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Starkweather Beer Company

 When I moved back to Madison to attend law school in 1987, we moved to a crappy little apartment near the banks of Starkweather Creek on the unfashionable east side.  Today, the east side is booming, and one of the newer brewpubs is called Starkweather Beer Company. It was Saint Pat's Day.  While Guinness is a decent light-bodied stout, I opted for Starkweather's dry Irish Stout, named "Jamestown Jackdaw." Coming in at 5.9 ABV, it had a malty chewable backbone.  It's a new favorite stout for me.  Julia had Late Winter Haze, a New England IPA that didn't have as much fruitiness as she likes in a hazy.  It was still well-executed. We walked down the street to the Harmony Bar, where Julia enjoyed a complete corn beef and cabbage dinner.  I opted for the Reuben sandwich.  Mine was washed down with an Edmund Fitzgerald porter from Great Lakes Brewing.  Julia enjoyed her Chaos Pattern IPA from 3 Sheeps Brewing.  Both are great beers. Justin update:   After a long h

Justin's Shower and the Zoo

 Now that Julia is back home, we have been working to get Justin's apartment shower to be accessible.  There is a lip of four inches outside of the shower and a drop of about three inches into the shower.  The space in front of the shower is tight and faces his laundry closet.  

We bought a curb ramp to address the outside lip. It's a short and steep up for a shower chair moving sideways.  For the inside, we are trying out a perforated rubber mat on the bottom, paving stones on top of the rubber mat, and then another rubber mat on top.  This still leaves a way for the water to drain.  

His staff has been doing sponge baths for over a month, but the house manager isn't happy about that as a long term plan.  Justin is fine with the sponge baths and isn't thrilled about the potential bumpy ride in and out of the shower.  Even when he had a walk-in shower in the dorms, he was only showering once per week to supplement sponge baths.

Sunday morning, we will try it out and see if the plan (and Justin) works. We will go slow.  We practiced with the empty shower chair, but adding 180 lbs to the shower chair will be a significant change. 

We dragged Justin out of his apartment yesterday and walked over to the nearby Madison zoo with one of his caregivers.  Justin never wants to leave but is usually happy when he finally gets outside.  Yesterday was a nice sunny day in the 60's, and he didn't get too cold (Justin never wears long pants or shoes--even in the middle of winter).

We then ordered a Wisconsin fish fry for carry-out, and then watched some of the Milwaukee Bucks' basketball game at Justin's apartment.  Watching tv sports and playing video games is how Justin currently spends most of his time.  

I have to say that he has been doing a better job of managing his personal finances.  He successfully negotiated  receiving both energy and internet subsidies for low income folks.  Justin also has an appointment next week with Wisconsin Department of Vocational Rehabilitation to see about part time job options.  And he figured out a way to get an absentee ballot for his new address and voted!




Comments

MFH said…
Woo-hoo!!! Way to go, everybody!

We get by with a little help from our friends.

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