My newest, proudest possessions are the ice skates I bought at the mall today. Ereck and I went to Tenney Park to skate last night, and I remembered that skating on Tenney Park lagoon is maybe one of my favorite three things to do in Madison. But the $5 skate rental fee was holding me back. So I splurged and got these beauties. As soon as I bought them, I went straight to the park and skated for an hour.

You outlanders, these pictures of the lagoon convey the beauty of the park, if not the frozenness of the lagoon in winter. But picture that big lagoon frozen, and then picture people skating all over it. And picture a bunch of adolescents with hockey sticks all cussing like sailors. That's what skating at Tenney Park is like.

I'm from down South where if you want to skate, you have to go to a noisy, foul-smelling indoor rink. You can only skate in a big circle, and people yell at you if you skate too fast. At Tenney Park it's freestyle. There's tons of room, the ice is generally pretty well groomed, and you can do whatever the hell you want.

Let's hear it for winter sports.

I only have to go skating thirteen more times and the skates are paid for, so: join me. If you want to go skating, let me know. I will go. Anytime. I love skating.