Over 2 Days Offline - I'm Back!

I'm back!  Boy, I hate to say it, but I depend on the internet more than ever.  Wednesday I was off work for a medical procedure (befitting my latest age milestone), and that afternoon I had internet one minute and not the next.  After calling the ISP, they could see we could send and receive but there was no internet there for us.  Tonight a couple technicians came out, and after replacing some cables, connections and splitters, and also doing the same on the pole outside (seen here), we have internet back.  They don't even know what fixed it, but it's working again and I'm happy.

When I was young I used to know the television schedule for all 3 channels and what I liked every night of the week.  These days I read and watch what I choose on the internet and mostly use the television for news in the mornings, sports events, and just for background noise.  Plus, we have the living room lights, Petcube and Alexa gadgets that we use - all dependent on the internet and wifi.  We've had our phones, but it isn't nearly the same and uses up data, so it's good to be back in the 21st century!

Another thing to note, my wood rack arrived today.  I bought an 8' by 4' rack to hold a face cord of split firewood.  I have to put it together and plan on placing it between the lilac area and the tree stump area along the fence line by neighbor Dave.  Once complete, I will order a face cord of mixed hardwoods from a place I found for 150 bucks, delivered.  I still plan on scavenging wood to burn, and have already done so, but buying some firewood will make that urgency much less and we can have a fire, big or small, whenever we like without worrying about running out of wood or overpaying for small bundles at convenience stores.  This will just make for more relaxed and better fire pits, and that is just as it should be.  But not tonight, after the hottest day of the year so far!

On The Lake

Sunday we got out on Terry's boat for the first time this season (thanks Terry!).  It was a beautiful day out, bright and sunny though some clouds moved in later.  Not soon enough for me as I got a little more sunburned than I expected.  I was hoping to get a little color so took it easy on the sunblock and by that evening had turned a nice lobster color, especially my arms.  The water is high on Madison's chain of lakes, but there was not a 'no wake' rule on Lake Mendota like the other lakes, I've heard.

I don't feel like writing a whole lot right now, but as always, I took lots of pictures, the best of which are after the break. Do come take a look, but mind your step!

One Minute Of Peace II

Just because it was so nice.                                                         The first One Minute Of Peace here.

The Big Stinky Flower

Thursday morning it was on the news that Olbrich Botanical Gardens had another corpse flower that was ready to bloom.  Yesterday morning they reported that it was in peak bloom, so while at work I decided I would stop by on the way home to see it and, of course, get pictures to share here.  I hear of this every few years, and they do have 4 of the plants so that makes sense because they only bloom every 7-10 years, I've just never taken the time to go see it before.

As I mentioned earlier, Olbrich has one of the 4 Buckys that are nearby so, while I had momentarily forgotten that fact, I couldn't miss it outside of the Bolz Conservatory, where the big stinky flower was.  This Bucky is simply titled 'Grow,' which is apt for where it is.  That's 3 Buckys down and only 82 more to go!  Realistically, we'll just have to wait and see how many I 'collect' by summer's end.  The next one will most likely be across the street from here at Olbrich Park.  Speaking of which, we have not been to the biergarten yet this year, but have heard that it is really very popular this summer.

Taken from Olbrich's website: Amorphophallus titanum (Titan Arum), also known as the Corpse Flower, will only bloom four to five times during its 40-year life. Titan Arum are best known for their unpleasant odor - comparable to rotting meat.  This particular Corpse Flower, affectionately called Mori (which is the Latin word for "death") is an offspring of the Big Bucky Corpse Flower at UW-Madison, and last bloomed at Olbrich in 2009. The flower will only last a few days before it closes.

When I arrived there was hardly a place to park.  I was hoping to beat the after work crowd but there was people everywhere, mostly in the display and gift shop areas.  It was a two dollar donation to get into the conservatory and the lady informed me before I paid that the bloom had closed about a half hour beforehand.  No matter, I was there so I was going to go see it.  Thankfully there wasn't the lines like she said was there during the day and the day before that so I was able to pretty efficiently get in, see it, smell it, get some good pictures and be on my way in about 15 minutes or so.  I have been in the conservatory before but it has been probably since the early to mid 90's, shortly after the conservatory was opened if I remember right, I've been outside in the gardens a little more often.  This visit was a good reminder to get back sooner, and we really have no excuse with it being easily within biking distance.  And in wintertime the conservatory would be a great place to go when you're missing summer.

I managed to take quite a few pictures in that short amount of time so there's lots more to see after the break!

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!

Official Fire Pit Christening*

Bridget (aka 'The Finger') & Zubin

We had a very nice evening last night, officially breaking in the fire pit with friends Bridget and Zubin.  We were going to have a fire no matter what, but I put the word out just a day before and most people were busy except the busiest couple we know!  Thanks for coming over, guys!

The mosquitoes have been horrendous this year, and supposed to only get worse.  I sprayed repellent with the hose all over the yard and even sprayed myself with the regular spray.  They weren't too bad early, the breeze was a help I'm sure, but I did get bites later in the night.  Usually we have some time in the spring before they start hatching - not this year.

Also yesterday, I got a few good pictures of the cats and how they've been enjoying the new view with the new storm door.  They haven't made a break for it yet, but I have a feeling one of these days one is going to bolt when the door is opened.  I don't know what they'd do when they get outside and I bet they don't either.

I still have to address the old computer, but with a new one the urgency is less.  I might get to it tomorrow and if I do I'll post an update.


*Update 6/4:  As noted in the comments of the last post, yesterday afternoon I tried the second fix in the article linked in that post and, surprise, it didn't work. Not only did it not work it ruined the thumb drive I used, it's no longer formatted and won't let me format it. I'll have to wait for Microsoft to ship a fix for the computer.

EU Laws, Blogger & Microsoft

So as you may or may not know, laws changed in the European Union about cookies and data collection from websites.  When I sign in to my account I see the following message:


And when I click on Learn more, it says how I can check:

But when I do that - no matter what device or browser, signed in or signed out - it automatically redirects me to this .com site.  Thanks, Google, parent company of Blogger.  So now what?  Well, hopefully friends overseas Delcatto or Blue Witch can tell me if they got the message when they visit.  Please, guys?  Or else I'm just not going to worry about it, I guess.

I've just about had my fill of computer pains in my ass lately.  Really.

A week ago Monday there was a Windows 10 update on my computer.  When I got to the computer Tuesday it was a paperweight.  Seems that for a small number of users their antivirus stopped part of the update so it tries to 'roll back' to the prior OS but there is none anymore.  Last weekend I bought another computer, so I've had all that pain in my ass, restoring, settings, signing in from a new device so getting all those goddamn emails and security warnings.  And I still can't find a fix for the old computer.  There is a method using another computer at the link above that I can try when I get my patience back, but nothing else I've seen and tried so far has worked.  And calling Microsoft is not what I want to do, though I may need to.

I'm feeling old and pissed off and I want all you rotten fuckers (Google, Blogger, Microsoft, Yahoo) off my lawn!

Fire Pit Completed!

We were supposed to get lots of rain this past weekend so I took the time to start on the fire pit during the week, hoping to have one decent evening on the weekend to break it in, and that we did on Saturday night.



It was harder work than I anticipated, though a good back would have been a great asset here.  It took a few days at a few hours a day - a leisurely pace - but after wishing last year, planning all winter and gathering materials all spring it is finally complete.  And I am tired.  With plant day on Saturday among other projects around the house and yard, I'm spent.  I did practically nothing yesterday, worked today, and hopefully with an early night and good night's sleep I'll feel better tomorrow.

But it looks good and I'm happy with it.  The extra blocks inside I made into a fancy pattern for air flow but they get in the way, I'll be moving them to the inside perimeter for future use.  I also bought a screen dome for when sparks/ashes fly and a lid to keep out the weather.  The lid will get the most use as I don't see us using the screen unless needed.  We'll also have to let people know that no cigarette butts or trash is to go into the fire as I plan to mix the ash with compost for the garden.  And now, all of a sudden, all the wood I've accumulated doesn't seem like that much at all!

Pictures of the process after the break:

Plant Day!

It's been almost two weeks since I've written anything.  In that time we've gotten lots of rain, the trees have filled with leaves and my wife Kate and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary (yesterday).  I also finished the fire pit over the last few days but haven't had a fire yet.  I'm hoping later tonight, before rain moves in again, and then I'll write about it and post pictures from start to finish.  And even though winter lingered into spring, this year's plant day falls between last year, May 13th, and in 2016, May 25th.  Plant day seems to have become a thing for us since we had a stump to decorate after the tree was cut down in 2015. 

I got up early this overcast day with the thought of getting out and getting plants before they got busy, and I'm glad I did as I had the place almost to myself.  Once again I had no real plan, for the most part I just perused all the plants and grabbed what ever caught my eye just right. I filled lots of pots again and pretty much filled the tree stump with pots as I have the last couple years.  There's a hanging plant out front already that I got yesterday and we may get something else for out front where what we had by the steps didn't come back this spring, otherwise that's enough plants.  Having a blog comes in handy later in the year as I can easily look back and marvel at the growth.  I also want to post another yard tour on the garden blog soon as everything is growing wonderfully.  Happy spring, everyone!

Back and Fire Pit Update

I've had a couple people remind me that I haven't posted an update on my back situation.  First off, I'm glad people care, thank you.  Recently I've seen some improvement, there are times I feel that I'm just fine and other times I'd take the surgery then and there, but most times I'm in between the two but it can change any minute.  And I always seem to feel mostly fine when I'm talking to a doctor, why is that?

I met with the neurosurgeon's Physician Assistant on Tuesday.  I let her know everything I'm experiencing, but in greater detail than I've written here.  She ran me through a few tests, and went to discuss with the surgeon, and then they both came in to talk to me.  He said with my symptoms and MRI I am a candidate for surgery, but since I feel like I'm borderline he laid out my choices for me.  Surgery, try the shot again, physical therapy, or just live with it.  Sitting there with both of them looking at me I had to make a decision, and to me it was either surgery or trying the shot again.  I chose the latter.

While the last shot seemed to wear off after two and a half days, I have seen improvement.  Enough so that I'm willing to try it again before resorting to yet another surgery.  I have to wait at least six weeks after the last one, so if all goes well I'll probably have it done the first week of June, after the holiday.  So, that's where it stands.  I'm doing much better than I was before but still not quite better yet.  Hopefully soon, though.

This is also delaying the fire pit build.  I was hoping to do it this weekend, but I've been hurting some so maybe next weekend.  I put a little mock-up together for friends that came by last night.  It will be one row higher than here when I build it, but this gives you a good idea of what it will look like.  I also posted a yard tour yesterday over at the garden blog - the plants are coming up fast!

Sad Duck Tales

We last saw mother duck on Wednesday, but she's not been back since that we can tell. Each night this week something - I suspect an opossum - ravaged her nest. This was the biggest worry since we noticed we had a duck. I wasn't too worried about mother duck, but the eggs. The nest area is sheltered from the weather, yet still very much in the open. Even if she was there overnight, and I don't think she was yet, there are critters in the area and I have seen opossum follow the contours of the house and would surely have struck gold here. Still, mother duck persisted for a few days until, sadly, most all her eggs were decimated.

We've been getting lots of rain this week, especially in the evenings and overnight into the mornings. Each rainy morning this week as I left for work I paused to take a look and a picture, and each morning there were more broken eggs. This last time, last night, seemed to get the last of them. Yesterday, Kate said she saw a female and two males at the end of the street by the creek.  (A duck ménage à trois?)  We can't be sure, but it may very well have been the same three ducks we had here.  I never did get a picture of the two male mallards, just mother duck and her nest.  Down by the creek they did a controlled burn along the banks almost two weeks ago which may have caused them to relocate here in the first place.  I'm sure the burn was much later than planned, as was our spring.  It's possible this was already their second attempt.

So this is most likely the last duck tale.  It would have been fun to see ducklings hatch in the nest and possibly watch them led down to the creek for their first swim.  Alas, perhaps another time.  The eggs may not have made it but some tulips that were munched by rabbits before spring finally arrived did.  I'm still glad spring is here, the good and the bad sad.

Storm Door and Duck Tales

The old  front door, before picture. And Bill.

I have a few things to write about/document here, and I did see the neurosurgeon again today, but that's for later.  Let's start with last weekend, Sunday, a buddy from local establishment Brothers Three came over to help me install a new storm door on the front of our house.  The old one was starting to sag and rot, and also was brown instead of black like all the rest of the house trim and accents, so it was time to be replaced.  It's that time of year, so I bought the door on sale over a week ago, and we installed it on Sunday.

Bill said he would be over at noon, so I thought I would get what I could done so it would go faster and easier.  I had reviewed Youtube videos on the installation, and it didn't seem very difficult, but I needed a good back to help and Bill is a retired carpenter.  I unpacked the box, setup my workbench from our bins like I do for a lot of projects, and got a few little things out of the way.  By this time it was not even quarter to eleven so I was just a few minutes away from running a couple errands when Bill showed up.  He thought it was quarter to twelve, so he was an hour early and lucky I hadn't left yet, but I was happy to see him and we started in on the door right away.

The new door matches the house better now.  Basil's on his tree in the window.

Overall, the installation went very smoothly.  The hard part was letting Bill do the work.  I was right there, fully knowing what to do and able-bodied - except for my back.  I had to stand back, or rather hover, while he, as an experienced carpenter, took the lead.  One of the things I got to do was drill the holes in the door for the handle, and that was the only hitch in the whole project.  I drilled them wrong and had to re-drill them.  Not a huge problem, but there was most of one three quarter inch hole showing on the outside and just a small hole showing on the inside.  Thankfully, they make plugs for this type of thing, so I picked up a few options at local hardware stores, opted for one, sanded it a bit and painted it black, then plugged the hole.  And it doesn't look terrible but I may upgrade it in the future.  Like I said to my wife Kate - it's like every project I do, there's always a fuck-up somewhere, but it's never critical and it turns out okay anyway.  So that's that.  And now that you can see it better, we should probably paint the front door next.  Perhaps an accent color - anyone have any suggestions for a door color?


Moving on, mother duck doesn't seem too disturbed with us going about what we need to do back there, but she keeps an eye on us.  She has incorporated the hay into the nest that Kate left nearby the other day, and we can watch from our bedroom window, and she sees us there, too.  Also, we don't know what happened, but there was a broken egg yesterday morning, but that has been cleaned up and mother duck is back on the nest.  When I left for work I saw two males in our front yard, when Kate left she saw those and saw mother duck across the driveway 'cleaning up' the broken egg.  Not sure what happened, nature is nature.  When we see she's not ever leaving the nest we'll know she's started incubating the eggs she has.  Seeing ducklings hatch under our steps would be interesting, indeed!

Also, with the cardboard box from the door I cut a circle that has about a 19 inch radius.  This will be the template for cutting the sod in the back yard for the fire pit.  I'll throw in a picture after the break with some other bonus mother duck pics.

Flowers, Ducks and Blocks

Things are starting to happen outside, so yes, I do believe spring has finally arrived and I do not believe we will get any more snow - knock wood.  Such a late spring that the trees are still bare and even the buds still barely visible, the lawn has just started becoming green again and there's still ice in the compost bin.  But better late than never as the usually early flowers are blooming, the air is clean and crisp yet warmer and projects await!

First of all, a few days ago we noticed that something had been digging around in the mulch beneath the steps out back and the other day my wife saw a male mallard duck on our neighbor's roof.  We don't normally see ducks on pitched roofs.  This morning it all made sense when Kate noticed a female mallard under the back steps.  She had fashioned a nest, and the roof where the male was overlooked the area.  Still, we needed to go about getting things done outside for ourselves.  She was undisturbed by our several trips in and out before we left to run several errands, but when we came back and pulled in the driveway my wife saw her fly off.  Not necessarily unusual, and it gave Kate a chance to add new mulch to areas between the steps and the house.  While down there, she noticed there was at least 3 or 4 eggs in the nest, so she left the area alone and even put more hay near the nest so the mother duck may use if needed.  It's been several hours now and she's not back yet so we hope she didn't get scared off.  Oh, and it's illegal for us to mess with the nest, too, my wife looked it up.  Not that we would do anything to it, but we do need to use our back yard.

Besides mulch, my wife also got some work done in the garden.  Speaking of the garden, I posted pictures and a yard tour over at the garden blog a couple days ago, if you fancy a peek.  It was nice to take pictures with no snow in them.  We also made some headway on the fire pit.  Last week I got the screen top, a couple days ago I put the fire ring together and today we went and got the blocks for it and an adhesive made for outdoor fireplace blocks.  A total of 94 - 3"D x 6"W x 2¼"T blocks, total.  It was supposed to be only 90 but I miscounted and they didn't check so I stole less than a buck and a half's worth as they were only 32¢ each, oops.  And they're actually not even landscape blocks but pavers, they were more the size I was looking for than I could find in landscape blocks.

In the picture you can see my scientific way of figuring out about how many blocks to get - I cut out 14 cardboard pieces the same size as the blocks I wanted and laid them around the ring.  It should be 16 blocks in a circle and 5 levels of blocks.  This comes to only 80 blocks, but they're really inexpensive and I wanted some extra for the bottom of the fire pit to help airflow.  I may even use the bottom grate from the fire pit we have now.  No matter what I use, fire will burn in it.  I figured the easiest place to store them for now was on the stump, close to where they will be used and also guarded by the gnome.

So, now that I have all the pieces I need, I just have to prepare the area and build it...
Without scaring away the ducks.

Spring This Year?

Well, I bitched enough about the snowy and cold weather lately that I feel I need to follow up.  Not for the locals, you Wisconsinites are aware and may disregard and skip ahead.  This is for the others, my friends that are not from here.  And for me and my OCD tendencies.

On Sunday, Madison reached 63ºF, the first over 60ºF day since Dec 4, I learned that date from an article couple weeks ago.  Out of laziness I will not be citing sources, this is just our observations.  On Sunday when I asked Alexa how many days since December 4, 2017, it counted 140 days, my wife heard 138 days later on some news.  Either way that's a very long stretch, even for Wisconsin.

Yesterday, Monday, we hit 68ºF.  A local news station reported this morning that this was our warmest temperature in over 6 months.  Even I have to pause to let that sink in.  .  .


We're not headed straight into summer, at least.  The upcoming 10-day forecast has ups and downs from the 60ºF's and 70ºF's, though the next couple days may fall a bit short of that.

I must say, it is very nice to have the windows open again.  The cats seem to agree.

Happy 6th, Basil and Hamish!

Taken Sunday, during the snow.

The cats turn 6 tomorrow.  Seems like just yesterday they were kittens.  Happy Birthday Basil and Hamish!

For their first birthday in 2013 we found the perfect cat tree for them and their size, the old cat tree that is on our porch right now.  Two years later on their third birthday they got an even taller cat tree with less but larger levels for their adult size, the original cat tree moved to the porch.  Now they are 6 and getting the same cat tree as three years ago, but this one has brown carpet as the beige was not available.  I had thought that it was only two years since the last tree, but it has been three.  I must say that is has held up well for three years, but now it will move to the porch and the original cat tree from 2013 will be removed.

I had gotten the base for the new tree cut, stained and finished earlier in that week, so I put together the new cat tree last Saturday.  While the cats showed much curiosity they remained pretty well behaved until I was finished with the assembly and had it in place in front of the windows.  As you can see, they took to it right away.  It is in every way the same as the last one except it is new and the carpet is brown so it's hard to tell if they even notice the difference.  No matter, it is theirs and they know it.  Cats need a place of their own and a high space is good for them.  When they stand on top they can look down on us and feel superior, like the cats they are.

More and better pictures of the tree, the cats and the process after the break!

No Spring This Year II*

I just took this picture.  It's pretty heavy at the moment, but has been for a while and looks to continue.  Yep, there is no spring this year.




*Update, Thursday 4/19:  We got 7.2 inches total.  Hopefully the last for the season!

No Spring This Year

No, this is not turning into a weather blog - yet.  If this was anything like last year, or the year before, or even the year before that then I would be writing about all the spring plans for outside and the cat's birthday (post coming soon).  Go ahead and click those links and you'll see how late spring is this year.  I could go back further but I think the point is made.  On a side note, looking back now to get those links I noticed that I missed my 9th Blogday on April 8.  I've now been writing here for over 9 years.  Happy Blogday to me!

Madison is dead center, the a in Milwaukee.

I slept in again today and when I got up it had already been snowing for some time.  This weather system started yesterday with rain, then sleet/ice until turning over to snow last night.  The snow has continued and will continue off and on until early tomorrow morning, it looks like.  The yard picture is from earlier today.  Not a lot of snow but it came down pretty steady for a long time and is the wet and heavy stuff.  Northern Wisconsin was forecast to possibly get up to 30 inches - that's two and a half feet!  When I look at the radar (screenshot from this afternoon) - and I'm no weatherman - this system, which has been slowly moving east, is a funnel of moisture coming straight north from the Gulf of Mexico.  When it hits the colder air it forms something like a mushroom cloud.  Today we have been in the center of the rotation on the west side of the mushroom cloud, so while we're kind of on the edge it just hadn't been moving, thus the constant light snow.  Again we get a late snowstorm and again we are luckily on the edge of it and not getting as much as we could have.  A rather fascinating look at the weather, actually, but I won't say that to my wife Kate who is out shoveling the stuff right now.

Yes, this may all melt by Tuesday afternoon, but we still have a chance of snow forecast for Wednesday evening, possibly mixed with rain.  There is no spring this year.

Back Shot, Weather and Lawn Rolling

I got shot in my back yesterday, a steroid (not cortisone) and anesthetic to my left S1 nerve root.  So far I feel pretty good, still getting random pains in my butt and tingling in my foot, but they said it may take a couple days and they want me to keep track of it daily for the next two weeks.  I think it helped for now but seems like a short term solution, but we'll see.  Meanwhile, I am to take it easy today and tomorrow I go back to work.  But taking it easy is hard when there are things to do.

I slept in today, but I've been doing that anyway lately, ran a few errands and made some calls.  The guy is supposed to be coming over soon to roll the lawn so pretty soon I can start on the fire pit as soon as my back is up for it.  Maybe if he gets here before I finish writing this I'll post a picture.  I have nothing left on my agenda today but a few little things and reading the newspaper.

The temperature is about 50ºF right now.  We still have a tiny bit of snow along the back fence and by the garage but it won't last long, even in the shade. Tomorrow it looks as if we may break our long streak here in Madison of not hitting 60ºF since December 4.  If we do we better enjoy it because it doesn't look like we'll hit it again for some time.  The good news is that it is starting to not go below freezing every single night, but look - there is snow in the forecast twice still.  Sigh.

Every year is different, we just have to roll with it.

Speaking of rolling, the guy showed up as I was finishing writing this, see a couple pictures of Jason and a perfectly rolled yard after the break!

Projects, Looking Ahead

I was thinking I would get pictures around the yard for another yard tour over at the garden blog, but there's not much green to show.  I took some pictures yesterday, but what you see here is all that we have coming up so far, and a bit more behind the stairs.  There are tulips here, too, but the rabbits are eating them as fast as they grow.




I've been itching to get outside and get things done but winter will not go away.  We got more snow again last night, half as much as last post and it melted twice as fast late this morning.  I didn't get a picture but you know what it looks like.  I also read this morning that the last time Madison hit 60ºF was December 4, a very long stretch, indeed.  But I am starting to see hints of green in the lawn and buds on the trees.  We may end up skipping spring again this year and going right into summer.

Basil and Hamish have a birthday coming up on April 20th and they're getting a new cat tree so I had to build a stabilizing base for it, so I got out in the coldness of the garage and cut and sanded a piece of plywood so I can stain and finish it in the basement.  A base adds weight and width to the bottom and keeps it much more stable during leaping take-offs and landings.  The cat tree we bought is the same as the one we have in the front windows now, but the beige carpet wasn't available anymore so we had to get brown.  This is the most sturdy and roomy cat tree we've seen and the cats love it so no more cheap ones for us.  The one in the house will be moved to the porch and the one on the porch will either be thrown away or given to another cat that could use it.

Another project I've been itching to get to is building the fire pit in the back yard.  The smallest fire ring I've been able to find is 28 inches, I bought it a few weeks ago on sale and saved 20 bucks, but the screen cover was still not in stock as of today when I was at the store.  I'd like to put the ring together but I have nowhere to put it so for the time being it is taking up space on my workbench in the garage.  I also checked out the blocks I want to use around the fire ring.  I'm going to use blocks that are more the size and shape of bricks rather than the larger landscape blocks to keep the footprint smaller.  No rush yet though, because before I start anything I need to get the back yard rolled to get all the little bumps and ankle-twisters flattened.  I've already talked to a guy about that, but I think he wants to wait for it to warm up a little.  Then I have to dig out the area and level it, add sand and pound it down, and start building.  I will be using an adhesive to keep the blocks together.  The earlier I get this done the earlier we can warm up by the fire!

April Snow and More

We woke up to a fresh blanket of snow today.  A quick check of the calendar confirms it is the month of April and is officially Spring.  Humph.  Yesterday afternoon I stopped at the local bar to have a drink and spoke with a city employee who said he has driven the snow plows for 20 years and he's never had to plow in April.  Well, I hope he didn't stay and drink too much because I'm sure he was out in the wee hours plowing snow.  This was a rather large system over the upper Midwest yesterday and last night, and we got pretty lucky with mostly rain yesterday and then overnight when the temperatures plummeted most of the snow went north of us.  The system was headed east, and the east has already been pummeled with snow this spring.  Good luck to 'em.  Our snow mostly melted by the time I got home, though I'm sure it will linger in the shady spots.

I took this picture as I set out to work this morning.  I've been taking vacation days until I get a steroid shot in the back next week Tuesday but I couldn't get today off so instead of finagling it off I just sucked it up and went in.  I got through it but I'm growing to hate my work chair lots, luckily we'll be getting new ones soon.  I usually take some vacation time in the spring anyway, normally sometime in May.  I'm just taking it early this year due to circumstances, I guess.

Another thing to note is that just a day or two after my last post the ice on Lake Monona was gone from view.  I'm not sure about the larger Lake Mendota, there may be a bit in the middle over there yet but if so it should be short lived.

Hang in there, people, actual spring will show up eventually.  We have a few plants coming up in the flowerbeds by the porch.  I'll have time, so I may post a picture tour over at the garden blog soon.

Lake Monona Ice Views - Part 3

I took photos back in December from Olbrich Park looking out over Lake Monona as the ice sheet was forming, and again in January as the ice was fully formed and there were even people out ice fishing, now here we are again as the ice melts this spring.  Kind of full circle, I'm sure there will be pictures of the lake over the summer in normal posts so there won't be a part 4.



Just to keep from cluttering up the homepage with another long post, more pictures after the break!

Latest LIVE Listening Pleasure 29 - The Harp Twins*

Saturday night my wife Kate and I ventured south of Madison to the city of Stoughton and their Opera House to see The Harp Twins.  Before we get to the main attraction, this is the first time we've been to this venue, and it is different than others I've visited.  It opened in 1901, fell into disrepair in the 50's, and sporadic renovations began in the 80's until a few years ago being declared fit for another century.  From what I understand, it is run by volunteers and has many donors and members.  I found it to be a beautiful place, and I liked the smaller size.  The venue allows no video and no flash photography.  There is no food or drink allowed, which is just as well as the only bathrooms are in the basement, 77 narrow stairs away, I counted on the way back up, then several more stairs down to our seats.  Overall, another beautiful local venue to see a show, though the shows here usually tend toward the older crowd - and remember to take your best, softest seat cushion or pillow you have, for the wooden seats are from 1900, hand-carved and harder than concrete.



First off, The Harp Twins, Camille and Kennerly, mentioned during the show that they're from Chicago.  All this time I thought they were from Norway, but they do reference being Norwegian quite often and they certainly look the part.  We got there rather early after going out to dinner in Stoughton before going to the venue.  We had a nice couple right behind us, also early, that seemed as if they had been there before.  They were from the Chicago area as well and had come up for the show, though they love Wisconsin and come here often for many reasons, they said.  We got a preview of the dresses to be worn when one of the twins came out beforehand to tune the harps.  They started almost on time, probably waiting for the latecomers, starting with a Fleetwood Mac song that escapes me now, and played a string (no pun intended) of rock and metal cover songs that they arranged for the harp and one original song, and played them all very well.  The covers is how I found out about them, from the rock and metal websites posting a story when they release a new Youtube video.  Camille and Kennerly's channel is here.

In between songs they would come up to the microphone and their banter and interaction was entertaining.  While I can tell they have certain stories and jokes to say they seemed to only loosely follow them and lived in the moment.  I found them charming and funny, and very talented harpists (though I can list the harpists I know on two fingers).  The first half or more before the intermission was on the big, traditional harps, with a few with an electric and a traditional harp.  They even arranged Metallica's song 'One' for both of them to play on the same harp (get it?  One?).  When it came time to change around the stage they sent the 'crew' out to do it - themselves wearing baseball hats.  After the intermission, the second half was with the electric harps, the big traditional harps serving as a good backdrop.

Remember that couple that sat behind us?  We spoke at the intermission about the no video rule and how I noticed plenty of cameras and no one taking video, just pictures, and how I'd really like to get a song.  He then showed me that he got the entire song 'Stairway To Heaven' on video.  He said after the song ended an usher tapped him on the shoulder and scolded him, so he said he was sorry.  That emboldened me.  I didn't want to break their rules but I really did want video of just one song, at least.  I went for it in the second half and luckily got the song 'Nemo,' originally by Nightwish, on video along with plenty of banter beforehand.  Enough banter that I thought I would get that tap before they even started the song.  I kept the camera low, thankfully a young girl was in the seat in front of me, and to the side, trying to block it with my head from the usher's view.  Thankfully, I got the whole song and that tap on my shoulder never came.  I was a good boy the rest of the show.

There's not many live videos like this on Youtube that I can find of The Harp Twins, so they may be diligent about having them taken down, I'm not sure, but for that reason this video is not named as normal at this time.  It would be nice to get a lot of views (my Marilyn Manson videos are over a thousand views, combined!) but I'd rather have my video available here on my website for my readers and me.  The song starts at 2:10, and again at 2:43, you'll see.  Please forgive the rough start and the poor camera focus.

The Harp Twins, Camille and Kennerly - Nemo
* Update 5/12/2018: Video deleted at the Harp Twins' request.

Because of the no video rule I was taking a lot of pictures.  Also, because my camera on my phone is not the best at focusing I take a lot because I never know which ones will turn out.  After the LLP list below I put all the best pictures after the break.  I also recently added the full LLP list in the right column.  Now, click Read more below!

Previous LLP Posts...
LLP 1 - Pain
LLP 2 - Nightwish
LLP 3 - Die Antwoord
LLP 4 - Pain part 2
LLP 5 - Andrew Bird LIVE
LLP 6 - Nightwish part 2
LLP 7 - Paramore
LLP 8 - Newsted
LLP 9 - U.D.O. LIVE
LLP 10 - Nightwish Imaginaerum Movie
LLP 11 - Kiss
LLP 12 - Rick Springfield
LLP 13 - Hyrax
LLP 14 - In This Moment
LLP 15 - Faster Pussycat LIVE
LLP 16 - Sebastian Bach
LLP 17 - Cradle Of Thorns
LLP 18 - Amaranthe
LLP 19 - Lindemann
LLP 20 - Halestorm
LLP 21 - Garbage LIVE
LLP 22 - Arcade
LLP 23 - Nightwish LIVE
LLP 24 - Ace Frehley
LLP 25 - Darkc3ll
LLP 26 - Dementia
LLP 27 - Rammstein
LLP 28 - Marilyn Manson LIVE
LLP 29 - The Harp Twins LIVE

Back Again, And Again

I've had back issues for a long time.  This recent episode has been pretty much for all of this year.  I finally had to go to the doctor about a month ago, after nothing I tried was helping.  I spent over a hundred dollars on five different back pillows/rolls, and even gave away my very nice La-Z-Boy recliner to a friend and spent several hundred more dollars on an upright accent chair - that still needs a lumbar roll on it for me.  I've done my back exercises almost every day and have taken anti-inflammatory meds and muscle relaxers.  Still, it got worse, so I needed help.

About a week after I saw my doctor I had a real bad weekend.  Monday was just as bad so I stayed home from work and contacted my doctor's office.  My doctor was out that week, so one of the other doctors saw me and prescribed another anti-inflammatory and a drug for the nerve pain.  She also completed the paperwork for me to be off work until I saw the neurosurgeon.  While off work I continued with exercises, and started riding our recumbent exercise bike downstairs for 30 minute sessions every day.  Over the next two weeks the pain backed off a bit, I still felt it, but it was duller than it had been.  I was happy with the progress, but still very concerned about my well-being.

I saw the neurosurgeon about my back this last week, 3 weeks after the referral.  Our visit was very brief and he was interrupted 3 times by call or text as he was also on call with the hospital.  One of the things he did manage to clarify is that it essentially is a disc pressing on my nerve, the same disc I had operated on in 2000.  It was obvious that he knew the course of action he wanted to take, a 'Left S1 Selective Nerve Root Injection.'  A steroid shot to the back.  Now it can be up to two weeks for my insurance to preauthorize the procedure before I can even schedule it, and I was told they are several weeks out scheduling.  Wonderful.  Now, my question is, since he had to review the information to approve the referral, and he had been given no new information, then why couldn't we have gotten this going earlier?  The pace of the process is painfully slow, literally.

As soon as I left I contacted my doctor again.  At this pace I needed to get back to work, and I needed more help to be able to do that.  He essentially doubled my prescription for the nerve pain meds, and that has helped more than I expected.  I still feel when the pain shoots down my leg, but it is effectively dulled, mostly.  The side effect is tiredness/fatigue, and I feel it but it's not a bad thing, really.  It takes me down a notch, where I'm just generally more relaxed.  I need something like this for all the time, I think.

So, that's where it stands.  Far from over, but I am getting by much better.  I'll have to wait and see how the shot works and go from there.

Pictures of my 2011 MRI after the break, for comparison.  I don't have any pictures of my 2000 MRI.

6 Doors 1 Wall - 2 Cats!

The original video was posted here a few years ago, and is also currently the front page video on my Scoakat YouTube Channel.  This was a spur of the moment video from this last week when the cats, Hamish(-pie) and Basil(-boo), were amicable to being momentarily trapped and as usually cute.  The white things on the door handles are stops we put on the tops of the doors usually, because they certainly know how to shut doors but actually working the handle to get out is yet to be mastered.  Hamish knows how this stuff works, scarily enough, he's just not big enough to do it, thankfully.



And this was the minimally bad thumbnail option I was given, folks, sorry.  Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Simultaneous Sun And Snow

This is something you don't see every day - or at least not at the same time on that day.  It didn't photograph well, so you have to look close at the dark areas or in front of the garage.



While most of the snow has melted, we are about average for this time of year with temps above freezing during the day and below at night.  Kate noticed some of the early plants starting to come up the other day, barely showing so far.  I just happen to look up and see this today, thought I'd share.

It's Back Again

Pain.  I've known lots of physical pain in this life.  From breaking both forearm bones in my left arm as a kid to broken toes, wisdom teeth infections, a shattered femur, neck fusion due to a disc, rotator cuff issues and two prior lower back disc surgeries.  I'm sure I'm missing something and I am skipping lesser things but that should be most of the bigger stuff.

While I've been dealing with more back issues lately, my impression was that the L5/S1 disc was bulging and putting pressure on my nerve, but it seems I was incorrect.  I had an MRI on Thursday for the fifth or sixth time in my life, I seem to have lost count.  I fully expected another disc issue but the findings were no significant difference since my last (2011) MRI, yet the L5 nerve root shows a 'significant impingement,' I'm told, which is right in line with the pain I'm having.  My next move is to await a phone call to make an appointment with a neurosurgeon.

While the pain is not quite what it was the last two times I had back surgery, it is the same pain just not quite as severe - yet.  I'd been trying to move this process along as the last two times I could only stand for short times and in excruciating pain by the time I got to the surgery and I was hoping it wouldn't get that far this time.  The MRI results, though, leave me less certain of what's to come.  It's not that I want surgery, I just want to feel normal, but knowing it's not a disc has me worried as to what exactly the problem is.  I don't know how soon I'll see the neurosurgeon but I look forward to seeing the images and hearing what they have to say.

The pain sucks, and they're not handing out the good painkillers like they used to.  I've taken lots of opioids when needed, and very long ago I told my doctor that if I need a painkiller I'll take nothing less than, say, vicodin or oxycodone and such, as anything less never did anything to help me.  Popping them left and right at times and while I've never felt the slightest twinge of addiction you do need to keep up on your stool softeners while taking them!  And with nerve pain even opioids are relatively ineffective so I have been taking nothing.  My doctor did give me a round of prednisone that I finished today but that has done nothing for me.  I'm in a holding pattern of dealing with the pain as best I can until I can't anymore.  Welcome back, old friend.

Winter Rain*

The weather started to turn a bit warmer last weekend, enough so that we got our bikes down to the shop to beat the rush and get them tuned up for spring - more on that in a bit.  And thank goodness it has been warmer the last couple days with all the non-stop rain we've gotten, or else this would be a very large amount of snow - or ice.  Icy weather is not very far north of us.



My wife picked up the rugs downstairs but the ground is still frozen so as of yet there has been no water in the basement.  Water runs downhill, however, and neighbor Dave's yard is definitely a low spot.  Much more water and he may need to borrow the next neighbor's kayaks (by the garage).

As I mentioned, we took the bikes in to a nearby bike shop on Sunday, Revolution Cycles, and as I am writing this I received a call that they are ready to be picked up.  At least they fully understand the weather so it may be a few days until we get there.

I took a few pictures along the way.  First, a stretch of the Capital City Trail that I've posted pictures of before, but without the massive wildflowers on the left and the community gardens on the right it looks a bit stark compared to summer.  We usually see the bike paths getting plowed before our street is cleared.  Madison has a great reputation as a bicycle-friendly city, and people take advantage of it year round.

The Goodman Community Center's splash pad looks rather depressing in winter.  Oh well, we're on the down side, anyway.  Spring can show up any time now, as far as I'm concerned.

And as for why I'm not at work this weekday afternoon?  Post will be coming soon.  Here's a hint - S1.

*Update, 21 Feb, after the break: