Season's Greetings

Poor Mingo wasn't too keen wearing the Santa hat, but he sure looks cute in it! A visit by Mom and Dad and Bragg Family South kicked off our holiday week. Here, spritely Beth poses while her brothers gather around the table. You might also notice our tree in the background. This year we ended up selecting a Frasier fur which wasn't as tall as what we usually get, but it certainly was a portly guy!

I believe Stephen was pointing at the black bear hide hanging on our wall.

Bashful Beth?

John and Bob came over for the visits. Here, Jojo sneaks a cuddle from Beth.

I like this picture because it looks like Mingo is trying to catch snowflakes with his tongue.

Lily didn't mind the Santa hat but, unfortunately, it kept falling off her head and looked more like a Santa goofy bandana than anything else.

Our hounds sure LOVE the snow! Just look at the delight on their faces.

As much as I tried to coach Miss Fanny into embracing the holidays....

...she just doesn't share the same zeal as our other kitty...

...Mr. Britches.

This year we stayed in the area and celebrated with Mark's family at their cozy home outside of Cross Plains.

Van sits with his dog, Lizzy, while a big ol' Mingo jockeys for position.

Brother Bob joined us on Christmas Day due to weather conditions that kept him from going north to Rhinelander. He got to witness our crazy dog-Christmas. As you can see, Judy is holding a gift of great interest in this photo.

Greg and Judy with Greg's dog, Sam, standing between.

While Lizzy looks on, Mark scratches Abby's hindquarters. Abby turned 14 this autumn.

Abby was actually a Christmas gift given by Greg to Mark 14 years ago, but Mark couldn't take care of her due to the fact that that is when he had just opened the restaurant. Greg has cared for her since and she gets lots of love from both brothers.

Lily gets a little overwhelmed with the whole hustle and bustle of the day, and winds up laying on the futon covered in her and Mingo's new toys.

Greg, Renee, Mark and Judy.

Renee, Judy and I.

Bobby and me.

Pilgrimage North

A snowy and slick pilgrimage north for Thanksgiving was done by several of the Bragg "kids." The rather harrowing drive Wednesday night was rewarded by a sunny wintry Thursday, complete with snowladen trees, glistening, fresh snow on the ground, and cold, crisp air.


Jojo multitasking: Walking with the family and dogs, scoping the land for a perspective Christmas tree, and enjoying a glass of wine!


John, Bill and Scott surrounded by the beloved pines.

Mark helped Mom prepare the Thanksgiving meal. Yes, that would be a blowtorch he is using to brown-up the skin of the turkey which was cooked in a Nesco. We love the way a Nesco cooks the turkey, keeping it succulent, but the color is always rather bland--so Mark decided to try this method and....


it worked great and was absolutely spectacular tasting and looking!

Please note the beautiful wintry view from the windows of my parents' kitchen.

Definitely a Thanksgiving essential: Couchtime.

My brother, Bob, treated us to some phenomenal homemade breads that weekend! The bread was perfect--a really crusty crust, but a soft center.

Plus, the bread just looked awesome!

The day-after Thanksgiving the "kids" spent a few hours supporting the local economy and reconnecting with our old community.

Bobby

Scott and me

Bill and Scott stand in front of Bugsy's

We observed the annual holiday parade in downtown Rhinelander. It was a rather chilly evening and I'm afraid poor Bill and Scott were caught off-guard. That's Bill bundled up in blanket from our car and Scott wearing a double-hat. They were good sports and did not have to suffer long because the parade was very short!

I just love the police vehicles in Rhinelander with the hodags on them!

Lots of ATVs were featured in this parade.

That would be Happy the Hodag riding in this vehicle.

I believe this was the Girl Scout Troop walking by dressed as ornaments and Christmas trees.

Door County

Mark and I had a wonderful opportunity to spend a weekend on Washington Island in Door County a couple of weeks ago. We seized the chance and enjoyed ourselves immensely! The top picture is of us thrilled at the specatular beauty of the Lake Michigan shoreline. This picture shows my excitement crossing "Death's Door," the name of the waters between the mainland at Gill's Rock and Washington Island.

These tiny little guys are juniper berries--and the reason why we came to Washington Island. One of Mark's products is "Death's Door Spirits" and one of their products is gin. Gin is made from juniper berries and "Death's Door" was sponsoring a "Juniper Festival" for some of their associates.

Juniper berries grow on these rather large bushes and we spent about 3 hours painstakingly picking these puppies off their prickly branches (hence the protective gloves Mark is wearing in the previous picture). It was interesting learning more about the actual distillation process.

I have to be totally honest. Although it looks like I'm being a good berry picker in this picture, Mark ended up doing most of the harvesting, as I was precoccupied with snapping photos of the beautiful landscape and plantlife on this little farm in the far northeast corner of the island.

The blue berries are ripe and the green berries are not ripe.

There were about 20 of us participating in the Juniper Festival events that weekend. You can see a few in the middle of this picture behind Mark who is in the foreground.

A delightful little bird nest.

Working on the island at the hotel we were staying at was our friend Kate, who used to be our banquet coordinator at Morels! It was great catching-up with her and she treated us to a special private tour of the island! It was great!

The island's shoreline is really quite interesting because it changes so drastically from one "beach" to the next. This little beach we went to was definitely harsh, jagged, and very rocky. The waves were quite frequent and intense here too. We definitely understood how the name "Death's Door" emerged from the old Native American history of a passage under duress.

Kate and me

This shoreline was a few miles away (the island is 17 sq. miles in area) close to the ferry.

Tundra swans were swimming casually around this area.

This is yet another shoreline of the island. Kate informed us that Lake Michigan waters are quite low this year.

King Mark ruling the shore!

Our first night on the island we enjoyed a meal hosted at our hotel by Death's Door Spirits.

Day 2 of our visit was just as beautiful as day 1.

The Washington Island Hotel.

Mark and I drove to Tower Park and climbed MANY stairs to get to the tower and MANY more stairs to go up the tower! Whew! We enjoyed the view of the island and Lake Michigan.

Mark walking down the stairs that lead us out of the park.

We had to wake before sunrise on Monday to catch the first ferry off the island. Our early rising was well-rewarded with a sky full of color and a dark shoreline. It was amazing.

On the mainland we treated ourselves to an scrumptious breakfast at The White Gull Inn.

We had a leisurely drive upon returning home. We decided to drive down the "other side" of the peninsula where there isn't as many cute little towns. A spur-of-the-moment decision was to stop by Cave Point County Park, which was really small, but packed quite a fun, dramatic punch! Initially, I didn't even have my camera out, but I quickly retrieved it upon taking a few steps out. This is a place where you don't want to have unsupervised children--because you can walk right next to some rather steep cliffs and walk about slippery rocks--but it is really, really fun because you can do those things! You feel connected to the beauty there. Here, the water comes in and....

crash!

The shoreline is carved from the pelting waters and the rocks have prehistoric critters imprinted upone them. Why I didn't take a picture is beyond me. I really think I was so in love with this place, that I couldn't think straight!

Mark walks gingerly among the stony shore.

Charming little pools of clear water line the area.

Splash!

Just the water tumbling over some little rocks was mesmerizing to watch.

Ducks struggling with the waves at White Dunes State Park (which is located right next to Cave Point).