Snips and the Move

We made it! Joey, Emily Joy and Kate came over to help me pack, and Dad came to lend a hand and his F150. With the truck, Kate's trailer and a 15 passenger van we'd borrowed, we moved everything to the packing location in one trip! Of course, that trip was during rush hour traffic, but you can't win them all.



Such excellent friends, to help me move. Andy generously loaned his roof rack, too, so I was able to drive down with 5 bikes on the roof.

On Saturday morning we loaded up the car, mostly with artwork, and headed out. As a side note, the moving truck just got here this morning (Tues) and am I ever glad I took the artwork with me! I'm not sure if anything got broken yet, but things sure got shifted and squished.

Here's the car riding low.



After taking the photo, I shuttled Snips into the car. We had planned on giving him a little something to sedate him for the first leg, but he ralphed that up. That sums up the whole move for Snips: traumatizing. In car trips past, he's meowed for 45 minutes, then settled down and slept, but not this time. He spent the whole 13 hours panting, meowing, and cramming himself in small places. The last few hours he finally settled down, but insisted on being swaddled tightly in a towel.

Shoving his head under a box:















Aaand at last.



I'd feel bad about taking so many photos of an animal so clearly distressed, but there was nothing to do for him. I tried shushing, petting, etc etc. He would not be consoled. Once we got to the house, though, he settled right down and seems to love the place. Lots of windows to watch birds, and a backyard to explore. He took to it quickly. So though he did indeed suffer, you can all rest assured that he's none worse for the wear.

Lots to catch up on here, but much to unpack! More later.

Oh my.

This morning it hit me, as I collected my thoughts and sorted things out as I woke up.

Today's Wednesday.

Tomorrow's Thursday, and Robb flies into Milwaukee in the evening.

And merely the day after tomorrow is my last half-day of work, and packing the truck in the afternoon.

And when I wake up the next morning, I'll be waking up and Robb and I will be driving down to my new home.

Oh my.

Sunrises: They are all that.

Last night was a late night, and this morning is an early morning.

I headed home from work around 1AM and got home only to find that I couldn't sleep. There are just too many things to think about these days, first and foremost the catalog that has to go to print in just a few hours. I wound up getting up, showering, and coming back to work around 3:30AM. Lucky I did, though, because I found plenty of things that needed tweaking. So here I sit, awaiting edits- the calm before the storm, and the last few hours of concentrated stress on my calendar before moving.

Just before handing it off, and right around sunrise, I looked outside and there was some really pretty fog in the field next to Hayes.







As I turned to get back to the grind, I noticed it was shifting from the field and seeping over the road toward Hayes. Retreat!

Everything's Coming up Milverine

After a few really hectic and stressful weeks, large projects are finally getting done, and it feels gooood! Today's a long day at work, then I should be home free.

Excellent things which I have done:
Put up the family art show.
Cut and installed the largest vinyl decal I've done yet for the family art show.
Enjoyed the family art show's opening with friends and family!
Packed all the bikes I need to.
Carefully packed all the artwork I'm taking to NC.
Caught the fish, dug out the plants and cleaned the sand from the 55 gallon fish tank.
Sold my track bike to Vicky.
Got Vicky and Cupcake to help me move the fish tank by luring them to the apartment with a track bike.
Sold said tank for enough to buy a lovely small Fluval Edge Aquarium to take with me to NC.

On the way home from the Aquatics Unlimited, I was driving through Milwaukee and going past places that brought back memories. Leon's Frozen Custard, the Asian food store on 27th St, my old house on Montana St, the Ben's Cycle and Fitness and Bayview/KK area... I was feeling pleased with my industrious ways and enjoying the mild, sunny weather and thinking about the other places I should go and things I should see before heading out in less than a week.

Then, one very special piece of Milwaukee I had forgotten about came striding down the sidewalk toward me as I drove north. Shoulders back, arms in the slightly bowed muscle-bound action figure position, orange evening sun glowing on a tanned chest... !!!!

It was the Milerine! I'll explain. Or, I'll explain as well as I can.

Milverene bears a striking resemblance to Wolverine, and he's often seen on 1st St in Milwaukee. He's usually shirtless, sometimes with his shirt hanging out of his back pocket. Even when it's cold, though, you can spot him by his walk, facial hair and tousled 'do. There's a facebook page where his movements are tracked.

It was special to see him one last time. Really special.

Steudel Show Set-Up

This past Friday there was a jazz crawl in Plymouth- incidentally, the night before our set-up time for the Steudel show. The relatives all gathered on Friday evening for a night of jazz and precipitation. It was pouring out! Things were still pretty lively, though. We made our way around to coffee shops, the art center, bars, restaurants and more bars with jazz ensembles tucked away in a corner.





Jazz featuring a flute, yes sir.



That night we made our way to Lakeland college, where the three previous generations of my family attended college. (My generation scattered to the four corners, alas.) We stayed on the cheap in some guest rooms in the dorms.

The next morning we went to set up at the art center, which was still recovering from the jazz crawl, while also trying to set up for a 50th wedding anniversary at 3:00. To say that it was hectic would be... accurate.



Tables, chairs and a platform had to be moved, a silent auction had to be carefully documented and removed, we had to check every piece in and then start hanging! All while people buzzed around, moving furniture and dropping paintings. Luckily, no canvases were skewered.

Aunt Pam arranging her work.



Rachel and Edie hanging Grandpa's painting.



Gradually before you know it, the hell hole becomes a gallery once more!



Ta-da! This is my section. It's funny that looking at it in this photo, it doesn't look like much work at all. Just... take my word for it :)

Gravel Grinder 2

On our way to Verona, we got stopped and asked for our trail passes. I actually didn't think to bring my trail pass with me, since it's more of a Kettles/mountain biking thing in my mind. Whoops. This is my citation being written out. Kate approves. (I sent in a copy of my trail pass and it should be all good now.)



We got picked up in Madison for a total of 85 miles for the day.

We ate.



We played.





We played with what we ate.



We cut mullets.



And then the next day we went to the zoo.



Not a bad weekend at all. I recently sent out a letter to Mr. Miller, the guy whose wallet we found. And now we wait!

Dear Crumpler Toilet Paper,

In less than a month, we will have been together for three years. Three years! (Remember when we first laid eyes on each other at the Crumpler booth at Interbike?)





But today... today I have run out of toilet paper. We must part ways.

Gravel Grinder 1

This weekend myself and two other friends, Kate and Janelle, rode from Waukesha to Madison. We took some roads and crushed some limestone. If you're familiar with my oddities, you'll know I like to take pictures of road kill (that meet certain standards) while on road rides. This particular Saturday, I was scanning the side of the road as usual when I spotted something interesting. I yelled for the ladies to stop and doubled back around. It was a wallet! I was excited. I had never found a wallet.

To answer your first question: No, there wasn't any money in it. A quick scan of the driver's license revealed that the young man (20yrs, 150lbs) lived only a few miles away! I talked Kate and Janelle into dropping off the wallet at his house. It went something like this:

Me: "Let's drop it off at his house!"
Kate: "Hahaha"
Kate: "Wait... really?"
Me: "Yeah!! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
Kate: "What if he turns out to be a creep?"
Me: "He's 20 years old! And he's only 150 lbs."

So, after a little confusion we found his house, and... nobody was home! We took this stalker-esque photo with his dog, left the wallet on the seat of the car (the windows were open), and went on our merry way.



Mr. Miller, you owe me one!

I tried to find the guy on facebook, to no avail. Thanks to his license, though, I know where to send a card! :)