Drove from Vermont to Ohio and then onto our house in Illinois. Came home to find that the school (we live on the campus of a boarding school) had dug a large hole in front of our door and we could not access the house for 6-8 days. Nice surprise. Luckily, my wife has an aunt in Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin, about 20 minutes east of Madison. We spent the weekend with her and had a great time. She has been an art teacher at a public school for many years, so we spent many hours talking about the joys and pains of arts education. So many differences between public and private education. I've seen both sides of it as a student in a public school and now as an instructor at a private school. Anyway, it was great to spend some time in Madison--I had never been! Saturday there was a lot going on downtown; folk singers in the square, a healthcare rally at the capital, and we found a great art supply store and had some great beer at Great Dane Brewery. Glad to be back in my house this evening. I got my computer set up and unpacked all of my drawings and sketchpads from Vermont. Hard to believe "summer" is nearly over. I'm going to try to be very, very busy over the next two weeks and get as much done as possible before school begins!