Summer Classes

When I decided to stay home this summer and enjoy Madison, I knew I would have to schedule myself a bit so that I could avoid the pajamas-all-day-malaise that seemed to set in once I was done with coursework this spring. A climbing gym in town offers classes I could never take before because of scheduling conflicts - sign me up! The university extension classes (aka community ed) offers African dance, which I've always wanted to learn - sign me up! Tonight marks the last of my climbing classes.

I've passed my belay exam and now know how to tie myself to a harness and how to scramble up (only the easiest of) routes. Love it. Isn't it a great gym? The floor is made of 12" thick foam - super fun to walk on. Next Wednesday is our dance class' recital when we will perform "sinte" to live drumming. I'm really going to miss coming together with the girls every week and hearing Mandjou's awesome djembe playing. That's him in the back of this video - our dancing is not this complicated (yet!), but I definitely recognize some of the moves.

One of the lessons I've learned this summer is to keep learning - to keep doing things I'm not good at it (being that one of the things I'm not good at is not being good at things ... so frustrating!). I definitely want to learn more skills, too, and not rely just on getting good at writing paragraphs that no one will read or engaging in esoteric debate. Bo-ring. I want real skills - how to tie a knot or how to do a dance step, for instance. Next up: quilting and sushi-making.

Cindy Bag

I try not to go to this grocery store that's next to a Target and an Old Navy because I'm always so tempted to go in and "just look around" which turns into a $100 purchase of new clothes or random crap. Yesterday, however, at least my splurging brought me into neighborly connection with a stranger. I was browsing the bags and kept fondling this adorable dark purple purse that would be a great size for hauling stuff back and forth to Chicago. It was buy one/get one half off, but I didn't really need two. Cue Cindy, random middle-aged lady wearing a hot pink shirt, huge white hoop earrings, and white platform sandals - a look she managed to pull off with style. She gave me a look and said, "Are you in?" and we both started laughing. Up to the counter we went, her with the brown version and me with my purple. She agreed to call it her Katy Purse and I told her I would forever know it as my Cindy bag. Thanks for the extra $8.97, Cindy!

The Cindy Bag (pretty cute, huh?)

The Grand Finale

The best part of watching The Bachelorette finale last night was not that Ed won Jillian's heart (they strike me as an adorable pair), or that Reid got to speak his mind (oh, what a catch he is!), or that Kipper got his heart semi-broken (he'll be over it in a week), or that my friends and I finished a tray of gluten-free brownies and two bottles of wine... no, my favorite part last night was the storm watch broadcast interruption that delayed the start of the program. It lasted almost a half an hour and I wish someone had recorded our jeers and tauntings venomously tossed at the poor meteorologist who, no joke, kept repeating that "this is a life or death situation - please be patient with us, all you Bachelorette viewers." It was a tornado warning for a county at the very edge of the viewing population. We were not amused. Whatever happened to just scrolling a warning across the bottom of the screen? We first called my sister to see if she could set up her computer to Skype or Gmail video-chat the program to us, but she did not answer. We then called the station several times, finally got through, and demanded to know if the start of the show would be delayed or just cut in. To our relief, it was simply delayed. More time for brownies and wine.

So You Think You Can ... Cry?

My favorite TV show right now is "So You Think You Can Dance". It is so consistently entertaining and such a celebration of gifted people being creatively challenged. I love it. Last night, however, was really special. Two of my favorite dancers were choreographed to the song "Women's Work" which always tears me up. Add to that the fact the dance was about a woman with cancer... I was a crying mess. But how beautiful. Please watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_TCK5OCgss

Stop and Smell the Roses... and Taste the Honey

This weekend, Joyce and Abbey came to visit. Both brought me hostess gifts including these beautiful roses to which we added carrot greens after buying a bunch that got grated up for lunch of peanut Thai salad with noodles. What a gorgeous site every morning when I get up to check email.



After their visit, I worked a shift at the restaurant. When it's slow like it was that night, the chefs like to spoil the front-of-house staff by trying out new dishes and letting us taste new ingredients. They made us tartlets, steak fajitas, bruleed pears, and scallops ... and then brought up the honey comb the head chef purchased at the farmers' market that morning. You just stick in the spoon and savor the sweetness and pull out the wax after sucking off all the honey. The next taste test was "spun honey" which is old honey that has crystallized and then been whipped with new honey. It looked like white butter and tasted like it, too. So. Delicious.

Bargains!

My friend Alexa and I had a garage sale last weekend. She made $700, I made $70 (but they are a family of four who are moving and I am but one who is staying). My favorite item for sale which did not sell was this pair of shoes that her husband bought for a joke. Yes, he marked them at $20.

Her daughter was such a charmer the whole weekend. She kept putting on clothes her mom had laid out to sell - including this hat and, later, a snow suit she wore on her head with the hood.

The running joke was that we ended up with more stuff by trading with each other. From Alexa, I got two books, a big wooden salad bowl, an old tent, and these cute shoes that mostly fit.

Aside from garage sale bargains, we also gave brief history lessons as people came into the old squash court wondering what kind of room it was. Their house (more like a cottage) was the game lodge of the old estate - very charming, but not intended to be a permanent residence. They are happy to be moving away from the mice, for example. I still love it.