Sunny Saturday

We had a sunny and (for us) warm Saturday today, with highs in the 40s. We took advantage of the nice day to go to Madison.

First we visited Olbrich's Garden for a very small train show. To quote their website, 

"Twinkling lights, festive poinsettias, tiny landscapes, and large-scale model trains:  all aboard for Olbrich's Holiday Express! Using large-scale model trains, Olbrich's horticulture staff will showcase miniature landscapes among hundreds of colorful poinsettias"

Like I say, it was a small to-do, but it was great fun watching all the little kids run from one side of the room to the other to watch the trains circle around. It kept parents and grandparents busy trying to keep the kids from grabbing the trains when they went by.

Then we went by the Wisconsin State Historical Museum where they had an aluminum Christmas tree exhibit. The largest manufacturer of those 1960s icons was here in Wisconsin. Again, a small exhibit but a bit of local history. The museum itself, which we have visited many times, has three and a half floors of excellent displays. Afterwards we walked across the street to the Veterans Museum. Tom did a quick walk-through while I examined the shop, which carries things like Robert E. Lee and Abraham Lincoln bobble-heads.

We walked down State Street to find Parthenon Gyros and had gyros and fries for lunch. Not fancy, but we both like them and don't often have a chance to eat them in the Dells. When we lived in Hyde Park, Salonika was just a few blocks away and gyros were a regular item on our menu.

After lunch we visited the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. They are featuring "State of Art: The Wisconsin Triennial," which is widely regarded as the state’s most prestigious showcase of contemporary Wisconsin visual art. The show reflects the diversity of twenty-first century artistic practice and conceptual concerns. My favorite was a large video screen showing a beautiful waterfall with people walking around the bottom taking pictures. If you sat on one of the cushions provided, you were treated to some classical music as accompaniment. It was relaxing and engaging.


Then back home. I gave the cats their mid-afternoon snack and went to run my car through the car wash. Of course, it being a warm sunny day, everyone else had the same idea, but the line was not too long. Tom took the time to clean up the end of our drive, preparing for the bitter cold weather due here in the next few days, with some nights down to 13 below and some days having a high of zero.

New Year's Eve it is supposed to get down to 11 below, but New Year's Day will warm up to 8 above.