The Road To Oconomowoc

Except that no one has a basket of fruit on their head and there has been very little Chica, Chica, Boom -- the last week has been similar to The Road To Rio. Except that Hope and Crosby are missing as is Carmen Miranda (although dw is here). Also there's been little actual excitement or peril or chasing anything and the closest thing to da bomb here in Oconomowoc is Mighty Mount Olympus.

   The flight from Portland to Madison via Minneapolis / St Paul was uneventful. No geeks, freaks or knuckle-draggers in the airports or on the planes. The only thing of mild interest happened in MSP: dw and I had a two hour layover and I decided to get a burger. While I waited for it to be delivered (It was a not very good burger from A@W, but lowered expectations are useful in any airport) -- while I waited for it to be delivered, two young women  looked at me and amid a flurry of giggles asked for my name. I answered and one of they asked "Is it OK if I name my frog after you?" Of course I agreed, so somewhere in the great Midwest a large stuffed plush frog is carrying my name, and how many others can make such a claim?

   Our time has been pleasantly spent visiting with family and friends. dw's Dad Robert, and Aunt Barbara live here in Oconomowoc, and other family and childhood friends are scattered around the area. Brother John @ wife Jan also are here from Portland Today we went to the zoo in Milwaukee -- it's a nice zoo, and tomorrow we're going back to Madison (where brother Steve and SO Kay live) where again we'll largely hang out and visit.

   On the way to Milwaukee, we passed Mighty Mount Olympus, aka Mighty Mount Oconomowoc, aka The Great Pimple, aka Southern Wisconsin Highlands -- The highest point of land between Milwaukee and Madison!!  If you look closely at the first picture you can see the post(s) for the chair lift and distinguish individual skiers -- giving a sense of scale that makes Mighty Mount Gaining-On-Vail look even bigger than it actually is.

   There's nothing wrong with quiet and uneventful visits with family and friends -- actually it's quite pleasant. But it doesn't make for exciting reading -- but so it goes. DA

Christmas Is Nigh

  dw has largely finished putting up the decorations. The Christmas tree, as happens about every other year, is unusual -- this year it's not actually a tree, or even organic: Two weeks ago I was working in the studio when dw came in, noticed an incomplete steel sculpture leaning against the wall and after a moments thought asked if we could use it as a tree. There was no reason not to, so I cleaned it up a bit, built a temporary stand and voila' -- a Christmas tree.

(The sculpture was inspired by -- but isn't a representation of -- Yggdrasil, a tree in Norse mythology. I anticipate I'll be able to write a particularly insipid piece for an artists statement)

   Last year we used a potted evergreen. That one we really liked because it looked like a Xmas tree drawn by Berkeley Breathed for Bill The Cat. On another occasion I cobbled together three bamboo stalks for a tree -- that wasn't very successful, it just looked goofy  -- In between times we do a real tree
   The second picture is part of the assorted wall hangings dw puts up. The total effect is quite festive  and way more work than I'd ever do on my own.

   My sister, Rosemary L. stopped by Saturday to show off her way cool sports car (a Mazda rx7) She was looking very sports-car-driverish, with a long duster type coat, driving gloves and shades. Having a sports car has been a life-long dream for her and it's great that she finally has one.
   I've scratched my sports car itch a couple of times: Once with a Porsche, which needed far more work than I was willing to do myself, and which I certainly couldn't afford to have done. But when it ran, it was really fun. And my favorite was a Triumph TR3 -- it was a piece of junk but I loved that car. On one occasion some of the wiring under the dash caught fire -- the smoke was so thick I couldn't see the floor pan. I pulled over, jumped out, and waited to see if I owned a TR3 Brulee. After the smoke cleared, I got back in, started the car and drove away. I never did figure it out. Another time the wheel studs started snapping off. I did manage to limp home but two of the wheels had only one stud each left. Finally it got a leak in the gas tank and became a yule log -- a TR3 Flambe'  -- I sold it to the knackers at that point.      

   In spite of all dw's decorating efforts, we're going to be gone for Christmas. We're going to visit dw's family in Wisconsin where I expect I'll freeze my Mediterranean Climate Buns off. And I will note that I already got no ass. I use duct tape to hold up my underwear. All of my flab is up front where I can see it.    

   Books:  A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again (David Foster Wallace) -- a collection of essays from the 90's -- some are dated, some very erudite and some very funny. I enjoyed the book a lot -- it's really too bad he died so young (suicide). I've started Trophy Hunt (C. J. Box) so far so good, and I don't think I've already read it. And Great Paintings (assorted authors)  reproduction of assorted works from 1100 to the present. With an analysis of each work and a brief discussion of the artist. It's very good.  DA                                                                                                                        

Xmas Moose

  Several years ago dw gave me this moose head as a Christmas present. It is one of my all-time favorite presents and for awhile it was a peripatetic House Moose, but now it has settled into it's permanent home -- perched above the computer. And there it has been growing old, losing it's proud erect stance. The Moose doesn't have a bladder as such, it sort of is a bladder, and I feared that -- as some old things do -- it had a leaking bladder. In the event, I took it down and with several strong puffs, restored it to it's former erect strength. I confess I hesitated but what else could I do? Fortunately no artificial assistance was needed, not even duct tape, and now it seems to be holding it's own, even sporting it's Christmas earring.

  dw has been putting up our Christmas decorations and I, as usual, have been emotionally supportive with the project. (In a couple of days I'll post some pictures)

  Otherwise things have been quiet. dw has been working a lot and I'm continuing work on a couple of sculptures -- It's been cold enough that I've used up nearly a quarter of my wood pile (the studio has a small wood heater). And I've started a new painting which will be the best thing I've ever done until it's done and then not so much. 

   Books:  Charlie Chan (Yunte Huang) -- "The untold story of the honorable detective and his rendezvous with American history"  Huang uses Biggers' Charlie Chan books and the character to explore U.S. racism particularly as it applies to Asians, as well as writing a general biography of Biggers and providing the back story for Charlie Chan. Of particular interest to me: Chan was based on a real person -- Chang Apana -- a real Hawaiian cop. I thought the book was remarkably interesting. Cold Wind (C.J. Box) A mystery set in Wyoming. I enjoyed it but as I noted before I never remember mysteries -- I was nearly finished with this one before I remembered I had already read it. The Relentless Case of the Rose City Rain (Robert Durand) An unpublished first draft from my long time friend. Sort of a mixed genre mystery which I enjoyed. -- Murder in PDX -- And re-reading parts of Napoleon's Buttons (Le Couteur and Burreson) a discussion of seventeen important molecules -- their chemistry and discovery. Science medium-lite and much more interesting than it sounds.    DA