We had a few surprises on the start of our Corona Summer yesterday. Okay, Memorial Day is the unofficial official start. Are you dusting off your white pants and grilling brats from a safe distance today? A brat is short for bratwurst, a delicious sausage consumed in mass quantities here in Wisconsin, not a naughty kid.
We used to live with my cousin and her family in one big Italian house
The first surprise was lots of sunshine following all the rain.
I love her Memorial Day outfit
And the second was a COVID Visit (COVISIT) from my cousin, Rita. She was done with chemo for the time being and having a good day.
My mother with her sunglasses and the mandatory tissue up her sleeve
My mother and I road tripped from her living room to her balcony and had a lovely visit ❤️.
Somewhere between will i am and Sam-I-Am I met Jackie I AM, a talented and colorful high school pal. Her favorite word was discombobulated and that's how I've felt this week.
"That doesn't seem right."
Then yesterday I visited a few of my favorite spots on a glorious day full of sunshine.
Yes, there are pelicans in Wisconsin (this photo doesn't show it, but there was plenty of sunshine too)
It took over five-and-a-half hours to find the thing I was looking for yesterday.
This wasn't it but I could barely tear myself away from this place
The weather was gorgeous and finding a covered bridge I'd been thinking about was almost beside the point.
The Green County Courthouse sent waves of chamber music around the square
The historic town square in Monroe overflowed with classical music while wise ass kids lobbed back blasts of hip hop from open car windows. I wasn't even in the right city to find the bridge I wanted to see, but it was fascinating.
When I finally found the Clarence Covered Bridge (the thing I'd been looking for) I'd seen a rushing dam, a reopened state park with playgrounds wrapped up like crime scenes, masks sold like roadside vegetables, and a town square playing speaker wars (a country western station was also in the mix).
I'm exhausted and on my last nerve after a day of installation guys hammering next door and doing whatever it was that sounded like an earthquake, so I'm going to sign off and save a few photos for another post.
And besides, it's time to turn the dial up to 11 and SAY CHEESE!
I've been trying to see weather through a dog's eyes and maybe because my best dog pals have been labs
With a few exceptions
Okay, Handsome Bob too
I can't forget my favorite neighbor and the best watchdog I ever met
It's easy to look at the clouds and rain and wind
You would not believe the wind on Lake Mendota last week
I mean it was crazy
It's easy to look at all that and not want to walk out into it, but I know a dog would.
So be a dog. Stay inside when you should, listen to those smarter than you and get outside whenever you can no matter what the weather. All weather eventually changes.
I remember arguing that not everything is political one smoky day back in the 80s. I was running for Fine Arts Editor of the liberal UW-Madison student newspaper The Daily Cardinal (a shock to some I'm sure). And it was smoky because I was chain smoking.
The scene yesterday at the State Capitol may not have reeked of smoke (there's no smoking in the immediate vicinity), but it did reek of politics. Protestors gathered to ignore common sense and CDC guidelines in response to Governor Evers May 26 extension of the Safer At Home Order.
If your president tells you to get your life back while risking the lives of others, some people "liberate" themselves from empathy and common sense.
There are 220 COVID-19 deaths in Wisconsin with larger numbers suspected due to lack of testing. The United States has more known cases than anywhere IN THE WORLD and according to a New York Times database, the US is reporting 2,000 deaths a day. That's 2,000 deaths a DAY, you dangerous idiots, #dangerousidiots.
