Category: General News

I woke up to a chilly world this morning.  When I hopped into my car at 5:15, the thermometer read -12℉.  Burr!  The humidity is low, the sky is clear, and the stars pop against the inky darkness like Valentine jewels tossed up into the firmament.

As much as my skin would like it to be, oh, 80 degrees warmer, I do love these frigid winter days.  I love the pink sunrise that reflects on the heaping mounds of fresh snow.  I love to hear the squeak and metallic crunch of super-cold snow under my feet.  (You can tell it’s really cold by the sound of your boots, walking.)  I love how clear and brilliantly blue the sky gets on a winter day, and how blindingly white the glittery snow is.  Light is bouncing everywhere, and yet warming little!

Today is Sylvia’s very last day of being 2-years-old.  It’s a sparkly day, and she is a sparkly girl.

Here’s a poem about February that makes me smile as things do when they hit upon the kernel of truth:

February

Around, above the world of snow
The light-heeled breezes breath and blow;
Now here, now there, they wheel the flakes,
And whistle through the sun-dried brakes,
Then, growing faint, in silence fall
Against the keyhole in the hall.

Then dusky twilight spreads around,
The last soft snowflake seeks the ground,
And through unshaded window panes
The lamp-rays strike across the plains,
While now and then a shadow tall
Is thrown upon the whitewashed wall.

The hoar frost cackles on the trees,
The rattling brook begins to freeze,
The well sweep glistens in the light
As if with dust of diamonds bright;
And spreading o’er the crusted snow
A few swift-footed rabbits go.

Then the night silence, long and deep,
When weary eyes close fast in sleep;
The hush of Nature’s breath, until
The cock crows loud upon the hill;
And shortly through the eastern haze
The red sun sets the sky ablaze.

James Berry Bensel

Happy winter, all!

My kids are completely smitten with the movie The Princess Bride. It’s one of my favorite movies, and I find myself regularly thinking that each scene is the one I like best.

When Sylvia reads books or watches movies or sees a picture, she immediately identifies who she is and who others are.  For example, while reading Good Night Moon, she’ll interrupt right away to point out that she’s the little bunny and I’m the mommy bunny and Andrew’s the kitty and Daddy is the mouse.

So while watching The Princess Bride, a running dialogue from the kids is who is who.  Andrew is Wesley…the man in black.

And in the opening sequence when Buttercup comes in riding a horse, Sylvia yells out, “There you, Mommy!”

I’m often surprised that Sylv has given me the role of Buttercup.  After all, she becomes a princess and wears beautiful dresses.

But yet, I’m consistently given the Buttercup role.

So now you’re wondering who Sylvia says she is.  Here it is:

Humperdink

It cracks me up each time.  “There I am!  Humperdink!”

Andrew’s favorite scenes (based on how many times he rewinds and re-watches them) are split between this one:

and this one:

When I asked her what her favorite scene was, she told me it was when “the little guy” says, “really?”

I’m gratified to know that while my little girl nurtures some serious princess-y affections that she mixes it up now and then:)

Speaking of which, I saw this book, Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the front line of the new girly-girl culture, and right away I’ve put it on reserve from the library (although I’m #80 on the list, so it may be a while).  It sounds like a funny book much-needed book.  Here’s a quote I found:

I mean pink is just a color, but it’s a small slice of the rainbow and it comes to represent this little box that gets tighter and tighter around girls that tells them that girlhood is defined by makeovers at four years old and princesses and being the fairest and ultimately the hottest of them all.

Our friend Tom has dreamed of owning a home by the Wisconsin River since he was a graduate student at the UW in the 1970s.  A few years ago, he started looking for properties between Spring Green and Lone Rock.  Then, last summer, he found a lovely piece of land just downstream of the Lone Rock bridge (that’s the bridge on Hwy 14 that looks like it’s going to run into a rock bluff 🙂

Tom started construction on his new home last fall.  I hadn’t been out to see it yet, so on our drive home from Jack’s house, we made a visit.  Here we’re on the Lone Rock bridge heading east.  That’s the Wisconsin River below.  Tom’s property is in sight if you were to look left.

Just after crossing the bridge, we see a sign for Lone Rock.  And when we take a left, we’re on a dead-end street headed to his place.

And here it is!  Tom’s River Retreat and Water Palace a.k.a. Jack’s Big Bluff East.  There’s Tom opening the door to show us in.

Lots of construction going on still.  He’s getting permits left and right, and he thinks it will be move-in ready by next week!  This picture shows the living room, and an open bedroom up the stairs.

This is the whirlpool/soaker tub/sauna area.  The big circular thing next to Bryan is the footprint for the whirlpool.  The door to the sauna is on the left side of this room.

The sauna is complete.  And just beautiful.

Looking out the doors from the water room.  The area close to the house will be a patio area.  Down by the trees, the Wisconsin River is mostly covered with ice.  The Lone Rock bridge is off to the left.

There’s our happy new home owner.  Tom’s been the contractor for all this building and construction, and it’s kept him incredibly busy.  We used to see him a couple times a week, but since they broke ground in September, we see him only occasionally.

Here’s a table saw in one of the bedrooms.  In addition to the main open bedroom in the living area, there are two guest rooms, each of which is planned to have a set of queen sized bunk beds for Babler/Haller/Dotzour/Zilic family gatherings.

Here I’m standing in the master bedroom looking down at the living room.  The two guest rooms are directly across.  The front door is hidden behind Tom.  Bryan is across from the kitchen and the water room.

Here’s the kitchen.  The appliances are beautiful, and the view (down toward the river) is wonderful.  It’ll be fun to prepare some meals here!

The whirlpool/soaker tub/sauna is through the beautiful windows and French doors.  Facing south, this bank of windows gets lots of lovely light.

Next, Tom took us outside to check out the basement.

Here Tom is opening up the doors to the basement.  The patio area is just behind him.

There’s the soaker tub.  It’s wood!

Here Tom is showing me his new furnace, water heater, etc.  He put something like six inches of spray foam insulation in the walls.

Andrew’s exploring.

So there you have it. Tom’s River Retreat.  He’ll still be living in Madison in his condo.  This new place seems like it will be an amazing addition to our weekend outdoor options.  Lone Rock is about 70 minutes from our place.  Good work, Tom!

A more complete set of photos from this tour is available in my gallery.

When we were at Jack’s last weekend, we spent a couple hours on Saturday up on Jack’s prairie watching some brush piles burn, making snowmen and “sledding.”  I didn’t bring my camera, so these photos are all courtesy of Maretta.

Here we are getting ready to leave.

There’s Kyle ready for a winter adventure.

Bryan and Andrew heading out.  That’s the frozen Wisconsin River behind them.

Sylvia walked most of the way up the hill. Here she wanted a carry because her legs were “sore.”

Winter still life.

There’s my handsome brother-in-law!

Sylv and Bryan.

The snow was just perfect for snow balls and snow men.  I had fun rolling up some big balls.

Kyle helps me stack the middle snow ball on the big snowman.

Packing it in.

Bryan pulled Sylvia around in this big tub.  She loved it!

Andrew takes a lick from the snowman.

Kyle and I finish off snowman #1.

This might be the biggest one I’ve made!

After getting a hat and a face and some arm, this snowman gets a hug.

With snow this packable, a snowball fight was inevitable.

No tears were shed during this mayhem.

Bryan’s amused.

Kyle and I went to work and made an Andrew snowman.

While we all goofed off, Jack lit about seven big stacks of dry wood (remnants from a pine stand that was removed a couple years ago).  The rippling flames were beautiful.  And toasty.  Andrew tried to douse the flames of one by throwing snowballs at it continuously for a long time.  He made a bit of a dent in the inferno, but not much.

Finally, we made a Sylvie snowman.  Here, Kyle inserts the paci.  It was holding Poodle too, but that was short lived as the real Sylvie wasn’t OK sharing with the snowman.

The Sylvie snowman is wearing a bark crown.

Matt enjoying a winter day at Jack’s.

Sylvia removes the paci from the snowman.

Here’s our trio of snowpeople.  They are watching the bon fires.  Perhaps in extreme horror.  We spent a while contemplating what the snowmen would do after we left.  Lots of wild adventures were considered à la Snowmen at Night.

Andrew brings home a dried milkweed pod.  A beautiful reminder of seasons past.

So that’s it for photos from Jack’s winter weekend 2011.  Regular attendees who weren’t there, we missed you!!

Twice a year, my family packs up and heads out to Jack’s house on the Wisconsin River.  We’re drawn like ants to honey.

Pictures from our weekend can be found here a sample can be seen below.  Maretta brought her camera, so these photos are a mix of her pics and mine.

Here she and I are swapping lenses and taking pictures of each other…

Pretty Mer.

While Maretta and I were playing with cameras, Michael, Kyle, Bryan, and Matt were playing a board game.  Something about Meeples.

Sylvia twirls like a ballerina.  I packed her clothes for her, and on Saturday morning, I brought her an outfit.  When she put it on, I was a little amazed to see her wearing a complete, coordinated outfit that I had picked out.  I don’t think that’s happened in the last year.  Then she put her pajama shirt over top of her clothes and all was well and normal in the world.

Sitting around…and playing with my new flash.

Oh my.  It’s a birthday cake from Rolling Pin Bake Shop.  Sylvia had requested a cake with purple frosting.  This strawberry shortcake cake was fantastic. Whipping cream frosting.  Thanks to Michael for acquiring it!

Along with purple frosting, she requested candles.  And wouldn’t you know that I forget the cake candles.  Fortunately, Jack pulled through with three candles.  Sylvia’s birthday isn’t until February 11, but we celebrated at Jack’s since Maretta and Kyle were there.  And Tom, Dad, and Michael were all there too (Lisa wasn’t feeling great and stayed home this time).  Our girl was quite happy to be sung to!

Blowing out the candles.  Thanks to Maretta for all these pics.

YUM!  The kids dig in.  I wasn’t sure how Andrew would feel about Sylvia’s birthday, but he was really excited and happy for her.

This was a thickly frosted cake.  And Sylvia ate all the frosting and no cake:)

Maretta photographing.

Tom and Matt have lengthy discussions about big topics while Michael peruses his iPad.

Michael brought a bunch of card games for Andrew, and here he’s making up rules to a dragon game.

Tom acts as my model while Matt holds my new external flash off to the left.

On Saturday, Bryan, Michael, and Andrew all spent a relaxing period in Jack’s sauna.  Andrew was delighted to be “one of the boys.”  He had to run out regularly to avoid over heating.  I think his favorite part was when the three of them plunged into the snow with only their swim trunks on.  Here’s a foot print from my little boy.  Funny to see bare footprints in the snow.

Here we’ve got Maretta knitting, Kyle reading and Michael and Matt playing a game together on their iPads.  Our winter weekend at Jack’s in cozy and quiet and relaxing.

Andrew and Bryan are playing Yatzee.  Again.

And Jack is cleaning up the kitchen.  Again.  Because that’s what Jack does.  As he said, “You may have noticed that I’m not much into sitting around.”  True statement, Jack!  Thanks for hosting us for a lovely weekend!  Looking forward to our summer visit already.

It’s been a nice snow day here in the Dotzour home today.  We got six inches of snow on Monday night and then a blizzard-y 12 inches last night.  School was canceled, most offices are closed, and in general, it seems like the city is in snow day mode.  Bryan is on call for work, and unfortunately, they had some super-major crises going on with the ShopBop website, so he worked intensely from home from the time he woke until about 3.  Now he’s in the quite office…hopefully getting some work done.  Such a conscientious and diligent worker he is:)

While Bryan was hard at work on the laptop in our bedroom, the kids and I engaged in all sorts of fun snow day activities.

Here’s Sylvia preparing her favorite breakfast – English muffins with butter and honey.

Snug inside, we took a peek at the drifts of snow outside.

There’s a bit of snow hanging over the edge of our roof!

I’ve been eying a Valentine’s Day project involving shaved crayons, waxed paper, and an iron.   This seemed like a good morning to give it a go.  I started by using a pencil sharpener to shave down red and pink and purple and yellow crayons.

The crayon shavings are in the little cups.  We took pieces of waxed paper and sprinkled the crayon shavings on half of the sheet.

Here are my two little heart-makers.

I folded the sheets in half, crimped the edges so no wax got out, and ironed the sheet to melt the wax.  It’s a beautiful, kinda magic transformation.  Then I cut hearts out of the sheets.

And I strung the hearts on pieces of string or taped them to our windows.

After that project, I wanted to try something else, so the kids and I decided to make Maple Syrup Taffy.  Thanks to Heather for suggesting this snowy activity!

I took around 1/2 cup of syrup and heated it…

…until it was between 235 and 245 degrees.

The kids had gotten bundled up and went outside to retrieve a bowl full of snow.  When the syrup was the right temp, I poured it over the snow.  After letting it cool for a few moments, I used my fingers to wind it into mushy balls.  The kids got to eat the warm, gooey maple syrup candy.  They thought it was delicious!

Afterward, we read the chapter from Little House in the Big Woods where Laura makes the same treat.

“Laura and all the other children scooped up clean snow with their plates.  Then they went back into the crowded kitchen.
Grandma stood by the brass kettle and with the big wooden spoon she poured hot syrup on each plate of snow.  It cooled into soft candy, and as fast as it cooled they ate it.
They could eat all they wanted, for maple sugar never hurt anybody.  There was plenty of syrup in the kettle, and plenty of snow outdoors.  As soon as they ate one plateful, they filled their plates with snow again, and Grandma poured more syrup on it.”

Bryan had woken up really early and hand-shoveled the drive way.  It was so nice of our neighbor Brett to come by and widen it out for us.

After coaxing my kids for hours, I got them to get dressed to play outside.  Here’s our snowy home.

Our tree swing is almost buried!

Happy snowy girl!

It’s a good day for snow shoes.  As the kids tried to walk through the snow, they sunk up to their hips!

Snow study…

We’d made pretzel dough before going outdoors, and after we came in, we rolled out the pretzels together.  Dough was consumed.

Then there was hot coca and buttery pretzels straight from the oven.  It’s been a good snow day!

I took Bowser in to the vet this morning for a blood test.  He’s down to 7lbs, 4oz, which I think is about a pound less than he weighed a few weeks ago.  Not good.  Here’s a link to the post I wrote on January 4 describing the tests we had done then.  Bowser’s been on a hypoallergenic diet for the last few weeks, and he’s been on prednisone for the last week.  He’s ravenous beyond belief.  He actually steals food from our hands and plates while we’re eating.  But no weight gaining.  Oh, that reminds me that I was going to have them give Bowser a B12 injection while he was getting his blood draw.  Oops.  Forgot about that one.

My feline has decided that he does not like the hypoallergenic dry food I got him.  He is, however, a huge fan of the soft food.  So now I got him some rabbit and venison soft and dry food options to try.  That and probiotics and fish oil (which, strangely, both cats think is disgusting) are all part of the current routine.

Because he is so skinny, because he’s enamored with me because I give him soft food, or perhaps because he senses that he’s sick, Bowser has been super-cuddly and affectionate.  Before Andrew and Sylvia were around, he would sleep under the covers next to me.  But it’s been over five years since he burrowed under the blankets.  However, these last weeks, he’s been snuggling down under the covers with me all night.  He either sleeps like a teddy bear in my arms or with his spine lined up against my spine.  Or sometimes, since he has a thing for my hair, he’ll have his rump under my arm and will stretch his body across my neck so he can knead at my hair next to my ear.  It’s all very furry and cozy and makes for excellent sleeping.

Spooky (Bowser’s brother) has meanwhile been throwing up all the time.  I think he’s been eating the flowers off a cyclamen that I brought home.  One day last week he threw up five times.  And he picked really terrible places – the couch, the bed (comforter and sheets), a pillow left on the floor, the one carpeted room of our house.   I’ve been putting the potted flower on top of the refrigerator at night to keep it away from him.  Last night I forgot, and the dorky cat a) snipped off all the flowers b) ate one of them and c) vomited on me, the bed, and a pillow on the floor in the night.  Excellent.  I think I’m going to send the flower to work with Bryan.  I will say that this constant cat-puking hasn’t helped make the case for spending oodles more $$ to diagnose Bowser:)

***

Hopefully when we get the results back from this blood test (they said it would be a week), we’ll have more to go on about what is troubling my cute black-and-white cat.

Thanks for your friendly thoughts:)

~Althea