Christmas Brunch

We finally spent an entire weekend in the Milwaukee area.  Feels like the first one since June or July.  We started the weekend with our first Bucks game for the season.  Jo had use of the suite and along with several of her work colleagues we watched a thrilling game where the Bucks could have won up to the last minute of the game.  Even with the poor game outcome, we still enjoyed the game atmosphere, the pizza and cookies, and, for me at least, getting to know a few more of the people that Jo works with.

The weather turned a bit warmer for the weekend after some pretty cold days last week.  On Saturday after our morning exercise routine we settled into the kitchen for some serious baking/prepping for our family brunch on Sunday.  We spent most of the afternoon filling the house with some great cooking smells as Jo prepared a cinnamon roll Christmas tree and I labored on a making a frittata, a quiche, and a strata (which in my humble opinion are just three fancy words for fundamentally the same dish of cooked eggs with stuff in it).  Later that evening our neighbors, Audrey and John, treated us to dinner at the Milwaukee Country club.  The club had a phenomenal 20 foot Christmas tree that was decorated to the nines (or tens, not sure which it is in the saying).  We were having such a great time talking and eating that I forgot to snap a photo of either the tree or the company.  The lack of a photo might also have something to do with the brandy Old Fashioned that I started preceded my dinner.

Sunday was our annual holiday brunch with Wisconsin family members.  Although, we did expand the invite list this year to include the family members from that state to our south - namely, those living in the Chicago area.  This gave us eleven around the table which was a bit of a squeeze but seemed to work out - at least I didn't see any elbows getting thrown.  Everyone seemed to have a good time and the food turned out alright, especially as we tried many new, experimental dishes this year.  It is always fun to talk with our nieces and nephews and to see the directions they are taking in their lives - in terms of their relationships, food selections, hobbies, interests, and careers.  Especially as technology influences them very differently than it does the older family members - remember I'm still not on any social media platform and don't have any immediate plans to join one.  Anyway, I'll close with the fact that, Jo's cinnamon rolls turned out great, as usual, even if we weren't quite able to figure out to make brown colored icing for the trunk of her tree (it turned out sorta of dark pea greenish, or a moss covered trunk as one kind niece pointed out).  After everyone had left and we had cleaned up a bit we capped our day with a nice stroll around the neighborhood admiring the decorations and chatting about the year to come.

Dinner on the Stage

Back in June we attended a charity function for one of the local theaters.  At it Jo won the bid on an event where we can have dinner on the stage for one of their productions.  In case you have never had the opportunity to witness Jo when she is in a bidding war, she doesn't often lose (if you really know Jo, you know she really doesn't like to ever lose - so don't play any games with her unless  you are prepared to either play all night or to throw the game; and yes I realize this is a complete contradiction to her normal persona, don't ask me I just married her).  Anyway, I digress - last night we finally had our dinner on the set of Holmes and Watson.  It was a five course affair with a wine pairing for each course.  We were able to invite four other couples to join us and we had a blast.  One of the theater directors joined us and provided amazing insight to the world of professional theater (such as how they select plays, where do the actors live while doing the shows, etc.).  We also were able to go behind the scenes to see how the set is constructed. 

The food was prepared by the executive chef of a local restaurant and was delicious although a five course meal is a lot of food.  We picked up some great wine recommendations and overall had fun chatting with everyone.  Great night, but we are both a bit tired today as Monday is a school night and we shouldn't be out so late.

It Really is December

Well my last post was a bit too cavalier around the weather and Mother Nature has responded by dropping the temperatures into the 20's and providing our first snowfall.  It wasn't much snow, just enough to dust the grass, but given the current temperatures it might be here until March.  But part of getting in the mood for the holidays is having some cold temperatures and snow.  Makes sipping hot chocolate by the fireplace much cozier.  Of course, since these temperatures could continue for another three or four months, I might not be quite so cheery about them then.  But we did choose to live in Wisconsin.

We headed over to Madison again last weekend for a basketball game.  We stayed with Kathy and John since our condo is officially cleaned out (demolition is to start tomorrow).  Drew and Amy were also in town so we had the chance to catch up with the happenings in their lives and to find out the latest news on the teaching front.  They are about to become new parents within the next month so a lot of exciting changes in store for them.  On the basketball front, it is going to be a long year for the Badgers.  We played our in-state rivals, Marquette (where Drew went to school), and lost again pretty soundly - by something like 20 to 30 points.  But Jo and I still had fun watching the game from far above the court and afterwards checked out our condo once last time before it becomes filled with dust and debris.  Then we headed home to have a little bit of weekend around Milwaukee.

Sunday was a day of taking easy after our morning workout.  Jo had a massage and I caught up on some reading - I'm working my through the sequels books to the Dragon tattoo series, so far pretty interesting.

Is it Really December?

We are enjoying a particularly nice string of beautiful weather days.  The sun has been out and temperatures have been in the mid-50's which has made raking up some of the last leaves quite enjoyable (well as enjoyable as raking leaves three times a week can be).  I know the weather won't last, but it has been nice to get a little break before the cold starts to set in - which according to the weather reports is going to be tomorrow.  The  prediction is for a 30 degree change in temps between today and tomorrow.  But I do like having some cold just to get me in the holiday mood and to justify having hot chocolate at night (my theory, if you get cold enough you burn the extra calories from the hot chocolate just to stay warm thereby not gaining any weight).

For our weekend activities, we spent Friday night picking out our front door's Christmas wreath and then treating ourselves to a take out pizza.  It was a nice change of pace not having to make our own.  Then Saturday, after our morning exercising, we headed over to Madison for some shopping and then to watch the Badger basketball team implode against Ohio State.  We lost by over 30 points so not the most exciting game to watch as a Badger fan.  We then quickly piled into the car to get back home to watch our undefeated Badger football team become defeated in the Big Ten Championship - again by Ohio State.  So good day to be a Buckeye, not so much a Badger.  But we enjoyed the day trip and we were very successful in our shopping endeavors.

Sunday was another one of those sunny warm days which meant raking for me while Jo got in some additional shopping time for family (including me I'm told, so I hope I got something good!).  Then later in the day we dressed up for her work's annual holiday party which was held on the 32nd floor of their new office tower in downtown Milwaukee.  Great views over the city, although I didn't remember to get my phone out and capture any photos - sorry.  In lieu of a shot of downtown, I included a photo of a manager that Jo's dad built from twigs and spare lumber that came into our house earlier this year.  I did a little sanding, staining, and added a creche set from my childhood and if I say so myself, it looks pretty good.  Her dad was quite the craftsman.