Sluggy's Solo Road Trip......Part 4....The Wilds of WI

So Day 7 began my adventures in Wisconsin with my friend, Blanche.

After a healthy breakfast and some surfing and chatting we set out for the day around noon.
First stop was Applebee's, Blanche's favorite place to eat, where I treated us to lunch.

That's Blanche being silly......

Afterwards I tried to take a selfie......

Still trying to get the hang of this stuff......

That's better but no sign.....lol

Then Blanche drove me around town in her Volkswagen.  Blanche has Danish DNA coursing through her being and is very connected to her heritage so it was no surprise when she played Danish music on her car's stereo system.....Danish music every single time we were riding in her car.
Let me tell you how disconcerting it is to hear "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree" sung in Danish.  It was like being in a parallel universe or something!

So while riding around town we hit up the local Dollar General for something I wanted(they didn't have it)but I found something else to buy there--sox for #2 Son.   The child goes through sox like nothing I've ever seen before!

Then she took me somewhere special......
We drove to the end of a road past some derelict buildings.....and onto a gravel road with not a soul in sight.
Right before I started fearing for my life, thinking Blanche had joined one of those horribly violent Wisconsin Danish gangs you hear about, we turned onto this street......

And then into a massive parking lot......and in my mind flashed a scene from The Sopranos, only I replaced "Leave the gun, take the cannolis" with "Leave the gun, take the lutefisk" in the
Scandinavian version in my head.......

But Blanche didn't bring me here to "off" me, just to show me the new Wausau Curling Center.

Outside the building are two huge replicas of curling stones.

Man! I've never seen such big ROCKS before!

Of course, it being the middle of Summer nobody was curling.  Not a soul around but us.

Hubs loves to watch curling when they show it during the Olympics.
Me?  I think they freaking YELL too much!!! so I can't get into it.


Hubs had intermittently thought about finding a Curling Club and taking up the sport for fun but of course, we live in PA so he's never found a club.

If we moved up to WI or MN or someplace like that I am sure he could find one to join.
Of course, he hates cold weather though so there is that.

 

Next we went to the movies on the other side of town.....

And saw a thought provoking documentary by Dinesh D'Souza called "America: Imagine The World Without Her".
It examines the shaming of the US through revisionist history, lies and omissions by educational institutions, political organizations and progressives, with an eye toward destroying America as we know it.
I didn't agree with the whole thing but there were parts that made me go, "Hmmmm".

Next up we took a ride back toward Blanche's neighborhood.
She wanted to show me a tiny little house that someone had made out of a garage.

This little house once was a 1 car garage.  Blanche thought another friend of ours, Anne, would enjoy seeing this one, as she is into that Tiny House Movement.

We passed by some old Victorian era homes too......

But silly me I had my window up so I got my lovely tropical caftan in these shots too.

Then Blanche drove me by a nice big old cemetery......

And she didn't let me stop and take photos of all those great headstones!
Oh well, by this point I was worn out for the day so we headed home for dinner, some tv, some photo scrapbook looking from her trips to Denmark, some surfing, and into bed.

On Day 2 in Wausau we decided to check out the local Historical Society and Museum for Marathon County.

The Historical Society had a newly renovated/restored Mansion so we shelled out some moolah to take a tour inside.

This house behind me is the Cyrus & Alice Yawkey House.  Not quite big enough to be a mansion but had they had more children(they only had one)and expanded I am sure we'd be touring a much larger home. 

At one time back during the Gilded Age in our history there were more millionaires located in Wausau Wisconsin than in any other city in our country.   Exploiting natural resources such as wood and fur which were abundant in this area initially brought about the fortunes of these wealthy men.
Called "The Wausau Group" this band of captains of the logging industry diversified and invested into many companies: among them pulp paper mills(you've heard of the Marathon Paper Company?), lumber finishing and insurance, to keep the economy going in this area.  They also expanded their holdings into the South to take advantage of the lumber resources down there and then into the Pacific Northwest.

If you like history you should watch this video HERE about the Wausau Group.

The barons of such industries were chums and they wanted to live near each other.  This is what brought Cyrus Yawkey to Wausau and spurred him on to build this house in 1901.

The house was built in the then popular Classical Revival architectural style and was the most expensive house built in this area, to that time, costing $35,000 to erect.

Blanche outside the Yawkey House.

There is a slide show of the architecture located HERE if you are an uber-fan of architecture.

 

Then in 1907 the family moved out for 1 year while the house was completely remodeled inside on the main floor and a second floor addition and a sun porch were added to the structure in the Arts and Crafts style, which Mr. Yawkey preferred over Classical Revival.  They did nNOT redo Mrs. Yawkey's parlor into Arts and Crafts as that was her wish to keep the original style of the home.

The woodwork and stained glass wall in Mr. Yawkey's study.

Can you imagine though.......having this brand new grand home and then, 6 years later your husband wants you to move out for a year and then totally guts the inside and redoes it?  If I was Mrs. Yawkey I might have left his wealthy ass.
Ok....maybe not.

Cyrus Carpenter Yawkey had nothing on these HGTV addicts! lolz

Their only daughter, Leigh, went on to marry Aytchmonde Woodson(who worked for her father)and her parents had a house built for the couple right across the street from them in the Prairie School Style.  This home is now the headquarters of the Marathon County Historical Society and Museum and houses some exhibits.
In 1974 the Yawkey House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
After Alice Yawkey's death in 1953, Leigh Woodson and the grandchildren gave the house to the Historical Society.
Completed in 2008, the home was restored to it's former glory at a cost of 3 Million Dollars.
No wonder they need to charge $7 a pop to tour it!

 Here are photos of the formal gardens outside the house.

These were added in 1910 in anticipation of their daughter, Leigh, getting married in 1911so the house needed a bit of "spiffying up" in time for the reception.

Now here is a glut of photos of the inside of the house.  Some of them came out dark as they didn't allow anyone to use a flash inside the house.

 The staircase stained glass feature.  According to the docent, a young cousin lived with the Yawkeys for a time after his parents died and he and the neighborhood boys used to throw pebbles at the stained glass for fun.  Eek!

 A sitting room in the main parlor.

 The lighting fixture in the main hall/foyer.

 A light sculpture on the newel post of the staircase.

 A telephone in the servant's room.

 An Art Glass lamp.

 Mrs. Yawkey's desk

 What a high tech bathroom looked like in 1901.

 In the daughter's bathroom the entirety was tiled, even the ceiling.

 The daughter's parlor attached to her bedroom and bathroom.

 Detailing on the glass enclosed bookcase in the daughter's parlor.

 The daughter's bed with period dresses.

The upstairs and downstairs hallways seen from the landing.

 A lighting fixture in Mr. Yawkey's Arts and Crafts styled study.  The doors to this room disappeared into the woodworked walls when closed.  The rafter beams gave it the look of being in a ship's cabin.

 The servant's call bell in the pantry.  Mrs. Yawkey had a buzzer hidden under the dining table with which she could silently buzz for the next course of the meal.

 A period stove in the kitchen.  Where are the legs?

My shot of the dining room.  It was SO dark in here, I could only get details when I shot toward the window.  Again, I wasn't allowed to use any flash on the camera.

 

Here is a shot of the dining room from the Historical Society's Website slide show.

Here is the interior of the horse barn/carriage house.

When they had the house built horses were still the main mode of transportation so they had an adjoining stable built.  The interior of the stable was just as nicely finished as the woodwork inside of the house.  Nice horse digs!

After the house remodel, cars began to take over as the mode of transportation so part of  the carriage house also was fitted for the family vehicles.

Also in the carriage house the Historical Society keeps a 1910 Lamont Steamer Fire Engine.

See that long brown thing, that looks like a hose on the engine?
Well it's not.
The docent took it down and held it.
Looks like a long wooden pole, doesn't it?

 

With a quick twist at just the right place, it opened up to reveal it's a ladder!

This is a unique totally handmade ladder.  I thought it was pretty cool.....

The Woodson Home. located across the street, was purchased in 1995 by the Historical Society and turned into offices, archives and exhibit space.

 The Woodson House exterior.  Designed by George W. Maher it was built in 1914 in the Prairie School style.

 The walnut staircase in the Woodson House.

 Stained Glass on the staircase landing.  Notice the acorn accents on the bannister.

Blanche had to take this picture of a fainting couch upstairs.

They had a couple of rooms downstairs with exhibits of Wausau history.

 An early amusement park from the area.

 This portable embalming machine was invented by someone in Wausau.

 

 The history of ginseng harvesting.

The history of fox farms for fur coats in the area.

Blanche said, "Why would you give your herring the name O.K.?  Why wouldn't you give it a better name?"  She's right.
How's the herring?  Oh, it's ok.......lolz

And lots of immigrants from Germany meant many saloons and beers were developed in the area.

Mmmmmm......beer.

 

And yes, for all you sports fans who are wondering, the Yawkeys of Wisconsin were cousins of Bill Yawkey the owner of the Detroit Tigers and his nephew(later the adopted son as well)Tom Yawkey who owned the Boston Red Sox.

We were getting pretty hungry so off we went to find something for lunch.

 We ended up at Culver's.  Another first for me. 

Though we didn't get any "concrete" today.  The fish & chips platter was enough for us both!

We gassed up my purple car in anticipation of my long ride the next day, then we went out looking for "curds".
Cheese curds to be exact.
And FRESH ones if we could find them.

Alas, only prepackaged curds were to be found.

So we made do with those.....

And then I found a special flavor of Mike's hard lemonade I've never seen before, so I just had to buy me a 6 pack......

I just love the neck label too....lol...

Then it was back to Blanche's for some more visiting, dinner, a little tv and then to bed early as I needed my rest for what lay ahead in the morning.
And thankfully no more Danish "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree".
Though it does grow on you..... ;-)

Sluggy


 

This Week on the Dining Table

The "We Harvested the Tomatoes This Weekend" Edition--

Hubs and I got out into our sad, sad garden this past weekend and picked tomatoes.  It turned out to be a bad year for everything because we didn't get much heat so nothing grew much.  Usually we get triple to amount of maters from our plants.  We were lucky to harvest this much this season.

Then I found these 3 bad boys hiding under my morning glories this morning.....

So it looks like I'll be processing tomatoes today.....well at least the one we don't plan to eat fresh.


What was planned last week--

1.  BLT sammies, side spinach salad

2.  Ravioli(freezer), tossed salad

3.  Brats(freezer) on rolls, leftover baked beans, collard greens

4.  Duck breast(freezer), Risotto, sauted Veggies of some kind(depending on what's fresh at the market)

5.  Leftover Chinese take-out from last Saturday
6.  Grilled pork chop(freezer), leftover Collards, fried apples
7.  Leftovers or No Clue Yet(something in the freezer)

  

And this is what actually happened--

 

1.  BLT sammies, side spinach salad

2.  Ravioli(freezer), tossed salad

3.  Brats(freezer) on rolls, leftover baked beans, collard greens

4.  Duck breast(freezer), Risotto, California Mix veggies

5.  Leftover Chinese take-out from last Saturday
6.  Grilled pork chop(freezer), leftover Collards, mashed potatoes
7.  Subway sandwiches(for free with card points)

 

Everything but  leftovers happened.
   

Last week I made 3 trips to the grocery stores, the local market on Wednesday, Sam's Club on Saturday and Giant on Sunday
.

I spent $102.66 on food last week.

Going into this week, in leftovers we have.........1 helping of each the ravioli in sauce and the baked beans, 2 helpings of the risotto. 

Here is the plan for this week.........not feeling inspired this week, doing some easy stuff that I already have most of the ingredients.  I will be making relish and processing tomatoes this week so I don't want anything involved on the menu this week.  I've worked tomatoes into 3 of our meals this week(plus an errant mater sandwich for lunch or two!)and I'll can the rest.

1.  Take-Out Chinese

2.  BLT sandwiches(use our tomatoes)

3.  Zucchini and Chicken over Rice(use our tomatoes)

4.  Tacos or Taco Salad(use our tomatoes)

5.  Flounder, Coleslaw, Butternut Squash
6.  Broccoli Cheddar Soup(in crockpot), fresh bread
7.  Leftovers or Greek Hamburgers and leftover sides


Food Waste--a helping of tuna noodle casserole.

What I need to buy this week......fresh produce, lettuce, ground beef.   That's all I can think of right now.
 

   

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?
Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten that week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?
How much did you spend on food so far in September?

 

Sluggy

Saturday & Sunday Shopping Deal Updates

On Saturday I went shopping.
First to WeisPMITAMarkets to get this.....

They had some varieties of Cheerios on sale $1.77 a box.  Of course they were out of the multigrain variety I like so I got the honey nut ones.

I paid .77¢ after using a .50/1 IPQ that doubled to $1 off(coupons dotcom).
I will also get back .50¢ into my Saving Star account soon which makes this box of cereal .27¢.
We don't eat cold cereal around here much so this will last me quite awhile.  I can mix it with my multigrain Cheerios.
This is the only item I bought at Weis this week.

Then it was back to Rite-Aid to get some last minute items.

I can't show you one of the things I got since I know that person reads this blog and it's for them for Christmas. ;-)
But I earned $3 +Up Reward for buying it.

I also cashed in a rain check I had forgotten about.  Back when Motrin PM was first introduced Rite-Aid had it on sale for $1 a box.....I think it was $1 after an +Up Reward.  Anyway I still had 2 boxes to buy on this rain check.
Motrin was bogo50% and gave a $2 +Up Reward last week wyb 2.
And even though I was getting it for $1 a box it still gave me the $2 +Up Reward.
I also have a $3/2 Motrin items coupon from last Sunday's inserts to "try" to use.
I didn't think it would take it since I was only spending $2 on Motrin.
But it did!  So I walked out of Rite-Aid with 2 boxes of Motrin for -$1 AND a $2 +Ups.

I guess since I bought something else in the transaction, that Motrin coupon came off because there was other spending to "absorb" it. (I also brought a $1/1 Motrin coupon just in case the $3 one didn't work.)
Whatever.
So my "item I can't show you" only cost me $8.98 if I count that $1 from the Motrin Q toward that spending.  I also used $4 in +Ups on the "item I can't show you" so in the end I paid $4.98 for it.
I'm taking that $4.98 OOP from the Christmas monies and not counting it toward my food/toiletries spending.'

 

Then this morning I had the last of my $25 +Up rx transfer to spend/roll.

It took me awhile to figure out how to spend that much in one transaction since 2 of the items I was going to buy were NOT included in a couple of deals this week, and it made my brain hurt.
But figure it out I did.  This is the best rolling I could manage this week......

2 x Brookside chocolate on sale=$7.00
2 x Dove men's 'Poo rain check=$5.00 *
2 x Listerine naturals on sale $3.99=$7.98 **
2 x Ghirardelli chocolate bags on sale $3=$6.00 ***
2 x GE halogen light bulbs on sale BOGO50%=$11.23
1 x Colgate Enamel toothpaste on sale=$2.99
1 x Bayer baby aspirin on sale=$2.99
SubTotal.....$43.19

Coupons Used
2 x $1/1 Brookside ManuQ(Sunday's inserts)=$2.00
1 x $1/2 Brookside VideoValueQ=$1.00
2 x $1/1 Listerine ManuQ from Dentist Office=$2.00
2 x $1/1 Chirardelli bar or bag IPQ(HERE)=$2.00
2 x $1/1 GE lightbulbs ManQ(Sunday's inserts)=$2.00 ****
2 x $2/1 GE lightbulbs VideoValuesQ=$4.00
1 x $2/1 Colgate enamel toothpaste ManuQ(Sunday's inserts)=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Bayer item IPQ(coupons dotcom)=$1.00 *****
Coupon Total.....$16.00

$43.19-$16.00=$27.19 + .06¢ tax=$27.25
I paid with $27 in +Ups($25 rx transfer and another $2 +Ups) and spent .25¢ OOP.

I received back $14 in +Up Rewards($2 Dove wyb2, 2 x $3 Listerine, $5 wyb 2GE bulbs, $1 Bayer).
I spet .25¢ out of pocket, brought home $64.18 worth of goods and have $14 in new +Up Rewards to spend later.

After +Ups/Qs, the Brookside chocies cost me $2 a bag, the Dove 'Poo cost me $1.50 a bottle, the Listerine cost me -.01¢ a bottle, the Ghirardelli $2 a bag, the GE light bulbs .23¢ for both boxes, and the Colgate toothpaste and Bayer aspirin cost me .99¢ each.  Of course, this "cost" was taken care of by using +Up Rewards so the real cost was only .25¢ out of pocket.  8-)))

* Even though I had no Qs to use on the Dove men's 'Poo, it was a good deal.  The rain check made it $5 for 2 instead of this week's 2/$7 Deal AND it still printed the $2 +Ups wyb2, so after +Ups I paid $3 for 2.  And if Dove releases IPQs for this item this week, I can print them and take them into Rite-Aid with my receipt showing a purchased this item and get money back for those Qs, which will make my spending even lower.  8-)

** If you buy 2 of the Listerine "Naturals" type of mouth wash the Catalina will most probably spit out a $1/1 Listerine Naturals like it did for me.

*** The Ghirardelli IPQs are good on the bags or the bars.  Buy the bars for $1 each after using the Q this week, or buy the bags for $2 each after using the Q this week.  I could have bought the bars instead of the bags and saved $2 in +Ups that I spent.  They didn't have any of the bar flavors that I like.

**** I used the ManuQ from Sunday's inserts but there is also a $1/1 package IPQ at coupons dotcom.  I also had 2 $1/1 GE bulbs loaded to my Wellness card(Load2Card Qs)but neither of them came off though I bought the correct item.  I had the cashier check if they came off before I handed over the ManuQs for this item.  See what I mean about the L2CQs being weird!?!)

***** There is also a $1/1 Bayer product ManuQ in this Sunday's inserts you could use instead of the IPQ one I used.  There is a limit of 1 offer for this deal and there was no signage on the shelf in my store so be careful.  I had them price check it to make sure it was the correct item that gives a $1 +Ups this week.

I have $36 in +Up Rewards moving forward into next week and I've spent a total of $2.80 OOP at Rite-Aid this month.

I have $19 in +Ups expiring next week so I'll spend some time this week figuring out how to roll/spend those.

Is there anything at Rite-Aid you are going to be getting this week?
I see diapers on a good deal this week, but we don't need those anymore(thank goodness!lol).

Sluggy