Madison, Wisconsin - May 3

Rebecca and I left the house about 8:30am on Wednesday to go to the MAX.  It was early but I am glad that we did.  Check in and going through security was slow.  But we got to the gate in plenty of time.  We arrived in Madison about 6:45pm - Madison time.  Jeanne and Tristan met us.  He sure is a cutie.  Talks a mile a minute and I can not understand a word.

We had a relaxing evening with dinner and playing with Tristan, Liam and Emmet.

 Tristan is very friendly.We are having fun playing.

 Emmet and Liam - so adorable.

  Rebecca with Liam (I think).

The weather is balmy.  We had a lot of rain last night.

Wednesday, February 8 - continued

We had our usual coffee group at Dairy Queen. Had a few stops in Ely before we headed out. Jeanne and Jay dropped me off at the Duluth airport around 1pm while they drove on to the MSP airport to fly to Sacramento.

It was a long day with a lot of airport time. Luckily I had plenty to do to keep me busy. The sun was just setting as we landed in Minneapolis/St Paul. This picture does not do it justice. I was landing just as Jeanne and Jay were taking off so we could not reconnect in MSP.

The flight to Portland did not leave until nearly 10pm so I had plenty of time for a nice leisurely dinner in MSP.

I got into Portland 11:30pm, Portland time. George met me. My suitcase was one of the first off the plane so I was out of the airport pretty quickly.

I sure had a fabulous time. Now it is back to my routine.

See you next time I travel. Barbara

Wednesday, February 8

Yippee!! We finished it. I am glad. I hated to leave a puzzle undone.

But now we have to be a little more efficient this morning with packing and getting organized before we leave.

I sure had a relaxing and fun week.

Tuesday, February 7 - continued

We had a very delicious pork tenderloin dinner. The "secret" spices were excellent so I am hoping to go to the Zup's market to 'get me some' secret spices tomorrow on our way out of town. The peas, carrots and red potatoes were delicious as well. We finished the bottle of Shiraz from Australia. Jay and I had the red. Everyone else had a white zin.

Then Jeanne and I got busy with the puzzle but I guess it will not be finished until Jeanne and Jay get back from their trip. Even with Jay helping we could not finish it. Just needed a few more hours.

Tomorrow it will be a long day going home. Jeanne and Jay will drop me off at the Duluth airport and then they will drive to the Minneapolis airport for their flight to Sacramento. I get to Minneapolis just after they fly out. The plan had been for them to fly out of Duluth as well but prices were so much better for them to fly out of MSP. Oh Well, best laid plans.

Tuesday, February 7

It was minus 2 degrees when I got up this morning. Brrr. But very sunny. It was a quiet day. We went in for our coffee and then home for a quick lunch. Jeanne had to go in for a meeting. I tagged along. Worked on my recommendations while she went to the meeting. After the meeting we went to visit Bonnie. She was at the nursing home visiting her husband. I got to know Bonnie the first time I visited here. She is a very open hearted soul. So I try to see her each time I come out to visit Jeanne.

We had started another puzzle last night that is a hard one. I am suspicious that we will not be able to complete it tonight.

This is the first one we did. 1,000 pieces. I forgot to take a picture of the 2nd one.

Monday, February 6

Today was not a big picture day. Jeanne and I drove in for the morning coffee at DQ. Then we headed on the Virginia. This is a town about 1 hour drive away. We had lunch at the Village Inn. Their tomato basil soup was very good. Then we walked over to the mall and wandered around. It was fun exploring a different area. Then back to Ely. We made a few stops in town. One of which was at the park to see the snow sculptures one last time. There had been a few that weren't finished yesterday. They were finished but also we saw that many of them are now starting to fall apart because it is so warm.

I did put together a slide show of the snow sculptures. If you are interested go to: https://picasaweb.google.com/barbara.d.walker/ElyWinterFestivalIceSculptures2012

I organized them by sculpture. Showing the progress of each one. It was fun looking at them all.

It was a fun day.

Delicious dinner of veal cutlets, pasta, green beans, shrimp cocktail, jello and dinner rolls. Yummy. I forgot to take a picture - sorry.

Jeanne and I worked on a puzzle. Our 3rd one. Then just before going to bed we bundled up and walked down to the lake to look at the full moon and to look at the house all lit up. It was magical. Unfortunately this is a case of not having the right camera. Even though it was so bright out we did not need flash lights - it was too dark for a picture. This picture was totally dark until I did an auto correct. Now it just looks grainy, but you get the idea.

Looking at the Christmas lights. Jeanne plugged them in - just for me.

Full moon through the trees.

Well worth getting bundled up.

Sunday, February 5

Morning wild life. They have about 6 bird feeders.

Jeanne is in the choir

Hoarfrost!!

The Dino Fight - still working on it.

Hoarfrost on the trees. This DQ is where Jeanne goes in for coffee Monday - Friday mornings.

We got the the family room ready for the party. Moving furniture, vacuuming, cleaning, cooking. We got it all done and then there was time to relax before it was time for the game.

We are ready to par - tay, and watch the game.