Making Baguette

The process went well, I thought, but I had too much flour on the board for the last part.  It called for 24-28 minutes of baking, and as called for I put 1.5 cups of boiling water in a pan beneath.  I safely set the timer for 20 minutes and when I checked them I was surprised at how dark they were, with the middle of the back one almost burnt, so I took them out.  They are done but actually not overdone, so I'm wondering if the steam is what darkened the crust, not sure.  They are all cool by now and two of them are already in the freezer, ready to eat even from frozen with a few minutes in the oven.  The larger, darkest one was left out to sample and make something with later.  The texture is good though I'd like to see larger bubbles, and you can taste the sourdough especially in the crust.  Overall, a good first try, I think.  And I will be doing this again in the future.  Recipe here.

I don't have any pictures of actually making the bread until the last stages, but I can put those after the break.

January This-And-Thats

Okay, it's high time I finally break the 2023 seal here on the blog.  Busy, didn't feel like it, not much to say, pick what you want, all are true to some extent.  Winter hit us hard and early this season, so there is that, too.  What matters is I'm here, now, writing.  So let's see if I have anything to say, shall we?

• Covid sucked, and right before Christmas.  It was a really miserable time, but my wife reminded me of how bad it could be and actually was for me the first time around back in 2020.  I seemed to have forgotten, or blocked it out.  So while very bad this time, yes, that was very much worse and serious.  I could breathe this time whereas last time just breathing was laborious for quite some time.  Yes, don't wish that upon anyone.  (This one, however...  ;))
• 
  I had last tested positive the Wednesday before Christmas, and had already decided it was just too close in time to see my Mom on Saturday.  Instead, I went down to see her after work on the following Tuesday to watch the late-starting Badger bowl game.  We enjoyed some barbecue takeout and enjoyed watching the game and other videos while talking until almost 2 in the morning.  I got a little tipsy but had a great time, and I think she did, too.  Better than Christmas any day.
• New Years Eve, as I mentioned last post, was spent getting all cleaned and dressed up for a fancy dinner out with friends.  It was a good time, then a quiet night in after that.  My wife's birthday is coming up fast, so we'll be doing something for her soon.
• Since this last bout of Covid I've gotten out of the habit of jumping on the treadmill after work every day.  I was doing 15 minutes or more at 3 mph at the time, now I've been on it just a couple times in the last week for about 10 minutes each time, I think for two reasons.  One, my knees haven't been the best lately, been pretty sore, especially since I was on my feet much more than normal one day recently and I do need to upgrade my leg pillow for sleeping.  And two, I have to start over with the balance issues I've had with walking on the treadmill.  Even though it got better the more I used it, it's never gone away.  I think I've said before, like slipping on a rug on ice!
• 
  I have a bunch of albums that I haven't even looked at in a long time, let alone played.  I keep saving leads on where I could sell them but I never follow up on it.  Is it laziness or not wanting to let go?
• I've been interested in making homemade bread for a while now, and I've finally started.  First with simple, no-knead recipes and working on getting to make what I want confidently.  I thought I took pictures of the earlier ones, but I only have pictures of my last two breads here.  They both tasted good, but my technique still needs improvement.  We have a stand mixer to help with the recipes that are needing kneading (I couldn't resist!).  I've also ordered a bun pan so I will make buns for when we make my 'famous' homemade smashburgers, but this weekend I will attempt to make baguette.  

I hope the new year is treating everyone well.  Overall, it's just a continuation of the same thing, isn't it?  But that's not a good attitude, they tell me.  Have I become more cynical with age?  I guess it's almost impossible not to.  Oh well, have a great week, everyone.

Beef, Vacation and Weather

This morning I took a road trip north to pick up our next quarter cow, three days short of when we picked up the last one last year and our sixth quarter cow overall.  I mentioned recently that we were about to call them when they had a devastating fire, so I wound up waiting and just called them on Monday.  We expected 4-6 weeks until it would be ready, and that's what they said on Monday, but I got the call that it was ready to pick up on Wednesday as I was recovering from anesthesia while still in the hospital.  Turns out, our order for a split half just worked out well with other orders they currently had so was available much sooner.  We weren't about to complain, and I had the time for a road trip this morning.  It was a little over an hour's drive each way so I was home by noon easily.  A pretty uneventful drive, though I did pass through spots of sun, clouds, and three separate spells of snow flurries along the way.

When I got there this morning I saw firsthand what was left of the building that had burned.  Most had been already removed, but there was an adjacent building that had been boarded off on that end and you could see the blackened remnants on it.  They had a makeshift office and store in one of their production buildings and were selling sausage and other products from a nearby meat plant that had been helping them recover with use of their facilities to continue business for their workers and customers.  The employees were in good spirits and looking forward to getting back to full capacity and the new building they would be getting built.  We were glad to give them our business.

We expected it to cost more this year, not due to their circumstance but everything else that has been going on in the world, and while it does go up a bit each time it's still better than grocery store prices.  This time it was smaller, 108 pounds compared to 131 last year, and $5.98 per pound, up from $5.21 last year.  Still a good deal and we're glad to have it.  But we do have a few steaks and a couple pounds of hamburger to eat yet from last year's cow.

Otherwise, we've been teased with Spring weather now and again though it has definitely not fully arrived yet.  We still have some leftover snow from several inches that fell earlier in the week and temperatures have still been mostly below freezing.  Pictured here is how the back yard looks currently, still a smattering of snow and no thoughts of any fires or outdoor chores quite yet.  Milder temperatures are expected this coming week and I hope this will be a definite turn of the corner towards Spring.

So that's about it for this vacation week, it was nice but for the medical stuff and I will have another week off in 2 months to look forward to.  And I still have the weekend here before I must turn my attention to work matters again.  Stay well, everyone.

February This-And-Thats

It's been mostly another slow, winter week around here.  We're way below normal snow totals so far, and most days recently have been very cold, but there was one day that got above freezing and I took advantage by taking a good walk during a long work meeting.  Aside from the weather (for a change!) there are a few things I'd like to touch upon, so time to start typing again and see what spills onto the page.

• I've not gone back for another try at the labyrinth, and just as well.  I thought about it briefly yesterday morning but the temperature was about the same as last week.  Not sure I would've gone even if it had been nicer.
• "The Mitten" is still along the bike path, and while it looks like it's been there for some time now all panels are still intact.  I've not crossed the road in some time to see the second half but its probably the same.  And no, I've still not heard the story behind how it came to be there.
• 
  Covid numbers are going down and my cabin fever numbers are going up, so I want to start venturing out again.  Last weekend was the first time I've gone out to lunch since before Christmas, and today I'm going to make a useful but not absolutely necessary trip out to the hardware store.  Maybe I've been too careful about it since it started getting bad again last fall.  I know lots of people are pretty much acting like normal now and have been for quite some time.  I guess I'm just very wary.
• I have an appointment with the surgeon again tomorrow about my ongoing diverticulitus issues.  I've not had a flare-up since the last time I wrote about it, but I did have a scare a little over a week ago that thankfully did not progress.  My diet has pretty much gone back to normal except for minor changes.  And I started eating dairy again without taking lactaid and seem to be handling it as well as I did before all this.  If I'm ever on antibiotics again I will be very, very cautious about it, though.
• We recently decided it was time to order another quarter cow again and from the same place we got it last time, then they had a devastating fire.  It was mostly the offices that were lost, but they're still in the process of reorganizing and completing their existing orders with the help of other meat processing companies in the area and will not be ready to take any more orders until at least next week.  We liked them and want to support them, so will wait until they are ready.

Today is Superbowl Sunday.  My Packers had a very disappointing loss in the first round of the playoffs so I don't really have a dog in this fight.  I like things about both teams so I'm just hoping for a good game to watch.  Aside from my errand, we're not going to be leaving the house at all today.  My wife has a nacho day planned for us with all the fixins to go along with the pomp and circumstance of the big game.  Yes, we really miss socializing and having people over.  Hopefully soon.

Happy Thanksgiving Thoughts 2021

With what I've been going through with my health recently and work frustrations bubbling up again I've been pretty down and maybe even ornery lately.  As I sat out by the fire last night I thought it would be good to think of things I am actually thankful for, so I gave it some serious thought and started a list.  Let's see if I can expand on that this morning and maybe get to 10 good and meaningful things for which I am truly grateful.

1. My wife.  It's hasn't always been easy but I just can't imagine my life without her.  I don't know anyone stronger who could deal with me and everything else she's had to deal with the last several years and more.  I've been guilty of being self-centered, taking things for granted and not listening as I should, and improving myself will only help her, so I am determined to become a better person.
2. My health.  I've taken this for granted, too, for far too long and it seems to be catching up to me.  I need to eat better, drink less, exercise more and lose some weight.  Very much easier said than done, but increasing health issues is a good motivator.
3. Family.  My mother and sister, specifically.  I don't like my father and my brother has been pretty distant.  When my mother's husband passed and then the pandemic hit I started to get closer to my Mom and my sister is always there with a smile and encouraging words if I need her.  I love them both greatly.
4. Friends.  I don't have many left these days, more acquaintances than friends.  I want to continue to work on those relationships and in some cases not let the distance between us cause that friendship to wane.  It seems harder to make friends the older I get, but much of that may be me so I should work on that more.
5. Blogger friends.  Delcatto and Blue Witch have been friendly towards me for a long time now and I'm grateful they keep coming back.  I like to read their blogs about them and their lives, and have learned much along the way.  Knowing they are there has helped me try to write better and more interesting things here.  I've not reached out to other bloggers much in a long time now, but Nic has been a relatively recent breath of fresh air and as a bonus he creates music pretty consistently so I always look forward to his next song.
6. Our house.  When this blog started in 2009 we started looking, and originally didn't think we could afford a house right in Madison.  But the market was in our favor and we found a nice house with a nice yard close to whatever we could need or want, right here in the near east side of Madison.  Yes, it is very small, seemingly too small for us at times, but overall I think we found a good one and have improved it in many ways over the years.
7. Madison.  Related to the last one, we live in a good area and city with a majority of like-minded people as us.  That changes rather quickly and surprisingly when you get outside the county.  When we traveled to pick up our last quarter cow it was shocking the amount of pro-Trump flags and signs in the rural areas.  I don't remember such divisiveness before he came along and thankfully don't have to worry about that too much here in Madison.
8. Music.  Music continues to be a joy and an escape for me even as I get older.  I don't go to live shows as much as I used to and am pretty unwilling to travel longer distances for it anymore, but I still enjoy discovering new music and I'm always looking for my next 'latest-greatest,' even if at a lower volume these days. 

Well, 10 was an arbitrary number anyway and I don't want to add something lesser just to get to 10.  I may remember something good that I missed later, but I think I have 8 very good things to be thankful for here and it was good for me to consider and reflect upon these.  Now it's time for me to do some cleanup for Kate's family coming over to celebrate the holiday.  It's currently snowing big white flakes outside, and my wife has been busy cooking up the cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and other goodies while the turkey is already in the oven.

Happy Thanksgiving and a great long weekend to all!

Health Update and Lactose Intolerance

My wife discovered her lactose intolerance about 7 years ago and has been taking lactaid when she eats dairy ever since.  There had been times when I would complain about something and she would tell me it's possible that I'm becoming lactose intolerant, too.  I'd always just brush it off and never had any real bad problems.  After all, we live Wisconsin, known as the Dairy State, and I really love cheese and ice cream lots and just can't imagine a diet restricted or without dairy.

Yesterday morning I still felt poorly, I had a bit more strength and stamina but not much.  I had arranged to borrow my neighbor Jane's handyman to help me clean out my gutters and rake and mulch my leaves before it gets too cold and/or snowy out, probably doing a little too much myself but it's hard to stand by and watch someone else do your work.  Once done, about 1:00 in the afternoon, I sat down and had some leftover cheese and sausage crackers.  Three of them, to be exact.  That's only 3/4 of a sandwich slice of swiss cheese.  It didn't take long and I was bloated again, feeling as inflated as a Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon.  I was so uncomfortable a cough made my sides hurt.  I had been bloated quite often recently and it was happening again.

Once my wife got home I was discussing it with her and she looked it up, and sure enough the antibiotics can make you temporarily lactose intolerant.  A fact the doctor or anyone else failed to mention when putting me back on a regular diet on Wednesday, still with an IV pumping antibiotics into me.  Hell, I even had pie and small cup of ice cream that day and later complained about being bloated before finally being discharged.  Here at home and as my appetite increased I just ate as normal, bloating on and off and wondering why my movements weren't normalizing.  She convinced me easily and now I'm swearing off dairy at least until I'm off the antibiotics, but this could turn out to be permanent and I'll have to take lactaid when I want dairy forever.

It took 16 hours since that bit of cheese, but this morning I've had so much more 'relief' than I had all week and I'm starting to feel more like myself.  I'm still rather perturbed that I wasn't warned, and I'll be sure to bring it up at my follow-up appointment in a couple days.  I'm sure it tells you this can be a side effect on that full page of small print that comes with the prescription I got after I was discharged, but who reads all that stuff?  I still feel the doctor should have mentioned it when he put me on a regular diet while I was still in the hospital.

So, while that part should be getting better for me now I again woke up with a headache.  I failed to mention this in my last post, but I've had the same migraine on and off since I was in the emergency room last Sunday.  I'd be given different medicines for it in the hospital every day but it would always come back, and it's been a similar pattern since I've been home.  Maybe it's related, not sure, but I really hope it ends soon.  I've also had pretty wacky dreams all week, sometimes waking up panting with my heart beating fast several times a night.  Last night was better so perhaps this is related, too.  But again, I'm not sure.  

I guess all I can hope for is to avoid dairy for the time being and I should continue to improve and these things will work themselves out.  I just want to feel normal again.

October This-And-Thats*

Looks like I haven't done one of these posts since May, and I've not written a lot recently so I must have something to say.  Yes, it's time again to start typing and see what happens!

• First, Feedburner said the blog mails would end in July.  Then they said August.  Now, here it is nearing the end of October and the emails are still going out.  I'm certainly not complaining, but there has been nothing posted about it that I've found since they said August.  A change of plans, perhaps, I guess time will tell.
• 
  While our fall has been warmer than normal so far, we have become more seasonable recently.  We normally get our first frost about October 7 and this year we got our first frost and freeze the other day, on Thursday night/Friday morning.  It all goes downhill from here now until we come out the other side in several months time.  Yes, I complain but I don't move away.  It's another Wisconsin pastime, kind of like last post and probably a big reason for it!  Well, at least there's no snow in the forecast yet.
• Last weekend we did some yardwork and got the gardens ready for winter.  The back left garden has been fully planted with garlic.  The back right garden with the monster herb plant that the name escapes me now has the rest of the area planted with just an odd collection of bulbs that we had stored downstairs from planting and replanting things in the flower beds.  It will be interesting to see what comes up in spring; certainly some tulips, daffodil and hyacinth are possible, and who knows what else.  You can see here if you look close that the squirrels already dug one big bulb up.  That's also why we have that old makeshift cover over the garlic.  Then the strawberry and raspberry plants have been cleaned up and straw put down for winter.  All the compost soil has been emptied from the left side of the compost bin into the gardens while the right side fills up with yard waste.  Shredded paper to cover it all and the bottom of the empty side, we'll start using the left side only soon and let the right side break down to go into the gardens next fall.  The compost bin is one of my favorite things I ever built.
  
• I've not been walking as much recently, not because I don't want to walk but my knee has been acting up.  The right one, the one that I busted up the femur there back in 2010.  Perhaps it's the change in weather, but I don't remember this from recent years.  Not painful so much as uncomfortable as the patellar tendon seems tight and aggravated.  Hopefully nothing comes of it and I can continue my walks soon.
• My mouse broke yesterday, thankfully it waited until after I was done working.  The scroll wheel started making noise so after work I ordered another one, the mouse must have noticed and shortly after gave up the ghost.  I have the same mouse but wireless that I'm using now, but it's not as responsive and is currently driving me a little batty so I hope the new one arrives early, it's currently scheduled for Tuesday.  Come on, Amazin' Prime!
• Speaking of work, we are now required to be fully vaccinated by a date in December.  President Biden's executive order for government contractors.  That would be us, and it includes fully remote workers as well as those who go into the office.  I've already provided my proof of vaccination, and really no bother to me as I've been vaccinated for quite some time.  There are others I know of who are not, though, so it will be interesting to see what happens and who believes in not getting it so much that they lose their job.  
• I might give the impression that I color my fires more than I actually do.  Normally I save the color for when we have people over, but sometimes I do add it just for myself.  I'm thinking I may have one tonight, after the Wisconsin football game so I'd be out there just a bit before sunset.  It will be chilly with temperatures in the mid-40's F and falling, and I'm not sure I'm quite acclimated to these temperatures yet.
• 
  Speaking of the football game, I like to have a special football snack for games.  It can be almost anything, but today I'll be trying a recipe that I found.  Well, I'm not going to exactly follow the recipe, it will be my take on it.  Dill pickle, ranch and bacon pizza!  Sounds good to me, but disgusting to my wife.  We'll see how it turns out, but I have high hopes.
• I've taken a few pictures of neighborhood Halloween decorations when I have walked, but I feel kind of funny taking pictures of other people's houses, so I haven't got much.  There is one house that beats all the others, hands down.  It's dark and with a steep pitched roof so looks like a good fit for Halloween even without decorations, but their display is pretty impressive.  Not everything even fits in one shot unless I'm pretty far back.  I am impressed, and I'll have to make it back after dark some night because I know they have lights for it, too.

Okay, this wireless mouse is really driving me nuts.  I may have to get out the tiny cheap one that comes with the computer, at least before work on Monday.  I thought a mouse pad would help, but not really.

Well, there's football to watch and pizza to prepare so that's enough writing for now.  Hope everyone is enjoying your weekend, I'll let you know how the pickle pizza turned out!  Maybe I'll add a picture later, if it was as good as I expect...

*Updated after the game.  Pickle pizza pictures (say that several times fast) after the break!

Beef! Quarter Cow #5

We got the call last night that our split half of beef was ready to pick up, so today we made the trip north to go get it.  It was a little over an hour's drive each way this beautiful day, passing several water park/resorts, ski hills and crossing the Wisconsin River.  In fact, much of the drive followed the Wisconsin River Valley, but while we saw lots of wetlands we really only saw the actual river when we crossed it.  We also saw several signs and flags supporting Trump, so we felt like we were in a different land a bit.  I was doing the driving so my lovely wife took some pictures along the way back, I'll add some after the break for those interested.

We'd done our research on various places to get a quarter cow, and this one seemed very reasonable and reputable so when the time came we had no reservations.  Wisconsin River Meats is the place, in the middle of nowhere outside of Mauston, WI.  And while we were there we stocked up on various sausages, jerky and bacon as well.  And while less than half the people we saw wore a mask, both customers and employees, everyone was very nice and helpful.  We, of course, wore ours.

The first four times we got a quarter cow we went in on a whole cow with a friend and his family, so basically we and him split half the cow.  This place offered a split half, cuts from the front and back halves, so we have all the usual steaks and roasts, plus 50 one-pound packages of ground beef.  Overall, it turned out to be 131 pounds of meat and cost about $5.21 per pound across the board.  That's about $0.22 a pound more than the last one we got in October of 2019, which seems pretty reasonable considering all that's happened since then.

So, we're feeling pretty good about ourselves now with a freezer full of meat that will last us at least a year.  In fact, while I have a ticket for another livestream concert later tonight, I just might have a fire this evening!

Pictures from the trip are after the break.

Spring Poop, And More*

We're getting there!  It got up to 62ºF on Sunday, and this week is quite mild with only high temperatures in the 40's for the foreseeable forecast.  But that's above freezing and I'll take it!

The snow is slowly disappearing and while there's still time for more I'm hoping not.  The area around and in the firepit is melting away, fallen branches from neighbor Dave's trees have appeared on my woodpile, and there are starting to be signs of plant life.  Daffodils, one of the first plants we see each spring, are starting to come up in a couple areas.  Sunday evening we even got the grill out and had the first grilled hamburgers of the season.  This all spells spring to me, and I couldn't be happier about it.

Poop.  Everywhere.

Not poop.  Daffodils!

My only real issue at the moment is the rabbit poop.  I know I've complained about all the rabbits before, there don't seem to be any predators in the area so the rabbit population has seemingly exploded and they've been running amok for quite some time.  I could actually accept that, and keep them out of the garden and flowers, but the poop left behind after the snow melt is just unreal.  You can't take a step anywhere in the back yard without stepping on several of the little brown pellets.  Look close at the picture, each little brown dot is poop!

Thursday is the Spring Equinox here in Madison - 10:49 p.m. to be precise.  I'm hoping to have an equinox firepit on Friday night.  Sounds like as good an excuse as any, right?

*Update, 3/12.  I'm wrong!  The equinox is next Thursday, the 19th.  I've pointed myself to that moment for so long now I guess I want it sooner than later.  And windy conditions may halt firepit plans tomorrow night, unfortunately.  If we all even live until then.  COVID-19 post coming soon.  Maybe...

Thanksgiving Weekend 2019

I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend.  We enjoyed a very nice, homemade Thanksgiving meal with my wife's family at our house on Thursday.  My wife is a wonderful cook and she awed again for this feast.  It was good to see everyone, and especially the growing nephew.  The cats behaved, well, hid, which is good enough.  Basil gets scared and Hamish gets pissed when we have people over.  Not sure why, they were around people as kittens.

Weather-wise has been gray, gray and more gray, but I'll take the time away from work!  The rest of the weekend will be pretty easy, with football games this afternoon and tomorrow.  Otherwise, I've been doing what a holiday is for - resting.  I'll need it as overtime starts again on Monday.  It will last until the next holiday week and then for at least a time after that (sigh).  But better stop that before I get started on it...

I don't have a whole lot to say, but I do usually post for the holiday and I've not done that yet so wanted to check in.  Again, I hope you are enjoying the time off and are thankful for that which you should be thankful.  Cheers!

Second Snow... and Meat!

Two days after the first snow we get the second - and this was a pretty big one.  Traffic was terrible all day until this afternoon when it stopped and cleared up a bit.  Here's a view of the freshly covered back yard from the warmth of inside.

Also this afternoon, thankfully after it was more clear, I went and picked up our fourth quarter cow.  It was a bigger cow than last year, we got about 132 pounds of meat at less than 5 bucks a pound, and that's for everything - steaks, roasts, ground and more.  Not too bad, and the meat is so much better than the local grocery store.  This will probably set us until early 2021!

That's all I can write for now, it's Halloween and the trick-or-treaters are starting to come around.  Boo!

October This-And-Thats

With no real subject to write about and knowing I've not posted much of anything aside from the creek in some time, it's time again to sit down and start writing about whatever comes to mind.  You know the drill, now here I go!

• I got sick for the first time this season, starting over two weeks ago.  I was so miserable, and for so long.  I think it was just a real nasty cold virus, but it may have been a bit of the flu - even though I got my flu shot less than a month before.  (Some say that's what got me sick, but I think they use a dead virus for the vaccine.  What do you think?)  I was off work for a whole week and it's been lingering in the week since.  At least my boss felt sorry enough for me that I wasn't required to do the mandatory overtime this past week.  Yay.
• I was poking my nose around in blogger and I just happened to notice that Delcatto's comment on my last post was my 1,000th comment!  Doesn't mean much unless you're a numbers geek, and I'm sure about half the comments were me.  That's my random fact for today, I guess.
• The trees are turning colors and some leaves are falling already.  It seems odd in places because some trees are almost bare while others are still green.  Some trees just drop their leaves earlier than others.  Also, it's time to clean up the yard and gardens, which I have a small start on but hopefully will have more done by the time this weekend is over.  This is not my favorite time of year, it is the time of impending winter to me.  I much prefer spring and the time of impending summer!
• We just put in the order for our next quarter cow.  This will be the fourth time we've done this, and the meat seems to last us a little over a year.  It's nice to have all that meat in the freezer, and it's cheaper in the long run.  Plus, we enjoy it more than the meat from the grocery store.  Lots more, it's just a higher quality meat.
• Without much else going on, I did enjoy my last 3 posts.  I enjoyed the walks and getting outside, and trying to get good pictures.  I'm sorry to have stretched it out a bit, but I was busy/had nothing else to really write about anyway/was in no particular hurry - take your pick.  I actually feel a little guilty if I don't post anything for too long, but it can be hard when not much is happening.  Even this post was pretty much put together over several days of wondering what I would write.

I can't think of anything else to say right now.  I guess that's why I've not posted anything recently.  Oh well, no news is good news, I guess.

Sunday Pictures

I don't know if this is a new 'thing' for me or not, but again I'm tired and I don't feel like writing a whole lot tonight so here are a few pictures I've taken since the last time.

 I should have more to talk about very soon as there are things that I want to do very soon, but if I promise I'll jinx myself.  How's that for a cliffhanger?

Fire And Ice (Cream)

I don't think I ever saw an ice cream truck when I was a kid, but I knew them from books and TV.  Now I see them every summer - well, we mostly hear them.  I don't normally see them go down our street, but it kept getting louder as I sat by the fire last night.  I should have had my money ready!

Burning Bush, Apples, Cats and Fire

It has been cold, damp and dreary lately but we did manage to get the yard and garden cleaned up for winter yesterday.  A few notes and a full pictorial is over at the garden blog.  Stop over and have a look, it's probably the last big post for the year over there.  As we were finishing up it started to sprinkle, so I think we lucked out.  Otherwise, I don't have anything grand to say today, just wanted to post a few recent pictures and note a few things.

The burning bush is at its red-leaf peak before they join the growing number of leaves blowing about the ground.  The walnut trees next door are finished and I have those leaves mulched into the lawn, the rest will be gathered soon to be mulched for the flowerbeds.  Since we had the tree removed we get more leaves in front even though that yard is maybe one third the size - it has all the big trees that line the street out front.  Once the leaves are done then all that should be left to do outside before the snow comes is the gutters.

Kate brought home a lot of apples recently after a trip to an orchard.  Yesterday the house smelled lovely all day as she made apple butter.  Even though it was a double batch there are still lots of apples left.  I think we'll be having apple pie soon with lots left for the freezer.



I haven't really posted much on the cats in quite some time, but no news is good news as they are happy and healthy.  Some time ago there was another neighborhood cat that used to come around and see our cats inside the back door and through the windows.  Basil now 'patrols' the perimeter at times, going from window to window, looking for that cat.  I don't think he's upset or anything, but he is very curious.  Hamish doesn't seem to mind, knowing his brother is on the case.

I spent some time by the fire on Friday evening.  The cool weather and break in the dampness made it a pleasure once again to sit by the fire and figure out all the world's problems - or stare blankly into the flames and relax.  Same difference.

August This-And-Thats

Well, I've been trying to get to this for about a week now.  The longer I wait the longer the post will be, so time to start typing and see what spills out!

• I have a fire almost every good weather evening that I don't have to work the next day.  How do you invite people?  I could text all my friends every weekend, but that seems too tedious and a bother.  It's nice to have good conversation around the fire but I have nothing against sitting out there by myself.  I guess we'll just have to plan things like we used to, so if you're reading this then save the date - September 8th.  But if it's good weather then I'm probably around the fire on weekends and all I know are welcome to stop by whenever they wish.
• Speaking of fires, I'm very happy with the wood I bought.  It's easy to light and burns a pretty long time.  Even though it is split into manageable logs I wind up splitting some further into smaller pieces for getting the fire started and also for the end of the night when it's just too late to put on a full log.
• I did take a lot of pictures at Atwoodfest.  Too many, I'm told.  Me running around to get good pictures seems to have put a slight damper on the day for the people I was with.  I know I've been getting into picture taking quite a bit for the last couple years, but I have to remember to let it happen and not try to be a reporter for the blog.
• Since we lost the tree in back we have lots less bastard squirrels and lots more bastard rabbits.  The rabbits have taken to lounging in our back yard, seemingly mocking us and the cats.  I'd love to get a slingshot or something but my wife won't allow that.  And if I run off the rabbits what will replace them?  Still, have a little respect and run from me, you little bastards!  I did see a hawk on the back fence the other day, so hopefully that will put a little fear in them.
• The squirrels haven't totally moved out, either.  I saw one coming out of the garage a few days ago.  Seems he found my sunflower seeds on my workbench and sat there feasting for a while.  Shells all over the place!  He didn't even seem to mind the dill pickle flavor.
• My first morning in my new position I learned that my old boss just got fired that morning and his boss had been "reassigned."  Surprised me, but didn't shock me.   A month or two earlier the VP was let go.  That department is a mess, and of its own management's doing.  I was there, I watched it happen but they didn't listen to us.  I hope this is the start of making things better over there, but I'm glad as hell it's not my problem anymore.  That should be the end of my shop talk now for a long time.
• We should be getting another quarter cow very soon now.  Later than the last couple years, but we haven't quite run out of meat yet, either, but almost.  I hope we have a little more advance warning this time.  Last year we got the call the day of, and I had a job interview to go to and my wife was limited in lifting just after surgery.  She managed getting it all put away last year, but I should be around this time.
• It's August already and the last food cart night down at Atwood was this last week.  We didn't make it every week, but that's mostly because neither did they.  There was never 4 carts as advertised, and the ones that did show up after the first couple weeks all seemed to be of the Asian flavor - not my taste.  There's lots more food carts out there, so why weren't they here?  So, it was nice in theory, anyway.

That's enough for now, I think.  Football season is almost upon us so cheers for the Badgers and Packers.  The bikes have been unused recently mostly due to heat and humidity, but there's a little laziness in there, too.  All in all, having a nice summer though, and I hope you are, too!

Another Bucky, Food Carts

No, I'm not going to post every time we ride bikes down to the food carts on Wednesdays.  Yes, I may post about each Bucky I 'collect.'  The good news for you is that there's only 4 of them within a short riding distance, then I'd have to branch out and go downtown and all across the city and county.

Yesterday we rode our bikes down to Jackson Street Plaza again for dinner.  I took a video on the ride, but more on that later.  Friends Josh and Casey (and cute little Mabel!) came over for a fire pit briefly last weekend and we were going to meet them at the plaza last night but they had other important things come up, so maybe next time.  No worries, we'll most likely go down there every Wednesday the weather allows this summer.

We arrived shortly after it was supposed to start and there were only two of the scheduled four carts there, and while we waited a bit no others showed up.  Last week there were only three of four, so I was a bit disappointed again.  It was still pretty quiet when we arrived so I went a couple blocks further and got a few pictures of 'Bucky De Los Muertos' (Bucky Of The Dead) near Monty's Blue Plate Diner on Atwood Ave.  A cool design, and maybe a little easier on the eyes than the Bucky by the Goodman Center.  Here's the link to them all again, this time directly to the Bucky Interactive Map.  Sometime I'll have to make the ride all the way downtown to the capitol square.  I could easily get another 12 or 18 more Bucky's 'collected' on that bike ride, but then I may need to cab it home.  I say 'easily' but downtown on the isthmus may be the hilliest part of Madison.  I'm thinking we should get a bike rack for the car, then we can drive closer to ride, or else Kate can come pick me up when my legs run out of gas.

But for now we were at the plaza with Jakarta and Soho, two very Asian-American food carts and I've never been partial to Asian food.  We wound up crossing the street and having dinner at the Harmony Bar and Grill where I got a burger and fries.  Not a big deal as there are lots of restaurants in that area that we wouldn't mind eating at, including the aforementioned Monty's.

Earlier this spring I got a cell phone holder to put on my handlebars.  I usually put my cell phone in the basket but I'm always afraid I'll forget it there - and have in the past.  It holds it fairly firmly like you would need for navigation or something, but this time I straightened it up and took video of the ride from our house to Atwood, about six minutes is all the ride is per the video.  It's a vertical video - which I hate - and a crappy camera on my phone, so the video isn't the easiest to watch but it's the best I can do without getting a go-pro camera or something. 

I started down the sidewalk because a car was coming down the street.  After we crossed the first road we passed a neighbor, Lucky, but I'm not sure she recognized me when I said hi.  I purposely swerved the bike a few times to get things on the side of the path, like the splash pad at Goodman and the food carts when we arrived.  Have a look if you wish, but be warned - it is vertical, bumpy and the camera picture is wavy.  Delcatto, maybe it will inspire you to get your bike going!

June This-And-Thats

There's a few things I want to touch upon today and a few pictures I want to post so, once again, it's time to start typing and see what comes out!

• First off, I took the above picture last night down the bike path by Atwood Avenue at the Jackson Street Plaza.  Wednesdays are food cart night there this summer so we stopped down for dinner.  We chose Slide this evening, and will try the others as we go.  It didn't take much to fill us up, especially knowing we had to ride home.  Hidden in the back middle is the Chocolate Shoppe ice cream shop, what could should be a destination any day of the week this summer!
• Speaking of riding bikes, I got out for a ride last weekend and got a picture of one of the 85 decorated Bucky Badgers that have been placed around Madison and Dane County.  You can see them all at this link.  This one, called Our Hearts Belong To Bucky, is at the Goodman Community Center.  Most of them are downtown and on the near west side, on the University of Wisconsin campus, but I hope to run into a few more around town by summer's end.
• If you missed it, I commented two posts ago and updated my last post about my computer.  I tried to fix it and failed.  There's nothing left for me to do but to wait for Microsoft to ship a fix, and I do hope they will.  I'm still dumbfounded that I've seen nothing on the news about this buggy update.  My computer was 4 years old so while I considered taking it to a place to have fixed I ultimately decided I'd rather spend my money on a new computer.  I went to Walmart, of all places, because I'd heard that was actually a good place to get a computer - and I have a huge aversion to big box Best Buy.  I wound up getting a computer with specs very close to what I had for only $240.  Twice what it may have cost to have the old one fixed, but it will also last years longer, I'm hoping.  Getting a fix for the old one will just make it a back-up now.  Where's the public outrage?  Where's the communication from Microsoft?  I'm still very irked.
• I got my second shot in back this morning since the first one about two months ago.  I have seen pretty steady improvement over the last several weeks, enough to consider postponement, but woke up feeling like a knife was sticking out of my left rump again yesterday.  Best to get it done and see if it gets me fully back to my normal state.  If this has little to no effect then my only realistic option is to live with it, as long as it stays manageable.  Presently, it's just not enough discomfort to justify cutting into my lower back for a third time.  It may take several days until I feel the full effect from this shot, however, so fingers crossed.
• The fire pit is absolutely wonderful!  I really like having it and now find that I'm wanting a fire every weekend the weather allows.  I got out the chainsaw last weekend and cut the wood that I had stored from last fall and, well, I'm going to need a lot more wood.  With the old fire pit it might have been enough since it was a smaller size and a bigger deal having one.  Now, with the convenience and larger size, I may have to buy bundles of wood as we go this summer.  I've already put the hand saws in the car for scavenging but I've not see a lot of usable wood by the curbs yet this year.

That's good for now, but I hope to post another yard tour over at the garden blog yet today.  When I get that done there will be some blue words in that last sentence, click it!  There's also the Marquette Waterfront Festival happening this weekend so we may ride our bikes down there and enjoy some good food and music.

If you're here in town and not busy you're always welcome to inquire if we'll be having a fire on the weekends.  It's real easy to do now, and if you bring a bundle of wood you will be heartily welcomed!

Happy New Year 2018

While we've had only a few light snowfalls so far the winter temperatures have sure arrived.  We've been hanging out in the single digits below and above 0ºF for some time with no end in sight yet.  On Wednesday Lake Mendota, the largest of the local lakes, officially froze over, helped by this cold snap and light winds.  Much earlier than I expected, and some years it never completely freezes over.

The cold weather will not be friendly to new year revelers out and about tonight.  We won't be leaving the house tonight, but we will be having a few friends over to keep us up until midnight.  Nothing fancy, though my wife will be putting in some work on the food.  I've asked her to not try to do so much, but she enjoys cooking and trying new dishes.  Who am I to complain?

Happy New Year to you all.  The ones I read, the ones I love, all my friends and all of you who take the time to read me.  Whether you comment or not, I can see you're there.  Thank you.

Vacation Week Recap

Another long, wordy post.  If you've already had enough of me lately then you may move on.  Otherwise, enjoy the wit and charm that is me - now even older and wiser*!

Along with that other occasion this week I was also on vacation, or call it a stay-cation - my favorite kind!  I usually like to have a big project to accomplish, among my other to-do list items, but this time I only had a small to-do list and no real big project to complete.  Not that that's a bad thing, I sure got more rest, but I also probably consumed more alcohol than necessary.  A look back at the highlights of my vacation here.  Did I waste my time?  You tell me.

Saturday:
The Badgers won their home game against Florida Atlantic, their second win of the season against a team dealing with the hurricane back home at the time.  They were unsure if the game would be played for a while but Wisconsin was more than accommodating for their extended stay in Madison.
Throughout the game and after was all party preparation.  I wrote about the party briefly here, I'm still happy for all that celebrated with me - and my Mom created something special that still amazes me.  Picture clippings of me from infancy to recent, and shaped in a big 5-0.  This is the kind of thing only a stalker or someone who really loves you would put the time in to put together.  I've only seen these kind of picture tributes at retirements and funerals.  I told my wife we need to keep it for my funeral (in 6 years!), she can add in the later years afterward!  Seriously though, I was very touched and impressed.
Overall, the party was a blast and I think all had a great time.  The only downside for me was the back spasms I got well after midnight while standing in our kitchen after putting everything outside away.  That was unfortunate and would affect my next several days.

Sunday:
Thankfully, the Packers started the season with a late afternoon game.  That gave me time to sleep in and then try to re-hydrate myself after Saturday night's party.  Even though I started the day with a few back spasms I was able to get everything in order in the garage and porch for the time being, but moving the big stuff would have to wait.  I hit up some hair of the dog, put on my new favorite Packers shirt and enjoyed the game before calling it an early night.

Monday:
Much the same as Sunday, but no football games, just highlights and interviews to watch.  My back was still questionable so I did some online surfing and shopping.  I started my vacation week off very slowly but fully enjoyed the day of rest.

Tuesday:
My back was feeling strong enough that I got all the tables and chairs from the party squared away, just have some we borrowed to return yet.  This meant I was able to park in the garage again, until I decided to get my bike down.  It would stay down the rest of the week.
I was itching to get out on the bike so I chose a couple places nearby that I hadn't been to yet.  First I headed north over the bike bridge, the one I've shown here before, but then I continued a little farther north to go see the next bike bridge, over highway 30.  After two and a half weeks not on the bike I managed to make it up both bridges, but stopped at the top of the second knowing I would just have to come back up it and I still had to go up the other on the way back.  Not the smartest plan for not having ridden in some time.  I got back over the bridges to flat land and headed out northeast to a bike path nearby that I hadn't been on.  Not a long path, but picturesque in a spot or two over the marshlands.

Wednesday:
My vacation was running out and I had yet to do the one 'big' project I had planned, resealing between the driveway and foundation.  I got that done on this morning, mostly before the heat of the sun got to me, but crawling around the driveway and getting down and up what seemed like 50 times took it's toll on my knees and back.  No bike rides this day.  I spent time at Brothers Three for lunch and drinks.  When I got home my new hard drive had arrived so I spent the rest of the day backing up files and relaxing.

Thursday:
With the seal by the foundation completed I was able to finish the sawbuck.  The strip of wood I used as a brace is the strip of wood I used to pound down the old seal by the foundation.  With that project completed I could reuse that wood as a brace on the sawbuck, I just had to cut a few inches off either end.  I spent the next couple hours on a bike ride to the Tenney Lock, and finished up the afternoon with another few drinks at Brothers Three, waiting for notification of my new computer monitor being delivered.  I didn't want it sitting out fearing it may get stolen.  Conveniently, I get delivery notifications from Amazon on my phone so I could then come home straight away.  And then, it arrived just after I got home a short time later.

Friday:
This is it.  The last 'real' vacation day before the weekend.  I spent my early morning hours sleeping in and taking my time getting anything done.  Eventually I settled in and set up my new, 32 inch computer monitor.   It is BIG.  I went from a 24 inch to a 32 inch.  A luxury, as the old monitor still works wonderfully, but I watch a lot of videos and concerts on the computer so bigger seems better.
Otherwise I made a trip to the store for gatherings this weekend.  I dropped the ball, though, I had all week and forgot to shop for a birthday present.  I'll have to figure out something by Sunday.

Saturday:
A slow morning around the house, but the Badgers played early afternoon and then we went to a friend's house for a rib cookout.  This is the friend we went in on the cow with, the ribs weren't packaged to be split up easily so he kept them and invited all who went in on the cow over for a cookout.  Then it turned out it wasn't racks of ribs but one rib roast, almost 15 pounds! It was still delicious and we had much fun, and the Badgers won handily.

Sunday, today:
We will be heading to the new Olbrich Beer Garden on Lake Mendota** for a small gathering to celebrate another birthday.  After that I expect quiet time at home until the Packer game tonight.  Then I need to get as much sleep as I can before the dreadful alarm goes off early in the morning sending me back to work.  Oh well, I had fun while it lasted!

* Well, older, anyway.
**Scratch that.  Just got word it is moved to the Harmony.  I think Olbrich would be more than just fine but the sun isn't shining.  Oh well. (Edit, 5:20 pm, we moved it from the Harmony to Dexter's Pub, we had a grand time with friends and the sun never did really come out.)