It Was All About Memories This Weekend!

This weekend Sam and I had an opportunity to escape. We escaped to a place that holds so many childhood memories for me...my parents cottage which was my grandparents cottage when I was a kid. To this day I still love driving into the small town of Winneconne. As a child this was our vacation spot, a place that I shared with my parents, my grandparents, my aunts and uncles and my cousins. On Saturday Sam and I got to chill with my sister Wendy and on Sunday Sam and I spent the afternoon with the Klitzke's, my always funny/crazy Irish friend. Sorry about the lack of water in your pool, but Sam really did enjoy emptying it for you!! Cheers!

As a child I often dreamed that some day I would live there, my own place. It was kinda of like a grown up version of a doll house for me. It's small, quaint...but it has everything you would need and it is flooded with wonderful memories. My parents have not changed much of the interior from when my grandparents had it...so as I walk through the cottage I pick out all the items my grandmother lovingly made and decorated the walls with.

From the refrigerator magnets to the felt creation that hangs in the bathroom, grandma's creativity has remained. Other things remind me of my childhood too and cause me to chuckle.

These melmac dishes should have had a lifetime warranty, because these beautiful harvest gold dishes were a part of my very early childhood. That means these are from the 50's or 60's, not sure how long my parents had them before I was born but they are considered vintage and collector's items on Ebay. Who knew?

The cottage consists of 3 rooms, a very quaint (okay really small) bathroom and a screen porch...but I love it and so did Sam. The first room is what we call the all purpose room, a combination kitchen, dining , living , entertainment room.So many good times in this room, playing solitaire or 21, long talks, eating pizza from The Pub, visiting with relatives, reading, watching the 4 channels we had on the television, watching for my friends to drive by on their moped, bumping into each other trying to do anything and most of all laughing, just simply being together!

The second room is the first bedroom and where Sam and I sleep. Just look at how peaceful he looks!

The third room is another bedroom which leads out to the screen porch, one of my favorite places to hang out.

Now I can't forget to show you the bathroom. The bathroom has your usual toilet, sink and really small shower with a big ole water heater to heat the place up. This weekend was nice because it was just Sam and I, so you could keep the door open when taking your shower. When you have to close the door and take your shower it's kinda like a built in sauna upon leaving the shower stall. The shower has been replaced. The one I love and remember the most was metal, so when you hit your elbows on the sides it sounded like thunder. At 5'4" I still have to squat to have the water rinse off my hair, kinda makes me chuckle when I think of my Dad and brothers who are 6' or taller using this same shower. Check out that retro flooring and the shower curtain is from my first apartment. Wow, memories.

The screen porch...the place for all to gather, tell stories, laugh until late in the night and listen to those wacky loons sing their strange tune.

Sam and I went to Marble Park to play on the playground, we wandered through the downtown and walked across the bridge. I know my Aunt and cousins in Texas will enjoy the following pictures.

And last but not least the cottage which will always be "at least in my mind" Uncle John and Aunt Barb's cottage located just down from ours. More great memories.

Sam had a new experience walking across the bridge, there is a side area for fishermen to fish from the bridge. Sam was a little cautious stepping out on to the grading since you are able to see the water below, but he did it.

Another memory I have as a child is walking down to the horse and riding stable that was located on the corner pictured below. I used to love going there to pet the horses and sometimes the owner would allow me to feed them or help her with various chores. Kinda funny as an adult I figure she had many hours of free labor, thinking as a child she allowed me to explore my love of horses. Time changes our thinking doesn't it? Now it's some sort of sports center and bar. I still miss the horses.

Ahhh the green mucky channel, some things never change. As a child I was forever being told to stay away from the channel and I found myself doing the exact same thing with Sam, yes, I have become my mother in so many ways. Stop laughing!!! Anyhoo, I can remember a day vividly from my childhood. My cousin Jeff was leaning over the pier looking at tadpoles and told me to come see. In my excitement I ran a little too fast, there was dew on the pier and I slid right into the channel. Under water, I thought I was going to die but my quick thinking cousin pulled me out, green slime and all. Yep you guessed it, I was covered with seaweed, slime and who knows what. After removing the chunks I took the longest shower in my childhood having to shampoo and soap up at least 20 times. YUCK, but still a great memory. Oh yeah, and the concrete incline from the water has been the best place to raise turtles as a child and later as the mom of the children who were doing the racing.

Of course I couldn't forget the mini tacos at The Well. This weekend was awesome, simple and awesome! Hope you had a great one too!!

Okay one more chuckle before I go. These fish have been in the bathroom forever, I think they are the kind you are supposed to paint but either my mother or my grandmother decided it was better to color them with crayon. Okay so sometimes their creativeness was a little off. Still makes me chuckle every time I have to go to the bathroom. Have a great week!!!