Ringing In The New Year

First of all an UPDATE on my stepdad... Lowell has been moved to a Hospice Care Center in Sandusky, about 45 miles north of their apartment in Ohio.  Mom is able to stay in the room with him, sleeping by his side in a large lazyboy chair.  They are getting his pain medication under control... as the patches were no longer working for him.  She will let me know more in the morning after conferring with the docs.  The place is very nice with staff focusing on comfort for end of life care with cancer patients.


We decided to head up north for our second annual New Years Celebration at my sister's tavern.  Last year she and her husband and their brotherinlaw took over ownership on New Years Eve....  and we drove up 170 miles to surprise them with coming through the door in masks and party favors... they had NO idea who we were! LOL Here is a blog post from last year:

Last Year's Holiday Blog

Link to Fuzz and Dave's Mid City Bar and Grill Facebook Page

This year, Steve and I drove up earlier in the day, and stopped at dad's cabin to snowblow...  nephew Matt had just been there and got most of it done before getting called away for a family emergency for his wife's father.  (hope your dad is doing much better Amanda!)   We drove up the rest of the way to Michigan and checked into the Bicigo Hotel (my brother Butch's house)

A little trek down town and I made this little video clip of "lapping the gap" to put on the "I Grew Up In Iron River, MI Facebook Page"   .... 

https://www.facebook.com/kareninthewoods/videos/10207939940037167/

We stopped for some good ole Riverside Pizza (it's award winning pizza and voted the best in the whole state many years in a row!)   

I can still taste this pizza by looking at the pic!

It has a flavor like none other I have ever had. Yummmmmmm

We found this fun video game with an exact likeness of Steveio,

My Brawny Lumberjack Man! 

Our grown kids with their spouses Erin and Waylen, Heather and Jesse, met us over at Bicigo's Hotel... we got our doggies settled into crates and headed out to my sister's bar.  

Wheee heeeee  it was fun!  

Here are some pics...... 

My sister gave bar tshirts to myself and both daughters...

The bar was full of old and new friends, some relatives and of course US!   My sister put out quite an array of free food, with the evening feature, King Crab Legs!   What a nice treat!!!  

Thanks for hosting a great evening...

Schmoo, Fuzz and Dave! 

  

We finished up the Old Year and greeted the New Year with

a kiss, a dance, and then I was the DD home...(Designated Driver)

After I safely delivered everyone back to Hotel Bicigo, (and we did see one police officer)

the die-hards stayed up till 4 am playing traditional cribbage around my brother's table... 

this is a yearly event.  I went to bed! 

The next morning, I had taken the dogs out for a potty break.... and as I brought them back up into our guest room, Steve noticed one of my brother's cats snuck into the room.  Instead of being SMART and shooing it out with my foot... what did I do???  Yes, I picked it up, and carried it up over the dogs in their crate.  They barked, the cat hissed, and twisted... and I either got clawed or bit, not sure which.   Four spots, one deep into a vein.. OUCH!  

I bandaged it up... and later poured peroxide in it.  No biggie, right? 

About an hour or two later, the finger started to feel numb. Hmmmmm  then it started swelling.  I put on a bag of ice and we headed on back home to Chilton.  I was driving because a certain Steveio was still under the weather with "New Years Flu"     As I drove on the three and half hours, my finger and then hand started to swell more and more.  I was feeling pain by the last 20 miles.   OUCH! 

We dropped off the dogs and we headed on over to the walkin clinic on New Years Day....  turns out all animal bites automatically become emergency room visits!  Oh well, we will meet our deductible on Jan 1 already!  ....  I do not know if it was a claw or a tooth, but the ER staff said it didn't matter, because cats carry a certain bacteria in their mouths that is also on their paws and claws from licking.  

They said almost all cat scratches and or bites result in infections!  like 90%!   Sure enough... that was me! 

The bacteria in a cat's mouth is called Bartonella, it is responsible for "Cat Scratch Disease."

They took down all the necessary information and we proceeded with treatment.  I was given antibiotics and pain killers and instructions to come back if I see red streaks up the arm. It's going to get worse before it gets better they said. ACK!   They treat all cat scratches the same as bites, because the intrusion of the bacteria is the same.  

Sure nuff... it did....   and by Saturday morning I was oozing, in pain, and the hand and arm were puffy too!   

But by Saturday afternoon, the antibiotics were kicking in and I was doing much better.... 

Here I am this morning, just 36 hours later, and it's amazing the difference! 

The swelling is gone, I can feel with the fingertip as well as the whole finger now,

and it's no longer oozing.  The arm and hand are fine too. 

Thank goodness for antibiotics!

So that is how we rung in the New Year..... 

After Christmas and Starting the New Year!

We made it through the Christmas Holidays in pretty good health...  we also made it through the grandkids' school concerts, the tree cutting, the house decorating and the family celebrations.  It was wonderful....   and as it all came to a close, our health declined and the flu bugs and/or colds took over.  We are both sniffling and snorting and coughing and hacking today as I type this!

Our little Binney, the rescue dog, is fitting in nicely.  She is slowly learning all the rules and routines of the house. She has walked around on a harness and leash, and did a lap around the block.  She seems to want to cuddle a lot and hide out in the "safe spot" on the couch next to me. We are bringing her out of her shell slowly as much as we can, and Finnegan is teaching her to follow him around too.  She seems to be really attached to me, so Steve is bribing her with bacon and giving her lots of attention when he is around too. She is a good sport with the photos and dress-up.  LOL

She is not yet playing with toys, but we have gotten some tail wags, some raspy barks (she has been surgically debarked by her previous owners) and some twirls and whirls in happiness as we come down the stairs.  She also discovered that each morning is a great time if we plop them up on our bed for morning snuggles!

It will be a slow road to get her to acclimate to walks, people, other dogs, and camping.  We are sure she will adapt, but we will take on one thing at a time. While we were gone for Christmas Day and then again on New Years Eve, both dogs were safe and sound at Stockbridge Critter Sitters Day Care and Boarding Kennel.  Owner Lisa Martin took good care of them, and let them sleep together in the same crate at night too. Binney is still an escape risk, so it was best for them to be safe at the boarding kennel while we were gone. A strange dog in a strange house and people in and out can be a recipe for disaster.  Best she is at a secure kennel where she can be safely watched while we are gone.  We adopted Binney through the owner of the kennel, who also runs the Wisconsin Sheltie Rescue program.  Lisa is very aware of the needs of a newly adopted sheltie and takes great care of our dogs.

Before the holidays started, I was frantically finishing up three quilts for our grown kids... two king sized and one queen sized.  Whew! I was sewing almost every day, evening and into the night.  I managed to get them all done in time!!!

This is Steve's new toy that he got for Christmas. It's called the Flame Genie and runs on compressed wood pellets. Great for a portable campfire to take along camping!  We have emerald ash borer infestation in Wisconsin and cannot transport firewood for camping. It will also be good in the desert on vacation where firewood is scarce.  Lit up in just a few minutes. Full flames in 10 minutes.  Safe to cook on and smells like a real campfire but no smoke!  Nice....   we got it via Amazon from http://www.pelletfirepit.com/

Here is a little video clip of us lighting it in the driveway on Christmas:

Christmas Day was pleasant and great weather for driving.  We headed down to Belgium, WI to have a family celebration with the other Pfundtner's at Steve's sister Lynn's house.  We gathered for a nice meal, and lots of family laughter and some silly games and gifts of course too.  Since losing Steve's mom two years ago, we all have a sad spot in our hearts by not having her there on Christmas Day. It doesn't seem the same, but we forge ahead and create new memories. Sigh.

On the weekend after Christmas it was time for our family celebration with all of our children and grandchildren.  Our daughter Erin has a very big house, with more than enough room for all the kids and toys and food and sleepovers for everyone!   We dropped the dogs off at the kennel for an overnight and headed on up to Oconto.  It was raining and all of the snow has melted. We didn't get a White Christmas at all.  

It was so nice to see all of the kids and grandkids....  we piled up some presents under the tree and our daughter Erin put together a great meal, with everyone bringing something to share. The house was decorated nicely and the tree was splendid..... and started out like this:

and soon it was looking like THIS:

bwahhaaahaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

and here are all of our little Packer Fans in their jammies 

from Granmuddah and Granfaddah Pfun!   

TOUCHDOWN!!!

It took until midnight for the wee ones to slow down and I magically got them ALL asleep at one time... on sleeping bags on the floor of the kids' bedroom.  Shhhhhh  I tiptoed downstairs to join in the adult fun.  We played card games, drank, laughed and had a great time....  With Steve leading the way at the head of the table!

  

Erin's friend Waylen made chocolate pudding shots in these cute little tiny red solo cups. 

The card games were fun and the family had a blast...  

We are missing our son Mike on these type of family gatherings, 

wishing there was one more couple, 

a few more grandkids to add to the pile,

and more laughter and beer for Mike! 

We managed to stay up to about 2 or 3 a.m. before heading off to bed...   but the VERY BEST PART of the whole weekend was when five little Packer Monkeys came jumping in on our air mattress in the play room at 7 a.m.!!!  Oh JOY!!!! This is what I live for, of course!

New Years was the next holiday on the horizon...  we made some hotel reservations up in Iron River Michigan for the family and dropped the dogs off at the doggie daycare again for an overnight.  My sister Linda and her husband Fuzz, along with their brotherinlaw Dave bought the old Mid City Bar in Caspian, MI 2 blocks from where we grew up.  I recall going there as a child and getting penny candy in little brown bags and handing over a dime to old bartender Steve or Rose who counted out our candy to be sure we only took 10 pieces.  Great memories.  Now the bar is owned by my sister and family. This is their first week of operation since taking it over.... and we decided to surprise them! 

Facebook Page for Fuzz and Dave's Mid City Bar

We came in masked and decked out in New Years celebration garb... and shouting and hollering about where was the party!!! What a surprise!!! 

 We brought them an antique neon Old Style sign for a "bar warming" present that we all chipped in on.  Old Style is Fuzz's brew of choice, so it really fit the place quite well.  

Family and friends gathered for the evening at the bar

and soon it was time for MIDNIGHT

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I was the Designated Driver and got everyone back to the hotel safe and sound.  whew....  In the morning we headed over to my old stomping grounds, Mertin's Cafe.  I worked there from 1975-78 all during high school.  It's now called Main Street Cafe, but to me it will always be Mertins.  We gathered around the "big table" and had a nice goodbye breakfast before it was time to head on home....

and we drove back home to pick the doggies at the day care!   

Colds and flu or whatever overtook us now,

and we have been sick since. 

Made up a pot of chicken veggie soup

and we are taking it easy after a very busy two weeks!