Old Railway Tunnel
Sara, our Dad and I went biking yesterday on the Badger State Trail, starting in Belleville, WI. The best part of the trail was the long, old railroad tunnel that we needed lights in order to get us through.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Badger State Trail
Old Railway Tunnel
Sara, our Dad and I went biking yesterday on the Badger State Trail, starting in Belleville, WI. The best part of the trail was the long, old railroad tunnel that we needed lights in order to get us through.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Montreal and Kickapoo
Don't be vulgar, it has nothing to do with how I feel about French Canadians...the Kickapoo is a river in WI.
Joe and I spent overnight in Montreal last weekend. It's a fun ciy. Lots of beautiful old architecture, interesting culture/history, beautiful riverside park, and a lot to do. There were numerous festivals going on at the same time. We didn't get pictures, but happened upon the "Just For Laughs" festival the night that we were there. Puppet shows, street performers, random parades, strange 'Totoro' looking characters, people running around with devil horns on theirs heads...it was bizarre but fun. We found ourselves a small outdoor French style cafe/bar and holed up there for the evening while we watched the festivities.
Old Downtown Montreal
This weekend, Sara and I headed for the beautiful driftless area of Wisconsin and rented a canoe for a 3 hour trip down the Kickapoo River. First time I rented a canoe from a bartender. The kid running the show for canoe rentals within the bar at the supposed "Kickapoo Yacht Club" had the intelligence of a newt (or less), but otherwise this was an easy way to rent a canoe and spend a beautiful day in the Kickapoo Valley. We ran into a couple of large groups--in particular one large college group (one of their canoes was dubbed "The Titanic"). However, we were otherwise pretty much alone on the river, saw pretty bluffs, king fishers, Great Blue Herons, muskrats, lots of small fish, and only got stuck about ten times on logs and sandbars in the low level river.
We ended the day by driving back up highway 14 and stopping at Peck's farmstand. Unknown to us, they have a decent size petting zoo there. I fed some corn to some happy, wagging goats. Disturbingly, they greatly reminded me of Honey. There was a camel and zebra also kept in the zoo, but the only way to feed them was by ways of a very long PVC pipe. The camel has yet to figure out how to spit up the pipe. Prairie Dogs were also in a circular pen, but they were more concerned about digging their holes. One looked like it was making progress on burrowing its way out.
Great Blue Heron on the Kickapoo
Joe and I spent overnight in Montreal last weekend. It's a fun ciy. Lots of beautiful old architecture, interesting culture/history, beautiful riverside park, and a lot to do. There were numerous festivals going on at the same time. We didn't get pictures, but happened upon the "Just For Laughs" festival the night that we were there. Puppet shows, street performers, random parades, strange 'Totoro' looking characters, people running around with devil horns on theirs heads...it was bizarre but fun. We found ourselves a small outdoor French style cafe/bar and holed up there for the evening while we watched the festivities.
Old Downtown Montreal
This weekend, Sara and I headed for the beautiful driftless area of Wisconsin and rented a canoe for a 3 hour trip down the Kickapoo River. First time I rented a canoe from a bartender. The kid running the show for canoe rentals within the bar at the supposed "Kickapoo Yacht Club" had the intelligence of a newt (or less), but otherwise this was an easy way to rent a canoe and spend a beautiful day in the Kickapoo Valley. We ran into a couple of large groups--in particular one large college group (one of their canoes was dubbed "The Titanic"). However, we were otherwise pretty much alone on the river, saw pretty bluffs, king fishers, Great Blue Herons, muskrats, lots of small fish, and only got stuck about ten times on logs and sandbars in the low level river.
We ended the day by driving back up highway 14 and stopping at Peck's farmstand. Unknown to us, they have a decent size petting zoo there. I fed some corn to some happy, wagging goats. Disturbingly, they greatly reminded me of Honey. There was a camel and zebra also kept in the zoo, but the only way to feed them was by ways of a very long PVC pipe. The camel has yet to figure out how to spit up the pipe. Prairie Dogs were also in a circular pen, but they were more concerned about digging their holes. One looked like it was making progress on burrowing its way out.
Great Blue Heron on the Kickapoo
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Annual "Wife Carry"
Damn. If only Joe were here tomorrow so we could compete in this. Maybe next year.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Vermonting
I've been here for about two months now, and things are going reasonably well.
The positives:
-I've adapted quickly to the tasks that I've been trained in: brewing, cleaning fermenters and counting yeast cells. I have a ways to go on lab work and want to learn to work the particular filter we have, and I'm sure I'll get my chance.
-My social life is better than I expected. It's tough to hang out with the other brewers when we're all on different schedules, but everyone has been really thoughtful about inviting me out when it's possible. So far I've gone out to lunch, hung out at a couple of bars in Burlington, been to a party and taken a road trip. This Friday I may be going to see a hippiegrass band called Hot Buttered Rum and opening act Luke Eriksen, who draws comparisons to Neil Young. We'll see about that. On Saturday, it's another party.
-The area is beautiful. I'm between the Adirondack and Green mountains, with Lake Champlain to the northwest of me. Forest is abundant and New England towns are really cool looking. I biked to work yesterday, which made me feel good, even though my back derailleur shifted on its own terms.
-We brew excellent beer and you should try it!
-The apartment has worked out nicely. I could use a vacuum cleaner and screens on my windows, but my landlord has otherwise been really accommodating.
The only real negative, aside from the giant but expected bummer of missing Rachel like crazy, is that I don't like the job very much. Here's why:
-I perform the same few steps of a process several times a day and pass the results on to somebody else, as opposed to following each beer from beginning to end and doing something different each day to support it. It's like working on an assembly line. I had to do more grunt work at Whitney's, but it was part of something that I was excited about and in direct control of. This job is way more mundane.
-Despite the boring nature of my tasks, the stress level is pretty high. Whether I succeed or fail on a given day is determined by how much I can accomplish in the 5-minute gaps between frantic activity. Somewhere in there, I get hungry and want to eat lunch.
-The guy who I was so excited about working for is never there. He spends about fifteen hours a week at his desk, and the rest of his work life is devoted to running his brewing school from a different location. I still think he's a really smart guy who I could learn a lot from, so it's unfortunate that I've had almost no contact with him beyond polite greetings and time-off requests. My training hasn't changed since I was passed off to my peers on the first day. The other brewers are great people, but it's been like going to vocational school when I expected a university education. Given that I've never worked a job that was designed for my benefit, I think being showered with knowledge was a silly expectation on my part.
Hopefully most of my dissatisfaction is due to the fact that I'm still adjusting - I'm competent enough to do the job but not comfortable enough to do it effortlessly. Once it's effortless, I'll be able to alleviate the repetition by goofing off :). Whether it gets better or not, I'm not exactly breaking my back or going poor here. Overall, this has been a good experience and I still believe it'll repay me in spades down the road.
The positives:
-I've adapted quickly to the tasks that I've been trained in: brewing, cleaning fermenters and counting yeast cells. I have a ways to go on lab work and want to learn to work the particular filter we have, and I'm sure I'll get my chance.
-My social life is better than I expected. It's tough to hang out with the other brewers when we're all on different schedules, but everyone has been really thoughtful about inviting me out when it's possible. So far I've gone out to lunch, hung out at a couple of bars in Burlington, been to a party and taken a road trip. This Friday I may be going to see a hippiegrass band called Hot Buttered Rum and opening act Luke Eriksen, who draws comparisons to Neil Young. We'll see about that. On Saturday, it's another party.
-The area is beautiful. I'm between the Adirondack and Green mountains, with Lake Champlain to the northwest of me. Forest is abundant and New England towns are really cool looking. I biked to work yesterday, which made me feel good, even though my back derailleur shifted on its own terms.
-We brew excellent beer and you should try it!
-The apartment has worked out nicely. I could use a vacuum cleaner and screens on my windows, but my landlord has otherwise been really accommodating.
The only real negative, aside from the giant but expected bummer of missing Rachel like crazy, is that I don't like the job very much. Here's why:
-I perform the same few steps of a process several times a day and pass the results on to somebody else, as opposed to following each beer from beginning to end and doing something different each day to support it. It's like working on an assembly line. I had to do more grunt work at Whitney's, but it was part of something that I was excited about and in direct control of. This job is way more mundane.
-Despite the boring nature of my tasks, the stress level is pretty high. Whether I succeed or fail on a given day is determined by how much I can accomplish in the 5-minute gaps between frantic activity. Somewhere in there, I get hungry and want to eat lunch.
-The guy who I was so excited about working for is never there. He spends about fifteen hours a week at his desk, and the rest of his work life is devoted to running his brewing school from a different location. I still think he's a really smart guy who I could learn a lot from, so it's unfortunate that I've had almost no contact with him beyond polite greetings and time-off requests. My training hasn't changed since I was passed off to my peers on the first day. The other brewers are great people, but it's been like going to vocational school when I expected a university education. Given that I've never worked a job that was designed for my benefit, I think being showered with knowledge was a silly expectation on my part.
Hopefully most of my dissatisfaction is due to the fact that I'm still adjusting - I'm competent enough to do the job but not comfortable enough to do it effortlessly. Once it's effortless, I'll be able to alleviate the repetition by goofing off :). Whether it gets better or not, I'm not exactly breaking my back or going poor here. Overall, this has been a good experience and I still believe it'll repay me in spades down the road.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Family Photo
(From left to right) Eliza, Miriam, Linda, Craig, John, Granny (Joyce), Margie, Tom, Rachel, Karen, and Joe.
My Grandfather's (Jerry) funeral was last weekend. Here's a photo of some of our family that met up in Milwaukee.
The lovely, always generous Lizz sent us a fun present for Oscar! A woman in NYC makes these bottle cap collars for pets. This particular collar features bottle caps from Joe's current brewery (Otter Creek) and some other New England microbreweries. Thanks, Lizz!
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Joe in Vermont
Joe at Lake Champlain in VT
Originally uploaded by RachelSuzieRN.
I flew out to Vermont this last weekend to visit Joe. Our photos are on our flickr site.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Friday, February 02, 2007
Hopefully I don't burst into flames...
Since Joe has had such good news lately, I felt inclined to try to match my husband with my own good news. I just accepted a new RN job position! Not only is it in a great woman's health clinic within the same organization that I'm currently working, it is DAYTIME hours, NO weekends, and NO major holidays (not including the "eves"). It pays less than the hospital, but I'll be working more hours, I will no longer feel like I'm living in a perpetual haze and, as my Dad said in somewhat similar words, I may actually be a person other people enjoy spending time with. Evidently, I don't make a very friendly vampire during my off hours/shifts. I'll miss my night staff, but not the night hours. I'll miss watching the most amazing sunrises over the city, but it will be nice to see the sun on a regular basis when it's higher than just a couple degrees above the horizon. Closing in on almost two years of straight night shifts! I think I've done my time. Now, if only Vermont was just a little closer to Wisconsin...
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Vermont Update
I got the job! The eight of you who read this have earned exemptions from the ensuing mass email; way to go team :).
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Vermont
As most of you already know, I'm in the running for a 9-month job at the Otter Creek brewery in Middlebury, VT. I've already had a phone interview, which went well, and I'm flying out there on Tuesday to meet the crew in person. It sounds like I'm in the lead for the position, and that meeting them next week is mostly just a sanity check for all parties. The job is slated to start on March 1st so, if I get the job, I'll be leaving Madison in about a month. Now for the backstory.
For a while now, I've been planning two breweries on paper: a brewpub and a packaging brewery. I want to have both options open if the right opportunities arise, but going the packaging route is more attractive to me at this point. The problem is that I don't have any experience with packaging, or the design and operation of a brewery that accommodates it. There are several ways to educate myself about it:
-Take a hardcore brewing course. The class I took in Chicago was a two-week overview of brewing operations. What I'm talking about here would be 4-5 months. At UC Davis, in California, the cost would be about $13K plus living expenses.
-Hire a consultant, who would be paid by the hour. I'll probably work with one regardless, to get quick answers to very specific questions, but there's a lot of money to be lost by using a consultant as a teacher.
-Find a job and get paid not only to learn, but to learn by doing. The downside is time.
Working at Otter Creek is ideal for many reasons:
-Rachel and I want to stay in Madison for a while. Knowledge-wise, I got what I needed out of Whitney's after 2-3 months. A 9-month job is the shortest I've ever seen advertised, and there will be no expectation for me to stick around afterward.
-They brew 50 times the amount of beer that Whitney's brews each year, but their brewing equipment is only 4 times the size. The do so by brewing 5 times a day, and transferring (moving beer into bottles or kegs) at the same time as they brew. The equipment at Whitney's could kick out one brew and two transfers each day, or two brews and one transfer, but not a brew and transfer at the same time. In the case of both breweries, "each day" means "in a 24-hour period". It'll be fascinating to learn how Otter Creek's equipment is set up and and how the brewers operate it.
-They brew a line of organic beers, which is an idea that I've been playing with. The brewmaster wants organic brewing to become a movement (as opposed to just his competitive edge), and told me that he's more than willing to help me get into it. His knowledge and industry contacts will be really valuable down the road.
-In addition to his work at Otter Creek, the brewmaster runs a brewing school! It's called the American Brewers Guild and I considered taking their online course before I won a scholarship to Siebel. In other words, I'm going to be exposed to all kinds of science at work. My current boss knows the science, but doesn't much use it.
I'm not at all excited about leaving Rachel for 9 months, but everything else about the job is exactly what I want. The good news is that Otter Creek will pay me way more than I'm making now. The extra money alone will be more than enough for an apartment, and hopefully enough for a lot of plane travel. When I get back to Madison next Dec/Jan, I'll make opening a brewery my full-time job. That is, if I get the job :).
For a while now, I've been planning two breweries on paper: a brewpub and a packaging brewery. I want to have both options open if the right opportunities arise, but going the packaging route is more attractive to me at this point. The problem is that I don't have any experience with packaging, or the design and operation of a brewery that accommodates it. There are several ways to educate myself about it:
-Take a hardcore brewing course. The class I took in Chicago was a two-week overview of brewing operations. What I'm talking about here would be 4-5 months. At UC Davis, in California, the cost would be about $13K plus living expenses.
-Hire a consultant, who would be paid by the hour. I'll probably work with one regardless, to get quick answers to very specific questions, but there's a lot of money to be lost by using a consultant as a teacher.
-Find a job and get paid not only to learn, but to learn by doing. The downside is time.
Working at Otter Creek is ideal for many reasons:
-Rachel and I want to stay in Madison for a while. Knowledge-wise, I got what I needed out of Whitney's after 2-3 months. A 9-month job is the shortest I've ever seen advertised, and there will be no expectation for me to stick around afterward.
-They brew 50 times the amount of beer that Whitney's brews each year, but their brewing equipment is only 4 times the size. The do so by brewing 5 times a day, and transferring (moving beer into bottles or kegs) at the same time as they brew. The equipment at Whitney's could kick out one brew and two transfers each day, or two brews and one transfer, but not a brew and transfer at the same time. In the case of both breweries, "each day" means "in a 24-hour period". It'll be fascinating to learn how Otter Creek's equipment is set up and and how the brewers operate it.
-They brew a line of organic beers, which is an idea that I've been playing with. The brewmaster wants organic brewing to become a movement (as opposed to just his competitive edge), and told me that he's more than willing to help me get into it. His knowledge and industry contacts will be really valuable down the road.
-In addition to his work at Otter Creek, the brewmaster runs a brewing school! It's called the American Brewers Guild and I considered taking their online course before I won a scholarship to Siebel. In other words, I'm going to be exposed to all kinds of science at work. My current boss knows the science, but doesn't much use it.
I'm not at all excited about leaving Rachel for 9 months, but everything else about the job is exactly what I want. The good news is that Otter Creek will pay me way more than I'm making now. The extra money alone will be more than enough for an apartment, and hopefully enough for a lot of plane travel. When I get back to Madison next Dec/Jan, I'll make opening a brewery my full-time job. That is, if I get the job :).
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Best complement ever...
I went in to see one of my patients yesterday at the beginning of my shift and introduced myself. He looked up at me and said, "Wow, you don't look like a nurse".
"Oh, I don't do I?", I said (expecting him to reply back and say that I looked too young to be nurse or I look like a 12 year old or something).
He replied back, "No, you look like a movie star".
I was of course very taken aback and half laughed. I told him that I'd never heard that one before and wanted to know who paid him to say that. "Oh, nobody paid me," he said.
"Well, thanks" I said.
I of course went out and told several staff members how my patient told me that I looked like a movie star and I felt all glamorous for about an hour or so.
Then I went to do my hourly rounds on my patients. The nice gentleman was sleeping by this time and I went over to his bedside table to quietly clean off some old food and trash. When I picked up a napkin, I suddenly saw something sitting under it that made me quickly come back to reality...
...He hadn't been wearing his (very thick lensed) glasses when he talked to me earlier. I remembered that he wasn't wearing any at the time and there they were now sitting on his bedside table. Oh well. Nonetheless, it wasn't a bad way to start the work week.
"Oh, I don't do I?", I said (expecting him to reply back and say that I looked too young to be nurse or I look like a 12 year old or something).
He replied back, "No, you look like a movie star".
I was of course very taken aback and half laughed. I told him that I'd never heard that one before and wanted to know who paid him to say that. "Oh, nobody paid me," he said.
"Well, thanks" I said.
I of course went out and told several staff members how my patient told me that I looked like a movie star and I felt all glamorous for about an hour or so.
Then I went to do my hourly rounds on my patients. The nice gentleman was sleeping by this time and I went over to his bedside table to quietly clean off some old food and trash. When I picked up a napkin, I suddenly saw something sitting under it that made me quickly come back to reality...
...He hadn't been wearing his (very thick lensed) glasses when he talked to me earlier. I remembered that he wasn't wearing any at the time and there they were now sitting on his bedside table. Oh well. Nonetheless, it wasn't a bad way to start the work week.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Grumble, grumble...
I'm not voting Republican this next Tuesday based on one very important fact: They obviously don't care about the plight of the night R.N.'s who need their valuable sleep because they send their solicitors to these R.N.'s doors at 9:45 a.m. to campaign! Not only door bell ringing, but door pounding too. I wish I'd known who it was so I would have crawled out of bed to answer the door and yell at them. However, I did have Oscar to give them a piece of my mind...hopefully the solicitor understood dopey, howling black lab/hound language....
...This afternoon I angrily tore up the propaganda (which also let a draft into my house because it prevented the storm door from being shut properly) and placed it in my recycling bin.......Now I'm crabby, tired, but at least environmentally friendly....
...This afternoon I angrily tore up the propaganda (which also let a draft into my house because it prevented the storm door from being shut properly) and placed it in my recycling bin.......Now I'm crabby, tired, but at least environmentally friendly....
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Curly
I've never had to spend so long convincing somebody that I have naturally curly hair.
The usual conversation is: "Is your hair naturally curly?". "Why yes it is". "Wow, you're lucky. People pay a lot of money to have your hair". "Why thank you". End of conversation.
However, one of the nursing assistants working on my unit last night came up to me and said,
"So, I see you decided to curl your hair again".
I thought it was a joke and in reference to the fact that I was wearing my hair down at that moment and I usually have my hair pulled back at work. Or maybe the fact that I frequently have patients commenting about my hair (like the conversation up above).
Since I thought she was joking, I used my usual,
"Why yes, I took each individual hair this evening and curled them one by one like I do every day".
However, this was followed by a furrowed brow and silence. I realized that perhaps she wasn't getting my sarcasm and I said bluntly, "Yeah, my hair is always curly. It's naturally curly".
"No it's not," she said. "Yes it is,"I said chuckling. "No, it's not", she repeated a little angrily. "Um, yeah it is...," I said...now getting a little miffed myself. "Really?! No, your hair isn't really curly...". Followed by another nurse on the unit, also getting a bit annoyed, who said, "Yes it is! It always has been!". And the broken record again said, "No it's not". Followed by a chorus of, "Yes it is!!!". "Oh," she said "I thought you and Kristin (another RN) curled your hair just for fun".
Oh goodness. She really thought I was pulling her leg the whole time. And she started to get pretty agitated with me about it too. I guess I better hold back my sarcasm on the job because some of the other employees (or probably just the one) must think I'm always joking and don't know when to stop.
Luckily, stupid conversations like this break up my busy nights once in awhile...whether it be with patients or clueless fellow employees.
The usual conversation is: "Is your hair naturally curly?". "Why yes it is". "Wow, you're lucky. People pay a lot of money to have your hair". "Why thank you". End of conversation.
However, one of the nursing assistants working on my unit last night came up to me and said,
"So, I see you decided to curl your hair again".
I thought it was a joke and in reference to the fact that I was wearing my hair down at that moment and I usually have my hair pulled back at work. Or maybe the fact that I frequently have patients commenting about my hair (like the conversation up above).
Since I thought she was joking, I used my usual,
"Why yes, I took each individual hair this evening and curled them one by one like I do every day".
However, this was followed by a furrowed brow and silence. I realized that perhaps she wasn't getting my sarcasm and I said bluntly, "Yeah, my hair is always curly. It's naturally curly".
"No it's not," she said. "Yes it is,"I said chuckling. "No, it's not", she repeated a little angrily. "Um, yeah it is...," I said...now getting a little miffed myself. "Really?! No, your hair isn't really curly...". Followed by another nurse on the unit, also getting a bit annoyed, who said, "Yes it is! It always has been!". And the broken record again said, "No it's not". Followed by a chorus of, "Yes it is!!!". "Oh," she said "I thought you and Kristin (another RN) curled your hair just for fun".
Oh goodness. She really thought I was pulling her leg the whole time. And she started to get pretty agitated with me about it too. I guess I better hold back my sarcasm on the job because some of the other employees (or probably just the one) must think I'm always joking and don't know when to stop.
Luckily, stupid conversations like this break up my busy nights once in awhile...whether it be with patients or clueless fellow employees.
Friday, October 20, 2006
No Comment...
Dog takes world's smallest bath
Originally uploaded by Honey Bunches of Trouble.
I just found this photo of Honey on Lizz' flickr site. I just don't know what to say....
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Friday, September 01, 2006
Alaska
Grizzly Bear Momma
We finally posted our photos here from our AMAZING trip to Alaska. Either view in slideshow or detailed view (for more commentary). I uploaded them in "archival" format on flickr, so you should be able to choose to magnify individual photos to see them in better detail on the website.
We finally posted our photos here from our AMAZING trip to Alaska. Either view in slideshow or detailed view (for more commentary). I uploaded them in "archival" format on flickr, so you should be able to choose to magnify individual photos to see them in better detail on the website.
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