Furious, fast February 20109

Way too much time out moving snow!

Sand, sun and smiles

Furious, frosty, fabulous, fun and full- for a short month, February flew by with lots of ups and downs.  First off, and influencing everything, February in central Wisconsin SMASHED all records for snowiness, going into the record books as the snowiest month ever recorded here.  It snowed , it iced, it got bitterly cold and blew at ferocious speeds.  For the first time ever, the class (and testing) for Stevens Taekwondo Academy had to be canceled, which involved Hilde using every type of social media, email and phones to make sure no one tried to get to the YMCA.

The very next morning, Mark and Hilde headed south, driving away from -7 degrees and sun dogs and rejoicing in every increment of temperature improvement along the way to Orange Beach Alabama.  Along the way they stopped in Huntsville AL at the National Space Museum, which is an awesome spot and full of memorabilia.   While the gulf weather was said to be ‘lousy’ by one native, they Wisconsin couple found that 60s were lovely and the incidents of rain were minor.  Ft. Morgan was romantic and evocative in the rain, and the rain stopped just in time for a picnic before heading to a refuge for a long walk.  The Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola was another wonderful time…these places could be one or two days of looking if your feet can hold out!  Mark and Hilde clambered around on the USS Alabama battleship also…those ships are enormous and tall!  Lots of time on the trip, mornings, evenings and in between, was spent on beaches watching the gulf waters surge and  sparkle, watching the shore birds and fishermen and seeing NO SNOW. 

All good things must come to an end, so Mark and Hilde headed home knowing that more than18 inches of snow had fallen while they were gone.  Good neighbors are a real blessing!  Brandls had cleared the west driveway enough for the car to crawl up to the door and allow for reasonable unloading while the tractor was warming up.  In the last 12 days of the month, Mark spent over 9 hours out on the tractor plowing again and again.  They are both hoping no more record-setting concerning snow occurs!

The tough weather has allowed both Henkels to work on their respective hobbies.  Hilde has been stitching up a storm, using more of the fabric stash from her mother.  After completing a set of quilted place mats with chicken prints for herself, she has been finding other ways to use the fabric---and spends considerable time on pinterest getting new ideas.  Mark has been working on a couple of electronic projects and work on the case in Minnesota, preparing for mediation.

The February testing, though postponed, went well and the level of enthusiasm and energy was very notable.  Hilde spent more time on record keeping and updating some of the handouts for STA students and both spent a snow day gathering and getting all the papers for taxes together for the accountant.  It surely is a relief to get that done.

Family news went the spectrum.   Mark’s dear Aunt Veiga, a truly Christian woman, died at age 100 plus 4 months early in the month.  Later, Hilde’s nephew Curt was blessed with a second healthy son.  While the weather and trip kept Mark and Hilde from seeing any of their grandkids, they got to enjoy lunch with the musical duo of Kayme and Alana.  A YMCA luncheon also provided pleasant socializing. 

Although it looks like March will come in like a lion or a polar bear, eventually things will start thawing.  Mark has gotten his supply of sap bags and is ready for syrup cooking, when things finally de-ice around Rudolph.  Think spring!

 

January 2019

Hilde painting furnace room to start the year

What a wildly varying month January has been, starting off 2019 with odd weather, late holiday visits and then becoming extremely cold.  It was not boring, for sure.

Mark and Hilde started the year by painting the furnace room and then got to spend a long weekend with John, Evie and Hazel --- it was delightful.  Mark and John worked on drywalling the sunroom together, while Hilde enjoyed watching Hazel toddle along, and cuddling her.  She is growing fast and carefully examines things before accepting them.  What a sweetie.

The first weeks of January were BROWN with snow melted and lots of foggy, gloomy days, most unusual for Wisconsin winters, but then a minor snow and a horrible blast of several days of below zero weather, when the state and others around hunkered down and went nowhere.  Schools were closed because of very dangerous wind chills, birds disappeared and folks just stayed as warm as possible.  Mark worked on electronic projects and began clearing out some of the unnecessary stuff, while Hilde sewed and crafted up a storm, doing another 8 table runners, many hot pads, embroidery and chicken scratch projects.

 

Despite the horrid weather, all classes of taekwondo went on, although the numbers were sparse many nights.  That was about all that Hilde and Mark went out for during some weeks, and the exercise and cheerful faces sure helped with the gloom.  Hilde’s mother celebrated her 87^th birthday at her new apartment although Hilde didn’t get down for that, and both John’s family and Jim’s experienced infections and winter sicknesses.

It was a good time to have friends and family visit, though, and great to have Mark’s brother Phil, sister-in-law Connie and little great-nephew Phil visit while Alana and Kayme practiced in Point.  The neighbors came up for dinner and an evening of visiting also.  Hilde’s two zoning meetings were not exactly social events, but they were certainly interesting as the town has decisions to make going forward.

Mark “only” had to plow twice, late in the month, as the cold weather brought in snow and a change in the patterns of storms.  Before the return of snow and cold, Mark and Hilde managed to cut and split another dead elm, so the wood is well piled for future syrup cooking.  By the end of January it is so good to look forward to syrup making, starting seeds and planning gardens!  Those seed catalogs surely are great to dream over.

Sunrise at minus 28

December 2018

What a month of ups and downs both in the weather and news and football.  The weather was surely a roller coaster, starting with snow and then warming, melting and browning the countryside for Christmas. .The Packers played five times and only won one game--broke our hearts with losses that were inexplicable.  Mike McCarthy was fired….truely hard to  see where the Packers will go next year---and who they will be.

December is traditionally one of the larger taekwondo testings and this month turned out really special, as Dwight Stevens attended to present the seventh dan certificates for the family to Mark and Hilde.  Grandmaster Robert Stevens was not able to fly in, but seeing Dr. Stevens up and walking with a little aid was such an upper for the entire school, and an example of indomitable spirit.  The event fell on Mark’s birthday, so the school and Dr. Stevens were able to celebrate with him.  Hilde really enjoyed teaching the basics of self-defense the following week, too.

Decorating the house and baking made the month fly by.  Even though they had no Christmas company, having the lights and familiar decorations up is cheering, especially in a month of extreme gloom and very few glimpses of the sun.  Hilde had an owl (probably a great horned owl) smack into the side of the car at dusk one day,  Baking and then sharing the goodies is a joy, so stollens and cookies were produced in quantity. 

Mark and Hilde organized the church fruit baskets and delivered some of them also heading to Sussex.  They got to visit Hilde’s mother before the children’s service at Faith Lutheran, then home for a hearty stew and the Henkel end of gifting for the kids.  Christmas is joyful with happy grandkids, even if they turn the water bottles into untuned kazoos and raise a racket.  It was a fun early Christmas.  On the way home, Mark and Hilde picked up a new recliner for Mark and got that in place before heading to Christmas Eve service.  The actual holiday was quiet at home, but time to rest and reflect on many blessings.

While planning to go to John’s the following weekend, he and Evie were sick and worn out, so that “Christmas” will be later, in the new year.  It is sad not to see John for his birthday, but several phone calls helped on that .  Suddenly, Mark got a burst of energy and decided to remove all the 30 year accumulation of boxes, fans and other items in the furnace room, tear off the ancient paneling on one wall and dry wall it with remnants left from other projects.  By New Years Eve, he had it mudded and smoothed and ready for painting.  Some kind of shelving is planned to organize things, once the piles are winnowed out.  

Finally, the last day of the year, a snowfall covered things decently and cheered everyone who didn’t end up in the ditch.  Mark and Hilde thought it lovely.  But then they enjoyed the kazoo band, too!

 

November 2018

child's chair Vesterheim

What a rush this month has been!  The weather was pretty nasty, even considering the month, and Mark was very busy indeed preparing for mediation on his case (trial planned for late January 2019).  

In order to get over to Decorah for that mediation in time, Mark and Hilde hustled out of a Tuesday workout, changed clothes and drove in the dark over to Sparta and then got up early and zoomed the remaining distance.  Mark and five lawyers, a high level mediator and both disputing sides spent a very long day hammering out a settlement.  Hilde wandered around Decorah, shopping in the morning and spending most of the afternoon at Vesterheim---Norwegian immigrant museum.  Then she read and knitted in the library until finally the exhausted guys finished and needed food.  Hilde was VERY happy the trial in January was off as it means no substitutions for running class and testing will be necessary and a break in the south will be possible.

The cold and wet weather kept farmers out of corn fields here, as saturated clay loam is a quagmire which will not support heavy equipment.  The churned up ruts at field entrances testify that they were trying to harvest, but bogging down.  It finally froze up and firmed up right before deer season.  Jim and his kids came up for the opening weekend, and Hilde had a fine fun time feeding hunters (early and hearty) and kids (different menu and time) and baking cookies, doing crafts, etc with them.  No venison, but lots of good times together, only missing Kayme, tied down with weekend stuff in Milwaukee.

November involved a lot of sorting and organizing, as Hilde worked on 30 years of Dr. Stevens black belt files and other files to condense them.  She also received four boxes of her mother’s stuff, mostly fabric stash items.  The stash provides a challenge as the pieces are  mostly not clothing candidates, but by the end of the month, Hilde had made a tapestry vest, and eight table runners in Christmas colors to share with her siblings.  One sister-in-law (like the bible parable) actually said thank you!  More projects are planned---winter is a good time for craft work.

Mark and Jim have been planning winter projects also.  Twenty years ago, after a wind storm, cousin Palmer cut and cleared the tangled mess in the small family woods in Lomira and Mark had the hardwood rough sawn and stored in the large shed since then.  Finally they are going to use the best of what Hilde calls heritage wood.

Jim and Mark are beginning the work on large rustic tables using the wood.  Jim is using the ash and Mark and Hilde’s heritage table will be of the ‘red elm” wood.  For Thanksgiving, Mark got the wood planed, roughly cut and managed to stack all of Jim’s in the passenger side of the car.  Hilde rode in the back enjoying the fresh wood smell, but not the cramped quarters and clattering on many bumps.  This is going to be a slow project, as everyone wants a great finished product…and the final finishing is best done on a warm spring day for ventilation!  It should be very interesting.

Thanksgiving itself was a wonderful gathering as John, Evie and Hazel came up to Jim’s from Illinois and all were gathered together.  Hilde’s brother Ray ‘shared’ their mom, so that she could be over at Jim’s for a while to see everyone—grandsons and wives, dogs, four small children and lots of happy noise.  Kayme did a great job with meal and organization and everyone  enjoyed themselves.

However, the month ended with Hilde getting a horrid cold and nearly losing her voice….Mark got a mild version.  She used the inside time for crafts and paperwork.  Dr. Stevens gave them more trophies to reuse or dispose of, so the lower level currently is glittering with many kicker trophies to work on.  Festive but crowded.