Enjoying the Good Life in Oshkosh, Nebraska

As I sit on our motel bed watching a movie on my computer, I hear the train go by once again...........the sound is captivating and reminds me of days gone by.  The lonely train whistle - not loud,  not obnoxious - just the reassuring sound of that train rumbling by several times a day!

And what brings us to Oshkosh, NE?  Ice fishing.  Since Eagle Nest, NM is not even open yet as there's not enough ice and we've already been to Gunnison, Glenn searched elsewhere for his passion for perch fishing and Blue Lake, a few miles from here was his choice!

I checked the internet to decide on a motel - and discovered there's only one in town!  But that was OK since the reviews were great and I'll take a small motel any day over a chain hotel (most of the time anyway!).  The Shady Rest Motel it is!  I called to reserve 3 nights and the gal I spoke to sounded wonderful - I didn't even leave a credit card to reserve it, just my name!  She did inform me there was ONE place to eat dinner but that it closes at 7:00pm - and Monday through Friday there was a little cafe that served the locals breakfast!  Our room was to have a microwave and frig so it was no problem to pack breakfast and lunch!

We left Tuesday morning at 6:00am sharp - Glenn with all of his fishing equipment and me with my computer, books, files and lists!  Plus enough clothing to not only get by in Oshkosh but then head to Ft Collins for 3 days to visit the kids and watch the Super Bowl!

Glenn made a smart decision on Monday nite - we were planning on taking our new car but he decided to take the pickup in case of muddy roads - and the road he had to take to get out to the lake was not only muddy, but a long ways on dirt!!

We arrived about 11:30 and drove around the small town as I wanted to check out Main Street (hoping it would be close enough for me to walk to - duh - the population here is 832 people) and we also located a coffee place - can you believe it, this small, small town has a coffee place that not only sells coffee but roasts the beans too!!  More on that later............

We checked into the motel that of course offered wifi and I got the lowdown from Maggie the owner of where to get coffee and where to eat dinner!  Our room was VERY nice - beautifully decorated in a country theme with everything I would need in the following days!  I especially appreciated not only the desk and chair so I could use my computer there but also the one easy chair to read in!

Glenn immediately headed out to fish at Blue Lake and I settled in for an afternoon of reading!  I had some lists to make for our upcoming trip to Mexico but realized I didn't even have a pen on me - I always carry one in my purse but somehow it mysteriously disappeared!

No fish for Glenn - but he wasn't disappointed - he'd had a great time!  By the time he rolled in the door at 6:15 we immediately had to leave for dinner at The Panhandler since they closed at 7:00!!  Yes, small towns roll the rug up early!

Dinner was just fine - nothing spectacular but the burgers were great and the home cut french fries were tasty!

Since Glenn went to sleep at 8:15, he woke up pretty early - it's hard to sleep with the smell of coffee tantalizing your senses so soon I was up too!  He was out the door early - I chose to tidy up the room, make the bed and do some floor exercises before eating my sausage and egg burrito that Glenn had made the day before - it was delicious!

I had found a pen in the truck the night before so after making my Mexico lists, I bundled up and headed out the door in search of the coffee place - not hard to find in a town this size!  The place is called Specialty Coffee's and it's a cute place with KONA coffee for sale in bags and a small place to order your coffee!

Mark Ferrari is the owner of this place and after learning the art of roasting KONA beans in Hawaii, he opened this place up which sells Hawaii grown but Nebraska roasted beans!  The gal made my coffee and I was super impressed with the taste!  I'm pretty picky about my mocha with a shot of caramel, skim milk but with whipped cream coffee!!  And let me tell you, this ranked right up there with the turtle mocha at Caribou Coffee!!!  YUM!!  I told her I would be back the next 2 days and maybe once more before 12:30pm when they close for a frappe!!

I walked around with my coffee for a little while but it was cold enough out that it soon started to get lukewarm so I headed back to the motel room to heat it up and thoroughly enjoy it!

My second walk of the day was longer - walking around and checking out the town - stopping into a cute place which sold local handmade items - and being surprised at the number of business places!

I read up on Oshkosh and found it was settled in the 1880's by cattlemen who decided it was a perfect place to graze cattle.  And yes, Oshkosh WAS named after Oshkosh, WI!

And our dinner plans tonight?  The Blind Goose in Lewellen which is 12 miles away - sounds interesting, doesn't it?

Basement Organization!

Organizing is my specialty and I decided to conquer Jessi's basement which needed some direction!  So Glenn and I headed up last Wed to Denver - he was going to fish and I was going to organize with Jessi!

But first - Jessi talked me into trying out the trampoline!!  OH MY  -  it was SO FUN!!  I can see why the kids want to jump on it every day!!

 Jessi and I got our game plan together on Wed. nite and after dropping off the kids at school, we started in!!  There were a lot of tubs to sort and I think we ended up with 3 trash bags to throw away, a lot of stuff for Goodwill, and most ALL of it moved under their stairway and into a crawl space in their laundry room!!  The crawl space is not the easiest to get into but it's huge in there and was the perfect place for all the Christmas decorations and tubs!  We took a quick break mid-morning to run and get coffee but otherwise worked hard till mid-afternoon!!

And the result?  Now there's a great family room with the WI set up with a futon to sit on, a card table set up for crafts or puzzles, a nice guest room with the closet completely organized and NO CLUTTER!!!  It looked amazing when we were all done and I can't believe I didn't take a pic of it!!  The kids were so excited when they got home from school and ended up spending most of the evening down there!!  What a great job to get done!!

In the meantime, Glenn had fished Wed. afternoon and all day Thursday - here's his catch from Wed. - huge perch!!

Gwyn had fun finding all kinds of things that we sorted, especially this cute hat!!

After dinner Thursday evening, we were cleaning up the kitchen when we realized we hadn't seen Gwyn for a while - she had put herself to bed and was sound asleep by 6:30!  WOW!!  We didn't figure out why until the next morning when she was running a fever and not feeling well at all!

Jessi had planned on going to Pastries for Parents (along with us) at the kids' school, but because Gwyn was sick, she stayed home with her and Glenn and I took the kids to school and had donuts with them!

We then got to see each of the kids' home room and visit a minute with their teachers!

What a fun thing to do!  We headed back to Jessi's to pack up and head home with the hopes that Gwyn would feel better later - and she did!!

Another Beautiful Day in Gardnerville

Today Jeanine wanted to take me to an old town called Genoa which wasn't very far away.  It was a gorgeous day out and we hardly needed our jackets!!

The town was the first settlement in Nevada, settled by the Mormons in 1851 - it's pretty small but cute as ever!

Our first stop of the day was of COURSE for coffee - and what better place than "The Pink House"!  It's basically a Victorian restaurant with different rooms to sit in and the coffee was very good!!

Genoa also boosts the oldest bar in Nevada!

We toured the local museum which was very interesting and then headed to the park where I posed in front of Snowshoe Mailman,  He was born in Norway and from 1856 to 1876 delivered mail on his back via skis from Placerville, CA to Genoa, NV.  It was a distance of 90 miles one way over the mountains!!  Hard to imagine!!

Meanwhile, Glenn and Bob decided to attack cutting down the dead tree in their back yard!

Here is a picture of their dog Cooper and Bob TRYING to look mean!!  Cooper was an extremely well behaved dog and loved his morning walks!

Yes, more cards were played - more food was eaten!

Before we headed to the airport our final morning, I got a photo of the quail that Bob and Jeanine feed daily!  They come running from all over and are cute as ever!!

A couple of final pictures in front of their awesome view!

Thank you Bob and Jeanine for a wonderful time - lots of fun spending time with you!!  Let's not wait so long next time to see each other!

Lake Tahoe

We woke up to sunshine on Friday and decided it was a good day to head over the mountain to Lake Tahoe - what a pretty drive it was!  Unfortunately it was cloudy on the other side but the clouds still made for a beautiful backdrop!

Is there snow there?   Not really!!  The west is just like Colorado - hardly any snow yet this year!

We walked around a park like area so I could take pictures of the beautiful views!

This is a photo of Emerald Bay - what a cute island!!  We were supposed to hike down a mile and see Vikingsholm which is a castle at the bottom by the lake - but about the time we drove to that area, it started raining so that didn't happen!!  We were excited about hiking DOWN but not excited about hiking back up so I guess the weather made the decision for us!

We decided we needed coffee in the town so parked the car and of course I spotted a place right away!!  The coffee was delicious and I think I have Jeanine convinced she needs to go out for "special coffee" more often!!

So this is the ski lift that comes right into the town - notice all that snow - NOT!!!  Don't u love my photo right by the garbage can?

After our scenic drive, Bob grilled up some great steaks that evening and we were back at the table playing cards!!  I wasn't going to post this crazy picture but it's such a great memory that I have to!!

What a fun night we had getting beat at cards again!!

Nevada Bound

We have wanted to fly out and see friends Bob and Jeanine for a LONG time but seems between the house and the shop, it just hadn't happened!!  When Frontier came out with some decent flights to Reno last month,  we called up Bob and said we were heading out!!

Bob and Glenn have been hunting partners for many, many years!  I had only met Jeanine when she came out to stay once while the guys were hunting but we got along great and seemed like we had been friends forever!

Our flight was just OK - it would have been great except for the LOUD lady right behind us - oh my gosh, she talked and talked and talked to the gal next to her and I think we had heard her entire life's stories by the time we arrived!!  I swore to myself I would bring my headphones next trip so I could drown out anyone talking with my music!!

Reno has a very nice airport - course it's strange to see those slot machines in the airport!!  We were gawking at things as we got off the plane and started walking - finally realized after walking for a while that we had missed the baggage claim and were in the other wing!!  Bob and Jeanine were waiting for us and it was sure fun to see them!!  We got our baggage and headed to their home in Gardnerville!

They have a lovely home out on the high desert and we felt right at home with all their mountains surrounding them!  Bob and Jeanine are both great cooks - I'm sure we both gained weight while we were there!!

Since they are avid card players, we didn't waste any time!!  Euchre was the choice most of the time and we had fun looking up the different rules since none of us quite remembered how to play!!

We even got some exercise each day as they walk their dog Cooper every morning!  Mornings were chilly but the days were nice - a lot like Colorado weather!  We had clouds for a couple of days but that just made the mountains look more spectacular!  Here's the view from their house!

All the juniper trees had berries on them and from a distance, it looked like flocked snow!

One of Bob's hobbies is buying old tractors and fixing them up!  These two decorate their front yard!

I couldn't stop snapping pictures of the mountains!

Love this tree in their front yard - made for a perfect picture in front of the mountains!

 The guys hunted for arrowheads on Thursday - Jeanine and I were content to visit and read!  We went to an awesome Chinese restaurant that evening for dinner before settling down for card playing that night!!  Guys against girls - and yes, they ALWAYS got the good cards!!  What fun we had between euchre and dummy rummy!  To Be Cont'd...................

Guess What's Sitting In Our Garage?

YES - a different car!!!  Our friend had found one online for us and it seemed to be the perfect one - he ordered it and it arrived a week ago!  It's a 2017 Ford Explorer Limited - used but with lots of bells and whistles on it!!  Even though I drove it home on Monday night, I didn't get to spend any time learning how it all works since we were heading out to Reno the next morning!

Now that we're back, it's time to get that manual out and figure out how all the buttons work!!  I'm excited to drive it!

Ice Fishing in Gunnison

When the girls and I used to do scrapbooking together we always had a saying - if it wasn't in the scrapbook, it didn't happen!  So even though I have no pictures of our ice fishing trip to Gunnison, I guess I better blog about it since it DID happen!

Gunnison seemed to be the only place around that had ice on it so we headed out on a Wed. morning to spend a couple of nights over there...................we stopped at Florissant for coffee to go and had a nice drive over.

Since it was still New Year's week, the place where we usually stay in Almont was all booked up - so I booked us a couple of nights at a motel, Days Inn and Suites.  It was on Hwy 50 so only 10  min to the lake for Glenn which worked out great!  We arrived at noon and of course check-in wasn't till 4:00 but luckily our room was open so we could check in - I had booked a suite (just a little larger than a regular room but it had a couch in it) and it was fine, nothing fancy but always nice to have a frig and microwave.

Glenn headed out to fish - I did computer work and read.  Dinner was at a cute pizza place with some of the best pizza we've ever had!  Thursday Glenn headed out for the day and as soon as the temperature climbed from one degree to 10 degrees, I bundled up and walked about 1/2 mile to a coffee place I had seen (I can spot those places a LONG ways off!!)  It was WELL worth the trip as the coffee was delicious!

Another day of reading and TV for me while Glenn slaved at the fishing hole, not catching any perch at all but trout..............he still had fun but he was sure wishing for perch!  Our dinner that evening was just OK at one of the places downtown and we headed home the next day!  Not one of our exciting trips for sure but it DID happen and I DID blog about it!

New Year's Eve

Can New Year's Eve get any more exciting than this????  STAYING HOME!!  Ha - we are getting old - we have no desire to do anything on New Year's Eve but watch a movie in the comfort of our home!

Robby, Jill and the kids DID come down though - they arrived around lunchtime and Robby immediately started hooking up our NEW desktop computer!!  Our old one was having issues and Robby found us a great deal so we ordered one!  It's an "all in one" like what we had at Mountain Aspen so it's nice to be rid of the tower and now there's so much more room on the desk!

We had an early dinner and then Jill's left to spend the evening and nite with friends in W. Pk - I did step out on the front porch at 9:00pm and saw the 3 pre-fireworks set off of the peak - but I sure didn't make it till midnight to see the big display!  We actually babysat Bouncer, their dog - not that there was much to do!!

Jill's came back around noon New Years Day and we spent the day playing games, hot tubbing and relaxing.  It was a nice enjoyable day - I can't believe I didn't take any pictures except one the next morning before they left!!  Oh well.............

The kids always enjoy their hot cocoa out of the Keurig machine!  Here's to 2018 - another great year I'm predicting!!

Iowa Visitors

Our granddaughter Nedelle from Iowa and her mom were in Colorado for Christmas so they came up one day so we could see them!  Nedelle just turned 14 and has really gotten tall this last year!

Her and Glenn had fun playing pool!

And she was so excited when she got to feed the deer!

We had a nice visit and it was fun to see her!  Soon she'll be taller than Glenn!

Post Christmas Fun

After Christmas, Jaime, Rayna and I headed to Co. Springs for an early lunch at Garden of the Gods Deli Market - I've been here a few times and the food is always delicious!  This day was no exception!

Then we headed to Old Colorado City and went to the Michael Garman Gallery - yes, a little culture for the day!  We went through "Magic Town" which is a 3000 sq ft miniature city that combines hundreds of intricately detailed sculptures and city scapes with magical elements.  It was inspired by Garman's vagabond experiences during the 50's and 60's, done in a 1/6 scale.  There are buildings and alleyways and all kinds of business places set into this town.  Quite unique!

You also could do a scavenger hunt as you went through - which we did!  Each of us received a paper with 5 different questions on things to look for as you toured the city - and we even got them all right!

It was a fun day together eating, visiting, and seeing the gallery!

Christmas Day At The Smiths

Christmas Day dawned bright and sunny in the mountains - no snow here!  We headed into the Smiths early morning as Kylan was excited to open his gifts!

But first up, coffee and cinnamon rolls - and the rolls were made into Christmas trees with green icing - how cute!  Somehow I didn't get a picture of those...............

And then it was right into the opening!!  Yes, Rayna will be getting her drivers license in March so she received several things for her car!

I always like to take pictures of what it looks like after some of the opening is done - Kylan was all smiles!!

 And presents here too - yummy candy and homemade chapstick!!

It was fun to watch everyone open their gifts - Jaime fixed a nice roast dinner and then we all decided to take a hike since it was so nice out - we walked up behind their house where there are several trails!  Glenn must have decided to sleep during this picture!

The rest of the afternoon the guys watched football and we girls watched "The Holiday" - one of my all time favorite Christmas shows!  It was a fun day and we headed home late afternoon!

Even though we weren't with Jill's, she sent a picture and they had an awesome Christmas also!