late

time for sleep.

survival of the fit

this week greg, his mom, his brother, and his brother's girlfriend ran races. as i was the one holding the camera, it is clear that either i finished my run well ahead of greg... or i was merely a spectator. and i think i'm fooling no one by presenting you with those two possibilities. having spectated at so many races after having joined up with this family, i always think that perhaps one day i will run... despite all of my (poor) excuses... 'it's just not in my genes'... 'i have exercise-induced asthma' (barely)... 'i spent an entire year jogging and never got beyond two miles'... etc. etc. etc. i feel like i should make some bold claim right here on veralouie, like 'i will run a marathon next year' (that was not a bold claim, it was just an example of one!)... but i just don't trust myself enough to follow through. not that i can't follow through with anything... i can follow through on many ideas, goals, etc... but running for miles... without being chased as food...or, alternatively, chasing down food... the two reasons we developed such an ability... it's something i have such a hard time making my mind and body comply with... so i'm not saying i won't run a marathon next year... or even a 5k... i'm just letting you know that holding your breath is not a good idea in this case.

weather

what is wrong with this picture?

not much right? there's the not-so-real ivy, joey, the avocado plant with the brown leaf, mayor washington, leone, an empty pot, some cabinets...

but if we zoom in a little bit... there seems to be something furry coming out of leone...

let's take a closer look...

hmm. this may be one of those unacceptable habits.

door county

the first part of this week was spent up north in door county as we used long-ago received gift certificates through the county's chamber of commerce.
i was in the midst of my first cold/flu of the year and (spoiler alert) greg would not be immune to it by the middle of the trip.
however, despite the fact that vacationing while sick is not quite as good as vacationing while well, i would argue, it is much better than facing deadlines and responsibilities while sick... and possibly even facing deadlines and responsibilities while well... maybe?

we stayed in a bed and breakfast which was cozy yet not overdone in floral motifs... basically our one criteria.

the balcony.

from the balcony-- a leafless corkscrew tree...

our first full day there we decided to go for a bike ride from sturgeon bay to egg harbor. 5 miles into it though, greg got a flat tire, ending our bicycle excursion for the day...

while greg went back into sturgeon bay to procure alternate transportation, i stayed at the county park looking at old boat parts...

and beaches...

after we got to egg harbor and ate lunch, we walked around and found these (to us) peculiar flowers...frayed-leafed tulips?

our second full day we took our bikes and their fully-inflated tires up to washington island.

on the way to the ferry... in some unincorporated town or other... and i know the picture does not convey it well, but the windy (long /i/) road was quite unique in that you could see all the many winds (long /i/) ahead of you because the road was so flat and the curves were not too ambitious... anyway, perhaps you should drive up to the ferry to get to washington island to see this road.

speaking of ferries... the robert noble...

washington island is a small island town. part of door county, it is fairly secluded (like much of door county when not in peak tourist season... many of the towns have populations of 300 or less).

inland... a small town intersection...

small town field with trees...

small town field without...

small town news circulator...

small town communication options?

when we first got to the island it was at least twenty degrees colder than on the mainland and we had not dressed with such a scenario in mind, so we stopped at the local tourist shop and bought the least touristy sweaters/fleeces we could find... and at the beginning of our bike trip, i spotted this and decided it would be a nice post-bicycle treat...

and as i discovered after the first (and fortunately only) large hill of the bike ride, that my cold had traveled into my (unexercised) lungs, and as greg discovered his throat was feeling the first effects of illness, we were happy when we arrived back at the red cup for a cup of hot tea...

which is when we discovered another quirk of small towns... their coffee shops aren't necessarily open at 3 in the afternoon... so, we sat on the porch... without tea.

after washington island, we drove through ephraim and found a cafe that was open, and ate asparagus quesadillas and drank tea and lemonade...

gurg.

me.

such serious looks belie the fact that we were in fact enjoying ourselves.

the end...

granulation time...

wednesday, thursday... running around trying to finish up my last minute assignments and requirements for the teaching program before the semester break and before relatives from across the u.s. flocked in for graduation... so wednesday and thursday was also devoted to preparation for that and for searching every madison shoe store known to this madisonian for navy blue heels to go with my navy blue suit. had i known it would be a three day quest, i would have opted for a different colored suit. well, what can you do?

uw law school graduation time... friday a.m.

sitting through ceremonies... not always so fun for the littles...

but escalators are...

over-exposed graduate...

post-ceremony reception on the rooftop of monona terrace. brother nunen looking hollywood in his sunglasses.

the 'family firm' less one sibling attorney who couldn't make it because alas... lawyer deadlines...

the one who started it all... and me.

the other one who started it all-- on the other side of my genes... and me.

the husband who had to put up with three years worth of stress and weekends full of reading and oh-so-fun finals times... and me.

trying to arrange the masses... not an easy job...

getting closer...

this will have to suffice...

i'm missing some of the people who were here this weekend... but perhaps i will get more pictures from others with cameras and stick them up here as well.

future posts: door county wanderings and husband's family adventures

an update in pictures

flash back to last week: the reunited trio.














rabbit is saying, 'fine, i'll put up with this, but i'm not going to smile.'
dracula says, 'what are we doing?!'

in other news: watermelons and cantelopes...

and our resident ducks. i fed them bread one day, because... well, they're living in a mudhole that occasionally fills up with rainwater. what do they eat otherwise?

yesterday was the children's garden fence dedication. lots of kids came from all around to plant corn and flowers along it.

lastly, i am officially done with law school exams and assuming i passed them, i am unofficially done with law school. the official part comes when my profs give me and all of the other 3L's temporary passing grades so that we can participate in granulation (in a mere handful of days) and later become admitted to the bar (in a mere month). a strange thought.

folk topics

greg is convinced all folk songs are about shipwrecks, so i did a bit of research and found that, indeed, all folk songs are about shipwrecks. here is a complete list of all folksongs (thanks to http://nwfolk.com/songlists/shipwrecks.html):

Gordon Lightfoot\ Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Wreck of the Athens Queen / Stan Rogers / Fogarty's Cove / Fogarty's Cove
Stan Rogers: The Mary Ellen Carter
Stan Rogers: Barrett's Privateers
Dick Gaughan: Shipwreck
Gordon Lightfoot: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Leadbelly: The Titanic
Pete Seeger: The Titanic
Jaime Brockett: The Wreck of the U.S.S. Titanic
Martin Carthy: Lord Franklin
Pint and Dale: The Wreck of the Lady Washington (Hearts of Gold)
Harvey Reid & Joyce Andersen: The Wreck of the Isadore (Great Sad River)
Weavers - The Wreck of the John B.
God Moves on the Water * Blind Willie Johnson * Praise God I’m Satisfied 

moms, grandmas, etc.

flight path

today my 5:50 a.m. alarm clock was a crop plane that circled the area again and again. when i looked out the window, i swear i saw it from this vantage point...

thin is the new fat

my running dreams and potentially quick metabolism aren't fooling this doctor.

my brother, in explaining to me that he and his girlfriend are pescatarians...

"pescatarians are rare nowadays. we generally eat only fish, and tend to abstain from other foods like vegetables and beans. we've tried boca, but in order to stick to the diet we normally just eat salmon filets sandwiched between two shellfish."

running

sometimes i dream that i run and run and run. in these dreams i never get tired, my legs never hurt, no running cramps. i did have asthma in this last dream but it didn't stop me.

does this count as exercise? i suppose not.

i've started drinking coffee again. i can't tell yet if it's permanent or just a finals fad that i always seem to fall into.

enjoy wednesday!

the kid with A LOT more to look forward to...

i like this article because of the kid's quote at the end. optimism.

tortoise place

my final being in the a.m. i went over to my friend liz's place to help her paint a bookcase that will be transformed into a tortoise house...

apparently tortoises can see colors.
we also ate way too much junk food and watched way too much reality tv... but it was a fitting day post-final.
tonight rabbit broke a glass. she is restless without her best guy in town.
now, i am tired. tomorrow i go read with kindergartners and think of the week ahead.

weekend update

hey! turns out it's a tea and blanket kind of day... i can study without peeking out the window in envy of all the gardeners, bicyclists, ramblers, etc.

17.5 hours till exam time. dracula and i are working hard.

procrastination station

greg flew off to michigan today, leaving me alone to ponder the extent of my procrastination when it comes to studying for my final set of finals. as cruel and unusual punishment the school has scheduled both finals on sundays... which means that for most of the next two doubtless beautiful weekends ahead, i will either be studying so i can sit in a room for no less than 2 hours to determine 100% of my grades for this semester... or i will be sitting in that room to determine those grades. however, i can't complain too much. i only have two finals this semester, i plan on helping my friend paint a turtle house after my first exam (to be continued), and... i have the garden a mere hundred feet to the west...

the creeping phlox bloomed.

we planted a new asparagus forest this year...

along with lots of strawberry plants...

this is our new plot for now...

the morning glories... we will be pulling them out for years no doubt...