Day 18

Just hoping to wake up tomorrow and someone says, "April Fools."

Today's adventure was a shopping trip to Metcalfe's that resulted in a three-foot long receipt and $320 worth of food. I know Metcalfe's isn't exactly value shopping, but was the best for some good old fashioned social distancing.

my receipt

A few observations while shopping. All of the produce was wrapped in plastic. That must have been a ton of work, but would prevent someone from being stupid and wanting to cough on produce as a joke.

wrapped produce

Also, when I got to the check out, my load was so large, they turned off the checkout light so no one would get behind me. I also had the privilege of having them give me an extra cart to help me out to the vehicle.

Finally, the craft of the day was a simple cardboard cut-out of a person. We made some clothes for our new friend. Our friend has a mouth and a nose, but no eyes. At least he or she can't cry then.

Day 17

Today was probably the nicest day out of the 17 so far that we've been isolated. The temps got to around 58 degrees.

Our drive of the day took us west about 16 miles west to Mazomanie and one of our favorite restaurants. By favorite restaurant, I mean one that we go to at least once a year, the Old Feed Mill. It looked like they may have been open, but who knows.

Since it was a nice day, we thought it was a good chance to re-visit the tulips to check on their progress. Should consider putting out some rabbit repellent to make sure they bloom.

Finally, the craft of the day are some makeshift binoculars that were made of paper towel tubing. They are perfect for finding acorns.

I'm pretty sure I need to get some milk tomorrow, or maybe mid-day on Wednesday. We'll see.

Day 16

As I said earlier, this weekend looked like a washout, so we made the best of it by having "Hawaii Day" on Sunday.

First up, these Hawaiian Sun pancakes with mangoes for breakfast

Here we are playing our ukuleles for a performance of "Island Style."

After that, a quick walk in the neighborhood and we found a puddle to play in. It was not a "muddy puddle" like Peppa Pig enjoys, but it did get him wet enough to change his pants once we got back in.

muddy puddles
Note - wearing socks on his fingers instead of gloves

After lunch, a quick drive to the most tropical place around, the UW Arboretum, which has some roadways that are tree-covered, similar to the Tree Tunnel in Kauai.

To wrap up, the craft of the day was this lei.

Day 15

I might be a weekend where we get rained in. However, we did find time for an early morning walk in the neighborhood. We were on vacation last year when many of our spring flowers bloomed. Here are a few crocus in our yard...which begged the question, what is the plural of crocus?

from Merriam-Webster - plural also crocus or croci

Here are the croci!

The afternoon drive was to a wet Marshall Park where we saw this mallard swimming about. Otherwise, not much wildlife. I did see someone mention the loons have been migrating through our area on their way northward.

Finally, the craft project of the day. Getting our Easter Tree ready.

Day 14

It's been a week since I've been inside a grocery store. All is good. We just need milk in the next day or three.

Today's craft was a Mickey Mouse craft. Son initially wanted a mask, but it was too easy to just go for the stick to cover one's face. Here is our quick craft of the day.

The drive of the day was to find the cheapest gas, so we drove down University Ave and found this $1.39 at the Spirit station. We had enough gas, so we did not fill up again.

The last time I paid $1.39 for gas was in Memphis, TN in February 2016. Too bad there really is nowhere to go now.

The weekend is almost upon us. Could have hail this weekend, so might need to take a quick look at the tulips tomorrow morning.

Day 13

Lucky Day Number 13.

Today's craft is sketching birds. We created a little "cave" to view the birds in our backyard. After setting out some bird feed, we were able to see some robins, house finches, pigeons and swallows.

Here is the drawing of a robin. It's been a while, but I think this is a good way to realize what a bird really looks like, from the dark cap of the bird to the lighter gray feathers on its back and tail, to the sharpness of the beak needed to grab worms.

The drive of the day will be a forested one. We took a drive down Blackhawk Road, which is a really pretty drive as we go past the Madison Ski Club. Alas, we saw no birds since it was raining.

Today marked a big day in the quarantine. We placed our first order for curbside pick up from Brennan's, a specialty grocery store. We got some berries, cheese, smoked fish and a few other fresh veggies. We just need some basic stuff. Too bad they don't have milk.

Day 12

Finally got around to the stick craft. I was not sure how this would turn out, but I would say the people that made it did an awesome job. I would pay for those twigs.

And now the final product...

Today's drive is featuring a potential grocery store that we could use to avoid crowds, the Piggly Wiggly in the quiet hamlet of Cross Plains, a tidy 5 or 6 mile drive to the west from where we live. Looks like this has some promise. Prices will be higher, but it could work out.

Day 11

Okay, onward with Day 11.

We didn't quite get to the sticks craft today, so we'll just go with the cupcakes made today as being the craft....a craft you can eat, that's the best craft.

I've been promised that the sticks we collected on Monday evening will be used for the craft on Wednesday. I don't think we'll be able to eat that craft.

The drive for today was guaranteed to get our son a nap, so I went into work, sort of. I drove close enough to work to get on the staff WiFi network to see if I could remote into a computer from my work laptop that was in the passenger seat. This particular computer inside the building has some special programs that we are trying to run to update a database. Alas, the effort failed. We'll see if we can find another way to connect to it. Note, it is not recommended to go into the office, especially if you are still wearing pajamas.

Day 10

Okay, craft project, drive, then tulip update.

Today's craft project was to make a post card for a special friend. We have lots of postcards and postcard stamps, so this is something that was fun and easy to do. We mailed this one to one of our son's friends.

Our short drive early this afternoon was to Rocky Dell Road. Rocky Dell Road is where we go if we tell our son "we're going to see some deer." We did not see any deer today, or much of anything, but the drive got him to sleep, which is the ultimate goal.

After work today, we took a trip up the hill in our backyard to grab a few more items for tomorrow's craft project. While we were up there, we took a quick glance to check on the progress of the tulips. This is the same tulip as pictured before on Day 4.

Our governor gave us the "safer-at-home" directive earlier today. Guess what, we've had some practice!

Day 9

So let's start with today's adventure.

This is a place I've been bugging my family about for a while. The Ice Age Reserve Wildlife Area near Cross Plains. The Ice Age Trail cuts a big trail throughout the state. It marks the farthest reach of the most recent glaciation from about 12,000 years ago. See map of the trail in red below...

The state has marked this trail in the past. It was a field trip for us in middle school up in northern Wisconsin back in the day. However it seems like there are new amenities on the trail that pop up here and there as people embrace the past...let's call it our own mini-Appalachian Trail. Just for those of you wondering, Ice Age Trail - 1,200 miles, Appalachian Trail = 2,200 miles.

Where we live in Middleton (somewhat flat) and Cross Plain (hilly) marks one of those spots where the glaciation ended. Here is the Ice Age Reserve Wildlife Area. It featured 2 new boardwalks and a wooden bridge on the trail. It made for a nice loop. We'll definitely be coming back when the weather is warmer.

The craft project of the day was this crown from the Highlights magazine. Just a simple cut out of a crown and then taping or gluing the jewels on the tips of the crown (we taped).

Day 8

Okay, let's keep the streak alive....a craft project and a destination for the day.

Let's start off with the destination since it was chronologically first. We all went to Governor Nelson State Park today. A lot of people out, a lot of dogs out too!

The trails were fine in some spots and mushy in others, but it was great seeing so many people out walking the miles of trails. Here is a photo of the park from one of the trails.

So my guilty pleasure book for the quarantine is going to be A History of America in 100 Maps. It was a Christmas gift from a few years back.

On one of the pages, they showed a drawing of Disneyland, and what it would look when drawn up in 1953.

Our Disneyland is a made of LEGO, and equally impressive.

Looks like the weather will get warmer next week. 

Will be heading back into my work office for a few last things tonight.

Day 7

As every day recently, we do a craft. From our preschool, we got a craft project that involved coloring in a rain cloud, sunshine and a rainbow....then you sing a song about your little project.

The song goes like this:

"I'm a little rain cloud in the sky, I can make rainbows if I try. I mix a little rain in the bright sunshine, out pops the rainbow it sure is fine."

Today I made a quick drive to pick up some items at Pick 'n Save. Here is a copy of my receipt! Now I am really ready for a lock down!

Today's drive was north of home up on Church Road, today's featured road! On Church Road you can see a bunch of barns from Wagner Farms and Ziegler Farms, two large operations that according to the Internet have around 1,500 cows each.

It'll be another cool weekend. I can't see myself actually at work anytime soon, so I may pop in to grab some remaining items like my New Yorker Page a Day calendar and some left over food. I don't want my office to be overrun by rats when I get back.

Day 6

Better content today. Here is the craft we made, a chocolate cake out of boxes!

We have all the Sharpie colors, so it allowed for us to do a little decorating. The one in the Highlights magazine had fake candles at the top. We improvised and put some pipe cleaners as the candles. I'm wondering they ever used fancy pipe cleaners like we have to clean actual pipes?

Today's drive is one I did not go on, but it featured Marshall Park on a cool, dreary day. It is a park on the west side of Lake Mendota in Middleton. Always good for a nice walk if you are looking to quarantine!

Day 5

We made a shark out of toilet paper today. There's a fancy word for it, but I can't remember.

It was snowy today, so not a great day for a drive. I heard that UW-Health was doing COVID-19 drive through screenings for their employees today (if they thought they had symptoms). It was a short drive...it's one of those, "I wonder what it really looks like" type of things.

Here are the signs...

Here is how you check-in...

And here is a very obscured view of where the tests actually are...

I'll have better content for Day 6. We are keeping the quarantine streak alive!

Day 4

So our old neighbor Liina gave us some tulips from the Wisconsin State Capitol last year. My son and I planted about 40 bulbs last November up on the hill on some public land behind our house. They are growing!

Today's adventure was actually a walk. The temperature got into the mid-40's, so that was a nice break. Our home is near Pheasant Branch Creek, which was the destination. The observation is they clear-cut a bunch of trees in the area. See below.

As you can see form the aerial image below, which would be the "before" photo, they took out a bunch of trees. I'm guessing all in the name of flood mitigation. We had a big flood in August 2018 where we set the Wisconsin state record of receiving about 13" of rain within 24 hrs.

Day 3

I started the day by going to Hy-vee again at 5AM to get as much food as I think would be needed to last a month or more. Will still need milk, so a trip in 2 weeks might be a thing.

Bought more than $240 of stuff, my biggest purchase yet. My, "oh, they sell that" item is this Turducken. I've never had it, but now realize that I really could if I felt like spending $40.

Today we received work from home privileges from my workplace, which seemed like the sensible thing to do, considering the new guidelines say we can't be in a group of more than 10 people.

Today's drive was to the Madison Diocese to drop off some paperwork, then to venture home on Twin Valley Road and Low Road....just some odd spots in the area.

Day 2

Okay, so what happened on Day 2.

We watched church on TV. That was interesting. With no one there, it only takes 30 minutes. Thanks Father Mario of St. Walter's in Roselle, IL!

Today we made a music video...on the video it says it is on 3/14, but it was really today, 3/15. See that video here. We have a bunch of silly instruments.

After lunch, we had our daily drive to get out and see something. Today's drive was the roughly 25-mile drive around Lake Mendota. There still is a lot of ice  covering the lake, but it is likely very thin.

Later on, son and myself went to the top of the hill to see the tulips we planted last November. We saw two small shoots of the tulips. I should've taken a photo. Maybe the next time.

Thinking of a big shopping trip to Hy-vee at 5AM tomorrow morning to get enough stuff to last a month or so.

Day 1

Lots of possibilities to accomplish lots of things by staying home from work until May 1 (that's my guess as to when we might be back at work).

I started the day by hitting up the Hyvee at 5AM. They open an hour earlier than Pick n Save, so they got my money ($120). I found the front of the store mostly devoid of produce. A couple interesting observations while looking for Orange Peel....they were out of Crushed Red Pepper, meaning there is going to be a lot of pizza eating. When I checked out, the nice lady said yesterday (Friday the 13th) was the highest revenue day in that location's history. She was unclear what to do with her kids when school is planned to be out on Wednesday. She has a 16, 10, 7 and 2 year-old...and she has to work at Hyvee, so she can't take time off.

I was able to find most everything I needed (wish I would've found potatoes). I had been hoarding pull ups and had bought enough paper towels and toilet paper after reading an article a few weeks back that those were items that we would eventually be hoarding.

It was a cold day (high of 37F), so son and I spent some time at the park on the swings and slides.
In the afternoon, we all went for a ride to New Glarus. Son got some sleep in the car. We drove through New Glarus Woods State Park and then back to New Glarus to walk downtown and to play in the park.

Not sure what Monday will bring. Will see if I can make something productive of my planned time off....or if this blog just fizzles and we never really social distance ourselves...