Pushing the Reset Button 

I started this blog several years ago, as a way to journal some of the little weekend trips my husband and I, with or without kids, had been taking. And I wanted to show some of the beautiful handcrafted artwork I came across - things I had purchased or, more likely, wanted to purchase but hadn't. And then - life gets in the way, and the blog was abandoned.

I realize it's been a while, but I'm going to resurrect this little blog, and I don't know if anyone will ever read it, but I'm going to try to add something here a couple of times a week - my journey as a would-be novelist, some of those little trips and craft items, dealing with two young adult kids... We'll see if anything comes of it!

The book - I may finally have figured out some of my issues with the story, and instead of writing here, I really should be working on that - I'll get there soon! My goal is to finish first draft and rewrite, and start the agent/publisher process by the fall. I attended a very interesting and helpful seminar last Saturday on writing the bad guys in your book, put on by a Facebook friend, DePaul professor, and author Rebecca Johns. These small talks are really worthwhile! You never know what's going to spark an idea and help those synapses fire.

Right now, I'm transcribing an interview with Theresa Carle-Sanders about her first, brand-new cookbook, Outlander Kitchen! I was very happy to have been asked to publicize this book for Theresa - she's such a nice person, and I'm so excited for her! That interview should come out on Wednesday, on threeifbyspace.net.

What am I watching on TV? I'm caught up on the Night Manager on AMC. How good is this! Other than in the Thor and Avengers movies, I've never really seen anything with Tom Hiddleston - rowr!! (and I went to see the new Captain America movie yesterday, speaking of Avengers - now I'm excited to watch Ant-Man.) Outlander, of course - sure, I wish that they hadn't made some of the changes they have for the TV series, but it's exciting to have it come to life.

And I'm reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - I've been meaning to reread Harry for a long time, and finally got into it. I also found a really terrific series, free on Kindle (at least when I got it), called The Cleaner, by Mark Dawson. Highly recommend! Former government assassin who wants out, now trying to help people in desperate situations using his unique skills. I've also got Le Carre's The Night Manager on my pile, since I'm enjoying the show so much, and I've got a new book coming to review. Too much to read!

An Accidental Trip

Sometimes the best trips are the unplanned ones. The accidental, the unexpected. And sometimes, they happen because you're just not ready to go home.

Last Saturday, Kevin and I went to check out an art fair in Algonquin, on the river -- several interesting jewelry booths, not much else. The new park on the river was pretty, and I think I'd like to bring some lunch and a book over there some time. But when we had finished looking at the 20 or so vendors, we just weren't ready to go home.

We wound our way through McHenry County into Wisconsin, finally finding ourselves in Lake Geneva. But this time, we didn't stop there (we're in Lake Geneva fairly frequently, as it's only a hour away from home), we continued on just a little bit, and went up to Williams Bay for dinner. We ate at the Williams Bay Public House -- a cute little place with burgers and sandwiches. I wished it had been a little cooler -- just too hot to sit outside. We were very close to the lake, and would have been nice to be able to see it while we were eating.

On the way back, we stopped at George Williams College, home of the Yerkes Observatory. One of these days, we'll stop there when it's open for tours (Saturdays at 10, 11 and 12)! The Observatory was built in 1897, originally an outpost of the University of Chicago. The building itself is beautiful, with ornate carving, gargoyles, columns, and lots of other decoration. The Yerkes website says that it sits on a 77-acre "park-like setting." Williaim Rainey Harper, who Harper College in Palatine is named after, was President of the University of Chicago at the time, and was instrumental in getting the Observatory built. Sorry, I find all the history fascinating! If you want to check it out, you can learn about it here.

When we drive back up to actually take a tour of the Observatory, I'll tell you all about it!

The Potter Responds!

When I started thinking about doing this blog, I knew I wanted to provide links to any of the artists I featured -- as you see in my first post. And I decided that I would let the potters know about the blog and that they were mentioned and linked. I sent an email to The Pottery Boys, them of the beautifully-stemmed teapot, and got this quick reply back:

Checked out your blog - interestingly enough, John Bauman and I are good friends. Keith and I are one of the pottery studios featured on a pottery studio tour the second weekend in December in the Tampa Bay area. John Bauman has been one of our guest artists and I look forward to having him back again in our home studio in the future. I hold John's work in the highest regard - his craftsmanship is beyond reproach, his glazes are the ultimate in perfection, and his design is simply beautiful - almost as if designed by the hand of Mother Nature. I hope these two teapots bring you joy for many years to come.

Thanks for the link to your blog!
Glenn Woods and Keith Herbrand - the Pottery Boys

Glenn, thank you for your reply! I'll certainly look for you at future shows, and wish I could get to Tampa for the studio tour! I'll try to get some info for those of you who may be able to go to this terrific-sounding event.

And Now for Something Different- Frank Lloyd Wright

While we were in Spring Green, we made a detour over to a place we like -- the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor's Center. The Visitor's Center is the starting point for tours to FLLW's Taliesin, the home, school and studio he built (and rebuilt) early in the 1900s. We took the tour many years ago, and would like to do it again, but we didn't go on this past trip. The Visitor's Center was originally a restaurant -- the only restaurant designed by FLLW -- but now houses a gift shop and cafe. This picture is from a stop we made here last year -- those are my sons on the grounds outside the Center.

Wright's principles of integrating design with nature are evident in the Center. There's a great view of the Wisconsin River from the full wall of windows:

Kevin and I have always enjoyed going to see FLLW properties -- when we were first married, we went on the Oak Park Wright Housewalk, which was very interesting; and then down to Springfield, IL and a tour of the Dana-Thomas House, not built by Wright, but completely redone by him. We're thinking about taking a trip next summer to go see Fallingwater, his masterpiece in Pennsylvania (on the way to Cooperstown to see the Baseball Hall of Fame).

After the Visitor's Center, we drove over to what is now the House on the Rock Resort. It was originally the Springs Resort, and is designed to resemble FLLW's architecture, but was purchased several years ago by the House on the Rock (which we went to on last year's trip). There are duplex and condo homes -- and some private homes, I think -- built around the beautiful golf courses, and we toured one of the duplexes that's for sale. What a beautiful area! This is a picture from the back of that home, overlooking the golf course.

Then it was on to Capn Bill's, which I told you about earlier, and home!

Journeys through Wisconsin, Part 1 -- Where We Encounter An Art Fair and Buy Some Teapots

Last Saturday was my birthday. Usually something else comes up -- work, kids' stuff -- a couple of years ago, it was my brother's wedding -- but this year, it was on an empty Saturday. Kevin suggested a trip to Spring Green, WI, one of our favorite places, for the annual art fair. Beautiful day for a drive! What a great fair -- I could have spent thousands of dollars. Instead, I pinched my pennies and bought a couple of beautiful teapots.

This great pot is from Pottery Boys . I LOVE the lid, with its twisty stem and leaves. This pot is everything I look for in a teapot -- interesting handle, beautiful shape and lid, graceful spout.

And this one is from Bauman Stoneware -- I had SUCH a hard time choosing which pot to buy! He had several great teapots in the shape of a pumpkin -- may still look for one of these! The impressed leaves and the acorns on the lid caught my eye immediately. And the celadon green color is one of my favorites.

We saw several potters at this art fair showing pots that were, while competent and useful, just not that interesting! And since I don't use my pottery for anything other than making me happy (and face it, for collecting dust), utilitarian just isn't my style. But these two pots are works of art, not works of daily use.

Lots of jewelry that I coveted, really interesting lawn art (and some pieces that were beautiful AND functional)! And we met several very nice people when we took our frequent breaks -- the lady with the cute doggie was very nice.

That night, we had dinner at a place I'm happy to suggest to you -- Capn Bills in Middleton. I wanted somewhere to eat where we could see the water, so we headed to the Madison area, and this one was in the guidebook. The food was very good, and it was a pleasant evening to sit on the patio -- but Lake Mendota was a block away, through the bushes... close, but I wanted to drag our table down to the boat landing. I didn't think they'd go for it. This is Kevin on the boat launch that we could see from our spot on the deck.

Happy Birthday to Me! What a great day!