Fall arrived right on time yesterday with cool temperatures and brisk winds. It was downright chilly most of the day — a welcome change after a hot summer (and new-to-us humidity courtesy of Wisconsin). There are plenty of signs that the new season is upon us already.
I’m so excited to experience fall foliage in this part of the country! Spearfish Canyon in the Black Hills was always gorgeous…at least if you like the color gold. Out here, there should be a little more variety. Peak colors don’t hit for another few weeks yet, but we’re hoping to see some nice foliage up north this weekend.
Yesterday, I shared some photos of my workplace on Instagram.
The office is nicknamed the Gray Goose (no relation to the vodka) and, as I mentioned previously, was built at the turn of the century to serve as HQ for the Greene Bros. Leaf Tobacco House. Once upon a time, it even had a twin brother. Sadly, he was lost in a fire.
The Gray Goose sits on a small bluff overlooking downtown Janesville. It’s pretty unassuming from the outside, but the interior is another story. It resembles a Chicago loft complete with high ceilings, exposed original wood beams, and industrial ductwork. During renovation, every board was categorized and returned to its original location.
After posting that, one of my friends commented, You sure do find work in cool buildings! She’s not wrong. This is the third place I’ve worked that was a renovated historical building; the other two were former automobile dealerships (one in Camas, WA; the other in Rapid City). All three buildings could be classified as “industrial chic.”
I guess you could say finding cool old buildings is my superpower.
Fat lot of good that does me. Personally, I’d rather be able to fly or turn invisible.
What would your ideal superpower be?
Mark Petruska 
Both envious–and excited!– to see all your fall foliage pics. I’ve started nagging spouse about Madison being a good place to retire or live someday. Be hard for it to top NH scenery, though.
My chosen superpower would be the ability to speak to everyone in their first language.
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Oh! Does that superpower include talking to animals, too? 😁 You’d turn The Arrival into a 5 minute movie, though, so there is a downside there 🤪 (it was a good movie…)
One wonders if Gray Goose (the vodka) was so named so people who don’t have the find-cool-buildings-to-work superpower COULD buy it in a bottle… Enough Gray Goose and you’ll believe your house is Neuschwanstein Castle and you work on a ship …
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Oh, totally animals, too. Although the downside would be my dog saying, “Play? Play? Play?” every second he’s not asleep. (Which is why I haven’t gotten a pet talking board.)
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I’m not sure I want to know what my cat is thinking every second of the day. Remember the Mel Gibson movie “What Women Want”? Kinda turned into a curse for him to have that power.
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Didn’t he turn in that movie from a pretty horrible person to a pretty great one through that power? 😁
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Yep…great redemption arc. And then in real life, he turned into a pretty horrible person. Oh, the irony!
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Agreed…I don’t think anybody can top the Northeast for fall foliage! But I can tell already there’s a lot more color out here than in South Dakota.
In more ways than one, actually…
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LOL
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Very cool building. But isn’t your superpower being insane but admirable? The rest just comes along with it.
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Haha…you’re right. I believe I was supposed to change my tagline, too! Hmm…
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I love the idea of working in a renovated historical building. The closet I came was when I was the director of marketing for a restaurant chain, and we had a location in the old Studebaker mansion (Tippecanoe Place) in South Bend, IN. I loved visiting that old building.
There are so many superpowers I’d love to have. Unfortunately, the only one I really have is parallel parking.
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Don’t sell yourself short. If you can parallel park, you have a leg up on 99% of the rest of us! Especially in a big city.
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Never underestimate the cache of a cool working environment. And one that shares its name with a good vodka? That’s pay dirt buddy.
👍
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It’s like winning the lottery. Twice.
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That sounds like a great place to work! Industrial chic, never heard that term. 🙂 We’re getting a bit of fall foliage on our maples.
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I think that term came out in the ’90s when it became trendy to show exposed ductwork and old brick.
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I love the Grey Goose a ton. I always wanted to work in a “repurposed” building like that. Clearly, finding cool old buildings like that is not my superpower. If I could choose, I would want to be invisible. That way no foe or enemy or nemesis could see me coming. (Is that a bit dark…?)
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A bit dark maybe. But I’m right there with you! You’d have a permanent edge in life. Fun as flying would be, I think that’s better.
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My ideal for a historical building would be to take it back to as original as possible and own my own B&B- rather that be a Victorian estate or a southern plantation. I do however enjoy any historical structure that is being repurposed rather than simply torn down and paved over or made ultra modern. Super power choice- flying- hands down.
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You could be the Newhart of the Pacific Northwest!
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My superpower would be having the ability to slip into someone’s mind when they were dreaming so that I could influence their subconsciousness. I’d be called Snooze– and known for drinking Grey Goose martinis. I may have missed the point of this post… 🍸
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😂🤣🥂cheers to that super power
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Ooh, that’s a good one. Especially if martinis are involved!
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Being that I have worked in the same building for two different companies (doing the same work) for 23 years. Within those 23 years the interior has changed significantly including two building additions but still doesn’t compare to your job. 🙄
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Did they rip out all the shag carpeting to put in wooden floors? If so, that is NOT an improvement.
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Naw the second company ruined perfectly good floors by putting in carpet (not shag)
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Invisibility…
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Wait. Who said that?! Quit hiding and show yourself…
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😂😂😂😂
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Nice. I can see why you might want to go into work at least a day or two each week. Alas, elementary school buildings are never industrial chic.
Superpower? Teleportation!
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I never think of teleportation, but that’d be really convenient. Never having to sit through another traffic jam for the rest of your life is a pretty big perk!
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Yep. And here today, Kathmandu… today!
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The building resembles a bourbon distillery to me and I mean that in a good way. My superpower is noticing anything that is out of place in my house or anywhere I frequent regularly.
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For all I know, they had a bootleg bourbon operation going on in there during Prohibition. What better to enjoy your tobacco with, you know?
At least with your superpower, I imagine you never fly into a panic because you can’t find your car keys!
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I wrote a short story about having a superpower – it was oxytocin (the love hormone). I’d be happy to have that 🙂
Loving the pictures of autumnal colours (sorry, not sorry, for being determinedly European in not calling it fall 😀 ) Grey goose looks dull af on the outside, but what a gorgeous interior. You are one lucky camper for sure!
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Oh, that’s a great superpower (and original)! Call it autumn all you want. I alternate between fall and autumn myself.
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