Wisserquist 2011

I spent this weekend with the best part of my college experience.  That is, with two of my favorite people in the world, Biene and Alisse, and their husbands, who are also really great, and my husband, who is also really great.  These people were part of all of my fondest memories from college.

I love the way it feels being around Biene and Alisse.  The six of us have had a reunion weekend the past three years and I hope to never miss one for the rest of my life.  The sound of their voices triggers a contentment mechanism in my brain ... ah, says my brain, you're with people who are safe, who will let you say anything, will laugh when you think you're being funny and listen when you feel like blabbing.  Why's it so easy to be misunderstood around other people?  I admit that in general life I'm often flummoxed by trying to find a connection with others or read what they're thinking.  Well not this weekend.  This weekend was a vacation into a land where relationships come naturally.  Oh how I enjoyed it.

A bright red sign on the door as we arrived said "Welcome to Wisserquist 2011."  Biene wisely decided it was time our annual weekend acquired a name.  So we dubbed it Wisserquist, which, as you might imagine, is a combination of our last names.

Much of our time centered around food (all the good vacations do, don't they?).  Spoils from the Madison downtown farmers market include: Honeycrisp apples, three of the most gigantic red bell peppers I've ever seen, and a bag of white cheddar popcorn, which is a snack that I particularly like.  Anders bought the popcorn without me knowing.  As we were strolling along he suddenly popped up at the rear of the group carrying it.  Smiley face.

Spoils from Brennan's Market include: peaches and plumcots and pears (ripe! juicy! mouth-watering!), pecan nutcakes made with wildflower honey (does that make anyone else think of hobbits dining with elves?), apple cider, and the dinner that Anders and I are sharing at this very moment: basil farmers cheese with sundried tomato crackers (oh my goodness).  Brennan's Market, by the way, is a Wisconsin grocery store with only five locations.  It's a good place to go if you particularly love fresh fruit, cheese, and beer.

Other food I feasted on: Alisse's homemade chocolate chip cookies, Alisse's homemade blondie peanut butter cup brownies, Alisse's homemade blueberry muffins, Biene's blueberry french toast casserole, and a spinach strawberry salad that I would really like to have in my diet no less than once a week.

Yesterday I made them try to help me pick out a name for Jabberwocky.  I don't know how long we spent on the Internet just reading names.  The winner was: Hibachi.  Hibachi Helquist!