Post the Second: Wisconsin!
We went to Wisconsin from Saturday through Wednesday, and it was good.
Amusing driving things: Shiva the Destroyer from the tollway around Chicago. Little silver convertable sports car, with Florida plates that read SH1VA, ahead of us at the toll booth. We promptly started talking about what would Shiva drive. And Shiva the Destroyer took waaaaaaaaaaay too long at the booth. Evidently Shiva the Destroyer doesn't believe in small bills, and toll booths have to take down info if you give them a $50 bill. Or greater, I assume.
Then there was the vehicle with the "gas sucks, ride a bike" sticker. On an SUV. Our comment "you're doing it wrong!"
And the couch in the middle of the highway. This was on the way to Red Lobster on Sunday. A couch in the middle of the highway. Very surreal.
And finally the unexpected slowdown/stop at the start of the drive on Monday, going from the folks' place to my brother's. We were trying to figure out about backtracking or how to get around this, but eventually found the problem - a truck with its cab fried. Seriously burned out. If the driver had been hurt, the ambulance was long since gone. The fire fighters were heading back to their trucks when we got past it. Messy.
Mom's hair is just a little short of Audrey Hepburn chic. In another month or so, it'll be a cute pixie cut instead of looking like a shaved head growing out. And it's amazing how much better Mom is with the cyborg parts working! My comment: takes me three beers to get the stability she gets just by flipping that switch. And she's way shakier than I am to start with.
The folks redid the bathroom since the last time I was home. It's great, and a much better use of the space. It's weird seeing changes in the house I grew up in, though!
We did make a trip over to Union Star Dairy in Zittau (cheese factory, bar, church, three houses. gotta love Wisconsin towns!) for a good haul of cheeses and fresh curds. Yummy!
My sister was visiting the first day/overnight we were there. I love my sister, but in small doses. This wasn't. More than a little frustrating.
I wish I'd had more time to spend with Mom. We got more time than the usual three day weekend, and still it wasn't that much.
Did get some quality time with my little brother songsofautumn and family, though! We got in Monday afternoon. I picked up some odds and ends for the girls from Starwood, including the coin scarves worn by belly dancers. Evil auntie giving the girls noisy things! They were a big hit. Rose likes purple and Brenna likes pink and I found their favorite colors. I got them sarongs last year.
In the evening, we went over to the farm that they get a box of veggies every week from. It's a program they're in on, and the farm has picnics for their customers. Good food, neat people and a beautiful piece of land! The fields they farm are laid out in a bowl, so there's a really gorgeous view of everything. If we ever wind up in the Madison area, I want to get in on that sort of thing.
After much debate, we wound up hitting State Street in Madison, which worked out better than expected. Nobody got bored with shopping. I was surprised and pleased to see how many places I remember are still there, especially the small local things. Turnover in the campus shopping area in Lansing is pretty fast, and so is Athens. There are some differences, of course, but a lot of old favorites are still there. I got my first tarot deck at Shakti, and they're still open and doing good business from the looks of things.
Rose's birthday was Wednesday. I'd picked up something for her, but I wanted to get something else. At a beat place, she was fascinated by the women who work there setting up to make a necklace, so we got some hemp cord, a little jar of beads (all purple, of course) and a pendant for her, and then she and I made her a necklace. Pretty simple and basic, but it was fun, and means more than just buying her a necklace.
After the girls crashed, we had "adult beverages" and watched Evil Dead II. And then Rusty decorated Rose's birthday cake. And drunken tarot readings happened. Much fun.
Wednesday morning, we had cake for breakfast, so Jim and I could be there for Rose's cake and present opening. After that, we headed home.
Some slowdowns around Chicago, but we've had worse. Got in in time to deal with the computer saga (see next post) and grab a bite to eat before heading to Hayford House for s'mores and good company!
Amusing driving things: Shiva the Destroyer from the tollway around Chicago. Little silver convertable sports car, with Florida plates that read SH1VA, ahead of us at the toll booth. We promptly started talking about what would Shiva drive. And Shiva the Destroyer took waaaaaaaaaaay too long at the booth. Evidently Shiva the Destroyer doesn't believe in small bills, and toll booths have to take down info if you give them a $50 bill. Or greater, I assume.
Then there was the vehicle with the "gas sucks, ride a bike" sticker. On an SUV. Our comment "you're doing it wrong!"
And the couch in the middle of the highway. This was on the way to Red Lobster on Sunday. A couch in the middle of the highway. Very surreal.
And finally the unexpected slowdown/stop at the start of the drive on Monday, going from the folks' place to my brother's. We were trying to figure out about backtracking or how to get around this, but eventually found the problem - a truck with its cab fried. Seriously burned out. If the driver had been hurt, the ambulance was long since gone. The fire fighters were heading back to their trucks when we got past it. Messy.
Mom's hair is just a little short of Audrey Hepburn chic. In another month or so, it'll be a cute pixie cut instead of looking like a shaved head growing out. And it's amazing how much better Mom is with the cyborg parts working! My comment: takes me three beers to get the stability she gets just by flipping that switch. And she's way shakier than I am to start with.
The folks redid the bathroom since the last time I was home. It's great, and a much better use of the space. It's weird seeing changes in the house I grew up in, though!
We did make a trip over to Union Star Dairy in Zittau (cheese factory, bar, church, three houses. gotta love Wisconsin towns!) for a good haul of cheeses and fresh curds. Yummy!
My sister was visiting the first day/overnight we were there. I love my sister, but in small doses. This wasn't. More than a little frustrating.
I wish I'd had more time to spend with Mom. We got more time than the usual three day weekend, and still it wasn't that much.
Did get some quality time with my little brother songsofautumn and family, though! We got in Monday afternoon. I picked up some odds and ends for the girls from Starwood, including the coin scarves worn by belly dancers. Evil auntie giving the girls noisy things! They were a big hit. Rose likes purple and Brenna likes pink and I found their favorite colors. I got them sarongs last year.
In the evening, we went over to the farm that they get a box of veggies every week from. It's a program they're in on, and the farm has picnics for their customers. Good food, neat people and a beautiful piece of land! The fields they farm are laid out in a bowl, so there's a really gorgeous view of everything. If we ever wind up in the Madison area, I want to get in on that sort of thing.
After much debate, we wound up hitting State Street in Madison, which worked out better than expected. Nobody got bored with shopping. I was surprised and pleased to see how many places I remember are still there, especially the small local things. Turnover in the campus shopping area in Lansing is pretty fast, and so is Athens. There are some differences, of course, but a lot of old favorites are still there. I got my first tarot deck at Shakti, and they're still open and doing good business from the looks of things.
Rose's birthday was Wednesday. I'd picked up something for her, but I wanted to get something else. At a beat place, she was fascinated by the women who work there setting up to make a necklace, so we got some hemp cord, a little jar of beads (all purple, of course) and a pendant for her, and then she and I made her a necklace. Pretty simple and basic, but it was fun, and means more than just buying her a necklace.
After the girls crashed, we had "adult beverages" and watched Evil Dead II. And then Rusty decorated Rose's birthday cake. And drunken tarot readings happened. Much fun.
Wednesday morning, we had cake for breakfast, so Jim and I could be there for Rose's cake and present opening. After that, we headed home.
Some slowdowns around Chicago, but we've had worse. Got in in time to deal with the computer saga (see next post) and grab a bite to eat before heading to Hayford House for s'mores and good company!