10 Best Things

THE 10 BEST THINGS IN MY WORLD

1. Grandchildren
2. My children
3. Husband
4. Dogs
5. The entire state of Wisconsin
6. Literary fiction
7. House on lake in woods
8. The Green Bay Packers
9. Travel
10. My brand new super duper IPAD

Hobbies

Do people have the same hobbies today that I had? Do they knit, crochet, sew or quilt? Do they read, play cards, play board games and work puzzles? I understand progress but if they are glued to the tv or computer will these other hobbies die out?

My dad made a whole fleet of ships in perfect detail and this was all done by hand without a kit. My mother made her own noodles and ice cream.

There is a unique kind of satisfaction that comes to things you make yourself, even to something temporary like a puzzle. I am a getting fanatical about puzzles again. [It's nice to be retired!]

So lately the things I like to do in my spare time are the puzzles, knitting and reading. But am I missing out on what my grandkids like to do in their spare time which is the computer and video games? Are these "hobbies" as fulfilling as mine? What is so fascinating abou these games? Please somebody tell me!

Reading

Are your kids reading? I don't mean in school, I mean at home, for FUN. It used to be tv got in the way, now it's video and computer games. Even books are being replaced by Nooks. I can't see how anything can replace a good book. Also there seems to be more books than ever as evidenced by the huge bookstores everywhere. I can't keep up with all the reading I want to do. Course I am a library user or we would be broke. I think going to the library is the best part of a day. I love when I get a call saying "Your book is in." I would hate to think the future would hold no excitement to our kids if they got such a call.

My dog Patch

I had to put down my dog Patch last week and I think he deserves a blog. We were never sure how old he was and boy were we surprised to find out at the vets that he was 18! That is very, very old for a dog.

We first met Patch at the Wisconsin State Fair. We walked into the Veterniary tent and Patch was being operated on to make him alittle less of a man if you know what I mean. He was on their big tv and also you could see him through the glass into the operating room. Of course he was out cold but our grandson, Jonathan took a liking to him and wanted to meet him. We returned later when Patch was awake and found out he was from a shelter and adoptable and you know the rest of the story.

We have been remembering him as a young dog. He was so obedient that when you called him he would turn on a dime and come to you. Fast, well they don't come any speedier than Patch in his early days. He kept busy chasing personal watercraft from our shores and did a darn good job. Nobody ever landed when he was on duty.

So here's to a good dog. Patch, I miss you.

50 Years of Marriage

Yep, Opa and I just celebrated 50 years of marriage. We celebrated by buying a new car, getting a deck and visiting our children and my sisters. It was great to see everyone and the actual day, Jan. 9 was perfect as all the kids were there. That doesn't happen too often as they all live in different cities so it was special that they made the effort to all be together,

So those of you who haven't reached this magic mark might want to know what it's like. Well first off you don't really feel any different. We are lucky in that we are both in pretty good health so we're not caught up in how our bodies feel. (How they look is another story) So it's our minds and believe me we don't think we're old. There are tons of things we want to do that we haven't done and lots we want to repeat. We are doing another European summer as we love it there so once again we are off to bum around all our favorite spots with a couple of new ones thrown in. We are meeting long time friends for 10 days but most of the time we are on our own.
How romantic.

Well I just wanted to share this momentous moment with you. It is really pretty amazing, isn't it?

50 Years of Marriage

Yep, Opa and I just celebrated 50 years of marriage

A book or a Nook

So will the Nook take over the book, that is the question. Seems like this has to be the answer. All the experts say so. It's going to replace those heavy backpacks filled with textbooks that the Nook or Kindle or those I don't recall the name of will make obsolete. Just imagine hundreds, maybe thousands of books on one little hand held device that you read or even reads to you; allows you to make notes, to underline, to highlight. Think of taking a summer long European trip with only l Nook that has all your books on it that you are dying to read. Everything points to buying a Nook SO why will I still lug a whole extra suitcase filled with those books I can't wait to get to? My family is willing to buy it for me so what's stopping me? I can't do it, I can't, I can't. It just has to be a REAL book!