Wednesday, 26 September 2018: Brussels

Another team from Bay Area Granite and Marble came out today.  This time they replaced the large end piece of stone.  Will the color be better? Will the seam be better?  Will it be level?  Please oh please!

Getting ready to remove the first piece

Justin making sure the support was the correct height

New piece is in place and level

Kavanaugh is in the news.  Will he be confirmed?  Bill Crosby goes to jail; he is 81 years old.  They laughed at Trump in the UN — they actually laughed at him when he boasted of his successes.

Monday, 24 Sept 2018: Fond du Lac

We drove about two hours to Fond du Lac this morning to attend a shareholders meeting.  It was the first time either of us had been to a shareholders meeting and while I imagine that it was very different from, say AT&T, it was interesting.  We wanted to take the long, pretty drive home but we needed to hurry back to meet Chris, the refrigerator repair guy.  Thankfully, and with Chris’ coaching, the manufacturer will pay for both parts and labor.  I had called previously and they had agreed to parts compensation but with info from Chris, I called again and talked about design flaws and potential of fire when combining electricity and water. It helped my argument when I pointed out that if we considered the time the frig was unplugged when we were in Mexico, the failure would have occurred during the original warranty period.  They agreed to a one-time payment of all fees and yes, this time I’ll be purchasing the extended warranty.  

Our planter boxes and large pots looked just spectacular this year!  The plants are annuals so, yes, we'll need to start from scratch next spring but they are so worth it!  The leaves are changing  and we’ve started turning on the heat a bit at night and in the mornings.  I’ve started picking up all the yard toys and getting ready to pack them away.  Justin continues his work with the spray foam insulation under the house. I will be happy when he is finished and I’ll bet he will be even happier.

Sunday, 23 September 2018: Green Bay

Packers played in Washington and it wasn’t pretty.  The new rules in the NFL certainly are changing the look of the game.  The chatter about having the quarterback wear a different colored jersey and flags seems way too real.

We headed to Jordan and Kris’ to celebrate Jonas’ birthday.  They had the kids party yesterday away from the house so today was only adults.  Since their house is under construction, this was a very wise decision.  The boys were interacting and playing in their typical patterns until Jonas tried to bite Caleb’s ear and got sent to time out.  Guess he is trying on the antics of Mike Tyson.  Legos are still the toy of choice for this age group. 

It was great to finally meet Marie (she was a foreign exchange student with Jordan in high school).  She returns to the states every year and stays with her host family.  Sam was also in town; his father is suffering from pancreatic cancer.  Sam, who went to high school with Jordan and Marie and now lives in Portland, visited us in Germany.  He’s been offered a job at St. Norbert’s University.  Jordan is really pushing for him to be closer to Green Bay.  

We took the long way home driving through neighborhoods and little towns and we even stopped to get ice cream.  We had to redeem something from the day.

Friday, 21 September 2018: Brussels

Bijan received  the papers from Alonso yesterday.  He has assured us they will be returned on Monday.  My oh my!

Erich wanted to go surfing and that means we got the boys!  Brody and Finn came to spend the night so Justin and I went into Captain Grandpa and Grandma Paula  mode.  

We started our day with breakfast at April’s   It was rainy and nasty all day (hence good surfing waves) so there weren’t too many outdoor distractions.  We played with dinosaurs and Paw Patrol and we watched a bit of tv — Wild Kratts, live and animated combo that addresses curious animals around the globe.  It was new to me.

Brody getting ready for freshly baked chocolate chip cookies

Midway through the afternoon Justin got a phone call from Chaudoir’s Dock telling us they were worried about our boat.  Justin went down to check and it was just in time!  The waves had been pounding up over the breakwall all day.  The batteries were submerged but Justin started pumping right away.  A few of our newest best friends helped Justin reposition the boat from our slip to a transient slip that was more protected.  Brody and Finn and I went down there a bit later but there was precious little we could do to help so we went into the restaurant to wait ... and to have cheese curds.

Oh, and in the middle of all this, our frig died!  We haven’t even had it two years!  No, I didn’t get an extended warranty.  I knew I needed to start using up stuff from our frig and freezer but this wasn't exactly how I intended it to go.

Tuesday, 18 September 2018: Brussels

The guys from Tundraland arrived about 7:20am and promptly began work on our shower installation.  We were anxious about what they’d find with demo.  When I pulled up the linoleum, we’d found evidence of water leaking.  Was it just a stain from a previous leak or was is an active leak?  Was it from the inside or from the outside?

Justin had caulk gun envy.  While his caulk gun shoots out a thin line, this one produced “sausages”

Before 4pm we had a fabulous new white on white walk-in shower.  We have to wait 24 hours before we can use it...I can’t wait!!!

                 

Spoiler Alert:  7am and 4pm   What a difference a day makes!

 

Sunday, 16 Sept 2018: Brussels

Gemma in her Packer gear at the game.

Packers played the Vikings at home this week.  It was a gold package and since we didn’t have tickets, we headed to Rourer’s for the game.  Early this morning we still didn’t know if Aaron Rodgers will play.  We got to our local tavern just in time to see AR come out of the tunnel and then kickoff.  Funny how networks are choosing not to air the national anthem.  If we remove the opportunity for a place for a peaceful expression, I am confident the oppressed will find another.

Rourer’s has several ways to help celebrate during games.  It seems that most drinking establishments offer a shot with touchdowns.  Brian and Tracy also draw names when a flag is thrown.  If your name is drawn, you drink free until the next flag. You have to really be ready for a drink and sometimes, you learn, you better order quickly.  Last year, when my name was drawn, I had just ordered another beverage.  This time, I was ready and a fresh Bloody Mary was mine.  Justin also was treated to a beer later in the game.  With all the flags being thrown, I won’t even mention the bad flags, lots of people have an opportunity for a free drink.  

Brian and Tracy also host a potluck for games.  This week Brian made pulled pork sandwiches and Tracy made deviled eggs.  If others bring a dish to share, they get their name added to the bucket again thereby increasing their chances for free drinks.  I made spanakopita and tyropitas — green and gold, of course.  Crisp pillows of phyllo dough ... some stuffed with spinach and feta and others filled with cheese and egg...yummy!!!

The game ended in a tie and, as might have been expected, a great deal of consternation about the calls made by referees followed.  

Saturday, 15 September 2018: Brussels

We had a long chat with Steve and Lindy, Justin's niece.  They’ve invited us to meet them on their property out west when we are on our way back north.  They head to New Mexico to escape norther winters.  It sounds appealing.  

Tonight is Erich’s last night to work nights. He’ll go to days; still weekends and still 12 hour shifts but at least he’ll be on days.  He works in intensive care and anticipates that it will be a different pace on days.  He loses a bit of a stipend but this will be better for his family.  He’s also taking stats this term and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

I’m learning that things don’t necessarily mean the same thing to me as they mean in Mexico.  I guess we’ve always known that “manana” may or may not mean tomorrow.  Last winter I learned that notaries in Mexico are really lawyers.  Now I am learning that a power of attorney means something different too.  Alonso has to FedEx papers to Bijan for him to sign even though Bijan left a PoA with Alonso.  Hmmm?  Also in the hmmm? department, someone asked the other day what Abraham had been doing all summer.  Well, if we aren’t the owners, we can’t really direct his work can we?

I just have to shake my head when I remember that the initial paper work indicated that the closing date might be 1 April!  And we were worried about the money getting out of investments quickly enough.  

We talked to Steven Marcoe late last week.  He is in Reno, but Flipped Out, the 41’ Maincat we helped move from Rockport to New Orleans earlier this summer, is on the hard just outside on New Bern NC. Now he needs a new name for the hurricane boat.  

So while Florence pounds the east coast; Typhoon Mangkhut does its damage in the Philippines and in China.  Paul Manifort flipped and will be cooperating with Robert Mueller. The primaries are over and I learned about Beto O’Rourke.  I knew I would want to vote against Ted Cruz but now I see that I will get to vote for Beto.  I still think I should have bought NIke stock. 

Justin helped Jordan a bit today with demo.  (As if he doesn’t have enough to do here.) Jordan and Kris are redoing their cabinets, countertops, appliances, floors, lighting and everything in between. They knocked down a few walls to extend their kitchen.  They’ve made tremendous strides at their cottage so they thought it was time to pay some attention to the house too.

We took the Bayliner out again for a sunset cruise. Tonight we went to Wave Pointe for a drink and appetizers.  It is really relaxing to be on the water.  It is getting cooler so our trips like this are ending for this season.