A Puzzle.....

Eastcastle Place is undergoing a lot of renovations. The dining room has been closed for months, the reception area is having a facelift, administrative offices are going to look fresh and new. Once this first step is done, then other parts of the first floor will be closed off for their own re-do. Our library will be off limits, the club room will be enlarged to include a bar and will become the new pub. Lindsay Hall (where we have programs, speakers and church services) will also look fresh and new.

All of this, from my point of view will be a welcome change. While we enjoy life at ECP we were never really fans of the red and green carpeting and the repetitive art (with huge wooden gold frames) on the walls. Dave and I would just sort of "ignore" this part and when we walked into our apartment and closed the door our rooms reflected exactly what we liked.

The other part of the first stage of renovation is the outdoor courtyard area. This is completely off limits as the new "roadmap" starts to take shape. But as I watch out the window and see the machinery and yellow hard-hat construction workers busy as bees I wonder just how the heck they know what they are doing!

But, of course, this construction team is made up of professionals....and they do know what they are doing and how to interpret the plans. Right?

Can't wait to see the final results!

Why This Spot?

My morning routine starts with taking Fenway out for his first walk. Usually I head one block east and walk around a small triangle park so that he can "do his business". This means we cover about seven blocks before coming back up to the apartment for his breakfast and my cup of coffee. Plenty of time and places for Fen to leave "pee mail" and check on previous deliveries.

I have learned, since getting our first male dog, that taking a fast walk is pretty difficult. He wants to stop and re-claim every tree and bush that he "took" yesterday. Rather than fight the urge to rush him I figure it's his time to explore and let him stop when he wants. Certain trees, a dead branch on the grass, a pile of leaves....all spots where he empties a few more "drops" to let other dogs know this place is his!

But the one thing I do find funny is to watch him stop just to bury his nose into the grass and sniff like crazy. He plants his small feet and simply will NOT move until he is done with his nasal explorations. I watch him and wonder just what is it that made him veer off to this little bit of green, or this specific spot on the sidewalk???

Goofy dog....much loved goofy dog.

Luquillo Memory....

It's just a small woven basket...on the back it is marked Luquillo 2012. So this basket has been in our kitchen for ten years!

This was a souvenir from our first trip to visit best friends who spend every winter in Puerto Rico. We were there for a week....while they avoid three plus months of winter on the beach! The week that we flew down they were our tour guides to downtown San Juan, beaches and snorkeling, the rain forest. We enjoyed some of the best of PR with the best of guides. On one beach, as we slowly walked along the sand trying to spot beach glass, we came upon a young man weaving baskets. He had several sizes and shapes and they were kind of "flexible". While the grasses he used were fresh and green, you could shape the basket to meet your needs. I decided to take one home in my suitcase and sort of flatten it out.

Now I use that basket every morning.....I grab it, take the elevator down to the breakfast buffet and bring back what hits my fancy. Usually some fresh fruit, yogurt, hard boiled eggs and a muffins. Other days I choose some cereal and raisin bread.

It's a handy and much used souvenir! And each time I take it I think of our best friends who shared their much-loved winter retreat with us. Besties and a basket....good times!

 

The Adventure Begins.....

We flew out to Aspen, Colorado last weekend for a very, very special event. Invited to attend the wedding of a much-loved young couple we were only too happy to jump on a plane and jet west. We went out on Thursday morning and returned to Milwaukee on Sunday afternoon....and the entire few days were absolutely perfect. Bride and groom "lucked out" with setting, weather, planned events....everything!

I hate to say anything is absolutely "perfect", but this wedding came close!

Best wishes to our bride and groom.....may they have years of happiness together and hold hands to weather any storms that come their way. They are off to a wonderful start!

Moving Out....

Our apartment is on Milwaukee's east side just south of the UWM campus. Many of the nice brick apartment buildings and duplexes that line tree covered streets in our neighborhood are home to university students during the school year. And you can always tell when one group is moving out and another is moving in. The first rush "out" usually happens sometime in May with a smaller move-out in August. (I guess some students stay for most of the summer before moving on to jobs or back home or whatever.)

How can we tell that out-in moving is going on? It's not too hard

Happily the evidence doesn't stay around for long. Milwaukee's trash removal is pretty thorough and the men and women who ride the big trucks do a great job of clean up. I do wonder if landlords put the cost of trash/furniture removal in their rental fees or this is just part of city property taxes or whatever. 

I also wonder if some of the better stuff finds a new home or if it all ends up in a landfill somewhere. The piles also remind me just how much "stuff" we Americans accumulate and just how disposable we think it is. 

Just something else to ponder as Fenway and I walk the neighborhood.....