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!