Beef O Rama 2010

One of the more elaborate means of beef roast conveyance in the parade.

The Vine


Our 2nd annual visit to this unparalleled event in Minocqua was greeted with excellent weather and even a visit by Danny. Mitch cooked his first annual Pork Roast to celebrate and we all had a great time. The Vine is one of the better local establishments with a very comfortable courtyard. E, K, and I arrived early and asked for a big table outside as we were waiting for the Mitchells and Danny to arrive. We had a couple of glasses of wine by the time our fiends arrived. The hostess exclaimed, "I didn't realize you were waiting for Them" I suspected we might be refused service at that point, but of course we became instantly infamous instead. We also harvested grapes from the vine since the birds beat us to them in Faribault.

Florida

E and I took C, M, and K to Florida for a quick vacation over Halloween 2010. We stayed in Orlando and traveled to the coasts to find some beaches and to swim with the manatees at Crystal River.
Interesting creatures and a very cool place even though we were in a residential area surrounding a small pocket of National Wildlife Refuge. There was a large double spring leading from a very narrow channel that feeds the river and keeps the manatees warm and fed in the winter.
Looking at the National Wildlife Refuge (see familiar sign with the goose on it)

Looking in the opposite direction.

Procrastination

It has been a busy fall as usual, so it has been easy to procrastinate posting. Another reason is that this post has been on my mind for a while. I somehow keep losing the picture that E took and that inspired the thoughts surrounding it, and of course the subject isn't the easiest to write about.
So I named the picture "And then there was one". It is a strange feeling to grow up in a family of five and then over time have everyone except you die. Nobody ever expects things to turn out the way they did, you expect things to go on forever, just the way they are, but here I am.

I am lucky to have the rest of my family, truly blessed in fact, my children (J, C, M and K), E, and a few good friends. So we will continue and be thankful for what we have and for the those we no longer have with us.

Lux Cafe

We went to Chicago for "The Cousin's Christmas party". The Girls went to Tea at the American Girl's Store, unfortunately there were only three spots left at the tea so Ed treated me to lunch at the Lux Cafe (600 N Michigan). It was a cool place, Art Deco and good food.