Sunday, 30 August 2020: Hartung and Brussels

Mike, Mandi and Eli came to visit on Saturday.  Gemma gets along just fine with their dog, Mel.  Even though Mel is only four, Gemma runs and keeps up with him as if she were a puppy.  She is the perfect dog!  Mandy and I made a run to Sully's for fresh fruits and vegetables.  Jordan and his family joined too.  And, just like that, dinner for ten.  Thankfully Jordan was on grill duty.

After dinner Justin and I turned the house over to Mike and Mandi and headed to Hartung.  I sure do like our king sized bed there!  The trip gave me a chance to get all the laundry done too.

This morning Justin made French toast for all of us when Jordan and his family joined us too.

Saturday, 22 August 2020: By the Bay

Throughout the week, Justin and I continued to work on the yard.  It is really beginning to look nice.  I do look forward to the day when we are in a more simple maintenance mode rather than total overhaul and repair.  

Jordan and his family come over for a visit.  Jordan grilled burgers and corn.  It is all about the corn these days...corn and tomatoes.  I am a pretty cook cook but there is little I can do to beat good vegetables.  Kris is getting better.  It is slow and her spirits are fluctuating, but she is fine.  

 

 Jordan often anchors his pontoon boat just off our boathouse.  The kids can run back and forth if they like.  We can all visit and still be safe and socially distant.  Gemma is a lot happier when we are all up by the deck rather than too near the water however.  

Justin and I started painting in the kitchen at Hartung.  We change our minds every ten minutes on whether or not to sell.  Justin’s friend Douglas brought his friend Matt over to look at the house.  Matt used to own a house down the street and he really likes the neighborhood.  He is very interested in buying but his wife isn’t sold.  I just don’t want Douglas to yank Justin around too long.  

The Democratic National convention was last week.  The Republican show is soon.  Sometimes I feel like it is a train wreck and I can’t look away.  Black Lives Matters continues to be of critical importance across our nation.  This is such a strange time.  And, I have beaten Kim in Scrabble a few times!  THat is really strange!

Friday, 14 August 2020: still by the Bay

We are making good progress in getting the yard back together.  It is slow but it is good. 

 

You just gotta love the fresh fruits and vegetables of summer.

These carrots were in a bunch I just icked up from Farmer's Market.  I'd never seen anything like this!

Our next door neighbor, Amy, shared cucumbers.  Our squash at Hartung is going like gangbusters.  I fished out my recipe for Calico squasherole and I’ve just about mastered squash curly fries.  Door County cherries are the best for Clafouti.  And the tomatoes.  Oh, the Tomatoes!!!

Cantaloupe is delish.  Watermelon...not so much.  Oh what would I do for a melon from Hempstead!!!

In addition to cooking, I took on a painting project.  I decided I wanted a rotating collection of pictures of the grandkids etc.  I found a bunch of frames at the re-store, painted them all the same and then selected pictures.  All in all it took a week or more for me to get it all done, but I think I'm ok with the result.  One of the frames has a mirror inside.  The next photo is of YOU!

I’m working on a few sewing projects.  I did make a few new masks for Justin and me before I went to Houston.  “Funeral mask” took on a whole new meaning in 2020.  I replaced the elastic in a fitted sheet.  Yes, I really like those sheets.  A new set of sheets costs real money and I spent $4 on elastic.  I sure can say I don’t have time.  I also made a “holster” for the remote control that serves to control our adjustable bed frame.  Now we don’t have to go fishing for it in the middle of the night and we can both have easy access.  

Justin bought a new boat.  This one is a 14' Cape Dory.  It is a rowing/sail boat.  He is SO excited.

Meanwhile, he got a kids boat ready and he was thrilled to have the opportunity to take out Jason's kids.  Jason and Amy came over to finalize our shutters.  That left Ashton, Parker and Makala free to go out for a boat ride.  

We are picking out paint colors for Hartung.  We are getting through the day.

Joe Biden selected Kamala Harris as his running mate.  How long until November?

Thursday, 6 August 2020: By the Bay

Quite a big day in a middle-of-the-pandemic way.  Bill Dean, Justin’s real estate friend, came over just before noon.  Bill specializes in bay front property and usually only lists property well over one million dollars.  He gave us his two cents on selling or not to sell.  Bill seemed to really enjoy the cherry clafoutis we enjoyed out on the deck.

Then Susan Fermanich stopped by.  She and her husband live in Arkansas now.  The Fermanich’s owned this property before us so they were having a little walk down memory lane while up here for a summer get-away.  

Then Steven Marco arrived.  Steven continues his quest for multi-hull boats.  He had driven from Reno to look at a boat in Milwaukee but he decided not to buy.  He stopped by here for a short visit.  We’d told him we could keep him safe and we would have gone to Hartung but he chose to sleep in his truck. We shared fond memories of when we were together for 11 nights on our “repositioning cruise” from Rockport to New Orleans two years ago.

Dinner was scrumptious!  Justin’s Greek tomato salad was our first course.  That was followed by pork tenderloin served with leek and snap pea risotto.  Watermelon for dessert.

Wednesday, 5 August 2020: By the Bay

Nathanael and Grace come quite often.  Typically they are here from 9 until noon.  Justin and I are out right alongside them getting the work done.  

Gemma is quite happy to supervise.  Her tongue hangs out just as much in the dirt here as it does in the sand on the beach in Mexico.

 Meanwhile, I called the Stacy Group so they could tell the tenant I Georgetown she will be getting a new roof and to see if anytime was really bad for her.  When I spoke to Deseree, she asked where I was and what about the weather.  I told her I had on shorts and a long sleeved shirt... that we were fixin’ to go out so I had a fleece just in case I got cold when the sun went down.  Deseree, sitting in 115’ heat replied, “Paula, nobody likes a braggart.”  We had a good laugh.

It was a gorgeous day and we needed a break so we loaded into the convertible and headed north.  We found some bed-side tables at my favorite little consignment shop in Sturgeon Bay.  We went farther north to Ellison Bay ...maybe Justin found a boat.

We made it home in time for sunset.  I never tire of this scene at all.

I started playing Scrabble with Kim again. If I can be within 100 points I am doing fine.

Wednesday, 29 July 2020: By the Bay

Butch called last Thursday to say he would be here Friday. He and his 56,000 pound machine plus two smaller excavators.  Let’s see what that can do to screw up our lawn... a fix our breakwall!

Before.  The wheelbarrow helps get the perspective on the size of this machine.

Several trees had to come down so that the machine could have full range of motion.

I was sad to loose that nice branch from the willow tree, but now that it is gone I like the unobstructed view.  

The excavator works out in the water and so does Justin.

These stones are huge!  Some weigh as much as 6,000 lbs.  Moving them with the fork lift blades is like something from the cartoons.  The weight of the rock in front causes the wheels to come up off the ground in the back.  They spin around trying to gain purchase. Meanwhile, in front, the stone then acts as a snow plow digging up the gravel.. Aargh!

Butch is like a proud papy!

Tons and tons of stone were delivered.

We took down our lone martin house.  Maybe I'll paint it and get it up again next year.  Martins eat lots of mosquitoes so I sure have that motivation. 

After just one day our Justin tried to make sense of the lawn.

Before

After with all the stones in place and soil smoothed out.  Next step grass seed, straw and watering.  

They pulled out today, Wednesday. The stone is MASSIVE, much higher than before, and expertly placed. This is the first time we’ve felt secure about our shoreline since we bought the property.  We did a few other things that Justin has wanted to get done for a long time too. We removed the stump from the willow near the road that I backed into when we first looked at the property.  It had fallen in a storm the following winter.  We chopped it up for fire wood but the stump remained.   We widened the beach access and laid large, flat stone at the bottom— this is really nice now.  We re-oriented our driveway and added a culvert and gravel to create access to the north part of the property. Justin is just itching to get in there with his new chain saw.  The original bridge was quite rickety and as much as Jonas and Caleb like to roam around and catch toads, I’ll be happy to see it down.  Before we even started I told Justin that at the end I wanted them to spend one more half day on landscaping.  With their machinery and at $180/ hour they can get a lot more done than Justin and I can get done in three months.  Money well spent!!! These are huge improvements all around. It's amazing what you can get for $22,500.  So, now, we're up to our whatsits in replanting, re-seeding, etc.

Meanwhile, I tried my hand at a Carrot ricotta tart — yummy!

And, when I was in Houston, I mentioned to Dellene that I needed to buy flatware for our Hartung house.  She gently reminded me that I had oodles of silverware at her house.  I opted to leave the sterling silver with Dellene so she sent Mamaw's silver plate for us to use in Wisconsin.  I found it amusing that the care instructions that were still included didn't even mention a dishwasher.  I know it isn't a good idea but I also know I'll be using the dishwasher if we really do end up at Hartung for the winter.  Justin and I still really want to go to Mexico but it just doesn't look good.  We wait and I fret.  

Justin and I decided to end the day in style after Butch and his team were gone.  I went back to an Ann and Jim tradition -- hamburgers and champagne.   I've already taken our champagne glasses to Hartung so we used wine glasses instead.  And, as much as I hate paper plates, I wasn't going to set myself up for too many dishes tonight!  Hamburger meat from Marchant's along with homemade coleslaw and homegrown tomatoes made it all ok.