77 Square Miles Surrounded by Reality

2011 Highlights

2012-01-03T12:44:00.000-06:00

So I’m back to unemployed again, which got me to thinking about blogging again since I have some more free time. And that’s when I saw this abysmally sparse blog for 2011—one picture of snow. Ridiculous. (Though 2012 me is seriously jealous!)

It has been a pretty busy year, admittedly. So here are some highlights to catch up on 2011.

· Europe—Tom and I took another vacation of a life-time in September touring northern Europe on a heritage tour with his dad and about 50 other elderly folk from the Bentheimers International Society (BIS). BIS is group of people from the county of Bentheim, Germany—either currently residing there or connected by heritage. We visited Prague, Salzburg, Geneva, Strasbourg, Bentheim/Nordhorn, and Amsterdam along the way. While we have vowed to never again take a bus tour, it was a pretty amazing way to see so many beautiful places. Our Christmas card below gives an overview. We worshipped in the church where Tom’s great great great grandparents had worshipped as well as visited the Scholten farm, saw Bach’s baptismal font, visited the Reformation museum, worshipped at the World Council of Churches on the International Day of Prayers for Peace, biked through the Dutch countryside, and enjoyed Prague perhaps most of all.

· I completed my first interim ministry gig. This included preaching every week, which—turns out—I love more than I thought I would. It also included moving a church from a historical downtown building to a new facility. I concluded this position the end of December, and I confess, it was such a whirlwind of an end, I am still remembering things I didn’t get done. I am absolved: as I continually reminded myself and the congregation when we weren’t completing things as hoped—we moved from one building to another. No pastor should have to do this more than once ever, but it certainly was an adventure!

Well, this is sounding like one of those cheesy Christmas letters, so I think that’s enough for now. Hopefully, I’ll have something more profound or at the very least somewhat humorous to write about in the near future. For now, back to catching up on the long list of to-dos early unemployment brings and a new book on the Nook.

All the best in 2012,

Jess

Blizzard of 2011

2011-02-02T14:23:00.000-06:00

Honestly, it's not quite as spectacular as I was hoping. I don't even really have that amazing of pictures. I stole the one above from Sasha. However, other parts of the country were hit pretty hard. Chicago, for instance. Here's my favorite media quote for the storm so far (MSNBC.com): “Even Chicago — with its legions of snowplows and its usual confidence in the face of winter storms that would surely crush other cities — bent under the storm's weight.”

We're cozied up at home. I'm writing blog entries to procrastinate on sermon writing. Tom is actually working. We've also got his scanner running from work. Number one complaint of the day: “My neighbor's snowblowing snow onto my property.” No joke. Every other call is this. Seriously. There was a blizzard last night, and you are calling the cops to complain that your neighbor is snowblowing onto your driveway? Ridiculous.

These calls are now and then peppered with altercations between city snow plow drivers and PEOPLE THAT SHOULDN'T BE DRIVING ANYHOW. No wonder snow plow drivers care not whether they dump large amounts of heavy plowed snow at the end of your driveway—they keep the city running when there's snow and people go out and fight with them. Sad.

I love snow. I love that it's a snow day. I am thankful for snow plow drivers. And I'm thankful for my neighbors (even if they play loud, repetitive video games at 2 in the morning or hold WWE matches upstairs). Luckily, I also see a lot of fb postings of people whose neighbors have helped clear driveways and shared meals. And while people are busy being irritated by snow and their neighbors, at least they aren't shooting each other.

Happy snow day!

My house is covered in sadness

2010-06-26T13:35:00.001-05:00

My house is covered in sadness. We are wearing it like a cloak, and it is clogging the veins of our hearts worse than cholesterol. I get a hassle from a friend of mine that I never post blog entries about, or pictures of, our cats. Truth be told, I’m still shaking generations of disgusted-by-cats relatives, so I’m a little under-cover about being a fan. I have tried to stay in the canine-club, sheepishly confessing to dog-lovers with a shrug, “Well, I married into cats.” Which is true. But it’s probably time I fess up that, actually, I really do like cats. I’m a convert. They are easier to take care of, and their affection is not cheap like any old Bailey or Buddy. Well, except my Taz cat who is more like a dog than a cat. I’m a convert because I happen to have a really amazing cat—he comes when you whistle for him and he does high fives. He likes to wrestle and when I pick him up by the arm-pits and swing his dangling body back and forth while calling out, “Tick Tock Taz” and then set him down, he comes back immediately for more rough-housing. Yeah, Taz is a dog-cat.

But I’m also converted because of my husband and his precious, precious Dan. He loves this cat. He got Dan before me, and sometimes I wonder if he loves Dan just a little a bit more. That’s tongue-in-cheek, of course. But I can say there are very few two-legged creatures Tom likes as well as he likes as Dan. They have bonded. Dan’s warmed up to strangers a bit over the years, but originally, only a handful of folks ever even got to see Dan and only Tom or I could get him to purr. Well, I say, “get.” I have to work at it—bribing with turkey or holding him only one particular way (Dan is very much a cat-cat) or petting his chin just so (again cat-cat). But Tom gets Dan to purr by simply walking in the room. Or saying his name. One time, when Tom was away for a work conference, the only single time Dan got his motor revving (cat-lovers know this engine sound) was over speaker-phone.

In fact, when Tom was away, Dan pretty much went into mourning. I came home one time to hear him running down the stairs and speed around the corner only to take one look at me and sigh (yes, literally sigh) before turning around and slowly climb the stairs to resume sleeping on the corner of the bed until the more worthwhile human came home.

Seeing Tom and Dan interact makes me realize just how great some cats—hey, I’m not a fan of ALL cats—can be as pets. Which makes it all the more miserable that we are now at the point of palliative care for Dan and have spent the morning researching euthanasia theories and pet cremations.

sigh.

This all started a few months ago with some breathing problems and a congestive-heart-failure diagnosis. Yes, for a cat. He’s even on Lasix—you with geriatric family members know this as part of a regimen of old-people drugs for unhealthy fluid-retention. If he were Aunt Bessie, he’d be wheeling around with an oxygen tank and wheezing. We’ve watched Dan go from an 18 pound purr-machine to a now 10 pound old-man cat. And now even the Lasix is doing nothing and who wants to give a pill to a cat that won’t even eat turkey or purr for Tom anyway? And so this coming week will be a long one, likely now the loss of Dan, Danny Boy, Dan the Man cat, el gato from Mancato, most affectionately known as Chingy. My house is covered in sadness.

Jumping in

2010-04-16T07:26:00.000-05:00

totally. over. whelming. This is what I’m thinking as I stare into the drawer.

There is a lot of stuff in my new office. Not my stuff, though there’s some of that. Mine are mostly boxes of books packed away in the previous homes of Grey Goose and Smirnoff. While they are the perfect size, I did question the logic of raiding the ABC store to pack up my office in NC as I carried vodka box after vodka box loaded with theology books into the new church.

So there are those.

But then there’s a drawer of paper clips and capless pens. An old button—was it the previous minister’s? Was it from someone’s dress in 1982? There’s a bolt—should I keep it? Pack it in a box marked “might be important”? In another drawer, there are chocolate coins in a pretty little pouch. Are they from 1982? The shelves house old issues of “These days” devotionals and every copy of the Sunday school curriculum for the last 8 years. There is a bag that says, “Bells for Christmas Eve or throw away.” What does that mean? THOSE are your options?!

I went in early to get something done—to find a recent copy of the Book of Order and my Robert’s Rules, to sign in to my new email, to maybe do some sermon prep.

But instead, I am staring around wondering about all this stuff. And questioning the logic of my first act as the new associ… interim minister (will I ever stop calling myself the associate minister?)—to moderate a Session meeting.

That, and preach on Sunday. Preach on Sunday after working the busiest week of tax season as a secretary for four days with precisely one day in the church office—my first day in the office. Do I really think I’ll get sermon prep done?

I keep “joking” that this is like jumping into the deep end. Now I think maybe it’s like jumping into the deep end of one of those wave pools at a water park. Or standing on the shore of Lake Michigan in 5 foot waves and an undertow. Sometimes it’s a rush; sometimes you have to walk back toward the shallow shore to catch your breath.

I’m over-philosophizing but I still like the analogy. In this moment, I thought I’d be thrilled to jump in the waves. I’m a little surprised to be clinging to the shore. I’m not too worried but I’m curious about it.

Turns out my first official duty wasn’t moderating the Session meeting, btw. A few minutes before the meeting, as I was stepping into the ladies room, the head of property caught me by the elbow and said in a quiet tone, “Ah, well, we just had to put in a new commode—can you give me a report?” perfect.

Only in Wisconsin...

2009-10-28T17:12:00.003-05:00

Only in Wisconsin are green AND gold liturgical colors:

I know I'm ridiculously behind on posting--coming soon: NC adventures, UW FOOTBALL, and Fall colors.

Peace, love, and God bless the Packers (and this season, their fans!),

Jess

Sailing on JoJee

2009-09-07T13:14:00.009-05:00

Some of you have been following my sailing sagas. I joined the UW Hoofer sailing club in the spring, and it has been an adventurous summer. When I was a kid, my parents helped out with the upkeep of Electra, a rather spectacular 40' teak sailboat, in exchange for summer sailing. So admittedly, when I thought about sailing, I flashbacked to gorgeous sunny days spent sitting on the bow with the wind in my hair. Right. About the only accurate part of that picture was the wind part. Turns out sailing, especially little boats by yourself, is an enormous amount of work. And tricky. And it takes awhile to figure it out. But the various times throughout the summer I have thought, forget it, I caught the wind just right or something clicked between the boat and my brain or I had a magical perfect landing or some other glorious moment *queue angelic choir--aaaahhhh* happened and this fabulous rush of some biological chemical is released and I forget that I've gotten knocked in the head with the boom or have unknown bruises all over me and turn in on that high so I'm ready to go out again soon.

But I still hold on to thinking that sailing is sitting on the bow while someone else deals with tell-tales and jibs and halyards. So when the opportunity came up to sail on a "real" sailboat--think 2 sails with a keel (that bottom fin that keeps the boat from going sideways across the water), I jumped. And yesterday, we got to sail on JoJee, with some friends. Joe, the captain, has been my instructor a few times. He comes complete with stories and religious jokes that only an octogenarian Jewish man can get away with. He didn't exactly let me sit on the bow for the trip. In fact, I spent most of the afternoon at the helm trying desperately to remember all my sailing definitions from the manuals while he yelped out commands I had no idea how to respond to. When you're in a boat by yourself, you don't remind yourself what's port or starboard or make sure when you grab the rope you need that you remember the name of that particular piece of line. After a few more commands from Joe at the front, I finally fessed up I'd never sailed a boat with two sails. "Well, you've been in one before, right?!" as if that took care of how to know what to do with a jib. But it was still lots of fun--good wind, sunshine, and lots-o-laughs. Plus, now I've successfully tacked with a 26' boat--WHOO HOO!

And Joe did give me a break from steering to take some pictures, which was super! I wouldn't dare bring my camera on my little techs or even a Badger Sloop, so it was nice to document the shoreline from the boat. Enjoy!

The JoJee

Terrace Time

The Maple Bluffs

Thanks, Liz, for this picture of the Scholten sailors

Glacial Drumlin Trail

2009-08-31T09:00:00.000-05:00

There's this really fabulous bike path in Cottage Grove about 10 minutes from our house. In October, Sasha and I will be biking the entire 52 miles from Waukesha to Cottage Grove with Mandy and Ryan ( withinreachmovie.com ) as part of their biking the US for sustainability gig. It's a pretty fantastic ride--and very scenic--here's a few pics from a ride the other day.

Drive-by Daisies

Go Pack Go

2009-08-26T15:37:00.005-05:00

*Disclaimer--if you are a die-hard, tried-n-true Packers fan, this post will turn you as green as moldy cheese*

Tom got a bonus birthday present two weekends ago when some friends of ours invited us to a Packers game--yes, we got tickets. Those of you who are Packers fans know how difficult this is--every seat in Lambeau Field belongs to a season ticket holder, which can in turn be willed to another person when the ticket holder dies (57,000 people are currently on the waiting list for season tickets, according to the Packers' website--that's about a 30 year waiting list!!!).

"So do you guys know where the tickets are?"

(like that would matter much anyhow)

"50 yard line, row 18"

WOW--even a football-no-nothing such as me

knew we had struck gold,

green and gold, that is.

A little pre-game fun at Kroll's

And you thought the cheesehead hat was bad....

Reflections of a Capitol

2009-08-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

Unbelievable clouds

2009-08-09T20:37:00.005-05:00

Tom and I were driving back from MI today when we ran into this eery, crazy storm just inside WI. Tom was driving, and I kept saying, "Look at that--look at THAT!" And he was like, "I'm driving--and we're about to die, so I'd rather not." I went on and on before he said he was serious--no more talking about the cloud--did I think we could drive past it soon? I think. But I was wrong--we ended up completely beneath it. It was incredibly windy but we didn't get any rain until we hit the other end of it. Because Tom didn't want me to talk about the cloud or continue to stare at it with my mouth literally hanging open, I got out my camera and took all sorts of pictures. Here are a few--other than compressing for the web, these photos taken from the car are completely unedited.

more sunsets

2009-08-07T10:24:00.000-05:00

Staycation

2009-08-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

We had high hopes for our 10th wedding anniversary--St. Thomas. Yah, well, with the move and all, we decided to rent a cabin in northern Wisconsin. And then, since we actually still own our vacation home in NC, we thought it silly to rent someone else's house *grin* So, like many across the country, we staycationed. It was great! Especially since we're so new to Madison. We got a state park pass and checked out Devil's Lake near Baraboo, walked the trails at Governor Nelson's right across Lake Mendota, and spent a day at Kettle Moraine State Park (north) hiking and checking out the glacier museum (and then drove home noticing the "gifts of the glaciers," as Tom likes to call them: drumlins, kettle moraines, erratics... yes, we're still dorks). We also went to the World Circus Museum, the Wisconsin State historical museum (right in downtown Madison) including the Odd Wisconsin floor (who knew we had the world's largest jackknife, tallest couple, and several serial killers here in WI?), kayaked, and spent a few nights on the Union Terrace with friends and the sailing club along with the usual suspects for Madison--state street, downtown, farmer's market, and the pool. All in all, it was a great time. And of course pictures!

Just another Friday in Madison

2009-08-01T09:56:00.003-05:00

Just another Friday at the Terrace--life is good!

Diefs in Madison

2009-07-31T09:00:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, my Uncle Tim and Aunt Brenda and their girls came for a visit. We mini-golfed, went to the fair, toy shopped, visited the American Girl headquarters, zooed, swam, bowled, and generally had a great time! Here are some highlights:

From the Ferris Wheel

Cheeseheads in the making

Joy-a-whirl

The Turtle Totem

Lion around

The Scholten Zoo

2009-07-27T09:45:00.005-05:00

Our house was a bit of a zoo a few weeks ago when we had our two youngest nephew/monkeys for the week. I tease 'cause of the zoo picture below with Tom as the zookeeper, but actually we had loads of fun. Tom has a bunch of pictures on his camera of the whole week, but here are a few highlights from zoo day. I should give a shout out to the Henry Vilas Zoo--it is our city zoo here in Madison, and we've enjoyed it a few times already this summer.

More zoo pics

2009-07-27T09:36:00.004-05:00

The Paw

... belongs to this Tiger

One of my favorite animals

The Badger (though not quite Bucky)

The Prairie Dogs (hours of entertainment!!)

Michigan visits

2009-07-01T07:15:00.009-05:00

One of the great things about living in Wisconsin is being so much closer to friends and family. These are pics from a visit earlier this year to Kate and Ralph's in Detroit--Megan was in town from Seattle, where she lives (for a year already!) with her husband, Judd, as well as Emma, Gretal, Milo, and Simon. Kate somehow missed being photographed, but she looks just like Megan :P

Thomas, being adorable.

Allison, being a cuddle-bunny

Leah, being a monkey.

Auntie Megan, being the fun one (since Uncle Judd isn't around)

Whirleyball

2009-06-29T19:45:00.001-05:00

Also while in Detroit we got to have some fun with Chip and Lisa playing whirlyball. I am fully convinced post-college boys sat around brainstorming fun things to relive childhood days. "Dude, you know what I miss?! BUMPER CARS." "Definitely. Bumper cars were the best." "We should open a bumper car place!" Yeah! Only with a twist--bumper cars and basketball... "WITH WIFFLE BALLS!" "Totally." And thus, whirleyball was born. Fun times....

Tom's in car 48, Chip's in 26

Get it, Tom!!!

And now the girls....

R we confused or what?!

Friday night at the Union Terrace

2009-06-28T18:15:00.006-05:00

I never tire of sunset pictures--hope you don't either!

Friday nights for the summer have generally been spent down

at UW's amazing Memorial Union Terrace.

Enjoy some pictures from this weekend!

A little PD humor

2009-04-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

PC to arrest "Taz" AKA "Diablo" "El Diablo Blanco" for consumption of a controlled substance, DC

M/W flamepoint Siamese cat. 18 inches/18 pounds. Suspect unlawfully opened kitchen drawer and gained access to controlled substance (cat nip) which was subsequently torn open, strewn about the floor, and consumed. In his altered state, suspect made contact with another cat and began aggressive behavior leading to conflict. The fight was on....

Room with a view

2009-04-27T08:00:00.001-05:00

Yes, this is what I see every evening I'm home when the sun sets.
Even in Michigan, we didn't watch sunsets from our very own windows--
pretty fab for the sunset-craver I was in NC.

From the back deck

Capitol at Sunset

Nephews

2009-04-22T20:00:00.009-05:00

The Badger

So a few weeks ago for spring break our nephews came up for an overnight. It was a fun visit, and we took two of them willing to brave downtown (who knew there'd be snow in April?) on a walking tour and saw the lakes, the PD, and of course our precious capitol building. Our smart nephs say, "Hey, can't we go inside?" Tom and I look at each other--I guess, we shrug, never having really thought about it. Sure enough--and it's pretty neat too. Enjoy a few pics from the visit.

2009-01-25T17:28:00.003-06:00

I'm going to cheat on this blog entry. I got tagged on facebook with this silly note deal: 25 random facts about me; and so now you get them on the blog. Blogs and facebook are notoriously self-centered, so here goes....

1. I'm both blessed and cursed by facebook--how much fun is it to reconnect with old friends and stay connected to friends who are far away but I'm also slightly addicted to silly games like MyFarm and flair.

2. I've been happily married to Tom for almost 10 years!

3. Tom and I still watch reruns of the x-files.

4. I just started a job as a temp 1/2 time at CPA firm through tax season. I find this ridiculously amusing and also oddly providential.

5. I have a new habit of using the word ridiculously--it stems from a few weeks ago hearing the weather person say, "It's bitterly cold out there." Really? 'Cause you used that word when it was 20 degrees and now it's 10 below! Seems like there should be a more extreme word... like ridiculously.

6. I recently moved to Madison, Wisconsin, and I have a sneaking suspicion I will live here for the rest of my life. Who knows--things can change... but still....

7. I have a bad habit of ending sentences with... simply because I have more to say but I kind of want to leave it open to question.

8. I have with three cats. Well, really, I have a cat, Tom has a cat, and Tom's cat has a cat.

9. I usually don't admit that I have three cats, because I find it kind of embarrassing.

10. I have been both a down-hill ski racer and instructor, and I'm so glad to live somewhere where I can ski again, even if it was a small, lame hill somewhere because I LOVE IT!!!

11. I also love to read, and right now I'm reading News of the Spirit by Lee Smith and The Shack, which for the first time in a long has my book list to 2 books, only fiction, and no ministry books. hmmmm....

12. I'm an out-of-work minister, and while I was pretty sure I did not define myself as a minister or would ever define myself by my job, when Tom suggested I get a vanity plate for my car when I moved to Wisconsin, the first thought that ran through my head is, "How can I do that when I don't have a job?" Which was really weird and something I am continuing to work through.

13. I am also working through living somewhere I absolutely love 100% but leaving my minister breakfast buddies and my precious Montlieu Crew behind--I'm still ridiculously attached to them. Moving to NC was easier I guess, 'cause somehow we knew we'd end up back in the mid-west again some day, but now...

14. I am 99.99% sure I will never move out of the mid-west.

15. 100% of the time I get a sinking feeling that when I say something with 100% certainty, God will 100% get me back with that.

16. I keep forgetting over and over again that God is love.

17. I like to drink beer out of glass boots.

18. I LOVE, love, love to travel. I leave for Italy in 6 weeks.

19. I play the violin but am not musically talented, so I am extremely thankful my parents started me playing at 5 years old so I at least have the longevity thing going for me.

20. I like to read sermons by Charles Spurgeon and Barbara Brown Taylor and well, really anybody else, because I do like to read sermons.

21. I have jumped out of a perfectly good airplane, twice. And I would consider going again when Sasha goes for her pre-30 goal, if she'll go with me when I fulfill my before-30 goal of riding a mechanical bull--3 years late of course.

22. Because I love people so much, I kind of feel guilty that I haven't mentioned my family and other friends, previous co-workers, and all the people I should give shouts out to--love you guys!

23. I love to take pictures and have a hard time not dragging my camera bag with me wherever I go, even places like the grocery store.

24. I have stepped foot in every state but Louisiana, Washington, and Oregon (I'm actually not sure about Oregon...).

25. I'm a seven on the enneagram, an ENFJ, and have the spiritual gift of hanging out.

If you're up to responding with 25 facts--go for it. Otherwise, maybe at least one or two would be fun :)

Love,
Jess

Birthday reflections

2009-01-22T09:59:00.003-06:00

Oh my goodness—I can’t believe I haven’t blogged in this long. See the date of the last one? That’s when I was 32. But then on the 9^th, I turned 33. Tricky business—it’s not that big of a deal, really, but I have spent the last few years planning quite a party. You don’t get it from the movies, but if you read the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the birthday party for Frodo and Bilbo is a big deal for both of them. It’s Bilbo’s eleventy-first birthday, and it’s Frodo’s 33^rd. It’s a big deal to make it to 111, even for a hobbit, and 33 is a big deal because it’s when hobbits officially become of age. I like the idea of not being a grown-up until 33. I especially liked that idea when I was 32 and younger. It’s kind of a bummer to be of age in just about every culture (many don’t consider you of age until you’re 30 anyhow).

The party looked like this: official invitations, big tent in the back yard, fire pit, good food, really good beer, smoking porch (hobbits love good pipe weed), fireworks—a LOT of them!, and a bard—a friend of mine who was going to teach drinking songs to those who wanted to learn a few. That would have been a great party. However, we moved to WI—not a great place for an outdoor party in January. We live in an apartment, so it’s not like we can host a lot of out-of-towners as planned. And since I moved in December, gathering all the people I knew in southern Wisconsin totaled a whopping 6 of us, including Tom and me. But we still drank good beer and a good time was had by all.

Next up—reflections on taking Amtrak around the Lake to Holland.For now, off to the dentist!

2009-01-08T08:05:00.001-06:00

Madisonians take their badger very seriously—Bucky Badger, that is. I made the mistake on my first trip out to visit Tom of calling him Bucky Beaver in public. Tom immediately sushed me—“BADGER” he hissed like one in my ear, glancing around to see if I’d made a spectacle of myself by letting anyone else hear me.

Before moving to Madison, I dressed up like a cheesehead UW fan for Halloween. Jenny Hughes did an amazing art job of Bucky, with his snotty little sneer, on my face (see below). Since moving to Madison, we’ve had two Bucky sightings—one at a basketball game a few weeks ago and the other at the hockey game on Saturday. On a side note, that was our first-ever live hockey game, and probably the first hockey game either of us had really watched. We learned there are three periods to a hockey game; and, since we sat in the very front row, we learned hockey players ram the hell out of each other now and then—VERY exciting. We also learned that when it’s a tie-game at the end, it’s sudden death. Bummer for our UW Big Red but a good deal for Tom’s sort-of Alma Mater, Northern Michigan.

Enjoy a few pics of Bucky’s hijinx.

Celebrating Wisconsin's Flatness

2009-01-06T11:52:00.002-06:00

So when we moved to NC from MI, the most common comment was, "Michigan, hmmm. It's so... FLAT." Hmmm, what do you say to that? Ah, well, there are some rolling hills? The dunes? The Porcupine Mountains? What's up with your southern hospitality?! But then after a few years, I realized on road trips home to Michigan that it was about 1/2 way through Ohio that I could breathe more freely—I could see the horizon clearly and usually about that time the sun would start to set. Oh, I missed great sunsets—hard to beat when you live on the east side of Lake Michigan. I realized that with the flat came some serious bonuses—silos and farms in the distance, long stretches of road, gorgeous sunrises and sets, space full of mid-westerness. Love it! So the picture below is for all you who think Wisconsin is flat and say it like it's a bad thing—a quick stop on the side of the road while running errands one town over and this is my view. Enjoy!!

2009-01-06T11:49:00.000-06:00

On the way to Cottage Grove

Greetings from 77 Square Miles Surrounded by Reality

2009-01-03T10:37:00.000-06:00

Madison—the Berkley of the Mid-west—77 Square Miles Surrounded by Reality—Wisconsin's Capital—Mad City—whatever you want to call it, we now call it home. And we LOVE it! It already feels like home. It has that beautiful middle-class midwesterness to it—friendly, low-key, down-to-earth genuineness witha bit of hippy-granola-love-our-beer-in-boots funkiness thrown in.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so here are a few thousand for you to enjoy without having to read.

Love from 77 Square Miles Surrounded by Reality,
Jess

Sailing Sunset from the Summer

2009-01-03T10:19:00.000-06:00

Lake Mendota from the Union at UW Madison
Sorry to give you a summer picture--haven't gotten that many of the frozen lakes yet
BUT, icefishing season is upon us so stay tuned!

Capitol Building in September

2009-01-03T09:59:00.000-06:00

Capitol Building

2009-01-03T09:56:00.000-06:00

And here are a few pics from a recent trip to Milwaukee (about an hour and a half away)--Wisconsin's largest city (23rd largest in the US--about 600,000).

Milwaukee Skyline

2009-01-03T09:49:00.000-06:00

Milwaukee Skyline

Lake Michigan from Milwaukee

2009-01-03T09:45:00.001-06:00

Lake Michigan from the Milwaukee side