The City of Brotherly Love

Today I'm off to the biannual interpreting conference, this time taking place in Philadelphia, PA. It is a week long conference filled with workshops, meetings, networking and of course a little goofing off and site seeing. I plan on visiting the Liberty Bell, the Edgar Allan Poe Historic Site and of course the Philadelphia Art Museum Steps. I may actually try a Philly Cheesesteak...if I can only find one made with turkey meat. Most of my time, however, will be spent in workshops.

Mainly I look forward to chatting with people that I only get a chance to see while at conferences and I'm also looking forward to spending time with some good friends. I always love these conventions; each one is a new adventure.

Madison highlights...home improvements

Stained the fence









The tiled floor before












The tiled floor after with new paint - Honey gold












The tiled floor before with Kim hard at work









The tiled floor after with new paint












New hardwood floor









Engineered hardwood with trim

Home sweet home

Kim & I arrived back from Madison on Friday and we are just starting to get settled in. I took a few moments to go for a walk and I took this beautiful picture with my iPhone. This is why early evening is my favorite time of the day.

The picture speaks for itself doesn't it? It's good to be home...

So long and thanks for all the fish

This month has come and gone so fast! I feel as though we just got here. Ah but such is life when we come to Madison. This town sure knows how to put on the summer events: La Fete de Marquette in the Atwood neighborhood, Concerts on the Square at the Capital and Art Fair Off the Square, just to name a few.

Then there are the great friends and family that we never seem to be able to spend enough time with. Getting to see Kevin and Shawn with Ivy has been precious and they are great parents, as I knew they would be. Kim and I, becoming Ivy's auntie Mimi and Kimi is something I most look forward to for years to come. Hanging out with my extended family has helped me to understand Kim better and given me a sense of belonging to a larger family, which I've always secretly wished for. Thanks for making me a part of that.

So now we venture back to Elizabeth Lake and back to our regular lives. I look forward to meeting up with friends and family there and catching up on summer adventures. I too look forward to getting back to some semblance of a normal working schedule. Let's face it, I kind of like my routine.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Runaway stove?!

Last night, after an active day, I made Dad and myself a grilled cheese sandwich and we three settled in to watch the movie Kite Runner, which is an excellant film by the by. After the movie, we started heading upstairs to call it a night, when Kim noticed that the kitchen was extremely hot. The oven was performing as if it were getting ready for Thanksgiving Dinner. It was scorchingly hot to the touch and no matter what we tried it just didn't want to turn off! The three of us, aka the safety committee, decided that we should unplug the damn thing and shut off the gas as well.

This morning, Dad informed us that this is called a "runaway stove." Frankly Kim and I had never heard if such a thing. It did, however, evoke some hysterical images of alternative meanings: a stubborn teenager threatening to leave home because we disapprove in the choice of boyfriend, a rogue ship run aground by aliens or pirates and my personal favorite any "B" cult movie classic.

I immediately envisioned a 1950's horror flick, where one must fear their appliances. "After a comet passed dangerously close to our planet, our world has never been the same. The kitchen, once a homemaker's best friend, is now a murderous place. No honey, don't go in there to bake that cake. Watch out for the attacking killer stove!" This announcement is then promptly followed by a, overly dramatic, blood curdling scream.

All kidding aside, I'm just glad we were home when this transpired. Dad said that if it had gone in all night or worse while we were away, it could have caught fire and burnt the house down. Yikes! Normally there are safety features built into the appliance, but they sometimes can fail, apparently. Now we are in search of a new or used stove to replace this misbehaving one. Darn rogue stove!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Time flies...

As I sit here on our three season porch, in Madison, I realized that our trip is nearly half over. I have been working all over southern Wisconsin and Kim has been busy renovating the kitchen, which looks fabulous by the by. These events have eaten away most of our time. Blogging has been put on the back burner, mainly because I can't figure out how to upload pictures remotely. That just means I'll have to update everyone when we get back to Elizabeth Lake.

We've been enjoying getting to know Shawnie and Kevin's little girl Ivy, who on July 1st officially became their little bundle of joy. In reality that happen the moment they laid eyes on her, but I'm never one to turn down a celebration. She is adorable: all smiles and very inquizative. Shawn, of course, fits perfectly into motherhood. Her ablility to keep an eye on Ivy while carrying on a adult conversation is quite impressive.

We've also been taking advantage of unseasonably cool weather and have walked the dogs every day with Cris and her naughties, Katie & Isabelle. We've now been able to socialize the dogs without much ado and managaed to impress most people when our pack passes by.

Today, Kim and I are off on a little excursion to House on the Rock and possibly Cave on the Mounds near Mt Horeb, followed by, a nice romantic dinner alone back here in Madison. I'm looking forward to this.

Tomorrow my Dad arrives, which I sure will involve further projects in and around the house. I think Dad enjoys being here in Wisconsin. This is the place where his mother's side of his family grew up. Honestly, I think he enjoys traveling more then he ever realized he would. And we love having him here too. One of these days I have to get Chuck and Eileen here as well...hint hint.

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Summerfest :)

We are currently at Milwaukee's annual music festival known as Summerfest. This event boasts of having 11 to 12 stages with nonstop music all day long. Cris, Kim and I will be watching Elvis Costello tonight, but for now we are simply taking in the sites and sounds. Wow this place is crowded!!!!

Mobile Blogging from here.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]