May 24, 2009

I was perusing on-line letters at the Wisconsin Historical Society website, as they have placed a whole bunch of imaged material on the internet. I was reading a letter from Caroline Quiner Ingalls, the Caroline of Little House fame. She was writing to her sister, both sisters living in Wisconsin at the time, 1861. There was a passage in the letter where she mentions one of her relatives had come down with a scarlet-type fever where their entire body became red and inflamed then resulting in the necrosis of much of their skin. Caroline noted that the skin peeled off in great quantities and that fingernails fell off. I cannot get this image out of my head. I think I would have saved the 'castings'. They could have been donated to some historical society for all to view. Perhaps someone still possesses these items and maybe they could show up on something like Antiques Roadshow; I wonder if they would allow human effects such as that on the show; I would definitely be watching. Or, perhaps the skin/fingernails could be used as an episode on History Detectives. Alas, I am sure the effects are long gone.

May 22, 2009

Today we had bratwurst for breakfast at work (bring your brat to work day); tasty little treat that is part of this weekend's  bratfest.  The person who bought them was served by local weatherman Charlie Shortino, who used to work at Gordon's Commons here at the university back in my school days.  I wonder if he would remember me; we had a class together, and a woman that I was enraptured with was enraptured with him at that time; she could be still, though, as she is an accountant, and you know how those types with figures are.

I saw my first Monarch butterfly and my first mosquito; consequently, my first mosquito bite.

I planted the butterfly bush today, as I finally figured out where would be the best place for it.  

The iPod played quite a bit of Bruce Springsteen today, which made me listen to We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions when I arrived home.  I bought this a few years back and didn't think much of it, but it has grown on me, even considering the use of horns for the songs.  At first, I didn't think folk sings should have such accompaniment; I am not as bad as some purists, but it seemed too much.  Now it sounds almost natural to those songs.  I also listened to The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle, which might be my favorite Bruce album. Something about listening to Bruce east of the Mississippi River seems more natural than listening to him when I lived west of the river. 

May 20, 2009

I took the day off from work today, and ran some errands/mowed the lawn.  I went to the smaller farmer's market that is near our house, held on Wednesdays and Saturdays. I purchased some radishes and assorted scallions ($3) to make a batch of a spring kimchee.  While doing so, I stopped into the Sentry by the market to purchase some red chili peppers ($2.23).  While selecting the little peppers I noticed next to me none other than the esteemed professor emeritus Tino Balio.   Professor Balio has been inducted into the Motion Picture Academy as a film historian for them, as he is considered the expert on the history of United Artists. So, what a thrill watching a man select a head of lettuce next to me that was one of the last people to interview Charles Chaplin and Mary Pickford.  I am sure he wouldn't remember me from the time I took his class and he doubled as my teaching assistant. He is about 70, but still looks the same; different eyeglasses, though.

May 19, 2009

On my way home from work today, I witnessed some more public displays of animosity.  There was a high school boy being loudly berated by his mother as they were walking at a rather fast pace; very cute, as the guy was clearly bigger than his mom, but she was in control.

Some guy who killed his wife decided to hide out in the park near my house and take his life.  I don't think there are any turkey vultures around here as there are around the Mississippi River, but I wonder with his corpse lying there in the park, how long it would be before one of them would take a tear from the body.

Karen has supplied a little trough for the bunnies in our neighborhood for feeding.  They now come in the morning and evening, sometimes staying to lay on our grass in the evening.  I noticed today that a few mourning doves are starting to hang out by the trough to eat some seed.  The squirrels do not seem to be very interested in the place; perhaps because it is too easy to eat from; they seem to like a challenge by eating out of our bird feeders. 

iPod shuffle selections of note today: Effervescing Elephant by Syd Barrett, Hey Nineteen by Steely Dan, Handbags and Gladrags by Rod Stewart, All the People that Died by Jim Carroll Band.

May 17, 2009

I rode my bike to work to try and see what might be the best route.  It took about 30 minutes one way.  After riding, I came back home and decided to eat some bad food for dinner.  I went to get some fried chicken at the Sentry food store near me, and on my way came upon a fashion plate couple having an argument outside the chic sushi restaurant in the mall area.  It was cute seeing these folks dressed in the height of fashion with all their makeup and hair preparations actually having to descend to the act of bickering.  I think they were uncomfortable doing so, as their animation was probably unsettling their hair or creasing their apparel. 

May 16, 2009

I started reading sections of Wild Fermentation, a book on making fermented foods.  I think I will start to make my own sauerkraut. I went to a Korean grocery store to get some Korean pepper flakes ($2.99) and rice flour ($2.99) for my future kimchee making efforts. I stocked up on some new spices from Penzey's ($32.75). Karen and I have been making/eating a lot of dals lately. I quipped to her the other day that we eat like those terrorist kids in Waziristan. I visited this store called vom Fass. It is a German store, with this store being only the current store in the USA.  They have all sorts of oils and vinegars, and liqueurs that you can by any amount/volume. Nothing struck my fancy, so I signed up for their Scotch section when it is finished; I like the idea of not having to buy a whole bottle just to sample.

May 10, 2009

I planted the mayapples and transplanted some ferns that had managed to start spreading out to the lawn, then mowed the lawn.  For reward, I had a few Capital Brewery wheat beer ale; I am not a big fan of wheat beer in America; I don't think it works out nice as we don't have those sweet little yeast strains like those German breweries do (same goes for pilsner), but this wasn't too bad.

May 9, 2009

We went to the native plant sale today, held at the UW Arboretum.  It was to see the large expanse of prairie within the woods, still charred from its annual burn.  We saw 3 wild turkeys roaming around the grounds.  

I purchased 4 mayapples and 1 butterfly weed ($16); all the trout lilies were gone by the time we were there; so I will just wait until next year to place them in my shady bit of land.  I might get some bloodroot, too, sweet little flowers they have.

In the afternoon, my cousin and her boyfriend visited, and we had lunch at the Great Dane Pub. They both look swell and make a nice couple.  The boyfriend works in Virginia, though, and she lives in Bloomington, MN, so they do fly quite a bit to see each other, and noticed that fares are starting to go up again overall.  

May 8, 2009

After work, I went to get my haircut ($18); it had been quite some time since it was last cut (mid-February) and I thought I could handle the longer hair, but it does get to be a bit much; hanging on your skull and overheating your head; I wish I was bald; it would be much cheaper I tell you, but then I wouldn't look good bald; I probably wouldn't look good with long hair, either.

On my way home from the haircut, I purchased a liter of Bombay Sapphire ($28.99) and a liter of Cruzan Rum from the USVI ($15.99).

I came across three very large morels, just lying on a side of lawn. I picked the trio and brought them home. They proved to be quite tasty.

May 2, 2009

We visited my parents today in Port Washington.  There is a lot of road/highway construction going on, so it took much longer, and the roads around here definitely need it.  I can't believe that people drive their cars daily on these roads; their axles/wheel alignments must be greatly affected by the bumps and disintegration of the concrete and asphalt.

There are quite a few flocks of Canadian Geese around Lake Michigan; I guess most of the birds now will winter here.  The smelt run has now pretty much disappeared; gone are the days and nights of seining with ample beer and whiskey to warm your innards while weathering the brisk Lake Michigan weather.  And those little guys were very tasty.

My parents live in a senior center that was once the city's hospital.  Their floor was where the maternity area was situated.  Ironic that I visit my parents where they might possibly end their lives, and down the hall near Apt M, I began my life.

I attended a rock concert in the city of West Bend during the evening.  My friend's band played some of their own original material, and a few song covers from the New York Dolls and The Cramps.  I need to remember to bring earpieces, as my ears really were affected by it, but it was a great time.  I had 3 PBRs ($2.50 each) as I thought it would be nice to have light beers for the evening thereby reducing the possibility of the all-consuming headache one feels after having so many heavy beers the next morning.

Before the concert, I visited one of my friends who collects and is a fan of conspiracy stuff, and we watched some of the Obama Conspiracy; not even a 100 days in, and there exists already massive, grand conspiracy theories, mostly adjunct to the Federal Reserve and Wall Street - Obama is an agent for these ominous entities. I wonder how long it will take before they talk about this on Coast-to-Coast.  Maybe I should call George or Ian and see what they think.

May 1, 2009

We attended some of the Gallery Walk functions that were occurring throughout the city.  We spent a good amount of the time watching our friend's performance art installation at DNA Studios.  It was an installation that spanned 3 hours.  The set was minimal, the features of a bedroom with bedset, and a vanity table; it sort reminded me of the bedroom scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The music was a 30-minute repeating loop.  It appeared very improvisational and quiet, hypnotic at times, and a bit unsettling.  I took a few breaks from it by watching the neighbor studio blow glass.

It was refreshing to spend a Friday night with the artists' community; even the wobbly kids came out; they all looked so nice with their red globe shirts and sabocat icons.  I wore my IWW pin from ca. 1910 in honor of the day.