Friday Night Fish Fry

As I mentioned previously, talk about how warm the weather has been and nature will get you.  As with much of the country, our temperatures plummeted on Friday.  We woke to a chilly 9 degrees Saturday morning with a 20 mph wind.  Which I'll admit was enough to convince me to snuggle back into bed and then later head down to the basement to do some cross-training on our elliptical machine (cross-training is my nice term for when I'm to lazy or wimpy to get outside and run).  It was one of those cold days that being outside for just 15 to 20 minutes started to give you a headache from how cold your forehead would get. 

We both had a reasonably calm week with our respective jobs - Jo at work and me home painting - so we decided to have a busy weekend.  Thursday night we went to the Milwaukee Art Museum to see their new exhibit (Accidental Genius) featuring the work of artists that where self taught.  While there was many interesting works, there were also a fair number of pieces where I struggled to figure out what made this art as compared to someone just scribbling on a piece of paper.  Also, it was interesting how many of the artists where in mental institutions at some point in their lives.  But either way, it was good to get immersed in some art and spend time discussing the merits of the various pieces.  They also had a display of local high school kids works and some of which were absolutely phenomenal - well worth going to see.

Friday we headed out for a Milwaukee tradition of Fish Fry Friday's, which happen all year round not just during Lent like many other communities.  We tried out Tess's which is only a few blocks from our home.  We had excellent appetizers - squash ravioli and spinach salad - which we shared and then enjoyed tucking into some fried fish and sweet potato fries.  You sure can't beat deep frying for making food tasty - we both decided the perch was a little better than the talapia.  Well worth a visit if you are ever in the neighborhood, although if you want an inside table a reservation would be recommended unless you don't mind eating at the bar (which we didn't and the bar tender was really friendly).

Saturday morning after working out inside we headed to Woodman's grocery store to fill up our food stocks and then met several Quincy folks at a local restaurant for lunch so Jo could fill up on her hometown's gossip.  The Quincy folks have been getting together for many years as a result of having their kids attend Marquette (Quincy is heavily Catholic so Marquette is a popular college choice).  Now even though many have had their kids graduate they still get together to see a basketball game once or twice or year.  Since we are now here, we have managed to get in on the party.  After that we headed out to the Milwaukee Home Show to get ideas on things to do to our house and see the latest home technology.  We spoke with several cabinet makers, looked at cool floor plans, and got some interesting ideas for our future kitchen.  Then it was home to a home cooked dinner of scallops with pasta and some well deserved rest.

Today we decided to brave the 15 degree temperatures and headed out for our daily run.  While chilly, it wasn't too bad especially as the wind had died down.  We are planning to read the paper in front of our fire and then I'm sure some naps will be in store later.  Just to keep the thread going on the painting front - all the major rooms and halls are done on the first two floors.  I have several closets to go and the spindles on the stair railings, but the end is in sight.  There is some major work on the stairwell to the third floor and the bathroom on the third floor is till waiting for me.  I figure I'll be finishing just in time to get ready to paint the outdoor woodwork.