January This-And-Thats

January is here and so are we.  Winter is not the end of times, just the end of warm times.  That's not even true - as I type it is over 40ºF outside.  All the snow we got earlier in the week is in the process of melting away.  Temporarily, I'm sure.  Well, enough small talk, time to type and see what happens!

• I have back issues.  I've had two surgeries on my lower back so far and at this rate there's at least one more in my future.  I do my exercises every morning but I still have days where I just don't want to move - or sit still, nothing is comfortable.  Recently it has been very uncomfortable and I've missed some work.  All I can do is keep on carrying on and try to keep it as best I can, until I can't.  Everybody has something and this is the monkey on my back, so to speak.  Sigh.
• Before the holidays I noticed a little leak downstairs when we ran the dishwasher.  It took some time, but the problem was finally diagnosed and it was not good.  The repair would cost almost as much as we spent on the dishwasher less than 6 years ago.  We didn't even consider repairing it and ordered a new one, hopefully a better one.  We took some advice from the repairman and have the new dishwasher ordered for delivery and installation in a few weeks.  The leak is too bad to run the current dishwasher anymore so until the new one is installed we have to hand wash everything.  Good times.  First world problem, right?
• When I was off work the other day I thought I would run past Ella's Deli right when they opened at 11 am.  I was thinking I could get some pictures before they got busy.  I grossly underestimated the local sentiment for the restaurant.  When I drove over I went straight past as the parking lot was full and they were lined up out to the street waiting to get in.  I was hoping to stop one last time before they close for good tomorrow, but I'm not willing to fight the crowds to do it.  I'll cherish the memories I have of this Madison institution - and there's tons of pictures already on google images.

I guess I can't think of much more to say right now, so just a short one.  Tonight we are going out to dinner, celebrating my wife's birthday at another great local restaurant, Cafe La Bellitalia.  Probably the best Italian restaurant that we've found in the area.  Just with friends Terry and Becky this year.  I'm understanding more how a winter birthday is unfortunate, and it happens every single year.  I must admit, summer birthdays seem more fun.  No matter what, it's still your birthday.  Happy birthday, Kate!

First Significant Snowfall 2018

We got our first significant snowfall for the season today.  Prior to this we'd only had a few snowfalls of an inch or two, and as of yesterday we had no snow cover left on the ground at all.  Yesterday afternoon it started with a few flurries, it was a light layer by bedtime, and we woke up to several inches this morning.  It has continued to snow much of the day today and as of now we have a snow shower stuck overhead that just keeps dumping on us.

This picture was taken about a half hour ago, before it got too dark out.  I had gotten home and (after several tries) fired up the snow thrower and spent the next half hour clearing the driveway and walks.  I hadn't had to do that since last year - and I do not miss it.  When all is said and done we were projected to be in the 5-6 inch range, and that may be about right as long as it finishes sometime soon tonight.

Not a whole lot has been happening otherwise.  We've had dishwasher issues, but I may write about that later after the (expensive) new one is delivered in a few weeks or just include the topic in a future This-And-Thats post.  Ella's Deli is slated to close after 42 years on or about January 21st.  I've posted about this local landmark restaurant before, and we hope to get there some night this week before it closes for good.  It's a very interesting place, and (summer) walking distance from home.  I don't want to jinx myself, but it would be nice to get there for dinner this week and take some good pictures to share before it fades into Madison history.

Lake Monona Ice Views - Revisited

Three weeks ago I pulled off to take some pictures of the Lake Monona ice during a beautiful late fall day with temperatures above freezing, link here.  Since then the weather has turned a bit even before the season officially changed to winter.  We've been in a deep freeze, nothing we can't deal with and not as cold as we've seen at its worst, but for a full two weeks now our low temperatures have gotten below 0ºF every night with highs in the single digits and maybe the teens if we got lucky.  That's a lot of cold weather.

These were taken from the same place I stopped 3 weeks ago, the site of the Olbrich Biergarten.   Since then we've had a few light snowfalls, aside from the cold Canadian air that keeps diving south.  The temperature at this time today is about 5ºF (-15ºC).

Facing off to the left, south, there is no longer any open water and no water fowl in sight.


We have frost forming on the concrete in a top corner of the basement, the humidifier is on maximum, and we've been cheating the thermostat higher than set every day, but overall there's been few issues for us personally, due to the cold.

As I turn to my right you start to see all the ice fisherman that have taken up residence on this part of the lake.


Across the city there have been water mains freezing every day, pavement has buckled due to the cold on the highways causing multi-car accidents, and at least 3 local deaths due to the cold.

Again with the ice fisherman, the isthmus in the background.


The good news is that starting tomorrow we get warmer, back up to where we should be normally and even a little more. Highs this coming week are expected to be around the freezing mark, 32ºF (0ºC), thankfully.

I'll finish with the usual, a view of the State Capitol on the downtown isthmus.


Wherever you are I hope you are keeping warm!  A few more shots after the break:

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.

Merry Christmas 2017

I woke up late this morning to discover snow outside.  We'd been getting, and continue to get, a steady light snowfall that was supposed to miss us south and east this morning.  It is also overcast, though this picture looks very dark.  I used a filter to try and  lighten it a bit.  My display is still darker than it should be (and I have no idea how to correct it) so it's hard for me to judge.

It's not a lot of snow, just a layer of dry, powdery stuff, but I'm sure it will make many people happy to have a white Christmas.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Happy Solstice!

The Winter Solstice officially arrived at 10:28 this morning here.  Finally, the days get longer from here on!  We have a 4 day weekend here, through Christmas, then back at it until the new year holiday.  I plan to relish every minute away from everything else, and have fun with the times I'm out!



The Harp Twins are playing at the Stoughton Opera House on March 24, 2018.  I would actually like to see their performance, and at 15 bucks a seat I think I may try to get tickets.

Lake Monona Ice Views

I've noticed the ice on the lake the last couple weeks as I drive to and from work and I'd been thinking of stopping to take a few pictures.  Well, today as I was running errands I took advantage of the beautiful weather - sunny and above freezing - to stop for a few minutes and actually do it.  This is Lake Monona from Olbrich Park, where the Olbrich Biergarten was opened late this last summer.  The migrating water fowl, possibly including a population of trumpeter swans that I'm told is in the area, can be seen in the distance here if you look close, where the ice meets open water.




And to my right as I stood is again a beautifully framed view of the downtown isthmus and our picturesque capitol building.  I like this picture enough I've made this my background on our computer.




The ice closest to shore is mostly rough from being broken and refrozen, with the water spray freezing on the rocky shore making another nice photo opportunity.  I'm not a total stranger to being out on the ice, but it is much too early to trust it.  At least one overeager ice fisherman has already had to be pulled from the lake.



A zoomed in view to the left may provide a better indication of all the water fowl out on the edge of the ice.  Their noise actually made a quite a dull roar from where I was standing.  The Madison lakes are a popular spot on waterfowl migration routes.



And another zoomed in view of the downtown isthmus area that shows the transition from the broken/refrozen ice, to the ice sheet and then open water.  It's too early to say if the lakes will fully freeze over this winter or not.  On the left you will see the Monona Terrace convention center, a bike destination over the summer, and to the right that bit of green you see is the copper top of the Barrymore Theater, also pictured in my last Atwoodfest post.






You may also click on the pictures to see them full size on Flickr.

On a side note, this last week or so Windows had two updates that took some time to install and ever since then my display is darker than normal.  My new monitor is and has been at 100% brightness, but in my windows display settings there is no longer the choice to change the brightness.  I've tried everything I know to do to remedy this, to no avail.  Anyone have any ideas?

Thoughts, And Cats!

Hamish, top, and Basil

Welcome to winter.  We got our second snow last night and this morning, about an inch is all.  My wife went out and scraped it up off the driveway and walks earlier today and the rest will melt when the sun makes short appearances or may stick around in the corners and shady areas since the outlook is for high temperatures around or just below freezing for the foreseeable forecast.  It looks like we may get a bit more Monday, but nothing to be concerned about.  A white Christmas is still not assured.

Speaking of, I need to get shopping, like now.  We won't be traveling far this year so I need to get gifts chosen, ordered and shipped to where they need to be.  I think we may scale it back a bit this year, not due to lack of funds but we're not going to see them opened and I'm, quite simply, running out of ideas.  I've always tried to put much thought into what I get for presents, especially for the kids, but I just don't feel that inspiration this year.  But who knows?  We'll see what happens when I've been on Amazon for a while later today.

We don't have much planned this weekend except for the Packer game, so I am looking forward to plenty of rest, the aforementioned shopping, and there are several little things I can get done around the house.  The Badger football team lost in the Big Ten Championship game and have a tough bowl game to finish their season in a few weeks.  The basketball team is young this year and not quite as dynamic as the past several years.  The Packers may get number 12 back soon but it may be too late to save the season.  On the bright side, the Bucks are looking a lot better this year.  Okay, that's it for sports talk.

Not knowing what to write and not having enough ideas for a This-And-Thats post I decided it was time to post some cat pictures.  After all, we have a ton of them.  They can be so adorable and we always have a camera with us, thus the phones fill up with cat pictures.  I wish I could be so relaxed and content with all my needs taken care of.

So now I present to you our cats, brothers, Basil and Hamish!


I want to remind everyone who reads this via email or notification that my posts are viewed as intended on the desktop website: https://scoakatsblog.blogspot.com
Other views get the point across in a convenient format, but not necessarily in the view I crafted.

Badgers Time

This is what's on my mind this week.  Our undefeated Wisconsin Badgers have a shot at the national championship playoff, but they have to win on Saturday night for the B1G Conference championship against Ohio State.  There's a lot more to it than that, but that's all for the talking heads on TV.

I'll be watching.  And I believe it will happen.
Go Badgers!

Hotlinks to these pictures may not last long, but the excitement is NOW!  Go, Badgers, Go!

Happy Thanksgiving 2017

Today we made a day trip about 100 miles or more west southwest into an area of the state that borders up with Iowa on the Mississippi River, with Illinois just south, the tri-state area of Dubuque, Iowa.
This picture faces west, Iowa is across the mighty river.

We were on our way to see my Mom and Dan, and my sister's family.  It was a nice day with a nice Thanksgiving feast, card games, football and good company.  The kids are getting bigger (James may be taller than me next time I see him!), and my sister and niece are also doing well.  Mom and Dan are looking forward to another winter in Alabama and sound like they are keeping happy and busy.
We had a very good time with all.  This picture is the view from the bridge, upriver.



Whenever we make this trip I always want to take pictures, especially when we cross the Mississippi River area into Dubuque.  This trip I made my wife get her camera ready so she could take pictures for me.  Yes, my wife Kate took all these pictures - at highway speed, mind you.  I briefly said kinda what I was looking for and to just take a lot of them.  Several turned out very good, the best are here.
This one is coming off the bridge back to Wisconsin.



There's other scenes along the trip I wouldn't mind getting, too.  Like the big M on the mound in Platteville, seen for miles around.  And other random things, like the big cutouts through the rocky hills for the roads, some had icicles from the spring water that seeps out, and other scenic roadscapes.
This is a brilliant sunset picture over the Mississippi River for 60 miles an hour over a bridge.



I must say - though I've said it before - I've started to really like taking pictures, and this blog this year has shown that.  I don't plan on investing in any special equipment or anything, I just enjoy getting a good picture, and now I'm seeing, or looking for, those opportunities more often.