Isthmus Conversation Circle (Featuring Bobby Dye Lan and the Hungarian Horse)

 

This morning on the way to Mass, I thought Travalon made a noise like a horse nickering. I didn't think much of it until he did it again, so I asked why he was doing it, and he said he wasn't. Then I realized it was something in the car shaking as we passed over the bumpy road. He said, "I'm like the Italian Stallion, only I'm the Hungarian Horse!"

Then at brunch a new guy joined us, and he and Travalon really hit it off. Meanwhile, Rich told the other bass and me that he had read a story where Pete Seeger and Bobby Dye Lan almost got in a fight backstage at a folk music festival, and the other bass said, "I have never heard of those people." I said, "You don't know Pete Seeger? He's a famous folk singer and peace activist." Rich said, "Bobby Dye Lan is famous too. You don't know him? His real name is Robert Zimmerman." I was like, "That's Bob Dylan," and he said, "What? Is that how you pronounce his name?" Maybe he was thinking of Bobby Darin...? Then the other bass and I couldn't stop laughing, and when Rich said something about how he used to think "Satisfaction" was them singing "I can't get no active traction," but who wrote that song? the other bass said, "The Rah Linga Stah Nessa." Poor Rich! How did he live to the advanced age of senior citizenship without knowing how to pronounce Bob Dylan's name? I assured Rich that I wasn't laughing at him but across from him.

Then Travalon and I went to Walgreen's, and I fell hard for this little fox. We named him Raymond because it sounds like the French word for fox, renard. The little pink giraffe is named Aoife, which is pronounced Eefah, and I got her at St. Vinny's for fifty cents.

After that we went for a hike on the boardwalk in DeForest, and Travalon took some photos with his cell phone, because we hadn't brought our good cameras.

There were only two of us at Irish class today besides the teacher, who wants to have a name for our group. The other lady suggested ciorcal chomhra, which is pronounced "kyorkle khow-rah," and means conversation circle. I said let's add the word for isthmus, since we are on an isthmus, and I learned the word in Ireland and it starts with a C, so adding to the alliteration. So I think our group is maybe going to be called Ciorcal Chomhra na Cuinge, or the Isthmus Conversation Circle. I was just happy that I could contribute something to the name.

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Last Eagle of the Season?

 

This morning I was watching Looney Tunes cartoons with Travalon, and there were two starring Daffy Duck that were called "Boobs in the Woods" and "Stork Naked," but they were not what those titles would lead you to believe. Then we met Anna Banana II, Jilly Moose, and Richard Bonomo at the new Anchora Coffee where the Manna Cafe used to be. I wore my new T-shirt (although it was under a hoodie):

And I also wore my new four-way cross. The four medals are the Sacred Heart, St. Joseph, St. Christopher, and the Miraculous Medal, and then in the center is a dove symbolizing the Holy Spirit.

After coffee, the five of us went to Tenney Park and took a walk along the canal all the way to the other side of the isthmus. It was such a beautiful day. My Christmas cactus must be enjoying the longer days and warmer weather too, because it is in bloom.

Travalon and I went out to Sauk, and we started at the dam but didn't see any eagles. Lots of fishermen, though. Then we went to the VFW Park - no eagles. I said it was too warm so they weren't gathering by the dam, but we did see one on the island where they sometimes hang out.

I like how it appears to either be dancing or stretching a crick in its neck in this photo.

We also saw pieces of ice floating down the river, and this one had a passenger. I suppose it's just a piece of wood, but it almost looks like a little toy train engine.

Travalon said he surprised me and got some cash at the Kwik Trip so we could go to the Valley of Our Lady Monastery and get another rosary. I asked which one he liked, and he picked out one that has blue and pink together so it looks kind of raspberry-colored. I will take a picture of it in natural light, but I suspected it might glow under blacklight... and it does!!

Bonus photo: a koozie from Hooker's Resort that glows under blacklight.

Yesterday I was telling Anna Banana II that there's a random port-a-potty on Highway U, so when Travalon and I drive around Lake Wisconsin, "I can pee on U." I didn't realize how funny that sounded until she started laughing. Today Travalon and I went to the road up a bluff with a beautiful view of Tipperary Road, and I couldn't pee on U! The port-a-potty was gone!! But Travalon got some great photos.

Then we debated about going to Sunset Bay to watch the sun set, but we decided instead to watch it set behind Loddes Mill Bluff. Here are some photos.

Then the sunset got more purple. I wondered aloud why it would look horrible if a person wore orange and purple together, but in a sunset it looks so beautiful. Travalon didn't have an answer.

As we drove home, we saw a gorgeous moonrise! Unfortunately we weren't in a good place to stop and take a picture as we drove toward it, so we had to wait until we got home, and then it wasn't as big and red, but it's still beautiful.

I said to Travalon that I have seen many sunrises and sunsets and also plenty of moonrises, but I don't ever remember seeing the moon set. He said maybe that happens at 3 am. Now I am puzzled. Does anyone (looking at you, Richard L.R. Bonomo) know why it isn't common to see a moonset? Or are they just not as spectacular as a moonrise so we don't notice them? Our windows do face east, so maybe people with west-facing windows see them all the time.

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The Rosary Ladies Go to Holy Hill

 

This morning the Rosary Ladies gathered at my house, then we stopped for coffee before heading to Holy Hill. We got there just a tiny bit late for 11 am Mass, although we went to the wrong chapel so that slowed us down more. Then we went to the gift shop - always dangerous. I wasn't going to get any rosaries unless they glowed under blacklight, and wouldn't you know they had two, as well as two things I've wanted for a while: a T-shirt with a St. Benedict medal on it, and a necklace with a four-way cross on it. There was an exhibit on the Shroud of Turin, with a replica:

This is the part with his face, if you look closely, but what really got my attention was that the lash marks weren't just on his back but all the way down the backs of his legs. There's a Lenten reflection for you! In the same room, there was this beautiful icon:

Then we went to the chapel with the votive candles, and I lit one for Travalon's dad.

Then Anna Banana II, Jilly Moose, and I pooled our cash to light one for Mombert's soul.

It was a beautiful day out, but up on the hill it was too windy to do the outdoor Stations of the Cross, so we went to Revere's in Delafield for lunch (fish, of course - it's Friday), and then we walked around downtown Delafield and poked around in some of the high-end shops. I saw a mint green T-shirt of the Ice Age Trail that's just like the one Travalon has in dark blue, but they didn't have it in my size. Darn! After we got back to Madison, Anna Banana II, Jilly Moose, and I took a walk around my neighborhood. Anna Banana II had made some delicious banana oat chocolate chip bread, so she gave me some pieces to take home and share with Travalon.

Here are photos of the two rosaries I got, glowing under blacklight. (I'll try to take a picture of the T-shirt and the necklace at some point, maybe while I'm wearing both of them.) This rosary was less than $2, and the green parts not only glow under the blacklight, but they keep glowing, so they are technically glow-in-the-dark. The orange and pink parts only glow under the blacklight. 

This rosary attracted my attention because the little roses on the beads look just like a ring I had as a little girl. Then as I looked at it more closely, I realized it was also a glow-in-the-dark rosary, so it would also light up under the blacklight. And it keeps glowing for a very long time!

Bonus picture: some pens that glow under blacklight! The top one is a maze pen that was my prize for finding enough secret punches in the Treinen Farm corn maze.

Unlike me, Travalon didn't have the day off of work, and he thought it was going to be almost as harrowing as yesterday because they were having tuna sandwiches for lunch at the Club. Then he said it was in a patty and wasn't nearly as bad as he had been fearing. So that's two days in a row that his worst fears didn't come to pass!

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Travalon's Harrowing Day

 

This morning as we walked before work, Travalon said he had a horrifying workday ahead of him, because he has been preparing dinner for the kids, and today it was hotdogs. He absolutely hates hotdogs, especially the smell, so he was imagining having to smell all these hotdogs he had to boil. I was going to ask him about his harrowing day when he got home, but I was kind of distracted because I was on a WebEx call with Light Bright, catching up with her. She has two kids now, her little boy and a baby girl. The boy said, "You're talking to Hat? I haven't talked to Hat in so long! Remember when we used to hang out together all the time?" which kills me because he's four, but he makes it sound like we used to hang out together back in college, remember what good times we had? And the baby was crying when Daddy took care of her, so Light Bright had to go get her, and she joined us on the call. Light Bright did have a really sad bit of news: her boss, who used to be my boss too, had a daughter in her early 20's with chronic issues who was always in pain, and a couple of weeks ago she ended her misery. So sad! I wish the doctors could have done something for her. It must be horrible to always be in pain like that. So I found the girl's obituary and was totally selfishly not thinking about Travalon's Harrowing Day, until he told me it wasn't as bad as he expected because they were turkey dogs and didn't stink as much, plus he didn't have to boil them because they cooked them on a grill. What a terrible wife I am, not asking my husband about his trials and tribulations at work! 

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Dimebag Darrell Memorial

 

This morning Travalon and I took a walk before I had to start work, and just as we came out the door, we heard the train whistle. I thought maybe we had just missed it, but we walked to where you can see it, and then it did go by! I haven't seen a train in weeks! Sometimes when I am out walking at lunchtime, I hear a whistle in the distance, but it never comes any closer. Maybe it's on that other track.

Today I went out to see the sunset, but it wasn't as spectacular as yesterday's. Here are a couple pictures of the sunset last Thursday, and then a couple of the one today.

So this is a bit out of sequence, but today a package arrived for Travalon, and he said it was for me! It's a tribute to the guitarist from Pantera, Dimebag Darrell, who was murdered onstage years ago. In this video, you can hear Travalon chopping potatoes in rhythm to the changing colors of the light. (Not on purpose - it just worked out that way.)

This is the moon tonight. It's not quite full.

The secret club's assignment this month was to make an award for someone, so I made this award for my #1 husband, Travalon.

Here are some more pictures of my rosaries. These are the little rosary bracelets I got at the alpaca store at East Towne Mall.

These are rosaries that neither glow under blacklight nor fit into my vision for the rosary mandala, but they sure look colorful on that key holder that Richard Bonomo gave me.

And here's the rosary mandala! The stuff off to the left is my collection of things (including rosaries) that glow under blacklight, and the stuff to the right is the boxes and pouches some of them were in.

This is a rosary I never posted a good photo of before, because I left it in the box for the photo. It's one of the ones from the Odana Antiques Mall, and it's a Mother Theresa rosary. It also glows under blacklight.

And hardly anything glows better under blacklight than this chartreuse rosary I got at St. Patrick's in Mauston. I had a feeling it might, so I tested it tonight. I got it years ago, long before I thought about getting a blacklight.

Rich suggested I paint a painting that would glow under blacklight, and I have plenty of paint left from painting Our Lady of Neon, so watch for that in the future. I just have to get a canvas...

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My Top 25 Songs (Apparently)

 

Tonight as I was driving to Adoration, there was an absolutely gorgeous sunset. At least I was driving right toward it, so I did get to enjoy it, but if it had been an evening that I could just stay at home, then I could have run out to the dock with my camera and shared it with you.

The other day I was listening to music on iTunes, and I saw they had made a list of my 25 most listened-to songs. Since the music in my iTunes library is already my favorite music (except for early music), then it stands to reason that these are my 25 most favorite songs of all time. So here they are:

"Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" by Will Smith. I mean, "Summertime" is a great jam, but this one is more uptempo. What's not to love about this perfect song?

"Hey Ya!" by Outkast. Shake it, shake it like a Polaroid picture! This jam never gets old.

"Slide" by Calvin Harris featuring Frank Ocean and Migos. I mean, it's a great song, but this should really be "Flashlight" by Parliament, which somehow isn't on this list. What up with that??

"September" by Earth, Wind and Fire. The perfect song by the perfect band, except that they apparently don't believe in the Oxford comma. Pure joy has never been so perfectly captured in music.

"Touch It" by Monifah. Great beat and slightly raunchy lyrics are just what I need to get my blood pumping! This is a perfect example of the early 90's house music with the man rapping and the woman singing.

"A la Hora Que Me Llaman Voy" by Jose Alberto "El Canario." If "September" is R&B pure joy, then this is the old school salsa equivalent, just a song about how he'll sing whenever they call him.

"I Can Transform Ya" by Chris Brown featuring Lil Wayne and Swizz Beats. I mean, yeah, it's got a great beat, but I really wouldn't have guessed this would be in my Top 25.

"Marcando la Distancia" by Manolito y su Trabuco. Very danceable, yet wistful - at least what I can gather from the Spanish. I think it's about a relationship falling apart.

"Happy" by Pharrell Williams. Remember when everyone was listening to this nonstop in 2014? In my world it's always 2014!

"The Anthem" by Pitbull featuring Lil Jon. I first heard this at an exercise class and immediately fell in love. It's about the highest-energy song I know.

"Jump Around" by House of Pain. This was huge when I was in college, and they still play it at every Badger football game because it has aged like a fine wine.

"Azuquita pa'l Cafe" by El Grand Combo de Puerto Rico. The finest song by a very fine old school salsa band. "What puts the sweet in the coffee?" Hint: it's a metaphor.

"Con los Pobres Estoy" by Roberto Roena. More old school salsa with a social voice. He's singing about his allegiance to the forgotten poor.

"Cupid Shuffle" by Cupid. He's representin' for the Dirty South! I can't not dance when this comes on.

"Return of the Mack" by Mark Morrison. The best of a lot of great R&B that dropped in the 90's.

"(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" by Nomad. Hearing this song makes me feel nineteen again. Yes, that's an actual rave in the background. This song is what all my silly techno songs aspired to be.

"Yeah!" by Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris. Well... yeah!!!

"Hot Tottie" by Usher featuring Jay-Z. This song was so underrated. Though to be fair, I think it made this list because it was one of the first songs I downloaded, hence it's been listened to more than some others.

"This Is How We Do It" by Montell Jordan. Another absolutely wonderful 90's R&B jam.

"SexyBack" by Justin Timberlake featuring Timbaland. Tiffy loves this song too, so there you go.

"How Do U Want It" by 2Pac. The critics say "Dear Momma" is his best song, and I do love "Only God Can Judge Me," but this one samples a Quincy Jones groove and it's just perfect.

"Pon de Replay" by Rihanna. Her first hit before she became so huge, and it really reflects her island roots with its tropical rhythm.

"Who Am I? (What's My Name?)" by Snoop Dogg. Was it possible to make George Clinton's "Atomic Dog" even better? Apparently so!

"I Want Her" by Keith Sweat. A hot yet cool R&B jam from the 80's that I loved as a teenager... and still do!

"The Humpty Dance" by Digital Underground. No question, this is the sickest bassline ever. If it wasn't on this list, I would wonder what I was doing with my life.

So there you go, in case you were wondering what I listen to besides early music.

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Gary Air

 

Apparently we were under some sort of weather advisory here in southern Wisconsin yesterday, but Travalon and I didn't know it when we were outside all day. There was a lot of pollution in the air, and when I said to Travalon that it blew up from Chicago, he said, "It probably blew up from Gary. It's Gary Air!" Which I found hilarious, because there's a list somewhere of alternate state slogans, and the one for Wisconsin is: "Come smell our Dairy Air!" (If you don't get it, say it out loud.) Anyway, we noticed the air in Sauk didn't seem as clean as usual, but it was kind of like how the air in Madison always is. Then when we came back home, I took that long walk outside, and after that my eyes were itching as if I were terribly allergic to our house. Travalon was having a lot of allergy issues too, and we wondered why we suddenly were having such a reaction to our house, but at Night Prayer someone told us all about the air advisory. It was in effect today too, until the snow came and dispersed the weird atmospheric conditions causing it. Anyway, that is a long intro to explain why our big adventure today was walking in West Towne Mall with Anna Banana II (who is visiting town) and Jilly Moose. We walked around the mall twice, then Travalon went to the bookstore while we ladies browsed different shops. I said let's look for rosaries, and of course I found this little rose gold rosary bracelet.

Here is the rosary I got yesterday at the Valley of Our Lady Monastery. Is it green? Is it blue? If you can't decide, then I doubtless will love the color!

At the mall, Travalon and I saw this forlorn little toy turtle just outside. I hope its owner find it. There is probably a really upset little kid somewhere, wondering where this is.

Here are two rosaries I forgot to take pictures of back when I was buying rosaries online at the beginning of the pandemic. There are two others I also forgot to take pictures of, so I'll try to post those soon.

The one on the left is a rosary I found when I googled "rosaries that glow under blacklight." The description of it didn't actually say it did, but it was such pretty bright colors that I got it. And it does! The one on the right is the missionary rosary I bought because the green beads are such a lovely color. They are a very minty green. This is supposedly an antique rosary, and that could be, because antique green glass like this often contains uranium, which is what gives it the lovely color and makes it glow under blacklight. 

Tonight I finished putting my rosaries into the mandala. Here is a picture of the rainbow as I was working on it, when it looks like a pretty convincing rainbow. (Excuse the chaos.)

Now that it's finished, or at least basically finished, the rainbow effect is diminished by all the black, white, and wooden rosaries that I put into inner circles. Also, the fourth circle doesn't actually have fifty rosaries, but it's narrower so I'm not sure fifty would even fit.

I wanted to see if any of my chaplets would glow under blacklight, but the only thing that kind of did is this little one-decade rosary I made years ago.

This rosary is random because some of the white beads light up, and some don't, but not in any pattern, and I can't discern a difference in natural light.

This is a rosary I got at Holy Hill, and stripes on the beads light up bright pink.

This rosary is from the Dickeyville Grotto shop, and it has multicolored beads, but only the pink ones light up.

Some rosaries don't exactly light up, but they sort of glow, like these two blue ones.

Or this lovely purple one, which is a very pretty color in natural light too.

This cheap rosary that came in junk mail keeps breaking, and I fix it but it just breaks again. It's a very uninteresting washed-out blue in natural light, but it lights up a beautiful blue under the blacklight.

It occurs to me that the two brightly-colored Franciscan seven-decade rosaries I got in Marytown might light up under the blacklight, so maybe later tonight I'll check them out. Or maybe that will be a project for another night.

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