Happy August!

I hope your summer has been bright, relaxing, and fun too. Between getting big kids to work and practice, ours has been a little hectic. BUT, I’m happy to report that my rough draft is done. It’s ruffff, but it’s done. Now the work of filling in plot holes and better developing side characters begins.

A Uniquely Madison Ice Cream Crawl

In anticipation of National Ice Cream Cone Day on July 20th, my family embarked on a uniquely Madison ice cream crawl. The rules? The ice cream had to be made by a Madison-based company, we had to pick the most unique flavor we could all agree on, and the stores all had to be in the downtown area where the sequel will be set. Any gems we happened upon might just show up in the next book.

Working from west to east, we hit several downtown spots, sharing a scoop at each location. There were many highlights: Strawberry Pretzel Salad at the Babcock Dairy Store, S’more to Love at the Chocolate Shoppe, Hibiscus Lime at Good News Café and Ice Cream, Cherry Pie ala Mode at Stellie’s, and Hearty Breakfast at Calliope.

Note to fellow Wisconsinites: it’s pronounced Cah-ly-oh-pee, not Cally-ope, which seemed more intuitive to my northern accent. My kids oozed away from me when the man from which I was asking directions redirected us to Calliope, pausing ever so slightly before he said it properly just to make sure I got the hint. Noted!

As I rework the next draft, I’ll have to find reasons for my characters to stop by for a cone at these places. On the other hand, does anyone really need a good reason to stop for an ice cream cone? I think being in near proximity to an ice cream store is reason enough. We don’t have to justify stopping at drinking fountains. The same goes for ice cream stores.

One Month Left

There’s one month of summer left! What’s remaining on your summer bucket list? For me, it’s all sorts of house projects that I thought I’d have more time to get to over the summer than during the school year. Alas, there’s the same amount of not-enough-time in summer as there is during the other seasons. Looks like reorganizing the basement is going to have to take a backseat to eating all the ice cream in town.