Reading list

As I have mentioned, I don't often buy NEW books to read. Thus, I'm generally about 2-7 years behind the rest of the readers. Right now I have the following to read:

Look me in the Eye by John Elder Robinson
http://www.amazon.com/Look-Me-Eye-Life-Aspergers/dp/0307396185/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277401217&sr=1-1

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
http://www.amazon.com/Bean-Trees-Novel-P-S/dp/0061765228/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277401263&sr=1-1

Caucasia by Danzy Senna
http://www.amazon.com/Caucasia-Novel-Danzy-Senna/dp/1573227161/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277401291&sr=1-1

and a few others I can't think of off the top of my head.

I just started Look Me in the Eye...it's written by a man who grew up with Asperger's and about his experiences growing up with Asperger's. He's the brother of writer Augusten Burroughs (wrote Running with Scissors). I read Running with Scissors a few years ago and enjoyed it, though it was quite gritty. Anyway, in the first three chapters I'm already seeing so much in common with my nephew. Anyone with friends or relatives with Asperger's should read this to gain a little insight, while enjoying a well-writen story.

Oh, and I just read Shopgirl by Steve Martin. Yes, that Steve Martin. It was a quick, fluffy read, but enjoyable.

Great weekend, so tired

We had a great time at the Zane Lamprey show on Saturday (pic is courtesy of a Facebook update by Zane).

We stayed two blocks from the venue at an Aloft hotel. It was certainly a different hotel experience than usual. It's kind of a young, hip club atmosphere. They had Bliss shower/bath products, which I appreciated.

On our way to Milwaukee, we stopped at a bar that's on our Cannon Run route (the one were we hit 74 bars in a summer...a poker run kind of thing with prizes at the end of the season). We were having lunch and couldn't decide what to get, so we took the tip on our Cannon Run card and shared a basket of chicken tenders. They were GIANT. They cut approximately two hunks of chicken right from the breast and batter them in a light, crispy fish-fry like batter. They were so yummy.

When in Milwaukee, we went to our favorite brewery, hit a new distillery, and then went back to the room for a nap before heading out for the evening. Oh, on the way we took pics of me and Zane's tour buses. I'll have to post when we download from the camera phone.

A bar was having a pre-show party, and we've been wanting to try that bar (see my previous post). Well, we decided to scrap it since we'd have to again pay $10 to leave the parking ramp and return. Our hotel was in a great part of town with plenty to do, so we hit the bars there. Well, come to find out, had we hit that bar earlier in the day, Zane & Co. were there filming for their tv show. Booooo! I did get a cool moment though, we saw them pull up to their tour buses and get out as we were heading to dinner. I had a restrained fan girl moment and just stared.

At the show, we were right in the front, at a two person table on the side. We had a semi-blocked view of a screen that was part of the show, but it was worth it not to be cramed into rows with everyone else. Before they started, I hit the merchandise table to buy his book. Turns out, if you bought a book there, you got it signed for free after the show AND a photo op with the guys. Trick is, it's their photographer, so I'll have to buy the pic when it's posted later today. It was fun to meet the guys in person, particularly because we were all drunk (including them), but not sloppy drunk.

Now, let me tell you about Steve McKenna.

This is Steve and a fan at Milwaukee's Bomb Shelter Bar. The beard is a new thing for the tour. Nobody can explain it.

Steve and Zane met in acting school in New York. They became drinking buddies. Zane went on to make tv shows, Steve bought a successful mini-mart. LOL! Steve would often make guest appearances on Three Sheets, as he is a drinking fool. Nobody out-drinks Steve McKenna. So Zane brings Steve McKenna on tour with them. It's a comedy tour, but they are also filming a series for HD Net about drinking across America. Steve's purpose really seems to drink a lot of beer and partake in local eating customs. In Madison, he and a crew member had a fried cheese curd eating contest. Steve won. Steve is on stage during the comedy show for about 15 minutes, where his main activity is slaming a giant mug of five beers.

I have decided Steve McKenna is the smartest man alive. He gets a buddy to take him across America, for the sole purpose of drinking and eating. Rock on, Steve McKenna.

Two for Wednesday?

Ok, so there's no clever rhyme.

1. I'm soooo excited to see Zane Lamprey this weekend! http://www.zanelamprey.com/
Turns out a Milwaukee bar I've been wanting to visit is having a pre-show bbq. It's a real working mans bar in the wrong part of town, but has the best beer selection in Milwaukee, plus a lot of cheapie beers and pickled products. Should be eventful.

2. I have to go to a retirement party tonight for one of Chris's coworkers. Probably more time than I want to spend with Chris's coworkers, but I like the guy and well, I love my husband, so I need to go. Unfortunately Chris has planned the party, so he'll need to stay for the whole thing. It's going to be a long night.

Good Things

I prefer to think of the Bodean's song, not Martha Stewart when I say "Good Things." There have been some crappy things lately (nothing earth-shattering, just the crappy stuff that makes you grumble), so I thought I'd remind myself of the good.

1. It's been a warm spring, with a lot of rain. This is good because everything is growing like crazy. Plants that normally don't bloom until late June are gorgeous right now. I also love my lettuce pots. I just sprinkled seeds in the pot (1/3 of a package per pot) of soil, covered for a few days with a plastic bag, and voila! Two weeks later I had a filled pot!

2. The hammock was finally hung. This was the hammock we brought back from Guatemala two years ago. It was a PITA to get back, so it's a shame it took so long to enjoy it. We should've moved the pole out another foot. Ooops. Oh well, it's nice to read it since you are folded up a big more instead of stretched out flat.

3. We are going "convertible camping" this Saturday night on the Mississippi River. This means everything we need must fit in 2'x3' "trunk" and small compartments behind the two seats. A small tent and the air mattress will take up most of the "trunk." Flashlights, clothes and blankets will hopefully fit behind our seats. Eeek. We aren't cooking at the campsite, just sleeping there.

4. I'm off work today to focus on homework. I'm very thankful I have a job with just over four weeks of paid time off per year beyond holidays. Even if I also have 8 days of furlough each year for two years. I don't think I could do school and work without at least a few weeks of vacation each year.

I went out to take pictures of flowers and the hammock to add to this post, and I found a mess on the deck. I accidentally forgot to bring the foil pan in from my smoked beer can chicken on Tuesday night. There was a pool of beer, chicken juice and wood chips on the bottom. Some animal was hungry. The cats must have been freaked, as they love to sit in the room that has a clear view of the deck.

I remembered that Boo was curious about my rock stealing. Here are two of the bigger rocks we nabbed. I still need the orange one to be bigger to hide the downspout adequately. If you are just above eye level with the rock, it hides it, but as you can see, not from above.

Only my husband...

I took the day off last Thursday to do homework before our long camping weekend. That's the thing about many online courses...the coursework is pretty dependent on an internet connection.

Chris called me around noon. He was at the courthouse in Madison for work and had gone through the x-ray scanner, as required. He was rushing to get into the elevator with a group of people and shoving items back in his pocket. Including the convertible key (the convertible was back at his office...top and windows down). You see where this is going, right? The key tumbled to the ground, just as he was crossing the elevator opening. He went to grab it, but there were too many people in the way and it fell in the crack, down the elevator shaft.

It's our only key (guy we bought it from only had one). We'd been talking about needing to get one made just a few weeks ago.

He found a maintenance worker, and they found the basement door to the elevator shaft. But nobody had the key. Only the supervisor who was off for vacation for a week and the elevator company out of Minnesota.

So Chris goes to the Toyota dealership two blocks from his office. We can't simply get a second key cut that matches the first. We need to have the whole thing reprogrammed and get a new key (of course we'd get two). Cost? About $300. They could at least get the windows up for us without the key.

Instead of waiting around to see if somebody could retrieve the key the following week from the elevator, Chris decided we needed the second key anyway, so had the two keys cut. It took four hours because they kept running into snags. And yeah, Toyota dealership shop rates? $110/hour. Luckily, they only charged us as quoted, because I was ready to make a big ol stink.

So between the key and some cosmetic work on the bumper Chris had done in May, the convertible cost us almost $1000 last month.

The courthouse called him yesterday and has his key ready to pick up. You know, the one that no longer works in the car.