then here are 2,000. This isn't washed and blocked yet, and I have a few stray yarn ends to weave in....but the sweater is DONE!!! My first sweater. WoooooooHooooooo! Gunther gives it his blessing.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
If a picture says a thousand words,
then here are 2,000. This isn't washed and blocked yet, and I have a few stray yarn ends to weave in....but the sweater is DONE!!! My first sweater. WoooooooHooooooo! Gunther gives it his blessing.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Fish Fry Reviews
The reviews are in! Having finally visited our 2 favorite church fish frys and another one that was new to us this year, I can give you the definitive word on which one offers what and how good it is.
First up - So far this year we've been to Monona's IHM fish fry at least twice. They continue to serve consistently good fish with little to no wait time, and the ambiance is pretty decent for a church school cafeteria (little lights, decorations made by school kids, round tables). IHM offers three kinds of fish (all you can eat - baked, breaded and beer battered), tossed salad, cole slaw, applesauce, baked potatoes, french fries, rolls, water coffee, and 2-3 kinds of ice cream. Beer and wine are available at an additional charge. In our little group, opinions are divided about which fish choice is the best. Most of us prefer the beer battered but a vocal minority likes the breaded. The fish is cooked in the small school kitchen then transferred to steam containers to keep it warm, which degrades the breading/batter a bit. The CS was the creamy type, which about half of us prefer to the vinegar-type. The food is served buffet style, with volunteer waiters helpfully bringing refills of anything you need. Bottom line - good, reliable food, nice atmosphere, short wait if any. $10 per adult
Next, we checked out Madison's St. James Catholic Church's fish fry. This one was new to us and apparently has a shorter season - Feb 27 - April 3 (this year anyway - my guess is that it varies depending on when Easter falls in a given year.) They offer two kinds of fish - baked and fried (I think it was beer battered but don't recall - anyone?), roasted red skinned potatoes, highly seasoned potato wedges, coleslaw, applesauce, rye bread, coffee and water. Beer and wine were available at an additional charge, as was dessert. The guys found this to be the best option for beer - they got New Glarus' Spotted Cow for $2 (same price as the Miller offerings at other ffs.) The baked fish was quite good, as were the roasted potatoes. The wedges had a good, if spicy, flavor but were quite mealy. The fried fish was not remarkable. Volunteer waitstaff take your order and bring the food to you, which is a nice touch. Atmosphere is standard church basement, but fairly spacious. We were seated right away. Bottom line - good effort, but overall not our favorite. $9 per adult, tipping encouraged.
Last, and best - St. Peter's in Ashton. This is the first local church fish fry that I ever attended, probably at least ten years ago, and therefore is the sentimental favorite. But apart from that it's just really good. The least appealing feature is the long wait. Last night we were seated in record time, ie, about 40 minutes. When we left the lines looped up and back in the school hallway and out the door into the parking lot. That is a lot of waiting! We chatted with our hostess while we waited, and she was telling us that people come from out of town and plan their weekends around the St. Pete's fish fry. I believe it.
But onto the details...one kind of fish (fried), a vegetable (last night - corn), french fries, baked potatoes, bread, vinegar-type coleslaw, coffee and milk. Beer, pop and water available at additional cost. Dessert is included and homemade - last night, that cake that you bake, poke holes into, and then pour jello over - is it called poke cake? Anyway - yum! Great frosting! But I'm going in the wrong order...back to the fish, which is just fantastic! Crispy, hot, flaky - delish! Right from the fryer to the table - served family style. The fries were crispy and good, the baked potatoes steamy. The bottom line - Outstanding - restaurant quality fish, good to great side dishes, homemade desserts - other than the wait, no drawbacks. $11 per adult, plus the scenic drive to Ashton.
Happy eating!
First up - So far this year we've been to Monona's IHM fish fry at least twice. They continue to serve consistently good fish with little to no wait time, and the ambiance is pretty decent for a church school cafeteria (little lights, decorations made by school kids, round tables). IHM offers three kinds of fish (all you can eat - baked, breaded and beer battered), tossed salad, cole slaw, applesauce, baked potatoes, french fries, rolls, water coffee, and 2-3 kinds of ice cream. Beer and wine are available at an additional charge. In our little group, opinions are divided about which fish choice is the best. Most of us prefer the beer battered but a vocal minority likes the breaded. The fish is cooked in the small school kitchen then transferred to steam containers to keep it warm, which degrades the breading/batter a bit. The CS was the creamy type, which about half of us prefer to the vinegar-type. The food is served buffet style, with volunteer waiters helpfully bringing refills of anything you need. Bottom line - good, reliable food, nice atmosphere, short wait if any. $10 per adult
Next, we checked out Madison's St. James Catholic Church's fish fry. This one was new to us and apparently has a shorter season - Feb 27 - April 3 (this year anyway - my guess is that it varies depending on when Easter falls in a given year.) They offer two kinds of fish - baked and fried (I think it was beer battered but don't recall - anyone?), roasted red skinned potatoes, highly seasoned potato wedges, coleslaw, applesauce, rye bread, coffee and water. Beer and wine were available at an additional charge, as was dessert. The guys found this to be the best option for beer - they got New Glarus' Spotted Cow for $2 (same price as the Miller offerings at other ffs.) The baked fish was quite good, as were the roasted potatoes. The wedges had a good, if spicy, flavor but were quite mealy. The fried fish was not remarkable. Volunteer waitstaff take your order and bring the food to you, which is a nice touch. Atmosphere is standard church basement, but fairly spacious. We were seated right away. Bottom line - good effort, but overall not our favorite. $9 per adult, tipping encouraged.
Last, and best - St. Peter's in Ashton. This is the first local church fish fry that I ever attended, probably at least ten years ago, and therefore is the sentimental favorite. But apart from that it's just really good. The least appealing feature is the long wait. Last night we were seated in record time, ie, about 40 minutes. When we left the lines looped up and back in the school hallway and out the door into the parking lot. That is a lot of waiting! We chatted with our hostess while we waited, and she was telling us that people come from out of town and plan their weekends around the St. Pete's fish fry. I believe it.
But onto the details...one kind of fish (fried), a vegetable (last night - corn), french fries, baked potatoes, bread, vinegar-type coleslaw, coffee and milk. Beer, pop and water available at additional cost. Dessert is included and homemade - last night, that cake that you bake, poke holes into, and then pour jello over - is it called poke cake? Anyway - yum! Great frosting! But I'm going in the wrong order...back to the fish, which is just fantastic! Crispy, hot, flaky - delish! Right from the fryer to the table - served family style. The fries were crispy and good, the baked potatoes steamy. The bottom line - Outstanding - restaurant quality fish, good to great side dishes, homemade desserts - other than the wait, no drawbacks. $11 per adult, plus the scenic drive to Ashton.
Happy eating!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
And the answer is...
Buffleheads! This is not a bird I'm familiar with but judging from this link, that's exactly what they are - the smallest diving bird in North America. Case closed.
And on a completely different note, I've started a new blog (because I have so much free time!) where all the cards and other paper art will reside. The link for that is somewhere off to the right...above the moon phases, I think, but below the fish fry info. I'm doing this mainly for people who don't necessarily care about the cards, and in addition, I can now include that link when I post on the various stamping related lists I'm on. But if you want to see them, you still can!
And on a completely different note, I've started a new blog (because I have so much free time!) where all the cards and other paper art will reside. The link for that is somewhere off to the right...above the moon phases, I think, but below the fish fry info. I'm doing this mainly for people who don't necessarily care about the cards, and in addition, I can now include that link when I post on the various stamping related lists I'm on. But if you want to see them, you still can!
Bigger Bird Picture
Does this help? I realized that you can't make the video any bigger, but you can click on the picture and enlarge it. I'm thinking maybe ring-necked duck or a merganser, but I'm not sure.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Name Those Birds!
Tonight I took a drive down to Lake Kegonsa to see if the ice was breaking up and washing over the dam. Two springs ago, Kevin and I serendipitously went by there just when the ice was breaking up, and it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. It was a warm day, but standing on the dam watching, we got chilly from the wind blowing off the ice. The ice was shattering into billions of shards and crystals, and making such a lovely musical sound as it flowed over the dam. Even though we were diligent about making road trips down there last year and this, we haven't gotten there at the right time. The ice is entirely gone. But I did see these interesting birds and took a short video. They were so amusing to watch! I'm not sure yet what they are so I'll do a little sleuthing, but if anyone has suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Crazy Late Night
Much to my surprise, I stayed up way too late last night watching basketball. I had been watching the Badgers play the Seminoles, and when they were down by 12 at halftime I was nodding off and almost gave it up entirely. But they started to rally and it turned into a game that was a little too thrilling. They went into overtime and won, 61-59! I'm used to the Packers going into overtime and losing so this was a doubly pleasant surprise.
Whenever there was a timeout or break in the game, the network flipped over to the Ohio State-Siena game, which was in double overtime. I had Ohio State winning that one, so my brackets suffered a little, but overall I'm doing much better than I usually do, based on nothing but lucky guessing. I have Louisville to win, and so far they are still in it. That's better than I usually do.
Whenever there was a timeout or break in the game, the network flipped over to the Ohio State-Siena game, which was in double overtime. I had Ohio State winning that one, so my brackets suffered a little, but overall I'm doing much better than I usually do, based on nothing but lucky guessing. I have Louisville to win, and so far they are still in it. That's better than I usually do.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Gunther is all decked out for the occasion, thanks to my sister-in-law (his aunt?) Becky. Thanks Becky!And on a completely different topic - here is a paper cone that I made
for an upcoming party. It will hold some little goodies, candy perhaps. I'm going to make a few more, and some other surprises as well.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Baby Guts
Having a dog in the house is a lot like having a toddler around. You have someone extra in bed every so often (or...every night), you spend a lot of time making sure he gets plenty of exercise, and there is a lot more picking up to do. When they get ear infections, there's the medicine-twice-a-day routine. When you go to the store, you bring home a new toy because you know he'll like it. Oh, and you have a lot of cute stories that are probably not nearly as funny or interesting to other people as they are to you.
I was at WalMart a few days ago, and picked up a new "baby" for Gunther. He doesn't seem vicious in any way, but he is quite determined to get the squeaker out of his toys. And this is what is looks like when he does...
Did I mention that there's a lot more picking up to do?
Monday, March 2, 2009
Okay, okay, I did it
Twice a month I knit at Caribou in Monona with Carmela and Liz. I like it because they are both easy to talk with, I enjoy seeing everyone's knitting progress, and logistically, it's nearly effortless. They both live in Monona and I live a stone's throw away, so meeting up works very well.
So maybe because this is all so comfortable, or perhaps for some other unidentifiable reason, I was feeling so relaxed when we met late in January, that I experienced an unusual (for me) moment of bravery. I admitted that I wanted to pursue writing. And then (and here I blame Carmela) I took it a step further. We were discussing Helium (not the gas), a web site where people can write articles, ostensibly for pay, but mostly for practice. Carmela writes for them and encouraged me to, also. I'd already signed up but hadn't written anything. I think it was the soothing influence of yarn and green tea, but at any rate, I vowed to Liz and Carmela that I would write one article by the end of Feb. That didn't seem hard or scary at the time.
And really, writing wasn't hard or scary. The thought of failing at it is. But I did it and it's posted, and by whatever weird rating system Helium uses, it's ranked 5 of 34. I'd like to think it's the 5th best, but good writing doesn't seem to be the only factor in the ranking.
If you want to read it, go to Helium.com and in the search box type my name. There's only one article by me so it shouldn't be hard to find. Oh, and you generally have to write about the suggested topics, so keep that in mind.
There. I feel naked. But you can't die from naked, so it's ok.
So maybe because this is all so comfortable, or perhaps for some other unidentifiable reason, I was feeling so relaxed when we met late in January, that I experienced an unusual (for me) moment of bravery. I admitted that I wanted to pursue writing. And then (and here I blame Carmela) I took it a step further. We were discussing Helium (not the gas), a web site where people can write articles, ostensibly for pay, but mostly for practice. Carmela writes for them and encouraged me to, also. I'd already signed up but hadn't written anything. I think it was the soothing influence of yarn and green tea, but at any rate, I vowed to Liz and Carmela that I would write one article by the end of Feb. That didn't seem hard or scary at the time.
And really, writing wasn't hard or scary. The thought of failing at it is. But I did it and it's posted, and by whatever weird rating system Helium uses, it's ranked 5 of 34. I'd like to think it's the 5th best, but good writing doesn't seem to be the only factor in the ranking.
If you want to read it, go to Helium.com and in the search box type my name. There's only one article by me so it shouldn't be hard to find. Oh, and you generally have to write about the suggested topics, so keep that in mind.
There. I feel naked. But you can't die from naked, so it's ok.
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