Happy Times

We just had an outstanding visit with daughter Rachael and I think she had an equally good time. Despite the weather not being the best, we did find pockets of sunshine and drier weather to get out and about locally. We started off last Friday night with one of Wisconsin’s favorite pub fish fries where the crowds were noisy but not raucous. A new found interest of hers is growing plants so we had great fun visiting some of the farm markets/gardens in the area, one of which has the most incredible gift shop and items of garden whimsy; it was great fun!

Of course we couldn’t miss the Stoneridge smokehouse and cheese store in Wautoma, a 22 mile jaunt through the pretty green countryside. We also managed to hit my favorite antique/consignment store in Stevens Point where Rachael was fascinated by the three floors of vintage items, especially clothing and jewelry which she was snapping up left and right. I take it that stuff is all terribly on trend right now in Portland and she indicated that things are extremely picked over and hard to find, whereas here not only are they plentiful but also “cheap” in comparison. We finished our shopping day with a picnic in the park along the WI River joined by the baby ducks.

We enjoyed some good food and drink, watched Marc install more siding and I drove her to the airport yesterday to return to her life and boyfriend in Portlandia. I sure miss her already! Marc is away as well for the next week but I have lots of stuff to get caught up on as well as Strawberry Fest on Saturday.