Land of Ahs.

Sconnie.

We’ve returned to Madison, Wisconsin. Such a glorious place. Looking around, taking in the peace and greenery, I can’t quite believe we used to live here.

To the land of cheese curds and beer, we commend you for your awesomeness—and sincerely apologize for leaving you for Chicagoland. I can only hope you’ll take us back someday.

We don’t know where we’re going, but we’re on our way. Soon.

Today we leave town for our own version of the great American road trip. Just Cristi, Jez and I in an Enterprise rent-a-car. Of course, we pretty much know where we’re going, but it’s more fun to pretend that we don’t. Plus, it sounds a lot cooler.

The mystique surrounding this getaway is heightened due to a couple of key factors. First, Cristi and I haven’t taken a trip together for almost three years. Second, we don’t own cars anymore, so the idea of driving in and of itself makes me a little giddy. The concept that we can take ourselves practically anywhere that accepts a major credit card is hard to fathom when daily travel is often limited to trains, buses and bicycles.

On that note, I hope you all have a chance step out of your routines this holiday weekend. It seems to me that sometimes the most rewarding part of working hard to keep what you’ve got is the chance to leave it all behind. For a few days at least.

Golden.

Sophisticated palate.

The world has come back to life. The trees, the flowers and the lawns. As you might expect, our sweet old dog loves the warmer weather. Not for the temperatures or sunshine necessarily, but for the squirrels that give her something to chase (but never catch) and the weeds that give her something to snack on when we’re out on our morning walks.

However, just like her human counterparts, she’s grown bored with the same thing everyday and her tastes are starting to evolve. While crabgrass and other weeds were perfectly acceptable for years, she’s started wandering into fancy lawn territory and chewing on decorative grasses and shrubbery. I tried to sit her down and explain the difference, but she got distracted by a squirrel running up a tree trunk and quickly bolted across someone’s lawn.

Dandelions and other junk
Snack

Ribbon Grass/Phalaris arundinacea
Not a snack

A look in the mirror: Hipsters on hipsters

Interesting article.

Cupcakes.

It’s OK.

Our big city apartment building is surrounded by single-family homes filled with children. Walk the tree-lined streets and you’ll see toys strewn about front porches, sidewalks covered in chalk and living room windows adorned with hand-drawn pictures haphazardly taped to the glass.

The window art is especially intriguing. Not only does it prove that kids still know how to use writing utensils, it usually corresponds with the seasons, major holidays and even current events. During the presidential election, for example, there were a lot of  Obama-related drawings prominently placed for passersby to read. “Vote for Change,” “Yes we can!” and “HOPE” in crayon and marker. While there are certainly pros and cons surrounding five-year-olds creating political propaganda, I saw a bi-partisan message today that made me smile. It read:

“Don’t worry. It’s OK.”

I think I might copy the sign word-for-word and post it in my window. But only if I can find my crayons, of course.