Wednesday, November 1, 2023

 Nov 1 2023

 Now in florida for the winter. as always the last few months have been busy. the garden was the worst garden i have ever had. very poor production for the most part. got just enough tomatoes canned to get us thru the winter. had to dig potatoes  early because something was eating them underground. onions grew but were overall smallish. as were the carrots and peppers. no cukes, corn, peas.  garden was all done before the end of august..frustrating at best. All the kids and most of grandkids all came for visits this summer, which was wonderful. our second camper sydney came in super handy for overnight visitors . Got in a few bike rides  but not as many as usual and only walked with friend wanda a few times.  we did take sydney out for a camping trip once. went to Sarona and met friends val and ken for a couple days. super fun. spent quite a bit of time with mom this summer. she loves Culvers and so that was our usual lunch stop when out and about. tom found out at the end of summer that he needs a hip replacement so it will be a long painful winter for him this year. we cancelled going to Gulf Shores for november this year. just seemed like too many things going on. we had a long stressful trip from wi to fl. we both got covid within a few days of leaving wi. we both felt like crap and wanted to do nothing more than stop for a few days somewhere on the ways to Brads and could not stay anywhere for more than 1 night  except at some questionable campgrounds so we just kept going until getting to brads area. we stayed there for 9 days and definitely needed the rest. from there we were going to stop along the way to florida but just decided to keep on going till we got to the house. glad to get here. everything was good at the house so that was a pleasant surprise.  neighbors all welcomed us back. its starting to feel like a home here. took a bit to get sydney unloaded and things put away in house but its mostly done.

neighbor Diana did a great job keeping the plants alive and well all summer

friend Wanda did a great job on making my quilt larger

questionable walmart neighbors one night

bretts 15!

madison. 5 months. longest eyelashes on a girl ever!



bode's first sleepover in camper. of course campfire and smores are mandatory

New River Gouge NP. it was pretty but overall disappointing. i think we went to the wrong end of the park.

iconic bridge. once a year they close it and people reserve a spot to jump off of it. yikes

rykal brothers and sister in laws gathering before we left wi. randy found out next day he had covid and was kind enough to share with tom and i

end of season campfire at jan and dougs. fun night

brad and madison

eric and grandma. she requested McDonalds for lunch

breanna and kolsyn came for a visit for a few days. he is soooo fun to be around.

grandpa and kolsyn enjoying popsickles

my cupboards needing cleaning out


grandma sperber, bode and madison. fun visit

a  4 generation picture


a visit  to the Irvine parik zoo. toooo hot that day tho. all the animals were hiding inside


grandpa and madison enjoying the sunshine

neighbor Colton brought us a catapillar that turned into a beautiful Monarch.

 

Monday, August 7, 2023

 august 7 2023

not sure where my last 2 posts went to but here it goes again. Got home, planted garden, cleaned bathrooms for start of season. cleaned up sydney after our trip home. eric and family came for a short visit, kevin and family joined us for a day and a half also. had mom over to eat a few times, have taken her out shopping a number of times. seems like i have been too busy or its been too hot so havent gotten on my bike too much. went to cabin a couple of times . met tom and ginny miller for a weekend in june at the cabin. helped ed and pat finish staining the deck in july. went to the casino a couple of times. won a jackpot of $1300 in june. yay! chat with the neighbors here at pine harbor on the weekends.  took sydney out for a couple of days last week. val and ken met us in Sarona. they also came down to Pine Harbor for a few days in june. garden is doing horrible. something is eating the produce before i think it is ready to pick. or the seeds before they can even come up out of the dirt. very frustrating!! thanks to sister in law karen who gave me some green beans i got a few pints canned up. did corn today and strawberry/rhubarb jam in june. wont have to worry about hauling too much south i guess. it has  been a hot dry summer thus far. lots of 90 plus degree days in june. 

val and i at teddy bear tap in sarona

first blt of summer

poor pickings

surprise 70th for tom with our campground friendsgoo


good times with the neighbors

wine and music at Autumn Hill winery

yummy supper of kens walleye

most of the family

wade loves his uncle kevin

lainey and kolsyn enjoying some water time

mom with the babies

all of joels family plus sister cindi and all of us

breanna and Kolsyn


introducing Madison J Rykal. grandchild #9

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

 May 10 

Home again, home again. good to be back in Wi.!  Gratefully, an uneventful trip home.  Weather stayed pretty nice all the way home. But a lot of wind. Got home May 4. a day earlier than planned. but the weather was great the day we got back.  so we got a lot accomplished transfering everything from Sydney to the Beast. fortunately, no mice in the beast and no leaks! spent 2 days cleaning the bathrooms at the campground. they look great now. now time to start the garden!  had mom over for dinner the second night home. so good to see her! seemed like a lot of extra work going from house to camper to camper . we need to come up with a better relocating plan. hopefully, i will get all my projects completed and be able to enjoy the summer!

tom making sure greta is surviving being left alone while her parents jan and doug play for the day

kentucky derby party. abby and asha hanging out

sharon, donna and i sporting our derby hats

thanks aprill for the great bag, which pours wine!

madison wi. lake farm park

el paso illinois. we were just about the only ones there

atmore alabama casino campground. i won 200.00!

tallahasse rv park. new one for us. loved it!

morning coffee and a book with a great view


our welcome committee. he also starts crowing at 0330!

spo tnumber 5. $24 a night