Gettin' The Hell Outta Dodge!

I'm sooooooo excited!  My 14-year old niece, Shannon, graduates from 8th grade tonight so I've rented a car (mine still needs big repairs) and am going down to the Milwaukee area for the festivities.  I pick up said vehicle at 10 a.m., then I have to dash to Hallmark for a card and to my favorite bagel place, Lewis',  for treats.  Chris, a dear, long-time friend of my brother's and mine will be there with his two girls.  We go out to see them every summer and the 4 ladies and I have developed a tradition, whereby after church on Sunday, the 5 of us pile into the truck whilst the parental units are still chatting with clergy and congregants, to shoot the breeze and snarf down bagels.  This bagel place opened up last Sept. or Oct. and honestly, they sell the best I've ever had.  Last time I went there I had one that had spinach, basil and feta baked into it.  I nearly swooned, it was so good.  I'm hoping that they'll be offering the pepperoni pizza bagels today, or something fruity and lovely.

I'm looking forward to cuddling my brothers 900-lb. cat, Tigger again.  O.k., Tigger isn't 900 lbs. but he's a good 20, and the sweetest creature God ever made.  If I don't pack much I'll have room in my suitcase to bring him home with me.  I wish.  I'd never get away with it.  He's Shanny's.  They've been buddies since she was a baby. See photo above.  He fell in love with her the first time he saw her, so she's his, too.  If I took Tigger home with me, he'd claw me to shreds and she'd beat the hell out of me, and since she's a 1st degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, I wouldn't stand a chance.

Another thing I'm looking forward to is going to Cedarburg tomorrow.  Cedarburg is a sweet little town about 20 miles north of Milwaukee, where the downtown is very Victorian/turn of the century.  Lots of painted ladies up and down Washington St. (the main street)  Wonderful shops abound, selling antiques and crafts.  There is a magnificent jewelry store called Armbruster's, presided over by one Mrs. Armbruster, who has to be the most regal 90-year old I've ever seen.  The shop's wares are astonishingly beautiful.  There's also a wonderful store a block down that is overflowing with perfumes, soaps and the like.  Last time I was there, it carried almost the full line of Casswell Massey and tons of Crabtree and Evelyn, among other delicious things.  My only complaint is that this soap shop took over the quaintest bookstore I'd ever seen, and now Cedarburg has no bookstore.  But, being so close to Milwaukee and its suburbs, it's not like it's that hard to hop on I-43 and get to a Barnes and Noble - besides, the north side of the city has been cleaned up and is really looking rather ritzy.  Now, if they could only do that with the rest of Milwaukee...but I digress.  I haven't been to Cedarburg in 3 years.  I haven't really been out of the whole Green Bay-Fox Cities area much, with the exception of my yearly trip to Chris'.  I'm champing at the bit to get out of here.  And it's going to be so nice to drive a car that doesn't turn my hair gray.  If I can get away with it, I might just run down to Milwaukee as well.  This girl has got to get out.

It's going to be a good couple of days.  And they'll be made even better because the horrible, relentless heat wave we're going through is supposed to end tonight and then it's supposed to get chilly.  I can hardly wait.