Smith Family Weblog

I drove into downtown Madison on Thursday morning, and I did a double-take when I saw the isthmus reflected on the screen of my Garmin:

To make myself feel completely at home, I met Melissa and Alisa for a lunch that involved far too much wine for a Thursday afternoon. At this point, I found it was possible to be completely homesick for two places at the very same time.

Later in the day, I caught up with my friend Renee (this time over a far more sensible cup of coffee), and I was even able to see my friend Stef as well.

I stayed with Liana and Scott, who spoiled me further with another fabulous dinner and a quiet guest room. Even Coca seemed happy to see me (every single time I walked in the door!).

We spent Friday running baby and shower related errands, ending the day at Jolly Bob’s.

On Saturday, we woke to what I thought was six or seven inches of snow, but Liana pointed out that it was really only three or four. I (again) borrowed what I needed to head out into the snow for a walk down the lake with Liana’s neighbor.

See that spot in the distance on the ice of Lake Monona? That’s Coca!

Here’s more of a close-up (at this poor, but quite stubborn, kitty’s expense):

Later that morning, we braved the still-falling snow and headed across town to celebrate our impending birthdays with pedicures at our favorite spa. You’ll probably think I was the one who suggested skipping shoes and socks in order to preserve our perfectly painted toes, but it was my usually quite sensible companion. Besides, we only walked to the cute little bakery next door.

Liana’s baby shower was Saturday afternoon, but more on that later.