Sorry that I haven't blogged in awhile. We had a houseguest for a few days, but she was a delight: very sweet and well-mannered. Also, she is adorable. As you probably guessed, she is not human but a Pomeranian. Then Friday I was at the hospital all day with Travalon, who had to have a medical procedure, and emergencies kept coming in so they kept pushing us back. They did give us two free coupons for the cafeteria, so I got free lunch and dinner, and Travalon got free dinner with room service (I would have had to pay for it) - he wasn't allowed to eat before this procedure, so he was pretty ravenous once everything was over. The good news is that they found nothing wrong with his heart, and the bad news is that I had to drive his car home in a snowstorm because he wasn't allowed to drive or make important decisions for 24 hours. At least his car is much easier to drive in the snow than mine, because it has four-wheel drive and some extra snow button that makes it grip the road even better. Anyway, we got home nearly fourteen hours after we had left home, and then we just had a relaxed weekend.
Yesterday we stayed home in the morning due to more snow, then we ventured out once it stopped, going to Matcha Tea House and then out to Sauk to see eagles. We saw one on the island and some flying by the dam and sitting on the ice, then we went to the Blue Spoon Diner for a late lunch, and an eagle landed in a tree right outside the window! We took pictures of it, but only with our cell phones because we had forgotten our good cameras at home. One guy had a camera with a super long lens, and he got some amazing shots of the eagle - he showed everyone in the restaurant! It started to snow again, so we just headed home and had a quiet evening.
Today after Mass we went to brunch with Rich and another bass from our choir, right across the street at Tutto Pasta. Then we went back out to Sauk, this time with our good cameras. It was a beautiful, sunny day but very cold, perfect for watching eagles. We saw six flying by the dam, but we couldn't get a good shot of any of them. Then we went to Wollersheim for Travalon's favorite cocktail, made of their apple brandy and cream soda. We drove to the big island on Lake Wisconsin, and I said it looked like the ice was solid enough to walk out to it, but Travalon convinced me that it would be more fun to go to the bar where you can see the two islands. We did, and we had hot cocoa with peanut butter whiskey in it - so good! On one island, we could see an eagle and its nest. We came home and watched the disappointing Packers game, where they did that thing they often do of not showing up to play for the first half. Then in the second half they did start playing, but it was too late - San Francisco was too far ahead, so they are going to the Super Bowl. I am disappointed but not surprised. Hey, it was still a great season. Maybe next year they will play during all four quarters.
Here are some recent photos. First is our houseguest, Michaela. (Travalon took this photo, and his camera has been really blurry lately.)
This is the rosary Tiffy gave me for my birthday. She got it in 2012 in Mexico and was going to give it to me back then, but she lost it somewhere in her house and didn't find it again until recently getting her carpeting replaced. I love it because it looks like it's made out of candy, and I really dig the teal crucifix.
This is the rosary I use during the Christmas season. Some monks sent it to me for Christmas years ago to thank me for buying so many other rosaries from them that year.
And this is what is inside the center piece that looks like a present!
We bought some more stuffed animals: a unicorn dragon (!) that we found in a gas station on the way to visit my relatives in Chicago, and a turtle made of recycled materials that we found at a gas station in Richland Center. Since we got the unicorn dragon on the solstice, we named her Solstice. The turtle doesn't have a name yet. I am open to suggestions.
And this is Shippy. We got her on the cruise to Cuba.
The Allen Centennial Garden near my office is beautiful even in the depths of winter.
Here is the eagle we saw from the window of the Blue Spoon. My shot is not so good. The guy with a fancy camera had a close-up of her face where you could see her eyes and every feather in detail.
Finally, some sunsets. This first one is from a couple of weeks ago; my office window faces east, and suddenly I could see the buildings across from me gilded with this amazing golden light, so I knew there was a spectacular sunset. I ran outside and took this photo.
And this is the glorious sunset we saw tonight just as we got home.
Famous Hat
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