The Whole Christmas Experience

I'm still trying to process our Christmas season. The weeks leading up to it were as busy as ever; busier, in fact, though I can't see how that can be. We've had to have had other years even more active than this - back when the kids were in school, for instance...concerts and parties and holiday plays took up much of December. We always remember the year the sewer backed up on Christmas Eve...or the year a circuit was blown, an outlet started smoking, and we had to call the fire department. Or when Erin ended up in the ER. So, clearly, this year was quite dull in comparison.

But it was full, nonetheless. And mostly good-full, not frenetic, crazy-full. Christmas Eve was just what I'd hoped it would be. We have our little family traditions and we got to do them all. We went to church at St. Stephen's in Monona, and it was a lovely service. Lots of music, some of it in Norwegian, and an a capella, candlelit Silent Night which brought me to tears. Then off to Taste of China to get our traditional Chinese Christmas Eve meal. Home again, eating off our holly-bordered Christmas plates, and then time for gifts. Lots of lovely little surprises, and fun things, like the remote control racecars and light-and-sound activated critter. (We are never too old for toys.)

We even did the pickle gifts in our own way - we have two pickle ornaments, so two of the three kids get bonus gifts. This year it was a set of 2 ramekins for each. We all agree that Andrew continues to dominate in pickle-ornament-spotting. Jen and Erin were staring at the tree, looking closely, and Drew gave the tree a glance and said "there it is".

Christmas morning started with candy cane bagels and Christmas stockings, and then getting on the road to IL to do two more Christmases. That was a mostly-fun but also somewhat stress-inducing experience for me. Families. They are easier to love from a distance, sometimes.

Harrowing drive home on the Winslow blacktop, which was ice covered for the whole 8 miles of it. After that, smooth sailing. We got home about 9:30 and were happy to be here.

I hope your Christmas was healthy, happy and filled with good moments that will be happy memories for years to come.

If you want to see ours first hand (or would that be second hand?), here are the pictures on Facebook.

Making up

It's a good thing I'm not in school anymore. How did I ever manage it around the holidays? I think the answer is that a lot of things didn't get done. Ah well. So here's a hodge-podge of miscellaneous items to make up for quick & easy posts that I've resorted to over the past few weeks.

First and most importantly, Happy Birthday to Erin! She's 24 today. She was born at St. Mary's Hospital at 6:55 am after a blessedly short labor. We had moved to Madison over Labor Day weekend and didn't know a lot of people in town, except a few neighbors and an old friend of mine from grade school days. When my water broke at 2:30 am, we called Sue R, (my old friend) who'd offered to come and stay with Andrew. By the time she got there around 4:30, contractions had started, and the drive to the hospital was cold and bumpy and unpleasant. The hospital staff woke some intern to take care of things, and his sleepy demeanor did not inspire confidence in me. But when the big moment came, Dr. Demopolous showed up and did a great job of helping bring Erin into the world. And then we shared a room with a woman who'd had her 4th or 5th (I can't remember which) baby. The whole family came to visit which was understandable but a little noisy and not great for resting and recuperating.

Anyway - it sounds like Erin is being properly honored tonight, and she'll get more birthday fun when she's home at Christmas. Those darn Christmas birthdays...you'd think we'd have put more thought into that!

And on the creative front, I've gotten a little time in my increasingly-cluttered studio room. I made the blue card for a one-on-one swap (swap with one person) and the red one for the card of the month group, which ends with this month. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get the room back into shape (and painted! we still haven't managed that) in the coming month. Not even going to try in December.

I hope you are feeling peaceful, calm and still inside in this anticipatory season. If not, listen to Enya again.

Still Too Busy to Post

But here is a little musical interlude for your listening pleasure. Turn it up, grab a warm beverage, gaze at your Christmas tree, and enjoy!

Too Busy to Post

But I thought you might enjoy this view (Courtesy of UW Madison Soil Sciences), which would be my view, if I had a window, and was above ground.

Not Dead Yet

From that birthday calculator link I posted last week..."Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 7.14090019569472 years old."

No wonder I feel like going for a ride and getting a treat...

So Much to be Thankful For

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration, and I am so grateful and happy about it. Everyone arrived safely and in good spirits. My MIL came up midday Wednesday, and Erin arrived a few hours later. Scott and Becky decided to drive up after working on Wed, so they arrived in the wee early morning hours (to a monkey-decorated room and a malfunctioning smoke detector.) Two little dogs, plenty of wine, good food, talkative relatives, quiet relatives, chats with friends, a slide show and euchre were all in the mix.

Not enough time to talk to everyone, some last minute shopping, hugs and goodbyes, text messages...and now a quiet house. It was delightful and fun and I think we should do it again next year. Here's a link to the best pictures. I hope your T Day was wonderful, too.

If you have free time...

Here's something fun. I found out that the moon was waxing gibbous on the day I was born, and also that I'm incredibly old - 18,238 days old, in fact.

Also - it's one month til Christmas. Just pointing that out...

Catching Up

It's been a wild couple of weeks, what with the Islamic Studies search kicking into high gear. We had our first candidate on campus last week, and all went smoothly, so I guess all the hard work, sleepless nights and fretting over details paid off. We have a little breather since this is a holiday week, and then the next candidate comes Dec. 2-4. The final one arrives late on the 7th and leaves early on the 10th. And then I hope to focus on Christmas.

But what a fun weekend I had! Kevin was up north, right smack in the middle of nowhere, near Fifield. Actually, you can't even see nowhere from there. :) He left on Thursday and came back this afternoon. I planned to knuckle down and get some cleaning and organizing done, and maybe even paint the craft room. (Remember that? I bought the paint late in the summer. It's lovely - the wall color is called October Skies, which is the best Van reference on paint that I've ever seen, or expect to. But I digress.) Anyway - I played pretty much all weekend. Judy and I had a little slumber party, stayed up late, watched movies and played around with paper and ink. We went to 2 church craft sales, and I got a few little things. Then Pam and I did some shopping at some very fun new stores in Middleton, and I got a few more little things, some very fun ones for the holidays. We had dinner at Fitzgerald's and even saw Drew on the way home. Church, and a little more shopping today, and then I played around more with paper and ink. I came up with a totally different card that some of you may see soon in the mail, so just act surprised, or tell me now if you'd rather get a different one. :)

Have a good (short) week! I'm very excited about having Thanksgiving here, and all the fam.

Weekend in the Twin Cities

We're back (well, actually we got back last night) from our trip to the Twin Cities to visit Erin. We had a wonderful time, of course - great eating, plenty of good coffee, so many interesting things to do and see, and (the main reason for our trip) lots of time to catch up with our daughter.

On the drive up, we took the interstate as far as LaCrosse, and from there, 35 north. We do this often, even though it does add an hour or so to the trip. We think it's worth it because being alongside the river is so relaxing, and there are so many interesting stops (too many, according to Erin.) But she was glad we stopped in Maiden Rock at the Smiling Pelican Bake Shop, where we picked up Cranberry-Wild Rice bread, a heavy whole grain bread, and a half dozen Lavender-Ginger Sugar cookies. Mmmmm.

We stayed at the very lovely Grand Hotel, which we'd recommend highly. They have very cushy beds, a great fitness center which we never used :) , and the priciest Pringles I've ever seen.

Well, this could get long if I ramble on about everything, so I'll do the brief highlight version. Dinner at Longfellow Grill, then off to Prairie Home Companion Friday night - wow! Fantastic, wonderful music - nearly 3 hours of it. Got Erin back home, got stuck in what turned out not to be our parking ramp (or garage, as they are known outside of Madison), eventually got to bed at midnight.

Beautiful, wild and windy visit to Minnehaha Falls on Sat morning. Impressive falls, lovely park (see pic), and plenty of birds. Here's a vid of one of our friends bathing.

Coffee to warm up, (shout out to Molly whom we met at Spyhouse Coffee), visits to the Basilica of St. Mary, the Cathedral of St. Paul, and the Vatican Splendors exhibit at the Minnesota History Center. The latter was very crowded and also lighter on "splendor" and heavier on "bling" than I expected, though interesting nonetheless. The Basilica was the most awe-inducing, I felt. Gorgeous architecture.

Buzzed past the giant spoon bridge, stopped briefly at Crafty Planet and a vintage clothing store, bought Surly beer for Drew, and then had dinner at the Red Stag with Andy and Kristina. Really wonderful food! Excellent company, too. Adjourned for coffee at the Wilde Roast (as in Oscar...).

Quick greasy spoon breakfast at the Ideal Diner, goodbye hugs, and back on the road again. Yes, we took 35 on the way home too. Stopped again at the Smiling Pelican and got a pie for Thanksgiving. Eagles, hawks, herons, and even 4 tundra swans.

I posted several pictures on Facebook, and you can see them here. A wonderful visit, and the only thing I'd change next time is to bring a GPS.

Embracing November

November started off beautifully, almost as if it were September. Sunny, breezy, temps in the 70s...what a delight! The only clue that it wasn't September was that the trees were increasingly bare.

Today, November arrived. Sunrise was beautiful, a pink and blue sky. Piles of yellow- gold maple leaves covered the deck, glowing in the rosy light. And then in a moment, the colors faded as gray clouds moved in. By the time I got to work it was raining.

But that's the November that I know, and that I've come to love over the years. When I was young, the rain, the cold and the bare trees threw me into a sadness that sometimes bordered on depression. Usually it peaked around Thanksgiving (how ironic is that?) and then improved as we moved into the Christmas season.

I'm glad to say that years ago I started to feel differently about November. For one thing, being old enough to do some of the Thanksgiving cooking (or hosting!) has helped. Enjoying time with family, having our traditions (food and other), makes a big difference. Recognizing the beauty of the bare landscape helped too. Feeling the rhythms of seasons, knowing that the bare fields signify a harvest brought in, seeing turkeys, deer and pheasants...these are all pleasures I didn't know as a child, and I can revel in now as an adult.

And one of my winter-months guilty pleasures - getting in pajamas right after dinner! That's a treat I reserve just for these darker and chilly months. A cup of something warm, my robe and a book...what could be cozier! I embrace November, and it embraces me.

Can you spot the difference?

Here's the card I made the other day, with one addition. I finally got them mailed! And next up for November is the background or technique of our choice, which will be so much easier.

Don't forget to vote tomorrow!

Happy Halloween

We had fewer trick or treaters than usual, and that's saying something. We have never had that many - I don't think we've gotten up to 30 ever. But tonight we had maybe 8 altogether, which means a whole lot of candy left over. I will bring some to work for my TAs and student worker. Unfortunately, we bought M & Ms and Almond Joy, which I like. It would be so much easier if we had Skittles and other things I don't really care for.

So since I wasn't spending much time answering the door, I made cards for the October swap. Well, it is still October, after all. :) (And don't you just laugh each month when I say I will do get them done sooner in the next month?) The theme was fashion, which is probably the theme I am least likely ever to use in real life. But here's what I came up with. There's a bow made of the polka dot ribbon on the right side - it blends right in! I feel like I should add a little something else. I have some French phrases and I will probably add one of those somewhere that seems appropriate.

Merci! Au Revoir!

Back from Door County

There's no way to write about everything we saw and did in Door County, so I will mention a few highlights. We watched and photographed a lot of really beautiful sunrises and sunsets. We found a great bakery not far from our condo. We hiked at the Ridges Sanctuary, climbed around on rocks at the Bluff Headlands county park, tried not to fall into Lake Michigan (and succeeded!) at Cave Point Park. A pileated woodpecker hung out in the woods behind our condo one morning. We ate at some familiar places and some new ones. Tons o' relaxin' occurred.

A few of the hundreds of pictures I took can be seen on my facebook site (even if you don't have a facebook account) by following this link.
I'll probably write more here and throw in a few pictures from time to time. For starters, here's a very lovely pic of Joe, Pam and Kevin at Cave Point, hanging on for dear life. :) It was a wild, windy day and the waves were pounding the rocks and shaking the ground. Here's an example. Turn up your sound and you can hear the wind and the waves. We loved it!

A Few Good Men

On Friday Kevin and I drove to Freeport to spend some time with his mom, and we also briefly met up with her friend Russ, Kev's aunt Jeannette, my dad, and two of his friends. Since my MIL is the youngest of them all at 78, we affectionately refer to this as the senior tour. The main reason we made the trip was to attend the concert given by the "President's Own", the Marine Corps Band. The music was just beautiful. Of course Sousa was heavily represented in the program, but they also played works by Stephen Sondheim, John Williams, and several composers whose names I don't remember. Very interesting and lovely music. The final Sousa number was Stars and Stripes Forever, which I cannot listen to without crying. Seriously, can anyone? Something about the piccolos, and then that final section where it slows down a bit and all the instruments come in...I'm getting teary now just thinking about it.

On Saturday, that sunny, unseasonably warm morning, Kevin, Betty and I visited the new Veterans Memorial Park in Freeport. Betty had done a sweet thing - she bought a brick honoring/memorializing Kevin and his dad. In addition, Frank E. is listed on the granite wall honoring WWII veterans. Frank went off to war when he was 19. I'm sure he was mature, having lost his own dad when he was twelve and being the "man" of the family since then, but...NINETEEN! We expect the most heroic kind of behavior from these young boys by sending them off to deal with life and death, but they can't even legally drink. Anyway...happily, he came back from Iwo Jima, met Betty at church, and the rest is history.

Here are a few pictures from the Veterans Park, showing a little slice of US history, and our story.

Days Like This

Here's my week so far:
Monday - Got to work, couldn't log in to my computer. Called the IT support number I have, which never is picked up - it always goes to voice mail. Left a message saying how urgent this was (I have to finalize the Spring timetable this week, upload CVs of applicants, and a few other things). Finally left at 10:30 with the reasoning that I could work from home, at least on some projects. Help desk person called at 10:32.
Tuesday - needed to drive to work since I was lunching with a friend. Got to the car, realized that the black walnuts we got from freecycle Sunday night were still in the car. While unloading them, I noticed the little maggot-y worms...not on the walnuts, but all over the backseat floor. Ewwwwwwwww. I took the car to work anyway, where ...
I still couldn't get into my computer. Called again...twice. Help desk people showed up, expressed surprise, left. I limped along, working on my laptop that I'd brought from home.

Got home, sprayed bugkiller in the car. Discovered the carnage wreaked upon the walnuts by squirrels. (This was actually pretty amusing. I have visions of deliriously happy little squirrels, thinking this is better than Christmas.)

Got lab results from blood work last week, and discovered a down side to age. Went grocery shopping, and bought some flowers.

And you shall hallow the fiftieth year

I read this verse today (it's from Leviticus) and was taken aback. In December, God willing, I will complete my fiftieth trip around the sun (how's that for putting it all in perspective?) and I've been very much aware of it since we rolled into 2008. Not because I'm dreading it. Au contraire! I am thrilled, although I'm not entirely sure why. I think it's partly because that is such an awe-inspiring number. A car that's 50 years old is a collector's item. Fifty-year scotch costs thousands of dollars. So clearly there's something impressive and to be treasured about having a history of that many years. Also, I'm acutely aware that, medical advances notwithstanding, one is never assured of getting to that point. I've personally experienced enough ambulance trips to drive that point home.

On the other hand, aging is not something that American society values. Young and attractive is so much more appealing, apparently, than mature and...well...less firm, shall we say? And I would totally love to be as slim and firm as I once was. But I have an appreciation of what years of living can give, if you let them.

The whole verse is
"And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to your property and every one of you to your family".

The definition of "hallow" is

1. To make or set apart as holy.

2. To respect or honor greatly; revere.

Jubilee means "a season or an occasion of joyful celebration."

Maybe technically the fiftieth year is the one I'm in right now, which is cool, because it's been a good year. But I didn't think of it in time (hehe) so for me it will begin on my b'day. Here's to a season of joyful celebration, and a year to set apart and honor.

Celebratin' Texas Style

Happy Anniversary to Pam and Joe, who were married 36 years ago today! That's 252 in dog years. We went out for dinner with them to Tex Tubb's, and although that was several hours ago, I'm still full.

We hope you enjoy another 36 years together, and on your 72nd anniversary, when you are both in your 90s, we'll pick you up and take you out for Mexican.

And we're glad Sarah is here safely!

'Nuther One

This was kind of fun to do. It's for the August theme (yeah, yeah, I know) which is/was "water life". I suppose it's a little stretch. But shells were once inhabited by creatures that lived in the water, so that's close enough for me.

Anyway, I had the hardest time photographing this because of the flash. You can't tell from the pics but there's an under layer of shimmery gold, which is lovely but quite reflective. The colors aren't exactly true, but I think you get the idea.

September Card

I finally made my cards for the September swap - the theme is "whatever we feel like making." I still have to make August's cards, but I have the idea and will work on them tomorrow.
Time for bed!

Ordinary Time

There was nothing special or unique about yesterday. It was a lovely little ordinary day, and those are very welcome from time to time...or most of the time. So to celebrate ordinary, here are a few photos of what it looks like for me. First of all, you can see where I spend my mornings (and some afternoons.) This is what my office looks like. It's much neater now that I have the huge hutch-type thing, which hides the boxes of copy paper and other misc things. My desk is relatively uncluttered, and that's about as good as it gets. The walls - boring, right? The sweater on the back of my chair is really unnecessary - the office is always comfortable, verging on too warm.

Then I went home and made some phone calls, trying to get estimates for refinishing the wood floors. So far no one has responded to my request. I got an urgent email request for help from the person who replaced me at my PE (see post from the17th) and sent her a message to call me. While I was waiting to hear from her, I checked out the yard...saw this cheeky squirrel cavorting on the maple in the back. I meandered to the front and admired my new mums in all their fall glory.

Kev and I got subs and did a tiny little road trip, and came home as the sun was setting. Sigh. Ordinary can be wonderful.

Tenth Annual Play-Picnic!

We had perfect summer weather for Penelope and Roxanne's 10th Annual APT Post-Play Picnic. First of all - ten years??? That was fast. So, to put this in perspective, Andrew was a junior in high school and Erin was still in middle school when we started doing this. Over the years we've tweaked the formula a bit, but the basics have stayed the same. Pam and I (she's Penelope) provide the desserts, coffee, and all the table service. People bring a dish to pass and their own main course for grilling (last night Kevin and I had salmon!) It's always on a Saturday in September, and we choose a 3:00 play that's a comedy (or mostly comedic.) Once we chose a tragedy, which made for a subdued picnic, so after that we decided to go the comedy route. (Yesterday's play was a little departure from that, but it worked.)

We attend the play and then rush to claim enough tables for our group (I think we've had as many as 30 though usually it's more like 20-24). We eat, drink and chat until the evening play starts at 8:00. We usually pack up then because we've found that our chatting carries into the theater area and we've been (nicely) shushed in the past. I've included a couple pictures from last night's gathering, which was completely enjoyable.
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New feature!
On our ride out to Spring Green last night, we were discussing the upcoming fish fry season, wondering when one of our favorites (St. Pete's in Ashton) was going to start up again. I don't have the answer to that yet, but I've added a little spot listing the dates of the ones we like to frequent. Watch this space for breaking fish fry news!

Ahhhhhhhhh!

One year ago today I was breathing a huge sigh of relief. I know that because it was my last day working for my Previous Employer (PE). The position, my boss, and yes, some of my coworkers combined in a toxic mix that was slowly sucking the life and soul out of me. If you know me at all, then I'm sure this isn't news (and if you don't know me, this is probably not that interesting.) I could go on at some length about the negatives, but I really don't want to dwell there. I'll just say that I'm so grateful to have left.

So last year on Sept. 17th, I worked my last day for my PE, was treated to a small and uninspired farewell lunch and then left without shedding a tear. I took the 18th off and played, and then on the 19th I started my new job at the UW. It's been a wonderful year. I work with helpful, smart, friendly, appreciative and trustworthy people, I get to meet with students daily, nearly all the work I have to do is interesting, and I have my own office. Oh, and I'm usually done by noon. Yeah, there's always something waiting to be done, state bureaucracy to deal with, and someone with a question, but I am so thankful to be where I am. And not to be where I was.

Smorgasbord

Lately it's been quite rainy here in Madison, and that kind of weather makes me want to stay inside and bake and knit and read. And I got to do all those things this past weekend. Here's proof that I've made progress with a certain knitting project that has been in the works for several years. I'd been stuck on a particular step but went to a great knitting store in my neighborhood (Off The Beaten Path) and the owner very kindly talked me through it.

Josie's been visiting us since last Wednesday. We often seem to have her on rainy days. There's nothing quite like wet shaggy dog for thoroughly messing up a house. Here she is looking wistfully at the rain, hoping for clearing skies.

Happy Anniversary to Jeff and Judy! I think they have been married one year longer than Kevin and I, which would make this their 29th anniversary. I looked it up online, and the suggested gift for the 29th anniversary is furniture. OK, I can do that, as long as their expectations aren't too high. Perhaps they'd like a folding chair. Or maybe new board-and-cinderblock bookshelves, like we all had back in college! In all seriousness though, we wish them many more years of happiness, togetherness, adventures, fun and love.

Waiting to Exhale

*warning - some football content
The Packers' preseason record wasn't impressive but everyone knows that doesn't really mean anything. So last night, when the Packers' regular season opened, I was holding my breath. I don't think I was alone in that. First of all, and by far the biggest unknown, was Aaron Rodgers. Taking over a team from one of the most legendary and beloved quarterbacks, after some of the most emotional public drama...Could a quarterback ever have more pressure on him? On top of that - playing a huge rival, the Vikings, and furthermore, Monday Night Football, where the Packers are infamously uneven performers.

Since we don't have ESPN I had to settle for listening to the game on the radio (I love Wayne and Larry!) and watching the diagrams on ESPN's website. I don't think I really relaxed until the last 39 seconds of the game. There was a ridiculous number of penalties and it wasn't all neat and tidy, but even so, it was a win, and an especially sweet one at that.

Going Home Again

We went off to Lena again today (why yes, as a matter of fact, we were just there on Monday.) All in all it was a lovely trip. First of all, it was an absolutely gorgeous day for a road trip. Shortly after we took off we came across this group (bunch? flock?) of sandhill cranes. There were 18 of them, and when they are gathering like that, you can be sure they are thinking about migrating. It seems early if you ask me, which has me a little concerned about the arrival and severity of our winter.

The main reason we went down was to go with my dad to the Fall Festival parade (I love Lena - their idea of when fall arrives coincides with mine!) The parade was fun and sweet, as only small town parades can be. If you've never been to one, then you need to know that there are nearly as many people in the parade as there are watching it. Cub Scouts, Brownies, Boy and Girl Scouts, 4Hers, church floats, marching bands from every school in the county (and some of the smallest school-sponsored bands I've ever seen), fire equipment from every town in the county (if there had been a fire anywhere within a 25 mile radius, it would have been bad news), queens, princesses and junior misses, politicians (current and hopeful), Shriners in little cars, all types of restored tractors (you had your green ones, your red ones and your orange ones), many models of restored cars, and last but not least, horses. I'm forgetting some others, I'm sure, but you get the idea. Nearly everyone was throwing candy or handing out something. I can now state that I am officially old. Here's why: one of the marching bands played "Freebird". Furthermore, marching bands really don't march anymore. They kind of slouch along, not even bothering to be in step with each other. When the parade was over they probably slouched home to write about it on Facebook.

Afterwards dad treated us to the pork barbecue at the park. When we finished eating we perused the restored cars and tractors. Believe me when I say that I was done with this activity way before the guys were.

In spite of enjoying it all (except the prolonged tractor admiration), I also felt sad. This was the kind of thing that my mom thoroughly enjoyed and it was strange to be there without her. The last time I went to the Fall Festival, my mom was alive. I was probably all big-city snobby about being there, I'm embarrassed to admit, and of course didn't enjoy it as much as I could have, especially if I had known it would be the last time I'd be able to do that with her.

And there's something about going to a place where you grew up, which somehow should be frozen in time, and finding that of course it isn't, to make you feel the passing of time. My grade school is now an apartment building. The house I grew up in has new windows and siding, and I can remember when my dad gave it new windows and siding. How can it need new ones? All the backyards we used to play in are owned by different people.

I could go on and on, but this is already quite long. Anyway - overall, a really good day, with some bittersweet moments. And we got free candy :)

Back to Life as Usual

What with a holiday weekend, a visit from Erin and lots of road time, I was ready to get back to a more familiar routine. Not that it hasn't been wonderfully fun, because it truly has. And moms are always delighted to have time with their kids. But it's also been exhausting! My regular life allows me to get more sleep :)

Erin was so loaded down with things that there was no way she could take a bus back to Mpls, so yesterday we made the trip up and back. We could not have had a nicer day for traveling, and things went as smoothly as could be. But if you know us at all, you know that we can't do interstate travel exclusively. So even though it meant that we would get home over an hour later, we skipped the interstate on the first half of the trip back to Madison and took 35, along the Mississippi. Here are a few lovely pictures that show why this is always worth doing. PS. The sunset photo was taken while the car was moving.

Whirlwind

Since Erin got into town, SuzGsBusyLife has become SuzGsEspeciallyBusyLife. It's a good kind of busy - just a different pace than what we middle-aged people are used to. On Friday when she arrived we went for lunch and went shopping, on Saturday we did some errands together, Sunday was a yummy dinner with Andrew, Jen, Jeff and Judy, and yesterday we did the "senior tour" - went to IL to see the grandparents and aunt and uncle. I didn't take my camera along on any of these outings, so once again I have no pictures. Next time, I promise!

I'll be sad tomorrow when we take her back to Minneapolis. In a way it seems like she just got here. But it will probably be healthy to get back to my usual routine.

And Jen is on her way to (or perhaps already is in) South Korea! I admire her for going to a country whose language she doesn't know and going on such a great adventure. I'm sure she'll learn quickly. And I'm sure Andrew will miss her.

Important Birthdays Today

August 31 is the birthday of my friend Aggie, who turns...some wonderful age. I know, but I'm not telling in case she doesn't want it broadcast. She's the mom of four, including twins, and I hope she gets treated royally today. And everyday. I've known her for about 11 or 12 years, and she is part of the Thursday Night Girls. She was one of 16 kids in her family, which is pretty darn amazing. Ask her about the famous Green Dresses! Happy Birthday Aggie!

It's also Van Morrison's birthday. He's turning 63 (he's way older than Aggie). People generally know of him from "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Moondance", and those are good, but the music I love is not often played on the radio. But that's OK because I have a fairly extensive Van collection, including some wonderful live stuff. I finally saw him live this past December on my birthday. It was the best birthday present ever! Happy Birthday Van!

Time Flies

When you're busy! The past few weeks have been wildly busy at work, with the approach of the new academic year. Working out the details of two short term hires, including office space (or the lack thereof) and what they will actually get paid! Reminding the TAs to get their insurance paperwork turned in! Meeting with students who for some reason waited til today to register for classes! But it seems to have settled down for now and I'm so grateful. Still, as busy as it has been, it's a good and satisfying kind of activity.

I've also found time to get back into the ink. I had to make a purple and lime green card for a challenge that I signed up for, and so here is the result. It's called a bandanna technique, because it resembles...a bandanna! I have purple fingers from that little endeavor. The blue card (I'm in my blue period) is a technique called Shimmering Resist, which was kind of fun. I think you can actually see the shimmer, which seldom works in photos. You can click on any picture to see a larger version of it. Sorry about the crooked pics!

Erin comes for a visit tomorrow, and we are looking forward to spending some time with her. And it's a nice, long weekend, to boot. Enjoy a last picnic of summer!

Quick Weekend Update

From two weekends ago! That's how far behind I am. Last week got away from me, what with so many deadlines at work. But my student is back, things are getting caught up and we are making progress! There is now organization where there wasn't before!

But anyway... a week ago Friday we jumped in the car and headed to the Amana colonies in Iowa. It was as gorgeous of a day as you could hope for, and we had a pretty uneventful drive. Until we saw this sign, and we knew we were not on the right highway. No problem! We figured out how to get back onto 151 and head towards Cedar Rapids. By this time Scott and Becky were nearly there and we felt like we needed to hurry, but there's really no way to hurry on a two lane road that winds through dozens of small towns. (Difference between Iowa and Wisconsin: Wisconsin small towns consist of 9 houses and 2 bars. Iowa small towns are composed of 9 houses and a grain elevator.)

Anyway, we arrived in Amana and checked in to the lovely hotel. This "special" doormat greeted us. We spent the weekend eating fairly heavy German food which was served family style, visiting museums and shopping. We attended church services which are conducted largely the same way they were in the mid-1880s, when the communities were settled. Men entered through one door and sat on one side, women entered through another door and sat on a different side - music was acappella, in German - no pastor, an elder speaks. Very interesting, really.

We discovered Lily Lake, a 200 acre lake covered in pale yellow lotus blossoms. Had a wonderful time and made the trip home without any detours.
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Now I'm off to buy paint - at last! - for the extra room that I'm now calling a studio. That's probably glorifying it a bit but it's shorter than the other names I came up with. The color will be blue, but it's only got a number, not a name. I'll post a picture when it's done.

Breaking News!

After the long, hard winter killed off the pond, we had to start from scratch. And when I say "we" I pretty much mean Kevin. He does all the pond maintenance, and I encourage him and enjoy it. Anyway, this spring the pond reeked, and no fish or frogs and only a few plants survived. Kev's slowly been rebuilding it. We bought a new lily, and some cheap goldfish, and have been waiting to see what happened. At least four of the fish have lived and grown quite a bit. Yesterday we noticed some nice fat buds on the lily. And today...well, see for yourself. It's officially a healthy pond - we have a frog! And the lily has bloomed!

I have tons of pictures from our weekend at Amana, and will post a few of them tomorrow. For now, I'll just say that we had a great time and are glad to be eating vegetables again. :)

And on another note - get well soon Joe! We hope you're back in biking form in short order!

Happy Birthday Andrew!

Andrew turns 26 today! He gets the coolest birthday this year - 08-08-08. All those kids who turn 8 today will really feel special. Andrew turned 8 a looooong time ago :) His 8th birthday was a memorable one because first of all, early in the AM, a bat (the bug eating kind) came in through his bedroom window. We spent over an hour dealing with that issue, waking up kids, rounding up the dog and trapping the bat. The other memorable aspect was his party at the Muskies' game that night. He got his name in lights on the scoreboard, and a ball signed by all the team members.

And tonight he's celebrating by going to a Brewers game with Jen. During the second inning, you can text a message which they will put on the scoreboard, so once again he'll have his name on up in lights. Jen - can you get him a ball signed by the team? :) Boys may grow up but they're still boys at heart.

Drew has changed jobs and is working hard at his new position. I admire his courage in making the move and taking on what can kindly be called a challenge. His predecessor did a shoddy job and Drew has to deal with some unhappy customers, and he is tackling it head on. I'm proud of him for working so hard and stepping out of his comfort zone! And it sounds like he has good ideas and instincts.

On a different note, we are heading out to the Amana colonies around noon today to meet Scott and Becky. The lack of pictures today will be remedied next time I post!

28 Years Ago Today...

And at about this time, Kevin and I were very newly married and getting lost in Madison on our way to our honeymoon destination, a cabin on Lake Wisconsin. We'd left Freeport about 6 or so, stopped in Monroe at McDonald's for dinner (first meal of married life - how memorable!) and then continued on to Madison. It was getting dark, we were getting lost, and wanted to just get a hotel room. But there was some convention or other going on and all the hotel rooms were booked. So we stopped at the IHOP on University Avenue for coffee and pie, ran into someone we knew from Freeport and chatted. Then we forged on into the night and eventually got to the cabin at 1:00 AM. I'd never been there before, Kevin hadn't been there in years, so it's a wonder we even found it in the dark.

For fun, we took a very meandery road trip today and hit most of the places we visited that week. Devil's Lake, Lodi and yes, we even found the cabin. So for fun, here are pictures of a few places we visited, taken 28 years apart. The cabin (note our '63 Chevy Impala, above on the left), the great sign in Lodi honoring their famous duck, and a fun one of a gas station that doesn't exist anymore. I thought the name was amusing. The memory we have of that gas station is that is where the guy who was pumping gas in our car (back when no one pumped their own gas) congratulated us on getting married. We were puzzled until he showed us the note that Kev's brother Scott had stuck into the gas cap, and which we still have, that reads "these people are newlyweds - congratulate them!"




Josie is with us for the weekend! I was going to call this our "Golden Retriever Anniversary" but Erin already thinks we're weird enough.

Honoring Our Moms

July 27th was my mom's birthday. It was also the one year anniversary of Pam's mom's passing. We decided to spend some time together doing something special...which turned out to be a little road trip. And that turned out to be just the right thing to do. We had a chance to talk about who our moms were, what was important to them, what their lives were like (as far as we knew), and at the same time, enjoy the beauty that is summer in Wisconsin, meandering down familiar roads and some unfamiliar roads...and down some roads twice! We shared tender memories, laughs, tears, an amazing, glowing burst of light through overcast skies, a lovely sunset, and these fine friends. Pam took the crane picture!

Family Ties

For Mother's Day this past May, I made this card for my MIL. She seemed to like it well enough but I didn't think she was exactly blown away. Then about a week later she called and said "I know what I would like for my birthday - I would like a card like this with Frank's picture." Frank, of course, was my FIL, who passed away in July of 1990. So for Betty's birthday, which is tomorrow, I made this card with a picture of Frank when he was about 22. The horseshoe is because he was in a horseshoe league, and the background is the flag being raised on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima during WWII, where Frank served with the Marines. There was a lot more about him that I wanted to include, but the space I was working with is only 4.25 x 5.5 and it was getting cluttered as it is. So I should mention that he was a quiet man who enjoyed the occasional fishing outing, was an avid bowler, and a fix-it man who loved coffee and his children and grandchildren. We miss you, Dad.