I am still here...

I haven't blogged in a week or so but I am still here and enjoying life. The weather was quite chilly last week and the first of this week. We even had snow flurry on Monday. It is 65 today and feels great. I hope it stays like this as long as possible. Those cold, cold days of winter are quickly approaching.

Nothing much going on. Anxiously awaiting Sara and Keith's arrival on Friday morning for a fun filled weekend.

Bye bye for now.

More fall pics.

The Story of Vi: the traveling violet

I have a traveling violet.

About three years ago I purchased two violets from Kroger in Apex. Both of them were very pretty and were placed near the sliding glass door in the living room. Much to my dismay one of the violets perished when the vaccum cord got tangled on the table legs and tipped the table over and the little violet went tumbling. After the tragedy I only had one violet and she was moved to a more sturdy table.

This violet is special because although I am not sure what nursery she came from I am positive she has traveled quite a bit more than any other violet could. She has large green leaves and purple flowers. She is planted in a blue pot that was left over from my wedding centerpieces.

On May 18 she started her journey. She traveled from the comfy confines of her 3rd floor perch in Apex to a lovely home in Cary. Her new home was in the guest bedroom of my sister's house. At first she was placed in a low window in the living room but Bruno the Big kept sniffing her and I was sure his tail would knock her down, so she was moved to a tall dresser in the guest bedroom.

On June 7 Vi traveled to Sanford and sat in Kathy's kitchen because the weather was too hot for her to sit in the car. That same day she traveled to Dave's house were she spent the night in the sunroom.

On June 8 she made her longest car trip, to the beach. For over a week she sat soundfront in Emerald Isle. She had a lovely beach trip and got to witness many living room parties, dancing and margarita nights.

Then on June 17 she traveled the entire state of North Carolina from the coast to the mountains. That night we stopped in Nashville, TN to visit with Jen and Ryan. On June 18 she traveled through TN, KY, IL and then to Madison, WI where she lives today.

This is Violet traveling on her big trip to the mid-west.

She is doing well. She spends her days basking in the sun on top of the piano, near the sliding glass door in the living room, much like her old apartment.

That is the story of Vi the traveling Violet.

Falling for campus

Where exactly do I work? What does it look like in Madison? Well, here is your chance to find out with an added dose of fall colors.

The picture above was taken on the lakeshore where people can rent sailboats. These boats are just waiting for someone to take them out and enjoy the day.

Taken right out of my front door at work. The building in the background is the Wisconsin Historical Society.


This picture was taken at the lake front. The building hidden by trees is the Red Gym. It looks like a castle and was home to the Armory. Currently, it houses Admissions and the Community Service Center.

The sitting area is called the Union Terrace and can get really crowded on nice days. The lake is to the left. You can see a very small portion of it in the picture.


This is a very zoomed in view of campus and downtown from picnic point. The campus and downtown basically mingle together.....they sit side by side.


This is my office. I think it looks pretty cool.

Science Hall, below, is another cool building.

Well that is a tiny view of a very large campus. I will post more later. Enjoy.

Chicago state of mind.

For some reason the Billy Joel song "New York State of Mind" makes me happy. Perhaps it was because we took a trip there last year and it brings back good memories or maybe it is because I like Billy Joel but every time I hear the song I think of how fun living in a big city would be. That is if I could live exactly where I wanted and make the money to afford it. I don't need a penthouse on Park Avenue or Lake Shore Drive, just a cozy place that is in the heart of it all.

Jimmy and I had a getaway weekend. We went to Chicago. We stayed at a beautiful hotel, the Palmer House. The hotel was built by Potter Palmer in the late 1800s as a wedding gift to his wife. What a gift!!

If it were not for Hilton Honors we could have never stayed there. The hotel was beautiful, the prettiest place I have ever stayed. Our room was big and had a view of the lake. We were treated very well. We felt like royalty.

This is the entrance to our hotel.

On Saturday we walked along the lakeshore and took a water taxi to the planetarium. The water taxi is neat because it is fairly inexpensive plus you get to see the whole downtown from the water. Saturday night we went out to dinner and then to a little bar.

Us taking the water taxi from Navy Pier to the Planetarium.

One of the great views from the water taxi.

Goofing off in the planetarium.

On Sunday we walked down Michigan Avenue. It is very similar to 5th Ave. in NYC. It has tons of upscale shops and normal ones too. We also walked out on one of the beaches. It is just like being at the ocean.

Me with The Kiss at the Hershey store....he was so cute!!



See ya later Chicago.....

First signs of fall and a geography lesson

Admist, the shore of Cox Lake stands one lone tree bursting with color. Jimmy and I happened upon our first sighting of fall on Sunday while hiking at Gov. Dodge State Park. The tree was very beautiful standing by itself among the green trees.

Our day trip to Dodge Park was fun. We hiked, took pictures and got lost. We made a 2 mile mistake that I blame on Jimmy and that he blames on me. Well, truth is, we both read the sign wrong, turned left when we should have turned right and ended up walking 2 miles out of the way.

Some history on Dodge Park: For those who don't know, most of southwestern Wisconsin is hilly, I won't go as far as mountainous but it looks very similar to the Wilkesboro area of North Carolina.

Why is this section of Wisconsin hilly and the rest of the state and mid-west flat?In the last Ice Age four glaciers covered the midwest and for some quirk of nature did not cover southwestern Wisconsin. The glaciers basically mowed down all hills and mountains from Canada to Kansas moving rocks and making everything flat, except for a section of my new state. Because the glacier did not touch this area the park has some of the oldest land, 450 million years old to be exact. (according to a brochure I read)

Well that is your geography lesson for the day. I will keep you updated on the fall color.

Alas....the seasons are changing.

Oh no....what is that I see...leaves falling from a tree on campus. Which only means fall is here and winter is just around the corner. The season that I am trying my best to ignore.

The leaves will be changing soon. Most are still green but with a chill in the air I know it won't be long. I can't believe it is almost fall. I woke up to 42 outside this morning and went to work with a light jacket. By lunch time the sun was out and it was around 65.

I actually love fall. The cool crisp air, the colors, pumpkins. I use to love spring but being in financial aid, spring is almost bittersweet. The weather is beautiful, the leaves are coming back, flowers are blooming and parents and students are yelling, "I didn't get enough financial aid, my dreams are over".......you get the picture.

I am very excited about fall. I have heard that the Wisconsin fall is very beautiful. There are lots of hardwood trees so hopefully the colors will be bright.

Stay tuned...I will post pictures once the leaves start changing.