Happy San Jacinto Day

... to the folks in Texas!

Mice, ho!

It is time for our annual mouse fight. They are so bold that they just run out onto the kitchen counters in full daylight and stare at us before turning to hide in the innards of the refrigerator, oven or microwave.

The cats' only contribution has been one leap onto the counter to stare back, but nothing beyond that.

So we are getting out the non-poisonous artillery. Sticky traps, mothballs, fabric softener sheets, cocoa-mixed-with-plaster-of-paris ...

Peter thinks the only solution is to sit up all night with a BB gun and take 'em out, one by one.

BTW, that is not our counter in the photo, although our cats do have toy mice like that.

Maybe I should sprinkle catnip around where we see mice. It would get on their fur and feet and THAT would get the cats excited!

Dells Riverfest

This was Riverfest weekend in the Dells. Riverfest was started last year by the Stewards to, among other things, help draw more attention to the original attraction here, the Wisconsin River and the rock formations that are the dells. To quote from the website (another of Tom's products as is the graphic up above),

Dells Riverfest is the Wisconsin Dells river festival -- a day of fun and excitement for the entire family.

Riverfest Races

Race your kayak in a 2K race from Blackhawk Island to Drinker's Landing or watch hundreds of kayaks race down the river from the river front or from a comfortable indoor viewing area at the RiverWalk Hotel.

Race your body in a 5K run from Drinker's Landing through Camp Wawbeek.

Race your bike in a 30K loop from Drinker's Landing through the beautiful rural landscapes of Dells Country.

Or enter the Dells Riverfest Triathlon and do all three, by yourself or with two or three friends as a team.
Kayak/Bike/Walking Tours

If relaxing is more your style than racing, we invite you to take a kayak, bike or walking tour instead. You can take a guided kayak tour around Blackhawk Island, or walk or bike along the race courses in self-guided tours through the best of Dells Country.

Enjoy the Fun

Enjoy refreshments at the nearby River Walk Hotel and River Walk Pub. Enter a raffle for a high-quality kayak to be given away at the Dells Wine & Cheese Festival on October 2, 2010. Race a minnow on the festival grounds. It isn't NASCAR, but it's a lot of fun for young and old alike. Learn how to kayak at our the Riverfest Kayak Clinic.

Whatever your interests, Dells Riverfest is the place to be for Wisconsin River fun on April 17!

Stay and Play!

After you've enjoyed Dells Riverfest, stay and play in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin's favorite vacation destination for over a century.

Cruise the Upper and Lower Dells on a tour boat or duck, dig in at one of the Dells' many restaurants, browse in our unique shops and museums, visit one of our many indoor waterparks and attractions. Relish the historical, cultural and natural beauty that is Wisconsin Dells.

The weather was sunny, but brisk -- never quite made it to the predicted 61 (16.1 C) -- and quite breezy. Tom estimated about 400 people participated, which sounds like a good turnout to me. He helped set up bright and early and then hung around to help with safety patrol when someone else had to cancel. Turns out that was a good thing, because he helped haul someone out of the water who was nearing hypothermia. It may have been a sunny April day, but the river is still quite cold.

My exciting day consisted of getting together with Barry for breakfast (him) and coffee (me). What with my work schedule and his travels for family things, it had been three weeks since we chatted. It is always good to talk, and I think he will be volunteering at the library soon.

Then on to get the oil changed in the Vibe and to let Peg and Rich's dogs out for a bit while P&R were in Milwaukee. Ivy was happy to get out and we played catch for a while. Iris, on the other hand, was convinced I was there to steal the TV or something, and she just barked and growled and hid from me. Well, you do what you can.

The first ever ...

Someone you love

Today at the library, someone checked out this book:


I knew the person who checked it out and -- I am pretty sure -- the person she wants to change. I didn't say anything, but I could not help thinking, "This is a total waste of your time!"

Unless the person she loves and wants to change is herself. And even then, it would be difficult.

Exciting weekend!

1) I worked at the library on Saturday morning and early afternoon. Came home and took a nap, like every good Dodd.

2) We went out for pizza with the Dauphins and were joined by the Taylors. I ordered the Thai Chicken Pizza and this time John and Judi both tried a piece. Little by little, I am getting people used to it. This morning I found a recipe for it online.

3) After pizza, Tom and I watched a Miss Marple mystery. At one point in the movie, a dog barked and Sundance came running out to see what was up. Later in the movie a cat was crying and Sundance went running around looking for the interloper.

4) After the movie, Tom went online and found cat noises with which to torment Sundance. Not a happy cat!

5) Sunday Tom went to work with John at the railroad and I did the floors, cleaned the kitchen, aired the house and did laundry.

6) Now I need to go shopping for food for lunches for the upcoming week.

How exciting is that?

Stolen

I ran across this on another guy's blog -- he comments mostly on issues of faith -- , and he admits he took it from an unacknowledged Facebook entry.

"Sometimes I think Christianity is like an archeological dig, where you have to learn to differentiate between the real artifacts, the stuff that's covering it up, and the stuff that the locals make to sell to tourists."

April 9, 1833

Today is the anniversary of the first public library supported by public taxes -- in Peterborough, NH. Since the Carmelites used to have a retreat house in Peterborough -- Mama and Daddy saw it when they visited me in Boston -- I have been to the library a number of times. Next week will be National Library Week, and Wednesday will be the first National Bookmobile Day. So, thank you, Peterborough!

Below is a photograph of the Carmelites' former retreat house, called The Common. They sold it in 1995 or so to a private individual who wanted it as a residence. (These folks already had two other homes.) Just a few years back, sad to say, it burned down.

Easter weekend

"Very early in the morning on the day after the Sabbath, while it was still dark ..." I always like that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb while it was still dark. According to the gospel story, Jesus had already risen, but she did not know that yet. That little notion always holds out to me the hope that the truly good has already happened, even if we are not yet aware of it.

Friday Tom and I went to Milwaukee, stopping off at Holy Hill, where I saw Fr. Matthias and picked up a few copies of the history booklet I wrote about the shrine. The archbishop of Milwaukee was out there, too, but I did not see him.

It was a very warm afternoon, part of which we spent at Whitnall Park, just enjoying the weather. Saturday was cooler and a bit rainy in the morning. We had lunch -- Indian food! -- with Bob Mitchell and then visited the Harley Davidson Museum. More interesting than I would have expected and the day had turned sunny by the time we left. Then back to the Dells to take Peter shopping for clothes at Kahl's to take advantage of a coupon, a sale (they ALWAYS have sales) and a no-sales-tax day. Tom got a $60 sweater for about $5, I got a tie tack and Peter got pants, shirt, tie, tie clasp and belt. I teased him about getting a Mormon missionary outfit -- all black with a plain white shirt.

Easter morning dawned sunny but coolish. There is a remote chance of a thunderstorm later in the day, and better chances for showers this week. We are several inches behind average on precipitation this year and the signs are warning of high fire risks. So we will hope for rain.

In other good news, the forsythia is blooming. The finches are starting to turn yellow for breeding season. On a sadder note, one of the albino squirrels was hit by a car down at the corner where they live.

Swell

Yesterday I had a nice experience on the bookmobile. A very casual acquaintance (the wife of a casual acquaintance) had gone to the library to return some books. She knew I work on the bookmobile and asked where I was, because she wanted to talk to me. Kris told her and she tracked me down while we were at an apartment building for the elderly and others in financial need.

The reason she went to all this trouble was to tell me she had checked my mystery out of the library and read it straight through in two days. She was very enthusiastic and encouraged me to write another. She said so many complimentary things that, when she left, Kathy (the other bookmobile person) told me to put my hands on either side of my head and squeeze.

I did and she said, "Now it's back to normal size!"