Former Teaching Friends

You know how nothing happens in your life to write about or put on the blog, and then all of a sudden there are oodles of happenings that are noteworthy? Well, this past week was an oodles week of happenings. I will try to do an update each day.




In 1971 hubby and I returned to his home town to teach and for him, coach. It was my first teaching job and I was "fresh" out of college, hired as the kindergarten teacher and hubby as the third grade teacher in Hosmer, SD. The people in the picture, Rod & Joan, joined the small band of teachers at Hosmer in 1973; Rod to coach and Joan to teach first grade. It has been 25 years since we last saw Rod & Joan as they moved back to ND to continue teaching & coaching and we moved to other SD communities. We have stayed in touch over the years, but thanks to Joan persistence, we finally got together today, face-to-face and talked. We met at the casino on the ND/SD border and reminisced and caught up for 4 hours. We won't wait another 25 years to do this again. I promise! It was great to see the two of you. Thanks for a wonderful afternoon.

PS: I doubled my money in the casino after you left!

Home Again

We have been home one week today. Since arriving "home" we have been to the Twin Cities for the weekend and to SF to help the kids with a small yard project. I did not get a "before" picture, but here is the "during" picture. This will be the garden area in the back yard for Karl & Crystal.


Thanks to the kids, the project did get finished on Monday. Now they just have to wait for spring so they can enjoy their latest yard addition.

Doesn't that fence look great??? That was May's project before our summer adventure.

Good-Bye

Today we said good-bye to our UK friends. Ann & Vicki will board Amtrack and head for a few days of R&R in Chicago and then fly onto New York to play tourists before heading back to their homes in the UK. Thanks, Ann & Vicki, for the shared memories of our summer work experience. Good luck to both of you!

Thanks a million, Fred & Verna, for taking us under your wings and "showing us the ropes". We could not have survived the summer without you, the camp fires and the margaritas! May your next summer be all that you hope it will be! Safe travels back to TX.

Two hours and 40 minutes. But who's counting!

Army Ducks

Bill & Donna are in the Dells area for a couple of days. Yesterday we all rode the Army Ducks on the lower dells of the Wisconsin River.

There are two duck companies that provide rides on land and water in the Wisconsin Dells area. These amphibious machines are surplus from WWII, built in 1945.

Here we are entering the river. Once in the water, the wheels are disengaged and the propellers are engaged to move us around. Once we are ready to go back on land, the process is reversed.

No matter how many times I see the sandstone cliffs along the river, I am amazed by the beautiful scenery; the awesome green of the trees, the color variations of the sandstone, the uniqueness of the area. It is a beautiful part of the country.

Thanks for coming to see us, Bill & Donna. We loved showing our "summer home" to you.

Milwaukee Trip

Last week we took two days and traveled to Milwaukee to meet Carol & Dennis from Michigan and to see the Brewers play baseball.

The Brewers played the Nationals. Since I didn't have a favorite, I hoped for lots of runs. I got my wish. Fireworks erupted after each Brewer home run and we saw several. Miller Park is a very nice baseball park and it was a beautiful day to watch baseball, outdoors.

The Harley-Davidson Museum recently opened in Milwaukee. We took the tour and learned more about motorcycles than I cared to know. Did you know Milwaukee is the birthplace of the Harley Davidson?

This bike is the model bought by Elvis Presley after his first hit song.

This is a "Bling Bike". Somebody with too much time (recovering from an accident) on his hands decorated this bike for his wife. Although creative & different, it was a bit much.

Thanks, Carol & Dennis. We had a great time!