The first full day or Better off Weeding or Dinner, Supper......

After the cemetery, while returning to the Inn, we passed this! The Dogtail Mootel! It is a barn, on Dogtail road, and made Lil Deb and I laugh so hard we almost wet ourselves! (guess you had to be there......)

We got Hubby up, gave him his crossword and made coffee. While Hubby was showering, putzing around, getting dressed and doing his crossword, we all chatted about Lil Deb's Husband. We shall call him Bob in order to save his identity. Bob is seriously one of those smart guys. You know the ones, Mensa material for sure. He has like a hundred Masters Degrees and knows everything about everything, but you would not know it to meet him. He is incredibly nice, very kind and very personable. He is great with working with his hands as well as his brain. He loves all things mechanical (which we will discuss later - Sorry Bob, no escape from this trip for you!!!!) Anyway, we were discussing how Lil Deb and Bob got together, and the differences they have made in each others lives. She was laughing and smiling the entire time. It was nice to see the effect true love and dedication have on her, it was wonderful. Without going into too much personal life stuff about Bob, I will relinquish a few items of topic. Along with the super smart gig, he was also a military man. Like Colonel Bob. (Actually, I think I shall change his name to Colonel Bob.). Colonel Bob made himself, literally. He became this wonderment of a man by his own doing. He was also a Professor for a time. He knows all things mechanical, and is a ruthless negotiator. He is one of those men that I admire and idolize. He is the kind of man that I strive to be. He is, our very own Colonel Bob!

After coffee, and ample recovery time from our flight and long day, we got dressed and went to breakfast. We went to Dickeyville to a restaurant that used to be called Valentine's. I worked there through high school washing dishes. It is now called Katrina's Kafe, but it is still the same building inside and out. It was odd sitting there eating breakfast. I mean the food was great, and the service was great, but this place had been my job some 20 years before. Funny, little things in time come back to mean more later in life. Regardless, Lil Deb and Hubby were impressed with the gigantic portions of food and a bill for the three of us that came to under $10! Wow!

From breakfast, we decided to head to Grandpa's. On the way out of town, I told Lil Deb about the Grotto. I was told it was built by a man whose love for a women he could not have drove him to build this shrine. On the website it is a little different story. Regardless, it is their "road-side" claim to fame.

From Dickeyville, to Potosi and then on to Grandpa's. We laughed as usual, while I discussed points of interest as we passed by. Right before we got to Grandpa's I took us down to the river again, but a different location then the day before. The headwaters of the Mississippi were high, and I wanted to show off the river bluffs. On the way down the road, we saw this.......

The sign says "Deck for Sale", and yes the deck is still attached to the house!!!

Well, I'll be darned if this sign did not start the day off right!

At Grandpa's we talked, heard his dirty jokes (even ones about female body parts, in which Lil Deb was a true sport!!! Love ya Deb!!). I got tired of the smell of the freezer from downstairs that was not properly cleaned out, so I went and opened all the windows and put disinfectant in the freezer. It seemed to help, but we headed outside anyway.

I started watering some of the flowers Grandpa had planted, while Lil Deb and Hubby started weeding Grandma's flower beds. I have to admit, the beds are not the things of beauty they once were, but the act of weeding them gave Grandpa a happy smile. He saw that the effort from Lil Deb and Hubby was meant as a show of respect for he and Grandma, and he took it at full face value.

As is the usual practice, we ended up at the shop. While visiting with my Aunt and Cousin, we decided to make a hearty meal for that evening. Of course we called it Dinner, which in WI is known as Lunch, but we meant Dinner as in Supper as in after 6 pm. I get ahead of myself here. We actually did not know of the "Great Term Debacle of 2009" until later on, so bear with me please. We headed to Platville to get groceries to make spaghetti and meatballs for anyone who wanted it.

We never made it to Platville, we decided to hit Lancaster and see my Brother as once we reached a cell zone I got his voicemail. We went to A&W (yes the real, original A&W) for a quick mini lunch and to get something in our stomachs to dowse the whiskey! Off to Brothers house, I had to call for directions as this was my first time there without 40 foot snow drifts! Once there, I made the introductions, Brother and his son D to Lil Deb and Hubby. Of course as the folds of time and space would have it, a dip in the driveway sent Lil Deb on a crash course face down in front of all of us! She laughed and was very kind, but I know it hurt (yes, it was difficult not to laugh myself......but I am a bigger man for it!). Anyway, I had to make an excuse for her purely drunken appearance. Actually, she was not drunk at all, I just wanted to make a scene! My Brother was a perfect gentlemen and believed not a word! We walked around his house and looked at old family pictures. He gave me two recipes that Grandma had kept that were my personal favorites. We had quite a wonderful time, but had to get going to buy food for Dinner, Supper, Dinner, Supper, whatever......

We went to several stores, (Gassers, Pamida, Piggly Wiggly) and of course had to buy simply everything possibly needed before finally hitting the road back to Grandpa's. Again, on the road to Grandpa's in a car filled with food and laughter, I began to see a trend! On the way we made our plan for me to entertain the troops while Lil Deb and Hubby got their bearings in the kitchen and made Dinner, Supper, Dinner, Supper, whatever.

More tomorrow....

For now, here are those recipes of my Grandma's......(taken from the original recipe cards, in her hand-writing, aged yellow with time.

Predo's Cookies (4th grade 1979)

2 cups sugar

1 tspn vanilla

1/4 cup cocoa

pinch of salt

1 stick butter

1/2 cup milk

3 cups quick cook oatmeal

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter

Mix, sugar, cocoa, milk, butter and bring to a boil. Cool a few min, add vanilla, salt, peanut butter and oatmeal. Stir well.

Drop by teaspoon on wax paper.

Applesauce Drop Cookies

1/2 Cup Spry (spry is basically vegetable shortening, like Crisco)

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1-3/4 cup sifted flour

1 tspn Cinnamon

1/2 tspn nutmeg

1/2 tspn cloves

1 cup raisins

1 cup bran cereal

Blend spry and sugar, add egg and beat well. Add Soda to applesauce. Sift flour, salt, spices and add to 1st mixture alternately with applesauce. Add raisin and bran. Drop by spoon full on cookie sheet. Bake for 15 -20 min at 350 to 375.