Rustic Cabin Weekend

Nothing says Wisconsin better than renting a rustic cabin for the weekend. This past weekend Jeremy, me and a few friends from Jeremy's graduate program pulled out our long-johns and sleeping bags and loaded up our cars with as much food, games and beverages as possible and headed an hour and a half north for a weekend of rustic cabin fun.

Rustic meaning no running water, no electricity and no heat except a wood burning stove which we kept burning all weekend. We cooked over a fire, sang songs, played games and hiked. The weather was beautiful and we even got a few snow flakes to make the weekend even more Wisconsin-esk.

There was only one thing that put a damper on the atmosphere - the boy scouts. Normally I have nothing against boy scouts: they learn survival skills, build fires and cook outside, and do good things in there communities (I was a girl scout myself when I was younger), however these scouts rented the cabin next to use and the scout leaders brought a gas powered generator with them. Yes, you read correctly, the boy scouts brought a generator on a weekend trip to a rustic cabin. So for 2.5 days we listened to a generator humming away, didn't see any smoke coming from their cabin's chimney and not one boy scout playing outside.

holiday marketbasket

45 Degrees and Sunny

It's mid December but you would never know simply by looking outside: No snow,maybe some morning frost and little critters still out and about. Yesterday Jeremy and I decided we would go for a walk since it was so nice outside. Nice meaning 45 degrees and sunny...there weren't many of those days in Western PA, or Policka...two weeks before Christmas that is. Anyway, we're walking down the sidewalk next to campus (but on the other side of campus where there are never many people) and what do we see? Robins. 9 of them. They must have been migrating a little late and happened to fly into Milwaukee just in time for this lovely day. Sadly they flew only the fringe of a college campus and found french fries instead of worms. Needless to say that was a nice little surprise for two bird lovers who went from backyard bird paradise to a busy street and volleyball court.

Yay! Fresh Fruit and Veggies!

It's been two weeks since my last market basket...

Roll call:

carrots, broccoli, potatoes, onions, collard greens, zucchini, pears, apples, bananas.

Cranberry Sauce

Ballet at 26

I'm not really sure when I decided that I wanted to learn ballet if ever presented with the chance - probably sometime during college. I feel like for most of my life I have had people ask me if I do ballet or gymnastics because I "had the legs for it". I would always reply that I was a runner and swimmer.

I haven't been doing much running or swimming lately, mostly walking, hiking and biking (however I should find a pool....the running I can do without). When we lived in Policka, CZ we had a number of friends who took ballet and other forms of dance, so it was probably there that my goal of taking ballet was solidified. Studios in Erie, PA offered a number of dance classes for children, or adults who already have a background, but none for absolute beginner - which would be me.

After talking a a few people here in Milwaukee I heard rumors of beginner dance classes being offered by the school district and other cultural centers, so the search began. That's when I found Danceworks; a nonprofit that offers a wide range of classes for both children and adults! Perfect!

I'm registered for the full 12 week class, bought a pair of ballet slippers and a pair of tights. I've never taken a dance class and I have a limited sense of rhythm -here goes nothing!