Schlamele, Schlamazle, or however you spell that

Yep, it's me, up again in the middle of the night.  The fluid in my abdomen makes it very uncomfortable to sleep, so I'm up.  Friday I see the hepatologist (liver doctor) and have labs drawn, then Monday it is the transplant surgeon, pharmacist, and social worker.  Then I am supposedly ready to go as soon as a liver comes up with my blood/tissue match, and provided my numbers (MELD score) is next on the list and I'm not sick at all.  Just a few ifs that could keep me waiting for a while.

As Laverne and Shirley danced their wacky way to work, we have reached Milwaukee ourselves.  Although cold, no snow, lots of sun, and perfect roads.  Hardly any traffic except at the junction of I-90 and I-94, then again the last half hour as we got closer to Milwaukee.  Road maps?  Who needs them.  Garmin's "Chica" as I named her, got us everywhere we needed to go, right to the front door.  Thanks to the updated maps dad loaded last week, it worked great.  If you don't have one, get one!

So, we started out about 7:45 AM on Tuesday:

 

Yes, that is my beloved pair of lime green flip flops.  I figured they would be good to wear around the house and the hospital, provided my feet fit into them post-surgery.  Who knows?

We did do something rather goofy along the way to get out and stretch our legs and take a break.  We went to the Spam Museum in Austin, MN.  Why?  Why not?  Gotta do something goofy and some time or another!  So, here in all it's glory is Spam Land:

The great wall of Spam!  More than 6 billion cans of Spam have been sold, and the

manufacturing capacity of 44,000 cans per hour cannot "meat" the demand.  In the

US, Hawaii consumes the most Spam; internationally that honor goes to the small

island of Guam and Korea.  Must go well with Polynesian and oriental food.

 It's "Spammy" welcoming us to Spam Land!  He's just a statue.

It's the Spam Cyber-Diner!  Did you know you can order all sorts of Spam from

the comfort of your home?  Or that Spam comes in 30 flavors, the newest of which

is jalapeno, although that isn't as hot as the Hot 'N Spicy flavor?

 Originally, Hormel's products were delivered by wagon.  Now they are distributed internationally.

 A display of products originally sold by Hormel in their store.

 The military was one of the largest consumers of Spam, due to it's sturdy packaging and

long shelf life without refrigeration.  Many soldiers of foreign wars found it in their rations.

Today, Hormel produces many other products, including the DiLusso line of

deli meats and cheeses, sold in some of the best grocery stores and meat markets.

 I love the Herb-ox soup bases, available in single-serve envelopes or in jars.  They are

sodium-free!  And until visiting their "store" I never knew it was made by Hormel.

 The best sauces for oriental food (LOVE the Classic Stir Fry) are from the

House of Tsang, which is a Hormel company.  Guess they made them for their

top consumers of the Spam product!  The newest Hormel product--Skippy Peanut Butter.

 You can purchase almost any flavor or packaging of Spam in their gift shop.

Sir Can-a-Lot of Spamalot!  Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam . . . 

Sunset in Wisconsin near Baraboo, where we stayed Tuesday night.  We did NOT

go to the Ringling Brothers Museum, because clowns are creepier than monkeys.

The photo is a bit blurry since it was taken out the window as we drove along.  It

almost looks like a rainbow right around the setting sun.

As we pulled into Milwaukee and our neighborhood, I snapped a picture of Aurora

St. Luke's Hospital.  This is actually the side, and we are across from the left end.