Matt's New Bike

It's catching! Matt got a very nice new bike himself this past weekend.

He is also hoping to be able to bike to work, an impressive feat if you check out our Madison Map. In the meantime, though, we're taking full advantage of the beautiful Madison summer and our local bike paths.

Concerts on the Square

Another wonderful Madison tradition: Concerts on the Square. Every Wednesday in the middle of summer, the Madison Chamber Orchestra puts on a free concert at the Capitol. Tonight was their 2008 debut, marking the start of their 25th season. The theme for the evening was Gershwin & Friends and about 20,000 people turned out. We packed a picnic and enjoyed the evening with friends.

The Dreamkeepers

Welcome Everyone!

Two blocks north from us is this amazing public sculpture by trash artist Dr. Evermore of Baraboo, which is always fun to say. These guys always surprise us on foggier days.

These "Dreamkeepers" are made with old industrial parts. If you click on the thumbnails below, you can begin to see what I mean.

Dane County's Farmers Market

A favorite Saturday morning past time. And today was BEAUTIFUL...finally! The Dane Co. Farmer's Market (Madison is in Dane Co.) goes around the entire Capitol square.

This week was the first week for strawberries and you can see the flowers are all in full bloom. We went for veggies and picked up a few more things for the "Patio Oasis".

Kohlrabi and radishes from Harmony Valley,
the same farm the chocolate
shop gets our weekly CSA.

Abbie debating the purchase of a
beautiful fuchsia plant.

The Weather

This is the beach featured in our "Home Sweet Home" album below. You can't tell but Lake Monona is almost 2 feet higher than usual.

Weather has played a big part in ours and Midwestern lives this month. We've broken all sorts of precipitation records this past winter and this spring. And to the south of here and Iowa have had it much worse. Countless days of rain, 2 tornado sirens and many many emergency broadcast warnings later, we're hoping for a break soon.

Happy 29th Matt!

June 10, Matt's birthday! I didn't make a cake (Chris and Abbie had us over for some!), but he did have some banana nut muffins to start his 29th year. Oh, and some streamers. The streamers fell down before he got home from work, and the birthday boy politely thought this disappointment was some creative art piece:

He left it until I got home so he could thank me. Honestly. So, let's all wish Mr. Nice Guy a very happy birthday! Happy Birthday!

Sandy's New Bike

Hey guys! As you know, we live pretty close to where I work, and while walking is great, I've really been itching to get a bike. Well...here she is!:

Madison is a super friendly biking city and once the rain ends (?), I'm really looking forward to getting around town.

Good-bye for now!

Meet our Patio Oasis

Remember our favorite selling point for this apartment: the "patio"? In case you don't, it is our downstairs neighbor's roof, incline and all.

A preview of Summer 2008...

+ + +

= OUR PATIO OASIS!

Stay tuned for developments......

The Hutch

This post falls under the first category of photos I never sent, so here it is: The Infamous Hutch!

I found this at a thrift store and with the help of friends Chris and Abbie, some paint, and the noble sacrifice of Matt's left shoulder (torn muscle & 6 months of physical therapy), it has a home, tucked away in the corner of our kitchen.

Matt's Computer

Matt built his first computer this year, completely customized in all technical and aesthetic features. Since it's become such an integral part of our life, I thought I'd share his pride and joy:

Here's how it started:

And here is what it's become!:

Congratulations, babe!

Jenifer Street...yes, with one "n"

Welcome, welcome! Thought we'd give you guys a tour of our apartment. It was going to be a "before and after" but that just made me realize how much stuff we have...sigh. And keep in mind when viewing these pictures, the camera adds 10 square feet...

Home Sweet Home

Thank you Doug for all of you advice in helping set up this blog!

Welcome!

Hello everyone! Welcome to our picture blog. I wanted to start this blog for a few reasons,

Reason 1) To post all of those pictures that I say I'll send and never do
Reason 2) To have everyone see Madison and why we love it
Reason 3) Maybe I'll use our fancy-pants camera more often

I hope this paints a clearer picture of our lives in far away Wisconsin, and hope it keeps us all in better touch. We are very thankful for the friends and family who have been patient with mine and Matt's not-so-hot pen pals skills thus far.