Adrienne & Alexis

Adrienne came to visit this weekend and she brought Baci with her. So far there haven't been any big fights between Cupcake and Baci. Today we went to Stillwater for a visit. We didn't see Jessica Lange or Sam Sheppard but we did see that they had a Kathe Wohlfardt store. It looks like it is the only Kathe Wohlfardt store outside of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. People told me that Stillwater was a nice place and it was. We walked around downtown and looked at the antique shops and a kitchen store. There was a gelato place that we stopped in and shared a refreshing fruit gelato.

Here's the big news. Alexis got a job. It sounds perfect for her. She is working for Corporate Translations , a translation company with headquarters in East Hartford, Ct. and a branch in Chicago. She started work on Monday then they flew her out to the home office on Wednesday night. She will be working as a project manager, a job much like she was doing for Iverson's in Milwaukee.

Hardacre Film Festival

Friday night Cely and I went to the Hardacre Film Festival in Tipton, Iowa. Probably the most interesting movie we saw was Monster Camp. The documentary told the story of members of a NERO group in Seattle, WA. The group meets regularly in local state parks to escape their daily lives by enacting live action World of Warcraft events. They dress in full costume and makeup as monsters, undead and all forms of characters. It was a poignant movie. A student movie, "The Loneliest Place on Earth", was the most surprising. Done by an undergraduate student at Webster University outside St. Louis, this short film was subtle and sophisticated. I couldn't believe that an undergraduate had done it. I think the best thing about the entire night is just the fact that Tipton can put on such a quality event. We had fun being able to get together with Jim and Maria for such a unique experience.

New Things

I'm trying a new extension for Firefox which I hope will help me write here more often. Got work to do. Bye.

Adrienne's and Alexis' Building

Here is a picture of the building that Adrienne and Alexis live in.

2 Trips to Chicago

Last week we helped Alexis and Adrienne move from Milwaukee to Chicago. It will be a drag not to have a reason to go to Milwaukee as often as we have. It is a great city. Cely and I will just have to make new reasons to visit.

I am anxious to get to know more about Chicago though and expect the girls to find some cool places. Everything went well during the move other than I should have rented a bigger truck. It took all my Von Sydow, Weicker, Graebel..... skills to get everything loaded into it and the van. Actually I had to pull all sorts of stuff out and reload them so that I could fit the futon and Adrienne's bed frame in. Here is what the truck looked like when we arrived in the city. There wasn't much air left in that van. Cely made me laugh, she kept telling everyone that no one else could have gotten everything in that truck. Well, the stuff was in the box, the front seat, the van and two plants went with us back to Eau Claire until we came down this weekend with Baci.

Their apartment is very nice. Here are some pictures I took last weekend. I forgot the camera this week.


This weekend we went back there on Friday night then to the Quad Cities for a wedding on Saturday morning. I drove back to Eau Claire on Sunday and Cely is staying with her Mom for a bit and visiting her cousins. Liz came in from Hawaii for the wedding and Mona is coming in from Colorado at the end of the week. Liz's son Brandon is going to the Olympics again as the goalie for the USA Water Polo team. Watch for him.

On Saturday we went to breakfast at a small bakery that Cely had heard about on the Food Channel. It is called the Angel Food Bakery and is very kitschy just like a lot of the hip restaurants in Chicago. It has a 60's theme with Easy Bake Ovens all over the place. The owner was a potter and is very artistic with her frostings and creations. She makes a twinkie like thing stuffed with marshmallow creme and wrapped in aluminum foil that she calls an airstream. The coolest thing was that it is on the corner of Montrose and Paulina in the Ravenswood neighborhood. That may not be so cool in itself but it means that Drake and Elston is in between it and the Girls' apartment. On the way back we drove by 3909 Drake, the house my dad grew up in and where my Grandmother lived most of her life. They have changed the siding. I remember it as that asphalt shingles. You can still see the garage in the back with the original siding. I got the picture from Google Street View. See if that link works. It was very cool to see that house. Back in the day this angle would have shown "Uncle's" little glasswindow seed starting box on the side of the house. I can't even remember Uncle and Auntie's names. Maybe Nancy will help me with that.

Alexis Graduates from UW Milwaukee

Spring has finally made it to upper Wisconsin. These are two of the trees in our front yard. I'm not sure what they are but they are simply goreous this Spring. We have seen older trees like this and they are spectacular. We have high expectations for these two. The lilacs that line our drive have not fully bloomed yet but the phlox by the side of the house have.

On Sunday Alexis went through commencement in Milwaukee. She received her Masters in German with a translation concentration. Cely and I are very proud.

Natalie's Wedding

June told Cely that the Quad City Times had an announcement of Natalie's wedding in the Sunday paper. In it they mention that the dress was handmade by Alexis. The wedding was last September and held in the chapel on the University of Denver campus.

Springtime in Milwaukee

Friday Cely and I visited the girls in Milwaukee. In keeping with the ways of this winter they treated us to 11 inches of snow. It was an incredible snow. The local TV station went on at 4 in the morning to cover the snowfall. They kept talking about "thundersnow" but it didn't materialize. Too bad. That would have made it especially exciting.

We didn't let it keep us from going to see a good movie. We went to see a great movie at the Oriental, The Counterfeiter, based on the true story of the Nazi's using concentration camp inmates to counterfeit the British pound and later the US dollar. It was a nuanced study of the choices people must make in the most dire of circumstances. The Counterfeiter was one of those that come along too infrequently; one that is sophisiticated and both well written and fascinatingly acted.

The Grotto

Today I drove up highway 61 on my way back from the Quad Cities. That route is shorter than taking the interstate through Rockford and Madison and a little more interesting. The trip takes you through Dubuque, Iowa and a lot of little Wisconsin towns tucked into the rolling hills that frame the Mississippi. Just north of Dubuque about 14 miles after crossing over into Wisconsin is the little town of Dickeyville. Right on the road is this Grotto on the grounds of Holy Ghost Catholic Church. Father Matthias Wernerus the priest of the parish build the grotto out of various types of rocks, glass, petrified wood, geodes, glass, iron and an eclectic mix of oddities from 1925 until 1930. I finally stopped today and took a couple of pictures today. There was still some snow on the ground. There is still some snow here in Eau Claire too.

Xavier, Barack Obama Weekend

Finally something exciting enough happened to get me writing. This weekend Adrienne and Xavier came up to visit Cely and I in Eau Claire. It was a great weekend to visit. Saturday Barack Obama was on the campus of UW Eau Claire for a rally and we had great weather for cross country skiing. Xavier wanted to ski up here, which was great because I probably would have missed going but for his incentive.

The Obama rally was standing room only in Zorn Arena. He was an inspiring orator and the crowd was excited to see him. We waited in line for two and a half hours before we got in. The line spread out from Zorn Arena down past the bridge and the Library, past the dorms and half way up the hill to upper campus. Xavier was pretty excited to see the rally. I thought it was great that Obama came to campus on the very weekend that Xavier visited. And I really wanted to hear Obama talk. I had hoped that we could see him one of the times we were in the QC but this was even better.

On Sunday we went out to Beaver Creek Recreation area to go cross country skiing. I have only gone cross country skiing once before and that was about 30 years ago in Leadville, Co. Beaver Creek was great. It was snowing as we started out and the temperature was in the 20s. A perfect day. Part way through our ski we stopped for a sandwich that Cely had sent with us. Cely stayed home and made lasagna for us when we got home. Adrienne made a special request for the lasagna. There are more pictures from the rally and from our little ski trip on Flickr.

Buying Local

Cely and I were up early today and that was a good thing. We watched a locally produced program about all things Wisconsin and learned about a local company that produces and markets handmade neckties that sells at Nordstroms and high-end clothing stores across the country. The company is XMI products of Chippewa Falls. Evidently the ties sell for around $120.00 and have been worn by a lot of famous people. They supplied the neckties for the cast of West Wing. So we got up more quickly than usual and drove up to the factory where they have an outlet store. I picked up a $120.00 tie for $22.00 and an irregular shirt for $5.00. I think I will make it my regular clothing store!

Adventures in the Life of a Librarian!

Monday night, right before Heroes I had a librarian moment. They don't come often but this one was really great. Monday has become my TV night. So I watch Chuck while waiting for Monday night the Chuck plot involved a clue hidden in the library at Stanford, the university that Chuck, the star of the show, got kicked out of on some trumped up charges. Well Chuck and his CIA type friends have to go back to Stanford to find an important secret disk. It all involves a professor who gets killed by a crossbow toting assassin and a number clue written on a piece of paper. It also involves a book, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, that Chuck still has checked out from that library. Its about 4 years overdue. Chuck looks at the book's call number and immediately realizes that the dead man's clue was a call number that will point them to where the disk is hidden in the Stanford library.

So, here is the librarian moment. The call number on Chucks book begins with HC 110... something. And I, of course, realized that this COULD NOT BE. Every other librarian watching the show that night would have know too that The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire would have had a call number in the DGs. That also reminded me that the number clue had a number first then a letter followed by more numbers. This, of course, was another gaff since it wasn't an LC number so it could not have lead to anything in the Stanford Library.

Adventures in the life of a librarian!

The Milwaukee International Film Festival

Last night at the Milwaukee International Film Festival I saw an entirely different movie from the one Cely, Adrienne and Alexis saw and we sat next to each other. I loved Twice upon a Time and the rest of the family hated it. They thought the story had too much slapstick and that Charlotte Rampling wasn't any good. I thought she was great and and that the movie was pretty funny. Well, at least we all agreed that the festival seemed cool and we got to see it in the Oriental.

Saturday morning while we were having a leisurely cup of morning coffee we remembered that the film festival was going on and that Adrienne had the day off. So we ran around like crazy throwing on clothes and packing up our overnight bag and we drove down to Milwaukee. We made it there in time to mess around with the girls for a little and catch the movie. We found another good restaurant in Bayview. Cafe Lulu. They had a nice selection of vegetarian food along with everything else. It seems like every restaurant we try there is good. Before going back we took the girls out to buy groceries at the big Pick and Save.

Alma Wisconsin

Today I had lunch with my friend Larry Hardesty, the library director at Winona State University in Winona, MN. We decide to meet in Alma, Wisconsin which is part way between our two universities and a beautiful small river town on the Mississippi. Lock and Dam #4. We ate at a really nice little place called Kate & Gracies. Larry told me that there was a scenic overlook park above the town so I stopped there after the lunch. It was a beautiful view! Thanks Larry.

The Quad Cities and the Blue Collar Band

Last weekend Cely and I decided it was time to go pick up Cupcake (Cupcake's Facebook page) and bring her to her new home. We had taken her to June's house in order to help sell our home in Corvallis. I think it worked because the house sold in 3 days.

On Friday, before we left, I got an e-mail from Carol Anne Chouteau saying that the Blue Collar Band had cut a CD and wanted to send me one. She also mentioned that they were having a release party on Saturday night. So Cely and I called some friends, Tony, Maria and Jim, and Rick and we all went to the gig. Carol Anne was in top form as usual and they had a big crowd. The Blue Collar Band has a big following in the Quad Cities and are a lot of fun to hear. Check them out if you ever get a chance. This is us at Martinis on the Rock having a couple of beers and listening to the music. I had a great time because I got to hear Carol Anne and see some friends from the St. Ambrose University Library

Still No Home Internet

I am sitting with a bunch of kids at the Eau Claire Public Library. Still no internet at home and I don't want to use my office machine to do this personal stuff. So I talked Cely into coming to the library so I could put in a quick note. She is looking at the Cottage and Bungalow magazines to find decorating ideas for the house. Tomorrow the cable guy comes and sets up our cable and high speed internet. More to follow when that is all good.

Sunday night Adrienne drove up from Milwaukee to visit. She just left after dinner tonight. It really brought home the reason why we moved back here. She and Alexis can pop up for a weekend and we can do the same pretty easily. It is a 4 hour drive but that is not so bad. It was really nice to have Adrienne around to help out with some of the unpacking. Still tons of stuff to do in that area. We hung our first painting today though. It is one of Emil's; a great one of two conchas. Adrienne brought it up.It looks great in the dining room.

Driving To Wisconsin

It took us all day today just to go through most of Montana, NOT all of it. Tonight we are staying in Miles City MT. They first day after we left Corvallis we drove to Missoula, MT then today we drove another 500 miles to Miles City, MT. Here is the view outside our hotel window.

But here are some other pictures from the move. The movers came on Tuesday afternoon to inventory our house then started loading the truck (the truck was really pretty) on Wednesday morning. They were fast! By 2:30 they were loaded and gone. We stayed the night in the empty house and cleaned up. By 8 the next morning we were on the road too. We had our walky - talkies with us so we had a real convoy. Her is one more picture from our trip. It was a butte that looked cool at the time. I tried to take a picture of Cely and Alexis in the car behind me but it didn't work out right. I almost lost the camera in the wind. Tomorrow I have a new plan, using the strap.
Tomorrow we finish off Montana, drive throw North Dakota and get into Minnesota. The weather has been particularly hot but speeding across Montana at a legal 75 has been fun.

The Turkey Buzzard

Last night Cely and I saw the strangest thing, a turkey vulture walking along the road by Hoover School. I didn't have the camera but here is a picture of one from a photo sharing site, Stock.XCHNG.
It was still there and eating squirrel road kill when we came back from our errands. Before this I had only seen them out in the country and high in the air.

Today I got some pictures from Adrienne's friend Xavier. He took these when he visited Chicago in the winter and last month when he visited before Cely and I went to ALA. The first is in Millennium Park in Chicago and the other is at a lake near Hoodoo Ski area off of Rt. 20 heading towards Sisters, Oregon.

The Palamino

The Palamino, at the corner of Superior and East Russell is just what you would expect from a neighborhood tavern in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; hardwood bar with regulars perched on cabin-rustic stools, cigarette machine in back by the pool table, and an eight point buck mounted on a knotty pine wall. But as you look around at the tattooed arms of your waitress and the bartender’s spiked hair and dangling earrings that purposely don’t match, there’s something else that doesn’t match your first impression. Hipsters have taken over the corner bar. The beer list features microbrews from around the world, but you can still get Blatz in a bottle and Old Style in a can for a buck fifty. On the flat-screen wall television they were playing a modern Godzilla movie. But the best part was that half the menu was dedicated to vegetarian fare. They served Southern fried tofu, tempeh lettuce and tomato sandwiches along with hushpuppies and mountains of thin-sliced onion rings. We finished it all off with fresh homemade blueberry pie. I can’t wait to go back again.

Dinner at ALA

One more thing about ALA. One of the fun things about it is that you get to see friends in the business. This one was especially good because I was able to meet up with Daniel Mattes who I only get to see at ALA. Last year in New Orleans Steve Ostrem and I had dinner with him and now we all, along with Cely and some others met up again. This time for Thai food. Daniel is the library director at the Universidad Anáhuac in Mexico City. We met up with some other friends from Iowa, Maine and Florida. I guess we covered North America pretty well. Have to make friends with someone from Canada. That's (clockwise from bottom left, Jonathan Miller, Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida; Jim Elmborg, Director ot the University of Iowa Library School; me; Cely; Steve, University of Iowa Libraries; Daniel; Jim's wife Ann; and Sue O'Dell from Bowdoin College. By the way, Sue's husband, Tim has a second CD out, Ancient Pines , its very good. Tim plays saxophone and does so very well.