Anniversary Weekend

Last year, Mike and I went to Chicago for a long week-end to celebrate our 25th anniversary.  We had a wonderful time and ended the weekend attending a letterboxing event in Lake Bluff, IL.  This winter has been incredibly busy and stressful.  Mike wanted us to get away for a few days again this year.  We headed to Chicago for a few days break.

We left around 7:00am on Saturday.  On our way to our destination, we tried to get 3 letter boxes.  The first location was gated and we could  not enter.  The second location was in a park that hadn't been plowed all winter.  It too was inaccessible.  The third box was in a neighborhood park.  After trudging through piles of snow the box was found!   Not an auspicious beginning to our weekend, but we had fun anyway.  There is nothing like following behind someone trying to hop into his foot print while wearing clogs to bring levity to the morning. 

One of the things that Mike wanted to do was to see some of the homes that Frank Lloyd Wright had built in Oak Park.  The homes were gorgeous.  We were surprised that so many of them were for sale.  We drove by some of the houses and walked to others.  There were tons of people staring at the houses and driving down the streets where the homes were located.  Sometimes the traffic was so heavy that there was only one lane available for moving vehicles.  I think it would be quite difficult to live in a house that so many people want to see.  I would probably keep the curtains drawn at all times and never use the front yard. 

I had never been to an Ikea store before, so that was our next destination.  It was fun looking at all the lighting options and seeing the variety of fixtures for bathrooms.  We're going to be working on the bathrooms in the project house next, so those types of products were foremost in our thoughts.

The second floor of the store is reached by using glass elevators or very open escalators.  After walking around the second floor, my nerves were at their breaking point.  I don't do well with heights and the glass rails around the drop off to the ground floor made me very nervous.  We decided not to see the third floor.  I enjoyed going to Ikea, but will probably not make the journey to go to another one.  It will be easier and less nerve-wrecking to make purchases online.

Lunch was next on the agenda.  Mike wanted to try the food at Joe's Crab Shack.  The food was good and we enjoyed the uniqueness of the experience.  There aren't many sea food places in our area, with the exception of Red Lobster.  We shared a sampler appetizer and bucket of crab and lobster.  What a treat!

We did a little shopping and then checked into our hotel.  For supper we headed to our favorite Chicago area pizza place...Giordano's  We arrived to a fairly quiet restaurant and ordered salad and a Chicago style deep dish pizza.  Before the pizza arrived,  the restaurant filled with a children's basketball league for the end of the season pizza party.  It was difficult to hear each other speak, but the pizza was worth it..  

The next morning, we did a little more letterboxing and managed to snag all the boxes we attempted.  Mike was a great sport and retrieved the boxes that were buried in the snow.

We attended a letterboxing event and met many new friends.  It made me smile when I would introduce myself by my trail name and would hear, "You're -------------!  I was hoping we could meet!  I love your shoe signature stamp!"  We met some boxers from Kalamazoo, which was surprising.  Hopefully, we'll run across her sometime when we're on the trail in our area.

After the event ended, we headed back home.  It was a lovely weekend and provided the rest and fun that Mike and I both needed.  On our way home, we remembered why we don't want to live in a large city.  It's great to visit, but not something we'd want to deal with everyday.

Feeling the Pressure

I went to the project house last week and spent some time inventorying all the things that still need to be done.  The tear out is completely finished, but the amount of work is overwhelming.  We really need to get our current home on the market this spring, so we can sell it and finish some of the more costly projects on the project house.  It just isn't feasible to sell our current home while we are living in it.  So the project house must have some projects finished before we can put this house on the market. 

The dining room is completely finished.  The light brown and white combination is bright and airy.  The chandelier is installed and looks great.  It's great to be able to say that something is completely finished.  Unfortunately, it's the only room that is finished.

My public school children do not have class on Monday.  Sunday and Monday will be spent at the project house trying to complete some more projects and finish painting Madelyn's bedroom and Joe's bedroom. 

The project has a large closet/room for coats and two smaller closets also for coats.  The three closets are in the same area which is located off the garage and dining room.  One of the coat closets will be used for guests and the second coat closet will be lined with shelves to hold shoes.  During the week, the coat room will get painted and possibly the shelves will get installed into the shoe closet.

Mike and I will be spending next weekend in Chicago to celebrate our anniversary and to attend a letterboxing event.  We did the same thing last year for our anniversary.  I'm looking forward to a break from all the hustle around here.  Hopefully, we'll come home refreshed and ready to tackle lots of  projects over the next month.     

The Great, The Bad, and the Painful

Mike and I left Friday morning for our Chicago weekend. It started snowing about an hour before we left, so there was a light dusting on the ground. After about 1/2 an hour after we left, the heavy, wet snow began to blanket the ground. We managed to do some letterboxing in southern Michigan and northern Indiana.

One box was hidden in the side of a barn at a museum. The drive and area surrounding the barn was very muddy. Mike offered to retrieve the box, while I stayed in the car. His hands were covered with mud after finally getting the box that was partially frozen in the mud.

We also managed to be first finders on a box inside a library. The library was really cute and had a pony from a merry-go-round by the door. I love seeing smaller town libraries. They have so much character and really provide a snap shot of the community.

When we reached the Chicago area, we discovered that they had received about 4 inches of very heavy snow. Mike agreed to try and collect some cemetery boxes before we checked into the hotel. The cemeteries did not have drives through them. We had to walk through snow and look in bushes for the boxes. We both ended up drenched, but had fun.

After checking into the hotel, we went to Giordano's Chicago Style Pizza. The pizza was fabulous! Mike requested that I figure out how to make the same crust and locate a source for mozzarella cheese. After dinner, we decided to see a movie. We found a theater, but didn't recognize any of the movie titles. Mike decided that we should see whatever was showing next. The movie was called The Artist. It was really slow and predictable. Eventually, Mike suggested that we leave early, so we headed back to our hotel.

The next morning, I had set the suitcase on the floor to get some clothing out. A few minutes later, I caught my little toe on the leg of the suitcase and broke my toe. After hopping around the room for a few minutes, I put on tight socks and forced my foot into a snug sneaker and we headed to the Art Institute of Chicago. We forgot about the time change and arrived pretty early.

Mike and I decided to walk around Millennium Park and looked at the sculptures. We also had time for bagels at a coffee shop across the street. It was so much fun looking around at the architecture and sculpture in the area. After a tasty meal, we headed to the Art Institute.

We hadn't been there in several years, so we really enjoyed seeing everything. We managed to get several photos of some great modern art that I'm planning to use in art lessons with the girls later this week. After a few hours, my foot was really painful, so we drove around Chicago and looked at various points of interest and the lake shore. Mike had purchased a GPS before the trip, so he programed it to take up to the next hotel without getting on a freeway. Let's just say that I'm very glad it was still daylight during our trip.

When we reached the hotel, Mike dropped me off before parking the SUV. I walked into the lobby and realized that all 10 floors were open to an interior courtyard with iron railings on one side of the hallways. I have a terrible fear of heights and was a little nervous about which floor our room was located. We checked in and headed to the glass elevator to go to the third floor. After closing my eyes on the journey up to our floor, I stepped out of the elevator and realized that there were railings on both sides of the hallway with 3 story drop offs on each side. Mike held my hand and guided me to the end of the hall to our room. We opened the door and were hit with a strong smell of smoke...almost like a bonfire smell. Mike called down and asked for a different room, because he has bad allergies.

We were reassigned a room on the fifth floor, directly above the room we had originally. Reliving the seemingly endless hallways isn't fun, so I won't go into further details. It was a tough situation, but I managed to do it. We didn't go out for dinner that night. My foot was badly swollen from walking all day and I didn't want to do more trips down the halls.

The next morning, I couldn't get my foot into my shoes, so I wore one sneaker and extra socks on the bad foot. We had breakfast at the hotel and drove up to a letterboxing event in Lake Bluff, IL at the SILO restaurant. Mike suggested we stop at Walgreens for some aspirin and discovered some men's slippers that look similar to Berkenstocks. The slippers were too large for me normally, but with the swelling and extra slippers, they worked great!

We had a little time before the event, so Mike and I found two drive-by letterboxes in the area. The event was fun! I was nervous about attending an event where we didn't know anyone. We immediately met a lovely couple from Minnesota who invited us to sit at their table. Everyone was so friendly and gracious during the event that I had a great time. Mike didn't have as much fun as I did, but said that it was better than he expected. I managed to get lots of boxes and exchanges and can put some trail-names with faces. There is another event at the end of April and I'll meet up with several of the same people then. It's so wonderful to meet people who enjoy the same hobby!

After the event, we headed back to Michigan. It was after 10 when we arrived, but all the kids were still awake. I really enjoyed our time away, but coming home to my wonderful family was even better.

February 28, 1987

Happy Letterboxing Day!

Mike and I will celebrate our anniversary on Monday. Unfortunately, the kids need to be driven places during the day and evening, so celebrating Monday is out of the question. As our celebration, we spent the afternoon letterboxing in Indiana. We headed out right after church and managed to collect one indoor box before reaching Indiana. Mike loved the location and spent a lot of time browsing the merchandise inside the store.

We stopped for a quick lunch and then drove into South Bend (where Mike grew up) and were first finders for the box at Notre Dame. After driving into Mishawaka, we collected another box at the oldest park in the city. The park has a really cool band shelter and a rock garden. Everything was covered with snow, but I think it would be very pretty in the spring and summer.

Our next drive took us to Bremen, Indiana. This box was so much fun to collect. I was nervous after reading the clues, because it is located outside a lake home. No one was staying at the home, so my nervousness was unnecessary. The stamp was really detailed.

After driving through Bremen, we headed to LaPaz, Indiana for 3 more boxes. Two of the boxes were hidden in birdhouses and had combination locks for security. I laughed when we found the first one, because it was so unexpected. The other LaPaz box was buried underneath a sign about a building that was going to be built. It was hidden under snow, cement blocks, and water. My feet were drenched after gathering this box.

We drove into Plymouth to collect a large number of boxes. One box we couldn't find. Then we headed to the cemetery. Lightening and thunder began as we entered the cemetery. I climbed out of the vehicle and wandered around trying to read the words on the gravestones, while covering my head from the rain. After 20 minutes of searching, we threw in the towel. The rain was pouring, lightening was flashing, and every thunderbolt made me jump. We plan to return another day later in the spring.

My poor feet were dripping wet, so I dried my shoes and socks on the way back to Michigan. After returning to our small town, Mike took me out for a delicious dinner. When we arrived at home, the kids were all quietly playing and Steve had baked brownies. It was a great ending to a really wonderful day!

A Night Out

My wonderful husband took me out to dinner a couple of nights ago. We went to a local restaurant called The Oasis. Every time Mike drives by the restaurant, the parking lot is packed. We arrived around 7:30 to a nearly empty interior. It was snowing outside, so maybe everyone stayed home. I've noticed that people in our neighborhood go to bed early. By 10:00 p.m. all the houses are dark....except ours.

Mike ordered the daily special and I ordered shrimp. My meal was wonderful. Perfectly cooked shrimp, tender-crisp broccoli. YUM. Mike was a little disappointed. He hadn't read the description of what he was ordering and expected something different. His entree was called "Moo and Oink". It was chopped sirloin, topped with broccoli, some sort of cheesy gravy, and bacon bits. All served on top of hash brown potatoes. Not my type of meal at all.

I really enjoyed the time that we shared. We hadn't had uninterrupted conversation in a long time. This Sunday is our anniversary. Mike has planned for us to locate the "best pizza place in the area" which is on a side road near a lake access. We plan to bring pizza home for the whole family and then the two of us will go out for a movie or something. Two dates in one week. I could get used to this.

Twenty-two years ago

Mike and I were married 22 years ago today in the local WELS church. My mother made my wedding dress and head piece. The "crown" portion was worn by my mom during her wedding. The weather was beautiful during the day. I ran my errands wearing a short-sleeved shirt. During the 4:00 service, a huge thunderstorm hit. Everyone was drenched moving from church to cars and finally into the reception hall. The next morning, my new husband and I headed off in my 1983 Mustang for our honeymoon in Texas. It's been a wonderful 22 years and we have been blessed in many ways throughout or lives together. Amazingly, we both look exactly the same.....not! Mike no longer wears a mustache and I weigh a "few" pounds more than I did back then.

Mike is coming home from work early tonight, so that we can go out to celebrate. Last year, two of the kids were sick, so we ate Chinese in our bedroom while watching DVD's.