The Word of the Month (Goosebumps)
For the entire month of October, there was only one word important to my 6-year old son. There was only one word that made homework worth doing, dinner worth eating, and minute by agonizing minute of chores worth doing.
Goosebumps.
A Ghostly Encounter
I've been on vacation and then was working a motorcycle rally, so my blog has been neglected a bit. I apologize! But I have a really good story to tell you all now...
Last night I got back from Galveston Texas where I was working the demo rides for Harley-Davidson (my employer). It was hot, sunny, right on the beach, and a lot of fun. They had us staying at the Hotel Galvez, which I didn't know until I had been there 5 nights that it was haunted! I found out that my room was exactly between the two haunted rooms there. The staff showed me pictures they have hanging on the lobby walls of different "ghostly" images they have caught on camera and they also got great pleasure out of telling us each of their strange encounters with various ghosts there. On the last night in the hotel I was pretty tired, after packing and getting ready to leave to go home in the morning. After watching the news I fell asleep. It was pretty quiet outside since the rally was over, and most of the motorcyclists had gone home that day. Around midnight I was woken up by a loud noise! Imagine the sound of two swords when they hit each other, metal on metal, or two chef knives if you would rub them together like you were sharpening them - CHING CHING CHING CHING CHING CHING CHING! There were 7 of these loud "chinging" noises in a row, and it was really really loud! It sounded like it was coming from the middle of my room, basically from the foot of my bed. I was so scared, I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest and I willed myself to not open my eyes or move! I must have stayed that way for an hour, listening to see if there was anyone out in the hallway or if there would be more noises, but there were none. Eventually I fell asleep but by the next morning I was still so shook up that I didn't have the nerve to ask the staff if they had had any complaints about noises during the night. I thought about it all day yesterday so when I arrived home I wrote them an e-mail asking about it. So far I haven't heard anything back.
A Good Laugh
After a long week, sometimes we need a good laugh!
Not So Secret Sources
I get my information from a variety of places, from friends, from the internet, from readers of my blog. But one of my BEST sources of information are my mom and her friends. I like to think of them as the Senior Ladies. They always know what's going on around here, so when they said that Aldi's was going in at the intersection of Drexel and Chicago Road, I believed the rumor. Now I'm starting to wonder. Dollar Tree is now taking up half the space. What remains doesn't seem big enough for an Aldi's. Does that mean that the one in Cudahy is going to remain? I see that the city planning committee has agenda items about Aldi's, so maybe they're right - I'll just have to wait and see. (OOPS - here's an update as of 11/13 - I see that there is an Aldi's sign installed now!)
Back to my sources. It's simple really, I spend a lot of time observing, listening, and reading. I welcome e-mails from people who read my blog. If you'd like me to check out a place and write about it, let me know. If it's a restaurant, I'll probably take my mom there and use the opportunity to get some more info about what really goes on around here. I'll keep you posted :)
Milwaukee Moms Calendar
Today, I came home from work, through our back door, to see three things:
1. My oldest son lying on the floor in our living room, oblivious to the world, holding a loud, intense conversation with a Spider-man action figure.
Packard Avenue Restaurants
It occured to me that I have eaten at a few restaurants lately - all on the same street! Don't know how that happened, but I thought I'd give my quick impressions of them:
Andrea's Restaurant - 5921 S. Packard Avenue - typical restaurant ran by a Greek family. Large portions.
Thanksgiving Neighbors
A whole bunch of South Milwaukee, Cudahy, St. Francis, Oak Creak and Bay View neighbors are going to enjoy great Thanksgiving feasts thanks to a whole bunch of neighbors in those communities, plus Franklin, who belong to the Rotary Club of Mitchell Field and their helpers (i.e. spouses, chidren and other kin).
Rotarians and relatives turned out early on Saturday at the Clarion Hotel across from Mitchell International Airport and filled 40 baskets – well boxes, really – with turkeys and all the trimmings for Thanksgiving dinner.
And it didn’t take much time either. The turkeys, bags of potatoes, oranges, apples, celery, onions, boxes of stuffing mix, cans of sweet potatoes, corn, peas, green beans, gravy and cranberry sauce, packages of dinner rolls, even packages of butter, had been bought by Rotary members, then picked up and stored in a cooler at the Clarion. Saturday at 8 a.m. sharp, the food was wheeled into one of the hotel banquet rooms where the volunteers, one as young as four years old, went to work filling the boxes. In little over half and hour, the deed was done.
Then, before loading the boxes, plus 26 prepared meals for home-bound neighbors, into their cars, the Rotarians and their family members enjoyed a quick little feast of their own – bagels, muffins, sweet rolls, fruit, orange juice, milk and coffee. Thus fortified, off they went, making like Thanksgiving Santas, delivering the boxes and meals to families and home-bound whose names had been provided by area social services groups.
The money to pay for the food was part of the proceeds from last month’s annual Rotary auction. (That was a lot of fun too!)
So a hearty big thanks all around to the Rotarians and their helpers.
JS Editorial describes proposal as Bad Public Policy
An Oct. 31st editorial written by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editorial Board described the proposed sale of parts of O'Donnell Park as "shortsighted". (Milwaukee County Parks: Bad Public Policy, 10/31/07 Editorial Page).
I hope eveyone has a chance to read this editorial. The editorial discussed a proposal to sell off parts of O'Donnell Park on the lakefront. O'Donnell Park is not a traditional county park. It consists of a parking garage, a plaza and a pavilion. The pavilion includes the Coast Restaurant (I ate there last year; it is a wonderful restaurant with a beautiful fireplace and a great view of the Art Museum and lakefront).
Cudahy Historical Society to hold All-Christmas Rummage Sale
The Cudahy Historical Society has cleaned Santa’s Attic!
There will be an All-Christmas Rummage Sale on Nov. 23rd and 24th and on Dec. 8th. The Rummage Sale will feature decorations, lights, trees, Santas, Snowmen and more. The Sale will be held from 9 am to 3 pm at the Historic Train Depot at the corners of KK and Layton.
Instant TV Shows on Amazon.com
100 years ago, before I had kids, I watched TV.
For a time, my husband worked second shift. So, after work, I'd come home and have the night to myself, the house to myself, the food to myself, and amazingly the TV to myself. (A far, far, distant but very real and glorious memory.)
Unique Toy Web Sites (and Extension Cords)
As expected, my youngest son has an extensive Christmas list this year. He wants Moon Sand. He wants toy yard tools. He wants puzzles and Legos and Play Dough and race cars and a new toy camera. However, there is one item close to the top of my son’s list that stands out. There is one item different than all the other toys. It's an extension cord. Yes, my 4-year old son wants his own extension cord for Christmas!
I ask my son (who loves electronics but is not allowed near an outlet) why he wants an extension cord. He says he just wants to “pretend” to plug things in. He then looks at me and asks if – when he is a grownup – I will allow him to play with outlets. I smile and say no.
