Enjoying Holland Fest

Our cucumbers are starting to arrive so it was time to get the canning equipment out and make some bread and butter pickles.  After coming back from a short trip to Chicago for a HR conference we spent Friday afternoon and evening cutting and canning.  Always fun to hear the pops of the lids as they vacuum pack and being able to look forward to eating some freshly preserved pickles.  While we had the kitchen dirty we also made a couple of rhubarb cobblers to enjoy a few more servings from our rhubarb plants.  Naturally you have to smother rhubarb cobbler with home made ice cream!!

Saturday after getting our workout in at the gym, we headed up to Cedar Grove to meet our friends, Patti and Rob, to celebrate all things Dutch.  Cedar Grove was holding their annual Holland Fest which consisted a very nice parade, art fair, and fried dough balls (what respectable fair/fest doesn't have some fried dough product available?).  We especially enjoyed the ritual of washing the street prior to the parade start where young kids go out and scrub down the entire parade route wearing "Dutch" costumes.  We had a lot of fun, enjoyed the fried dough (or Oliebollen as they were called), and found a Christmas gift at the art fair - all in all, a successful festival.  Later we enjoyed the views of and a walk along Lake Michigan along with a great dinner at Patti and Rob's place while solving all the problems in the world.

Sunday morning after brunch at a local diner we biked over to the Brewer's game where we were joined by Kathy and Drew (who unfortunately felt the need to route for the rival team - the Cubs) to watch the game.  It was a pitcher's duel for the first 5 innings or so before our home town team gave up a few too many home runs.  But it was a gorgeous sunny day, we got in some exercise to and from the game, and we got to see the racing sausages (I have pictures if you are interested).  After the game, we enjoyed a few cold cocktails on the front porch to recuperate from our biking before heading in for the night to get ready for another work week.

Annual Meeting and a Garden Post - Finally

Once again, Northwestern Mutual's annual meeting has rolled around.  This means Milwaukee is flooded with the field force and their families and we spend a bunch of time at cocktail parties eating too much and improving my skills at making small talk (and trust me, that needs a whole lot of improving - I know big surprise).  But we do get to see some interesting restaurants and sites around town all the while meeting new people.  I am amazed after six years how many people Jo now knows in the sales force especially since her job doesn't involve a lot of interaction with them.  I did manage to get a picture of the new office tower that is opening next month and is now the largest office building under one roof in WI, by square feet - it isn't the tallest building in WI which is claimed by the US Bank building right next door (it is 51 feet higher apparently).  Jo also got an inside tour last week and was able for the first time to go out on the balcony that is on the 30 or 31st floor.  I'm hoping for an invite to some event on the balcony in the future.

As we spent most of the last five evenings out and about, we spent the rest of the weekend just relaxing around the house.  Although, I am happy to report that even with the cool spring/early summer that slowed (or eliminated) many of the vegetables we plant in our tiny garden - our old standby has come through again.  We had our first harvest of green/yellow beans today and got enough to last us for a couple of months.  I haven't posted as many vegetable pictures this year both since the garden is struggling and I'm trying to show that we occasionally do something with our lives beside raise vegetables.  We also have a few cucumbers just about ready for a round of pickle making, hopefully this weekend.


Well it is time to go get ready for another suit and tie dinner with the board of trustees followed by the annual meeting concert.  

Viva La France

As we experience another summer of the Milwaukee festival season we again headed downtown to enjoy the miniature Eiffel tower that is erected every year for Bastille Days.  I made sure we had the obligatory picture of Jo standing beneath it and then we headed off to enjoy some music and festival food.  Didn't find anything to buy this year but Jo was intrigued by the display of the Periodic Table of Wisconsin (they also had other states).  This took the cities in a state and listed them by size using the framework of the periodic table.  Cute, but not something I think we need on the walls.  Unfortunately, the bands on the stages when we were there didn't really speak to us, especially since none of them were singing in French at the time.  Last year, we happened to be there when a chorus of school kids from France was on stage which seemed perfect for the event.

To keep the festival spirit going, we attended the air and water show on the Milwaukee lake front on Saturday.  Kathy and John came over from Madison and Drew, Amy, and Luna (their puppy/dog) also joined us.  The weather cooperated this year with blue skies and no fog although it did get a bit hot sitting in the sun for a couple of hours.  The show didn't disappoint as we got to see planes doing all sorts of acrobatics some of which involved spinning the plane out of control as it plummeted downward.  Certainly not something for the faint of heart or easily disoriented - which means not something I'm likely to take up in my retirement years.

Naturally the highlight of the show are the combat jets - we got to see both an Air Force F-15 (at least that is what I thought it was) and the Blue Angels flying their F-18's.  It is always fascinating to see how fast these planes can move - even though they probably aren't flying at their top speed for the show.  I still think it would be cool to fly in one although I would probably be airsick the whole time (I just googled how to get a ride in a fighter jet, apparently unless you are a celebrity, in the media, or willing to fly in a Russian MIG fighter jet that was decommissioned years ago - that sounds smart... - it ain't going to happen).

After the airshow it was time for some beers and a pretzel to rehydrate (yeah I know alcohol isn't rehydrating, don't rain on my parade) at Estabrook beer garden.  This was Kathy's first visit this year and the polka band along with the great temperature in the shade made for a nice couple of hours enjoying a beer and the ambience.  And for those being observant, yes, John did enjoy the full liter of beer like a good German would at a beer garden, not the puny half-liters the rest of us had.  

Travel, Travel, and Then Travel

We spent the last week visiting several spots around the country.  We started off by flying into Albuquerque to visit my family.  We had the whole family together for a celebration of my sister's life.  We spent several days enjoying the local cuisine, playing cards, hiking the brown hills and remembering our times with my sister.  While it was a nice time together as a family - especially meeting my new grand-niece - it wasn't for the best of circumstances.  Also, even though the humidity is low in New Mexico (especially compared to what we experience in Wisconsin), when the thermometer is above 95 degrees - it is just hot.

We flew back home and left from the airport to go immediately over to Madison to spend the 4th.  The condo was still there, which is always nice, and we spent some time meeting with contractors to discuss our renovations.  We managed to select one of the contractors and now have to work through getting everything we want done designed and specified, hopefully leading to starting construction later this year.  We did manage a couple of really nice walks around town which gave us lots of time to talk about the renovations as we continue to evolve what the final plans will look like.

We spent most of the day on the 4th with Kathy and John enjoying hamburgers on the grill, the first sweet corn of the season, a few rum punches, and setting off fireworks with her neighbors.  But one of our highlights for the trip was finally making it to Smokey's Supper club with our friends, Jim and Judy, after a 33 year wait.  Our first attempt to eat at Smokey's was in graduate school with our grad school friends, Dan and Ann.  We walked in attired in chemistry grad student chic (think jeans with acid burns and t-shirts) and promptly discovered we weren't their optimum clientele.  Most of the people were in suits and about 30 to 50 years older (at least they seemed that much older to a bunch of 20 year olds) than us - needless to say we promptly decided it was time to find another place for dinner.  We had never tried to eat there again in all the years we have been visiting Madison.  I must say, it was everything one hopes for from a Wisconsin supper club.  Good fish fry, excellent Brandy Old-Fashions, and somewhat dated (I might say tacky) decor.  After dinner, we visited Jim and Judy's new house on Lake Waubesa to enjoy a spectacular sun set along with a tour of their new place.

We got home Thursday night to spend Friday catching up on laundry, mowing, and a few other chores before packing for a weekend at Lake Geneva with John and Linda.  It was another fun weekend with them as we enjoyed boating around the lake, our favorite frozen yogurt shop in downtown Lake Geneva, eating too much, and catching up on their family news.   We had great weather both days - although a little too chilly on Saturday morning for jet skiing around the lake - and we enjoyed a nice couple of days boating around the lake discussing the real estate for sale around the lake front.  Always nice to pretend.

After our visit at Lake Geneva, we headed over to Lake Delavan for short visit with our sister-in-law, Pat, who was had rented a house on the lake for her family's annual get together.  Kathy and John were there along with our niece and nephew, Angela and Chris, so we had a chance to find out what everyone has been up to since the last time we saw them.  Then it was finally time to head home and get ready for going back to work on Monday.