Last night in Madison

A wise man named Tom Petty once said, "The waiting is the hardest part." Truer words...being in Madison these past two weeks after my defense have been painful knowing that we have to leave. We got married here.

Literally, here.

We live here.

Literally, here.

Right next to the halfway house. OK, I might not miss that so much. Although it made for some interesting stories. Like the time the lady who never wears shoes and always carries a broom approached me while Sammy was taking a dump in the side yard and said "By the hearth of Hestia, how I wish that all the creatures of this domain could relieve themselves in a civilized manner...[insert more world salad of New Age bullshit here, I can't remember exactly what she said]" but it amounted to that she wished that domestic animals could use a toilet. "You and me both, dude," I said. She wandered off, then apparently sensing I could be offended she turned around and said, "But I do thank you for cleaning it up." "No problem."

Eh, weird people have to live somewhere.

Sammy will miss the nearby park.

Orton Park

And his favorite person....

The mail lady--she carries treats. When he see her, he sits his ass down and refuses to go until he gets to greet her.

And his vet just down the block.

We're so used to walking everywhere. Restaurants, the hippie co-op grocery, the hemp store (for real. There's an entire store devoted to hemp and hemp products). The people watching is fabulous, as you might imagine.

My husband and I did our last bit of Wisconsin duty this morning by going down to City Hall to vote (early) in the governor recall election. Here's a quick recap of what happened to ignite the powder keg:

Governor Scott Walker: OK, government workers, we have to cut your pay because we need to balance the budget.

Wisconsin Government Workers: 'Kay, gotta do what you gotta do.

GSW: Benefits too.

WGW: Sucks, but 'kay.

GSW: And I'm going to revoke your right to organize and negotiate for your rights, pay and benefits.

WGW: 'Ka--wait what? No!

GSW: Yep. Except for the firemen and police. Their unions supported me in the election so...ya know.

14 WI senators: No way dude, we're going to a different state since you can't vote on any monetary matters without us, so you can't vote on this BS.

GSW: OK, well, forget all the budget balancing stuff. Let's just get rid of those rights!

This really pissed people off, as you might imagine.  He continued with an uber-conservative agenda under the guise of creating jobs for Wisconsinites. An admirable goal, but as recently reported by the WI Department of Revenue, we're suffering the some of the worst job losses in the nation. What, even after repealing the Equal Pay Enforcement Act?? The one protecting from discrimination based on gender, race, age, disability, religion, or sexual orientation? Republican WI senator Glenn Grothman explains the pay gap between men and women:

 "You could argue that money is more important for men. I think a guy in their first job, maybe because they expect to be a breadwinner someday, maybe a little more money-conscious. To attribute everything to a so-called bias in the workplace is just not true.” (emphasis mine)

Ass. Yeah, who needs money for like, food and shelter and stuff, amirite ladies? For obvious reasons, we were glad that we could perform a little civic duty before we left.

I hit up Lakeside Fibers, the yarn shop, one last time. The Cascade 220 wall was calling my name.  I was inspired by Autumn Geisha's post about her fav designer, Heidi Kirrmaier. The Nanook she's making in a sweet neon green color was too good to pass up. I'm making mine in purple!

I have no idea how to artfully photograph it though. It's a construction that I've never done before, where you do the sleeves before the bulk of the body. I'm kinda digging it. And I love the detail on the collar.

Collar 'bear tracks'.

Well, we've got a couple thousand mile drive in the next couple of days....how much do you think I'll get done?