Organized or Disorganized

As many readers of this blog probably know, my wife loves to organize stuff, which you can read about here.   Now that we are both retired she has organized, and even reorganized what she previously organized.  One day, this month, when I was at a long meeting, she even went so far as to organize my basement workbench and related area.  One would think that organization would make items easier to find.  But, that may not be the case, due to the human mind and long entrenched patterns, or habits.

Organization is simply a matter of placing an object in a specific place, but it is more complicated since it requires cognition and recall of the item in that place.  If an area is reorganized, you may recall the PRIOR place the item was located and not the new reorganized place.  So, in effect, the reorganization may make the item more difficult to locate.  Your memory had it in one location, but you moved it to another and the synapses of the brain failed to pick up the change.  This is akin to grabbing your car keys and placing them somewhere, but not recalling where.  If one organizes fast, as I think my wife does, she moves the items quickly.  She reorganized pots and pans and baking items, and in changing the location of some bowls and baking racks it took a while to become accustomed to the new location.  One time she could not locate an item, and sure enough it was something that had been just reorganized.  I think it involved a product needed to make cookies, so obviously it was of major importance.

I know that when I am working on a project I sometimes place a tool down to attend to another matter on or off the project.  I then may forget the specific location of the item I had set down, and then set out on a search.  For example, trimming the rose bushes in late April I had my clippers, but saw some weeds that needed to be pulled, so I set the clipper down in the mulch to grab the weeds.  Well, I noticed other weeds to pull so I continued for another minute and then I went to grab the clipper, but could not find it.  What occurred is that I had moved a further down the bed than I thought, and the clipper being in mulch was somewhat obscured, so it took me a second to figure out that I had placed it further down the bed.  Finding a tool, or an item can distract you from the work or chore that needs to be accomplished.

Luna Moths mating next to our basement window. June 2019
Author photo

Think about it, if you are making cookies and you can't find the vanilla, it would make for some uninteresting cookies.  What about cooking, and you cannot find that certain ingredient to get into the pot in a time sensitive manner?  This shows the need to make sure you have what you need on the counter before you start baking or cooking, unless you are sure you know where an item is.

I am sure we all have such experiences.  Last year I was doing some repair to an outdoor electric outlet in my flower garden.  I used my needle nosed pliers for the project, but a few weeks later when I needed the needle nose pliers once again, I could not locate it.  A year later, I still don't know what happened to it.  The new one I bought has bright blue handles so hopefully it will be easier to find.  Perhaps tools should come with a lime green handles so they are as noticeable as construction workers.

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I have tools and other items hanging up on peg board above the work bench, and luckily my wife, when reorganizing around my work bench kept the same system I had in place, just simply organized some things better.  That is good for me because otherwise I would start looking all over the many feet of pegboard to find the item I required. One knows she has run out of things to organize and reorganize when she decides to tackle my workbench.  We also put some small shelves near the garage door for commonly used summer items, such as diatomaceous earth, blood meal and bone meal, fertilizers and some other products for use around the yard and flower beds.  These items moved from shelves in front of the car to the side of the large garage door.  I need to get used to the new location, since I sometimes find myself going to the front of the garage to obtain the item.  My oldest brother once told me it takes 30 days to form a habit, which makes me wonder how long it takes to break a habit.  One item I placed on the shelf that I regularly use are my work gloves,   but I still find myself going to the front to get them; halfway there I realize they are in a new location.  They were in the same place for about 29 years, so that instinctive habit is not easy to break.

Sometimes I wonder if my wife is reorganizing too much.  Although she would disagree.
Memory recall, it seems, takes time to change.  Human body, I think, forms habits of where something has often longed been placed, and changing that location can make a big difference.   Not unlike my body wanting to go to the front of the garage to get the work gloves which require a break in a 29 year habit.   I suggested back in April, when she could not locate the ingredient for the cookies that perhaps she had reorganized too much.  She did not agree with my comment. 


Images by author at Olbrich Gardens on June 23, 2019.  They really have nothing to do with organizing.

Frontenac

This past Friday my wife and I made a trip with our new camper to Frontenac State Park in Minnesota.  We had been invited by our son and daughter in law to join them on Father's Day weekend, so we took them up on the offer.  When offered, and when we reserved a site, we had no idea we would be owning a camper.  There are some interesting differences between Minnesota and Wisconsin, although culturally they seem similar.  Marshall Eriksen on the former television show "How I met your Mother" once said that the only difference between Minnesota and Wisconsin is the politeness in Minnesota.

Rock Formation at Frontenac State Park, MN

Minnesotans being polite is thought by some with whom I have talked, a false belief.  Some say it hides the passive aggressive nature and how that "politeness" is actually manifested in ways much more sinister.  There are other differences of course, but one shocker was that Minnesota State Parks do not allow alcohol consumption.  My goodness, if Wisconsin had, and would enforce that type of rule, the use of the state parks would probably decline by 75% or greater.  It seems that it should be a rite of camping to be able to enjoy a cold beer while eating dinner, or sitting by a campfire.  I suspect, it is not highly enforced in Minnesota and is another citation to provide if one is noisy or disorderly. 

Looking westerly from Ridge at Frontenac State Park

Noise could certainly be an issue at Frontenac as the campsites are very close to each other.  We had a camper perhaps 11' from our camper.  On the other hand, that means water and toilets are not that far from the campsite.  The sites may be somewhat limited by the extreme drop off to the east side down to the Mississippi River (Lake Pepin), and other topographic issues.  It seems to compare best to Wyalusing State Park in Wisconsin which is on the east side of the Mississippi near Prairie du Chien.  One can get some great views of the land to the west from Frontenac, and I was a bit surprised that it did not have a tower to get above tree level to better view the Mississippi Valley, and the views to the west.  The nice thing was the park rangers made regular patrols through the campgrounds, particularly in the early evening.  Some patrols were in  park vehicle, others, which seemed most common, were by walking.  They actually checked to make sure vehicles had their admission sticker.  Unlike in Wisconsin where the sticker is only good for the calendar year, in Minnesota the sticker is good for  12 months from month of purchase.  In Wisconsin, when we camped at Lake Kegonsa State Park earlier this month, we saw no ranger patrolling the campground, although we camped during the week, not the weekend. 

Campsite at Frontenac, the rainfly came in handy

When you choose to camp can make a difference when travelling.  Travelling with a camper poses issues, besides gas mileage.  First, the vehicle manual says that when towing you should travel the first 500 miles with the trailer at 50 mph or less.  Thus, instead of driving the interstate to LaCrosse and then up Highway 61 in Minnesota, we took USH 14 to Hwy 61.  It was a long trip of over 220 miles one way, and was made longer by road construction in Minnesota on parts of 61.  It took us a little over 5 hours to get to Frontenac and 5 hours home on Monday.  Sunday afternoon the park cleared out and our loop had only us and a couple camping next door.  Although we woke up to find two other campsites set up, which we did not recall when we went to bed on Sunday night.  The nice thing about travelling Hwy 14 was the view from the ridges and the small towns that broke up the ride.  Although it took awhile to get through Richland Center.  Many of these small towns are in decline, but yet some seem to possess some vibrancy.  I saw some villages and cities I had never before been, such as Coon Valley and Westby.  The nice thing about the long trip, was that, combined with other added mileage, we are now only eight miles from our 500 mile maximum speed of 50 mph. 

Car show in downtown Red Wing, MN
The one time the sun came out on Sunday was when
we were in Red Wing

Due to weather the four of us made a trip to two wineries in Minnesota and one cidery/winery in Wisconsin.  I think we have become more impressed with the quality of locally produced wines.  The Maiden Rock Cidery (Stockholm, WI)  also sells mead and wines produced elsewhere in Wisconsin.  We all found their Honeycrisp cider delicious.  Maiden Rock, we heard from the Flower Valley owner (who uses mainly grapes grown onsite, although some types are produced with CA grapes), is now for sale, due to the owners wanting to retire.  Maiden Rock, we were told was a pioneer in hard cider. production and assisted others in developing that product.  The Minnesota vintner commented to me how much better the Wisconsin laws for production of alcohol are over those in Minnesota.  Although, one could not tell by the number of quality craft breweries in Minnesota.  The 45th Parallel distillery is located in Wisconsin and not Minnesota in large part due to the differences in laws.  The problem is that the laws cannot overcome the climate.  Apple growers have been hit by late frosts which significantly effect production, and the bottom line. 

Plaza adjoining Red Wing Shoe Company.

Frontenac was a nice state park possessing some good hiking trails through woods and/or meadow.  The campground sits high on the ridge and depending upon your campsite you may have a view of Lake Pepin.  I am not sure, however, that I find the Minnesotans any more polite than people in Wisconsin, so perhaps Marshal Eriksen was not correct in his statement of the differences between Minnesota and Wisconsin.  One thing is sure on the difference, and that is Wisconsin is more lenient when it comes to alcohol. 

Camping Re-imagined

It was over twenty years ago when my wife had a suggestion that we should camp as a family.  So we went and bought a tent, which we promptly returned to Gander Mountain as it was missing parts.  We then bought a tent from REI, which we were using as of last year. Our camping trips have provided some great stories. The one constant through out our varied camping trips can be summed up in perhaps one word:  Rain. We have had short, but intense rains, all day rains and then there was our first major trip to Pattison State Park which presaged the storms to come:  6" in 3 hours on our first evening.   We had rain on most trips, some major storms in which there were tents in the campground that had collapsed, others left the campsite flooded which had us depart for home, and other times it was just so wet we left for home too.   Rain in itself is not bad, but heavy storms and all day rains of cold temperatures certainly put a damper on the camping experience. This past week my wife and I made a change to our method of camping accommodations.  We bought a small recreational vehicle. Our first shake down camping trip with two young boys was a September weekend over twenty years ago to Lake Kegonsa State Park, and going back to the past, our first shake down trip of our new RV was to this same park.  Having the RV begins a journey for us in which camping is re-imagined.

T@B 320S Boondock Lite
Day of purchase, June 4, 2019

The recreational vehicle we purchased is a small RV whose inside is smaller than the family tent we used when the kids were young, and which over the past three years my wife and I migrated back to due to head room, and space for the blow up mattress we started using about four years ago.  We thought having a blow up mattress was glamping.  It was two years ago, or there about, when  my wife and I had our first discussions about purchasing a camper about the time we retired. The idea being to go and enjoy the wonders this country has to offer.  At that time we knew we would need a new vehicle with which to tow, as the minivan was over 20 years in age.  We went to Jerry's Camping Center to get an idea of vehicle weight, and hitch weight, and all other oddities which I really don't understand.  The advice we received was:  Get at least 35% more tow capacity than what you think you will need as out west you lose about 2% of tow capacity for each 1,000 feet in elevation gain.  We also knew we wanted a vehicle that would store our current tent camping gear.  That led us to the Jeep Grand Cherokee with factory tow, which we purchased in July of last year.  I had the mantra, that I would prefer close to a 50% tow capacity.  With camping you can add toys:  kayaks, bikes, etc which all count to gross vehicle weight.  Hence, it is better to not have to worry about overload, and have sufficient capacity.

Solar panel and bike rack

Beyond visiting Jerry's a number of times over the past two years, we also went to the RV show in February at the Dane County Exposition Center.  My wife was wondering if I would ever pull the trigger on purchasing a camper.  I had joined some camper forum's and quite frankly, some of what I read made me wonder if I should buy one.  Yet, in April we visited Jerry's to look once again at Campers, including the Little Guy Mini Max, the T@B 400, and the Luna Sol, but also once again examined the T@B 320S.  We spent some time questioning the sales consultant about our needs and desires.  For example, I have never towed, and we are going from a tent situation where most of our camping is done in rustic campgrounds.  With no electric hookup, the camper would be dependent upon battery and/or propane.  The T@B 320S seemed to best fit the our needs.  We waited a couple weeks for a new shipment to arrive, and so on a cold and rainy Saturday  in mid-May we once again made our trip four miles to Jerry's to see the new arrivals.  In the show room was a 320S (S stands for shower and toilet) Boondock lite version, which provides 15" tires and higher ground clearance than the standard T@B 320's.  Being off grid in camper lingo is called boondocking, whether in a national forest dispersed camping (in the wilderness with out any services), or in a Walmart parking lot.  The order time frame which was 6 weeks in April was now four months.  Thus, I decided to buy the white with black trim that was in the showroom after having just arrived.   (I would have preferred the white with red.)  What made up my mind, quite frankly, was the cold wet spring this year which showed that Hovel camping weather will not go away. The camper is not a small investment, and additions of bike rack, solar panel, sway control bar, rear camera on the trailer, and brake controller were not insignificant.

All day rain, and mid 50 degree temps (high) at Pattison State Park, Aug 2017
Screen tent with home made rain-fly cobbled from old tents we bought cheap

Jerry's sold over 180 T@B units last year and is on pace for over 200 this year.  They had already sold two the day we  picked ours out.  While promised in two weeks, it took a few days more.  So it was on Tuesday, June 4 that we picked up our camper and promptly went to Lake Kegonsa State Park not far from our home or from Jerry's.  While we enjoyed our three night camping trip, we really did not put much to the test.  We did not add water or use the inside shower or toilet, nor cook inside. We used very little electricity.  With long days and pleasant nights we did not need the heat, although if we had an electric site and hooked to shore power we may have used the air conditioning to cool the unit down the first night.  One reason we chose the 320 is that at its size it is designed to get you outside.  Outside is the reason one camps.  We plan to still do our cooking, and cleaning of dishes outside and use the camp toilets.  The thunder storm on our first night this past Tuesday was not unexpected--it was after all a Hovel camping trip.  I have long thought to solve drought, people could send us camping.

Our Camp site in NE Wisconsin, August 2018
Yes, we had rain on that trip too

What the camper will provide is an ability to provide some heat when nights get cold, or a place to have some warmth and stay dry at those times when it rains all day and the temperatures struggle to get to the low 50's.  For example, our September trip last year the low got to about or below 40 degrees. It was cold even in 30 degree sleeping bags, with a wool blanket on top, and bundled in long underwear.  The days warmed sufficiently for me to swim, and there were only about ten other campers in the campground during that week.  With those not uncommon cold and rainy days we will no longer need to shiver in our screen tent playing Yatzee.  We can now play games in our T@B on those cold and wet days, and if adventurous we can turn on the heat.  As we grow more comfortable with the camper, I can see us using the inside shower when we are in a rustic campground.

Our T@B and Jeep Grand Cherokee
June 7, 2019

For two years we had been looking at campers.  T@B's (tear drops) and A frame pop ups were at the top of our list.   For two years, after first seeing the T@B at the dealer, we have never seen one on the road, nor in a campground.  But, that changed on Wednesday.  As I exited our campsite Wednesday late afternoon I saw a vehicle pulling a gray 320S.  After dinner that night we tracked them down, and it was a couple who bought a used 2018 from Jerry's last year and were on a shake out trip as their first trip this year.  They too live in the McFarland postal code area.  Of this first camping trip with the RV, the most amazing thing is I was able to back it in the camp site, although it took  more than a few attempts. To get it better positioned, we simply unhooked and moved it a little bit.  I am sure we will still have our adventures and stories to tell of camping in this small RV, after all our sleeping quarters have changed, not our desire for the outdoors and the adventures it brings. On second thought, our camping trips will now be beyond re-imagined, they will be a reality using the small camper.  We have yet to name the camper, but stay tuned for further adventures.

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Overlord

This week, on June 6, the United States along with certain other Allied Powers from World War II will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.  It was probably the most anticipated event in the first half of the twentieth century.  The name itself is rather redundant since the D stands for Day.  Military time, to some degree would be based on the day of the invasion.  For example, If one entered battle in the European Theater on 9 June 1944, it would be referred to as D+3.

Eisenhower Statement of Invasion
Source:  National Archives

The invasion, to reclaim Europe from Nazi tyranny, was to have occurred earlier, but weather postponed the invasion date.  In the morning of June 5, with the idea that there would be a break in the weather the following day, General Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander Allied Expeditionary Force would give the order in the morning of June 5.  The ships and planes would be loaded with men and material.  It is estimated 11,590 aircraft, and about 6,000 ships would be used in the invasion.  Over 175,000 military personnel would be involved in the Normandy invasion in its first 24 hours.  Security was intense, and few knew of the landing points.  A ruse was in place with balloon tanks and other material, under the direction of General Patton, in order to make the Germans think the invasion would be at another location.

Roy Hovel
Source: Hovel Family archives

While not part of the original invasion force, my father had some impact on the invasion.  As a member of the Army Counter Intelligence Corps he was part of a group providing security for the Operation Overlord invasion force.  He arrived in England on April 17, after an 11 day journey from the shores of the United States.  Yet, his most significant impact is what he found after the invasion force had departed from his location.  On orders to search the barracks for items that may be of interest he came across a large binder headed "Operation Overlord" he was not exactly sure what it was, but certainly had an idea.  The binder contained the plan of the invasion and subsequent plans.  My Dad, T Sgt, Roy Hovel took the binder to his commanding officer where it was then passed up the chain of command.  The person who left the binder behind was a general whose ship had sailed and was out to sea.  One man of many on 6000 vessels moving across the sea.  Arrangements were made for the General to be immediately returned to shore.  He was then sent back to the United States.

CIC Duties in Theater of Operations, p. 1
Source:  Papers of Roy Hovel

We know, from  a letter dated June 11, 1944 that he was fairly busy, and that life "is a lot different than the previous 7 weeks but it is a lot more pleasant."  Two days later, in a letter home his duties must have become much more calm. Showing the oddities of war, in his June 13 letter  he wrote about having gotten to an English porcelain factory (probably Minton), and even though underwhelmed, by their system, he did say "I never saw such beautiful pieces before some costing 5 pounds ($20) for a plate."  He would order some china for his parents, eight place settings.  He would write home again on June 14, but the next letter would have to wait until June 30.  By my estimation he entered Normandy on or about D+13.

CIC Duties in Theater of Operations, p. 2
Source:  Papers of Roy Hovel

The invasion would be costly in terms of human life, but successful.  The Allied war machine would take almost another year (Germany's unconditional surrender was accepted 7 May 1945, and took effect at midnight on 8 May) to bring about the defeat of Nazi Germany, so the full attention of the US and its allies could be turned to the war in the Pacific, the poor stepchild of WWII.  The Europe first policy of the Roosevelt Administration would have been questioned if the operation had failed.  In case of failure of the invasion, Eisenhower had a second letter accepting blame for the operation.  Secrecy was the key to success, and the invasion may not have been a secret but for the work of the CIC agents behind the scenes in providing the necessary operational security.  The invasion changed the face of Europe and the world.