Niko's Buddy and More Christmas Photos

 

Today I had to go into the office because a grad student had left me a big mailing to prepare, and I had to water the plants and get something a faculty member had ordered that needs to be returned to Home Depot. It has been so mild and dry this December, so of course this morning it was snowing... hard. Travalon kindly took me in anyway, then he was going to hang out at the Union while I did my work, but it was closed. He went over to the bookstore, where they have a little coffee shop, and got us both coffees. When he gave me mine, the little sticker over the opening stuck to my glove, and the picture on it was a mitten, so that seemed kind of meta. 

We ran an errand at Walgreens, and I got a buddy for Niko:

It's actually a furry monster slap bracelet.

The rest of the day was uneventful for me, but I did take an hourlong walk in the falling snow, so that was kind of fun. Just in our neighborhood, and as I was talking to a neighbor, we saw a black sedan with flashing amber lights inside of it, so we wondered if it were some kind of official vehicle. Was it checking out the snow situation on our street?

Since my photos seem to be loading faster now, here are some more I took of the light display in Stoughton.

This was a pretty Christmas tree at the place where Travalon's mother lives.

Here are some photos Travalon took of the Zoo Lights in Chicago:

Check out the sketchy character in this photo!

These look like the same parakeets that talked at China Lights in Milwaukee, but there was no indication that they could talk.

A better photo than mine of the city skyline.

Mardi Gras colors! But why? It's Christmas, not just before Lent.

I forgot to mention that we popped into the cafe at the Lincoln Park Zoo to use the restroom, and there was a live jazz band playing. It was great, but we only stayed a few minutes because we wanted to see all the lights... and I think we still missed some. It's a big zoo!

And here are Travalon's photos of the lights in Stoughton.

These are some photos he took of the house on Lacy Road.

Both he and I made videos of the lights in Stoughton, so I'll try to make an iMovie of that at some point and post it to YouTube with a link here. Something to look forward to, anyway.

Famous Hat