait for next September to visit with my sister, Nancy, again.

Labor Day - 2010

Normally, on Labor Day, I am celebrating the end of the summer season and looking forward to a cool, comfortable autumn. Not this year. Instead, I decided to buy a new used vehicle. My 2001 Chevy TrailBlazer had 106,300 miles on it and was beginning to look and feel tired. Although, I had just had it professionally detailed, hoping to get a better value as a trade-in, and it looked spectacular.

I had spent several hours online doing vehicle research - figuring out what I wanted, what I would need to spend, and what my 2001 should bring. I printed out three vehicles that met my needs. By just a few days, I missed a great deal on one of them (a 2007 graphite gray two-tone Chevy TrailBlazer with very low miles). So, I found an equally nice one (with just a few more miles) and set up an appointment to take it for a test drive.

I met the salesperson, Kevin Gilbert, at Brookfield Pontiac GMC around 9:00 AM. We took the red jewel tint two-tone out for a test drive. Of course, I had to stop at Rick's so he could check it out, too. By 11:45 AM, Kevin and I had negotiated a satisfactory deal and I was on my way, anticipating picking up my beautiful 2007 TrailBlazer the next day.

I must thank Kevin Gilbert for a stress free car buying experience. Fortunately, unlike many used car salespeople, Kevin treated me with the utmost respect, and made my car-buying experience a pleasant one. Now there is a salesperson I would not only go back to, but would recommend to my friends.  Thanks, Kevin!

Those of you that know me, won't be surprised to hear that my new jewel red and silver two-tone Chevy TrailBlazer has been named. Meet Rosie! Now Dora, Rosie and I can begin our explorations!

Rosie - 2007 Chevy TrailBlazer

 Good-bye 2001 Chevy TrailBlazer! You served me well.

 

Scoping out Galena

Saturday, Sept. 4, was one of the most beautiful summer days so far this year - very low humidity, a too blue sky with fabulous fluffy cloud formations, sun, good friends, and a trip to Galena, Illinois. The four of us set out around 9:00 AM on Labor Day weekend. Traffic, surprisingly, was not too contentious - especially west of Madison. The scenery in the western part of Wisconsin is picture perfect - rolling hills, pastures, livestock grazing, bright red barns, and that too blue sky. Along the way, Linda gave us a brief history of how Galena protects itself from possible flooding. First there is a very large berm. If that doesn't work, Galena has built a 12 foot wall with very heavy steel gates. In fact, you pass through those gates when you enter the city. I almost felt like I was entering a less glitzy version of OZ.

Being Labor Day weekend, and Galena being a tourist attraction, there was nary a parking place to be had. We drove through the entire city, even looking behind the main street. We ended up parking clear on the far side of town. As soon as we all got out of the van, we must have heard our stomach's growling at the same time because all four of us chimed, "Let's go to lunch!"

A friend of ours had recommended an Italian restaurant, Vinny Vanucchi's Little Italy. She said the garlic bread is amazingly good. OMG, she could not have been more accurate. The garlic bread is not only all you can eat, but it totally surpasses Mamma Mia's (formerly, my favorite garlic bread). After stuffing ourselves on great Italian food, we rolled out of the restaurant and began scoping out the town for a possible Learning in Retirement special event trip. Every other storefront seemed to be an eatery of one kind or another. We visited several of the gift shops, stopped to taste (and of course, purchase) some wine made with Illinois grapes. Trolley tours of the town are available almost every hour on the hour, too. Linda was enticed by the fabulous smell of caramel corn, so we had to check it out. Here we found (and sampled) caramel corn of almost any flavor you could think of. I bought a bag of Maple caramel corn -- delicious!!!

Around 4:30 (just when our feet were about to fall off) we headed home with great information and great memories of a wonderful end to summer.

Since I forgot my camera (and we have not yet figured out how to get the pics we took with Carmen's phone off of the phone) the pics below are from the Internet.

Downtown Galena

Vinny Vanucchi's Little Italy

Galena Flood Gate

Click here to see a picture of the Galena Flood Gate

Celebrating the First Day of School 9/1/2010

What do you do on the first day of school? Well, as a retired teacher, you join your other retired colleagues for a scrumptious breakfast at the Original Pancake House on Bluemound Rd. Oh, yes. Ten of us enjoyed great stories and laughs, celebrating the fact that we did not have to begin another school year.

2010 Rose Garden Tour

If you love flowers, this was the trip for you: perfect summer weather, an air-conditioned bus, beverages and light snacks, breath-taking roses and informative, knowledgeable people. This was the Rose Garden tour offered in conjunction with the Miniature Rose Convention held in Pewaukee this weekend. We comfortably traveled to 4 impressive local rose gardens, including the garden of Bill Radler, creator of the KnockOut Rose. View a slideshow of my pictures (below) to experience the beauty.

August TUC-R Lunch Outing

Twelve TUC-R members enjoyed a great lunch at Potawatomi Casino today. As one group arrived, we decided to take a picture outside the Casino doors. Just as the picture was being snapped, a Casino Guard came out to tell us we were not allowed to take any pictures on the premises. I guess he should have told the person taking the picture instead of those of us in the picture. In any case, she got the shot.

One member decided to take a crack at one of the 2-cent machines while we waited for the others. She put in one dollar and after about 10 minutes, she walked away with more than $18.00. 

The food in the Fire Pit Sports Bar was simply scrumptious, and VERY filling. Yes, another fun lunch with TUC-R friends!

Eat, Pray, Love

What a fun way to see a movie! Yesterday, Malena, Laura and I went to see Eat, Pray, Love. This was not just any visit to the theater. We took advantage of a Cine and Dine event in the Palladium (at our local Marcus Theater). They were offering a 3 course meal that tied in with the movie. We began with margarita pizza, just as Julia Roberts did as she ate her way through Italy. While Julia was praying in India, we sampled delicious Indian shrimp and spinach, and while she was loving in Bali, out came the Balinese Chicken dish with rice and a very tasty sauce. As a compliment to the yummy dinner, Laura, Malena and I had to try one of the special cocktails, of course. Malena chose the peach sangria while Laura and I sipped the Starry Night - blueberry vodka, lemonade, and real blueberries. It nearly blew my socks off it was so good.

Geocaching Port Washington

To celebrate one of the more beautiful (and comfortable) days of this summer, my friend, Malena, and I took a short drive to Port Washington for an afternoon of geocaching. After lunch at Cousins, we parked at Lower Lake Park and began searching for our first cache, Shipwrecked View. As we walked, we realized that this cache was up a very steep hill. Upon finding a path through the hillside shrubbery, up, up, up we went. Halfway up this very steep hill (pausing to rest), we came out of the shrubbery into a prairie-like setting. Here we saw hundreds of dragon flies soaring all around us. It really was a beautiful and unusual sight. Finally at the top of this very steep hill, we saw gorgeous views of Lake Michigan, but noticed we were still about 40 feet away from the cache. At this point, Malena and I knew we were going to have to bushwhack part way down this very steep hill in a different direction if we wanted to find this cache. Following the compass on my GPS, I led the way, being very careful not to slip and roll all the way down the hill. (Did I mention this is a very steep hill?) I finally found the cache, signed the log book, and carefully made the climb back up the hill. I can understand why the terrain difficulty for this cache is 3 out of 5. (Elevation at top of hill is 645'. Elevation at bottom of hill is 543'. I can't even fathom what the slope of this very steep hill is!)

Our next two caches (Endless Possibilities & Mattie's Corner) were both in Upper Lake Park, and are in the Easy category. As we walked, we saw more breathtaking views of Lake Michigan, beautiful flowers, and many families having a great time on a gorgeous summer day. We found both caches without difficulty, and then headed down to Lower Lake Park - this time we took the road. We drove a short distance to our last cache of the day, Goose Poo View. Quickly, we located the cache area and found the cache container after rolling a short log out of the way. We actually did see several geese here but no goose poo (thank goodness).

Port Washington is a quaint little town with many more caches than we had time to find on this day. I am sure Malena and I will be back on another beautiful day to continue our geocaching adventures.

Click Here to see photos of our day (does not open in a new window)

Flash Flood - July 22, 2010

OMG! The rain just kept coming and coming - in torrents. Almost 6 inches of rain fell in my location in about 2.5 hours. Thank goodness I live on a hill. My driveway and the easement road to my driveway were not as lucky.

See the short video I posted on my YouTube site: Click Here (does not open in a new window).

The brunt of the storm landed in the city of Milwaukee. Many people had a lot of damage to their homes and vehicles. There was a (20 foot wide by 25 foot long by 15 foot deep) sink hole that a Cadillac Escalade fell into near North and Oakland. A 19 year old died when his car was overwhelmed with water after it was swept into a river bed.

TUC-R July Lunch Outing

On July 29, 2010, TUC-R members and their guests met at the Harley Davidson Motor Restaurant in downtown Milwaukee for a delicious and fun-filled lunch. Check out the pictures of the turkey burger (close-up) and the burger of the month, the "cherry bomb." It came with its own fireworks!

See pics of this event: Click Here
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Mimio Educator's Summit at Pawley's Island, SC

Yes, this post is out of sequence. I just recently started blogging about the "fun stuff" I am doing during retirement, and the Educator's Summit at Pawley's Island (July 11 - 16) was just awesome - definitely worth blogging about.

Karen and I left on Sunday, July 11, at 7:10 AM. This was my first plane ride since 2004, so going through security was quite interesting. The airport floors sure can be sticky! Next time I will know enough to wear footies or socks so when I take off my shoes I am not barefoot.

We had a very small plane for the hour and a half flight from Milwaukee to Charlotte, NC. It only held 50 passengers and was a little cramped. The plane from Charlotte to Myrtle Beach was much bigger and so much more comfortable, but that leg of the journey only took about 45 minutes. Go figure!

Karen and I had a great condo to stay in at Pawley's Plantation - two bedroom, two bath, living room with a screened porch, dining/sitting room, and kitchen. My bathroom was twice as big as my main bathroom at home.

We had a "get acquainted" get together on Sunday evening and met all of the people (face-to-face) that we have worked with online. What fun! The food at this function, as well as all of our breakfasts, lunches and dinners at Pawley's Plantation, was very plentiful and simply sensational!

The entire week was work, work, work (but fun work!). We did have Wednesday afternoon off, so Karen and I decided to take a tour of the famous Brookgreen Gardens near Pawley's Island. Between the raindrops and humidity, we had a truly outstanding time. The grounds, sculptures, and boat excursion were breath-taking. I learned quite a bit of history about rice plantations during the time of slavery, too.

The only glitch in our entire trip was missing our connecting flight (in Charlotte) on the way home. Instead of returning to Milwaukee at 9:00 PM on Friday, July 16, we arrived at 1:15 AM on July 17. I got home about 2:00 AM. Thank goodness the next day was Sunday, so I could rest (and of course, do laundry!)

See a slide show of our pics:  Click Here
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Judy & Friends Trip to Drury Lane Theater

Another fantastic day!!! The Judy and Friends bus left the Park & Ride at 9:30 this morning bound for the Oakbrook Terrace Drury Lane Theater in Oakbrook, Ill. On the way, we made a short stop at the Mars Cheese Castle in Kenosha, WI, to shop (of course). I bought a very nice (yet inexpensive) garden angle. Then off to our destination. Upon arriving we entered a gorgeous building filled with crystal chandeliers. We entered the huge dining area where we saw table after table after table of desserts, fruits, salads, pasta, main entrees too numerous to mention, an omelet and waffle bar, a kids table, etc....need I say more!   After being seated at a round table with other members of Judy and Friends, we filled our plates time and time again, trying to taste as much of the wonderful food as we could without bursting. Rolling out of the chairs, we made our way to the play, Sugar, which is a rendition of "Some Like It Hot!"  It was so funny!!! The actors and actresses were all perfectly suited to their roles. It was all well worth the money! Thank you, Judy, for organizing this trip!


Then to spoil this great trip, I realized (on the bus ride home) that my iPod was gone. I don't know if it fell out of my purse somewhere along the way, or if it was taken out of my purse at the buffet. No matter, it is gone. BUMMER!

Had a great time with CustomCrops.com at the 2010 Summer CHA Super Show!

Malena, Jeanne, Sarah (Jeanne's daughter) and I had an awesome day at the Chicago Craft SuperShow! We drove to Antioch, Illinois, where we caught the Metra train. A short, relaxing hour later we got off at Rosemont and walked about 3/4 of a mile to the Convention Center. WOW! What a huge show. Just like most conventions, we collected a lot of freebies and signed up for several drawings. Fiskars (the orange-handled scissors company) offered a scavenger hunt to do as we visited the booths.   

Malena and Marci having a blast with CustomCrops.com!

At the Custom Crops Photo booth, Malena and I had our picture taken for their very cool contest. Take a look - it is really cute. Don't you just love the cricut glasses we are wearing? If our photo is selected at random, we could win a $100 gift card from CustomCrops.com. Awesome! 

Marci is a Winner! 

Jeanne is a Winner!

The highlight of the event was that Jeanne and I both won prizes from drawings we had entered. I won a cricut Super Man cartridge, and Jeanne won an entire basket of craft books.