The Lisa Link: September 2013

Leila with neighbor Janetta after helping me pick in garden

Time flies by... hard to believe that summer's gone and we're already well into September. The kids are back in school, the days are getting shorter, and we've had several nights that have hovered close to the freezing mark.

We've had a good harvest from our garden, though we talked to many people who had trouble growing things this year. The weather around here was just kind of goofy... the spring and early summer were very wet and cold; we weren't even able to plant our corn at our neighbor Johnne's until after the 4th of July, because her garden area was so saturated with water. But once summer kicked in, it was unusually dry. We really didn't have much if any rain in August and early September, up until a couple nights ago when we finally had a good soaking rain. So lots of people had things dry up or had the bugs take over. I think we were fortunate because we have a raised bed and then used plenty of hay as mulch around the plantings, to retain moisture. For whatever reason, we were lucky and I've been busy doing all kinds of food preservation.

Emma, Dad, Mom and Bill snap beans

It was really nice to have Mom, Dad, Bill and Scott stop by on my birthday this year... not only to see them, but because they helped me snap my huge bucket of green, wax, and purple beans. They volunteered... I never even thought of asking them! And it was amazing how fast it went when everyone worked together, talking and laughing. We agreed that must have been how they did it in the old days, when there was all kinds of monotonous seasonal work like that to get done.

Teenage Michael

Before school started we bought a pop-up camper and took the kids on a quick camping trip to Brunet Island State Park in Cornell. We used to camp a lot when Susan, David, and Jonathan were little, and even a fair amount with Michael and Emma, but Leila had never camped before. I think we'll be making up for lost time, because she LOVED it.

Jon getting his fishing line straightened out

Jon loved it too. He finally got to go through his tackle boxes and do a little fishing. He spent time showing each of the kids how to cast and fish from shore a little bit. Our campsite was in a nice high, flat, shady wooded area, but there was a path from our site down to the water, so the fishing was very convenient.

The water by our campsite

Weather was beautiful, too. We were just coming off a bit of a heat wave, with humid days in the high 90's, so were afraid we might roast, but it cooled down nicely at the campsite and we were very comfortable. It was even kind of cool in the morning.

Our new camper

Leila liked spending most of her day in her swimsuit, fishing or roller blading.

Misty morning, by the water

Why don't we camp every weekend? So relaxing

Jon making breakfast for everyone

We decided that now that we're back into camping we need to become a little more sophisticated as far as our meals, and move beyond hot dogs and smores. When we camp at Sylvania the end of September, with those siblings who can make it, I want to come up with some good Dutch oven and pudgie pie recipes for us. I also want to make sure I have a good way to make coffee at camp.

A new school year!

So anyway, back to school! Michael started his freshman year of highschool (-!), Emma's starting middle school as a 7th grader, and Leila is a kindergartner. Since Colfax only has one school (with three "wings", for the different ages), all three kids ride the bus together. So far it's been going well. Emma's in volleyball and Leila's been begging me to let her be in Girl Scouts, so I guess I better look into that.

Emma with friends Katie and Jacqueline

The other night Emma had a couple of friends over for a sleep-over. We set our camper up in the back yard, and they slept out there. They seemed to have fun and certainly there was a lot of giggling going on.

Jonathan, Jack, and Alicia

Yesterday Jonathan, Jack, and Alicia came over to watch the Packer game and have chili lunch with us. Jonathan has a lot of exciting things going on in his life right now. Probably the most surprising is that he and a couple of partners have pooled their money and purchased a bar / restaurant in Eau Claire.

Jonathan's new business!

It's called Empire Bar and Grill right now, but I remember it best as Cicone's (and it's name will probably change again when Jonathan and the guys open on October 1st). It's located on Clairemont, just off the intersection between Clairemont and Menomonie Street. Jonathan has left his job as bar manager at Mona Lisa's, and will now be running the bar at his own place. He said it will be a full service bar and American grill with pizza, appetizers, sandwiches, and a few pasta dishes. There will be a late night happy hour, but more details on that will be coming.

Mr. Fix-It, my brother Bob

I should have rotated this picture so you can understand what you're seeing, but this is my brother Bob taking a look at my dishwasher when he was here yesterday, visiting (the dishwasher's been giving me grief). Bob and a friend had just been at a motorcycle show in Minneapolis, and wanted to drop a gift off for me before returning to Madison. The gift? Two boxes of canned apple pie filling and applesauce. Bob's taken up canning recently, and he's "into it" with all the enthusiasm he gets when he discovers something new he enjoys. I was very happy to accept the apple pie filling... can't wait to try it out.

The new front porch under construction

Bob also helped Jon a little with the roof of our new front porch. Jon said he expects it will be (mostly) done this fall, though not completely finished. We will leave the floor cement this year, but eventually it will probably be tiled.

Tired boy

Jack stayed overnight last night (he's still here in the house, taking his nap while I do this blog). This is how he fell asleep yesterday, after insisting he did not want a nap. He was laying with his face right on top of cars, sound asleep, so we moved him to the bed. What a little sweetheart he is. His little blonde tow-head, his blue eyes, everything about him just takes me back in time to a little David, though of course I see how much he looks like both Jonathan and Lindsay. It is just such a blessing to experience how grandchildren can you take you back in time and let you hold and remember your own children when they were still little. Plus they are their own little people, with their own distinct personalities, and such a joy to gradually get to know one another.