Thankful for my 3 1/2 men and dumplings with my turkey...

Thanksgiving Day here was wonderfully warm and sunny. I was able to talk to all three of my sons and any day that happens is a happy day for me. Funny, the older I get the more important simple things like a phone conversation with one of my sons means to me...and when I get to talk to all three on the same day it's as if I hit the lottery. So not only on Thanksgiving Day but every day of my life I am thankful for the 3 1/2 men in my life...Eddie, Joey, Jon and Aiden.

Eddie and I spent most of the day at the home of Brooke's parents the Domers. It was a day full of great food, some football and the most enjoyable game of BINGO that I ever played. This was the first time I met Karen and Randy Domer and some of their family - Heather, Chris, CJ, Bri, Bella and Will. And I want to thank them and Brooke for opening their home and hearts to make us feel so welcomed. 

Randy, Karen and I found out that we had a lot in common. We graduated from the same high school, lived pretty much in the same neighborhood growing up, went to the same dances during our summer breaks and we know a lot of the same people. If things would have worked out during the 1940's with Eddie's great aunt and Brooke's great uncle...the two of them would have been related. Wow. I truly believe in the six degree of separation - Six degrees of separation is the idea that everyone is on average approximately six steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person in the world. (wikipedia.org)

 And by the way, this was the first time I had dumplings with my Thanksgiving turkey. They were delicious and Eddie and Bella had a contest on how many they could eat, they tied, they each had three!!  The difference is Bella is only a five year old little girl.

My eyes, Bella's eyes and giving thanks...

I was so happy the other night to finally be able to have a fire in my fireplace. But the one thing that I forgot from just a few months ago (when I lit the last fire) was that I think I'm allergic to the wood that I'm burning or maybe it's the smoke either way my eyes just about burnt out of their sockets and watered for days afterwards. BUT did I learn my lesson? No. I just can't resist a nice warm fire burning on a windy, cold night...especially when I can stay up late and enjoy it because there is no work tomorrow. I will probably regret this in the morning when my eyes are swollen. Damn, I just thought of something now as I was writing this...I am having Thanksgiving dinner with Brooke's family tomorrow and it's the first time we are going to meet and my eyes will probably be swollen...what the heck was I thinking!

Thanksgiving this year will be a little different from the one I spent alone last year. I love my friends on the mountain because they all tried to get me to spend the day with them and their families but I was kinda busy feeling sorry for myself. This year I'm surrounded by my own family and extended families. The weather is going to be sunny and warm, warm for Wisconsin that is. I get to meet a new family and I think we will have a lot in common besides our children loving each other.

Let me tell you a few things that I'm thankful for.  My brothers - Mike and Jack who come to cut my grass, get rid of leaves, fix windows and anything else that I ask help with around this house. Bruce was the same way when I lived near him in Arizona. He would give up entire weekends to travel to Heber to help me paint my house. My sisters - Barb changed all her plans last Saturday to rush me and Bella to Denmark, Wisconsin to see a vet who specializes in eye care because Bella's eyes were injured. (and this is just one example of what Barb does for me)  JoAnn is my comic relief. She makes me laugh even when she isn't trying to. She is so like mom, she messes up words so badly that even when we are having a serious conversation she'll say such a wrong word but she thinks she pronounced it correctly that I can't hold back my laughter.  Mom's famous mess up was using condom instead of condominium. She used to always say that Eddie lived in a condom. God I miss her.

So tonight, the night before Thanksgiving Day I wanted to share with everyone that I'm thankful for my brothers and sisters.

First Fire, Bird Burial and Biggest Rack...

Tonight was a great change. I was home early, made dinner, did some laundry (I'm a woman so I can multi-task), made my first fire of the season in the fireplace and now I'm relaxing and watching Hulu. Found a new show to watch...Arrow. There's a new actor on this show, Stephen Amell and he is sure good to look at. Sometimes I think I'm looking at a young Tom Cruise and sometimes he resembles Chris O'Donnell...either way looking at him is good medicine for my tired eyes.

Remember those darn birds that kept flying down my chimney last summer? I could hear them flapping around inside my fireplace and when I stupidly opened the door one of them flew out and I had to chase it around the house. Well...evidently one didn't get out and I found it tonight in the belly of the fireplace. It was very stiff and disgusting and I had to remove it before I started the fire. Poor thing. I gave it a burial by sea...or in my case, by lake.

The Village is just about empty of the male species tonight. The big deer hunt starts at sunrise tomorrow morning. I'm sure they are all in their cabins, playing cards, drinking their favorite alcoholic beverage and just letting loose. It's a tradition in the Schroeder family for my two brother's cabins up near Eagle River, to get together on Friday night for a fish fry...then the cards, drinks and letting loose. This is something they plan for all year long.Tomorrow begins the big competition. Who will get the first deer? Who will get the largest deer? Whose deer will the biggest rack?   Us women folk will just have to wait and see.

Bird Poop and Deer Hunting...

When there is a wide windshield on a person's car, why does the bird always poop right at eye level on the driver's side? Why is it that when I finally decide to splurge on a full car wash because of the bird poop...it rains just enough to fill the potholes in my driveway with muddy water? Just wondering...

The drive home from work tonight was real slow on Highway 41. I couldn't believe all the cars traveling in the northbound lanes. I'm assuming it was mostly men on their way "up north" for opening weekend of deer hunting. Hunting in Wisconsin is like a religion. I remember when I was in high school the majority of the boys didn't even attend school the day before opening day of deer hunting. Things haven't changed much, there is no school tomorrow here in Winneconne. I guess the school system figured they'd make it a holiday since half of the kids had no intentions of showing up for classes anyway. The school system got smart.
Hell, I had to plan my first wedding around hunting and fishing seasons. I wanted a May wedding and we couldn't get married in the beginning of that month because of some sort of hunting or fishing. Thank God the end of May fit in that schedule. 

It's party time for all the hunting widows. There are all kinds of special shopping events scheduled for this weekend, specials at restaurants and of course all bars are advertising happy hour specials for the women who have been left behind.  I'm hoping to get to some craft fairs to begin Christmas shopping and then who knows where that will lead us. Barb wants a pajama party full of fattening foods and movies. Sounds like fun to me.

I ate venison many, many years ago back when I was a picky eater and I made up my mind ahead of time that I would hate it.  Since  then I have eaten and I love venison sausage and brats. I've been told that these don't really count since there is so much more than venison in them. So for a very selfish reason I am wishing my brothers, brother-in-laws, nephews, (one niece), cousins and friends a very lucky hunt. Bring home those big bucks because I'd like another crack at trying some venison that's not in sausage.

I'm on the H's, Jersey Boys and Buffalo Wild Wings...

You know a movie is going to be long when there is an intermission...I'm watching an old move, How the West was Won. I'm as far as the H's...if you read my blog regularly, you know what that means. Anyway, this is an old movie. I think every actor in it is dead, even the ones that were young when this movie was made and the acting is so, so bad, but it is a classic - a very long classic.

 I had another first experience last Saturday. I attended my first Broadway Musical...Jersey Boys. For my birthday Barb bought me tickets for the show in Madison. Actually I had two first experiences last Saturday, I've never been to our state capital, Madison, before either. We made a day of it. We sang Frankie Valli and the Four Season songs during the drive down there. Then we had lunch with our nephew, Connor. He was working at Buffalo Wild Wings near the University. We attended the show, took pictures of the Capital and then sang Frankie Valli and the Four Season's songs all the way home.

I don't think I was able to keep still the entire performance. I actually felt sorry for the poor man who had to sit next to me because I was constantly clapping my hands, keeping the beat with my feet or swaying from side to side, I accidentally hit him more than once, but he was very polite and acted like he didn't notice. I was smiling the entire time, no one or nothing was going to wipe that smile off of my face that night. I am already planning on attending the next musical...The Lion King will be in Appleton in April and Barb and I plan on going.

This performance was at the Overture Center in Madison, Wisconsin. I didn't realize that you aren't allowed to take pictures (I suspected it but didn't see any notices.) So I got one picture with my phone before the usher was at my side telling me that no pictures were allowed.

We were pretty far up, but I didn't care I was just so happy to be there. This place was huge!

Connor's last day of work at Buffalo Wild Wings is today, just in time to come home to go deer hunting opening weekend with every other man in this family. I'm glad we got to see him before he quit. He's one handsome guy. And damn he's tall, didn't realize how tall until I stood next to him for this picture. And I was pleasantly surprised on how good our food was. I would highly recommend trying the bar-b-que chicken salad. But try to not go during a Wisconsin Badger's game unless you don't mind loud screaming during your entire meal. Go Badgers!

Sunrise over Lake Winneconne...

Just the other day I was wondering how a person, who lives alone, would know if their headlights or taillights were out on their car. Well I found out the answer to that question...live in Winneconne and the police will stop you. Yup, I got pulled over on my way home from work the other night. I couldn't figure out why I was being stopped, I'm always real careful about my speed driving through this Village and I usually can spot where the police are waiting. Well, I wasn't speeding and I never saw Ben in the police car until I saw the  lights flashing in my rear view mirror. All the worrying was for nothing,.. I just had a headlight burnt out. Next morning I was back at Leo's Filling Station getting a new light. AND it only cost me $12 to purchase it and have it installed. When I was at the Kia dealership in Flagstaff, they charged over $90 to replace a bulb by the time they got through charging me for labor! God I love living here.

It's funny how life turns out. I remember many years ago, when my mother was still alive we had a conversation regarding the property in Winneconne. My brother Bruce and I lived in Arizona, my other four siblings lived in Wisconsin and mom wanted to know if any of us were interested in living in her home in Winneconne, she really, really wanted the house to stay in the family. I told her I would never move back to Wisconsin to live and that the house really didn't mean anything to me...you see I never actually lived it this house. The house our family lived in on 10th Ave. in Oshkosh is the house that holds many good memories for me as a kid growing up. I was never too fond of the house on Guenther Street in Oshkosh. And the house in Winneconne was built after I moved to Arizona, so I had no attachment to it. And now look who's living in that house in Winneconne....me. It's just funny how a divorce, a death, a job position closing down and the strong need to be with family changes a person's mind.

Not a day goes bye that I don't think and sometimes talk to mom and dad. Everything in this house reminds me of them. I find myself thinking what would they do, or what would they think about something to do with the house or the property.

These pictures are for you mom and dad. The beauty of the sun rising over the lake was just one of the reasons you guys decided to build this home on Lake Winneconne. The place I now call my home.

First Cousins, Once Removed, Second Cousins?

First cousins

The children of two siblings.

Jeanne Schroeder Rupnick, daughter of my Uncle Milton Schroeder

  Kathy Drexler, daughter of my Auntie Marge Schroeder Drexler

 

 

 

First cousins once removed

Two people for whom a first cousin relationship is one generation removed.

Marilyn Schroeder VanHaren, first cousin to my father - daughter of my 

father's Uncle Mike Schroeder.

Second cousins

The children of two first cousins.

 Michael Patrick Schroeder (not my brother), grandson of my Grandpa Schroeder's brother Mike Schroeder.

Are you confused yet? Join the club, so am I. It's probably taken me 15 minutes to write these descriptions and I had to Google the descriptions because I wasn't even sure who was which kind of cousin and I had to draft a diagram...then I understood it...I think.

In the Schroeder family, family time isn't just for the six of us with our kids...it's for aunts, uncles, cousins,distant cousins and many times close family friends. My siblings and my first cousins Jeanne and Kathy got to meet a "new" cousin last night...his name might sound familiar because it's exactly the same name of my brother's name...Michael Patrick Schroeder.  Evidently, the two Mikes were in high school at the same time and heard of each other but never really knew if and how they were related. This is how he came to be at last night's party.

A month or so ago my sister Barb and I visited a cousin, Marilyn and her husband Roger in Beaver Dam to review some family tree pictures and documents. While we were talking Marilyn mentioned that she had a nephew(a second cousin to us) named Mike and he was a magician. My sister already was planning her husband's surprise 50th birthday day party and thought the idea of hiring a magician to perform the night of the party would be a great and different idea. Barb then told her daughter Sami about this idea. Sami went to work the next day at Staples where she is a customer service rep for the printing department, a man came in to order posters for his business...he was a magician. Sami told this man the story about how her family just found out that they had a magician in their family and her mother was going to have that man perform at a family party. You guessed it...the man was the Schroeder relative. A few phone calls between Mike and Barb and everything was planned. He was as excited to meet us as we were to meet him.

Mike put on a fantastic show for us and gave Milwaukee Mike a birthday performance that he will never forget. We were glad to welcome a new cousin to our "group" and hope to see much more of him at family functions.