When CheeseGov consolidated office space last year, they ended up with a lot of empty cubicles. Rather than let all that excess space go to waste, they turned a bunch of formerly occupied work stations into communal lounge areas. Great idea!
In theory, anyway. While I applaud their effort at creating designated places in which employees can relax, the furniture they chose leaves much to be desired. I don’t mean from an aesthetic standpoint – it’s visually appealing if a tad too ultra-modern for my tastes – but it’s hard. Uncomfortably so. Like, I imagine this is something the Flintstones would have in their Bedrock home. No wonder Fred was always so grouchy; he probably had a backache every time he sat down for more than a minute. I’ve tried kicking back a couple of times, but I never last long.
Maybe this is intentional, come to think of it. If CheeseGov employees get too comfortable, they’ll never return to their desks, and the State of Wisconsin can kiss productivity goodbye.
Again, not a knock on my employer. They mean well and I appreciate their focus on staff wellbeing. It’s a far cry from the ping-pong table and Kegorator that were fixtures in the hip office where I worked in Camas, Washington, but it’s better than a kick in the pants.
Even though that would be less painful than those CheeseGov lounge chairs.
Cheddar late than never!
There’s a historical museum slash national dairy shrine in my town. Up until last weekend, Tara and I had never been. Much to the consternation of my parents, who discovered it during their first visit three years ago and stop in nearly every time they’re in town.
“Have you been to the museum yet?” my parents would frequently ask during our weekly phone calls.
“Nope, haven’t gotten around to it,” we’d answer, every single time.
My folks, bless their kind and generous hearts, couldn’t fathom why we hadn’t made an effort to visit the museum, which is a mere five minutes from our front door. I guess they forget sometimes that we have full-time jobs and a large property to tend to much of the year. Free time feels like a rare and precious commodity, and there are always a million other things competing for our attention. But finally, last weekend, we decided to go – as much to check out the exhibits as to get my folks off our backs.
Kidding, mom and dad. But you know that. 🙂
And you know, I hate to admit they were right, but they were right. We should have gone much sooner, because the museum is pretty impressive – especially for a small town of 12,579. There’s over 20,000 square feet of exhibit space spread over two floors, much of it centered around agriculture and dairy – no surprise, since Wisconsin’s dairy industry got its start right here. Practically in our backyard. That’s no exaggeration; Charles Rockwell produced one of the first batches of Wisconsin cheese in 1837, in the town of Koshkonong, which surrounds Fort Atkinson (and is actually where we live, though our mailing address is Fort).
So, if you like cows, you’re in luck! But there’s moo-re to the museum than just Guernseys and Holsteins and Swiss Browns. Lots of displays, including exhibits on the Black Hawk War, early settlers, and the area’s flora and fauna.
One entire room is dedicated to mounted birds. The collection was donated by none other than Dick. Yes, our Dick, former occupant of MarTar Manor. He’s quite renowned for his love of birds. Justin the Realtor told us Dick had a special license that allowed him to possess and mount songbirds that otherwise would have been illegal to possess. He was known throughout the surrounding counties as the guy to call if you found a dead bird in good condition that could be preserved and mounted.
We struck up a conversation with the museum staff, who were delighted to learn we now live in Dick’s former house. He and Carol still volunteer at the museum on occasion. They truly are pillars of the community, and the staff said we’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in town who isn’t familiar with them. I have no doubt this is true, as experience has shown us time and again. If I had a nickel for every time we mentioned his name, and the other person said, “He was my teacher,” I’d be rich.
We didn’t even get to explore the whole museum, because after two hours we were hungry and thirsty and Tara’s boots were making her uncomfortable, so we high-tailed it to Brock’s Riverwalk for food and cocktails. But we’ll be back to check out the rest, sooner rather than later this time.
Freezing never felt so warm.
It is currently 32°.
This may not seem like a big deal, but we have been below freezing since January 16th. And below zero for a decent stretch of that time (as recently as yesterday). On the plus side, the landscape has remained snow-covered for weeks, making for beautiful scenery. It feels like a proper winter for a change. On the other hand, our heating bill is sky-high, so this warmup – which looks to continue for a while (40s next week, what?!) — is good news for our bank account.
Our bank account would be even better off if we’d stayed in Rapid City. Check out their current temperature.
That’s just crazy. In all the years we lived there, it never came close to the 70s in February. Even the 50s were unusual. Winter weather lover that I am, I’d be bitching about the heat and driving Tara crazy in the process, I just know it. Reason # 1,086 why this move was the best thing we ever did.
Does your town have a museum or other cool attraction? Has your winter been cold or warm? Seahawks or Patriots on Sunday?
(There’s only one correct answer to the last question. Go, ‘Hawks!)
Mark My Words 
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