Adventure Part 4-Pattison State Park

See the beginning of our trip here.

This afternoon we took a ride south of Superior to visit the Pattison State Park.  This park houses 3 waterfalls and a nature trail.

The Big Manitou Falls is the highest in Wisconsin with a drop of 165 feet.  The water comes from the Black River and makes a beautiful site.

The path around the falls is full of beautiful scenery and underbrush.

There are lots of assorted ferns in the woods.

The path is steep and winding and a bit of challenge, at least for me!

Larry took a little break on the bridge.

Then we headed to the Little Manitou Falls a little way down the road.  This is really 2 falls but there has been so much rain up here recently it looks like one big one.

We saw evidence of deer in the area.  This is how the tree looks after they rub their antlers on the bark to sharpen them.

It was a fun excursion and some young folks took a picture of us at the falls.

We are planning on a trip across Lake Superior into Duluth, MN tomorrow if the weather stays dry and I will be back with an update.

See the next part of our trip here.

Adventure Part 3-Superior, Wisconsin

You can read part 1 and 2 of our adventure here.

Our ultimate destination on this adventure is Minot, ND.  Recently Minot has been in the news because of the major flooding in the town.  This has caused the final leg of our journey to be postponed, which means we will remain in Superior, WI for a few weeks.

We are taking this opportunity to explore the area. There are not many national chain restaurants in Superior so we have been trying to visit some of the local favorites.  We had burgers at Grizzly's one night and they were good.

 The atmosphere at Grizzly's is like a family restaurant, children and families are welcome and the waitresses were very friendly.

Another local place we tried is the Thirsty Pagan Brewing Restaurant.  It seems that fresh pizza and assorted brews are very popular in this area.  Thirsty Pagan came highly recommended and the pizza was really good.  We don't drink so I can't say anything about the brews they offered, but they sure had a lot of them.

The architecture of this city is really unique.  Lots of old buildings that have withstood years of brutal cold weather.  Windows are limited, even in the shopping areas, because this is a place for heat to escape. 

There is quite a native American influence in this town and here is a sample of some of the totem poles we saw.

This is an apartment building we passed and I thought it was such a neat building, I wanted to share.

I will take more pics of the architecture over the next few weeks.  They have some really gorgeous churches up here and I look forward to sharing some of those.

Our trip continues here.

Sunday Phunnies

Wife's Diary:

Tonight, I thought my husband was acting weird. We had made plans to meet at a nice restaurant for dinner. I was shopping with my friends all day long, so I thought he was upset at the fact that I was a bit late, but he made no comment on it. Conversation wasn't flowing, so I suggested that we go somewhere quiet so we could talk. He agreed, but he didn't say much.
I asked him what was wrong; He said, 'Nothing.' I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset. He said he wasn't upset, that it had nothing to do with me, and not to worry about it. On the way home, I told him that I loved him. He smiled slightly, and kept driving.

I can't explain his behavior I don't know why he didn't say, 'I love you, too.' When we got home, I felt as if I had lost him completely, as if he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. He just sat there quietly, and watched TV. He continued to seem distant and absent. Finally, with silence all around us, I decided to go to bed. About 15 minutes later, he came to bed. But I still felt that he was distracted, and his thoughts were somewhere else. He fell asleep - I cried. I don't know what to do. I'm almost sure that his thoughts are with someone else. My life is a disaster.

Husband's Diary:

Boat wouldn't start, can't figure it out.

Heading to Superior WI

You can read about our trip from the beginning here. 
Saturday morning we awoke to rain and severe weather warnings, but since we are on time constraints we had to head out anyway.    The weather broke up after about an hour (thank you, Lord) and we proceeded to drive across Indiana.

More rolling hills and now we started to hit the corrnfields.

Next was Illinois and the terrain changed to flatter land with lots more CORN!

This was an interesting drive as we passed miles and miles of corn and soybean fields. The land is very flat so it is easy to see the contours of the farmland and the farmhouses. There are many really beautiful houses and unusual barns on this road which made the drive really interesting.

The most interesting part of the drive was the huge wind turbines which dotted the landscape. These turbines are turned by the wind to create electricity. Really neat to see!

We spent Saturday night in a little town called Beloit, WI. The next day we headed to Superior, WI for the final leg of the first part of our journey.  This seemed like the longest part of our trip because of so much road construction, but there was still a lot to see.

We saw a few monoliths on the side of the road but we passed them so fast I could not get a photo. 

We visited WisDells an area similar to Gatlinburg, TN with lots of attractions.  It was really crowded but looked like a very interesting area.

I am so glad to have finally arrived and we are enjoying the spring weather.  It was 45 degrees when we arrived.  Sure am glad I brought a jacket!  See the next part of our adventure here.http://pattisoriginals-pattisplace.blogspot.com/2011/06/adventure-part-3-superior-wisconsin.html

The Adventure Begins

As I mentioned, (in part 1) we are heading to Wisconsin for a couple weeks of training before my husband, Larry, begins a new job in North Dakota. We have been in South Carolina for the past week with our son and his family and are now on our way.

The entire trip to Superior, WI will take us 3 days. We debated about making it in 2 days but, with so many miles in front of us, we thought it would be a better idea to take our time.

We left SC Friday morning and headed to North Carolina.

From there we crossed the Appalachain Mountains-just north of the Smokey Mountain National Park, and went through this tunnel.

I am not crazy about tunnels so I was glad to see the light at the other end.

Then we entered Tennessee.

Driving down the highway there are numerous signs saying, "Watch for falling rock". Since there is absolutely nothing you can do should a rock decide to come crashing your way, we were glad to see these fences at some of the more dangerous areas.

From Tennessee we crossed the Cumberland Mountains (actually we went through a tunnel) and entered Kentucky.

Kentucky is an absolutely beautiful state with rolling hills, and gorgeous grasses.

We drove across KY and spent the first night in Louisville.  The journey continues tomorrow.  Read about it here.

A Sign of the Time

TWO DIFFERENT DOCTORS' OFFICES

Boy, if this doesn't hit the nail on the head, I don't know what does!

Two patients limp into two different medical clinics with the same complaint.

Both have trouble walking and appear to require a hip replacement.

The FIRST patient is examined within the hour, is x-rayed the same day and has a time booked for surgery the following week.

The SECOND sees his family doctor after waiting 3 weeks for an appointment, then waits 8 weeks to see a specialist, then gets an x-ray, which isn't reviewed for another week
And finally has his surgery scheduled for 6 months from then.

Why the different treatment for the two patients?


 The FIRST is a Golden Retriever.
The SECOND is a Senior Citizen.

Our New Adventure

As many of you know my husband, Larry, has been unemployed since last October. He has sent out hundreds of resumes to no avail, and then finally a few weeks ago he was offered a job in North Dakota.

This job is only for about 6 months, or until the ground freezes and they suspend work on the project but it is a job-so off to North Dakota we go via Superior,WI for a couple weeks of training.

We have a friend house-sitting for us and that makes this temporary assignment much easier. The benefit for her family is they get to enjoy the fruits of our garden while we are gone and we have someone to watch over our home.

We were able to spend this past week in South Carolina visiting our 4 grandchildren and their parents. This was a real blessing since we will probably not see them again until November.

We currently live in south Mississippi and the adventures awaiting us as we make this trek WAY up north will be exciting.  So off to Wisconsin we head and then on to North Dakota.  I should have lots to write about on this journey.

Our journey begins here.http://pattisoriginals-pattisplace.blogspot.com/2011/06/adventure-begins_23.html

Sunday Phunnies

Tatting

For many years I was interested in learning how to tat. Tatting is a form of lace making that dates back to the early 19th century. It is done using a tool called a shuttle.

I had no idea how to do it, so I bought a book and followed the instructions and occasionally I would get it right but for the most part all I succeeded in doing was getting the thread knotted. Tatting is not difficult but there is one step that kept giving me trouble-dropping your fingers...

A Southern Gal

Why southerns are considered friendly. . .

FRIENDS: Never ask for food.
SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Always bring the food.

FRIENDS: Will say "hello".
SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Will give you a big hug and a kiss.

FRIENDS: Call your parents Mr. and Mrs.
SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Call your parents Mom and Dad

FRIENDS: Have never seen you cry.
SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Cry with you.

FRIENDS: Will eat at your dinner table and leave.
SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Will spend hours there, talking, laughing, and just being together.

FRIENDS: Know a few things about you.
SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Could write a book with direct quotes from you.

FRIENDS: Will leave you behind if that's what the crowd is doing.
SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Will kick the whole crowds' back-ends that left you.

FRIENDS: Would knock on your door.
SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Walk right in and say, "I'm home!"

FRIENDS: Are for a while.
SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Are for life.

I am a southern friend. 
An interesting post as we head north for a few months.  More on our adventure in a few days.

Sunday Phunnies

A Senior Quiz

This is a test for us "old kids"! The answers are printed below, but don't cheat. And good luck to you young guys......

01. After the Lone Ranger saved the day and rode off into the sunset, the grateful citizens would ask, Who was that masked man? Invariably, someone would answer, I don't know, but he left this behind. What did he leave behind?

02. When the Beatles first came to the U.S. In early 1964, we all watched them on The _______________ Show.

03 "Get your kicks, __________________."04. "The story you are about to see is true. The names have been changed to ___________________."

05. "In the jungle, the mighty jungle, ________________."

06. After the Twist, The Mashed Potato, and the Watusi, we "danced" under a stick that was lowered as low as we could go in a dance called the "_____________."

07. "N_E_S_T_L_E_S", Nestle's makes the very best . . . . . _______________."

08. Satchmo was America 's "Ambassador of Goodwill." Our parents shared this great jazz trumpet player with us. His name was _________________.

09. What takes a licking and keeps on ticking? _______________.

10. Red Skelton's hobo character was named __________________ and Red always ended his television show by saying, "Good Night, and "________ ________"

11. Some Americans who protested the Vietnam War did so by burning their______________.

12. The cute little car with the engine in the back and the trunk in the front was called the VW. What other names did it go by? ____________ & _______________.

13. In 1971, singer Don MacLean sang a song about, "the day the music died. "This was a tribute to ___________________.

14. We can remember the first satellite placed into orbit. The Russians did it. It was called ___________________.

15. One of the big fads of the late 50's and 60's was a large plastic ring that we twirled around our waist. It was called the ________________.

ANSWERS:
01. The Lone Ranger left behind a silver bullet.
 02. The Ed Sullivan Show
 03. On Route 66
 04. To protect the innocent.
 05. The Lion Sleeps Tonight
 06. The limbo
 07. Chocolate
 08. Louis Armstrong
 09. The Timex watch
 10. Freddy, The Freeloader and "Good Night and God Bless."
 11. Draft cards (Bras were also burned. Not flags, as some have guessed)
 12. Beetle or Bug
 13. Buddy Holly
 14. Sputnik
 15. Hoola-hoop

Swedish Style

Annette, a customer from Sweden, contacted me about creating an outfit in the style worn in her country in the early 1900s.

She has introduced me to a Swedish artist, Carl Larsson, who painted this picture of his daughter.

According to Annette, Carl's wife Karin, made these dresses for the women in their family. Her intention was to create clothing for daily use, that was easy to wash and as comfortable as possible, instead of those black, unpractical silk dresses that most women wore at that time. They were inspired by artist's coats, like a roomy apron, ruffles on the shoulders and usually closed with two or three buttons at the upper back of the dress. It was used with a separate, different colored under-dress, quite long, that shows through at the back. The aprons were often white, but they could also be in another color, with tiny ticking stripes or a hand-woven structure, and made of a cotton fabric for summer use.

Annette wanted an outfit for herself made in this same style.  She wanted the dress made of mattress ticking and a solid white pinafore.  Since this is similar to the pioneer outfit I offer for girl's she asked if I could create something like this for her.  What an exciting time we had designing the outfit and I think she will be very pleased.

The dress is made exactly like my pioneer outfit except no ruffles on the sleeve.  The pinafore features a raised yoke, ruffles over the arms, full skirt and bottom ruffle. 

The back of the pinafore closes with 2 buttons on the top and the bottom is free flowing.

Annette also wanted bloomers and a sun bonnet to complete the 1900's look. 

The package is in the mail and I am anxiously waiting to hear how she likes it.

A Peek in the Garden

We harvested snow peas a few weeks ago and that was all we really had blooming at that time.  It was rather frustrating because we have been working diligently, since January, trying to get the garden going.  The weather was one issue in our lack of production but the main problem was quite a surprise to us.

In the winter the south side of our home gets really nice sun, so my hubby built some really nice raised beds in that area.  Then comes summer and there are so many trees in the south yard that the garden is really struggling.  What to do??

We decided to do another planting in some buckets and put these on the east side of the house, lots of sun in this yard.  The result is finally starting to show.  We have lots of cherry tomatoes that are slowly beginning to ripen.

The real pride of our garden is the muskmelon plant.  It is really beginning to thrive.

Here is our largest muskmelon.  It is about 2 inches in diameter.  We have about 6 smaller melons on the plant and are looking forward to enjoying all of these in a few weeks.

.

The muskmelons are new this year and another thing we are trying is okra.  The plant has gotten really large and this morning we saw this beautiful flower.

The flower is really lovely and closes up as the day progresses.  We are looking forward to some okra pretty soon.

Thanks for visiting our garden.  I will share more pictures as the plants begin to produce more fruit.

Sunday Phunnies

Robins

Two robins were sitting in a tree. I'm really hungry," said the first one.

"Me, too" said the second. "Let's fly down and find some lunch. They flew to the ground and found a nice plot of plowed ground full of worms. They ate and ate and ate and ate until they couldn't eat anymore.

"I'm so full I don't think I can fly back up to the tree," said the first one.

"Me either. Let's just lay here and bask in the warm sun," said the second.

"O.K." said the first. They plopped down, basking in the sun.

No sooner than they had fallen asleep, when a big fat tom cat snuck up and gobbled them up.

As he sat washing his face after his meal, he thought ..."I just love baskin' robins."

A Lesson on Friendship

As a result of Hurricane Katrina our little church has had to close.  We had to sell the building and pick up all the pieces.  It was a sad time but circumstances forced this upon us.  So it was time to move on and find a new place of worship.

We really hate looking for churches, seems like there are so many different religions, with so many different beliefs that it is hard to find a place you fit and feel at home.  It is difficult to believe that we have found churches to be some of the most unfriendly places around.

We once belonged to a large church in New Orleans and were part of the core group and we were surprised when people said they found our church unfriendly!!  We had lots of friends so we could not understand the problem.

So we started watching.  Visitors would come in at the last minute, sit towards the back and leave as soon as the service was over-there was no time for anyone to be friendly to them.  We began trying to reach them before they could leave just so we could welcome them, but in the course of this we also learned how to be a visitor at a church.  A lesson that would prove useful in the future.

Then we moved to Houston, TX which is a very transient community.  There are not many native Houstonians around so people in that area have learned to be friendly to newcomers.  Churches are large and friendly and we had no problem making friends and fitting in.

Then we moved to Mississippi and things changed.  Mississippi is quite different from anyplace else we have ever lived.

When we started looking for a church we remembered the lessons we learned in New Orleans-we arrived early, sat in the middle of the sanctuary and stayed around after the service was over.  Many, many people said hello and welcomed us-they never introduced themselves or asked our names.  They never asked where we lived or worked.  Basically they were not friendly.

It took us over 6 months to find the little church I mentioned earlier and it was heartbreaking when we had to close the doors and start all over looking for a new church.

Again we began visiting churches all over the area.  So many people were glad to see us, told us hello and that was it-no introductions, no one asked our names, we did not feel welcome.

Since then, we have found a church where we feel welcome and are slowly making friends.  I hope other church memebers will read this and understand how hard it is to find a church home and will reach out and make an effort not only to be friendly, but to actually befriend the visitors to your congregation.
May God be glorified.

Our First Harvest

Our weather, this spring, started off very cool and then, overnight, it got very humid and hot.  This fluctuating weather took quite a toll on our garden.  But finally things started growing.

We were so excited when we finally had enough of our snow peas  and snap peas for a harvest.

We enjoyed a few more harvests of these peas and I think we will get one more meal out of them before they finish producing.

Since we only planted 2 containers with pea plants we were very pleased with the harvest.  Next year I think we will try for a larger planting.