Brat Fest confessions

Beautiful day. Sun is shining. It's even my birthday. Let's go to Brat Fest. Only $1.50 for a grilled Johnsonville brat complete with requisite condiments. Combine that with a cold Capitol Island Wheat and this is the life! The brats were so good that I confess I ate TWO of them. Okay, one I ate at the festival. Brought the other one home for later. About twenty minutes later. I'm so full...and it's so worth it.

Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne is here to serve you.

The Weinermobile!

And so much more...

Spotted this sweet Jaguar XKR in the parking lot.

Just got back from, you guessed it. Got some landscaping stuff, a new cordless trimmer, etc. It's a nice, warm, chore-filled Saturday.

I really liked these big banners. Gives me an idea for our Expos.

Irises after a spring rain

We have some spectacular irises in bloom right outside the front of the house. I took these pics this morning after the rain stopped. PMO is cooking breakfast as I blog. What could be better.

Delaney's

Just returned from a nice impromptu visit to a local eatery. This place is special for personal reasons. PMO brought me here for our first date in 1979. We had the famous onion rings (both times). Decided to stick with the appetizer menu tonight. Shrimp cocktail and Shrimp and Scallop Satay. The scallops were microscopic, but the dish was very flavorful. Outstanding service.

It's where all the oldsters go, which is amusing. 

I had a gift certificate ... sweet. The waiter, who was great, persuaded us to have dessert. PMO had chocolate cheesecake. I had a rich chocolate cake made from Guiness. The topping was a drizzle of white chocolate and Bailey's. Needless to say, I brought most of it home. 

Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks

What a great night and super fun way to end the week. I'd go out of my way any day of the week to see Dan Hicks.

We went to see Dan and his band The Hot Licks at the Majestic Theater. He sounded great -- just like he did 30 plus years ago. I had been listening all day to one of my all time favorite albums of all time "Striking it Rich" from the 1970s. Dan's humor and western swing style still holds up today. He did "I Scare Myself" from the old days, but mainly did material from his new album "Tangled Tales." The crowd was mostly boomers like us, but I spotted a few young people.

Patrick gets his poster signed by Dan Hicks. I got a chance to chat with the fiddle player at the bar. PMO bought him a beer. The Majestic quickly started shutting everything down right after the show.

Dan and the lickettes sign their autographs for fans. 

Mother's day

It was a very nice Mother's Day at our house. Patrick cooked shrimp creole that was outstanding, as usual. Erin made a killer creme brulee. She even torched with top with one of those kitchen blow torches, which gave it that wonderful sweet crust.

Sean came over, which made the day complete for me. It's always nice to see my boy.

Then he gave his sister a lift to work. What a nice young man. They both make me so proud. Like I said, it was a very nice day.

Recycle roundup

We were one of a gazillion Madisonians who dropped off their old, nonfunctioning and otherwise obsolete computers and electronics this morning at the Alliant Center. There was a free event open to residents. And the word got out. Cars were backed up all directions inbound.

Here's a link about all the traffic jams.

http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/450572

The most adorable things

These are bobble-head dolls of the sausages that race at Miller Park during Brewer home games. They are the most adorable things. Makes a great gift. These were spotted at Name of the Game in University Square.

Springtime on campus

The trees are leafing out. The temperatures are finally tolerable. Young love is in the air. That can only mean one thing. Construction season on campus. This was taken at the corner of University Ave. and Frances St.

circa 1970

Yeah, that's right. I work at Vilas Hall. The building that doesn't have any freaking doors. Its storied construction during the height of the campus anti-war protests in the early 70s lead to the fortress-like design.

Here's the latest posting in the harvest gold elevator.

My new place

My new regular haunt is The Great Dane, Hilldale. There. I said it. The beers are consistently good. My favorite is the German Pils. 

This evening at the capital. There was some kind of diversity celebration. Kinda generic. They played great tunes.

Bunnies in the rain

People in bunny costumes were sitting around outside in front of Freda on State Street on Wednesday night around 7 p.m. It was pouring buckets. They kinda stood out.

The Daily Page on The Great Taste

http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=25804

More about waiting in line for tickets. It's all the rage. 

Backyard mushrooming.

Patrick and his mushroom project. He drills shallow holes evenly spaced around the log then inserts thimble-sized mushroom spawn into the holes. Spring and fall are the usual times for harvest. For more info, talk to him. He's been doing this for about four years now .

Inoculated logs stacked up in the backyard. This is starting to go beyond a hobby. But the results are well worth it, having fresh mushrooms just a few steps out the back door.

A delectable shiitake. 

Trillium in bloom.

Ticket purchase

Promptly at noon, members of the Madison Homebrewers manage the actual ticket sales. Patrick and I score two each. Success!

The scene

Notice the long line for the men's restroom. Compared to the women's.

Inside!

The brewery opens the doors at 9 a.m. and allow people inside to wait. The staff is friendly and accommodating. Things are well organized and, best of all, there's beer!

7:30 a.m.

It's a beautiful day for waiting around outside. Baked goods and rest rooms are made available.

The line at 6 a.m.

More ticket seekers arrive and settle in.

The line at 5 a.m.

Patrick, Shirley and I arrive at Tyranena in Lake Mills. We estimate about 35 people in front of us.

Early to bed...

Early to rise. I can't believe I'm going to get up before 4 a.m. tomorrow just for the privilege of waiting in line for hours to get a chance at buying a ticket to The Great Taste of the Midwest. Of course it is the absolute best event of the year. All the beer you can sample from hundreds of brewpubs from everywhere, all in the gorgeous setting of Olin Park with Lake Monona for a backdrop. At the height of summer.

Okay, maybe it's worth it.