Seen on Willy Street: These antique items outside a store across the street from St Vincent de Paul's.

A close-up of the Louis Armstrong statue.

I want this Buddha so bad.

He's perched atop a display case inside Lazy Jane's cafe. If I could come up with a way of distracting every one of the dozen or so staff on duty behind the counter, I'd slip him under my coat and walk nonchalantly out the door with him, but I'm not that clever. Nor that amoral.

I've never seen a carved Buddha that captures the happiness on this guy's face. I'd put him on a pedestal in our front room just to make sure I could see the expression on his face every day.

Moldy Jam performing at the Dane County Farmer's Market today.

Seen at an auction: A Santa for everyone.

I especially like the Santa with the binoculars and the fatigue jacket. What's he supposed to be, an artillery spotter?

Seen at an auction today: A young boy's dream. Or even the dream of a middle-aged man who spends too much time playing with toys.

I would have been happy with either one of these, and could have taken one home if only there might have been a couple c-notes in my wallet. In my dreams.

Although I did manage to take home a souvenir.

Tiny town seen at the Mad City Model Railroad Show

Tiny town at the Mad City Model Railroad Show

I took My Darling B to The Mermaid Cafe this morning for a Valentine's Day breakfast.

We drive past the Mermaid every morning on the way to work, and say to each other, "We've got to stop there soon" at least once a week. This was our week.

Service at the Mermaid is excellent, and the decor is cozy.

There are three sizes of coffee offered: regular, large, and bottomless. The mug she's holding in front is regular, the bathtub behind that is large.

A selection of fizzy drinks are on offer at the Mermaid.

It was a little too early in the morning for me to pop open a bottle, though, so I settled for just snapping a photo of them.

Art At Monona Library

My Darling B had to stop by the public library to return the forty-two dozen cook books she had checked out, and pay a library fine large enough to fund half the economic stimulus package. I tagged along to help carry books, and to see what's new at the library.

There's an exhibition of art work on display at the head of the stairs that's very eye-catching. This book, its pages re-imagined and fanned open, was an unusual example of art transforming an ordinary object.

Described as a geode.

Not sure what this is. Medicine chest?

Do You Know the Author?

I can read the quote, but not the attribution.

Found in the furniture section at St. Vincent de Paul's thrift shop.

This wind-blown snow at the edge of Squaw Bay on Lake Monona has been built up into a layered crust sturdy enough to bear my weight when I cross it on a pair of skis. I could easily ride across the thinnest layers, but broke through the thickest layers, about four inches deep. Skiing across it became a tedious exercise in climbing back on top of the crust after breaking through.

The snow on Squaw Bay was much easier to break a trail through, not layered and crusted over like this at all.

A view of downtown Madison from the farthest edge of Lake Monona.

Flaking Out

New snow falling on the corner of South Hamilton Street.