Finally

Chana has moved.

From Washburn to Bayfield. Nine miles. Our households are combined.

It became a reality on December 19, 10 busy months since our February 19 wedding on Lake Superior.

From February to early June, she completed her teaching in Washburn, and retired. There was no chance to do any real moving during that four months. June through October brought the tourist season. So, with guests in the house...again, no time to combine households, except for her terrific reorganizing of the B&B basement to create "people" space and better storage. And during this time we had a garage built, where none had been before. It was finished in August, and we love it...but it occupied so much time.

In November and December we decided not to take guests, and devote those months to the priority of combining households. That meant Chana needed to sort and pack an incredible amount of accumulated treasures, plus countless trips for both of us, back and forth between Washburn and Bayfield, with trunks full of small boxes. In addition there was painting of the basement floors, stripping old carpet, prepping walls, painting and re-carpeting one of the four guest rooms...now our bedroom.

With holiday family commitments dead ahead, we rented a van and recruited friends to help move everything possible on December 17--a huge success. Two days later, the items too big to handle--freezer, refrigerator, washer, dryer and a few very special pieces of furniture--received the TLC of professional movers.

And that was it.

At 11 a.m. on December 19--exactly 10 months from the date and time of our wedding--Chana signed the bill and the movers said goodbye. We celebrated with Makers Mark and a fire in the yard where we'll build a fire pit--using the grate from Chana's fire pit in Washburn.

Still ahead: finding a place for the contents of at least some of those boxes.

Penn State

Our email to the Board of Trustees at Penn State:


Congratulations...

Your board acted courageously and correctly in dismissing the president and football coach to achieve the larger goal: preserving the school's reputation.

We can only hope this sends a clear message to your colleagues on university boards across the nation: that the school runs the football (and the athletic) program--not vice-versa.

Your board has already absorbed criticism from students and alumni. And we know there are too many other well-known examples of the "win at any cost" mentality--especially for football--at other schools.

That said, your action has properly set the bar at a higher level for a board's willingness and ability to deal with the excesses--financial, ethical and moral--of athletic programs.

Well done.

Al and Chana Chechik
Bayfield, WI

Progress Report

Chana and I are working hard to merge households...a challenge for two people who have been single--think of all the acquired habits of daily living--for a combined total of 45 years.

As Chana began to move--a few boxes at a time--into the B&B we share on three-day weekends, she insisted on becoming a part of her new residence by cleaning. That means cleaning virtually everything: rooms, closets, cupboards, the basement. Her theory is simple: the more she's physically in touch with her new home, the better the transition. And it's working.

She's done an amazing job of getting in touch...dusting, sweeping, washing and vacuuming.

Example: With 2,000+ sq. ft. of space--much of it unused, or poorly-used--the basement had great potential for her re-organizing touch. One area, home to firewood and tools for 15 years, has been given a great start toward becoming more usable. We've also added new doors to create easier access to two 14 x 40 foot spaces, one of which has been filled mainly with "stuff", the other completely vacant. They'll become storage and kids' play areas respectively.

Other projects have given the great room a new look by adding art pieces important to her, removed a surplus of my family photos from a stairway and "encouraged" me to take steps to convert my single-guy space upstairs to shared space.

The really remarkable transition has been the kitchen. It pitted the irresistable force of a skilled cook and veteran kitchen person ( with a major inventory of glasses, cups, bowls, platters and other kitchen equipment ) against the immovable object of a guy who's run a B&B for 15 years, and organized the kitchen precisely to suit his convenience.

The irresistable force is winning. The kitchen now has a new look, including: a much improved setup for coffee storage and preparation...the shift of plates, bowls and glasses used for B&B breakfasts to a much better spot...the simple move of a large bread box drawer one level higher, making it so much more convenient...and ditto for a gadget drawer.

Then there's the baking drawer. It holds mixing bowls, a sifter, a shredder, baking dishes and--importantly--flour. One day the flour was elsewhere... in a spot that made sense to both of us. The next morning I began to prepare breakfast featuring a favorite dish that requires flour. I looked in the previous location, then in every other cupboard and drawer in the kitchen. It was nowhere to be seen.

With apologies to Peter, Paul and Mary--I approached Chana and sang "Where Has All My Flour Gone?" She led me to the baking drawer. Which now contains one more important item.

Thanks, Chana. Your re-organization is very much appreciated.

The Wedding

You may ask, how is it possible to have a blog, get married and not post anything for five weeks after the wedding?

A legitimate question.

Well, time has flown by since our party of 19 kids and grandkids navigated out on the ice of Lake Superior on February 19 to witness and participate as we were married.

I'll credit Chana for the idea to be married on the lake...in February. It sounded offbeat and unique and was a reflection of our mutual feeling about this wonderful body of water that's so much a part of our lives here in far northern Wisconsin.

But with thawing, freezing and high winds during the days before the wedding, we were both glad to have a Plan B ready...just in case the weather person didn't cooperate on the 19th.

But he/she did. It was a gorgeous, sunny, calm day. . . in the mid-20s. And our families, ranging in age from 13 months to 76+ years, arrived prepared to spend a bit of time on the ice. The ceremony took 25 minutes. Those who wanted to say a few words had the chance, and the words were heartfelt and deeply appreciated by everyone. A friend from nearby Ashland performed the ceremony; a Bayfield friend was the official photographer. We enjoyed a post-wedding lunch at a favorite Bayfield eatery.

It was perfect.

Now, 5+ weeks later, we've begun the transition. Chana lives in Washburn. She's a special ed aide in the Washburn schools. I'm in Bayfield. I operate a B&B. We're 9 miles apart and involved in putting our two households together. She's been single for 30 years; me for 15. We're both recognizing how much you accumulate in that time--stuff... and the habits of day-to-day living--as we start to create a new home.

A few minutes before writing this, I was folding laundry and listening to folk music on Public Radio. Appropriately, the first song I heard was titled "We Will Adjust. "

As we're both learning.

This Week

This week begins with Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, 2011.

This week ends when I get married, Feb. 19.

She's Chana Hilger...fiancee since Oct. 13, 2010, friend for many years. Her name is pronounced like the Jewish bread, Challah--a gutteral "ch".

This week: hope Chana's back problem continues to improve...call the guy who plows the driveway, just in case it snows...see if we can bring champagne to the restaurant after the ceremony...get the clubhouse key in case weather requires us to use Plan B...call the photographer...call the restaurant about our night-before (they call it rehearsal) dinner... exchange part of her wedding ensemble for a smaller size...etc. etc.

I'll be ending life as a single after 14+ years. Chana is doing the same after 30 years.

This week: Lots of thoughts. All good.

Green & Gold

Packer Memory

Talk about history. Sunday's game for the NFC title and a trip to the Super Bowl will be the first time the Packers and Bears have met in a playoff game since 1941--a week after Pearl Harbor Day.

The game has tweaked my memory for a bit of my Packer history.

As a sports reporter for a newspaper in Wausau, WI in the early 60s--five years before the Super Bowl existed--I decided, spur-of-the-moment, to visit the Packers training camp in Green Bay. It was August, 1961, and I drove over, accompanied by my wife and 9-month-old son.

After the morning practice, I caught up with Coach Vince Lombardi as he headed toward the locker room, figuring it was my chance for a quick interview...maybe a few good quotes. With pen and notebook in hand, I fired my opener: "Coach, how's practice going?"

I'll never forget that moment. He turned--didn't so much look at me, as through me--and said "Slow". Then he mumbled something like "Wait here." It suddenly occurred to me that maybe you don't drive 100 miles, unannounced, to an NFL team's summer practice and expect to get an impromptu interview with the coach.

After an uncomfortable wait, the Packers PR guy found me, answered a few questions and suggested that next time I'd be smart to let them know my plans in advance.

My story was heavy on the atmosphere surrounding practice.

And very light on the coach's comments.

ZZZZZZZZZZ....

It was tough enough to watch the GOP's takeover of the Wisconsin statehouse as well as the U.S. House of Representatives (and gain strength in a Democratically-diminished Senate).

Now I learn that--OMG--Justin Bieber sometimes suffers from insomnia.

I understand that Justin, 16, is roughly the current teenagers' equivalent to Frank Sinatra back in the 40's...that's the 1940's. However, I wouldn't recognize him if he walked into my B&B.

He told Vanity Fair his mind races at night, because he begins to "think about all the things I didn't have time to think about during the day." OK, credit him for including family and God in those thoughts.

It may surprise him to learn that he's among millions whose mind works overtime when head hits pillow. Like me, on occasion, if you can't clear your mind to create a sound sleep, you may join Justin in the world of insomnia. We just won't tell our story to a trendy magazine.

Life is busy, complicated and full of challenges and choices. Thinking doesn't neatly stop at bedtime.

Man up, Justin.

A Decade Ends

A Decade Ends

In the context of the past 10 years, Dec. 31, 2010 was a very calm day...one that turned out much calmer than I expected.

Mid-morning I connected with a Madison friend who had called several days earlier to offer congratulations on my upcoming marriage. Then, a call from Bayfield friends who invited my fiancee, Chana, and me to their home to celebrate the New Year. The party's at 8...OK, I'll buy some champagne, wine and herring to go with the hosts' nibbles. Late afternoon...another call to long-time Madison friends to catch up on family happenings.

Meanwhile, the weather was getting dicey. A three-day combination of snow, rain, sleet, then cold was creating driving havoc. Chana said the roads in Washburn were sheets of ice...she was reluctant to drive the 9 miles to Bayfield for the party. Around 7:15 she said "I'm not driving." I called the hostess and cancelled.

So...a solo New Year's Eve. I had thawed a salmon for possible consumption on New Year's Day. It was tasty, accompanied by vodka and a call from son Joel in CA for the Rose Bowl. I worked through a few Sudokus (a major achievement--I finally figured out the process). I read Time's Person of the Year issue, which took 23 pages to confirm why I choose not to be part of the world of Facebook. I called Chana and wished her a Happy New Year. A couple yawns, and it was an early-to-sleep New Year's Eve.

January 1, 2011...clear head...9 a.m. greetings from Chana...temperature zero...snow to shovel...ice to chop.

Have a good year. Leave a comment.