Quick Trip to the College World Series

We spent the week down one car as we got it in for repairs after our accident.  The shop we took it to was quite speedy as the car is now back in the garage looking just like it did before someone decided to smash into it.  Assuming that nothing falls off of it in the near term, I'm a fan of the auto body shop Abra Auto Body - fast work, kept us up to date on the progress, and (cross your fingers) reliable work.  It is nice to be back to both cars, but I did use the opportunity of having one of the cars missing from the garage to finish painting the garage window and exterior of the garage.  This involved a couple of marathon painting days of up to 7 hours climbing up and down a ladder, but it is all finished and I can cross another project off my to do list.  Of course as with most projects on the house, I noticed that some of the bricks on the garage need tuck pointing - so I got to add another project back to my list.

 A bike race is held annually in Shorewood in June and we went to watch the racer speed around city streets - with several ninety degree turns - last Thursday.  It was a beautiful evening and the racers were just amazing.  I could never move that fast on a bike with that many people all crammed around me especially through a turn.  Of course, I couldn't move that fast on a bike without any people around me.  Fortunately, we didn't witness any crashes although we weren't sitting at the finish line so we don't know who won.  I tried to include a video of the pack flying down the street, but these often don't seem to load successfully for me.

Jo had a quick trip (10 hours from door to door) to the College World Series in Omaha on Friday.  Northwestern Mutual was a sponsor and used the event to invite several of the local field representatives to enjoy the event.  Jo got to present one of those big checks - in size, and number - along with eating baseball food and enjoying watching TCU play Vanderbilt.  It was also a good chance for her to continue to build relationships with some of the many representatives covering the country.

Saturday we enjoyed a visit from John and Linda who were in town for a wedding for a friend's daughter.  We didn't manage to make it to Kopps since they were dressed up and had a wedding dinner to attend, but we did enjoy chatting for the couple of hours between the wedding and reception.  It was noteworthy since I think it is one of the first visits to Milwaukee fo John where Kopps wasn't included.  Later Saturday evening we attended a party at our friends, Sandy and Scott, celebrating their daughter not only graduating from college but also getting a job.  Something not every college grad can boast about these days.  

Firing up the Kiln - First Glaze Firing in WI

Kiln before firing

We finally decorated enough of our pottery to make it worthwhile firing up the kiln.  We were a bit nervous using the kiln with the wiring in the house since we weren't sure whether we would have a successful firing or would fire up the whole house (good news was that either way we would probably get some finished pots - might be all that we own at that point, but it would be something).  Fortunately everything went smoothly with no problems and our jury rigged exhaust system kept any smells from reaching the rest of the house.  We had moderate success on the glazing, since about a third of the pots we weren't too ecstatic about the final results.  But that is the thrill of doing amateur pottery, your never exactly sure what you will get coming out the kiln.  Next up will be a bisque firing, but we need to complete a few more items to make it worthwhile.

Some of the finished product

We spent the weekend hanging around Milwaukee.  Friday I had a part of my anatomy routinely investigated with a long fiber-optic scope (I'll let you figure what part on your own, I have some photos if you are really interested) so I was pretty out of it for the day.  Although, I did find that propofol is a great anesthetic - on quick, off quick, makes you all happy and content, and great for sleeping later that night.  I slept over nine hours Friday night which hasn't happened in years!  Jo had a funeral to attend after my "procedure" and on the way home was hit by someone making an illegal lane change.  Fortunately no one was injured and the damage to the both cars was somewhat minor.  But we now have a car to get repaired and a slightly shaken spouse who is just a bit more nervous driving.  On a more enjoyable note, we took a couple of nice long walks over the weekend and enjoyed watching some of the women's world cup soccer matches.

All set and ready to decay

My big accomplishment for the week - besides having a tube snake around inside of me - was that I finished painting the outside of the garage window and then started on the inside of it.  Nice thing about an old house, there is always - I mean always - something that either needs painting, repairing, or repairing and painting.  It is just a matter of deciding if you really feel the need to start that project.  While this house has lots of charm and character - there are definitely times when the charm isn't quite enough to even the scorecard against the repair effort.

The only other news is that the garden is starting to grow - nothing too fast since we can't seem to get temperatures out of the 60's.  But most things have start to push up - except for my squashes this year.  I had to replant them so who knows what we might get in that department.

Enjoying the Fire by the Shores of Lake Michigan

The weather has finally turned warm and the garden is starting to sprout with our first crop of lettuce ready for harvesting.  Jo spent most of the week in Lake Geneva at a business meeting but found some time to enjoy kayaking the lake and zip lining.  I held down the home fort by starting a painting project I've been avoiding for 2 years.  This involves stripping the windows on the garage down to bare wood since the window glazing and paint was coming off in large pieces.  I have it all prepped at this point - which is always my least favorite part of the painting process and will get some paint on it starting next week, since the glazing needs to set for almost a week (not sure what happens to the glaze during the week, but the label says to wait a week before priming).

We took advantage of the nicer weather with some long walks in the neighborhood over the weekend capping it with a visit to our friends, Patty and Rob, who recently purchased and remodeled a cottage on the shores of Lake Michigan.  They originally thought they would use it as a weekend get-away but as they realized the kids were gone and didn't really need two homes in Wisconsin, they decided to move in full time.  Makes for a bit of commute, but their home is lovely and the master bedroom looks right out onto the lake - great way to wake up in the morning.  After dinner we headed down to their beach and enjoyed a bonfire by the lake as the sun set and the star popped out.  Great evening although we were full from dinner, so no smores by the fire.

Sunday was a laze around the house day for us along with dealing with some of the files that have built up over the years.  Deciding what to keep and what to toss - what fun.

Visit with the Parents

I finally decided that enough of the year has elapsed and I'm planting my garden regardless of the 50 degree temperatures that seem to just go on and on this year.  So most of my beans, cucumbers, squashes, carrots and parsnips are in for the year.  I underestimated the amount of room I had for brussel sprouts so I ran short of seeds so it will be a light brussel sprout year (which it is usually anyway due to our cool weather keeping them from really popping a lot out).  Now we just need enough warm weather to germinate the seeds - I'm hoping.

On Friday, I headed to Lake Geneva to help our friend, John, launch his boat for the 2015 summer season.  Was great to catch up with him and all the family doings (amazing how much more stuff goes on with a family of six relative to a family of two) since we last saw each other in February.  Managed to squeeze a quick ride around the lake, once we had the boat all gassed up and cleaned, between downpours as the day was a mix of clouds, sun, and rain.  His daughter Jenna, and some friends, were along so got to hear a bit about how her first year in college went.  Now we just need to find some free weekends and toasty temperatures to enjoy the lake.

My parents are in Chicago visiting my sister and shopping on Michigan Ave. (not sure which is the first priority for my Mom).  They came up to visit for the weekend and braved the cold, rainy weather on Saturday.  We got in some great card games of Hasenpfeffer during the rainy afternoon and then enjoyed a pepper flank steak with grilled onions and potatoes for dinner.  Afterwards, it was time to catch up on what is happening with the family.  Sunday the sun broke through and we headed over to Madison to show my parents our new condo.  We enjoyed lunch at Cento nearby and then came home in time for one more card game before they caught the train back to Chicago.