VACATION- Tennesee Time with my buddy

Ahhh to wake up in sunshine and warm weather!!!!  Although it got down to 28 overnight, and snowed a little dusting overnight....  the sun soon brought us up into the FIFTIES!!!   It was sweatshirt and slacks weather, and we were sooo happy to wear shoes instead of boots.

Steve was able to get the water pump to prime once things were easier to see in the light of day.  Not sure what he did, or what I did, but between the both of us, we got the pump working.  That was one more relief and pressure off of our minds.

Steve unhooked the Tracker and ran it over to a nearby car wash to get some of the salt off.  We carried a LOT of Wisconsin Road Salt down on the surface of the Tracker and some on the sides of the motorhome too.   We will wash that probably as we head on down the road and find a truck wash somewhere on the way.

At noon, our friends Linda and Mark came by the park to pick us up for lunch!  We went out to a nice place called Aubrey's for a good meal....

I have known Linda for many years now, and we are weaving/spinning/fiber buddies and best friends for a long time.. along with our third of our Trio... Rosie.  (we stopped at her place in Bethel, MO last vacation on our way back from Texas)   Sure wish we all lived closer together!  We write, chat, email or phone each other multiple times a day.  The spring before we sold the other house, they both came ALL the way up to my house to help me deplete some of my weaving stuff, and they hauled home a full van of goodies!

Linda has a weaving studio and some lovely looms... we spent the afternoon on her little farm, gazing at her pregnant mommy goat, and her HUGE great Pyrenees dog, Max, who guards her little herd of goats.....

 (maybe the baby goats will be born while we are here?) 

We oohed and ahhed and gabbed and chin wagged our way through her studio... it's very nice and she has such good taste in decorating her area around her workplace.  I will ask her if I can post some interior pics on my next blog.

The guys kept themselves busy chattering away about this and that....   and it kept them outta OUR hair!  LOL

We drove back to the motorhome to find both dogs snoozing.  I woke them up as I came inside.  They didn't even hear us drive up or even when I turned the key in the lock.  We had cordoned them off in the bathroom and bedroom of the motorhome, behind a babygate.  That keeps them off the front dash or trying to climb up to look out the windows.  With fresh water and food, toys, and their doggie beds, they were cozy and comfy. We turned on a tv loud enough to drown out any noises from outside that would cause them to bark.  Duke is good, but this was the first time Finney was left alone in the motorhome without us.

We asked the folks at the campsite across from us if they barked at all.  Nope.. they had even been sitting out and had their door open and didn't hear a peep.  Whew!  

Nothing can be worse than being stuck next to an RV all day long with barking dogs inside and the owners nowhere in sight.  We have put up a video camera in the past to film our dogs while we were gone, and it's pretty boring viewing.  Duke and old Ducky were always very well-behaved campground doggies.  We need to train little Finney to do the same.  I think he is off to a good start.

I took them up to a fenced in doggie play area in the RV park we are staying at.... and I had a tennis ball for a romping rolicking good time!  Soon they were both panting so we brought them back to the motorhome for a drink and rest.

Before we left Chilton, I had purchased two unbaked pot pies from Hilde's Deli.  We had froze them before we left Chilton and had them along in the motorhome freezer.  I popped them in the oven for 25 minutes and soon our meal was done. Ahhhhhh  a bit of Wisconsin on the Road.

I facebook'd Hilde and told her that now her foods were "imported" !  hahahahhaaaaa

We decided to stay another day at The Escapees Raccoon Valley RV park here in Heiskell, TN.  Tomorrow we will do some sightseeing, thrift shopping and museum going with our friends Linda and Mark.  Sure wish Rosie was with us.....

NO miles traveled today in the RV

Whirlwind Week of Weavers!!!

First a quick shout out to my darling daughter, Heather.  27 years ago today, she came into the world, our youngest child.  She is now a Mommy herself, and she knows what if feels like to love a child too.  We are so proud of you Heather, and may you never lose your sense of humor---- as much as you deny it, you are soooo much like your mother! 

Now back to fiber things... the subject of my blog.  

Oh my goodness a whole week has just FLOWN BY!   My darling friends Linda from Tennessee and Rosie from Missouri hit the road last week and worked their way north to my house.  

We got a desperate phone call from them when they were 90 miles away in Oshkosh with a vehicle breakdown---  ABS brakes went out and they only had the hard-to-press-feet-to-the-floor pedal!   The mechanic there was not able to work on them for a few days, so Steve (our HERO!) said he would drive it himself the rest of the way home.  We hopped in our Tracker and buzzed down to Oshkosh while they languished in the luxury of free WiFi at the McDonalds. LOL     

Got in our hugs and greetings ...  and then while Steve drove Rosie's minivan, we gals all piled in the Tracker to gab gab gab our way back to Oconto.  What fun!  We started talking on Wednesday night and didn't stop talking till the following Wednesday morning, a week later as they departed!   ----- and I am NOT exaggerating!

(left to right: Linda, Rosie and Karen) 

The purpose of their visit was to start dismantling my loom room in preparation for moving.  They had already helped me decide with photos via emails about who was taking what weaving stuff back to who's studio.   They are both weavers.  The only item they BOTH wanted was a cute old barrel, that was really lined inside with a thermal layer and plastic, so it was really a cooler!   Here they are still figuring out WHO was gonna get that barrel.

Even now as I write this, I am not sure which one got it, but all I know is that it was loaded in the van.  Perhaps they are gonna toss a coin when they part ways in Illinois and head East and West to their own respective studios?  

One of the items being dismantled to haul away was a rug loom... so here I am weaving off the last rug before we tear it apart.  Between the tears falling and the sobs shaking my shoulders I was singing a song to the tune of "It's the Last Song I'll Ever Write For You"   by Edward Bear

It's the last rug..... I'll ever weave on you

It's the last time that I will put the shuttle in your shed

It's the lasssst tiiimee I'll ever weave this loom ....  

The rug coming off this loom for the last time is an order for a fellow RVer, so it will have a special place.

Please keep in mind, I am not stopping my weaving.  I am taking along my table loom inside of the motorhome where it has a perfect place to ride along.  And in the basement compartment is a rug loom that can be assembled in about 20 minutes.  I can set it up under the awning or take it into a rec hall at an rv park with permission and give demos too.  Or set up when staying at friends houses or family visits easily in a garage or storage shed.  Never fear, I will always be a weaver!

We did some fun things while the gals were here.  At one point we NEEDED ice cream, and the gas station about 5 miles up the road has hand dipped Cedar Creek ice cream waffle cones.   Throughout the gas station are the traditional Wisconsin tourist items----  including bags of cheese curds, sausage, carved log yard decorations, and yes, even CheezeHeads!

We spent days sorting and packing and organizing... the gals were SO helpful to me, and we got a lot accomplished and figured out.  They staged the items in order of preference and necessity in rows in the garage.  Then as Rosie would load, they could cull or add as space allowed.

As the loom room cleared out, Rosie had more room around her air mattress, surrounded by yarns and baskets of fibers.  Ducky the collie loved sneaking down to bunk out with her every chance she got.  Linda was using the guest room with an air purifier as she has trouble with allergies and dog fur.

At night, I had to block off the stairs down to the loom room with a baby gate to keep our dogs up on the main floor... they moaned and groaned and wanted to go back down and sleep with their new friends!

Rosie does get quite a bit of winter snow over in Missouri, but our dear Linda from Tennessee was hoping to see some REAL WISCONSIN WINTER!!!  Most years in March, we Wisconsinites are sitting under a foot or more of snow, and having temps in the 20-30 range.  If you have been watching the national weather, you will know we are having unseasonably WARM temps in the 70's and 80's!   The only snow we could find was this crusty old dirt ridden snowbank for Linda.   She sure is happy we found at least ONE bit of snow for her.

(I guess the snow angels she was dreaming of making are out of the question?)

Down the road a bit from our house is a tall pine tree where a pair of eagles nest every year.  The female is now setting on the nest and the male is bringing in food on a regular basis to his bride.  We see him scanning the area from wayyy up high as he cruises along over the fields and up the river.  Sometimes we see a flash of wings and water as he grabs a steelhead salmon that are spawning in the river right now.  Off he goes to feed the mommy-to-be waiting in the nest.  One year the local University came to film these eagles in their nest.  They set up cameras and cords and cables (and left a mess!)  so they are not welcome back anymore on the neighbor's farm.  Now the eagles can come back and nest in peace. 

One day during their visit, we took a little break and buzzed up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, to the town of Menominee, to get some pastys (pronounced pah-steez) 

History of the Pasty

When one thinks of gifts from other cultures that carry with them great historical significance, one usually doesn't think of food.  In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan there is a food delicacy that has gone ethnic to multi-ethnic and finally to regional.  To many people in the Upper Peninsula, the pasty is much more than food, it is an identifying cultural mark that gives them their own identity.  While it is a source of great pride to this region, the pasty itself, especially its ancient history is shrouded in mystery.

        The easiest way to describe a pasty, is a pot pie without the pot.  Nobody knows for sure where and when the pasty originated.  It's thought to have been invented when the preparation of food became an art rather than roasting a hunk of meat on a stick.  The pasty came to the Upper Peninsula through Cornwall England.  When tin mining started going bad in England during the 1800's the Cornish miners immigrated to America hoping to earn there fortunes in newly developing mines. 

http://www.hu.mtu.edu/vup/pasty/history.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasty 

We also managed to rediscover The Elegant Ewe fiber store... it moved down the street from it's previous location, to this huge lovely historic home, set on the shores of Lake Michigan and the waters of Green Bay.  We browsed and fondled and oogled and ahhed over the delightful treasures within.  But remember, I am DOWNSIZING so I kept my wallet in my purse!  Rosie was tempted to succumb to her lust, and came out with a bag full. 

LOL LOL LOL   Here is a link to their shop:   http://www.theelegantewe.com/

In between all of our running around and packing and sorting, Steveio was diagnosing and repairing Rosie's brakes. We brought it to a place to diagnose on a computer, and then Steve brought it over to our favorite repair guy too.  The guys found a good "fix-it" work around because it was just a bad wire to the boost pump, and not the master cylinder and ABS pump components to replace after all.  Honestly, they used WIRE TIES AND DUCT TAPE!!!    He was able to get it operational to get them back home, and then she already has a newer van lined up for purchase.  Then this one's job is done. 

He was also kept busy (and away from us gabbing ladies) by mounting our Tracker tow bar, cleaning the garage, and getting things ready for a showing of our home to prospective buyers!   Yes, we had a showing on Sunday!  While Rosie and Linda were busy packing up the van, we brought some prospective buyers through the home, along the river, around the yard and through the garage.  Will hope to hear from them soon before the house is scheduled to go on the market the beginning of April, as they wanted *first dibs* to get in and look! 

Rosie and Linda started organizing and loading.  They wanted to keep all of the nice heavy Rubbermaid totes I was getting rid of, but unloaded the contents into soft squishable trash bags, and then stacked the totes into tight columns.  The bags got squished in to corners and narrow spaces. What a great idea! Rosie is my HERO when it comes to packing and organizing!   They even worked well into the night, packing and arranging, while Steveio held a shop light to see what they were doing.  

 I made a list on a clipboard of every single thing they loaded... 

but Rosie said I could not publish it!  LOL 

Yes, all of my well-loved treasures were loaded up and tucked in here and there...  destined to adorn a new studio and be loved some more!   But it is still an emotional thing, ya know what I mean?  I also think part of the sadness is knowing that Rosie and Linda will be leaving in the morning and that makes it even more depressing.

Look, there is still room for Linda to ride in the passenger seat. We had seriously thought about strapping Linda to the roof rack for the trek homeward, because of the need for space inside for precious fibers and tools!  (just kidding, Linda) 

Wednesday morning was D-day... time to pull out.  They loaded up a few more things, including a llama... (stuffed one from Peru) and headed out.  The van was a bit squatty on the road, but Rosie has hauled live llamas, feed, hay and many other heavy items and knew it could handle it.

They made it safely down to Illinois last night and are splitting up the load and each heading to their respective homes this morning.  I cried as I watched them roll out of sight... and watched till the van was far around the bend before turning back to my nearly empty Loom Room.  Thank you gals for taking my things to love and cherish.

On a motorhome note, last night Steveio did an oil change on the big diesel engine (28 quarts of oil)  and we took it for a little cruise around the country to give it a little exercise.  Onwards to our new life! 

.

Grinning from ear to ear sooo wide --- his ears almost popped off!

(catching up on blogs this morning, this is about Friday)

This strange bright round ball of light appeared in the sky, after six days of rain!   Wheeeeee it was time to show our visiting pals a good time and get out and about in Northern Wisconsin!

We got going on Friday morning because our destination was the Steam Engine Train and historic Logging Camp at Laona, Wisconsin.  It's called Camp Five, as all logging camps in various companies were just numbered here and there as they were erected and used till all the timber was cut, and then torn down again.  But this one was close to a town, and remained intact.  Now as a museum, it is funded only by donations and ticket fees, and functions with a foundation that accepts donations to keep it going.

http://www.camp5museum.org

Sam is an absolute train nut, so we wanted to show him about the old steam engines in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.  We had been here years before with our kids and friends, and felt it was worth the 80 miles to get in a visit.  Steve stayed behind at work, so us gals gabbed all the way up to Laona in a truck of clucking hens with rooster Sam at the wheel!

We bought our tickets for the ride and waited at the station.... dontcha just love this pic?  

And it turns out, for an extra fee, this big big grinning guy gets to ride up front  

IN THE STEAM ENGINE! 

I can hear that train a comin

She's rollin round the bend.....

Sam got acquainted with the crew, and soon was up on the deck and into the big train engine, grinning and waving and having the time of his life!   I could tell this was quite the event for him, and we women were teasing and laughing at the little boys and their great big toy!   The guys running this train are all volunteers--- doing this because they love trains.  I think if Sam lived in Wisconsin, his whole summers would be spent here helping to maintain and run this train!!!

See him up in the front as I leaned out from the next car to snap his pic... I have a feeling he was oogling and touching every lever, wheel, button, gauge and dial.  They even let him blow the steam whistle!

We found seats in the cars, or we could opt to ride in a caboose or out on a bench on a an open flat car.  It was still a little cool out, so we rode inside.  The conductor came through and gathered our tickets, and then we were underway!

Just love the authentic old seats, iron work light fixtures and luggage racks.. and the windows would still open up too!   The old passenger cars were in very good shape and well taken care of.

The train wound it's way along the tracks, through the woods, at a nice speed to enjoy the effects of rocking along the tracks, but not too fast or too long to get boring. There was even a Hobo Camp set up alongside the tracks.  We arrived at the Camp Five logging museum, general store, farm and picnic area. The grounds were immaculate, and the staff very friendly and helpful.  We spent the whole day wandering around the exhibits and buildings, learning about the logging era of Wisconsin.

(that is Donna and Sam sitting on the bench after walking all over the grounds) 

We saw goats, horses, a tiny calf, pigs, goats, chickens etc.  

It was such fun playing with all of the animals, and I got kissed by a STUD! 

We wandered among the displays, and enjoyed the artifacts and history about logging in the Wisconsin Northwoods.  A young man was adeptly showing his blacksmithing skills.

After a few hours of walking around the grounds, we found a picnic table to enjoy our lunch.  Coolers of food can be brought along on the train, or food can be purchased on site.  We also enjoyed some pie and ice cream...   We hit the General Store and bought some gifts for the families back home.

After a full day of exploring, we caught the train for the ride back to the parking area and depot.

This time we chose to ride in the caboose.  Everything was authentic other than the pile of firewood next to the coal burning stove?  LOL ... but I am sure that if there were lumps of coal in there, kids would be tossing it around and making a mess.  There were two cabooses hooked up, I am sure for the piles of kids who insist on riding in the back on the crowded weekend groups.  This was only on a Friday, so we had the whole caboose to ourselves other than one family.

These fine little ladies were able to ride up in the cupola seats of the caboose.  

They took a few pictures for me, including the group shot above.

I handed them the camera to snap some shots out of the top cupola windows of the caboose we were in.  One of them got a good shot of the engine as we rounded a bend... look at the puffs of black smoke! 

Sam made friends with the caboose agent--- just look at the smiles on both of them!  

I think it will take many many many days to wipe that smile off Sam's face... 

He was grinning so wide, ear to ear, 

that his ears almost popped right off his head!!!

And as fellow RV blogger Judy says:

"THE END"

Visits with Weaving and RVing Friends this week

There is a big weaving conference going on in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan this week.... called the Midwest Weaving Conference in Houghton....

http://www.midwestweavers.org/conference/index.asp

Turns out that a fellow weaver, Carol from Tennessee, was going.  She offered to let Linda from Tennessee hitch a ride!   They arrived here at my house about supper time on Saturday.....   after hugs all around, we sat down to a quick dinner I had made up.  We drank a toast to friends, fun, food, and FIBERS!

(left to right:  Me, Carol, Linda) 

We gabbed and gabbed about all our weaving stuff... they came down to my loom room to check out my "digs" and share about looms, techniques, classes, projects etc.  The conversations went on and on and on... till midnight!   But wonder of wonders, the next morning, we had MORE to talk about!  LOL 

All too soon on Sunday, Carol had to leave to finish trekking up north to the conference.  She was scheduled to take classes all week up there, but Linda stayed here in Oconto with me.  We might be able to head up that way by this weekend and attend the Rag Rug gathering, but we are not registered for any classes.  There are various vendors, meals and displays to wander around if we do.  Plus, somehow I have to get Linda back up near Carol for the ride home which is in a different path than the way they came.   It's either that, or I slap some stamps on Linda's forehead and dump her in a mailbox.....

Later on Sunday, our RV friends, Sam and Donna from St. Louis, MO came to visit us!  Their blog is:
 http://samdonna-5thwheelvagabonds.blogspot.com
They snuggled their fiver in next to our rig, due to all the rain lately we decided to keep them there than let them park onto the grass out front...  just so we don't need the neighbor farmer's tractor to pull them out!

No matter WHERE Sam is, he has his coffee and his blog,
along with his darling wife Donna and their faithful dog-child Riggens!

Riggens and our doggies got along famously, they had met back in February when we headed out west. Riggens brought both of our doggies some new toys, but sometimes he wants them back....

On Monday night, Sam took over my kitchen and made his Grandmother's Genett famous meatballs... what a FEAST !   And it was quite a treat to let him take over our kitchen and make us a meal.

 Chef Samuelletti Gionavelli

Along with some bottles of wine they brought from Missouri, we had our feast....

Steveio did some repair work on the roof of their fiver with his handy-dandy ladder

We gals headed over to Brubakers General Store run the by local Mennonites.  The fresh baked breads and lovely packaged bulk seasonings were a delight to shop for.  The chicken eggs were fresh from the chickens clucking out in the back yard, free ranging.  The strawberries we bought had just been picked that morning too... right outta the field and into the store.  No middlemen or preservatives!!!

Steve and Sam solved all of the world's problems.... 

Linda and Donna got along quite well... Linda is working on some new hats with her hat loom device, and Donna was catching up on some blog reading on the laptops.  We actually have FIVE laptops here this weekend--- thank goodness for routers!!!

Riggens noticed something out on the deck.... hmmmm wonder what it could be?

AH-HA!!!!    Mr. Racoon Burgler Thief after the grape jelly put out for the oriels. 

No wonder the wear robber's masks, hey?

Well... this is as many pics for now to fill the blog, and we woman are going to town to get some shopping in, and have a lunch with little grandson Jameson.  Sam is hitting the National Railroad Museum and sad sad Steveio is stuck at work today....