Be careful what you ask for....

Do you know the saying "Be careful what you ask for"? Well, now I know what is meant by that. I have been asking for a job for months now and now I have many jobs. In the mornings I work at the Village of Winneconne, in the afternoons I work for the Winneconne Chamber of Commerce and in the evenings I work at FVTC. Some weekends I teach scrapbooking at Michaels Craft Store and I'm still teaching scrapbooking online for Northland Pioneer College. Oh yeah and I can't forget Memories in Bits and Pieces...my own business where I do professional scanning of your old photos and I'm a personal consultant for Heritage Makers.

Today is the last day of the Heritage Makers calendar sales..tomorrow I will tell you all about what special we are offering for the month of November. And dont forget, the last chance for online scrapbooking class for the Fall semester begins Tuesday, Nov. 6th so register today at 800-266-7845. Anyone anywhere can register for this class al long as you have a computer with high speed Internet service.

AND...for those of you who live in the Fox Valley area of Wisconsin. I will be at Michaels Craft Store near Appeton, Wisconsin this Saturday, Nov. 3rd from 10-noon for a demonstration on what to expect at my next card making class. See you there!

Remember Trick or Treat for UNICEF?

It's the night before Halloween and the neighborhood is covered with decorations of pumpkins, scarecrows, ghosts and witches. As a child growing up in Wisconsin Halloween was usually on the cold side and sometimes rainy but on Halloween night the miserable weather didn't bother us at all.
Most of us wore costumes we could find in our homes. We put together hobo outfits from some of our dad's old clothes, wiped charcoal on our faces and carried a tree branch with an Oshkosh B'Gosh handkerchief hanging off the end. Or we took an old, white bed sheet from our mother's linen closet and tore holes in it for our eyes so we could see where we were walking.
I remember we would rush through supper because we wanted to start trick or treating the minute it got dark outside. No one ever trick or treated in the daytime. We carried pillow cases to put all of our treats in and of course we carried our little cardboard container to collect money for UNICEF. Do they still have UNICEF?
The kids who attended Catholic schools were the luckiest trick or treaters because we never had school on November 1st - it's holy day of obligation and there was never school on a holy day. This meant that we could stay out as late as we wanted to on Halloween..and we did.
The popular treats were Tootsie Roll Pops and home made popcorn balls. If you got real lucky you'd find a house that gave out the full size Milky Ways or Baby Ruths (there were no little candy bars back then). My least favorite treats were those awful taffy style candies wrapped in orange and black paper, I can't remember what flavor they were but I remember not liking them. 

Letter Openers, Flight Simulators and Piles of Leaves...

A person doesn't realize how old they are until they work with a young person who has never touched a typewriter before! That happened to me yesterday...oh and it gets better...today that same young person helped me open mail and I suggested that they use the letter opener instead of tearing the envelopes...I was asked what a letter opener was and then I had to show them how to use it. This person is a college graduate and one of the most intelligent young people but just never worked in an office before. I was sure feeling my age.

A brighter side of yesterday, was something that happened to me at my second job at Fox Valley Technical College. The site where I work has an aviation program and recently installed two large flight simulators. I've been itching to get into one since they have arrived. Last one of our interns let me fly in the simulator. The entire thing moves, I even had to put a seat belt on and in case I got motion sickness he had a barf bag all ready for me to use...and just so you know I didn't need to use it. I took the controls, the feet petals were difficult for me but once I got up in the air I didn't do too bad with keeping the plane pointed at the horizon. I was surround by three windows with a view of Oshkosh and Lake Winnebago below me. He asked me if I wanted to make a loop, which I did. Then he asked if I wanted to flip the plane. I was hesitant but finally agreed. I felt myself actually going into a backwards flip. It was AWESOME!! Then it was time to land. NOT too awesome. I did land, but nose down into the grass short of the runway. Everything is computerized and then I got out of the simulated I got to watch myself as I tried to land. I fly so much and this was so real-like I actually kept thinking I had to sit still while we taxied on the runway to the gate. Thank you Joe for a fun experience that I will be talking about for a long, long time.

What would a day be without me taking more pictures? There are so many leaves on the ground that I can't even see the grass. Bella isn't too impressed with how deep those leaves are getting. At first she was afraid to walk on the leaves. She's getting use to them now and isn't quite as hesitant to go off the steps. But I just saw all the leaves as another photo opportunity.

I had forgotten the smell of freshly fallen leaves. If you've never experienced being in a pile of leaves in the fall of the year, you just wouldn't understand. I can't describe it but it's one of those scents that immediately releases all those childhood memories of playing in the leave piles when you were a kid. I remember we actually raked leaves and made play houses on the lawn with them. We'd section off rooms and everything. And then there was always piling the leaves as high as you could get them...stand a ways back...then run and jump into the pile. You'd have to pick the leaves out of your hair and off your clothes and then you'd grab that rake and start making the pile again. These kinds of activities kept us entertained for hours at a time. God, I loved growing up here in Wisconsin.

Two license plates, excellent customer service and time to PARTY!

About a month or so I received my temporary car license plates and I finally felt like I was officially a Wisconsinite again. Then a few weeks later I received my Green Bay Packer personalized plates...now I'm really feeling like an official Wisconsin resident. I was going to write that I was an official cheeshead again, but just because I moved to Arizona didn't mean I ever stopped being one of those.

I have always been a firm believer in supporting small town businesses especially since I became a small business owner myself. Well, today I have to tell you about the best customer service that I've received in a long time. I made an appointment at Leo's in Winneconne to have my oil changed on my KIA. I also asked them to check my vehicle's alignment because it seemed to be pulling to one side when I drove (actually I don't notice those things...my son who drove my car to Milwaukee noticed it for me) and I asked if they could put on my new license plates.  - Now before I go any further let me explain why I needed someone else to put on my license plates. - In Arizona you only get one license plate for you car, the plate for the back and I was able to swap that one out with the Wisconsin plate. But in Wisconsin they require two plates one for the back and one for the front. I went to put on my front plate and couldn't find any holes to put the bolts through. I had to call a KIA dealership and ask why...first the man didn't think I knew what I was talking about, then he looked it up and saw that since it was sold in Arizona the company didn't punch the holes in the front. - Now you know why I had to ask the man at Leo's if he could attach my front plate.  They changed the oil and the filter.They found my front tire was low on air because it had picked up a nail and that's what was causing the "pull" so a plug was put on and it was aired up. And they put on my license plate. My bill was less than $35 for everything including labor! And attaching the plate was free. Thank you guys.

I'm a little excited tonight because a good friend from my days at Lourdes High School, is traveling down from the UP tomorrow for a weekend visit. Since we were freshman in high school Nikki and I have been friends. Our birthdays are only a few days apart and back then we always celebrated them together. We lost touch with each other and moved to different states but about 10 years ago we reconnected. Since then we have never gone a year without wishing each other Happy Birthday either in the mail, on the phone or through the Internet. Well, this weekend Nik and I will celebrate our birthdays together in person for the first time in about 40 years. Thank God for long, lasting friendships.

Art from the Barn, Foote Brothers and Bella Shivers...

Last Saturday I spent the day with my older sister, Joann. We traveled down old country roads in the area taking pictures of the trees adorned with their Autumn colors. Today I spent the day with my younger sister, Barb. We started the day going to an annual art and craft sale called Art from the barn. It was located in the country between Oshkosh and Omro, Wisconsin and it was in a big, red barn. I was able to begin my Christmas shopping. Can't tell or show you pictures...that would ruin someone's surprise.

The reason we decided to be in this particular rural area today was because I saw a photo on one of my facebook group pages - Oshkosh: A remembrance of both Past and Present - and it peeked my interest. It was a photo of a place called the Foote Brothers Mansion in Eureka, Wisconsin.

So I Googled it and this is some of what I found:
The mansion was an1850's "mirror mansion" built by identical twins Argalus Isaac and Augustus Ira Foote. It was speculated to have been an undergroung railroad site and  a site for Al Capone's still. The brothers were born in 1817, and shared a deep brotherly love throughout their life. It's been said they had a double wedding, Argalus married Adelia, and Augustus married Anna, making a complete foresome of "AF" initials. So close they were, after moving from Massachusetts in the early 1850's, they had constructed a home for two families. One side of the house was the mirror image of the other side just like the brothers themselves. It is said that they furnished their sides the same and that the interior decorating was of the highest quality. (for more information go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/31711092@N05/2971127373/)
My sister and I drove until we found this house. It was so sad to see it in such shambles. The picture above must have been taken in winter or early spring before there were leaves on all the trees. This time of the year we could hardly see the house from the road because the full leaved trees hid it well.
The stories these wall could tell....Here are some pictures that we got today.

The weather really cooled down the past couple of days. Very crisp outside, actually very crisp inside this house. I just don't want to turn on the furnace yet because the thought of the high propane bill every month makes me sick. But if Bella doesn't stop shivering soon I will have to. The poor little thing has no meat on her bones and the few teeth that she has left in her mouth are chattering. Thank God for electric blankets!

Heritage Maker's Calendars

This month's special at Heritage Makers is the perfect Christmas gift. Every family member would love this...mothers, grandmothers, aunts - everyone loves our calendars especially when they are personalized with photos of their loved ones. We have two sizes of calendars 8.5X11 and 11X16. Both sizes are 10%  off of their regular price but only for the month of October. Go to my website, open your free account and search for templates of calendars. www.memoriesin.com

Keep in mind that Heritage Makers is different from all other calendar making companies...you get me, you very own personal consultant. I am here to help you get started. Please contact me.

CPAP machines, Leon's and chainsaws....

I am part of a Facebook group where I post every day what I'm thankful for it's called Positivity on Purpose. I think it does help me stay positive...everyone should try it. Today I woke up being thankful, I didn't even have to get out of bed and I was already thinking about what I was going to write about.
I use a CPAP machine every night to help me sleep (best thing they ever invented). The only problem is I can't wear it when I've got a cold or my sinuses are acting up. So for the past week I haven't been able to use my machine and it's been one miserable night after another. That was until last night, I slept well, never woke up until morning and felt so completely rested. Wow, amazing how just a little thing like that can make me so thankful.

I spent the weekend driving around this area looking for things to photograph. I took some good shots of old barns, trees with vibrant fall colors, little rural churches, cemeteries, cows and just about anything else that caught my attention. Saturday was the perfect "taking picture" day. It was sunny, not too warm but not too cold and it wasn't windy. I swear everyone was outside doing something. They were all taking advantage of the good weather.

My first stop was to pick up my sister, JoAnn. She had agreed to keep me company on this "adventure". We went to North Park (Menominee Park to some folks). This shot is of the harbor where the sail boats are waiting to be put away for the winter. If you look real close you can see the sea gulls sunning all along the dock.

After the park and before we got to the rural road that we wanted to be on, we had to drive past Leon's, a famous Oshkosh drive-in restaurant. Now if you were raised in Oshkosh you understand why we had to stop. They have been serving hot beef sandwiches the same recipe and the same way for 65 years! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Leons-Frozen-Custard   JoAnn, as a teenage was a carhop at Leon's. It was like a magnet for my car, it drew us right in as we were driving down the street. The carhops were wearing their hot pink poodle skirts, saddle shoes and had pony tails. Just writing about this is making me drool for another sandwich.

Anyway, once our stomachs were full we ventured out of Oshkosh towards the rural areas to the northwest. This pictures is of a trail used by people who want to take long walks, bicyclists and horseback riding...maybe snowmobiling in the winter months. JoAnn told me that she thought this trail went from Oshkosh to Appleton. If you look real close you can see two people bicycling under an archway of trees and another couple in the background walking. Many were taking in the late September beauty of the trail.

We heard the sound of chainsaws cutting and tree branches falling. We saw pick-up trucks being loaded with leaves and debris. Jet skis and boats were being cleaned up and covered for the season. Farmers were in their fields baling hay .And there were wagons full of pumpkins and gourds being sold on every corner. What truly amazed me was the pride that people in this area take in the appearance of their yards and homes.I took this picture in the Town of Winneconne. But I could have stopped hundreds of times to take similar pictures. If I haven't said it yet today, let me tell you...I love being back here in Wisconsin.