Yes I am alive

If you have logged on..................I know I have been very bad on updating. This years resolution is to be better. Please check in again.

A difference a week can make

Today we are to get the BIG SNOW of the season. EVERYONE is talking about it. The weatherman has been giddy with this forcast for the last few days. The grocery stores are filled with people who want to stock up.
This is Wisconsin for cripes sake! We will be out in one day.....although it is going to be freeze your but cold.
Anyways, last week Eric and I were in the Bahamas for a seminar that we have attended for the last few years. Since I started with the weather here in "Wisco land" I will start with the weather in Freeport. Out of 6 days, 2 were good. They were Very good. Of the other 5, 2 of those days had a high of 60 degrees and windy. They would have had a wind chill factor if they did that in the Caribbean (which I doubt).You know it was bad when you step off the plane in Milwaukee and it feels warmer there then in the Bahamas.
Weather is out of the way. The last few years I have attended the seminar with Eric. Some wives go to the "classes". I went to those past meeting with what I thought would be the "dutiful wife syndrom". When I looked at the this years subjects of the classes I thought "WHY?". I have never asked Eric to attend a Dental class with me ....... and I truely do find those fascinating (and yes, I am not sarcastic here). We are also not attached at the hip which I think makes our relationship more exciting. So this year I hung out with the other women that do not attend the classes. I had the BEST time. Made up for the lousy weather. We shopped, chatted, laughed, enjoyed the sun and had some drinks. And you know I thought this was better for business that attending the seminars in a closed up room. Like anyone would talk furniture to me...........and like I would want them to.
Some advice to those travelars who are venturing to the Bahamas. The Westin is overated in Freeport - the beds are heavenly but that is it.

The "Little Bird" has flown from the forest

Lauren has left the state of Wisconsin for a new position with her job. I am finding myself in another stage. The "nest" has been empty for a few years. Now I have to get use to her living more then a "tank of gas" away. It is not as though we saw her often but knowing that we have to "plan" to see her makes me a little sad. This too will pass as most things do with adult children. That still doesn't make it a piece of cake when they have such a big place in your heart.

Best Way to Spend a Gloomy Rainy Day in WI

Today is probably the worst kind of day in Wisconsin. It is cold, rainy and dark. The sun was shining inside when Wisconsin beat Auburn this afternoon. The Badgers showed everyone that Cheddarheads are tough. Now the sun will shine brighter if the Buckeyes win.

Wrapping the year up and Adventures of the Volcheff Sisters

I had the best of intentions on updating the blog. The delay started because I was waiting for pictures. Weeks turned into months. When I did get the pictures the Holidays were upon us and life was crazy, not to mention that Eric and I came down with the flu 2 weeks before Christmas. Now the year is coming to a close and the pressure is on to put the last few months in order.

• August

While we’re on the subject of wine… we’re not?… well, it’s Eric’s favorite subject so here goes. We had quite the year with the juice of the grape. Eric befriended a marketing exec with a boutique winery in Napa just over a year ago (Kathryn Hall Winery), and to cut a long story short, it resulted in them hosting a wine party for us and 50 of our closest wine-loving friends here in Manitowoc. We developed a theme to contrast the wine country with Wisconsin and coined it, Beer Belly vs. Wine Gut. It was unbelievable! Did I mention we went through five cases of wine?

• Jenna's Chile Adventure

The best way to get the full scoop is to click on to : Jenna's blog under Links

We are very proud of her. Lauren and I were especially proud when we saw where she was living. Lauren and I said there is no way we would have stayed. The damp smell would have had me running. She has become quite the traveler. As we speak she is in Egypt. Yes........ and Eric and I did not endorse this trip. But we did raise the girls to be independent. Of course she will return to Madison mid January for real life - if you can call it that - school.

• Lauren

Lauren is still working for the same company. She was promoted and will be moving to Lexington, KY. We will miss having her just a couple of hours away but this is a great opportunity. There is another plus that is drawing her to Kentucky. Now here is the irony part. When Jenna went to Chile I told her she was not to fall in love with a Chilean (or any other South American for that matter). I don't think I need to explain why a mother who loves her children very much would say this. Anyways, I digressed, Jenna was a good girl. No love interest in Chile. Now Lauren goes to Kentucky in September for training. She finds a love interest from Chile who lives in Kentucky. GO Figure!

• Our visit to Chile over Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful experience when we visited Jenna in Santiago over Thanksgiving. Seeing Jenna after five months was fantastic, but we took a side trip to Mendoza, Argentina for two days of wine touring, tastings and gastronomic delight. They do it right down there – big, bold wines, fantastic beef, and all at giveaway prices. Our first night there at a nice restaurtant, we bought the most expensive bottle of wine on the menu for 35 Argentinian pesos – about $11 US$. We love that country!

This picture is 10:15am- ready for wine tasting. The third girl is not a "daughter", that was our guide. Very cute!!!

Pictures below are from the lunches we had during those 2 days. The food was as awsome as the view.

During our visit Jenna was our Guide, our caretaker,and our translator. I am sure we drove her crazy with our dependency on her. Jenna has always liked to stay out of "radar range". During this visit not only did she have answer our guestions but she had to do all the talking. All kidding aside, we REALLY depended on her. This was the first place we have been where the communication was a problem. The visit was enjoyable..........but not the value of Argentina.

Lauren drinking a Pisco Sour (National Chilean drink) I may not have that spelled right.

Eric, Jenna, Lauren, Ruthann & Annie (Jenna's friend )out on the town in Santiago for dinner

• The Wild Adventures of the Volcheff Sisters.

Both Lauren and Jenna left Eric and I in Santiago a day early (Boy, did we miss Jenna as our translator) to go to southern Chile to their Lake District. During this tour they did some white water rafting. A first for both of them. From there they went back to Santiago to catch a plane to Rio in Brazil. Luckily it was not too wild and crazy. I have since learned that it can be a dangerous area. After 2 days in Rio the girls went their seperate ways for a few days. Jenna took a bus to see falls that border Brazil and Argentina while Lauren went to another city in Brazil where she had work with her company. Jenna was able to meet up with her there and spend a few days in "nice" hotel (hostels are her place of choice) with Lauren.

• The continued Adventures of the VS

Jenna flew home from Brazil, while Lauren went to Santiago. Her company found it cheaper to have her fly back through Santiago to return to the states. This so happened to be the same time as the wedding of her boyfriends brother in Santiago. So she went. The only thing was, her boyfriend was delayed in Kentucky due to weather. So she attended the wedding with his best friend. Now Lauren took German in high school so she was clueless all night. Of course that did not keep her from having a good time. Music is the universal language and dancing is the way of expressing it.

• The continued Adventures of the VS

Remember that Jenna is in Cairo. To get a cheap airfare she had to make several connections. One of those is Dublin. Well Lauren has training in Dublin during Jenna's return home. So Miss World Traveler is staying in Dublin courtesy of her sister's hotel room.

So Eric and I have decided when we die we want to come back as our children.

Well, that wraps it up. This was a great year. We can only hope that next year will be as wonderful. And we do hope.

East meets Midwest and Mad Town Weekend

The O'Connors arrived in Wisconsin the second week of August. We had a wonderful visit with them. Of course we did the sub tour - you have to do that at least once. After the tour all of us went out to my Uncle Bob's garden and picked corn, tomatoes and zucchini. After we had dinner we went to the Big Cow for ice cream. All in all a "Wisco day" for sure.
They went up to Door County where I joined them a day later. The picture on the right was taken at the drive in. Times have changed. You can back the van in, lift the hatch and stretch out to watch the movie. I remember the days when you had to hang the speaker on the window - now it comes through the radio.
During one of our drives, there was a semi was spraying manure on the field. Well let's just say I don't think they will look for that scent on Greenwich Blvd.



Last weekend we went to Madison to spend the weekend with Lauren. The picture to the left was taken at the Farmer's Market. The Market takes place around the State Capitol building. The only way you can sell your produce is if you grow it. The colors, sounds and smells were wonderful.






This is a picture of Lauren, Mohammed and Eric. Mohammed was staying with Lauren for a few days until he finds a place closer to campus. He arrived from Egypt as an AISEC intern. If you want to know about this organization there is a link on Jenna's blog.He loves Madison, although I am sure he will like it better when he is not a 40 minute bike ride away.



On Saturday we went to dinner at a restaurant that was on Lake Mendota. Our view from the table was the sun setting over the water. After dinner we walked over to a restaurant that Mohammed is working at - The Casbah. The street was shut down for a block party. We think that Capitol Brewery bought the taps to introduce one of their new releases. The picture below is of Lauren and Eric.



We are so glad that we spent the weekend in Madison. There is always something going on.
The only thing that would have made it better is if Jenna was there. She has a few more years at Madison yet, so there will be other opportunities. That is, if she decides she is coming back (check her blog).

If you want to see other pictures, try clicking on the flicker badge to the right.

Flickr

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