Family Christmas, 2009

.

Our immediate family Christmas get-together was planned for Saturday, January 2nd. So in preparation for the festivities, I went out into the Ottertail Woods on New Years eve in search of a Christmas tree. Make no mistake, this only works if you have a certain image of what a Christmas tree can be...... Here it is, thawing out in the kitchen.

Moved into the living room, it proved to be just the correct height. A little thin in spots, but a serviceable tree non the less. Peggy was out on a mission of some sort that day, so I went ahead and decorated the tree.

And here it is after Peggy got home and added a few gifts around the bottom. What with the tree done and the cards on the door jamb, it looked quite festive! I guess the transformation was what prompted the video below..... Oh, well.

Sorry, Peg, I really did mean well.......... I'll study the script a little better next year.

Back to the business at hand, here we have Donna and Hailee waiting patiently for dinner and the "festivities" to follow.

We dived into the meal, roast chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, a jello salad and sweet potatoes smothered in butter, brown sugar and marshmallows.

Things were pretty quite for the next while. I guess everyone was too busy enjoying the food.

It looks like Hailee had already bailed out by this time.....

I was thinking it was the perfect meal, even had a bit of chicken liver.

Let the festivities begin!! And break out those circus peanuts..... ?

Anticipation.....

Rosie was a little chilly down there on the floor, but the blanket helped.

Yippee!!! A home-made snuggy made the blanket obsolete!

Bryn, don't put your hands on the new fry pan, you may end up with a bite!!

Hailee gets into the action and helps Rosie with the distribution task.

"I think it's what I wanted....!!"

Bryn, I've heard of hot tea, but this is ridiculous!! Look at the steam coming off that cup!

Leggos are still a major hit. Rose and Bryn scattered from the project before I could get the camera aimed.

And what would a Christmas gathering be without Rose taking an early evening nap??? We had a good time that evening, and all were around for a breakfast the next morning. The kids gradually filtered out to head for home, and later in the day, Peg and I disassembled the tree and out it went!! That was the shortest duration for a Christmas tree that I can remember......... it was in the house a little less than four days.

I gotta go, Carlo

.

A Northern Holiday Adventure

.

Between Christmas and New Years we had some snowy weather. Peggy and I had made some snowshoe trails around Ottertail country and we were getting ready for a visit from the city.

We had some cold, still days in late December, evidenced by the straight-up plume of smoke from the "boiler"....

They finally made it up to the lonely wilds of Northern Wisconsin. They certainly look like they are ready for anything, hey?

Sarah was back from LA, hoping for a snow covered Wisconsin for Christmas. She got her wish and them some. Big snowstorm just as she was heading to Wausau from California.

Pete found a Miller High Life in a "camouflage" can and thought that was just right for the Northern trip.

Even though he was officially "off duty", he was on the phone a couple of times that day taking care of some brewing issues for the Great Dane in Wausau. You may remember Pete from my post about brewing at the Dane... He is in charge of keeping the kegs full.

Rosie always enjoys getting out in the woods of the Ottertail, and was quite involved in the construction of the Lodge about 12 years ago. Without the help of Rose and Bryn, it would have taken a lot longer to get that building done.

All righty, then, we're ready to head out! Pete and Sarah have not been on snowshoes before, so this could be interesting. Rosie kind of grew up on snowshoes......

In fact, here we are putting bindings on her first pair of snowshoes. She's about four years old, I'm guessing.

And here she is, out shoeing with her "baby" on her back.

Anyway, here they are starting into the Ottertail woods.

After we got back, they were not looking all that peppy anymore! Peggy had some good chili for lunch and some apple pie for desert. The crew looked a little better after that.....

Rosie also grew up learning the shooting arts. Started out with .22 rifles when Rose and Bryn were young, progressing up to the .45 auto and .44mag..... everyone took a turn with a few different guns and I decided to film Rose's turn with the 45. Oh, yeah....

Another enjoyable adventure at Ottertail Lodge. Give a call if you want to plan an adventure here, any time of year!!!

I gotta go, Carlo



.