Tuesday, May 30, 2017

First Boat Ride of the Season

While the weather is trying to keep us in winter - we still have the heat on in the house - it was time for our friend John to get his boat ready for the "summer".  So last week I headed down to Lake Geneva on a fairly cool and blustery day to help John clean out the spiders, load up all the gear, and, of course, take the boat out for a spin on the lake.  It was great catching up with John and the boat worked perfectly - starting on the first try.  While the lake was fairly smooth and almost empty, the low 60 degree temperatures kept it from being a completely fun ride.  Still it was nice to get away from the railing project for an afternoon - even if there wasn't any frozen custard or berry pie from the Elegant Farmer involved.

For the long weekend, we were fortunate to not have a lot of plans so we filled the days with some more elaborately prepared meals - homemade falafels, chicken enchiladas, and filet mignon with sour cream mashed potatoes filled the weekend - along with a baseball game and a couple of bike rides.  I started our garden on Friday, even though the temperatures are routinely staying in the low 60's it just felt that by the end of May something should be planted.  So I got some lettuce, spinach, and potatoes started before the skies opened up and ended my playtime in the dirt.

Saturday morning to take advantage of actually seeing blue skies for once, we took a nice walk around the neighborhood.  Lake Michigan was several incredible shades of blue - although my photography skills don't necessarily convey that.  Later in the day, we biked over to Miller Park to watch the Brewers beat the Diamondbacks with our friends Patty and Rob.  Exciting game as the Brewers won and had a no hitter going into the eighth inning and great food as we sampled a few of the new offerings at the park - pulled pork for me and a deluxe burger for Jo.  It was perfect day to ride to the game and back with comfortable temperatures in the high 60's and missing the gale force winds from our last trip to the ballpark.

Jo decided to do a little clothes shopping on Sunday while I put in some quality time on my railings.  The project is moving along and I have some hope for finishing next week.  I have all the railing components built and half of them installed.  I just need it to stop sprinkling every day so I can get everything painted and bolted in.

Monday we started the day with a long bike ride up the Oak Leaf trail and then oscillated between reading and napping on our porch for the afternoon.  It made for a nice end to our Memorial Day weekend.

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Quiet Weekend at Home

We managed to have an entire weekend with nothing planned for once.  Which naturally meant we filled it up and were busier than usual.  Saturday was a dreary, rainy, cold day so we headed to the gym for our morning workout and then after a quick lunch we did a little shoe shopping since our workout shoes were in dire straits.  I know I'm showing my age, but it is amazing how much athletic shoes now cost.  I'm sure they are highly engineered and prevent my toes and feet from being injured, but it seems to me that they are more expensive than needed for someone who isn't a professional athlete.

Afterwards, we headed downtown to take in the latest Art Museum exhibit - it is was a show of the art collections of Milwaukee folks.  Interesting to see what some of the big names in Milwaukee collect, but as it ranged from the old masters to modern art, it wasn't as thematic as many of the Art Museum shows.  Still interesting art work and we always enjoy shopping the museum store afterwards.

Sunday we finally had some sun, so we headed out for a six mile walk through the neighborhoods which happened to find us walking by our favorite bakery.  A couple pastries (ok, maybe three) found their way into our hands and we finished the walk on a lovely sugar high.  Then after lunch we did a bit more walking as we toured several open houses that are for sale nearby.  We just love walking through other people's houses to see how they are decorated and laid out.  Probably because we are nosy.

And that was our exciting weekend.

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Go Brewers

Northwestern Mutual is sponsoring a new spot in the Brewer's stadium this year, called the Legends Club.  This is an open area with food and table seating that holds around 100 people.  Jo is lucky enough to get tickets occasionally for this space to celebrate with her team - we don't get the whole space, a portion is available to anyone who wants to pay the ticket price into the club.  We had tickets this last weekend so got to check out the new digs.

Since it was a sunny day we decided to bike over to the game where we got to watch a thriller with the Brewer's down by six runs at one point before staging a exciting come from behind win.  The food in the club was excellent - we had made-to-order omelets (long gone is just enjoying a hot dog and soda at a baseball game) along with rhubarb bread pudding.  There are lots of seating options everything from a traditional seat to sitting at a bar or a table for four to watch the game.  Although you are fairly far down the third base line to see the action - you do get to enjoy made-to-order omelets.  Tough trade-off.  Also, since the seats are behind the start of the sausage race - I couldn't get a good photo to add to your ongoing collection.

After the game we had to bike back against gale force winds coming off cold Lake Michigan.  We were exhausted and chilled by the time we got home.  But we had an excellent workout and might have burned off about 1/4 of the calories we consumed with the bread pudding.

For my summer project I'm ripping off all the railings from our second floor deck.  The wood had rotted to the point that the railings didn't seem safe - I figured when you can poke you finger though the top railing and expose the nails holding it on to the post that it wasn't great.  Fortunately the posts are still in good shape but I did decide to strip them back to bare wood and then give them a good priming and painting just to make sure I made this as much work as possible (I need to somehow justify to Jo why I don't need to go to a paying job).  Naturally, the design of the deck is such that each space is unique so I'm having to construct the railings from scratch.  While I'm able to get most of this together, I still haven't completely figured out how to guarantee that each spindle is exactly straight up and down and evenly spaced from its neighbors.  I can get them close, but not perfect.  But then, I have eleven more railing units to practice on, so maybe by the end I'll be better.  If not, try not to look to close at the spacing when you visit.

Will Summer Ever Come

We have experienced a very cool spring so far.  The daily temperatures are struggling to get into the mid 50's when I'm ready to be planting a garden.  I've managed so far to make myself wait, but it has been a struggle.  I know from past experience that planting now just means unsprouted seeds, but I do miss the higher spring temperatures from our time in Philadelphia.

Fortunately, the bulbs are blooming so there is at least some indication of better times ahead.  Maybe next week I'll be getting some lettuce in - although I fully expect it to jump right into hot summer temps.

Hiking and Beer - Great Combination

Two weeks ago, we headed over to Madison to check on our place and spend a weekend goofing off.  While there we had dinner with a couple that Jo had met through an HR insurance association she participates in (yes, there is an association for everything) who live in Madison.  We had a great dinner at Tempest where the cocktails were particularly well made and really enjoyed getting to know Jim and Judy.

Saturday morning it was off to the Farmer's market for our favorite cinnamon roll for breakfast before heading over to Kathy and John's.  They took us out to the Sugar river hiking trail near New Glarus.  It was a beautiful day for a hike with slightly cool temperatures, but lots of sunshine.  After the hike it was time to replenish our liquid and calorie reserves by enjoying lunch at the New Glarus brewery with a couple of Spotted Cows and a sub sandwich.  We spent the rest of the day at Kathy and John's catching up on news and enjoying a delicious turkey dinner.

Sunday we headed home to get in a workout at the gym before finishing off some left over chores.

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Go Brewers

In case you like to jump to the end of a book before reading everything at the front - I have dutifully included yet another picture of the famous racing sausages.  Our neighbors last Saturday invited us to be their guests at a Brewers game.  This was our first game of the season and while the weather didn't encourage tailgating (it was about 38 degrees with driving rain) we still got into the baseball spirit with hot dogs and Pepsi (sorry no coke) while watching the game.  While the company was fun, that on field performance left much to be desired as we lost 11-3.  But it was a fun night out and we got to see those sausages jogging around the infield - who knows why they race, I'm guessing because they can.

The rest of the weekend was consumed with getting caught up on a few things around the house since we have been traveling a bit lately, cleaning out a few closets for spring cleaning, and getting some exercise in at the gym.

Also, in case you are curious, we have tickets for a few more games this summer, so stay tuned for more sausage photos.  I know you live for them.  Just think of the poor teenagers stuck inside what must be pretty musty costumes by know and having to run in them.

It should be warmer in New Mexico

I hopped on a Southwest flight last week to visit the parents in New Mexico.  Fortunately, I was able to find seats without getting into any tussle with either the flight attendants, my fellow passengers, or the airline police (which isn't something everyone can claim these days).  After an uneventful flight that took me to Phoenix before Albuquerque (don't you just hate having to fly past the state you are eventfully going to be in - but that is the joy of hub and spoke flying), I arrived to beautiful blue, sunny skies - always a nice change from the somewhat grey Wisconsin days. 

I had a nice week with my folks enjoying the local Mexican food (although I didn't hit the margaritas like usual), the brown landscapes - but to be fair many of the plants were in their springtime blooms especially the cacti and yucci (or yucceses however you make that plural), expansive vistas, and chats with my parents.  I found the time for a couple of walks although it was a wee bit chillier than expected especially since I had packed only shorts to wear.  More amazing was had one full day of rain (which I have hardly ever experienced in my trips there over the last 20 years) with temperatures below what Milwaukee was experiencing that day.  I must admit, I come to New Mexico for warm temps!

All too soon it was time to say my goodbyes and brave the US air travel system again which did get me home - on time, with all my teeth, although a little stiff from the cramped seats.

Basketball Playoffs

We had the opportunity two weeks ago to attend one of the Milwaukee Bucks playoff games.  As you might know by now (that is if you follow basketball) our hometown team ultimately lost in the first round of the playoffs.  But the night we were there, they were looking dominant as they had a thirty point lead at one point and the entire arena cheering loudly.  We certainly enjoyed watching the game and the win certainly but the cherry on the top of the sundae (so to speak).  Next year we can certainly hope they make it past the first round and it will be their last year on the Bradley Center - it
is off to the new arena for 2018/2019 season.