August 5, 2017

A nice surprise … the Wall that Heals

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Replica at Barker’s Island in Superior, MN. (Lake Superior is in the background.)

Recently we traveled to Two Harbors to deliver our son’s vehicle to him. After lunch with he and his family, we headed to Duluth to spend a few hours before we returned home. We visit Duluth – and Lake Superior — as often as we can. I’m pretty sure we could conduct one heck of a visitor’s tour of the area.

One of our mandatory stops is Canal Park, often to visit the Canal Park Museum – this time to get the 2018 copy of Know Your Ships. (We are long-time dedicated Great Lakes shipping fans.) And, then, of course – the visit to the popcorn wagon, that sits in the parking lot area of the museum, is a must.

Popcorn wagon in Canal Park, Duluth

We often also take a quick ride across the Blatnik Bridge to the City of Superior to see the ships in port. This time we decided to see if anything had changed on Barker’s Island, home of the S S Meteor Whaleback Ship museum. (For more information on the museum, Click HERE.)

To our surprise, however, we found that The Wall that Heals Vietnam Veterans Memorial Replica and Mobile Education Center was on display on the lawn and parking lot area of the museum.

The following text, as stated on their web page, describes the purpose of the display.

“On Veterans Day 1996, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) unveiled a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., designed to travel to communities throughout the United States. Since its dedication, The Wall That Heals has visited more than 400 cities and towns throughout the nation, spreading the Memorial’s healing legacy to millions.

Bringing The Wall home to communities throughout our country allows the souls enshrined on the Memorial to exist once more among family and friends in the peace and comfort of familiar surroundings. The traveling exhibit provides thousands of veterans who have been unable to cope with the prospect of facing The Wall to find the strength and courage to do so within their own communities, thus allowing the healing process to begin.”

We arrived at the exhibit shortly before the day’s end; however, I was still able to peruse the displays in the mobile education center and walk most of the wall. My brother, and many of my friends and high school classmates, served in Vietnam so this was a very sobering experience for me, but it is well worth the visit should the exhibit come to an area near you.

For more information on the wall, Click HERE.

Thanks for reading. I hope you will return.

July 27, 2017

There she blows … Cousins weekend (part 2)

The first blog on cousins weekend was mostly about the lake. This blog is about other activities of our weekend.

A little shopping entertainment

So what does a group of women do on an women-only weekend. We go shopping. In this case, we went to Spooner, Wisconsin – just a few miles away from the cabin. Spooner has a two or so block area with several gift and antique stores. Unfortunately for us, we decided to go shopping on Sunday – so some of the stores were not open. (Wouldn’t it be nice if all the merchants got together and were all open during the same times?)

The store above gets the “My Choice for Best Store” award. It is a book store AND a yarn store – all in one. There is a nice selection of books and a wide variety of very nice yarns. Even better – if you look closely at the picture above – you will see it is located in a building that was – or is – home to a Masonic Lodge – which typically have interesting architectural details.

A key feature of this shopping area is this wall mural and small park. There were several areas where shoppers could sit and rest or just people watch.

The shop called the “Dock” (shown above) was also the entrance to public restrooms — an important feature for women shoppers. We did not visit “The Wobbin Duck Saloon” – nor did we take time for a tattoo. Maybe next time. Maybe not.

Back at the cabin

At the cabin, we had several visits from a woodchuck – who apparently lives under the shed. We thought about getting a be-be gun to shoot it; and then we thought better.

We spent a far amount of time playing cards. Since I don’t play cards, I wasn’t the best at it. We played Skipbo and some other high-stakes game (as shown above) where we bet on which cards would appear. I think I won a few – but clearly I could use some practice.

And, there she blows . . . almost a catastrophe

You’ll have to pardon my rudimentary sketching but this sketch will help you understand our near catastrophe. Later Saturday evening, we had all gathered in living room area of the cabin. I was sitting in the recliner (shown on the right in the sketch); one of my sister-in-laws was sitting in the rocker to the left of the recliner; my niece was in the chair immediately above the recliner that I was sitting in; and my other sister-in-law (and owner of the cabin) was walking between the recliner and the rocker.

I decided that I would hook up my oxygen bottle for the night. (It was empty from use the night before.) However, I have never hooked it up; my husband always does it for me. So, I put the valve on the tank – as I thought it should be. Then I decided to test it – so I turned the value to open it — just as my sister-in-law walked by (between our two chairs). Well, I didn’t do it correctly and a blast of oxygen shot out, making a loud gushing noise. It either blew my sister-in-law (who was walking) over or it scared her. In any case, she fell forward – into the area between all of the chairs. I was watching her fall and trying to shut off the value – but then, I leaned too far forward – and ended up on the floor — all tangled up in the hose for the tank. I tried to get up by leaning on the chair, which just kept tipping. Finally, I was able to get up – and see that my sister-in-law was okay.

Just one more little problem – the one who fell had knee surgery on both knees, so she can’t lean on them. That makes getting up even harder – and, of course, it’s hard enough for us old folks to get up. After a few minutes of trying to figure out how to help her – we took one of the cushions off the couch and put it on the floor. She was able to scooch over and get onto that cushion; then we took the other cushion and put it on the first one. Again, she was able to scooch onto that cushion. Then it was easy for my niece to pull her to her feet.

After all of that, we just sat in the living room, laughing. I’m sure it was a funny sight – at least for a few minutes. Luckily, I now know how to correctly put the gauge on the oxygen tank. The bonus — the sister-in-law who fell had been suffering with a kink in her back for a few days prior to this incident; the next morning, the kink was gone!!!

Thanks for reading! I hope you will return.

July 19, 2017

Bang ! … part 1 (of 2) of Cousins weekend

Part 1 of 2 – with each part containing a story about our near catastrophes.

At Lake Lipsett

This part weekend was the second annual Cousins Weekend at my sister-in-law’s cabin on Lake Lipsett near Siren, Wis. This year there were 4 older women in attendance. The fact that we are all older is good in many ways: (1) we can sit around in our pajamas or nightgowns and not offend anyone; (2) we don’t have to be concerned about our weight or jiggly arms – we all have pretty much given up on that; (3) it doesn’t take much wine at all to make us happy (actually it didn’t take much of anything to get us laughing); and (4) we don’t have to worry about holding anyone up because most of us are pretty slow-moving.

Time for a pontoon ride

There is nothing more peaceful than sitting by a lake with a nice breeze and the sun shining. What’s even better, though, is a long pontoon ride on the lake. The youngest woman (who just retired) became the captain. Of course, none of the rest of us knew how to drive the pontoon; this was her second time at it so she is the professional.

A Little about the Lake

Lipsett Lake is a 393 acre lake located in Burnett County. It has a maximum depth of 24 feet. Water clarity is low (according to the Wisconsin DNR) with numerous patches of lily pads and weeds. Fishing seems to be pretty good (at least for the bald eagle who kept swooping down by the dock, near the shore of the cabin, and picking up his fish lunch). Those out fishing this weekend, however, didn’t seem to have much luck – but they kept trying.

On the pontoon ride, we toured the perimeter of the lake, looking for eagle’s nests in the tall pine trees that surround much of the lake. We are never disappointed. We also looked for and found loons. Often you can hear them from the shore. We also found many other folks – in boats or in the water – who were enjoying the lake.

Time to Dock

I’m not sure but I think the ride took about an hour; I was too busy enjoying the ride to check the time. Finally, though, we were back to the area of our cabin and it was time to bring the boat to shore and park it in the lift. This is where the ride got more interesting. The captain brought the pontoon in slowly, swinging it sideways to counteract the waves but the waves blew the pontoon a little too far sideways. Our lady captain put the motor in reverse and backed up for another try.

This time she steered the boat further to the left to counteract the waves. Things were looking good and we were almost to the lift. But then … have you heard stories about pressing on the gas when it should be the brake?? Well, the captain had one of those moments. All of a sudden, we were heading for the dock. The captain was screaming:” Oh, my God!!” My sister-in-law – sitting in the front of the pontoon – had her feet firmly braced for a crash landing. My other sister-in-law (who owns the boat) was laughing – and we hadn’t had any wine yet. And I was expecting us to hit one of the posts on the canopy – so I am yelling: “the post!” And then we hit — a loud BANG! After a quick survey of the scene, however, we determined there was no damage at all. All relieved, we managed to pull the pontoon into place under the lift. And then we laughed … and laughed … and laughed. Then we got the wine and sat right there, on the pontoon, with a cool breeze, and drank wine and laughed some more.

Coming next – Part 2 of Cousins Weekend – There She Blows!

Thanks for reading! I hope you will return.

July 14, 2017

Pure and simple …

On our recent trip to Steven’s Point, Wisconsin, we stopped early in the trip at a gift store – Pure ‘n Simple — on Highway 8 near Amery, Wisconsin. (Click HERE to visit their website.) You can grab a bit to eat in their deli or shop for local meats, cheese, organic and natural foods, bulk baking items, or convenience items.

As we got out of the car, however, we were welcomed by a crowd — a crowd of fun animals — all of them ‘yelling out’ for us to come visit them. So, we completely forgot about the gift store and headed over to the animals.

First, we talked to the goats. Each of them wanted attention.

Next, were the chickens – all vying for position at the front of the cage. They were quite chatty and seemingly happy – birds of all feathers.

But, of course, the real show-off was one of the peacocks. She or he turned all the way around in a circle – very slowly – so I could also view the backside. It’s too bad the birds were in cages – which made it hard to get good photos. I suppose, those, they couldn’t run loose – we wouldn’t have been able to get out of the car!

Then the donkeys, who had been waiting patiently, decided they needed attention — and they noisily made it known. They were very mild mannered, however.

And, finally, the lonely pig called us over. He or she just needed a little love – pure and simple.

We probably spent a half hour playing with the animals. We did finally made it into the store, bought a snack, and perused the baking goods aisle and home crafts. There’s a very nice selection.

If you ever get close to Amery, this is a fun stop.

Thanks for reading!! I hope you stop again.

July 9, 2017

It depends …

A quick sketch of me shopping by my granddaughter SJH. Perhaps it is me a few years ago.

A quick little story …

Recently I went to Walmart – because I needed some mini-pads. Yes, folks, I said mini-pads. They are a part of my reality because I cough a lot with my lung disease – and, well – you know what can happen when you cough. Typically I try to get in and out of the sanitary supplies aisle as fast as possible. I’ve even grabbed the wrong product a time or two – because I was in a such a hurry – just so I wasn’t seen in that aisle. Well, after this trip, I don’t think I need to hurry with my purchase.

A couple of years ago I went shopping in search of adult depends (disposable underwear) for my brother-in-law who is now eighty years old. There was very little to choose from – just a few options and not many in stock for any of the options. Last weekend, however, one whole side of the sanitary products aisle was packed full of various sizes, styles and brands of disposable underwear.

This is not the aisle from the store I was at but it looked similar, packed full of sanitary products.

When I arrived, there were a three people shopping in the sanitary products aisle; none of them were in a hurry to make their selection. One couple thoroughly discussed the various attributes of each brand: Is the elastic too tight on the legs? Maybe you should get a bigger size. You don’t want them too tight – what if they rip? Etc. Interestingly, the folks looking at the products were not old-timers; they were more likely in their fifties (keeping in mind that I am not good at guessing ages or they just didn’t look their age). And, seemingly, as soon as one customer left the aisle, another appeared. That made it hard for me to get my product and get out of there – in a hurry – and hopefully relatively undetected. The aisles are so narrow, I couldn’t just sneak in between the other customers.

Finally I grabbed my product – well, actually I grabbed two – so I don’t have to go back anytime soon. The good thing – I don’t need to feel embarassed when buying sanitary supplies – no one else seems to be.

Thanks for reading! I hope this story made you smile a little.

Disclaimer. This is not an ad or endorsement for Depends. It is just a story I couldn’t resist.

July 7, 2017

A tour of Amish country – Long Prairie and points north and west

Part of the reason for our day trip route a few weeks ago was to look for Amish buildings. We love looking for them – because often the Amish will also have a home store or stand where we can buy baked goods or other hand-crafted or home-grown items. This trip did not fail us; we bought bread, pie, and candy. All healthy and all tasted wonderful.

This blog contains bits of Amish life – buildings, work, and transportation.

First we have photos of Amish homes. Note the large size of the homes with additions — all painted white. Out buildings are often painted red.

Below is a schoolhouse – small and serviceable to a rural neighborhood.

And an outbuilding –

Below is an Amish-run sawmill. It looks like they have been busy.

And then there is farming and haying …

And finally, there is the preferred mode of transportation …

And the end of the day …

And there you have a quick glimpse of Amish life.

Thanks for reading. I hope you return.

Other of my posts about Amish:

https://carolynlbraun.com/2015/09/15/eating-a-haystack/

https://carolynlbraun.com/2015/11/14/another-amish-haystack-dinner-fun-as-always/

July 5, 2017

Once home …

On our recent road trip, we found an abandoned homestead. At least we think it was abandoned … but the barn may have been in use – based on the barnyard smells.

As we looked forward (parked in the end of the driveway, just off the narrow township road, we saw the house on a knoll — still commanding a grand presence, in a perfect setting – surrounded by full growth trees. The multi-roofed structure is typical of large farm homes, complete with the enclosed porch. A garage structure, now absent the windows, is attached to the house and open to the elements. I wonder what time has done to the inside of the house. I wonder what stories it can tell. I can visualize young children running across the knoll, perhaps flying a kite or playing tag. I imagine a woman hanging clothes on the clothes line. I imagine picnics on the lawn. What do you imagine?

The barn on the site is starting to deteriorate (but may still be functional). It still has great character – with broken or open windows, missing boards, and weathering.

This blog ends the posts of buildings from our recent road trip – well, almost. The upcoming Amish blog has a few buildings.

Next: A tour of Amish country – Long Prairie and points north and west

Thanks for reading! I hope you return.

Carolyn L. Braun

city planner, author, historian, genealogist, amateur photographer … semi-retired and busier than ever

A nice surprise … the Wall that Heals