The end of summer.......

Well, we were the first ones in the water.....and we were the last ones in the water!!  Today marked the end of a short, but sweet, Minnesota summer for us as the Queen B took off for her winter's quarters.  Very bittersweet!

On another note, these pictures following our own picture were taken by our nephew Joe Korkowski and are of the boat lifts just taken out on Lake Mary.  Can you believe the zillions of zebra mussels attached to everything??  That is simply unbelievable! Let's hope that's not what our lifts and docks look like next week when being pulled out.

There is nothing better than fall in Minnesota......

Sometimes we have to pinch ourselves that we have access to this beautiful lake we call 'home'....at least nine months of the year....and tonight was the epitome of lake living at its finest!  Temperature was around 70 degrees with no wind (unusual, I know!), and the beauty of the lake was evident at every angle.  It was one of the finest, if not THE finest, evenings of the year!  Judge for yourself......

Impromptu works great!!

Sometimes you can plan for weeks or months...and sometimes just a day or two....and all of those ways work out well.  But, these impromptu 'happy hour at the beach' gatherings are becoming very successful.....even with the dark threatening skies and our knack for picking the rainiest or coldest of days!  Nice group tonight, even with the holiday weekend and many of you having family visiting.  Those joining us down at the fire pit were the Carl & Jennifer Guderjahn (Carl doing great just 10 days out from his surgery!),  Burke & Nancy Kiger with their new grandson (and their own son), Roger & Vicki Hermes, Dick & Peggy Dronen, Jeanne Hoyme, Herb & Nancy Balk, Dick & Jeanne Krogh, plus Cliff & Bev Korkowski.  Lots of good snacks and then the burgers and brats on the fire!  When the first raindrops fell, we all scattered until next time....there should be another time or two before winter, right?

The weather gods cooperated.......

It wasn't looking very good by mid afternoon yesterday with dark threatening skies, winds that came out of nowhere, and a drenching rain, but all we could do was hope for the best come 5:30 for our 'meeting at the fire pit'.  And believe it or not, the evening turned out beautifully!  There were seven couples around the tables with yummy appetizers, and brats/burgers/hot dogs on the grill to follow.  Everyone had a great time!  And, the next planned activity involves a turkey and potluck.....more on that to follow soon :)

Those who could make it last night were Carl & Jennifer, Cliff & Bev, Dick & Jeanne, Burke & Nancy, Roger & Vicki, Barb & Dean, and Norb & Bette.  (Most arrived by their chariots as you can see.)

A casualty of the strong gust of wind....

The lakeside 'parking lot'

We snacked very well....

...and caught up on the latest....

...while the men discussed world events!!

The 4th of July 2014....at the beach!

Over 40 EWB residents and guests started the day on the beach with the annual boat parade around Lake Cowdry where the skies may have been cloudy and the wind brisk, but it didn't deter the boaters from taking their decorated boats and pontoons out for a spin.  

The Stockwell's ready to roll....

Anyone know whose boat this was?  It was a fun 'entry' in the parade this year.

Geralyn Anderson did a FANTASTIC job on making the cupcakes and displaying them

Lastly, 'Lady Liberty' (aka Nancy Balk) sported the red, white and blue!

We're done waiting......

Who wants to come out and play??? C'mon, friends, let's get those boats in the water!

It's spring......somewhere!

On Saturday evening, our little 'meet and greet' went on as planned, even though there was a chill in the air!  We basically had everyone who was 'home' come down to the fire pit for a bit of liquid refreshments and some grilled meats.  It was great to see everyone, and even the new neighbors came down for a bit to introduce themselves and meet us all. And, to put the finishing touch on the night, there was a special cake for Norb & Bette Olson to commemorate their 55th wedding anniversary on the day prior.  It was so nice to see everyone again.....and we'll do it again soon.

This the group who braved the chill....and on the far right are our new neighbors...Ann and Elaina

Norb and Bette celebrating their 55th anniversary

To kick things off......

By now, most of you have probably at least looked at the EWB blog site, and now you're wondering.....'what does she want us to send'?  So, here's our contribution to start things off.  You can use it as a 'guide' or not, so let's get started!

We purchased our home (#3187) in EWB in the fall of 2011, coming 'back home' after an absence of 25 years.  This is Bev's hometown, and Cliff is from the 'suburb' of Millerville MN...the home of a liquor store and a big Catholic church!  We raised our three children...Paul, Jennifer and Amy...here before moving to Winona, Red Wing, and Andover MN for Cliff's career.  Those three kids have given us a total of nine grandkids....each has two boys and one girl (very uniform, don't you think?)  Our son lives in Cannon Falls MN, one daughter in Rochester MN and our other daughter lives down in Boca Raton FL.  
Cliff has retired twice (!) but finds he's not too much into that scene...at least not yet...and so has started the local nonprofit called Douglas County Car Care Program. It deals with transportation issues for those in need, either receiving a car donated to the program or repairing what they already have.  Most of the recipients are single moms. When he's not working, you'll find him on a local golf course, or more than likely, the Queen B (locally known as the party barge!).  
Bev long ago retired as a medical secretary and has run the calendar for busy lives ever since.  She is the editor for a Korkowski family blog, and with Cliff's family of 13 kids and the 50 nieces and nephews, we have no shortage of 'news' to share.  Since coming back home, she's also started a lunch group for her 'old' high school friends and manages a Facebook page for them.  This EWB blog is her latest endeavor.  
So, that's the Korkowski's in a nutshell....and we'll see you on the beach!

Cliff and Bev Korkowski

Here we go.....we're off and running!

Well, we have a blog for Edgewater Beach called Life at the 'Beach'...and we're open for business!  After sending the email yesterday about which format, Facebook or a blog, would work better, it became evident that a blog was the correct format for the association's residents.  This blog will be as interesting/fun as you make it!  After yesterday's email from me, you now have an email address to send me items of interest to others. These can be pictures of your family...kids, grandkids, etc...enjoying special occasions or daily events.  If you want birthdays listed, we can do that as well (have done that on the family blog for years now, and everyone waits for their day to roll around to see their picture posted).  Got a really good new recipe...we'll take it!  A start might be an introduction to your household...a picture, a bit of information on where you came from and/or what you do.  

For those who are staying in the frozen tundra this winter, you can send pictures of what so many of us are missing (NOT!) so we can truly appreciate our current climates.  And, for those of us elsewhere for several months, there is certainly opportunity to snap pictures of the things you enjoy doing.  

To stay attuned to any posts that follow, you can add this page as a 'favorite' just as you would for any other sites you currently follow.  And, you should also see a small 'box' in the right hand column that says 'follow by email'.  Type in your email address and follow the simple instructions to activate it.   So, that being said.....let me hear from you....and you....and you!

And, for the sake of keeping this blog within our neighborhood only, the privacy settings have been set to only those emails currently in the EWB directory.  Of course you can advise your immediate families of the link, but it will not show up on any search engine for others to see.  Lastly, if you wish to make a comment on anything posted, just scroll down and you'll see the word 'comments'.  Click on that and type in what you would like to say.  This feature hasn't always worked well so we'll see if that's been resolved.  

Our friendly neighborhood 'dragon' in his frosty winter coat