Reading Between the Wines

The Chanhassen Hills Book Club spent last weekend at Corona Lodge. The group decided to plan the weekend around "The Paris Wife" by Paula McLain since that was the book they would be discussing. They served French food, listened to French music and watched a French movie. Although winter was in the air, inside it was cozy and relaxing sitting by the fire. Saturday afternoon some of the ladies bundled up to forage through the woods looking for pine, birch and red dog wood branches to use in their holiday arrangements while others opted to visit Nissawa for some afternoon shopping. Saturday evening they celebrated with champagne, crepes and beef bourguignon after their book discussion. If you are looking for a good book the group would recommend this novel about Ernest Hemingway and his first wife Hadley.

Did you hear that thunder?

Mary and Tony along with their 2 labs Cinder and Sage joined Rick and I up north this weekend. The four of us got skunked fishing. There were a few small catches but no keepers. Saturday afternoon a big storm rolled in while we were on the far side of the lake. Mary and Tony heard thunder and couldn't figure out why we weren't heading in. By the time Rick and I heard the thunder the storm was almost right over us. I think we better have our hearing tested. We cruised back to the cabin at full throttle getting inside just as the storm hit with winds roughly 50-60 miles an hour. In the evening all the dogs were pooped out from the fresh air and running around.

A Super Heros Weekend

For our 10th anniversary the What4 ladies adopted super hero names. Mary was (Wheels) because she had a broken foot and needed a scooter, Tara was (Blogger) because she keeps notes on our adventures, Tracy was (T) for tap water or is it for Tracy?, long story and Wendie was (Uranus) because of Tracy's technical difficulties using her star gazing app. The Super Heros stayed four glorious days at the lodge. The weather couldn't have been better. They boated, floated, fished, tanned, burned, read, sang, talked and laughed throughout the weekend. When it was time to go home we all wished for "just one more day".

Happy 233rd Birthday America!

There is no place like a cabin to celebrate the 4th of July. What a treat it was to watch the boat parade and fireworks from Corona Lodge's deck. Lewcie got a new life jacket and now enjoys swimming off the boat like the rest of us. When the kids were little we called this activity 'Aqua Babies".

The Pickus Family!!! June 2014

We so enjoyed our time at the Corona Lodge! There was something for everyone to enjoy. The accommodations far exceeded our expectations! We are looking forward to making this our vacation spot for many years to come!

Boat, Here Boat

We are all praying that now that summer is officially here the Minnesota spring monsoons will end. With over 12 inches of rain falling in June already, Crow Wing County like so many areas of Minnesota has reached it's saturation point and more. Ossawinnamakee lake is running a little higher than usual but there are no 'No Wake restrictions' at this time. With the first dry weekend in a long time there were lots of people out enjoying the lake. Although Cindy, Wendie and Aly were out on the boat most of the afternoon on Saturday, it wasn't enough. Wendie decided to sleep in on Sunday and literally missed the boat. At first she thought Cindy and Aly were out fishing and didn't worry but then found out they were also still in bed. The boat had gone out without them. After walking the neighborhood Wendie found the boat tied up in the neighbors yard, down by the point. With the water level so high the boat simply drifted off the lift and down around the corner. Not a bad way to meet your neighbors. She was just glad she had already brushed her teeth.

Easter Project Weekend

How wonderful it was to see and catch up with all the kids this weekend. The guys were busy most of Saturday building a closet in the garage while the ladies re-arranged bedrooms, cleaned windows and met with a exterior painter. Saturday evening we all got cleaned up and attended 'Timberwood' church in Nisswa, for Easter service. then went to dinner at Prairie Bay Grill. The food was delicious and the evening was wonderful and relaxing, after a busy day. Easter breakfast was of course Aly's french toast with a special treat from Austin's uncle, fresh 2014 Wisconsin maple syrup. After breakfast Emilee and Wendie worked together painting the new bench for the front while Lee raked the driveway. Later in the morning, everyone worked on the beach, picking up old dock sections and clearing weeds. Although there was ice about 15 feet from shore, the dogs played in the water all afternoon. After lunch we all relaxed on the deck until Lee, not being able to sit still for very long, decided to lower one of the deck supports that was causing the deck to be a little unlevel. He and Rick jacked up the deck and took off an inch which solved our problem. I think the two of them are competing for who can do the most physical labor in their 50's. Cindy had parting gifts for everyone. In February she had setup a grow light in the crawl space and started vegetables and herbs for everyone.