Wisconsin Adventures

Slowly but surely, I will turn this blog into something readable.  Sadly, like my education, I haven't been able to choose a single theme; happily, they all work together in some amount of harmony.  Having spent most of my summer cooped up in classrooms, trying to hasten my most recent academic endeavor of an engineering degree, I decided vacation was in order.  So off I traipsed to a "far off" place I've never seen before, for a week of good food, good drinks, and amazing fun.

Here in this wonderful vacation spot, I am being hosted by my friends E&N and their cat & rabbit.  Two days ago, they took me to some beautiful (free!) gardens and an attached conservatory where they were married.  Guaranteed good weather for a tiny ceremony... I'm thinking they have the right idea!  Too bad I have a HUGE family; when the time comes, I must have a space large enough.  Either way, this beauty stopped to be admired and photographed as I was leaving the conservatory:

Since before my grandmother's death a few years ago, and certainly after, we've released Monarch butterflies to celebrate her birthday and Mother's day.  Whenever I see them, I always think of her and have to imagine that she's checking in on me and making sure I'm ok.

 

After playing in the conservatory with the butterflies, grouse, quail, canaries, and other assorted critters, we stepped out into the gardens.  Up until we left the reflecting pool, we had E&N's friends C&D with us, but as C has some special circumstances, they left us to enjoy the gardens on our own.  

I loved the reflecting pool, especially since the end of the enclosed garden it resides in has a small fountain that produces the most lovely sound.  I'd love an enclosed garden like that: full of fun plantings and water features and high hedges to keep out cars and things... Ok, back to reality (I'll design my gardens eventually, first I need the house!). 

We continued our jaunt through a rock garden, an herb garden, a rose garden, and finally into the exquisite Thai Pavilion garden.   This pavilion was truly stunning.  You approached along a walkway made with pavers arranged in a stylized dragon that led you over a bridge whose railings continued the motif, through a foliage dense path, and finally opening onto the pavilion.  Along your approach, glimpses of the pavilion through the trees provided a teaser before you could truly see the structure in all of it's splendor. There is a rock covered reflecting pool in front of the pavilion, as well as carefully placed plantings around and behind it.  The entire structure is gilded and the ceiling boasts a gold star on crimson background motif.  Everywhere you look there's something to examine or discover.  It truly took my breath away, and anyone who knows me, knows this is a feat of astronomic proportions!  I could have stayed longer, but in leaving, I noticed some elephant statues that are likely to end up in someone's x-mas present!

In coming home, we decided some fun was in order.  First, we stopped by the most amazing little pet supply store.  They were having an adoption event, so there were kitties to pet, and some of the most awesome cat trees I've ever seen! We also stopped into a local bakery, and then went to a local custard joint where we got oreo frozen custard with various toppings.  When we arrived back at E&N's apartment, we MEANT to make white sangria and take it poolside.... We never left the living room, but as mundane as Big Bang Theory and Sangria sound, it was the perfect end to the day.  

Our sangria most certainly was the best sangria I've had.  It was filled with lemons, limes, pluots, peach, nectarines, strawberries and raspberries!  It was more about the fruit for me than the wine, but the combination was pleasantly delicious and refreshing.  We used Chablis and White Zin, but I'm thinking White Zin plus some ginger ale might make amazingly tasty sangria!  I'll have to find someone to help me drink it if I make some this week... It's supposed to climb back up to the 80's and I'd like something to help beat the heat!

 Yesterday, we played at a neat cave complex!  The caves were small but beautiful, and so much fun to go through!  The formations were normal cave formations, but it's always fun to see what the water and minerals do in different caves.  I wish we'd spent more time looking at the grounds surrounding the caves, but I did get to crack my own geode!  That was totally awesome, and I'm looking forward to coming back and doing another!

 

Well, gee, I'm very good about keeping a blog aren't I?  How about I kick off a new attempt to actually write about my world, with a promise to write frequently regularly?

I will update my last post with photos, once I figure out what I've done with said photos.... There may be additional backlogging, because let me tell you, I've got plenty to share and some good shots to show! (Even if I did take them with the camera on my phone...)

The three most important things that have happened since I last wrote, can be summed up in as many words: cat, garden, pickles.  I have acquired a new feline friend who was a godsend.  My original cat Matthias (Matti) has been a right little hellion from kittenhood on, and within three days his new friend Cricket had him smitten.  Anymore, they're inseparable, which means I no longer get savaged as a result of play nor do I have the experience of walking by the kitchen table and being sneak attacked.  Those antics were cute, but now that Matti has a friend who will play with him to his heart's content, I can pretty much leave them to their own devices.

In January I chose to return to school for a BS in Mechanical Engineering (my 2nd undergrad degree), despite the crazed looks my friends all gave me when I suggested it.  It is quite odd being back in school especially amongst people who are several years my juniors, but I know the eventual payoff will be worth it.  Plus, a grad degree should only take an additional year and hopefully I can find someone to help fund that endeavor.  

Returning to school meant moving into a 1 bedroom apartment.  More often than not, those don't come with a balcony and thus, no place to garden.  Last summer I had plants growing riotously in the yard at my boyfriend J's house, but this summer I am reduced to a 48" fluorescent industrial troffer and an attempt at an indoor garden.  It's growing slowly, but well.  Herb production is all I'm getting at the moment, but I expect come winter, the plants will finally produce tomatoes, squash, etc.  Why in winter?  Because this blasted apartment is right next to the boiler in my building and stays a nice 70 degrees or worse all year round!  I'm lucky if i can get it down to 60 by throwing the windows open in the winter.  Granted, this past winter was more of a California winter than a NY one, but I'm sure the same things will apply come November of this year.

Finally, I discovered an AMAZING farmers market only minutes from my apartment.  The produce is incredible, and I've been buying pickling cukes like no tomorrow.  My neighbors and friends all love the bread and butter pickles I've made thus far, but I'm going to try a more savory pickle today since I'm just about sugared out!  I also played with pickling Cauliflower, and that turned out very tasty.

I finally broke down and bought a 21qt canner, so today, the pickles I'm planning to make will get processed and will keep on the shelves til I'm ready to pop the top!