I hope my readers had a good Thanksgiving. Travalon and I
went to visit his mother Thursday morning, then we took a hike on Tivoli Island
in Watertown, where we ran into a muskrat who did not run away from us. Back in
town we went to the Castle Creek Conservancy again because I had seen a little
pond in it on Google Maps. However, we followed the trail to the end and found
no pond, so I don’t know what happened there. In the late afternoon we went to
Richard Bonomo’s house for Thanksgiving dinner, and besides the usual crowd
(with the usual three vegetarians) there was a couple who never comes to Rich’s
and who like to discuss politics. Since they don’t agree with about half the
people who were going to be at Rich’s, I thought things might be disastrous.
Travalon and I had found a silver rubber chicken that makes a horrible noise
when you press it at a truck stop in Florida, and we had bought it for Cecil
Markovitch, who was going to be there. Instead of giving it to him right away,
I put it under my chair, so when one half of the couple said something about
the impeachment hearings being a waste of time, I pulled out the rubber
chicken, squeezed it, and said, “Inappropriate conversational content –
politics!” That got everyone’s attention at the dinner table, and hey, it
worked! Politics never came up the rest of the night, and we all had a
wonderful time. The horribly expensive organic turkey that Travalon and I
provided really did taste way better than an average turkey, and everyone else
brought delicious sides, and the guy who makes pies outdid himself with a
coconut banana cream with caramel pie. Cecil liked the chicken - he plans to regift it to his goddaughter.
Friday Travalon was busy part of the morning, so I was going
to clean but of course managed to waste time doing other things until he got
back and we had fish for lunch at the Kingdom. We explored some other nature
areas in Waunakee, including one on top of a hill with an incredible view, and
one that was just a square of prairie, and one we were scared to go into during
deer hunting season. I had to water my plants at work and then get a haircut,
and then we went through the Christmas lights in Olin-Turville Park, which are
better than ever this year. We went up to the Christmas lights in Waunakee too,
but half of them weren’t lit up for some reason, so we headed home and
discovered a Mexican restaurant we had never noticed before just north of our
house. We decided shrimp tacos sounded better than leftover turkey, and this
place did not disappoint! What a great discovery so close to home.
Saturday we met Rich for coffee, then we spent most of the
afternoon going up and down State Street, buying things at almost every little
shop for Small Business Saturday. We do not participate in Black Friday, but a
holiday to encourage buying at little local businesses? We can totally get
behind that! We were so tired that the free Holiday Trolley was not just fun
but a welcome relief from all that walking! The only thing is that they gave us
a bag full of coupons, and of course at least two were for places where we
bought stuff. We could have saved $15! We also went to our favorite chocolate
place and a couple of places on Willy Street. I now have several new tie-dyed
shirts, some cute little things that I hung up in my office, and some new
plants. Did I need any of this stuff? Probably not, but I love supporting local
businesses! In the evening we joined Kathbert at Rich’s for our traditional
Thanksgiving Part II: Immediate Family. When we got home, we watched the first
half of the Badger game that we had taped – they beat Minnesota to win the Paul
Bunyan Axe!
Yesterday was the most fun of all. It was Travalon’s
birthday, which of course means he’s a Sagittarius, so what else would he want
to do for his birthday besides wander? After Mass and brunch with Rich and the
other bass from our choir, we watched the first half of the Packer game while
deciding if the snow was bad enough to keep us home, then we taped the second
half and went to Wollersheim for Travalon’s favorite drink in the whole world,
their apple brandy with cream soda. We went to Sauk to see eagles, but there
were none to be seen, so we went to that little park in Merrimac from which you can
see all of Lake Wisconsin, and then we checked out a bed and breakfast on
a bluff overlooking the lake. We drove up Highway U and down Highway V, and
though it was dark by the time we got to Highway V, it was a magical ride
because a lot of the houses had Christmas lights. Travalon wanted his birthday
dinner at Fitz’s on the Lake, and they were decorated so beautifully inside.
When we got home, we watched the second half of the Packers game – they beat
the Giants! – and then the second half of the Badgers game. Travalon said he
had a really great birthday, so that makes me happy. Mine is on a weekday next
month, so we might have to wait until the following weekend to really
celebrate.
Famous Hat
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