tobermory's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lord I was born a travelin' (wo)man. To paraphrase Frank Sinatra, it�s nice to go traveling but it�s oh so nice to come home. I have been away from home for the past four weekends. I started out in Boston to see my nephew play hockey and eat an inordinate amount of clam chowder, next a quicky trip to Wisconsin to sign some paperwork at the USDA Agricultural Office for the schoolhouse/farm and meet with a lady from the WI DNR about prairie restoration. Then it was on to always lovely El Paso (or El Pisso as a friend calls it) to visit my brother, and finally to Green Bay for the Weetacon III. Since I�ve been a lazy bum about the posting situation I can do another recap entry that covers the four trips. Boston: Steve and I stayed at the Parker House Hotel (home of Parker House rolls and Boston Cr�me Pie) which was, considering its convenient central location, really cheap. The reason? Room size � or lack thereof. The guidebook mentioned that the Parker House has its furniture custom made so that it will fit into the teensy rooms. The bathroom was beyond tiny -in order to exit you had to step next to the toilet so that you could open the door. In its defense I will say that the room was very quiet, the linens and toiletries were high quality, the shower had great water pressure, and it was walking distance from just about everything you might want to do in Boston. We visited the new, super cool contemporary art museum, ate at the Union Oyster House (twice), the Barking Crab and Lock Ober, shopped at Filene�s Basement, bought a pair of chairs in Cambridge (near Hahvahd Yahd) and zipped through Fanueil Hall. We rented a car for a day so we could drive up to Connecticut to see my nephew play hockey for his snooty prep school, and lastly we made it into O�Hare by the skin of our teeth, narrowly missing a debilitating snowstorm that shut down the airport. A good time was had by all. Wisconsin Ag. Off. visit: Steve and I (and the dog) left at the crack of dawn to make it up to the schoolhouse property in time for our meeting with a representative from the Wisconsin Dep�t. of Natural Resources who gave us many, many helpful suggestion for our prairie restoration project. She gave me the contact for the person who I believe is going to do the seed selection and seeding for me. Apparently it�s going to look like poo for about three years but then it should be really pretty. Good thing I�m so patient. We had lunch at the M&M Caf� and did some shopping at the Bargain Nook where I scored a $200 Land�s End Commuter Coat for $50 � woo! The we were off to Monroe for our meeting with the nice folks at the USDA Agricultural Office where we had to sign some papers that formally removed the land I bought from the sellers farm and established my own farm. There was much talk about all kinds of forms and farm programs and I have to admit that I just smiled and nodded like I knew what they were all talking about. In reality it was as if they were speaking in tongues but I was too afraid to ask any questions lest they all go silent and say, �Well! If you�re going to do THAT then we can�t zone you as Ag.!� The land tax difference between Ag. and Non-Ag. is fairly significant so I want to be zoned Ag. at all costs. After the meeting we retired to the lovely Chalet Landhaus where we had to sneak the dog in by stuffing her in a tote bag. This was the m.o. for getting her in and out for the rest of the overnight stay and I have to say it worked well. Of course it helps to have an small elderly dog who doesn�t bark. We had a nice schnitzel dinner and went to bed. El Paso: This is the annual trek to visit my brother and his family that usually co-incides with my dad�s birthday. This year, lucky me!, the trip fell during my birthday. It�s not really how I planned on spending my birthday but that�s ok. Steve and I had a chance to do some poking around in junque shoppes and estate sales, we made a day trip to Old Mesilla, NM and we watched Youngblood and The Warriors. Woot. Upon arrival back at O�Hare we had to sit on the tarmac for two hours while we waited for our gate to free up. I suppose considering the Jet Blue fiasco it could have been worse. For my birthday gift Steve is going to whisk me away for a two night stay at a lovely resort on Lake Delavan in Wisconsin � I can�t wait! Green Bay: I detailed this yesterday � I think I�m still recovering because I am dead tired. There you have it � my travels and travails for the past month.
Breakfast: banana, coffee. Lunch: three rice cakes smeared with lo-fat peanut butter (mmmmm � don�t you wish you could be me?) Snack: apple Forgot to mention Monday�s exercise: half hour on the elliptical trainer and a short jog home from the gym. Today�s Exercise: One hour spin class. 2:32 p.m. - 2007-03-07 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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