Life continues to be crazy busy. Much of it is good, but it still doesn't leave much spare time. The Madison office of my employer is closing, so I am now job hunting again. They gave us several months warning, so there is no emergency, but it still adds a complexity I did not need right now. One small perk of the whole situation is that the boss decided that everyone should get the heck out of the office early on Friday, so I did.
It turns out that a brand new "nano brewery" (smaller than a micro brewery) was opening as a brewpub, in my neighborhood, and at 4 PM. How convenient! I showed up about five minutes to four and found myself the eighth person in a line that grew almost instantly to about seventy-five. When the doors opened we all filed in nicely and grabbed a spot. Within a few minutes of he doors opening, the place was jammed. This was a truly Wisconsin moment.
The place is called One Barrel, because as a nano brewery they are brewing only one barrel at a time. I think they need to brew their butts off to keep up! They are supplementing their beers with other local brewery's offerings. I only stayed for one - their summer kölsch style - and then I turned my stool over to another thirsty patron and went to meet friends elsewhere, and then on to a rehearsal.
I am really glad that circumstances played out in a way that let me experience the giddy grand opening of One Barrel. It seems like they have a good thing going and I wish them great success.
Prosit!
Saturday, July 7, 2012
One Barrel
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Spoofla!
The Madison belly dance community has a semi-annual party - called a hafla - and this time the idea was to perform spoofs. Much hilarity ensued as talented dancers skewered sacred cows, using bad makeup, mismatched costumes, wacky music, and pratfalls. A refreshing change of pace from the usual serious performances these folks can all deliver. There are more photos at my Flickr site in the "Spoofla 08" set, HERE. I know there were a bunch of people taking pictures, so I hope to be able to link to more soon.
Spoofin' Tribal...
Costume Malfunction...
Tiger Lady!
...the Macho, Macho Man!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Wintery hike
On our way home from lunch and errands with Reena's mother, we needed a hike to clear our heads. Our route took us past the Edna Taylor Conservancy, so we zipped up and stomped off into the snow. There were few people about, and we had less than an hour of light remaining, so we had to enjoy what was available. We've had a lot of snow this month, nearing a record, so everything was draped in a fresh coat of the white stuff.
I really like this image, even if everything is pointing to the right! The oaks spread right over the path we were on and it really was a supurb bit of scenery. When Reena came around the corner to where I had just taken this photo, she let out a little gasp and uuup! came her camera. 
As our light was fading we were caught in the transition between woods and marsh. When I took this photo I had not only a sense of place, but a greater sense of transition. There were several demarcations at that moment: marsh-forest, day-night, fall-winter, life-death. I could have lingered longer there...
