Part of graduation week was to give tours of the campus. Jamie poses with Chris and mom in front of Gilman Hall, one of the oldest buildings on the campus. It is scheduled to be renovated beginning soon. In another photo Jamie posed under one of many brick arches at JHU. This one part of the library and Cafe Q where Jamie worked. The top photo catches Jamie as she begins the long march onto the field for commencement. Almost 900 graduates received their honors.

One the priceless moments of graduation day was when Jamie opened her diploma only to find it blank. It included a note saying something to the effect "due to the fact that we did not receive updated information on your change in majors, we were unable to print your diploma. " The look of mis-belief on Jamie's face was indeed 'priceless'. One photo shows Peter, her roommate with a completed diploma. Another photo has the 'girls'. Mom, Aunt, & The Queen. (hey everyone, it's all about me. this week)

GRADUATION DAY!

It finally arrived. Jamie made the jumbo-tron and a very proud Dad just smiling and brimming from ear to ear. DAD, Jamie, Chris, Lori, and Christa all having fun at Jamie's apartment. The day was dry and windy. Many a grad cap went sailing during the festivities.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008
A culinary masterpiece was experienced last night at Cindy Wolf’s restaurant, call the The Charleston, in downtown Baltimore. Fantastic. Four years ago I took Jamie to this place and promised to return if she graduated from Johns Hopkins. I had to pay up yesterday. We were joined by Jamie’s friend,“Dr.” Jason who is well on his way to obtaining his phd. Words don’t begin to explain how great the food was, but I’ll try. We had, between the three of us, Charleston Shellfish Bisque w/Lobster & Golf Shrimp, Jumbo Lump Crabcake w/Napa Cabbage & Arugula Oil, Steak Tartare w/Jalapeno Oil & Pan con Tomate, Pan-Roasted Magret Duck Breast w/Roasted Beets & Local Rhubarb & Strawberry Compote, Pan-Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras w/Fresh Blackberries & Cornmeal Cake, Grilled Beef Tenderloin “Henri VI” w/Brioche Crouton, & Fresh Artichoke & Bernaise, and last but certainly not least Grilled Veal Sweetbreads w/Fresh Fava beans & Marcona Almonds & Vermouth Reduction. Now mind you each of these courses were served with the appropriate wine pairing, and then the meal was finished with three incredible deserts. It truly was two hours of culinary joy.

Of course I jumped a bit ahead of myself with the dinner, so let me explain why I’m in Baltimore. Jamie has graduated from Johns Hopkins with a double Bachelors Degree. YEAH! On an earlier blog I explained about where she is going for her Masters program, so I won’t repeat myself.

I flew into Baltimore from Milwaukee on Tuesday morning. An absolutely non-stop painless flight with plenty of leg and elbow room. Sweet! Twenty four hours later, from when I woke up at 3am, I was back at the airport picking up Lori & Chris. A few hours ago, we picked up Jamie’s Aunt, Aunt Salad Toe, aka Christa, from the airport. Let the fun begin.

More pics and stories of graduation week to follow. Stay tuned.

Monday, May 19, 2008
Today’s words of wisdom are: Never, ever, take a laxative and a sleeping pill both on the same night.
Yesterday was the 17th annual Chilton Beer Festival. My first. What a hoot! Great time. Great people, and most important, great tasting beer. My friends and owners of Rowlands, the sponsor of this wonderful beer fest, did an outstanding job putting this 2800 person event. The bands were great, especially Jerry Schneider’s rendition of ALICE, who the #@*! Is Alice. Thanks to Bonita, Pat, and Kelly for all their efforts. Also thanks to our DD’s Pam and Kay, for driving Ray, Rog, and myself to/from the event. We met Glenn and Pete F. at the drop-off zone and rest is history. Of the dozen or so pics that were taken, I selected the following 6 for this blog. There are more, but for now, enjoy these. Oh, the winner, in my book, was from The Great Dane Brewing Co. in Madison, with their incredibly tasty and smooth Imperial IPA. YUM!

Friday, May 16,2007

Yeah! Expiration Friday, to those of you that trade options.

So I need to back up a little and post a few pictures of the 'turf' trenching I did. Some of you call this golf. The groundskeepers at Lawsonia, don't. Had a fantastic day on the course. Three of us, Glenn, Pete, and myself, took the day off and headed towards Green Lake to play one of the courses at Lawsonia. It was supposed to be 4, but the birthday girl, Lynn, decided to not brave the conditions. (severe laughter) The weather was.....does it matter what the weather was? We're golfing. It did turn out to be a very nice golf day for Wiscsonsin spring conditions. We had the pleasure of seeing deer on the first hole and a bald eagle on the back nine, we let them play through. The course was essentially empty and for $30 including the cart, we got a bargain. I understand that the green fees go to $90 next week. So enjoy the pics.

Thursday, April 32, 2008
Some you may have heard that I made an offer on a home yesterday. Last month I had found a really nice ‘starter’ home and after numerous walk-bys finally decided to go for it. I was a bit disappointed when I learned that somebody else had made an offer before, and the owner’s had accepted it. Well stranger things have happened, and yesterday I get a call from my realtor, about an 2 hours before that deal was to close, telling me that if I really was interested, to make an offer. There was some problem at closing, not sure what it was. So I did.
I’ve walked by this house almost every day for 2 months, and every time it felt like the right house. I could picture myself living in it. I could picture myself in the back yard with the fire pit blazing, roasting marshmallows until they turned black and fell off. (never did get the hang of that art) I could picture myself shoveling the long driveway. (not really) I could even picture myself sitting atop the riding mower, manicuring the property. (Yeah, there’s a beer holder on the mower)
I’ve attached a few more pics of the property. It has a lot of nice features but one of them is not the kitchen. In real estate terms it’s “adorable”, “quaint”, and “filled with character”. It sucks. So why would I buy a home with a tiny kitchen when I love to cook. Please send your answers to: John c/o idiot central. Lol There are several reasons, the biggest one is that the house has room to expand so that I can build my dream kitchen. More correctly, so Pete & Sharon can help me build my dream kitchen. Not this year, but if my investments go well, then next. Enough talking….show us some pics.
More later.