Tiz, a Coffee Ceremony, and a Lady Bareback Rider

Just look at this absolutely beautiful face that greeted John and I on our visit to Oshkosh today. We hadn't seen our Tiz for two weeks and I am still trying to figure out how she grew up in that short amount of time! She was wearing her hair free and natural and her attitude and personality matched the hair perfectly and not in a bad way. I wouldn't have to write another word, you would be able to figure out how fun our day was just by seeing this face, but I am going to document it anyway.
It was nice to go up to Oshkosh. It has been awhile since we have seen Tiz in her own element where she is the queen bee. It reminded me of the months when she first came home and we traveled up to see her because she wasn't out and about yet. It was a nice day for sure. Tiz decided that we should start with a traditional Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony orchestrated by none other than the queen bee herself.

We started by spreading a beautiful Ethiopian scarf on the floor. Courtney let us use the real pot and dishes that they brought home from Ethiopia for our ceremony. Here Tiz is pretending to pour coffee in Grandpa's little cup.

And now it is my turn to get my coffee. We were also eating popcorn since that is what is sometimes served at a coffee ceremony

The only real problem with the Coffee Ceremony was that neither John nor I drink coffee so we switched it out for Diet Coke. Tiz had some orange juice. It was a most lovely ceremony. We spent about a half hour drinking our "coffee" and just chatting. After all we had two weeks to catch up on in each other's lives.

After the ceremony we headed over to the zoo which is across the street from Tiz's house. She knows the zoo well and was a wonderful zoo guide as she showed us around and pointed things out. Here she is showing Grandpa the wolf.

Then if was time to ride the zoo train. Tiz sat in her own seat behind Grandpa. I was behind her. It was a great train ride.

Here is our own little bare back rider. She was doing tricks as she rode the Merry go round. Each time she came past us, she was performing a new trick. It was quite funny. Perhaps a circus star is in her future.

And finally, it was a big popsicle to restore energy lost on our big adventure.

And here is how we all looked after our fun day! We sure are glad you are home, Tiz! We missed you and you went and grew up on us in two weeks! Don't let that happen again.

Oconomowoc Bike Trail - Take Two

Today was a beautiful day for a bike ride so John and I decided to give the trail in Oconomowoc another chance. If you recall, John got a flat tire four miles into this same trail a few months ago and we ended up tag teaming on my bike and walking his bike back. I decided to wear this shirt which I had found in Courtney's "rummage" stuff. Admittedly, it is a bit tight, but tight clothes are so much more aero dynamic for bike riding, right? This shirt drew a few looks and one comment from an old lady, but I am not sure if it was the fit or the message. I am not really a bitter woman but I could be... We started our ride at Imagination Station in Oconomowoc and rode a bit past Delafield for a total of 22 miles today. They ( whoever they are ) are in the process of finishing up some repair work on the trail. We did not heed the signs and went on the path at our own risk. Not exactly sure what the risks might be short of falling off one's bike. The paving was finished and the path is so smooth.

The scenery is very pretty with no less than four lakes to view. This is Upper or Lower Nenaben (I know that is not spelled right and I really don't know if it is upper or lower) We cross this lake whenever we drive on the I system to Milwaukee. We got a different view of the lake from the path.

And we discovered this view of Silver Lake from a side road we took off the beaten path. (It really isn't beaten, but I liked the phrase, it fit in here) This little beach area is in a condominium community with huge, huge brick homes bordering on mansions. Must be how the other half lives in this world. The community is called Vespera and I will never own a home there, but if I did I would

spend my time right here on this little beach area or out on this beautiful lake in my yacht or flying in my seaplane. (Notice the wings behind me)

In another neighborhood we bought two glasses of lemonade from three young entrepreneurs. They were so excited to have customers that they told us the lemonade was free to bike riders, but we paid $1.00 for it and the best part was it came from a Minute Maid carton, so we didn't worry about who put their germs into it!

When we arrived back at the park for our reward of a Diet Coke we ran into Lynne, Melissa, and the kids having a picnic. It was good to visit with them for a bit, but rather funny we had to find them at a park in Oconomowoc.

Anyway, Take Two on this bike trail made me anything but a Bitter Woman!

Cows and our little Tewabech

This is our World Vision child, Tewabech Teketel.

This is the dress we bought for Tewabech and we also bought one for Tiz.

Tewabech Teketel is the little girl we sponsor through World Vision in Ethiopia. When you choose to sponsor a child, you can go through pictures and choose a child based on any preferences you may have. You can also choose the country where your child lives. Well, for us, the country was a given. We chose Ethiopia because of Tizita, but it took some looking to find just the right child for us.

We finally chose Tewabech because her birthday is one day before Tizita's so we figured as we watched Tiz grow up and meet milestones, we would know exactly what Tewabech was doing.

As a sponsor we send $35.00 a month which goes a long way to help Tewabech, her mom, dad, two sisters and a brother. We can also send letters and small presents as long as they fit into a padded 9 by 6 envelope. We have sent her two dresses and we bought Tiz a matching dress like the last one. We actually then sent a picture of Tiz in the dress> (It is the picture at the top) We have sent little books, stickers, toothpaste and brush, tablets, a pencil sharpener and pencils, cards, and most recently we sent four necklace kits so each of her siblings could make a necklace. We had also sent three little purses for the girls and a beach ball for her brother. I do a lot of shopping at the Dollar Tree and the dollar aisle at Target and Joanne's. I know those are cheap little trinkets to us, but I am guessing they are treasures to Tewabech and her family.

I have also been sending photo albums, the little dollar ones that hold about 30 photos and then I send pictures of our family, my preschoolers, and of course, Tizita. Well, in the last package, I sent some photos of the animals at the farm we visited on our field trip. There were some pictures of bunnies, chicks, pigs, horses, and cows. We just got a letter from her dad today and he said that Tewabech was so interested in the cows. He said they are different from their cows. It made me feel so good that something so simple like cows is bringing us together on some common ground.

A number of sponsors actually visit their children. I don't see that happening any time soon for us but Courtney and Paul will visit Ethiopia in the years to come and maybe they can arrange a meeting. How cool would that be and just think of the things I could pack up and send along with them. And you never know, maybe John and I will get there one day. In the meantime we will continue to build bridges between two very different cultures with some cows.

Taking a Swig at Swig's

First for a short walk down Memory Lane... My Birthday, January 30,2010 at Fat Boy's Roadhouse.

New Year's Eve at Fat Boy's Roadhouse, 2009.

September 2009 at some Mexican Restaurant on Brady St.

September 2009 again, whatever possessed me to wear this shirt which we now lovingly refer to as a circus tent.

As you can see, we have had some fun nights with my college roommate, Joan. We would go for years in the past without seeing one another. Life just seemed to get in the way, but over the last few years we have been able to spend at least some time together every few months. Alissa has joined us for a couple of these nights when Nathan has been out of town. Alissa and Joan have lots of similarities and I think that is why they get along so well.

Anyway, we had another night out last night. We went to the historic Third Ward and started with drink at a bar, don't know the name.

There first three pictures are from that bar.

Aren't these just about the best looking women you have ever laid eyes on? No circus tent for me this time!

After that first drink, we headed over to Swig, Joan's choice of a restaurant. We all were able to print off "Free Wine" coupons so we began by enjoying a free wine. There was some major people watching and bashing as there usually is when we are together. Our waiter patiently put up with our questions and requests and there was a girl in the bathroom stall who we are not at all sure what she was doing in there for so long! Our meals were so yummy and the presentation was very artsy.

Then we headed off to a Wine Bar and finished up our evening with a glass or vino and some more good conversation and laughs.

We dropped Joan off at her place and spent the night at Alissa's. Slept in until 9:30 today and headed home to a beautiful Sunday. The heat and humidity have left the area. Windows are open and AC is off!

This, That, and The Other Thing

We are in the midst of a heat wave here in the midwest. We turned our AC on on Sunday night and it is still going strong on Thursday. If you know me, you know that I do not like to run the AC, but alas, we have no choice. Today is supposed to be the hottest day so far with heat indexes up to 100. Yikes!



With this wonderful, overheated month of August comes the promise of fall and the excitement of school starting. I am in the middle of nursery rhymnes, ABC projects, Bible stories, and way too many "teacher idea" manuels and it is making me a bit overwhelmed, but just like every other year, it will all fall into place and things will be fine. Breathe in, breathe out, move on.



Yesterday John and I took a trip into Madison to do some shopping. I still feel like I need something new to start out the year. We shopped at East Town and had a fun time. I was successful at JC Penney's where I found just enough new things to get the year rolling in style. (Stop laughing, JC Penney is my style!) We had a nice lunch at the food court and an ice cream treat at Dairy Queen on the way home. With John still out of work, it would probably be better to just stay home, eat in, and save money, but that is not how we roll. We still have to get out once in awhile, it is good for the spirit. We still do a bang up job of penny pinching most of the time.



Tizita along with her mama and papa are on vacation in Washington D.C. visiting some friends and the pandas at the National Zoo. I told her to take her little camera and when she returned we would work on a scrapbook together. I need to pass on the scrapbook bug to someone and since she is still young, Tiz is a willing participant. While I am missing her, I am so busy with school stuff that the days are just flying by. We have an end of summer time planned from Aug. 24-29 to spend with her here in Watertown with us. She will again attend my Preschool on Tuesdays, but since I have an afternoon class this year, I will miss spending time with her and Courtney in the PM's. It will be a different schedule, but we will adjust, always do.

This Saturday we are looking forward to going out with our friend, Joan and Alissa (Nathan is out of town) We will be going to Swig in the Third Ward of Milwaukee. Remember it will be good for the spirit!

Rocking at Riverfest 2010

Riverfest 2010 is just winding down. The last band can still be heard through our windows and there is still a steady stream of people heading down there for one last chance to partake in Riverfest 2010 before it becomes a distant memory.
John and I had a great Riverfest this year. It began on Thursday, my favorite night of the fest. We headed down early, had our annual Zweig's burger and Gyro and then began the beer. By the time the Eagles tribute band came on, I was feeling the effects of the beer, the good company, and the beautiful summer night. I was pleasantly surprised when I knew almost all of the Eagles songs. We closed that night with a promise to each other. Whichever one of us that lives the longest will always take the ashes of the other one down for Thursday's Riverfest.

On Firday Courtney, Paul, and Tizita arrived. I just found this picture from last year's Riverfest so you could see how much our little Tiz had grown and changed.

Tiz with a tic tac at Riverfest 2009. Juar look how she's grown!

Anyway on Friday afternoon we headed down for ride special. It is never as much fun to ride the rides by yourself, but on this Dune buggy ride, Tiz felt like she was with these two girls so it wasn't like she was really alone. These buggies were fun, they bounced up and down and you could tell the kids actually thought they were driving them and making them bounce like that!

After the Dune Buggy ride, Tiz went on the Flying Bees. Somehow she got sandwiched between a brother and a sister, not sure how that happened, but she again felt like she wasn't riding alone at least. You can't really see her on this ride, but she is next to the little boy in red.

After the Bees, I found a little boy from my classroom and he kindly agreed to ride on the teacups with Tiz. He took her little hand and took her right to the teacup they wanted and then he taught her how to spin the cups.

After the rides we headed home for some dinner and then returned to the park where Tiz enjoyed dancing to the bands.

On Saturday we met Alissa at the nursing home where Grandpa Jack is and we all had a very nice visit with him. Tiz did a great job of pushing him around. We had a picnic lunch at Frame Park in Waukesha and then returned to Watertown for some more riverfesting. All of us went down again on Saturday night and Tiz again danced a bit. We came up, watched fireworks from the comfort of Gigi's bedroom where there were no mosquitos to contend with. Tiz went to bed and we had a few more beers and some lively discussions.

That brings us to today. We played with Tizita until Alissa, Courtney, and Paul left around one.

Tiz enjoyed a wild ride in her swing as well as some one on one time Gigi, Alissa, and Mallory before she left.

It was a great weekend all around.

John, Mom, and I still had a few tickets to spend so we went back down and watched Pat McCurdy while enjoying supper, sodas, and a sundae. Perfect way to end Riverfest 2010!

A Busy Wednesday

Today was one of my two days off during the week. I had my dance card full as to what I all wanted to accomplish today. When I woke up, I didn't think I could ever get it all done. For those of you who know me well, you know that I always have those thoughts when I first wake up and then I am usually finished with said work by 9:00. Drives John crazy, but I digress.

Anyway I played my daily allotment of Family Feud and then forced myself away from the computer and started my cooking and baking. Since we have so many, many tomatoes and cucumbers, I did some online research to see what I could make with the fresh veggies. (Or are tomatoes a fruit as some would say)
Since our oven has been acting up lately I decided to bake a batch of brownies and a cake if it cooperated which I am happy to report, it did. After the baking I whipped up a batch of spaghetti sauce from my own tomatoes. Pretty simple recipe and it tasted good. I usually do not like chunks in my spaghetti sauce, but somehow when they are my own chunks, they didn't seem so bad.
I also made a batch of salsa with tomatoes, cukes, peppers, onions, cilantro, and lime juice. It tasted yummy right away, but I am thinking it will be even better when the flavors mix for a bit. I did make a batch with a jalapeno in it for John. I don't do hot stuff like that.
Next I attempted some refrigerator pickles which will be ready tomorrow. Not sure what to expect from those. I remember my mom and dad working together to can dill pickles when I was growing up. My dad would stuff all the cukes in the mason jars with the dill while my mom poured the mixture over them and they both waited for the jar lids to pop. Those dill pickles filled our "fruit cellar" all winter. Just some sweet memories that came back to me today.
Lastly, I made a salad with cukes, tomatoes, and peppers with celery seeds covered with oil and vinegar. That makes for a very summery, tasty salad.
I had all this done by ten and I felt good about that.

My next "to do" was finishing my scrapbook with the pictures from Mercer. Since John has been unemployed I have put my scrapbooking on the back burner for financial reasons, but this trip deserved a book so I finished it up in time to share it with Courtney and Alissa this weekend.

I also got some of my notes written for school registration and did my September calendars.
All that done by four, still have the night ahead of me, YES!
Now I am back on the computer and hoping for an early bedtime.