Moo-worthy cuteness.

As I may have previously mentioned, I spend every Wednesday at Mickey's Tavern surrounded by a lovely group of intelligent, hilarious, and outspoken knitters. Last week, Elysha arrived with an adorable finished project: a sheep and a cow for her niece (what a perfect Wisconsin-esque gift!). While Elysha worked on knitting a little barn to put them in, I snapped a photo of these precious dairy-licious fellows:

Cute, huh?

While Helena suggested using a Mickey's menu as the backdrop for this photo, I wound up using Jane's bag from Mr. Yarn. "Knitters gonna knit" seemed a bit more suitable than "Good food", though I suppose either would have worked. Regardless of the backdrop, I'd say these little creatures possess a moo-worthy cuteness.

Cheese, fireworks, and gifts!

On my way to Chicago for the weekend, I made a pit stop in Beloit, Wisconsin. I was amused to see this roadside store:

Cheese, fireworks, and gifts! What more could a person need?

If I ever need to buy cheese, fireworks, and gifts at the same time, I will know exactly where to go. Fabulous.

Friday night lights: Olin Park!

On our way back from late night knitting at The Sow's Ear in Verona, my friends and I decided to go for a drive through Olin Park to see the Holiday Fantasy in Lights. I'm a nice Jewish girl, but who doesn't love pretty lights? Each display is sponsored by a business and it's free to drive through and enjoy.

My favorite light display was the ice skaters, for obvious reasons.

While this doesn't compare to McAdenville, North Carolina (officially known as "Christmastown USA"), this was a lovely start to my weekend.

November poll results are in...

Poll results proved to be nearly unanimous:

The ongoing question: butter or margarine?
Butter! 13 votes
Both are delicious! 2 votes
Margarine! 1 vote
I couldn't care less. 1 vote


Looks like almost everyone loves their butter! For the love of beer, check out the December poll on the left!

Wine night on the square.

I'm not much of a drinker, but I don't pass up an opportunity for a nice glass of wine and some girl talk. It had been too long since our last hangout, so I proposed that Rebecca and I go out for some wine. She suggested Barriques on the square, which turned out to be the perfect place for wine and treats.

I walked across the square in the 30 degree weather, which really isn't that bad when moving quickly (when standing still, it's dreadful). Rebecca and I ordered wine and treats and hung out upstairs.

The place was quite crowded and they ran out of wine glasses, so Rebecca was given a Stella glass instead. Classy.

I enjoyed a fruity white wine and some lemon poppyseed cake, while Rebecca opted for an adventurous red wine and a pumpkin chocolate truffle. For those who haven't caught on yet: I drink like a prissy girl and Rebecca drinks like a film noir starlet. What else is new?

This was an ideal place to chill out: open late, affordable food and beverages, and judging by the abundance of laptop users, they seem to offer free Internet. Cheers!

A moo-worthy birthday for my dad.

I went home to North Carolina for 5 days over Thanksgiving, which coincides with my dad's birthday. Inspired by my new Wisconsin residence, I decided it was only appropriate to give my dad a cow card for his birthday. It was quite a hit at Thanksgiving dinner.

I know, I know, we look quite alike.

The card says "Holy cow! It's your birthday!" inside. Too perfect.

Team trivia: Madison style.

Anxious to test our random knowledge of seemingly useless information, my knitting friends and I went to The Brass Ring for team trivia today. Our team name: Purls of Wisdom (get it?).

My friend Kat ordered an Ale Asylum Contorter Porter (a beer made right here in Madison):

Would you care for a side of yarn with that beer?

I have noticed that people in Madison place a high value on the local production of food and beverages. It's unusual for me to live in a city with so many locally made products, and I must say that I applaud this effort.

As luck would have it, a Madonna question came up at team trivia. To say the least, I am a diehard Madonna fan. I have seen her three times in concert, I have every song she's ever released in my iTunes library, my brain is filled with useless Madonna facts, and in 20 years of competitive figure skating, I have performed to her songs more than any other artist. The question was: What number one song by Madonna was written by Babyface? The correct answer: "Take A Bow".

Needless to say, I was thrilled that my Madonna knowledge got us 6 points!
PS: Look at me successfully knitting cables for the first time!

When everyone in the bar correctly answered a question, free "flapjack" shots were distributed (orange juice, whiskey, and butterscotch schnapps):

Because I had to drive to the rink after trivia, I opted out on drinking.
Kat and Bronwen look oh so happy about their shots!

Kat's response to the shot: "That really does taste like Sunday breakfast."

Purls of Wisdom placed in the middle of the pack out of 15 teams. Not bad for a trio playing against large groups! 

Good friends, knitting, trivia, & locally made products: a lovely weekend in Madison, indeed!