Let's see. What's been going on? Like most of my life, there's not much to report.
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| From left, Ada, Pam and Penny attack tabletop s'mores. |
In July, longtime Solberg family friends visited (Sam, Ada and Susan). I joined them, Steve and Pam, and Pam's sister Penny at the Cameron Park Farmer's Market, then we walked over to the Twisted Moose for dinner. The food was good (the place is new, and Steve and I had had lunch there recently), and Ada insisted on ordering the tabletop S'mores for dessert. It was really quite interesting.
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| Picnic cake |
That was on Friday. On Sunday, there was a family get-together in Ettrick and a great host of Solbergs were present for the festivities. Someone brought a really great cake that looked like a picnic basket on top of a checkered blanket. It even included ants marching toward the food. I didn't get a single bite of it, but I'm told it was as tasty as it was creative.
The day's repast was typical Wisconsin, with barbecue (which is ground beef with a tomato sauce served on hamburger buns) and hot dogs. There were also numerous finger foods, appetizers, and sundry goodies that everyone had brought. And seeing as everyone had brought a little something, there was lots and lots of food.
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| The family gathers, including a squirming Natalie, far right. |
To give you an idea of how many Solbergs there are (and were there), here is a group photo of the clan as it convened for the above-described gathering.
The next Saturday was my 64th birthday, and Steve and Pam took me out to a real Wisconsin supper club situated on the banks of the Mississippi in Trempleau, north of La Crosse. The environment was evocative of supper club places in Oregon that our parents had taken us to as kids, except it did not have the relish tray on the table. Emily and Jim were also in attendance, and it was a great birthday present.
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| Steve and Pam at the Viroqua War Memorial. |
Steve, Pam and I went on our second day trip, this time to Viroqua, which is south of La Crosse and home town to my friend Deeann Hoff, who was art director when I worked at the Hollywood Reporter. I wanted to check out Gary's Rock Shop, which I had seen on the news, and I wanted to try out lunch at Driftless Cafe, which had won a national award and also been on the news. I bought a stone carving (a bison or a bear or something) and lunch was very good.
As of the first of August, I've started volunteering at the Center (full name is Seven Rivers LGBTQ Connection) on Monday and Wednesday evenings, 4-8 p.m. On Mondays, a board member named Kellen hosts a live Facebook feed focusing on folks in our community. And on Wednesdays nothing of importance occurs, so things are pretty dead for my shifts.
There was one Wednesday when the board met to discuss expanding the Center into an adjacent space in our current building (we are literally busting at the seams), and I got to tag along and inspect the proposed expansion space. It would be a real improvement, and make a coffee bar and hangout space a reality.
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| Plant on April 5 this year |
Just today, my quietude was broken by a tall gentleman who walked in. Turns out he's been in town for all of 10 days, is in residency at Gundersen Healthcare (my provider) in alternative and spiritual healing. He asked lots of questions about the town and the people, what we did at the Center. I filled him in as much as I could, explaining that I had only been here two years, which is considered an outsider by the locals.
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| Repotted plant |
The plant in the living room (I have no idea what it's called) has grown so much that it required a second transplanting. I found a nice planter at Menard's — lightweight and just stylish enough for my tastes (also it has no drain hole, which is good for the floors). I messed up the dining room preparing the soil and pulling apart the dense root ball. It turns out there are seven separate plants, so now it is/they are repotted and just starting to take off after establishing new roots.
To give you an idea of how happy this plant is, I've posted a photo of it from April, when it got its first transplant, and after this second transplanting. Please note there is no longer a table underneath; the pot is a standing planter.
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Patty sleeping with her eyes open
and her tongue out, just because. |
I think I've finally found a person to do my yard. I've been looking for someone who can do the weeding and trimming and let me do the mowing. He also does snow removal, so I may have the same deal with him in winter: I do the sidewalks and he does the driveway. We're meeting tomorrow, so all things should shake out then. Cross your fingers: a good , reliable yard person is hard to find here.
Another fun household thing: the knob on the shower no longer mixes hot and cold water, but provides one or the other. I am also sick of the toilet upstairs, and when its ballast ball broke off last week, I decided it was time to replace it with a high-profile unit. So I had the plumber out this week to check things out. He took pictures and will get back to me with a quote. Doesn't matter; if it's within reason, he can do it ASAP. I'm sick of showering in the basement (although the basement shower is really nice, and much cooler in the summer).
