Sorry that I haven't blogged in so long. Thursday I worked on campus, and I saw this weird structure that looks like a climbing toy for kids that had appeared right outside the Killer Building.
I tested its strength, and it was pretty solid, so I climbed on it myself. Then I asked my coworkers what it was, and one said it was a sculpture, because someone asked to see it from our library. It looks like an airplane from the ground, but it really does from above.
Another one found out it is a piece of sculpture created by a Ho-Chunk artist, and it was displayed at the White House at one point, before the family gifted it to the university. It's the shape of a bird effigy mound, and it points at an actual effigy mound nearby. And I climbed on it? Oops! But I can guarantee that undergrads are going to as well, especially since there is no plaque saying what it is. Apparently there will be a dedication in September.
I was also unanimously elected Vice-Chair of the Central Committee again. I was in a pretty good mood when Travalon came to pick me up, but then he said we had to go say goodbye to his nephew, who had been the best man at our wedding. We drove to Wauwatosa and went to the hospital, which only allows four visitors per room and ends visiting hours at eight, but they waived both rules for us. Travalon's two oldest brothers and their wives were in the room with his nephew, who was braindead but being kept "alive" for organ donation. It was so sad. We met his fiancee, who had to fill out all the organ donation paperwork. Eventually we all headed out, and rain poured on us. Once we got back to Madison, we had trouble finding a restaurant open at that late hour, but TGI Friday's was, and Travalon got this beautiful (and tasty!) drink.
Yesterday I worked from home, then Tiffy and I had dinner at Amber Indian restaurant and drove out to the outdoor theater to see "Chekhov's Shorts," a number of very funny scenes by Chekhov that he apparently had not worked into a whole play. On the way home I really had to go to the bathroom, and wouldn't you know that I was stopped by not one but two trains? I tried to go around the second one and got very lost in Maple Bluff, ending up right behind the train again anyway.
I just want to note that the rosary Tiffy got for me years ago in Mexico and gave to me when she found it again in her house matches the color scheme of my portrait of Niko.
Today I walked with my neighbor while Travalon watched cartoons, then I said we could do whatever he wanted, since it had been such a rough week for him. He was close to his nephew - they used to go to Comic Con and geek out about stuff. Travalon wanted to go to Lake Wisconsin, so first we drove to Sauk and stopped at the antiques shop there, since they have a wide selection of comic books, and Travalon wanted to peruse them in honor of his nephew. I found a rosary - sorry, no photo yet. It's a beautiful Kelly green. Then we took the Merrimac ferry over the lake and went to Fitz's for lunch. Because of the way the shade was, I had to have my back to the lake, but I was looking at lots of beautiful flowers.
It was a beautiful day, and the weather was perfect, but it somehow felt even more blissful than that, like we were actually in Heaven. I mentioned it to Travalon, and he felt it too, so we wondered if it was a message from his nephew that he was doing well up there. After our haddock cake sandwiches we split a salted caramel shake, then we went for a walk on the path to Paradise Island. We went to Merrimac, since they were having a festival in their park, and Travalon took some photos of the lake.
Then we went to Devil's Lake and swam at the South Shore beach. Travalon took some photos of the bluffs that were all around us.
We went for a walk on the nearby boardwalk, and I took this photo looking back at the busy beach:
We also saw this intriguing inflatable in the water. My photo:
I don't know what it is, but I want one! There were so many people at Devil's Lake, and most of them seemed to be grilling something, so I said I was jonesin' for a burger. When we got back to town, we went to Portillo's, because even though it's a chain, it has just about the best burgers I've ever tasted. They really taste like they were grilled at Devil's Lake just before you get them. Then we just came home and sat on our screened-in porch, because it had been such a perfect day that we were afraid anything more would possibly ruin it. It had really been heavenly, and we really think it was a gift from Travalon's nephew.
Famous Hat
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