Balmy February Weekend

I hope my readers got to get outside and enjoy this beautiful weekend. Friday Travalon and I went to the Lake Windsor Country Club for their fish fry, and we took a peek at the upstairs. Wow! I wish we had known about it for our wedding, but fortunately the manager happened by, so I was able to ask her how much it would have been, and it was way out of our budget. I did take some photos and will post them soon. Venus was incredibly bright that evening, and we were driving right toward it as we headed home so we had a wonderful view of it and Mars, which looked like it was right by it. Of course in reality they are very far apart from each other.

Saturday Travalon, Rich, Jilly Moose, OK Cap, and I met for coffee, then we ladies went to pray a rosary, and Luxuli joined us. Travalon walked down to the Union Terrace, and he said it was so beautiful that I had to see it, so then we both walked down to it and out onto the ice. It was surreal, being on the ice when the air was 60 degrees, but lots of other people were out on the ice and not falling in, so we reasoned that it was safe enough. We walked from the Union to the Edgewater and split a pricey pint of cider there, then we walked down to St. Patrick’s so I could go to Confession. Travalon must have walked ten miles that day! I walked over six. As we were walking across the ice, we saw all the frat boys out partying and blasting music as if it were a summer day. In the evening we went to Salvatore’s Pizza Pies with the Slow Food group, and they didn’t have a table large enough to accommodate us all, so we ended up with a “boys’ table” and a “girls’ table.” Afterwards some of us went to the Chocolaterian for dessert. Mmm!

Yesterday a young couple from our church had their first baby baptized right after Mass, then they had a bunch of us over for a party afterwards. Travalon and I listened to part of the Badger basketball game in the car, and they won! It was a tough game, against Maryland, and they were trailing at the half. In the afternoon we parked over a mile away from Union South so we could walk down the bike path to the Hearts and Drafts event for Union members. This was five stations with a microbrew beer and a chocolate confection paired with it. A delightful couple joined us at our table, and we discussed local breweries. Then Travalon suggested we go to the Monona Terrace to enjoy the view from the roof. I was jonesin’ for the chicken, asparagus, and gnocchi dish we once had at the Olive bar next door, but they have taken it off the menu! We ended up going to Bellitalia for the second weekend in a row so I could get my gnocchi fix. Once again we got many miles of walking in, and all outside in this unseasonable warmth. It is supposed to stick around for a few days, so we must enjoy it while it lasts.

Famous Hat