Ooooh My Parents are Almost Here - and Replacing Sash Cord in Our Old House Windows

My parents are heading up north for a family wedding this weekend.  We are waiting for them to come to our home and ride up with us on Friday in the motorhome.

They took off from down south in Georgia on Aug. 5th...  they showed up in Ohio at my step sis Tonya's house and posted us a pic on Facebook. So we knew they made it that far by Aug 7th.  LOL

Then this morning they posted from my cousin John's computer in Cedarburg, Wi... so we know they made it to Wisconsin!   We chatted for a while, which was a good thing.  My sister Linda and I have been going through "Mom-Withdrawals"!!!  Since they moved from Florida to Georgia this past spring, they do not yet have Mom's computer hooked up at the new house.  So we have not been able to chat, send pics and share blog posts.  Oh my!

They will be visiting with relatives and friends in Cedarburg for a day or two, and then be up here to our home in Chilton by Thursday.  It's only 60 miles from there to here. Easy Peasy.  Then they can help me load up the motorhome for our weekend up in Escanaba, Michigan.  My brother Butch's youngest son Darren is marrying Chelsea and we are going to have a great time!  The motorhome is our travelling hotel room, and the dogs can go along and enjoy the weekend too.



Today was a rainy day which was just fine by me. We really needed it and got about 2 inches.  My rainbarrels had been empty for three days now and we needed some fresh rain for the lawns and my tomatoes!   I hate to use city water on them, and having the rain barrels provide good water is an added plus.  I have been picking 5-6 tomatoes a day now and enjoying them in our evening meals--- plus a few sliced up on a plate as a treat.   Soon there will be enough to can a few jars every other day of stewed tomatoes to restock my shelves in the root cellar.

I was weaving most of the day, and took a break to run some errands.  Then I had to stock up on goodies for the grandtots in case they come out into the motorhome to rest before during or after the wedding and reception.  Granmuddahs gotta do that, ya know.  I am thinking my folks are sleeping in our rig with us, but tossing in a few grandkids for morning cuddles will be fun too

Now for some repairs to Our Old House!  

I figured I would post these pics of a project we did over the weekend.  Of course, you know we own a very old home, 100 years old.  The windows are old fashioned wooden sash type with raising panes that have window weights in the casings.  From time to time the old woven cords will break on either side and the weights fall down inside the casing.  Some of our windows have just one cord intact, which lets the window operate, but a little harder to raise and lower.

Finally one window in the dining room broke it's second cord.  Time to replace it....  so I bought a new hank of  "sash cord" at the hardware store. Do NOT use clothesline, it's not made the same and will stretch after a while.  Sash cord is braided differently and made to not stretch out.

Okay.. now it's time to fix the broken window cords....

First step... get a tall man to fix it for you.  

Then you don't have to stand on a ladder!!!!

He removes the two strips of wood along each side of the casing 

which are attached with screws

Now we can remove the window pane and remove the broken rope. 

The rope is only held onto the pane by a double knot in the end of the rope, 

to make a lump that fits in the circle part 

and the rest of the rope just lays along in this groove....  that is all. 

No other means of attaching it.

Next we unscrewed the bottom portion of the casing on each side to remove the weights and the bottom sections of broken rope down inside the casing.

These are the two window weights that came out of the bottom 

of the casing openings. 

Yup, they are very heavy. 

Bright idea from Steveio:

Save the two pieces of the old rope and place them end to end 

to measure when cutting the new rope!  

NO guessing for how long it is needed.  

We cut both ropes exactly right for each side of the window. 

Now it's time for MY bright idea! 

Drop a fishing line with a sinker weight attached down from the top roller 

through the little hole at the top pulley wheel, 

and let it drop to the bottom opening to serve as a guide string.

Now tie it onto the new rope and pull it through the casing into place!

We then strung the new ropes and brought them down to the bottom and 

tied them securely to the weights. We set the weights back in the bottom openings. 

(there are also another set of weights inside the casing... 

 for the top pane of glass to be able to open it from the top down,

 but we didn't fiddle with those, they were still intact) 

We pulled the knots at each of the tops down along the casings on each side.

Best if you have two people to do this part.  

One to lift the window pane into place 

and one to guide the cords on each side into the slots 

and line up the knots in the circular holes along the window frame.

I could not take a picture while we were both having our hands full. 

Onec we had the knots and cords lined up on each side, we 

slid it into the window frame and pushed it into place.

Last step, putting the wooden pieces back into place on each side, 

and securing them back on with the screws... 

---15 minutes---

DONE! 

Now, I might explain why I posted this.  I like posting the repairs and modifications we do to Our Old House.  But also I posted this because it was a VERY easy job.  And because my husband has been complaining that he wants to have NEW windows installed.  I counter with the fact that I love these 100 year old windows and they are charming and quaint and lovely.... and VERY EASY to fix when a cord breaks!  I don't want new windows on Our Old House. 

You see my point? 

heh heh

Smokey Bear's 70th Birthday Party and High Cliff State Park's 50th Anniversary

Steve has been a proud employee for the State of Wisconsin for 36 years. He has been with the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources at High Cliff State Park for the past 2 years now. Can you believe it's been 2 years already?

Did you know that it's also the 50th Anniversary for High Cliff State Park???... and it's Smokey Bear's 70th birthday!

They had a special "task" to ask of Steve for Saturday.  It seems Steve is the only employee in the park that can fit a certain costume... hmmmmmmmm

(I am not allowed to post pics of him getting assembled into this costume, 

but rest assured, it was a funny event----) 

Meet------- SMOKEY BEAR!   

The official name is "Smokey Bear"  .....   only later when composing a song was the word "the" added in between to make the words in the song easier to sing.

I was dubbed "Smokey Bear's Friend" to help guide him around and hand out treats.  Those big heads don't allow you to see downwards towards his feet too well, and we can't have Smokey tripping over some little tot wanting a hug now, do we?

(there are ice packs inside the suit that slide into pockets to help cool him, 

and a fan inside the top of the hat)

HERE ARE SOME VIDEO CLIPS OF THE DAY

Smokey walked through the woods on the way to his birthday party..... 

And once there, he was introduced as the guest of honor! 

Some of the older folks even remember ALL of the words to the song:

The birthday cakes were served, with ice cream and drinks... and all the children and adults took part in wishing this very hot bear a Happy Birthday!    

Many folks posed for pictures, and Smokey got a LOT of birthday hugs! 

 With the acting Park Superintendant Linda Guelig and Park Naturalist Cindy Mueller

Now.. I know there are a LOT of pictures here, but I could NOT resist... and had to post many of the good ones. Most of these photos were taken by our friend Craig as I was a bit busy to be snapping shots of the event. I was handing out pencils, coloring books, tattoos, posters and bookmarks.  I was helping to coax the shy ones, and helping the gregarious huggers to take it a bit easier on Smokey. It was SO much fun!

Seeing all those smiling faces, and hugs from young and old alike.  It really warmed my heart.  I was so proud to be a part of such a great day!

  

Meeting and greeting all the guests at his birthday party

Group shots of families will make great additions to their family albums

So much fun, from the youngest to the oldest folks...

I am thinking that Smokey made a few new friends

 Just look at those smiles!  and oooh the High Fives for the ones who didn't want to hug

When these kids go back to school, do you think they will say they met Smokey?

Yes, Smokey Bear even assisted this gal in a wheelchair with pushing her over the uneven ground 

and back to the parking area.  What a thoughtful bear! 

 This passing car-full of kids saw him trekking across the parking lot on his way back to the office.. and they all piled out to eagerly pose with him for a photo opportunity! 

And the last pic... as a very very hot Smokey Bear went back into the forest.... 

REMEMBER--- 

ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT FOREST FIRES! 

Meeting RV Friends for the First Time and some Motorhome Jobs

Well, it's back to blogging again. I FINALLY have some RV stuff to blog about.  First off, Steveio decided that he needed to replace the back shocks from Bilsteins to Konis , then he lubed all the grease zerks, (even the elusive one on our fan shaft) and also changed out all of the brake fluid with new fresh fluid.

Note- he worked soooo fast on all of these things, I didn't even know he started on them until he was all done! That means I didn't get any pics either. arrggghhh! 

On Thursday we had the opportunity to meet up with fellow RV bloggers Merikay and Craig of the blog  http://merika-merika.blogspot.com   This link will lead you to her post about our visit, so you can read each of our accounts of the last five days.

We have read each other's blogs for many years now, and encouraged each other through the process of  downsizing, packing, selling and moving out of our large homes and into an RV to live full time.  They are now travelling full time in their Alfa See Ya Diesel motorhome and tow a Jeep around America.  (we took a slight detour after living in our rig for 5 months when Steve took another state position with the DNR to work at High Cliff State Park)

After all these years of comments, support, and emails of the journey each of us has taken, we finally got to meet IN PERSON~!   They were coming into the area after visiting relatives in Milwaukee. We guided them to a local campground about 15 miles from our home.  We offered our driveway but with only 20amp service, it might not be enough to run the air conditioners if the weather gets hot and humid.  So they pulled in to the campgrounds and got settled on Thursday.  They called us just in time to meet us in town for the free City Concert at the Fairgrounds in Chilton.  Featured was the Chilton City Band for the evening, complete with brass, woodwinds, tubas and percussion.

Last year, both Merikay and I had our eyes on a sweatshirt available from the https://theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com  so we both ordered it. We knew we each had our matching sweatshirts, so it was decided, like a "blind date", that we would both wear our sweatshirts to the concert to easily identify each other!   LOL

We settled in our lawn chairs to enjoy the music, the companionship, and enjoy watching the little children dancing and prancing around to the tunes.  In between every few songs, they had door prize drawings for locally sponsored prizes.  Craig won a certificate from the local bank to come in and redeem for $5.00!   He passed it on to me later to donate to a charity, which I chose the Wisconsin Shetland Sheepdog Rescue (without them I would never have gotten Finney!)   

We stayed late past the end of the concert and headed home after dark.  They had a short drive back to the campground and we headed on home in Chilton.  I suppose we could have tried to get reservations to the same campground for the weekend, but we had some other special plans for Saturday that needed us elsewhere---- more about that later! 

On Friday, they came over to our house for our "grand tour" of the home to see it all in person.  They had followed along on our blog each step by step of the things we had done, but now they got to come and see for themselves.  haha.  We shared a glass of wine and waited for Steveio to get home from work.  Friday nights are famous for Fish Fry's in Wisconsin... and we had a treat in store for our guests.  

Many small towns dotting along the lakeshore of Lake Winnebago have residents who form "fishing clubs" which do various fundraising events throughout the year.  The proceeds are used for many things which you can read about on this link http://www.quinneyfishingclub.com/   Fishing Clubs usually have a building and grounds to hold events, fishing tournaments and places to store some boats and gear.  We drove on over to Quinney, a small burg not much more than a crossroads on Hwy 55 west of here.   

We had little coupons that were handed out in the parade in June to give us $1 off our perch frys which were $12.  Our neighbor even gave us her coupon too.  We stood in a line for a short time, then zoomed through the food process as each of our containers was filled with our choices.  Oh my.... besides the four generous pieces of big perch, coleslaw, and rye bread --- the german potato salad I chose was wonderful!   Steve chose baby red potatoes, while Merikay and Craig had french fries.

The beers were a DOLLAR a cup, and the desserts were a DOLLAR each... homemade by the best of the best wives in the fishing club, each one outdoing the next on how much goodness they could cram into each of the little boxes.  We sat down to enjoy our Wisconsin Perch Fish Fry!

With full bellies, we wandered on back to our house for a glass of wine and relax a bit on the front porch.  Soon it was dark and time for Merikay and Craig to head back to the campground. We had a BIG DAY planned for Saturday-----

I AM GOING TO DO A SEPARATE BLOG POST ABOUT SATURDAY

AND IT WILL FOLLOW THIS ONE.... 

THERE ARE JUST WAYYYYY TOO MANY PHOTOS TO PUT IN ONE BLOG 

PLUS I WANT TO GIVE THIS SPECIAL EVENT IT'S OWN BLOG PAGE.

Saturday night we were treated with a fantastic sunset over Lake Winnebago, and I was able to capture it by making Steve stop in the middle of the road to take the shot!  LOL

Let's pretend now Saturday is over....  and now it's the final day of Merikay and Craig's visit.  In the morning, Steveio decided to finish up the motorhome roof with a good scrubbing... he uses the pressure washer, but with a special wand that is a swirling scrubbing spray, NOT the pressure spray nozzle.  He hooks up the hose to the outside faucet on our house and turns a valve in the basement over to HOT instead of COLD  (we plumbed our last house this way and really appreciated the surprise of seeing this house was also plumbed with hot water accessibility to the outdoor faucet too)

Sunday afternoon, we headed on over to Columbia park to site number 9 where Merikay and Craig had their Alfa SeeYa motorhome situated.  

They gave us the grand tour and we picked out the five best things we liked that they had in their rig....

• two BIG windows almost floor to ceiling in the bedroom that really let in the outdoors.
• a cool hole in the countertop to toss things in the trash, and empty it from outside of the rig
• a clothes changing area by the closets that opens up with their full wall slide on the drivers side
• a well thought out bathroom with good storage, fixtures and space 
• adapted some deep shelving areas with pull out bins on drawer glides for easier access

Many of the other things we like are also on our rig too... but it was fun to compare and explore and see what other motorhomes have to make living comfortable.

One item I noticed Merikay using in her kitchen was a roll of plastic saran type wrap.... and it had the great plastic sliding cutting device that Glad Wrap had on their packages for a few short years.  Glad Wrap is no longer making those, and Steveio happened to accidentally throw out my last box, so I could not reuse the slider cutting device on newer rolls that didn't have one.  Well, well, well, Merikay said she got her Kirkland brand plastic wrap with cutting device at Costco!  We don't have a Costco close by, but my mind was planning on joining one or ordering on line just to get that cutter!  Ahhhhhh sweet Merikay had an EXTRA ONE saved off one of her previous boxes tucked away.   And she GAVE IT TO ME!  Oooooh I hugged her and giggled like she gave me a million dollars.  Tee heeeee

(when I got home, I wrote a warning in permanent marker on it....

and slid it onto my current box of plastic wrap

think he will heed my warning????)

Merikay served up a lovely meal on the picnic table for us while Craig manned the grill with our steaks.  After a wonderful meal, we sat around the campfire until late.  

It was so good to talk about places we have been, places we want to go, and laughing all the while.  So totally at ease with people we knew but we had never met yet. With big hugs and "see ya laters" instead of "goodbyes" we headed on home in the dark. 

As they drove past my house this morning, I heard the HONK HONK and saw them both waving as they drove on north, on to another adventure on the road.  

If you want, you can follow their blog:

http://merika-merika.blogspot.com

FINALLY -- a blog post about RVing!

Yup....  ever since coming home from the vacation last April, we have not gotten out and about yet in our motorhome!  I think the tires were going to grow into the ground.  Soooo it was time to start loading it up and be heading out for a five day adventure.  How far are we going you ask?  Well.....   twelve miles.  Yes.  12 miles.

See, the Wisconsin Sheltie Rescue group is gathering for a reunion.  It happens to be held once a year at the Calumet County Park, just south of Steve's High Cliff State Park on Lake Winnebago.

Over 150 people and 120 dogs will be gathering for this year's reunion.  These are dogs who are somehow connected with the rescue, often not wanted or disposed of, or sometimes taken out of horrific situations.  They are assessed and then carefully adopted out to fully-screened and approved folks who will heal them, train them, love them, and promise them FOREVER homes. Lisa Martin is the driving force between all these connections of dogs and people, and raises funds to help take care of the medical needs and support during the adoption process.  And of course, all dogs are spayed or neutered to not create any more unwanted pets down the line. She also puts on this big reuion.  Where she gets the energy, I don't know!

There will be events, silent auction, picnic meals and a seafood buffet on Friday night.   I promise to blog more about that as events unfold.

We began loading up the rig on Tuesday as we made reservations for Wed-Sun at the park.  I gave the rig a good cleaning first, and Steve carried out and loaded up the items we normally keep in the rig all summer.  It took a while.  But a lot of those things could freeze during the winter months, so it's necessary to do a full clear out of stuff, and restock again in the spring.  (once the danger of freezing is past).

Wednesday morning I bathed both doggies so they will be fresh clean and fluffy...   and then I had an extra task to do.  By mid-morning, I got to run up to Green Bay and pick up our oldest grandson from his final day of KINDERGARTEN!   They were only having a half day, so that meant one or the other of his parents would have to take a half day off work to go get him.  It was Granmuddah to the rescue!

His class was going to assemble outside 15 minutes before the release bell would ring.  They lined up and sang a great song about

"we love our teacher, 

and friends that we made, 

goodbye Kindergarten, 

moving on to FIRST GRADE"

Here.. you can see it for yourself: 

Jameson's Kindergarten Goodbye

I had tears in my eyes as I filmed this, so I am glad I was able to watch now on video.  Oh my, that little babe is now going to be SIX years old and a First Grader???  What happened when I blinked my eyes?  I guess he is growing up?

We planned to take him for Thursday and Friday too... The daycare he is set up with for the summer charges for a full week, even if you only come a few days.  By us taking him, I could have some company at the campground for Thurs and Fri while Steveio buzzes up the road to High Cliff State Park to work each day.

After saying "good bye" to his teacher and friends, we hopped in the car before it started to rain.  Yup, it was raining all of the way to Chilton, but we stopped off at Taco Bell (his request)  and had a little celebration lunch.

We waited for the afternoon at the house, while it rained and rained and rained some more. Not a good way to start out a camping trip, that is for sure.  While hanging out on the front porch, the Little Graduate took a wee nap.  The dogs were antsy to get out to the motorhome, and so was Jameson.

Once Grandfaddah was done with work at 4, we could head out.  One anxious little guy rushed to his car seat, securely strapped into the co-pilot seat in the motorhome.  (I followed in the car so we could have an extra vehicle at the park)

Oh my.. he was in charge of telling his Granfaddah where to go... and what amazing sight he saw as they crested the edge of the cliff and saw the big huge Lake Winnebago before their eyes.  Not only did it stop raining, but there was SUNSHINE!

We got situated in the park on our reserved campsite, and got out the hotdogs and mac n cheese to please a little guy's appetite.  Yup, we ate it too.  Just to please him I guess.   A few walks around the park with the dogs was next on order.

Instead of towing our Tracker behind the motorhome (and hooking it up in the rain)  we decided to leave it at home and run back there with the car to pick it up later. We got back to the campground in time for one more walk around the campground with the dogs... and saw this GORGEOUS sunset!

I didn't happen to have my camera along to capture it, (imagine that?)  

so my friend Sarah Schneider Kopf graciously allowed me to use her photo.  

Awww thanks Sarah! 

We woke up now on Thursday to sunshine and no rain!  Let's hope it stays that way.  Grandfaddah got ready for work.  His Little Tiger shared breakfast with him.  Note the Giant box of Frosted Flakes for my Big Tiger, and the little box for the Little Tiger?  

Like Granfaddah --- Like Grandson ! 

Five Days of a Fishing Widow

Oh my what a long long five days it has been!   Steveio left on Wednesday afternoon for a five day fishing trip with his dad and brothers to central Wisconsin.

The dogs and I held down the fort here at home....

I got in some sewing and some weaving, here and there, but mostly got SICK and didn't like to do much of anything!!!   By Friday I was down and out.  I slept on and off most of the day, I read a few emails and posted a few facebook things, but that was about the extent of it.

I drugged myself up good with Nyquil and dozed off, woke up and watched old movies, and fell asleep again.  

By Saturday I finally felt good enough to head up to Oconto.  You see, our youngest daughter Heather and her husband Jesse bought a house!  They had some snafus on the closing date, so they didn't know when their moving day was getting pushed ahead to.  Otherwise Steve would not have gone on his fishing trip if he had known they were moving on Saturday.

But it all worked out and they got the go-ahead to move on in.  Where is this house, you ask?  It just HAPPENS to be about half a mile down the road from where our old house was-----  Gee whillickers!  They wait till we move 70 miles away and then they go and buy a house back in the town Heather grew up most of her teenage years in?

(Funny....when we built our house in 1997 up there, both girls HATED the idea of moving to "Hicksville" and now BOTH of them each own a house there and are raising THEIR children there???)

Erin and I kept all the grandtots and the granddoggers occupied in town at her house---

All the while the Big People moved in the loads of furniture, boxes and assorted things they have collected in preparation for the new house.  They had a full garage stall packed to the top of things, a storage area, and a very large apartment full of stuff to move from Green Bay to the new house. Plus they had gotten a whole bunch of furniture at an auction that had to picked up and brought to the new house too.

Once they were done with their last load for the day, we were then invited to bring out the grandtots, the 3 doggers and let Jameson show us his New Home.  He had seen it during the showings, but now it was filling up with his own things.  Mommy and Daddy were sure to take along his boxes of toys and crafts to put in his very own play room, and his things into his own bedroom before he even got there.

Once exciting part of the move is for little Jameson.  Not only will he now have a whole house, instead of an apartment.. complete with yard, trees, deck, and a farm nearby.... but the sellers included a PIANO!  That is all the little could talk about was "His Piano"

Plus there is an outbuilding on the property with some office space and soon-to-be music studio. They set up Jameson's drum set and even hung his Sponge Bob Square Pants Guitar on the wall... all in preparation so he could feel it was his space to enjoy.  How thoughtful!

Now.. here's the kicker----  I can NOT post any pictures yet until they have their housewarming party!   So all I can tell you is this and share the ONE photo that Jesse posted on Facebook.  (it doesn't show much and not NEARLY the wonderful inside of the converted school house in a tiny rural crossroads)

We know the people who sold the house to our kids, plus we know the craftsman who converted the school house from the original one room school formation to a completely modern and innovative home.  He is a very careful and talented person who worked many months on the conversion, and did a wonderful job.

Another sweet benefit is that I KNOW older people from the surrounding farms who went to school there, and also I KNOW one of the last teachers who taught there before it closed... and she is going to come to their housewarming party to tell tales of the school days!

Here is the history I was able to compile about the school house, and I printed it up and framed it for the kids to hang on their wall:

HISTORY Of The School

In the 1860's a small log school stood where the School now stands. In this school the parents of many of the oldest residents of our district studied along with a few Indian children who also attended the school

At about the turn of the century, it was decided to change the building. It was to be a wooden one. It has no basement and you entered it by climbing a number of cement steps located in the middle of the front of the building. 

The people were interested in education and as a result the school year was always nine months in length. Of course, it wasn’t unusual to hear a person mention the raising of only $250.00 to run the school for the year and also pay the teacher.

In about 1935 the school was remodeled. A basement was put under the building and you entered the school at ground level in the Southeast corner. The school's appearance has remained the same, but many modern conveniences have taken the place' of the old appliances.

In 1951 an oil burning furnace replaced the old jacket-type stove. Indoor washrooms and toilets were installed and the inside was beautifully painted in a pastel green shade with dark brown bulletin boards. The school was insulated and aluminum storm windows helped to stop the wind from sweeping through the building. An adequate library is becoming a reality because the district supplements the amount paid by the state for books with an extra $25 a year. The school was also used for card parties, 4-H meetings, and other gatherings. The school closed in 1964 as students went to Oconto for classes.



Jesses' folks supplied a nice meal for the moving folks.  Once the grandkids were all fed and we explored the new place from top to bottom, I was totally worn out.  I popped my 2 doggers in my car, kissed the grandtots goodbye, and headed on back the 70 miles to Chilton.

I got home late, dragged myself into the shower and off to bed.  Zonked out for the night, and no Nyquil needed, that was for sure.

Sunday was dreary, cloudy, humid and muggy.. with storms threatening.  But I didn't mind because I knew that would mean Steveio and his brothers would convince their dad to pull in the boat early, pack up the motorhome, and head on home.  Yay!

About 1 pm. I wanted to head down to the season opening of the Calumet County Historical Museum, but Steve wasn't home yet.  So I left him a note to come and find me if he came home!

He did.   AWWWWW it was so good to have him back home!

We wandered around the museum, and I got propositioned for a task for the local newspaper, (more on that later)  and we learned a lot about our area and the people and the houses and businesses as Chilton grew to the lovely town it is today.

To celebrate being back home, Steve said let's go to our favorite little mexican place, the El Camino in Kiel, another small town south of us.  We drove through the downpouring rain to get our favorites: Steve's chicken enchiladas and my seafood chimichangas.  The portions are so huge, we have enough left over for lunch tomorrow.   Yummmm and some margaritas!

We spent the rest of the evening watching the rain pour down from the comfort of our front porch.  Check out this little video clip (it's only 40 seconds long)  and watch for the silver SUV coming from the left side... wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee   now That's Entertainment in a Small Town

Boy oh boy it's great to have my sweetie home again! 

Finney thinks so too---