Back Home Again After Camping - pickling beets

On Thursday, it was time to leave the campground around 3pm.  We stopped at Stockbridge to fuel up our propane tank... propane was only $2.99 a gallon so it was time to fill it up before the home heating season begins.  That will probably drive up the cost again.  Now we are full for the Halloween weekend which is probably our next camping trip.

When we got home, I walked in and smelled "that smell" particular to our home.  It had been closed up for five days and had a chance to regain that same smell when we were first looking at the house almost 2 years ago. Hard to believe it's been almost two years???  If you recall, we were already living full time in our motorhome, and Steve was ready to retire.  Instead he transferred within the State of Wisconsin and got the job at High Cliff State Park.  We changed our dream to another chapter.  We put the offer in early November and then closed at the end of December.  I get the same feeling when I walk in the house now after being gone for a few days.  It's our home. Yes!

I think the smell is a comforting smell of old varnish, woodwork, plaster, and probably dust too. It brings a smile to my face and a lift to my heart.

But that smell brings back such a memory as certain smells will do. Paula who used to live here told me it is the smell of "HAPPINESS" because the home is being loved by us!  Awww how sweet!

Once we unloaded all of our gear, dirty clothes, quilting stuff and got the fridge cleared out, we could get on our with our tasks.  Steve was cutting the grass that really really needed it.  I ran over to a garden plot from a local garden seller who sold me a 5 gallon bucket of freshly dug up beets.

Ahhhh I LOVE making pickled beets!  Each time I get ready to make them I ALWAYS call my Mommy for the brine recipe!  

She says: 

"2 cups good Heinz 5% vingar, 

2 cups sugar, 

and 1 cup water to cut the vinegar"  

.... from there I had to triple that up for the amount of beets I got.

I sat out on the lawn chair by the back door to clean and cut off the stems and leaves. It was a sunny day and I enjoyed sitting out and doing this harvest work.  I think of all the years my mom and grandmother who made pickled beets.  I think of all the pioneer women making each and every beet count because they took such a toil to make them grow on precious land their family had cleared and toiled over.

I kinda feel like I cheated a bit, by buying them from a fellow Chilton-ite instead of growing them myself.  But if I don't have the time, the small amount of dollars I paid ($5) was worth it for a bucket full of summer goodness.  Preserving them for the middle of winter is going to be a treat!

I simmer the whole beets up in water in my largest soup pot until the skins start to slip off.  Now the messy part of the job begins.  Steve snapped this shot of me at work... yes, I wear gloves to keep the stains off my hands.  I carefully slip off each skin, cut out any little hard tough spots, and chunk up each beet into bite size.  They are all put into my largest stainless steel bowl until it's full.

I carried it into the house where two doggers were hoping it was a bowl full of doggie treats!  Nope.. sorry.  They have both learned to be underfoot in the kitchen, just in case a good tidbit falls to the floor.  Beets... not so much.

I had the kettle of brine simmering on the stove: (the vinegar, water and sugar recipe)  and I carefully filled each of the pint jars I had waiting for me in the dishwasher.  I pre-wash and heat up all of my jars in advance in the dishwasher and preheat my lids in a pan of water of the stove to soften the rubber.  Soon the first batch of jars was filled in the canning rack to be carried out to the garage.....

Why the garage, you say???

Because that is where I do my canning! 

We bought a propane outdoor cooker 

that I set my canning kettle on. 

Keeps the heat and mess out in the garage

plus my kitchen stove is flat glass top,

and the canning kettle is concaved a bit on the bottom and 

it doesn't make a good match-up against the glass. 

This works SO much better! 

(we also simmer Snow Crab legs out here 

to keep the smell out of the house, 

even in the middle of winter)

While the first batch is out in the canning kettle (15 minutes) 

I have the next batch of seven jars filled and kept hot 

in the kitchen sink until it's their turn! 

 (it's never a good idea to plunge cold jars into a hot water bath canning kettle,

the drastic temp change can shatter your jars) 

 Here we are .. the first batch is done! 

Soon I had 14 pints done... and then 2 quarts.

The one fancy square quart jar on the far left I have had for years and years,

and always make one special jar for just US! 

About half of these will be given away to friends who visit

the other half will be cherished by Pa Pfundtner who adores them. 

He even returns my empty jars! 

We are sitting here watching the Packer Game on Sunday as I type this.  I have a pot of chicken vegetable soup simmering on the stove for Half Time. So far the Packers are winning.

We worked on a couple RV projects this weekend, so I will do up two separate blogs about those tasks. 

Camping at High Cliff State Park in Sherwood, Wisconsin

Oh it's so nice to be camping in such a pretty park.... not that I am biased or anything.  But the park is kept in tip top shape from a fantastic crew, one of which is my husband, Steveio!  Hahaha.   He is the head of the maintenance at the park, and does a little of everything that is needed whenever it is needed.

While we are camping at the park, the nice perk of his job is that he can come back to the campsite and have lunch with me.  His work really varies from day to day, so each day is some new adventure for him to accomplish. Yesterday he was busy with installing park benches...  and he had time for a quick lunch before he was off to do something else.

(as I type the blog this morning, I can hear chainsaws off in the distance.  

I am sure it's Steve doing something somewhere in the park) 

Our doggers are very happy to be camping too.  

They find wonderful places to sniff and new spots to go potty on our walks. 

Plus they can relax in the comfort of the motorhome.

What a Dog's Life. 

As I said in our last blog, our friends Paula and Mel are camping with us this week.  We had hoped to camp with Herb and Karen, but engine troubles kept them at home.  Paula is the sweet person who took the time to teach me how to REALLY quilt, not just baby quilts from kits like I had done in the past when my babies were little.  We planned ahead and brought our sewing machines along.  It was nice and warm on Tuesday so we could take them outdoors and set them up on a table....

Ahhhh quilting under a canopy of green leaves, with chipmunks dashing around and birds singing, once in a while a breeze.  It was a perfect autumn day at High Cliff!

I was working on some quilt squares in a pattern that Paula taught me... and she was working on these cloth microwave bowls.  Turned out pretty nice!   You can see her elegant antique Singer Featherweight machine in the background.  That is a coveted sewing machine among quilters, and I wouldn't mind if it happened to be stowed away in MY storage compartment! LOL

 While we were busy sewing away the afternoon... 

we sent Mel off to get our firewood for the evening.  

Kept him busy and out of our hair.  

We women need our fabric fix from time to time. 

Aren't they just the Cutest Couple Ever????

I took a tumble off the bottom step of the motorhome yesterday, and with arms full of stuff so I didn't have any way to break my fall.  WHOOOOOOOOOMPH down I went!  Nobody was around, so I could swear as much as I wanted to. LOL....   But with a bit of a limp, I got up and soothed my damaged ego, and hobbled back into the motorhome.  A few hours with a bag of ice on my foot, and all was well enough to get on with the day.  I am a little stiff this morning. Good thing the ground was soft! 

When Steve got off work at 4, he was able to help Mel with some repair project on his motorhome (they have the same kind of motorhome as ours)  and we later got supper ready to cook out on the grill.  We ALWAYS eat so good when camping.  Here is a pic for the "foodies" to see... those are grilled potatoes yet under the tin foil, forgot to take it off for the pic.  Steaks, salads, wine and all the fixens.  ahhhhh

After dinner, the guys built us a wonderful campfire.  We spent time laughing and telling stories and sharing all the good campfire conversation... and a few marshmallows too. We had a few coons come on into the campsite once they smelled the marshmallows toasting.  We chased them off a couple times with clapping hands, hisses and stomps of the feet.  This time of year they get so used to people from all summer long, they think begging for food is a way of life.  We shooed them on their way with NO marshmallows in their bellies.  People don't realize the harm they do by feeding wild animals.  Now it's time for the raccoons to forage in the woods, not in our campsites.

The best way to wind up the evening was for Paula and I to polish off a bit of wine... 

Yummmmm

Such is the "Night Life" at High Cliff State Park

Spending Time with Pa Pfundtner and then Camping at High Cliff State Park

Sunday morning started with a gulp of coffee, potty break for the dogs, and then dash out the door to head over to Steve's Dad's place in Waupaca.  He took us out to breakfast first....  at a little retro 1950's diner called Little Fat Gretchens! What a name!  But the food was good.

(Pa Pfundtner was in the middle of talking when the waitress snapped the pic, 

really, he WAS having a good time!) 

Then we went back to Pa's house to help out with some projects.  Steveio loves any time that he can fire up the Kubota and play in the yard.  Haha... big boys and their sandbox toys!!

 I just LOVE this pic I snapped of him and his sassy dog, Nicky

Steveio helped with some repairs, and messed with the air compressor, 

and fueled up both of the lawnmowers.  

Oh my... DUELING LAWNMOWERS!!!

We took care of some yard projects, 

cleared out windowboxes and planters,

took care of the garden plants and 

got things ready for winter.

Nicky kept a close eye on his "daddy" and made sure he didn't get out of sight.

While the guys were busy with the lawns, I found a garden bench and sat down with my knitting. It was a pleasant morning and the sun was shining.  As I gazed around the yard, I was missing Mom P. who passed away almost 2 years ago.  Seeing her flowers and landscaping that made this house a home, I was wistfully wishing she was there setting next to me on the bench. Maybe she was.

I admired these sweet cranes that set out in the yard... pretty cool! 

Once our work was done, it was time to head home.

I think Pa Pfundtner needed a nap!

When we got home, we tossed the rest of our things in the motorhome, and headed out to High Cliff State Park,  Yes, we were going to go camping a mere 14 miles away from home. LOL.... not really "getting away" for Steveio, because he works at the park full time!  

Originally, our RVing friends Karen and Herb were going to come up from Milwaukee to camp side by side with us on reserved sites for the week.  At the last minute, they have been experiencing some major diesel engine troubles, and had to cancel. Awwwww  so as soon as they cancelled, I emailed our other Safari RVing Buddies (and quilting buddy) Paula and Mel from Wausau.  They secured the reservation for the site next to us and loaded up their rig to come on over! 

As we were driving to the campground, we didn't bother to hook the Tracker Toad onto the back of the motorhome, so I was following Steve as he drove out to the park... Here is a pic I snapped as he turned the corner.  I think I will use it for our blog header page for a while too...

Paula and Mel were already set up on their campsite when we arrived at the park.  We quickly set up as fast as we could... because the Packer Game was on!!!!  Our motorhome has an outside jack for the antenna to hook up outdoors.  

We set up the TV on a little table...

gathered our lawn chairs... 

put out some snacks... 

and watched the game! 

I am proud to say the Packers WON... 

over the New York Jets.... 31-24  YAY! 

We cooked up a quick supper of bratwurst and salads... 

Paula and I took the doggers for a walk around the campground 

and we came across this artwork from someone who REALLY likes our park! 

I know it rained last night... 

so I imagine it will be gone this morning. 

"Eco-Friendly Graffiti"! 

We proceeded to jaw jack for a few hours.  When it got darker, the guys built a campfire. It was getting chilly out, so we enjoyed the warmth of good friends, good conversation, and good flamage!   

While we were sitting the darkness, Steve felt something crawling on him.....

We googled for a bit of info about walking stick insects... and found this on Wikipedia:

The Phasmatodea (sometimes called Phasmida or Phasmatoptera) are an order of insects, whose members are variously known as stick insects (in Europe and Australasia), walking sticks or stick-bugs (in the United States and Canada), phasmids, ghost insects and leaf insects (generally the family Phylliidae). The ordinal name is derived from the Ancient Greekφάσμα phasma, meaning an apparition or phantom, and refers to the resemblance of many species to sticks or leaves. Their natural camouflage can make them extremely difficult to spot. Phasmatodea can be found all over the world in warmer zones, especially the tropicsand subtropics. The greatest diversity is found in Southeast Asia and South America, followed by Australia. Phasmids also have a considerable presence in the continental United States, mainly in the Southeast.

(this part is really interesting about females NOT needing males to reproduce!) 

Many species of phasmids are parthenogenic, meaning the females lay eggs without needing to mate with males to produce offspring. Stick insect species that are the product ofhybridisation are usually obligate parthenogens,^[11] but non-hybrids are facultative parthenogens, meaning they retain the ability to mate and are bisexual depending on the presence and abundance of males.^[12] Eggs from virgin mothers are entirely female and exact copies of their mothers.

He set it back in the woods after we were done taking pics...

and a few minutes later it came back and was crawling on Paula's pantleg! 

Guess he wanted to be warm too. 

That is our Nature Lesson for today, folks! 

Meeting up with Full Time RVer friends

Many years ago, about 4 or 5 or 6???  I stumbled upon a website community called RV Dreams started by Linda and Howard Payne. It was chock full of great information about living in an RV, full time or part time, and how to go about setting up your rig, getting solar, good resources for insurance, operational expenses and ideas.

Well, on that page is a link to a little Java chat room.  So I clicked on and went into chat.  The first person I met was Dee Walters.  She made me feel welcome and asked a bunch of questions to find out what and where we were at in our RV ing life.  She introduced to me to each "regular" chatter as they logged into the room.  She was the "Hostess with the Mostest" of the chat room!

People were funny and helpful and informative.  It was like sitting around a campfire and people were pulling up with their lawn chairs to set a bit and chat.  Some came in, some went out.... but Dee stayed till the end (about 11 p.m.) and warmly invited me back.  That is how our friendship started!

She and her husband were downsizing and selling stuff and ready to move into a small apartment until their retirement dates.  As the years rolled by, Dee and Jim found the right fifth wheel, the right truck, the right gear and moved on into Full Time RV Living.  Yes, they were living their RV Dream!
We all felt the excitement they expressed in each chat discussion, each email, each photo shared.  They started travelling and retired from their jobs and shared adventures via the blog called http://tumbleweed-jimdee.blogspot.com/    We have shared family and friends and dreams and RV catastrophes.  And of course, all of these years, she has been the Hostess with the Mostest in the RV Dreams chat room.

In July 2011, they were travelling through Wisconsin~!   We made arrangements to meet up and have them "mooch dock" in our driveway.  That means "boodocking" in a friend's driveway instead of going to an RV park or campground.  It's a fun way to share time together and perhaps get some reparis, rig washing and relaxing in our peaceful countryside of Wisconsin.

The blog posts from their 2011 visit start on this link: Visit with Jim and Dee  and go on for five blog posts after that.  Just click on the link on the bottom of each page for the next blog in that series.

Since we had limited 5GB internet for a long time, I have not been able to spend much time in the chat room anymore, but I have keep current with blogs and emails and pics on facebook.  We just recently got unlimited internet access at our home with Frontier.net so I can start going back now!


As for Jim and Dee......   They just completed travelling to all 48 states in the US and were heading back through the midwest on their way to Illinois to visit their children and grandchildren.  We made arrangements to meet up with them on Saturday at the State Fair Park campgrounds in Milwaukee.  It's about a 90 mile drive for us, and we found them easily in their Carriage Cameo fifth wheel.  I forget how long it is, but it's a big one!

They happened to be parked next door to a Safari motorhome,

so Steve and Jim jawjacked with that guy for a while. 

Dee and I hugged and started chattering at 11 a.m.  

(We didn't stop again until it was time to go 6 hours later!) 

Dee hauled out crocheting and we gabbed fibers, patterns, and RVing stuff.  Ya know, places they been, things they modified on their rig, repairs and adventures.  This crochet pattern is called C to C.... Corner to Corner.  Neato!   She finished one afghan in colorful stripes, and is now working on a shawl with delicate yarns and showed me how the stitches go.  She found it on Pinterest and found how to's on Utube.

The guys, of course, had to solve all the World's Problems and chattered away about people, places and things.  We let them gab while we were busy doing our own gabbing! They had their fireplace going in their fifthwheel and it was comfy and cozy on this very cool snap of weather we have been having in Wisconsin. We felt so welcome in their travelling home. It was like we picked up where we left off 3 years ago during their last visit.  LOL

Noontime Hunger was eminent, 

and of course the favorite thing RVers like to do is to EAT! 

and blog about it...  hahahahhaha

here is their website:

http://doublebs.com/

Jim had already scoped out a good restaurant nearby called Double BB's BBQ.  Sounded good to us! 

We got the nice waiter to oblige and take our photo together.  How cute.  I see so many blogs of RVers who always have their pictures taken in restaurants as they meet and greet out on the road.

So bloggers... here is ours!

The food came and was delicious!  Jim had kielbasa sausages (a Polish Treat)  and both Steve and Dee had pulled pork sandwiches.  I opted for a half rack of ribs.... and took the rest home with me.  Of course, here is a Foodie Pic:

The bar/restaurant also had an open air patio section out back, so the doorway was wide open.  This pestering little wasp would not leave us alone!  Finally Jim trapped him in the empty sweet tea glass and gave him to the waiter-----   (the waiter kindly took the bee out back and let him free...awww)

We went back to their RV for an afternoon of chit chat and the guys watched some car racing on tv.  It was stereo surround sound effect because nearby at the Milwaukee Mile raceway had cars running and we could hear the sounds coming in the open windows!   Being race fans, Jim and Dee enjoyed being so close to a race track!

Also I snapped a pic of their satellite dish setup.  How ingenious to have it weighted down by a disk from weightlifting barbells.  So visit a thrift shop, rummage sale or used sale at a fitness center for a disk to keep yours weighted down too.  Easily portable and less messy than sand bags!

Too soon it was time for us to go.... Jim had tickets to go to the Milwaukee Brewer's baseball game right next door.  We had to head on back because our dogs were waiting patiently for us at home.  

Taking our photos of each other seemed like a good thing to do too...

We hugged and said our "See Ya Laters"  (never goodbyes)  and heading out of the campground. 

On our way home, we slipped into Trader Joes and stocked up on a couple cases of Two Buck Chuck (Charles Shaw wine) and an armful of jars of Cookie Butter.  If you haven't tried this, please give it a try.  It's VERY addicting and thanks to Al from http://thebayfieldbunch.com/ , I am now addicted too. 

We made it home, clear sailing, and the dogs were just fine.  But they missed us.  

Now it was time for US to pack up our motorhome... we are heading out camping on Sunday!!!!

We WERE supposed to camp Mon-Thur at High Cliff with RVing friends Karen and Herb Sweet.. but due to engine troubles on their Safari motorhome, they are not able to make their reservations.  Sigh.  Was looking forward to seeing them.  

Well, they cancelled their reservations at the park, and right in behind them logged our other RVing friends Mel and Paula!  They were able to reserve the same site that Karen and Herb released ... so we are still going camping and still going to have a Safari motorhome as a neighbor. 

So we loaded up last night... and now taking a run over to Waupaca for breakfast with Pa Pfundtner this morning.  When we get back, we are heading out RVing ourselves.  Should be fun!