My Week that Was - January 29

Looking to rural development west of Madison.
1/22/2022 dwm photo

Saturday was the only day out of seven I ran outside but it had an unexpected surprise when half-way into the run I felt something on my lip.

I didn't know what it was until I got home, when I saw I was bleeding.  I can't tell you when I last had a bloody nose, but there it was - a consequence of very cold and dry air.

After a shower, we went for breakfast and to run a couple errands before returning home.  The day was primarily spent going over the last 20 chapters of my book.

It was also the start of the NFL Divisional Playoff round, where I hoped to see Green Bay survive and advance to the Championship game a week later.  They got off to a great start, but didn't sustain the early success and lost on a field goal as time ran out.  It was a revolting development!

The sun was in the right spot for a dramatic
photo 20 minutes before service at Cross.
1/23/2022 dwm photo

 We received between 4 to 5 inches of fluffy snow Saturday night into Sunday morning.  It was beautiful.

 I brought the camera along to take pictures of the fresh snow on our way home from church.  When we arrived early, I grabbed it for a walk around the parking lot when I noticed the sun was perfectly lined up with the church steeple.

 Tuesday I sat in on interviews with four candidates for a position in our office.  It seemed we had the perfect candidate.  However, the plan is to share a position between our office and another so two part-time jobs become one full-time position... unfortunately, we couldn't agree on a candidate, so the hunt continues.

Good news on Tuesday was that we made progress stuffing the giving statements into envelopes with thank you letters to our donors.  IRS rules require these be in the mail by January 31, so we are on schedule.

While watching "Finding Your Roots" this week, I realized that years ago my Dad worked on the family tree with some thumbnail essays with information about my maternal and paternal great grandparents.  Thankfully I wasn't finished completing the edits on My Story, and was able to add information about mom and dad in their words along with their memories of their parents and grandparents.

I only have a fuzzy memory of my paternal great-grandmother who was mostly bed-ridden and blind.  I remember mom and dad telling me she was the reason I had a little red wagon, which she thought every little boy should own.

Give Blood!  The national blood supply needs
your help.  1/27/22 dwm photo

Thursday morning I had my re-scheduled appointment to give blood, canceled two weeks ago because Red Cross didn't have enough staff to open its doors.  

After signing in, I was immediately taken to the exam room for the usual questions and tests.  There was no one else giving whole blood when I arrived at 9:30 and only one person when I left. 

While I appreciate giving blood efficiently as possible, I was sorry to see so many empty cots.  The nation's blood supply is in a severe shortage because 10% fewer donors are showing up to give blood.

That means its possible people who need blood might not get it.  Please, if you can, make an appointment or walk-in at a blood center or blood drive as soon as possible.

The beef hot dog at 
Portillo's. 1/27/22 (dwm)

 After completing the blood donation and running an errand (I took the day off), we stopped at the new Portillo's restaurant at Madison's West Towne Mall.

 The Chicago-based restaurant is known for its hot dogs, so it seemed appropriate to give it a try.  I didn't give it the whole 'Chicago Dog' treatment, but enjoyed it and Portillo's famous chocolate cake as a great post-blood letting pick-me-up.

Friday I used some paid time off so we could take a day-trip together with an itinerary including Beaver Dam (quilt shop), Horicon (marsh), Fox Lake, and Baraboo (kitchen store).

There were only a few eagles in view when
we stopped near Sauk City. 1/28/22 (dwm)

Our lunch stop was in the community of Fox Lake, population 1,600 called Karen's Hip Hop Diner.  I'll write more about it in tomorrow's blog.

Making our turn in Horicon, we opted for a different route home, choosing to head west on state road 33 which brought us to Baraboo where he headed south on 113, then west toward Prairie du Sac.

Just before we got there, I turned on the dead-end road where we saw a lot of flying Bald Eagles just a few weeks ago. 

It was different this time, with an immature Bald Eagle high in the tree, a hawk flying over the river, and a single adult Bald Eagle resting high in a tree on the other side.  You can see the eagle at the intersection of the right third and lower third of the photo. 

Leaving Horicon, we stopped at the Bethesda Thrift Shop to see if there was anything that caught our eye and I walked out with two pairs of pants, two golf shirts, and a dress shirt for $21!  That was fun.

You can do worse things than finding 'new to you' clothes on a random Friday; I hope your week was a good one and this next one even better!