November 2013

Cold, but triumphant hunters

Ray Bormann with 6 of 12 grandchildren

 Despite the pall of despair cast over Wisconsin when Aaron Rodgers went down, the non-football part of November was very good.  Mark and Hilde were home most of the month, allowing them to finish up fall tasks, visit family and friends and cope with work and meetings from an even keel.  The month was very cold in Wisconsin, with much more than a nip in the air—several mornings had starts of single digits in Rudolph and other places were colder.  Snow and delicate frost decorated the outdoors, getting everyone into winter mode.

Mark and Jim were some of the brave and hardy Wisconsin hunters out in the bitter cold conditions of opening day.  Mark got a good-sized spike buck and the guys managed to butcher it on that Sunday before the carcass froze solid.  It is always good to have venison in the freezer for those great roasts and stews:  venison sausage will be coming soon!

Another law suit took Mark (and so Hilde) to Lake City MN on the west shore of Lake Pepin.  What a beautiful area---they would like to go back when it is above freezing, maybe even with some live vegetation and really enjoy the place.  Mark would like to have his farm visits in slightly warmer weather also…but on the plus side, there was no fly problem at this time of the year!

Hilde was hobbled by extra meetings and several zoning issues to deal with, but she managed to get together for lunch with the crafts gals one day and with Claudette another day.  After getting her physical and scans taken care of, Hilde also found a couch to replace the sagging, 24-year-old-survived-the-boys couch which suffered from dissolving cushions and shredding upholstery.  The new couch is firm and upright, designed for sitting, not lounging, and makes her smile to see it in place.

The start of the holiday season means baking and  family gatherings.  This year five of the  Bormann siblings gathered at Brian and Anne’s house in Sussex for Thanksgiving, with both parents in attendance.  It was a warm and delicious day, despite another Packer loss.  Ray and Arlene’s grandkids are all maturing and interesting to talk to.  Ray and Arlene have now settled in to the assisted living and even hosted a cookie-baking afternoon there for the family.

In Rudolph, Hilde has baked the traditional Schultz family fruitcakes and started dousing them with brandy.  Cookies and candies will begin in December, but Rhiannon helped by decorating the pretzels.  Yes, the month closed out with a lively visit from Jim, Kayme, Rhiannon and Rowan.  The girls are growing rapidly and moving even more rapidly.  Hilde is convinced that Rowan said PACK while waving the green and gold pompoms.  Rhiannon is learning Christmas songs and a Bible verse;  Rowan is a sweet little cuddler who thought Grandma’s many chicken pictures were very funny.  It is very precious indeed to see these little ones with their parents in church beside us.

Now on into Advent, always a time to return to the real joy of our Savior.  Every December is a time to  say with Luther:
“Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child,
Prepare a bed, soft undefiled
Within my heart, made clean and new,
A quiet chamber kept for you.”

Rhiannon tasting while decorating

Rowan training with pompoms

high-Octane October 2013

Evelyn, Genghis and John

Sunset at the end of the month

 It was a golden October here in Wisconsin, warm weather for most of the month, gorgeous colors and final harvests going on in fields and gardens.  However, for the first two weeks, Hilde and Mark were not in Rudolph, but in Madison for the long-delayed stray voltage trial.  This was an incredibly intense trial with changes to reports, opponents who were reprimanded by the judge and were kind of squirrelly in their approach.  Mark worked very, very long hours for this trial, but the result was a speedy and unanimous verdict of no damages, so Mark and everyone was very happy (except for the folks expecting to get millions).  The verdict came on Rowan’s first birthday---hard to believe the year has gone so fast!

During the trial, Hilde was able to meet honorable word games opponent Mary G. for lunch, meet nephew Adam for lunch and get a visit in to the World Dairy Expo.  She worked diligently on the church annual report, attended two long meetings by phone and got in lots of walking.  Monona Terrace with the lake sparkling and gleaming in warm sunshine, and State Street just as the little golden leaflets of locust drift down make for a lovely background for anything.  And during the weekend ‘break’ (actually Mark worked and Hilde did lots of laundry and pears), they both got to meet Erich, Heidi’s fiancé—he’ll be a great addition to the family come June, and they glow with happiness when together.

As a sort of reward for all that work and tension, Jim, Kayme and both girls came up to Rudolph for a long weekend.  The weather was perfect for Mark, Jim and Mark’s partner Eric to go to the range, while Kayme got a morning off to work on a presentation away from the girls and Hilde had a fantastic morning with both girls outside enjoying the last of the really fine weather, the fresh air and beautiful leaves.  Rowan’s walking is getting faster and Rhiannon was able to find and enjoy some of the last raspberries—a happy little girl in the raspberry patch.  In the afternoon, Jim and Rhi helped Mark dig carrots, the last crop to  bring in.  Having Jim assist judging at the taekwondo testing was almost like old times.  Some day both Jim and John will be back for a critical mass of senior masters!

Mark took some vacation time to recover from all the long hours earlier:  he spent time making fence, disking down the gardens, preparing for winter and really relaxed, going in only a half day out of ten…very long break for him.  Hilde baked up a storm, using the last of the fresh pears, tomatoes and peppers…that is relaxing for her. Then Mark took off the 25th for a long weekend of family:  first to Sussex to persuade a flagpole to give in and come down while Hilde gathered a few more granddaughter cuddles.  Next was a visit to Hilde’s parents in Waukesha.  Their adjustment to assisted living has been a bit rocky—Arlene has been vacillating and unhappy, but they are safe and together, so the family hopes it will work out and smooth out soon.  It was good to see the lovely place they have there before heading further south to visit John and Evie.

It was four Henkels and a dog named Genghis—sounds like a title somehow—he’s a fun dog and.they are making good progress on training him..   It was wonderful weekend with long walks for everyone:  Hilde and Evie had a sparkling fresh morning at the Chicago Botanic and John and Mark nearly wore out the dog on his walk, plus they did some repair and hardware store time.  Follow-up to all this activity was a feast of chicken, squash, roasted beets and great rolls with some super local beer.  It is always wonderful to get together and hard to leave.

Now in Wisconsin, the seasons have turned:  by the 23rd Rudolph had its first snow, followed by much more clouds and rain.  The bright colors of leaves are mostly gone,  the tamaracks are dropping their golden needles and the deer are running around in their fall frenzy.  Winter is just around the corner..

Monona Terrace in golden light

October 14 Rowan 1 and Rhiannon almost 3

October 23 things got colder

Rhiannon was helping Daddy and Grandpa with the carrots

Sweet, sweet September 2013

Peppers aplenty but sideways

Aunt Heidi with Rowan and Rhiannon

 What a special month this has been full to over-flowing with activities, harvest time and travel, plus some happy changes in the family line also.  Here in Wisconsin, the weather continued warm and dry til the very end of the month, but the garden produce kept coming.  Hilde put up a lot of tomato sauce, ketchup and even more tomato jam, and Mark enjoyed lots of cherry tomatoes in his lunches---when he was around for lunch.

Yes, it was another month of travel for Mark.  He fly down to Asheville for a couple days, spent another couple days in Minnesota (oh yes, Hilde got to visit Preston for the third month in a row, much to her dismay!) and then Madison in preparation for the long trial which will start off October for him.  The trip to NC had a big bonus for Hilde: Mark delivered her to Jim and Kayme’s for the duration, so she got to spend lots of fun times with Rhiannon and Rowan, who started walking just before that and was practicing and improving each day.  That also allowed Hilde to visit her father at the memory unit and to take both girls to visit their  great-grandmother.  Getting to see Rachel Fritz, Heidi and Michelle were added to the fun.  Since Hilde traveled down with boxes of tomatoes, Jim and Kayme had a busy time making ketchup and sauce!  It was a great visit.

That garden bounty almost (not quite) made vegetarians of Mark and Hilde this month:  many delicious eggplant parmesan, stirfries, zucchini cake, peppers and  tomatoes---and the melons, pumpkins and pears were great this year also.  Since the huge fall raspberry bed is suffering from overshadowing by the pines, the plan is to remove at least one during winter to return the bed to its former productivity, but there have been some berries, even so.

Those family changes have been on  both ends of the  age range:  parents and nieces. Hilde’s one niece Heidi got engaged and is planning a June wedding and another niece, Rachel, added a darling little boy, Evan Johannes Nygard, to the family at the end of the month:  .  Hilde’s parents agreed that living apart after 63 years made them miserable, so Arlene moved from home to assisted living and Ray left the memory unit and joined her.  All the children are hoping they will have some golden time together there.

With all that was going on, Mark and Hilde still managed to get to taekwondo most of the time and also to fit in some relaxation, spending an afternoon at Lake Sherwood and another celebrating St. John’s 150th anniversary in Lomira (Mark attended grade school there).  It has been a joyous, busy month, with the colors beginning in Central Wisconsin—such a beautiful time.  The final view is just down the hill on September 27.

Mark brings in the pie pumpkins

August 2013 Action and Bounty-filled

Kicker Cake for Mark's 25th

Kayme and Jim at Mt. Washburn

Square Turn  steam tractor looks uncomfortable at Edgar

Mock Cucumber on Henkel fence

 For children, summer seems long and beautiful and fun, but the end of summer, that month of August, comes so quickly!  So it was for Mark and Hilde this year:  August arrived full of plans and then rushed by with so many things accomplished, but mostly work and little relaxation.

The month started with the replacement of kitchen and entry flooring.  The result was beautiful, but the disruption of having everything out of the kitchen and then having to find things tucked out of the way and even accessing food in the frig was major.  Hilde and Mark tried to replace the refrigerator in a unwise way and had to have the expert come back and fix the hole torn in the new vinyl.  The installation was complicated by oddities of this house, so that the main phone line got sliced in half, the faucet handle gave way on the downstairs sink and Mark had to make hasty plumbing and telephone repairs. At the end of the month the men came to replace the failed ridge on the big shed, so no more snow drifts inside!

This August was the 25th year since Mark and Jim started taekwondo at Stevens Taekwondo Academy.  Mark has continued straight through with Dr. Stevens since then (Jim was out of training for the three years of exile in DC but he is running a taekwondo club at WLC now), so some very special black belts were invited out for a corn roast celebration.  Although a few of them had other plans, having two grand master Stevens, John and Evie, and other friends made it a special evening.  Having all those high-ranking black belts for the testing the next day was very impressive also!

Also in August, Jim and Kayme returned safely from their two week trek in the west.  They had a wonderful time, got lots of exercise and saw many beautiful sights.  Tenting and tramping with the girls on their backs seems to have been very good for all of them.  John and Evie added a sweet-looking dog with a historic name (Genghis) to their family, so both boys had an interesting month.  The best family news was that Hilde’s father and mother left rehab at the end of the month, just over 11 weeks after their accident.  Ray is now at a memory care facility a few miles from home, and Arlene will be moving home Tuesday once the flooring is laid.  Their recovery from their injuries was miraculous.

Of course, August means garden harvest and very busy times when the gardens are the size of Henkels’.  Hilde has been making lots of jam and jelly (8 batches so far) using crabapples, cherries, and lots of raspberries, and put up sweet pickles, beans, stewed tomatoes, corn and tomato sauce.  The corn was wonderful this year:  large ears, no earworm or smut and great quality.  It all came ripe at once, so Hilde took five dozen ears to the school for the kid’s lunches also.  The tomato work will continue for several weeks, as sauce and ketsup take lots of produce and time.  Mark has been hauling milk cans of water down to the lower garden where the vine crops are luxuriant…rain would be very nice instead of that effort!  He also worked hard on resetting the fence, cleaning out the main shed, fixing the water softener and setting up the drip system for the tomatoes.  These are the kind of things both Mark and Hilde enjoy, working on and around house and garden.

All these activities have been squeezed  in between more business trips and meetings, and during some very hot days.  This month Mark had a very long day in Madison on motions, a shorter trip to Randolph and then another long day with appearances in  both Viroqua WI and Caledonia MN.  Hilde goes along to help with driving and to make sure Mark eats.  They did manage a wonderful visit to the Edgar steam show and a day off to Fond du Lac to relax at the Lakeside Park and have fish fry at Salty’s.  Sometimes just a little time on the deck or patio relaxing can really refresh them also.  The countryside looks very festive at this time of the year when Wisconsin breaks out the Packer colors and goldenrod glows everywhere.  There was a bumper crop of mock cucumber this year with mounds of the lovely lacy flowers draped everywhere.  Wisconsin is a beautiful state, especially in August..

July 2013

Our very own blueberries

Small trees, but lots of cherries

Rhi and Rowan visit Aunt Rachel

July is Wisconsin is always full of outdoor activities, and this year was not exception.  Mark and Hilde mowed and weeded and picked, keeping very busy around all the other commitments, but the yield was wonderful.  Starting with a final picking of strawberries in the beginning of the month, they enjoyed a bountiful harvest of tart cherries, which meant cherry soup, cherry cobbler and cherry jam!  They worked together to freeze peas for the year and then moved  into raspberries and blueberries.  Big beautiful blueberries this year!  The zucchini and beans are coming along nicely also.  Pickles and corn are starting.  Gardens are great exercise, and wonderfully bountiful!

The most joyous news is that after over 5 weeks on hospice care and virtually no movement except by the lifting to wheelchair, Hilde’s father Ray has improved!  His vertebrae are stabilized and he is now on therapy to regain mobility, walking a little further every day with the walker.  Since the doctors had been telling us to ‘be prepared’ and seemed frankly perplexed that he was not dying in extreme pain, we are grateful for God’s goodness and that those doctors were wrong.  Hilde mother Arlene is progressing nicely and should be starting weight-bearing therapy soon.

Hilde found that the way to deal with worry about parents is to pray and then go and work hard at something.  So the garden is nearly weed-free, the garage finally got cleaned out and stalled sewing and crafts projects were tackled.  Mark and Hilde constructed and mounted a side door for the main shed (after 24 years the old one had reached the sagging and crummy stage).  Smaller projects were checked off the list also with others planned for August.

In the many business travels with Mark, Hilde has usually found something to do and things to see, but she found Preston MN to be a bit more challenging, being so small there was not even a McDonalds, only a grocery, a big fish float and a small drug store.  On Mondays, no restaurants are open, and the only place for a hot breakfast was the bowling alley!  Still, it was certainly restful, as several nights Hilde and Mark just walked around looking at fireflies.

As is the tradition, Hilde had lunch with Irene on a date between their birthdays---what a treasure long-time friends are!  Mark and Hilde also got to join Fritzes at the end of the month for lunch and a send off for those intrepid parents, Jim and Kayme, who set out for Yellowstone with little Rhi and Rowan, accompanied by Uncle Paul.  That adventure should be one to hear about. 

The scenery in Rudolph is always lovely, but the sun setting over new bales of hay seems just a perfect representation of summer

Sunset over Rudolph hayfield

Jumbled June

 June started off with Hilde cramming five meetings (one six hours long!) into three days, which was exhausting but efficient.  With June turning out to be a record-setting month for rain (only 8 days without measurable precept!), it was very hard to get the rest of the garden in and the lawn mowed to any respectable level, but somehow things got done.

Mark and Hilde had one special evening early in the month at the members open house for the new Jung Carriage House at old Wade House in Greenbush.  The collection of wagons of all sorts are beautiful and colorful, ranging from sleds and sleighs to an ornate hearse, beer wagon and other kinds of vehicles, even a children’s dog cart..  What a neat place!  Wisconsin’s historical sites are very interesting.  It was a beautiful and memorably dry drive home in the dusk.

Things were relatively quiet for a while until the 12th, when, in a downpour, Hilde’s parents, Ray and Arlene, were in a nasty car accident.  Arlene was crunched pretty badly with 3 ribs, scapula on the left side and the tibia in her right leg broken.  Ray, who has extremely fragile bones and dementia, did not fare well:  he has four vertebra fractured and is simply not improving much.  The doctors think Arlene is doing well.  They don’t sound optimistic about Ray, and don’t feel surgery on the back is an option.  Right now both are in a rehabilitation center, sharing a room, but Ray is on hospice care and Arlene getting therapy to try to get her mobile again.  Seeing them both in wheelchairs is hard to take – but they are both staying fairly cheerful, and Ray is not in pain, just sleeping lots.  In just a moment, life can change very quickly.  The family is trusting  in God’s plan for them.

Despite having most of their attention and prayers centered down in Menomonee Falls, Mark and Hilde had lots of other, mundane things to fit into the month:  duct cleaning was an all day event, and Mark replaced the pressure tank without flooding or bloodshed.  Mark had a streak of depositions in Madison, with five days in the end of the month, plus a couple visits down to the hospital. With Jim located only 10 minutes away from the hospital, the visits there were followed by joyous romps and cuddling with Rhiannon and Rowan, who is crawling rapidly and trying to follow Rhi or Mommy everywhere.

So time flew by for June, much of it spent on the road, or mowing and weeding.  All that rain meant very lush growth, and some beautiful strawberries.  We give thanks for the beauty and bounty and for the protection of Hilde's parents.

May 2013

A great show of trilliums this year

Justin n Alana--first gig  as married couple

Rhiannon and Kayme

Those handsome Henkel guys!

 May was a transition month as the weather went from snow flurries in the beginning of the month (and flannel sheets still on beds!) to monsoons at the finale with over 5 inches of rain flooding fields and super-saturating Rudolph clay loam.  It is now very wet out there.  The change in weather has resulted in the delicious asparagus and wonderful spring flowers, started the relentless mowing of the nearly three acres and brought out a very heavy crop of TICKS.  That last has been a real irritation, as Mark had three of the more than a dozen found on him which dug in and got nasty.  Perhaps someone should find a natural predator for these things and sell boxes of them to beleagured country folks.

May is always full of graduations, weddings and gatherings.  Mark and Hilde couldn’t get to all of the friends and family events, but rejoiced in niece Heidi’s graduation and return to Wisconsin, nephew Jarod’s confirmation and several other events.  They did travel to Milwaukee for the annual bar convention with some pampering at the Pfister and a great German meal, as Mark got the rest of his continuing education credits for the year.

The highlight of the month was the gathering of Henkels for wedding of niece Alana to Justin Laufman in Rice Lake.  The couple was radiant and perfectly in tune for their oboe-tuba duet of  ‘love’ly music and everyone had a great time.  Kayme played beautifully  for the service and the new header photo is the family at the event.  John and Jim up-grade events when they both wear their tuxes!   However, the sweetest award goes to the girls:  Rhiannon and Rowan in the heirloom handmade dresses from their great-grandmother.  Music at the reception was great, and the guys slipped outside to review nuances of the 7th degree black belt form, so everyone was happy.

May also turned out to be a month of good-byes as  first neighbor Mert Hartjes, then three weeks later for his wife Louise, and also one of the original law partners,  Neil Conway died

Mark and Hilde finished the month with actual vacation (9 ½ days straight for Mark--  that’s unusual) which gave them time to plant half the garden, enjoy working around the house, spend a day relaxing at Lake Emily, going out to the range with Dr. Stevens, and even work on hobbies, go to lumberyards and be contemplative.  That’s a great way to start summer!

John and Evie

Rhiannon and Rowan

April 2013

Snowy sap season

John n Evie practice forms

Henkel table at Doc's party

Rhiannon helps Kayme dig

Rowan enjoys bouncing outside

 April was a challenging month in Wisconsin as in other northern states---cruel weather conditions with hazardous driving conditions and winter storm warnings several times.  It was not until the very end of the month that the snow piles around Rudolph finally departed with the final four days a delightful run of 70 and even 80 degree days.  Crops, trees and grass are all coming late this year!  The sap run continued well into the month, but Mark and Hilde closed down after they finished the third batch off April 8.  The syrup was very good quality this year to make up for none last year.

This was a special month for Henkel taekwondo connections also.  John  led a small but intense taekwondo workout with Evie, Hilde, Mark, Justin Buehler, and Amy and Andy Emerson which was great fun as a prelude to another event:.  Hilde and three other black belt gals organized a large birthday gathering to honor Dr. Dwight Stevens, bringing in this three daughters and a total of 65 people for a dinner.  It was like a grand reunion of black belts and the talking and sharing went on quite a while.  Mark and Hilde enjoyed  having Jim and Kayme and John and Evie there—getting the four senior master Henkels together is special.  The next day was another snow event as people struggled to get to the belt promotion testing with 73 students testing that day and another 16 at make-up tests during the week.

Hilde had a heavy schedule beyond the taekwondo stuff this month with eye, dentist and other appointments to fit in around several meetings.  Hilde is chair of an ad hoc committee to study and recommend administrative leadership for the county---interesting information is coming to light, but the end result is still unknown.  Since Mark has had so many delayed trials, he had time to attend a conference in Kohler for CLE credits.  He and Hilde enjoyed the one night of luxury at the  American Club.

From the conference Mark and Hilde headed to Sussex to help with various spring tasks.  Mark dug out a shallow rain diversion trench in Jim’s yard before he and Jim installed three new basement windows, finally solving the  issues of water leakage, bug infiltration and security  which the ancient ones presented.  Grandma Hilde helped by keeping the dear little ones happy and busy out of the way, with wagon rides, singing and books.   This allowed Kayme to dig in the planned front flowers and then tackle the overgrown spruce which blocked vision at the driveway.  Since Mother Nature finally relented and sent good weather, all the yard and building work was pleasant.  It was precious seeing Rhiannon help her mommy dig and her daddy plant blueberries.  Rowan loved being outside in her play saucer, so everyone had a great time.  The final task was an unpleasant surprise as the dishwasher needed a rapid replacement.  The floor was full of Henkel as Mark and Jim worked together to adapt the water and wiring to the new machine….they spent a lot of time on their stomachs craning under there.  It is almost exactly three years since the same duo had this task up in Rudolph!

When the senior Henkels returned home on the final Sunday of April, they tackled their own outdoor tasks, loading and removing two truckloads of  elm branches that afternoon.  The following day, Mark and Hilde wrestled  three large loads of pine and spruce limbs down to the woods before Mark prepped the asparagus bed for spring.  After the long cold spring, the outside work was very satisfying, with many more hours of raking, weeding and clean up ahead.  As Granny Scheid used to say (in German)  Work makes life sweet.  That would make April very sweet indeed.

March 2013: Lionlike

Rhi & Rowan playing with  Grandma

ATV stuck in snow

Sliding on the snow piles

Jim with his sweet bunnies on Easter

 March was certainly ferocious this year---lion-like to the near end.  In central Wisconsin, the weather varied from very cold with lows near zero to blustery snows, enough for snow days and lots of plowing.  Since it stayed chilly all month, the snows stayed around also.  To get out for walks, Mark and Hilde bundled up and headed down to a cleared road several times in the early part of the month.

Since Mark’s two-week trial was postponed, he had time during the month to accompany Hilde down to Sussex for a grandparenting gig while Jim was out of town for a conference in STI (yes they have conferences).  Jim’s travel woes were lengthy, but Mark and Hilde enjoyed the time taking care of both girls.  Rowan is getting very vigorous and wants to follow her sister around.  Crawling will not be long but for now she rolls over and over to get around.  Rhiannon is making great strides in vocabulary and loves to sing.

On the way home, Mark and Hilde visited her parents briefly and then hustled back to get the taps into the maple trees.  Despite the cold temperatures, the sap did start dripping Holy Week.  The problem was getting access to the trees in deep snow.  The ATV got stuck many times and carrying out those heavy buckets of sap to a plowed area was LOTS of exercise.  Later in the week, after Jim and Kayme arrived, they helped with the hauling of sap while Grandma Hilde played with the girls.

Those piles of snow around Henkel hill were fun for little Rhiannon.  By Good Friday, there was enough sap to cook a good batch of syrup, starting early in the morning and stoking every 15 minutes..  Jim handled a lot of that, which was a big help.  He fired while Mark and Hilde went to first service and then Mark cooked and Hilde tended girls while the younger Henkels went to church—things work out so much better with extra hands!

For Easter, Jim and Kayme went to her brother Paul’s church and then to her parents for happy family time, especially precious since they had all been in Minnesota earlier in the week for the funeral of Kayme’s grandfather.  It really finished off the month beautifully. Looking forward into April, sap collecting continues and lots of meetings loom.

Strange snow bunny

First sweet drip

FAst, Full February 2013

Mark hauling away elm chunks

Grandma with Rowan and rhiannon

February was a short month, but full of activities and fun  for Mark and Hilde, and the closest to ‘normal’ month in quite a while, with NO nights gone on business for the entire month.   One of the best things was normality returned for Hilde’s hearing, after three months of fighting infection and asking for repeats on what folks were saying.  Having more daylight and more energy made both Mark and Hilde happy.

It was a return to normal for winter conditions in Wisconsin also, with frequent snows, some thaws and a couple of icy events which made travel hazardous. Mark got lots of fresh air plowing, plowing and plowing.   It was also a snowy day when Mark and Hilde cut down the dead elm in the ditch, which made for some complications and delays.  However, the snow as they drove to Ripon was beautiful, making their visit to the college campus quite nostalgic.  They celebrated their 41st anniversary with this return to the place they met, and then over-nighting at the lovely Heidel House in Green Lake.

As always, there were lots of meetings, reports from meetings and special meetings for Hilde, but February included attending Lenten services, lunching and visiting with Claudette, Dr. Stevens and Irene.   Then for the end of the month, Mark and Hilde visited Jim and Kayme, enjoying time with those growing girls, attending church down in Sussex and visiting Hilde’s parents, too.  That visit was fortunately timed, so they were home before the Milwaukee area got nearly a foot of snow.    The same weekend, the other branch to the family was up north:  John and Evie participated in the Birkebeiner together again.

Finally, on the last day of February, Mark heard that the trial for which he had been intensively  preparing was adjourned, delayed at least several months.  This will allow him to be home all March…so whenever the maple sap starts flowing this year, Mark and Hilde will be out there getting lots of exercise, fresh air and a very sweet reward..

Evie and John at Birkebeiner

January 2013 again

“The cold month, the cruel month
The empty after-Yule month
Tree and lights are put away
Snow and wind or sleet each day
Dark and bitter, way too long
January”.

This month was not quite that bad for weather, but the long nights and lack of sunshine always make January painful.  While there was not much snow early in the month, by the end, Rudolph had had several events of ice and bitter cold (minus 13 twice), plus more snow, so things look ‘seasonal’ which is pretty white and cold in Wisconsin.



While the snow was still skimpy, Mark and Hilde took the ATV over to Seneca woods and found lots of interesting tracks along Elm Creek, including squirrel, rabbit, fox, deer, turkey, otter and one wolf trail.  It was great getting out there on a milder day, while the sun was low and highlighting the tracks.

Mark kept very busy this month, starting with the 2nd in Madison for a hearing, a mediation and several out of town meetings.  Hilde went along when he traveled to Algona Iowa mid-month for three days.  It could be a pleasant place in summer as there is a prairie preserve and refuge outside the tiny town, but in winter it is bleak. 

While neither Henkel got the flu, it seemed many were sick.  John and Evie were down for a couple of weeks feeling puny.  After a particularly inept snip at her toenails, Hilde ended up with a nasty infection which made taekwondo impossible and walking uncomfortable.  What a relief when these things clear up!  And there seems to be hope of getting her ear cleared up—a new ENT and new medicine might end the three months of blocked ear.  Things are looking up there.

Hilde had many extra, long meetings, including a special night session of county board, but still managed to enjoy some fun social times:  lunches with Claudette, Joanne and most of the crafts friends really warmed up the winter days.  The senior taekwondo ladies are also busy planning a birthday celebration for Dr. Stevens in April, so Hilde worked up an invitation list and printed a few up



There was also one ‘of those’ phone calls—Jim called to report his first trip to urgent care with Rhi, who had managed to run into a table and cut the side of her lip.  She was very good while getting the stitches in and calm a week later when she told the doctor “Stitches out!”  She’s a tough little girl, who loves her rapidly growing little sister.  It is beautiful to see them together.

December 2012

Mark's birthday at Jenkins

Grandma Hilde and Rhiannon go sledding

John and Evie

Rowan just watching the action

 2012 came to a happy conclusion for Mark and Hilde in a dazzling December, full of family, festivities and fun…plus just a little food!  Hilde spent lots of time baking an assortment of cookies, candies, stollen and even cinnamon popcorn, to be sure there was plent to go around.  Taking stollen to the committees meetings made for a much happier atmosphere there.  Fitting the meetings in around parties and trips was a little tricky, but it worked out.

Mark celebrated his birthday in three distinct pieces this year.  First he and Hilde had a special night out ---Mark skipped his radio net and Hilde the town board meeting to fit that in.  Once in a while, the responsibilities just need to be dropped!  They attended the Jenkins’ party for the Army Navy game on his birthday.  Mark was surprised when Teri brought him a cupcake, and we all sang happy birthday!  That evening was also the annual black belt Christmas party, where kiddies kick the piñata and a svelte Santa delivered gifts to Dr. Stevens---and also joined in a birthday chorus to Senior Master Mark!  It was a lovely day.

After such a traveling year, it was wonderful for Mark and Hilde to be home every night of the month.  Sometimes that made for long travel days, but it was worth it.  While Hilde’s ears did not return to normal, they did improve, so that organ music didn’t hurt and fewer things had to be repeated to her.

Wisconsin put on her snow coat (17 inches in December) for the holidays, but the snow did not stop any of the family from coming or going and made everything very lovely. Jim and Kayme brought their beautiful daughters for 2 ½ days, giving time for sledding and cuddling and a third Christmas Eve with Rhiannon.  This year she was able to open all the gifts, stay away from the stairs and didn’t take things off the tree.  Christmas with a small happy child is really special.  Rowan mostly ate, cooed and watched things.  Christmas day Mark and Hilde joined the Fritz family for wonderful fellowship, food and even games.  John and Evie came to Rudolph right after Christmas and helped the parental units mellow out.  They all celebrated John’s birthday a day early and got some great relaxing in.

To close out the year, Mark and Hilde went to Sussex for one day, where Mark and Jim wired his basement for freezers and workshop.  Hilde went over to visit with her parents, finding Ray looking much improved and relaxed.  During the basement work, mark walked into the head-high sewer pipe but despite the surface wounds, had no real problems.  So 2012 came to a quiet end and the Henkels gave thanks for a wonderful year over-flowing with blessings.   Happy New Year to you all!

Lamplit on the snow