Quiet Week

We couldn't come up with a photo for this week since it was a fairly quiet week and nothing too noteworthy happened.  We enjoyed another week of unusually warm weather and while we got a little bit of snow both yesterday and today, it has been rapidly melting off.  With the warm weather we have taken advantage with several evening walks around the neighborhood.  The weather forecast for the coming week is even warmer temperatures, what a year.  At least this year, so far, living in Wisconsin for the winter hasn't really been too bad.

I spent the week painting the last major room in the house - Jo's study.  That involved removing the last wall paper in the house.  Fortunately this paper must have been hung within the last 10-15 years since it peeled off reasonably intact and it was just a matter of cleaning the glue off the wall.  After that it was just removing the curtains and patching then paint, paint, paint.  I got it all finished and the new light installed so we now have a study you can actually see in when the overhead light is turned on. So I'm down to the hallways on the first floor and then a bunch of small little paint jobs - but the end is ever closer.

Nothing too special about Jo's week although she did hear about her pay for 2012 - which in today's economy it is always nice to know she is likely to be paid through the coming year.  Friday night we stayed home, made pizza and caught up on some of our taped TV shows (well actually DVR'd since we are finally using that technology).  Saturday morning after our morning run through the freshly fallen snow and workout at the gym we headed to Goodwill to donate some clothes and then home to cook and bake for our evening guests.  We had Sarah and Adam over (Jo knows Adam from HR at Pfizer) and prepared braised short ribs and caramelized root vegetables.  We had a first for both Jo and I as one of the root vegetables was rutabaga that neither one of us had even had before.  Turns out the rutabaga was quite tasty - although it could have been the caramelizing.  Anyway, dinner was great and we topped it off with chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing - yum!

Today dawned with another light snowfall.  Jo is heading off to the gym to swim - something I just can't get into - and then we have a few chores to accomplish.  No big plans for today, although maybe we'll come up with something.

Weekend in Chicago

We took advantage of Jo having a business trip to Chicago for me to tag along and catch up with family and friends.  Unfortunately we picked one of the coldest, snowiest weeks to visit.  We enjoyed using Amtrak to get into Chicago which nicely avoided all the traffic that Chicago seems to have become famous for.  My sister joined Jo and I on a visit to Jane Adams Hull House museum the morning of the first day.  It was fascinating to read and learn about the history of this remarkable women.  Even if she was a bit of an anti-capitalist.  Unfortunately we heard later in the week that the foundation she founded is going bankrupt. 

After the Hull House, we dropped off Jo for her conference while my sister and I headed to the Chicago History museum.  It was fun reading about Chicago's past, even if there has been some revisionist history and Ms. O'leary's cow is apparently no longer responsible for starting the Chicago fire - so much for that history lesson in school.  Great museum and well worth the visit.  Later that evening we all took in a show at Navy Pier - "Elizabeth Rex" that was simply spectacular.  The lead actress playing Elizabeth did a phenomenal job and gave a riveting performance.  It was then back to the hotel for a much needed sleep. 

The next day, it was off to Elmhurst to see John and Linda.  We enjoyed brunch and catching up on all the happenings in their large family (well I enjoyed catching up on the family doings).  Their kids of grown up so much.  Then it was back on the train to downtown to enjoy the final evening dinner of Jo's conference.

We came home to some additional snow so we got up on Sunday and did an hour of cross-country skiing.  This was at least partly to compensate for the wonderful chocolate chip cookie dessert that Jo made the night before.  Jo's sister came over later on Sunday - she was in town for a brunch with a friend - and we caught up while watching the football playoff games.  Then it was time to begin another week - but not until after Kathy and I enjoyed our new ritual of geting a cinnamon roll at the local bake shop on Monday morning.  I'm painting the final room on the second floor - Jo's study - this week, which is a big accomplishment since only a few small closets and hallways then remain.  Yeah!!  Jo has a board meeting this week so she has to be focused and on her game this week (not that she isn't always focused and prepared).

Cross Country Skiing Outing Number 2

Early Saturday morning, we took advantage of the recent snowfall to get out for another round of cross country skiing before it all blew off or melted.  It was much, much colder but at least there was no wind this time around.  The lighthouse looked really lovely in with the snow.  The only thing really missing was a beautiful sunrise that should have behind Jo in the photo.  But with cloudy weather comes warmer temperatures.  While we were bundled up we still got chilled but enjoyed some hot chocolate in front of our fireplace right afterwards.  We had a great time and are getting more comfortable with our new skis although we both still look a bit wobbly at times.

After hitting the gym for some lifting, we went downtown to "The Historic Third Ward" (I really think the "The" is part of the official name) for lunch and then off to the the Mitchell Domes.  The Domes are the local botanic gardens.  These are quite architecturally unique and contain a interesting selection of plants (although they really look like an advertisement for Playtex more than anything - at least to me).  Along with that, they were having a Polish festival inside so we got to see some interesting crafts and dancing.

After our visit we headed home to read in front of the fire which turned out to be some nap time for Jo.  Then it was a great dinner of carrot soup while watching the football playoff games.

The First Snow

 Well the first real snow fall finally came yesterday.  Quite fascinating weather as it was almost 50 degrees on Wednesday and then the temperature dropped down into the 20's and the snow started coming.  We got almost 6 inches of snow.  So I got to enjoy revving up the snowblower for the first time in Wisconsin.  What fun.

We also got to try out our recently purchased cross-country skis.  We went to Lake Park and skied around for about an hour.  As you can tell from the photos it was still snowing and with the cold wind we were chilled by the time we stopped.  But we had great fun and our cross-country skills (what we ever skills we have) came back relatively quickly.  Can't wait to get out again.

Enjoy the snow!!

Off to New York

I'll start with the disappointment that Wisconsin once again couldn't win the Rose Bowl game.  It certainly was an exciting game with ups and downs on both sides. The real plus was that Jo had the day after New Year's off and was able to spend the day relaxing, which as you can see she is doing quite well.  We also took advantage of the warm weather for a nice walk around the block before settling in for the game.  After the game is was time to begin preparing to go back to reality as Jo had a nice 5 day break from work and I didn't do any painting during the holidays.  Tuesday morning came way to fast.

The rest of last week was pretty quiet for for me as Joann packed her bags and headed to New York for most of the week.  She was excited as it has been a while for a business trip for her and she so likes getting on the road to sleep in hotel beds (I think it is mostly the free shampoo and soap that gets her heart racing about business travel).  The occasion was the east regional meeting for Northwestern Mutual.  This was a chance for her to get to know the product line better along with meeting more of the sales representatives who sell the product.  She had a good time as she was able to find a little time to meet up with several old Pfizer friends as well as take in a show - leading to the pictures of Samuel Jackson and Angela Bassett.  She also took a little time to walk around some of her favorite spots in New York including seeing the progress on the World Trade Center site.  She topped off her trip with a visit to Westport, CT to see Barb and Mike for dinner on Saturday along with a trip down to be sure the Long Island sound is still there since we left.

What did I do while Jo was off traipsing around New York - I painted.  With Jo gone it was an excellent time to tackle the master bedroom.  This room seemed to be spawning cracks and therefore took multiple days to get it prepped before I could even begin to paint.  But it is all done now and most importantly we finally have a light fixture that throws enough light to read by in the room.  Next up on my painting list - since I know you are keeping track - is to finish off the two 2nd floor bathrooms.  The little time I wasn't painting I got some reading done and worked on a new computer game - one of my Christmas gifts.

Happy New Year

Welcome to 2012.  Jo and I had a rousing New Year's Eve in which we put a jigsaw puzzle together and then watched some of the televised happenings in Times Square.  Well Jo watched them since I seemed to have been watching the insides of my eyelids at that point.  We both were awake to watch the ball drop and share the traditional New Year's Eve kiss.  The rest of the day we spent taking down all of our Christmas decorations and packing them away for another year.  We also reviewed our annual predictions with Bruno and Sheri via Facetime (what cool technology) in which Jo took the honors for her guesses this last year and yours truly came in last with only 2.5 correct predictions (what was I thinking last December).  We once again foretold the coming year's series of celebrity divorces, deaths, changes at Pfizer, and world calamities - although given our overall skills I wouldn't change any plans or buy any stocks based on our choices.  

Our other big item for the week was that we had our pool table assembled on our third floor. It is great to have this together, both for the use of the table but also to clear out the basement clutter a little. While there are some challenging spots since the room isn't quite big enough it makes our third floor a nice entertainment space since our pin ball machine was also moved up there.

Jo took a few days of vacation this week and we used the extra time to do a little after Christmas shopping along with sorting through our books and clothes.  With the Christmas items put away, we realized that it is the first time since last June that everything in the house is back to where it is supposed to be.  The rest of the week was spent relaxing so we are both revved up for going back to work.  Jo at Northwestern Mutual and me to painting (next up is the master bedroom).  We worked on the afore-mentioned puzzle along with reading, computer games, and catching up on some sleep.  We had our nephew and fiance, Chris and Angela, over for a pizza dinner on Friday where we found out the exciting news that they have picked a wedding date for this coming September.  On a fun note, we received bird seed in the shape and color of a candy cane as a Christmas gift.  We put it out on a tree in our backyard and it didn't take long for the squirrels to figure out how to enjoy it - even if it meant hanging upside down from a little tiny branch.

We watched Illinois win the Kraft Fight the Hunger Bowl (what ever happened to keeping bowl names simple - Sugar, Cotton, Orange, etc.).  And of of course, tomorrow is the Rose Bowl where we will be rooting on our Badgers.