Seen on my Wisconsin tax return

Taxes were extra fun this year... filing part-year returns in VA and WI, home sale, home purchase, 3 jobs plus a 1099 for a side-job. Wee!

So imagine how excited I was to get a laugh out of seeing this on my Wisconsin return:


Look at that! There, among endangered resources and gender-equitable cancer research, is my opportunity to contribute to the Packers' beloved Lambeau Field. (If it were Madison-centric, it would have benefited the beloved Badgers' Camp Randall, which at a capacity of 80,000+, is bigger than any NFL stadium - and fills it easily.)

Music and friends

We went to see one of our favorite artists, Jeffrey Foucault, at one of our favorite places, Cafe Carpe, this past week. We were especially excited because Hayward Williams, highly recommended by Peter Mulvey, was opening the show. Well... suffice it to say that this guy is really terrific, and we are looking forward to catching up on his work thusfar, and watching to see where he goes from here.

The photo was taken by a gentleman sitting beside me in the back row of this tiny venue; click the photo to follow a link to more of his snaps. That's Williams in the middle, with Foucault on the right and David Goodrich, guitarist extraordinaire, on the left. David was playing acoustic tonight due to airline foul-ups, but he sounded great to me.

Next up is Patty Griffin at the Barrymore in a couple of weeks. Her CD, Children Running Through, seems, at first listen, a return to form after a dissappointing follow-up to one of my very favorite albums, 1000 Kisses. And Kris Delmhorst will be in town in May, at Cafe Monmartre.

---

Besides going out to see music, I continue to exhaust myself by working too much. In combination with Susan's classes and both of us trying to get to the gym regularly (and together whenever possible), we've been much too busy, but we're both making efforts to remedy that situation.

The gym, at least, continues to pay dividends; I've escaped the plateau I hit a few months ago and started losing weight again, to the point that I'm buying new clothes again... yea!

---

Next weekend our friends Shelley and Natalie come to visit from Massachusetts! We are very excited to have them come see this new city of ours, which we love so much.

It's been a year since we bought the house here, and 11 months since we moved... if you haven't come to visit , will you think about it?

We'll come see you, too... for those of you in DC, we'll be there for a long weekend in April; if you have time to meet up with us, send me an email and I'll let you know where we'll be.

Spectacular shot of Lake Mendota

IMG_7988
Originally uploaded by hereiskaty.

WP: Madison Named 'Most Walkable'

[click link above for full AP article]

Prevention Magazine rated Madison the most walkable city in the U.S. in its annual Stroll Poll. Madison is the only city not in the South or West to even make the top 10, having apparently overcome the weather factor with its other virtues.

I love the end of the article:

Zac Stencil, 23, a senior at the university, said he walks about two miles every day to and from classes. "You can meet cool groups of people who are walking beside you," Stencil said. "Plus, when the lakes are frozen you can walk right across."

Speaking of the weather, the temperature reached 47 degrees today, and it felt like springtime. I sat out on the porch with Indy dog and Molly cat and read the paper. Tomorrow it'll go into the low 50's, and I can tell you I will be joining many outside in it. The days of walking on the lake are soon behind us. Canoes and kayaks will soon be towed to the lake, by foot and by bike, instead.

Snowman on Randall Ave #4

Snowman on Randall Ave #4
Originally uploaded by Arthur1227.