We Only Aim to Please

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Yesterday when I made my cottages about town post, we all unanimously fell in love with this little place. I told you I could provide tours of the outsides, but had no power to show the insides.

Well - - - in my zeal to photograph these beauties, I failed to notice the "for sale" sign in front of this one. Since we are all LONGING to see inside, I spent a little time researching online, and EUREKA, I found it. For all who are want a tour, you can take one here. It's as cute inside as out.

Enjoy!
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"A Tent or a Cottage"

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There's a lot of "cottage love" out there in bloggy land, so when we moved into this town, I noticed right away that there are a lot of cute cottage style homes 'round these here parts!


Today was a beautiful sunny day, so I asked Fisherhubby to drive me around so I could get out, walk up and down sidewalks, and take some pictures to share with all of you.


I really wish I could show you the INSIDE of these cute little houses, but somehow I drew the line at walking up to the doors of complete strangers, knocking, and asking if I could put a tour of their delightful little cottage on my blog!


We'll all just have to settle for gazing at the OUTSIDES and imagining the INSIDES.


This is one of my favorites! Look at the scallops in the peaks of the gables. The white picket fence is the PERFECT compliment.


I liked the side of this one as well as the front - - - so tried to capture both in one pose.


Neat as a pin with just a flounce of fluff at the windows under the porch roof.


Tiny, tiny! Is it a doll house??? But no - - - there was a grown-up size car in the drive.

Now, for the quiz - - - who recognizes from whence I got the quote in this post title?

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When Is Enough Enough - - -

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And when is enough just plain too much?


That is the burning life question with which I am grappling as I finish up my "settling in" process.

I KNOW I already promised I was FINISHED with my moving posts - - - but I tell myself this is not REALLY a moving post. This is a BURNING LIFE QUESTION post.


It is not MERELY my blog which is eclectic - - - I am quite eclectic myself. DUH, as if I needed to tell you that!

As I have been settling into our little nest, I have wanted to keep mementos of all the eclecticity that has been my life around me.















And so, I have placed family heirlooms next to school teacher memorabilia next to family keep sakes next to Burr Camp nostalgia all over my abode.














These cherished items are literally sitting next to and on top of each other in every nook and cranny of our small duplex.

I could point them out to you and tell you the significance of each - - - but that should really be another post, no?














In fact, it is somewhat of a miracle that all of my boxes are now unpacked and everything has found its place and is in its place.


Which brings me back to my original question - - - When is enough enough and not just plain too much?















I can live with not having any style whatsoever except eclecticity - - - I've known that about myself for years. I have made no claim to being a decorator.


And I am enjoying having all my little treasures out and about where they can be seen and not heard.
















But today as I walk about the rooms, looking here and looking there, I am forced to ask myself that aforementioned burning life question: "Is this enough enough or is it just plain too much??? Should I box some of this back up and store it away for another day?

Oh no - - - please say it isn't so - - - please say I don't have to do ANY more boxing!!!

I'm NOT Manny Pacquiao, you know!!

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This Post's For YOU, Mackinley, Piper and Kaeleigh!!!

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Lookey here, Macky, Piper & Kaeleigh!!!

Papoo was a GOOD BOY and cleaned up a mess he made in our closet, so he got a sticker on his forehead, just like YOU DO when you come to Kamma Kamp!!!

We love you and miss you.

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Devil's Elbow

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It was a dark, drizzly, dismal day with the occasional snow flake hitting the wind shield when we went in search of the Devil's Elbow.

I had been there before. I knew Fisherhubby was going to want to not only find this place, but return later with his boat and bait.


Sure enough, even before we got to the evil elbow, we found access for boats. This is Petenwell Flowage, Wisconsin's second largest body of water covering more than 23,000 acres.

This is just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.

It took us less than 20 minutes from our front door to this boat ramp. I've seen photos of monster muskies pulled out of here - - - Fisherhubby will be HAPPY when he hooks into one of those.


In fact, even without his boat and bait, Fisherhubby was about to jump straight out of his skin just SEEING all this water. He kept saying, "It's HUGE!"

Then we found the Devil himself and drove down his arm, around his elbow and back again.


When I was a kid, I don't think these guard rails were here.


In fact, if memory serves me right, it seems that in the dead of winter when the ice was frozen solid,


Drivers used to intentionally LEAVE the road, skipping the Devil and his elbow all together,


And take a short cut straight across the lake.

Those were the days my friends - - - long gone except in the memories of old-timers like myself.

I'm pretty positive when this lake gets frozen solid there will STILL be an entire "neighborhood" of ice fishing shanties out there. I'll go back and see along about January.

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Sunday Reruns - How Those Bees Do Spell!!

It's Sunday again, and you know what THAT means!?! It's time for Sunday Favorites!!!

Sunday Favorites are RERUNS - - - if you want to participate, just repost something you previously posted "back in the day."

(NOTICE: This is NOT a current event ;-)

Thanks so much to Chari over at Happy to Design for hosting this meme, "Sunday Favorites."

Bees Which Spell
(First posted on 6/26/2008)

I just watched a rerun of the 2008 Scripps National Spelling bee, which a young man named Sameer Mishra from West Lafayette, Indiana won. Hooray for our side!!!

But the WORDS. Most of these I've never heard of, let alone SPELLED. Here are some of the last words of the competition:

parfleche - hairless preserved rawhide
huapango - Mexican folk dance
rhyton - drinking horn
sheitel - Jewish female wig
nacarat - vivid red
ecrase - crushed texture
posaune - trombone
thymele - Greek altar
oxylophytic - acidic soil loving (plant)
sinicize - modify by Chinese influence
aptyalism - absence of saliva
opificer - skilled artistic worker
hyphaeresis - omission of a sound or letter from the body of a word
kulturkampf - conflict between civil and religious authorities
taleggio - creamy cheese from whole cow's milk
introuvable - impossible to find
esclandre - incident which causes a scandal
prosopopeia - absent person speaking as if present
guerdon - reward

Whew - - - no WONDER I never entered a spelling bee!!!

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Pretty Little Places Along The Way

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This week I used my camera to try to capture some of the pretty little places I saw on my way hither and yon about our new home town.


You may have noticed this in my blog header, but I wanted to include it here because I am so enjoying seeing it each time I pass by - - - which is FREQUENTLY since it is smack dab on my way to lots 'o places I go.


And at the very same spot, but on the other side of the road - - -


Is this working water wheel. Now, by working I do not mean that it is grinding Little Red Hen's wheat - - - I don't think it's doing any menial task. Rather I mean it is rotating as the water pours through it.


This is the pond which is feeding the water wheel. I imagine a small creek runs through here which has been dammed to create this peaceful vista.


This is my very favorite type of pine. They tower above other trees into the sky and their irregular silhouette fascinates me. They are the signature pine in this area.

I wish I could install "scratch and sniff" on my blog so you could enjoy their piney aroma.


Man. Dog. Lake. What could be better?


Pines, water, sky.


Our town is on the banks of the Wisconsin River, thus the name Wisconsin Rapids. This is the mighty Wisconsin as seen to the south side of the expressway bridge.


And this is the Wisconsin to the north side of the same bridge. When I was in high school, we called this island in the middle of the river Mead Island after the family that lived there. I need to find out if it still bears that name and if any of the Meads still exist there.

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WHAT??? You Mean you DON'T Hang onto My Every Word???

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Two people asked me, after reading my last post, what sastrugi were. Pretty sure I blogged about that back in February and naturally I THOUGHT everyone on the PLANET would remember.

NOT.

Go ahead, follow the link, we'll still be here when you get back - - -

Fisherhubby found out today that he still has a while to wait before he can actually start working in the ER (red tape, complications, don't get me started- - -) so that means he has plenty of leisure for catching some more of these:


Four pound large mouth bass that he pulled out of Lake Nepco today. Don't worry all you fish lovers, he practices catch and release, so this bad boy lived to fight another day.


27 inch northern pike, which is a cousin of the Muskie he caught yesterday. He caught a little "hammer handle" pike too, but didn't bother with a picture of that one.

Oh, and while fishing Fisherhubby saw a Bald Eagle fly over too. So majestic.

As I drive around this town I'm seeing a lot of cute little "cottages." I PLAN to take my camera one day and do some "catching" of my own, which I will naturally share with you.

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This Got Me in BIG Doo-Doo

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This little winter decorative sled was one of the first things I found as it came off the moving truck last week. It was a frosty morning that day, and since I don't have any fall outdoor decor handy, I decided to just go ahead and set my snowmen outside the garage door. Usually I put it out the day after Thanksgiving.

Seems my friend Connie told my friend Sharon what I had done. Sharon rolled her eyes at me and said, "I can't believe you put out snowmen already! I don't want snow!"

Well - - - I'm a snow baby. I love snow. I don't mind if it starts snowing soon.

HOWEVER - - - my little snowmen are NOT summoning up arctic air and sastrugi. (Read: they ain't a makin' it snow!) It's been sunny and in the mid 60's here all week.

Sharon can relax.

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Fisherhubby's Maiden Wisconsin Resident Voyage

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The skies are just barely streaked with clouds here in central Wisconsin. The mercury is reading in the mid 60's, amazing fall weather for this far north of the equator!

I imagine you can GUESS what this makes Fisherhubby LONG to do - - - and it has absolutely NADA to do with unpacking boxes.

Though he HAS already been a big help in the box unpacking department.


So, I packed him a little sandwich and filled an empty 2 liter bottle with ice cold water. That's every man's dream - - - drinking right out of the 2 liter bottle.


Then I followed him to the old watering hole so I could document his maiden Wisconsin resident fishing trip.


This lake is less than ten minutes from our house. We didn't have THAT kind of fishing proximity in Indiana!!!


Pretty little drive into the park to get to the boat ramp.


Once at the ramp parking lot, something went wrong with the electrical system on the trailer. Fisherhubby says, "With a boat it is ALWAYS something - - - "


Finally, everything is working and it's time to back the boat down to the ramp,


And into the water.


You can't see his face in this picture, but let me just tell you, if you COULD, you would see PURE JOY written there.


Heading out to the old fishin' holes.


Too bad he STILL had to buy an out-of-state fishing license since we can't get our Wisconsin driver's licenses until we've been here thirty days.


No matter - - - this little 20" Muskie didn't know if the fisherman was foreign or not!

Now that's a great first day of fishing in ANY state!!!
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