Come to the PHCWI-Madison Christmas Bazaar

 

Fud

One of things I've done a lot the past few weeks is eat out. Well, maybe not a lot but a lot for me.

Last month I made my first stop at the standalone Athens Grill in Waunakee and I got their deluxe gyros or whatever they call it. The Grecian-American delight had the added bonus of diced cucumber and feta cheese. Well worth the extra couple bucks.

As a new resident of Eken Park it was only a matter of time before I'd make my first foray to Ogden's North Street Diner. As I write I can now boast that I've been there twice. 

It's been the go-to spot for my friend who lives nearby and me for a quick lunch during the week when we're working from home. I've done the sesame chicken salad both times.

And on my most recent venture, the vegetable chili. 

The salad is fine but it wouldn't hurt to have more vegetables beyond lettuce. A little cucumber, a smidge of cabbage would do me just right. The chili was a veritable cornucopia of vegetables but was rather bland. It seemed all but bereft of any kind chili seasoning, oddly enough.

Last week I made my first appearance at Bierock. The restaurant's namesake is an Eastern European pasty.

The evening sun cast an orange-tinted yellow glow about the room.

I ordered an Oktoberfest from Hop Haus in Middleton. This turned out to be a big mistake as it tasted not good. Maybe this stuff had been sitting around since July and had started going bad; or perhaps they just don't know how to make a beer where malt is the star instead of covering up the grainy goodness with hops.

I ordered a classic bierock which was filled with ground beef, sauerkraut, and onion. Very tasty! The dough was less flaky than the pasties I've had and, while the filling was basic, it satisfied. The mustard vinaigrette that came with it was also very good. 

A couple weeks or so ago I accompanied a friend and her friend out on a thrift store shopping excursion. We hit the shops in Sun Prairie and a couple on Madison's east side. This, of course, made us hungry and so we stopped in at the food hall at Global Market.

Despite having shopped at the market several times, I'd never eaten at the food hall mainly because I tend to shop early and so the restaurants have always been closed when I've been there.

Glazed had mochi doghnuts on offer. I believe they're made from rice and tapioca flours. 

My friend's friend is Hmong so she stopped in at Hmong Kitchen.

It was nice to see her again as it had been years. Upon hearing that I needed to move out of the marital residence ASAP, she immediately offered a room to Piper and me in her home. Even though I didn't take her up on it, I am so grateful and humbled by her kindness and generosity.

She ordered this: 

Not seen is a green papaya salad.

My friend and I put in an order here:

We split this:

Tastilicious!

Tonight as I heated my meatballs, I ate the salad I brought to work but didn't eat as I had forgotten to bring my new bottle of dressing.

Why yes that is a Dovetail Grodziskie. I found some left over from the spring while I was down in Illinois last week. It still tasted wonderful. Light and smoky and smoky.

Better Late Than Never

Well, it finally arrived.

I ordered it from Mystery to Me (thanks!) back in August and here we are nearly 3 months later. I wonder what makes it so hard to get a hold of. After 1 month of waiting I found myself in the UK so I sought it out. However, neither the Waterstones on High Street in Birmingham nor the bookstore at the Birmingham airport had it.

At least I have it now. But it'll have to wait to be read. Right now I am plowing through Locke's Second Treatise of Government and this follows on the heels of selections from Leviathan as I am reading and listening along to a recording of a semester of ILS 206 (Western Culture: Political, Economic, and Social Thought II) as taught by one of my old profs, Charles Anderson, back in, oh, the late 1980s.

After reading bits of Hobbes I've decided I need to start using the word "peradventure" more often. Locke is interesting. A couple parts read just like the Declaration of Independence. Or vice versa. And when he goes on about men owning the fruits of their labors I can understand how Marx was influenced by the man.

I expect to get caught up with the Rivers of London series just in time to find out that Aaronovitch has released a new novella.

Last gasp of fall color?

The autumnal colors are slowly but steadily falling to the ground here. But these trees were holding on as of yesterday.

When your wife thinks you are stupid

I guess receiving mail addressed to me is just too much to bear. Ha! She truly has turned into her mother.

To the lake

I've gotta dig out my swimming trunks because I'll be jumping into Lake Michigan soon!

Piper this morning

Walk, 6 November 2025

I took a walk this morning before work. It was my first in my new neighborhood. Well, my first before work, my first where I didn't have a destination.

I walked over to my local park and then along Starkweather Creek. It's nice to still be near it. 

The bridge was painted with the denizens of the waters here in Madison and local flora too. Wonderful!

I took some photos of the bike path bridge but wasn't really satisfied with any of them. I think I need to take more to discover the structure's attitude, its best angles. It has lines and curves and is an interesting subject but I need to find out how to shoot it.

It's never too early to introduce your kids to pierogi

The Willy Street Coop is putting on a kids cooking class tomorrow where they'll make pierogi.

 

 

It's never too early to introduce your kids to the Polish delectation.

Cat photos

I miss Grabby and it makes me sad that I have one more chance to visit her grave before doing so will be denied to me forever.

My sweety pie, Pipey!

 

 

Peter Nicholls: There be no dominion. Wait. No. Thomas Hobbes.

Yesterday I was reading some selections from Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil by Hobbes and came across this...

...which spawned proggy thoughts. 

People are the mainspring

While I still have a lot of work to do on my new abode, it has a comfortable feel to it. I have neither a bed frame nor a television, but my kitchen is outfitted well and it is so courtesy of various people. One friend gave me plates, bowls, and various other kitchenware; the flatware belonged to one of my grandmothers; I drink coffee from a cat mug given to me by a different friend; Piper is enjoying spending time in the living room on a couch given to me by yet another friend; my kitchen table has the housewarming gift from my youngest stepson on it.

And there's more to come. For instance, I have a print that belonged to my stepmother ready to find a home on a wall. Plus, after I repaint a night stand that I got at a thrift store, I am going to put the pitcher and wash basin that belonged to my grandmother whose flatware I use onto the shelf at the bottom.

I find comfort in having a place furnished with these gifts, these inherited items as they make me think of where they came from. Drinking coffee from my cat mug generates warm feelings for the friend who gave it to me and makes me thankful for her generosity; sitting at the table upon which my stepson's gift sits reminds me of how kind and creative he is; when I eat with my grandmother's flatware, the few memories I have of her come flooding back and I find a degree of reassurance in family.

 

(Piper relaxing on a couch given to me by a friend and next to a quilt made by another friend's mother which has gone unused until now.)

These things remind me of all the wonderful people in my life several of which have shown such great kindness these past few months. It is humbling to be in their inner circles of sympathies and the recipient of their generosity, not just of things but of their time, their ears, and their hugs. The associations of these things with people who are important to me serve as a reminder that I am not alone, that I am part of something larger that provides succor in my time of need and joy at all times.

********

Last night I dined at a friend's house on tasty pot roast. It is nice having him just a couple blocks away now. As I was leaving to head over to his place, I noticed smoke emanating from the backyard and went to investigate with curiosity piqued. Peeking around the corner, I found that my downstairs neighbor was out back sitting before a portable fire pit and staring pensively at the flames which cast a deep orange glow onto her face.

I had run into her last month when I brought the first load of my belongings over. A Latina who appeared to be in the latter half of her 30s, I was delighted to discover that my neighbor was very friendly. She helped me lug a dresser up the stairs and even offered to enlist her sons for further help, should I need it. Since that initial meeting, I hadn't run into her outside of a brief encounter early one morning when she was taking her dog for a walk. However, I have encountered her cooking, albeit from a distance, when the back door to her apartment was open one day and the wonderful aroma of whatever she was making wafted out.

When we met last month I told her it was to be just me and my cat and last night she asked how I was settling in as well as how my cat was adjusting to her new home. I told her of the paucity of furniture in my apartment which led to me revealing that my divorce was in media res. She offered that, while she has never been divorced, a relationship of 20 years had ended, fairly recently I gathered, so we have that in common. I asked about her children and learned that she had 3 and their ages which ran from 11 to 21. The youngest is becoming more independent or headstrong, depending on your viewpoint. In turn, I told her that I have two stepsons.

She said that she enjoyed the simple pleasure of fire and that she hoped to have the flames roaring again soon. A woman after my own heart.

I always have time to chat with a pretty lady and it was certainly time well spent last night. While I approached her not wanting to be an intruder, I soon felt welcome, that her questions were genuine. I think I have a good neighbor.

Tea for Two

While not high tea replete with crumpets and cucumber sliders, a friend and I still took tea together at my place over the weekend.

Despite being gimmicky in that the tea is from the same company whose leaves were thrown overboard during the Boston Tea Party, it was tasty stuff. 

A combination of black teas from various locales, our warm mugs helped fend off the day's chill and provide a little afternoon pick me up.

For the occasion, my friend made brown butter rye shortbread.

They weren't very sweet but were endowed with plenty of tastiness. More of a mellow earthy flavor than their wheaty counterparts. I also had some makowiec - Polish poppy seed roll - on offer but it was not to my friend's liking. More for me, I suppose.

This was my first social call at the new place and that meant the world to me. No need to try to schedule something in my wife's absence, no worries about marital tension seeping into the situation. And now I recall that I forgot to send the milk (2%, no semi-skimmed) home with my friend. What to do with it?

The maple leaves are hanging on

This one has some vague Going For the One cover vibes to me.

Words. And music.

Throw away the bad news and put it to rest

...

You'll find that it's better at the end of the line

Decorating the refrigerator

Progress may be slow, but the new digs are becoming my own. Today I put my favorite drawing by my youngest stepson on the refrigerator.

 

Happy All Souls' Day

Do you wish people a happy All Souls' Day or is there another, more appropriate greeting? Not being one of the faithful, I have no idea.

Today I am thinking about the departed, especially my brother. Look at his ancient Teddy bear! May you enjoy warm memories of the departed today.

Song of the day, 2 November

Happy All Souls' Day! Today I remember my brother and so here's one of his favorite songs - and mine.

The Fog

It's a foggy autumn morning and a bit spooky outside.

Well, back to the grindstone. SCCM isn't going to upgrade itself.

Bowling with Jesus

The Christ was at our table for the WORT Bowl-a-thon a couple weekends ago.

I met a friend there and, since we were a team of 2, we got paired up with another couple fellows in the same boat. It had been a long time since I'd been bowling despite meaning to roll a couple lines for the past few years as an excuse to get out of the house.

Immediately I was presented with a few Escanaba Specials.

We were each given a clutch of raffle tickets and so, after putting my bowling shoes on and grabbing a ball that was a bit too light but had the needed space between the finger holes, I wandered down the hall to where the raffle prizes were on display.

While in line waiting for my chance to peruse the prizes, I heard a woman say "Skippy!" It was ***** and she walked over and gave me a great big hug. I hadn't seen her in a few months so it was nice to do so once again. We chatted briefly and she returned to her lane while I looked over the goodies that I just knew in my bones I was going to win. Most of them were concert tickets for shows on dates when I was unavailable and so I stuck with the couple shows I could actually attend.

With about 10 minutes to go before the bowl-a-thon was set to start, we all threw some practice balls. Mine were horrible. Lots of gutters. I just couldn't keep my arm straight. I figured that, as things went along, I'd get warmed up and roll better with the help of Jesus.

It was great fun despite my poor bowling. While my swing did get straighter after a couple frames and I think I broke the 100 mark all three games - not by a whole lot, however - I was a bit disappointed. No worries though as the two fellows we bowled with were very friendly and I had not seen my friend **** in a couple months so it was great to catch up.

Between games I ran into ***** and we chatted for a few minutes. She remarked that she had felt my wife and I would be together forever. So did I, at one time. I gave her some details from my perspective and told her that I had moved out of the marital residence and was starting my life over. ***** kindly noted that I had lost weight and looked "hot". Ha! What a lovely thing to say! She also gave me a big hug that seemed to last and last like the Energizer bunny. It was wonderful!

We also chatted about cats as ***** owns one of Piper's brothers so we had a brief cat catch up before it was again time to bowl. 

With our three games down, we were given bonus raffle tickets and I went to disperse them after I dropped off my shoes. As I strode out of the room I heard a woman call "Skippy!" again from the pit of the lanes in front of me. It took me a couple seconds to recognize her but it was *******, a friend of my wife's that I knew a little. She had been bowling with *****.

The reason that I didn't immediately recognize her was that she had lost a lot of weight due, I would shortly find out, to a battle with cancer. I hadn't seen her in years and so we caught up. She told me of her struggles with cancer but also that she had become a grandmother. *******  told me that she had tried to get a hold of my Frau via text but had been unsuccessful and so had tried another means. I wished her well in her quest and told her all I could about why she hasn't heard back which was next to nothing. In turn, I told her about my divorce and the various changes that it has spawned, both good and bad.

It was lovely to see both ***** and *******. On the way out ***** got my number and shot me a brief text. I replied saying that it was great to see her and ******* and thanked her for her ginormous hug and kind words. She replied by saying that ******* had remarked to her that it was great to see me and that they wanted to take me out one of these days. What an unexpected delight!

Hopefully ******* can get a hold of my Frau and they can relight their friendship. We can all use as many friends as we can get.

Coming soon: more apartments (or condos)

Construction has started on the next bit at Hill Farms - some type of housing.

Piper at the gates of dawn

The leaves are dropping fast so I've got to get photos while I can.