Five for Friday, Edition #48

I've been working on this post for weeks. Some of this is now outdated, but I'm not editing anything. You get it all.

1) The deer were back! I would really like it if they ate all the greenery in our yard. 

Hey, is that a jungle? No, it's our backyard and our algae-stained siding!

2) Do you know what Michelle sent me? A dragon the size of a teacup!! I nearly died with the cuteness. Thank you so much, Michelle. She holds a pride of place in my office.

3) Last weekend was my birthday weekend! I was a lady who lunched! On Sunday, my actual birthday, I lunched with some friends in town. On Monday, I met with Sarah, Birchie, and Kyria in Madison for a quick brunch. There was cake and presents! What a life. 

The water bottle is a thing. So, I'm sort of a picky witch about water bottles. I hate plastic ones. I don't want a straw (impossible to clean - FIGHT ME ON THIS). I have been using a dented old metal Nathan one (Nathan doesn't even make metal bottles anymore) that wobbles because of all the dents, but earlier in the summer, the carabiner clip BROKE on the lid and my husband had less and less patience for me and my busted, wobbly water bottle. USE ANOTHER ONE, he implored. 

He bought me this one. Here's the sssshhhh secret. I don't like it. I hate the mint green color. This can be fixed with a judicious use of stickers.  But more than that. The lid is plastic. I don't want my lips to touch plastic (this is a sensory thing - plastic has a *smell* and apparently no one else gets it, but I DO). Okay, I can take off the lid. Well, that's all well and good, but then I have to put the top down and IT DOESN'T LAY FLAT. 

It was a thoughtful gift, but there's a reason I was still using the busted Nathan one. 

(Also, I really am grateful he bought it for me. You know I'm going to use it until it, too, is busted. And then I'll find an old Nathan water bottle on eBay.)

4) I'm going to Indianapolis this weekend to see Garth Brooks in concert with TJC!! Woot woot! We saw him in Rockford, IL in 2014, Detroit in 2015 (we went with my mom, sister, and BIL, and they were SUCH DOWNERS - don't go to concerts with people who don't share your concert vibe), and Columbus in 2016. Having a blog with all these details is AMAZING. Anyway, I'm going to have so so so so much fun.  

5) It wouldn't be a Five by Friday post if I didn't tell you a little bit about how disappointed I am with my fellow humans. I was driving home Wednesday night after a very long workday in which I ran a training for all the faculty advisors in my college. I was looking forward to yoga and convincing my husband that a frozen pizza is a healthy dinner option. As I drove along the river, a woman was literally LYING ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD trying to stand up and she kept falling over. A man was with her, but he seemed unable to help her up. I watched THREE CARS in front of me pass by her. I pulled over as soon as it was safe to stop and ran back to help her.

I watched ANOTHER THREE CARS drive by as I ran towards her. 

Anyway, the man and I helped her up and walked her to her car. She was shaking and her knee was terribly scraped. I asked if they wanted me to call an ambulance or run to my house (like three blocks away) to get first aid stuff. They declined and drove away. 

WHY DIDN'T ANYONE ELSE STOP? 

I honestly thought the boys on the roof situation was the last time I would deal with this. WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE? I don't think of myself as the kindest/most helpful person in the world, but I was literally crying as I drove the three blocks home. Why are we not helping people who need help? Is this just my town? I love my town. I'm a big booster for it. But maybe my town doesn't have anyone's back? I apologize for the all caps but WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK? 

Photo Every Day: July 2026, Week 4

Thursday, July 23 - This time of year we sometimes have tiny ants come inside our house, especially in our shoddily constructed addition. We use Terro bait traps and they do a pretty good job. However, a certain feline was playing with the trap, which WE DO NOT WANT, so Dr. BB had to construct a solution. A Chewy box is almost always the solution.

Friday, July 24 - Our new local bookstore had a fun Dungeon Crawler Carl bingo night. It was really quite delightful and we had a good time. I'm really enjoying having a bookstore in town and am basically going to go to every event there I possibly can in order to make sure it survives. 

Saturday, July 25 - Is it possible that the only photos I took all day were of my kitty? Yes, yes, it is. Also, we're kind of worried about Zelda Belda. She's not eating well, even though her weight is stable. I'm giving it another week of her weird eating habits before I call the vet. She's on a steroid, which is supposed to increase her appetite, but maybe we need to up her dosage. Poor baby girl.

Sunday, July 26 - This should be illegal. Usually Costco can do no wrong in my world, but this is unacceptable.

Monday, July 27 - I have once again forgotten I was supposed to take a photo every day this month. This is my dog. She's walking before bed. She's not happy about it.

Tuesday, July 28 - You guys. I'm so bad at this. Let's pretend Tuesday didn't exist.

Wednesday, July 29 - Last freshman registration event of the summer! Woot! They have been doing construction in the building we use all summer long and they're redoing some lab spaces. I took a photo to show that the reno is nearly done! Next summer we'll get to use these classroom spaces and we're pretty excited about it. 

Thursday, July 30 - Do you want some whiplash? Now we're at a waterpark! My husband's siblings and all their kids are in a Wisconsin family fun area (Wisconsin Dells) and we are doing all the things. 

Friday, July 31 - Back at the VRBO, my nieces are attempting to teach me to make friendship bracelets. I have to admit that there was a lot of poking fun at Aunt NGS for not being able to figure this shit out. 

Saturday, August 1 - My husband and I took my niece and we got our nails done. Her first manicure! We're obviously building core memories over here. 

Sunday, August 2 - I have no words for this. All of the kids are surrounding their grandfather and his wife. Have you ever seen anything so cute?

And that's a wrap on July. Thank heavens because I am bad at remembering to take a photo every day. 

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What's a favorite memory you have from July? 

Photo Every Day: July 2026, Week 3

Thursday, June 16
A couple of things today. One, it's hot. Two, the air quality is bad because of wildfires in Canada? I think. It smells like rubber and there's a haze that I last saw at Bretz, a gay bar in Toledo I was a regular at in 2001 that had a lingering cigarette funk years after smoking indoors had been banned. Also, I had a dentist appointment? What a day. 

Friday, July 17

I borderline forced my poor husband to go to the community center for a fundraiser after dinner. He was not feeling great and Friday nights are not ideal for either of us since we're usually fried after a work week. Regardless, we went. There was a band playing Bill Monroe music, a silent auction, and plenty of lovely people to chat with.

Saturday, July 18

There was an Adult Book Fair in my town today. It was amazing. Anne came and we made bookmarks, wandered around some book-themed vendors, and finished with Book Trivia. I don't want to brag, but we did come in first at book trivia. FIRST PLACE!! I knew Redwall!

Sunday, July 19

Back at the book fair again today. I am obsessed and so excited to see so many people in our town. Don't forget to sign up for my book fair giveaway if you want some adorable bookish items. The air quality was back to being gross, so we tried to limit our time outdoors. But not so limited that I didn't get photos of the sign advertising tattoos at the community center, which seems like the lady who originally imagined uses for this space would never have imaged. Sorry, not sorry, Joan, you fabulous lady. 

My friend Gina and I chatted with all the vendors and they seemed so happy with the turnout. Yay! We were also used in some social media promo, so if you start to see Gina and I become famous, you'll know how it started.

Monday, July 20

I had to come down off my book fair high and go to work. The chair of the math department had a question about the software I'm ostensibly an expert on, so I wandered down to her office. She had a collection of math-themed stickers and I have to let you know, I was unable to prevent myself from taking a bunch. All my math friends are getting stickers!

Tuesday, July 21

Next month, we're doing a big training at work. Our office is charged with doing a big training for all faculty advisors. We did it last year (I mentioned it in 4a of this post) and it was quite successful. It was so successful, in fact, that someone in leadership heard how amazing it was and mandated it be required for ALL the colleges, not just our college. *sigh* Frankly, it's ruining the vibe to have these other people there (they're lovely people, I promise, but they have different advising models and it's hard to account for all of that in our material). 

Anyway. One of the things that people liked about our training last year was that we did a lot of hands-on activities. So we have to continue that because did you know faculty members make terrible students? Of course you knew that.

My co-worker LB won an award at an advising conference for work she presented on play in training. She created a dice game to create advising scenarios that leads to excellent conversations. So we're doing a dice game is what I'm saying. 

I found these Yahtzee yard dice for a STEAL at a local thrift shop for $10.55.

I told LB about them and then she went and bought a bucket of them, too.

That's twelve tables done. And I guess we can put regular-sized dice on the rest of the tables. 

Wednesday, July 22

It was SO NICE today. Highs in the 70s with a breeze. I had to wear a sweatshirt when I walked the dog this morning. The air quality is back to normal, so we even slept with the windows open. But let's back up to the dog walk.

Look how beautiful it was!!

How was Hannah handling it, you ask? 

THIS IS HOW SHE WAS THE ENTIRE WALK. Do you notice the tucked tail? What is she afraid of? It's not dark. No one was setting off fireworks? We literally didn't see another person or dog in the park. What did we see? Sandhill cranes, geese, ducks, squirrels, and a very foolhardy tiny rabbit. She pulled and yanked and started just sitting (her version of a no, thank you). 

I ended up shortening the leash so she had to walk right by my side (loose leash? that's for other dogs, I guess) and I would not let her pull. I hated to do it, but I was scared I was going to hurt her or she was going to hurt me. 

Anyone else want to come and deal with the mental case that is my dog? 

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Is the air clear where you are? Anyone want to adopt a slightly used neurotic dog? Come to my town for our next book fair? 

In Which My Small Town Auditions for Stars Hollow (and a Bookish Giveaway!)

I fear my Gilmore Girls reference may be too dated? Stars Hollow is the fictional town where Lorelei and Rory Gilmore live in Gilmore Girls, just to be clear. 

This past weekend my town hosted a Grown Up Book Fair event that involved roughly a dozen locations in walkable distance downtown. It was organized by a woman who owns one of our three coffee shops in town (I mean, four if you count Dunkin', but I'm not counting Dunkin', sorry) and hats off to her because this event was HOPPING. 

How much of this schedule did I participate in? As much as possible, I tell you. I don't know why I'm blocking out the business names except I'm still pretending there's a facade of privacy on this blog and that 90% of my readers don't know my exact address, let alone the incredibly accessible name of my town. 

 

The weekend began with Bookish Pilates for me at the local community center. The air quality was okay on Saturday, so I met up with my friend Gina and we did it! I've never done a Pilates class, so this counts as "try a new fitness class" on my goals list for the year. Woot woot! What makes Pilates bookish? Great question. The playlist was made of songs that were on movies or tv shows based on books. Pretty tangential, but the instructor was quite proud of it, so I feel obligated to share. (Her name is Abby and she is based out of The Place in Oconomowoc. She was great.)

I stopped at the Farmers Market to buy honey, and then I went home and changed clothes because I was a sweaty mess and I gulped down a Gatorade like I had not had water in decades. Then I met up with Anne and we started doing other things!

First up, DIY confetti bookmarks at the library. I thought this was such a genius event! It was a little bit messy and I'm sure they're going to be picking glitter confetti off the floor for the rest of the month, but I am in love with my bookmark. The library was also having its monthly Friends of the Library book sale and the place was hopping. The library isn't open on Sunday, but I saw them back at the fair on Sunday with a booth at the community center.

Then we wandered around the vendors. There were vendors at SO MANY places. I have to admit it made my heart swell to see so many people walking around with tote bags downtown. Parking lots were full, stores were busy hives of activity, and it was like I was living my favorite small town dream. 

Then Anne and I met up with some other folks for book trivia. I want you to know that our team kicked ass even though Sarah and Mark had "other plans."  We were the Octobooks (we sort of panicked when we needed to decide on a name - there were eight of us, so it sort of worked) and we took home first place. Look, it was great and I know I had hyped it up last week, but the hype really did pay off. (I lost a point because I messed up the order of New Moon and Eclipse in the Twilight series and I was almost sort of proud that I just couldn't remember. It didn't seem like anyone else at the table had ANY clue, so at least I had something.)

So, you'd think I'd have done my business at this point, but NO. Gina and I met on Sunday morning and we toured the vendors again and I purchased MOAR things. 

Here are some vendors I super duper am excited about.

Bewitched Between Bindings is a Milwaukee-based company that sells book-inspired candles by genre, author, or character. BUT! I don't want you to think this is just some random scent - she only creates scents if they are described in the book or she has heard from the author directly. I was so fascinated by this woman and kept calling her a creative genius. I suspect I will place a large order with her store around Christmas. 

Sunshine Cookies is a local place that had some very hysterical book-related cookies, but also had some truly divine macarons (I had a salted caramel one). Huge thumbs up. 

There were local authors, people selling Kindle cases, lovely stained glass with book themes, totes, stickers, greeting cards, and all sorts of blind dates with books. There were artists doing bookish flash tattoos. I think Gina might have actually gotten one if they had had any appointments left. 

There was a lady who will DISCOVER YOUR FOUR LETTER READING PERSONALITY. Stephany, are you reading this? You need to get her on your podcast. 

Friends, it was a great time. The vendors were super friendly and excited to be there. The attendees were polite and patient. There were long lines at some places and everyone was just so chill and happy to be there. If you can get yourself to a grown up book fair, I recommend it!

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On to the giveaway. As I was wandering about, I was making purchases. I have two fun collections to share with you.

Collection #1 - The Purple Bookshelf

A heart-shaped bookshelf ornament, stickers, two pens and a highlighter, a lovely bird magnet, some reading tabs, and a notebook all in a purple pencil case. I don't know for sure, but I bet I'll add some merchandise about how awesome my town is, too. 

Collection #2 - The Orange Cat

A glasses wearing cat asleep on a pile of books ornament, stickers, two pens and a highlighter, a lovely bird magnet, some reading tabs, and a notebook all in an orange pencil case. I don't know for sure, but I bet I'll add some merchandise about how awesome my town is, too. 

Do you want a chance to win one of these delightful packages? Fill out the Google form.  Deadline is Wednesday, August 5. I'm happy to ship internationally. I'll probably remind you between now and then. 

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Have you been to a grown up book fair? Would you be a good addition to a book trivia team? Do you know the order of the books in Twilight? 

Five for Friday, Edition #29

I keep a list of blog topics on my phone so when ideas pop in my head, usually when I'm walking our dog, I write them down. And right now the list is sort of out of control because I keep writing about books instead of life things. Let's not talk about my coping mechanisms right now, okay? So here are the five I'm tackling today. 

1) Rosemary Kennedy - I always knew that Rosemary Kennedy was given a lobotomy and then shipped off somewhere so that the Kennedy family never had to acknowledge her. But I was scrolling reddit like normal and I saw a headline that said she had been a resident at St. Coletta's in Jefferson, Wisconsin. YOU GUYS. That is the next town over from me. Jefferson is the town with the boring German Days parade. North to south it's Jefferson, my town, and then the town where I work. (Please don't come at me with geography, locals.) And I checked Wikipedia and learned the further detail that Rosemary Kennedy died in the hospital in my town. 

I guess I'm just sort of surprised I'd never heard this fact before. Do you have any local lore from your town?

2) It's the best television time of the year! Taskmaster and the Great British Bake-Off have new seasons! I'm not going to sugarcoat it, though, I think both shows are having sort of lackluster seasons. Hopefully they turn around!

3) My SIL has a podcast - I don't brag about my sisters-in-law very much, but they are all really accomplished women. They're smart, they're hard-working, they're amazing mothers and wives, and they are all, to a one, hilarious. So when my sister-in-law Katie (this is my husband's youngest sister) that she was going to do a podcast, I was all in. She's an internist at the University of Iowa Hospitals and she's the one I go to with all my medical questions. She and her friend Katie, a fellow doctor, have a new podcast (video episodes are also available on YouTube) called Heroic Herstories: Women in  Medicine with the Katies. 

Katie and Katie interview women doctors in Iowa. In the first episode they interviewed a woman whose career was up and down and all over the place and since I teach our Careers class, I was interested in how she talked about the curveballs in her career. She discussed how her career progress wasn't linear and how she sometimes got unexpected opportunities and even though that's not how she had envisioned her career, every step taught her important lessons and skills. I thought it was such an important lesson!

In the second episode, they interviewed an epidemiologist who was a young doctor during the beginning of the AIDS epidemic and a well-established doctor during the COVID crisis. I thought it was super interesting to hear her compare the two. 

Even if you're not in the medical business, I think these are very interesting and important conversations! (I'm not just saying that because my SIL is there, I promise. I am obviously biased, but I also wouldn't even bring it up on my blog if I didn't think it was worth listening to.)

4) I think I have the sort of face that makes me people just start talking to me. Let's talk about three times in recent weeks I've found myself in conversations with people in public that I didn't start. 

A) I walk up to the almond flour because I need to make cookies. I have never purchased almond flour before, so I'm looking to see which brands are gluten free and then I'm comparing the unit prices. Another lady comes up and starts talking about how the almond flours have different numbers of carbs and how is this possible. I shrug, but then she starts talking about other nutritional factors (calories, types of almonds) and before I know it, this lady and I are DEEP in the weeds about almond flour. Dr. BB had been in a different aisle and he shows up and rolls his eyes. 

B) I was browsing some thrift shops with TJC when she was in town. I wander over to the rack of dresses (of course I do) minding my own business and the wedding dresses are the next rack over. Out of NOWHERE, this lady says to me, "do you think this is a wedding dress?" clearly pointing at a table runner. I shrug, but she keeps talking to me. "I'd thrift everything if I got married again. Ha ha! I just wouldn't get married. Ha ha! Just kidding! I love my husband!" Hey, lady, I'm just trying to see if any of these dresses would be appropriate for me to wear. 

C) TJC and I are eating lunch at a local hotspot. Some ladies sit down next to us. One of them makes eye contact with me. "Hey, what's good here?" We proceed to have a discussion about how it's the best place in town and everything except the Irish Bread Pudding, which is repulsive and dry. 

I don't know. I don't mind, really. I used to think I had resting bitch face, but I think I truly have friendly face. 

5) We took the plunge and test drove some cars last weekend. We are not wowed by any of them. But I guess I don't have strong preferences about cars unless we get one with the tail lights that look like penises. 

Here's something you probably don't know about me if you haven't been in a car with me at night. I have STRONG FEELINGS about tail lights. I hate the ones that go all the way across the car. HATE THEM. It's only a pseudo-rational reason. It makes it really hard to see if a turn signal is on. Also, they're ugly.  I have had this discussion with my husband eight thousand times and he's over hearing about it, so now I'm here telling you. There are lots of acceptable tail light arrangements, so why are there dicks and bars? I have questions!

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Okay, take it away. What's your local lore? Do strangers talk to you? Do you have feelings about oddly specific parts of car design? 

September Week Three Photo Roundup

Monday, September 15
My friend is in town visiting and we had fun going to a bunch of small Wisconsin towns going to bakeries, bookstores, and thrift shops. I don't usually go into bookstores, so it was fun to wander around!

Tuesday, September 16

We met up with Sarah for brunch in Madison and then, on her advice, went to the State Capitol where we climbed all the stairs to get to the observation level where you can walk around the whole building several floors up. It was fun, but terrifying. Then we walked up and down State Street and I finished our exciting agenda with a trip to Costco. 

Wednesday, September 17

Lunch at a local spot. I'm a bit creeped out by the empty birdcages. That's all. 

Thursday, September 18

I was doing a fun photo shoot with Hannah when a woman walked by. I nodded and kept my arms around Hannah. 

"Can I pet her?"

"Oh, sorry, she's not nice to strangers." 

The lady kept coming at us. I tensed. Hannah growled. The lady put her hand out. Hannah barked. "Please, she's just uncomfortable around new people." 

"I like dogs."

"I'm sorry, she's..." Hannah is squirming in my arms. I'm holding her tight. Hannah's growling and her hackles are up. 

The lady shook her head and walked away.

I warned her. I told her Hannah wasn't nice and if she'd listened and just kept walking, Hannah would have ignored her. Is this my fault? Should I do something different? 

I don't know. I beat myself up about having a reactive dog. But she's so sweet to us and she's so happy with her little pack. She doesn't need other people and we live in a small enough town that I can avoid having her interact with others. I feel like I am at fault whenever people have these interactions with us.

We live by a pre-school and the little kids frequently ask me if they can pet her and I say "thank you for asking, but she's not nice to children" and they have ALWAYS backed off. It's always the adults I worry about. 

My precious Hannah. 

Friday, September 19

My friend and colleague has had some bad medical news. She's optimistic and cheery and filled with hope. After lunch today I had to leave my office because I just couldn't focus anymore so I stopped by her office and asked if she wanted to go for a walk. We walked the perimeter of the campus and stopped by a little flower garden. She's going to be okay. She has to be okay. I am very much on edge about this right now.

My Googling leads me to believe this is Early Amethyst Japanese Beautyberry. 

Saturday, September 20

Just me and my best kitty. If you want to know, that tail is simply the most luxurious thing in the whole house. 

Sunday, September 21

It was Hannah's worst day - bath day! She was mortified and embarrassed and grumpy. Now the whole house smells like wet dog, but for the next day or two you won't have grime on your hands after you touch her, so that's a win for the humans.

Bonus photo for extra pathos.

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You have until Wednesday to cast your vote for the CBBC book. Here's the link to the Google form if you haven't already voted. Things do look like they've settled into a winner, but it can go in any direction with a few votes from any side. 

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When were you last in a bookstore? Climbed a really tall building?