Velkommen

Stoughton Wisconsin, the little town where we live, is steeped in Norwegian heritage.  Each May, there is an entire weekend dedicated to Syttende Mai, which means May seventeenth--- the day the constitution of Norway was signed.  In the weeks leading up to the Syttende Mai celebration, businesses around town displayed Velkommen banners, which is Norwegian for "welcome".  Velkommen til Stoughton, as they say with fine Norwegian accents.

I couldn't find a good image of the Velkommen banner on-line.  The best I could find is on the float below.  And, yes, a whole bunch of people around this town during Syttende Mai weekend dress similar to how the kids on the float are dressed.  These people are seriously into Syttende Mai. 

(On a side note, as I looked around at people at the Syttende Mai celebration, I couldn't help but ask myself:  could Scott and I look any less Norwegian?  There are a lot of pale people around here with blonde hair and blue eyes....just  not in our  house.)

But, I digress.  Back to the Velkommen banner.  See below.


flickr.com

I think it's nice that businesses around this little town display the Velkommen banners for Syttende Mai.  There was one business with a banner that caused me to raise an eyebrow though.  I couldn't get a picture of it because it was too windy and the banner kept moving, but I'm not sure how I feel about this particular Stoughton business displaying a Velkommen (welcome) banner:



legacy.com

It's a funeral home.

Spike

Back in 2004, I fostered a Doberman Pinscher named Spike.  He was a big, goofy boy (as many/most male Dobermans are).  The woman who adopted him e-mailed me today to let me know he passed.  I was saddened to learn the news, but glad that Spike and his adoptive Mommy had so many good years together.   She adored him and wrote to me that right up to the end he loved to ride in the car and see his friends at the vet (how many dogs consider people at the vet their friends??)

Spike was a character.  He loved to get his picture taken and would smile at the camera.  Here he is when I fostered him back in 2004.  Sweet boy.  RIP.

 

Sign Company

Scott and I saw this car in a restaurant parking lot a couple weeks ago.

Oh, there's a sign on the car.  What does it say?  It's so small, I'm not really sure.  Let me use my zoom lens.

I'm no marketing expert, but:

1.  If you are going to have a sign for a sign company, you might want to make the sign big enough for people to actually read it without having to "zoom in".

2.  Advertising with a nearly unreadable sign for a sign company on an old ass Cadillac might not really be drumming you up a bunch of business.  

Seriously.

La Crosse

The company I work for has services and a small administrative office in La Crosse, Wisconsin.  For those of you who don't know where La Crosse is located, it's on the far western border of the state.  The Mississippi river runs along La Crosse; on the other side of the Mississippi River is Minnesota.  So, La Crosse is as far west as you can get and still be in Wisconsin.

La Crosse is actually a pretty nice town and it's a beautiful drive between Madison and La Crosse if one takes state route 14. I think I have previously posted a picture or two of the stunning farmland along that route.  La Crosse is somewhat of a small town (not as small as Stoughton by any means).  In addition to having the beauty of the mighty Mississippi, it's also surrounded by bluffs.  I wish I had better pictures of the bluffs.  They are quite amazing in some spots.  This is the best picture I have of them right now, which is taken through the windshield of my car as I was sitting at a traffic light in town.

I have made several work trips to La Crosse recently due to some quality issues and blah, blah, blah work stuff.  During one of my recent trips, I took this shot in the downtown area.

Downtown La Crosse is nice.  It's a big college town (University of Wisconsin- La Crosse), so there are quite a few bars.  Someone recommended I go to a place called the Starlite Lounge, which is on the upper floor of a building, above this place--- Buzzard Billy's.

I loved the Starlite.  Totally retro.  This is the door leading up to the joint.

And once inside....

The bar area was small but, again, very extremely retro.  I love those bar stools.

I sat at the bar.  As I looked to my right, this is a view of the dining/lounge area.

And this is the view behind me.

I absolutely loved this place.  I could have moved in on the spot.

To make things even better, the bar tender mixed up a fine Cosmopolitan.

I went to the Starlite at the beginning of dinner hour.  I hadn't had any lunch, so I was hungry.  The bartender recommended these:  Buzzard Eggs.

Here is what's in a Buzzard Egg.  It's:

Pepper Jack cheese
wrapped in jalapenos
wrapped in chicken
wrapped in bacon
deep fried
served with ranch dressing

As obnoxious as that sounds, I'm here to tell you those bad boys were GOOD.  Seriously, I'll take an order of Buzzard Eggs and go ahead, while you are at it, and sign me up for by-pass surgery.

That's a little snippet of La Crosse.  I like the town a lot and look forward to Scott and I being able to maybe spend a weekend there at some point.  We might even do a camping trip over there.  It would be my first time camping, something I swore I would never do.  Yikes.  We'll see........

You know it's a good party when...

...someone breaks out the hats and wigs.

Thanks to our friends, Kori and James, for having us over for a fondue party.  It was super fun.  And, it was also my first introduction to this.

Lawd.  It's so good, it's dangerous.  Straight up or in coffee.  Mmmmm....

Quips from the Peanut Gallery

My husband can really make me laugh.  There are times he comes up with off-the-cuff quips that hit me so funny.  For example, we were running errands last weekend and passed this fella riding his bike.

Without missing a beat, Scott asked:  "Who's that?  Jesus?"

Later that same day, we stopped for lunch at Craftsman Table & Tap and saw this guy.

Scott's question:  "What did someone do-- rub a balloon on that guy's head?"

These might fall in the category of "you had to be there".  I was there....and laughed both times.

Greenbush Bar

Someone recently told Scott and me that the best pizza in Madison is at a place called the Greenbush Bar.  We had never heard of it, nor have we had any particularly noteworthy pizza during the time we've lived here.  Tell the chubby kids about some good pizza? We're off to find it.....

We learned that the Greenbush Bar is located in the Greenbush neighborhood, which apparently is a historically Italian neighborhood.  The Greenbush Bar is actually located in the basement of the Italian Workmen's Club.  This is it from the outside.  Nothing too special to look at.  We had driven by it before but never even made note of it. 

There really isn't anything at all on the outside of the building that would suggest there is a bar and restaurant in the basement.  You have to get right up on the building on foot to see this sign.

There were other signs on the outside of the building about the building itself and the Italian Workmen's Club.  The building was built in 1922, so it's been around for a while.

When you walk in the front door, you face some stairs going up and this sign.

If you want to go to the Greenbush Bar, you have to make a turn and go downstairs.  Lots of knotty pine paneling in the entrance.

The bar/restaurant is a very small place with a laid back, neighborhood vibe.  When we were there, the crowd was older and seemed a little hippy and academic (it's located close to UW campus).  There were groups of smart-looking people sitting around, including one group talking about genetics in sheep farming, for example.  That's a good smart-person-in-Wisconsin topic of conversation.

Colored Christmas lights adorn the low ceiling in the Greenbush Bar.  In most circumstances, I would find that tacky.  But, in this place, it felt charming and comforting. 

We started at the bar (big surprise).

I ordered some funky martini with...I don't even know what in it....something kind of.....hippy....(are "hippy" and "martini" an oxymoron?)...like a hint of geranium and...I don't remember.  It was an eclectic drink, for sure, and an acquired taste but I ended up enjoying it.

Scott started with an Old Fashioned and then moved to a drink with mint leaves, lemon juice and whiskey.  Again, it was an acquired taste, but unique and ultimately enjoyable.  I know this because I had a sip of it.

After drinks we were seated for dinner.  We started with a Caesar salad.  I do love me some Caesar salad....just not this one.  We were disappointed.  It was pretty much beyond bland.  And could someone in the kitchen please cut the lettuce??

After the salad, the pie came out.  Now that's better.  The person who told us about Greenbush Bar said to "get your wallet out" when you order a pizza.  He was right. It's not cheap.  The toppings are quite expensive (up to almost 5 bucks for some single toppings on a large pizza).  We got sausage, fresh mushrooms and fresh garlic on ours.

It was a respectable pie.  We really liked it.  The best we've ever had?  No.  Would we go back again for a pizza?  Yes.  Thin crust pizza is my favorite and this was good thin crust, with a dusting of corn meal.

So, that's that.  Greenbush Bar.  Quaint.  Charming.  And on the lists of "I would recommend to someone else" and "we'll go back again".  It's definitely a unique experience.... and we dig that about places in Madison.