The Man from Mazomanie

 

Today they had said it might thunderstorm all day, and it was certainly raining when we got up. Travalon got up before me and then was falling asleep in front of his computer because he said he was "snoozy." I said, "Why not just sleep in longer?" We were going to do some work at the community garden, but it was postponed until next week, so we took the Merrimac ferry and hiked on the Merrimac section of the Ice Age Trail. Astute readers may remember that we did part of this section back in December, but this time we went further and found some amazing vistas, and some cute mushrooms. Travalon brought his good camera.

Then we drove to Sauk, stopping at the Cistercian monastery right under a bluff to donate some money and get a rosary.

We had lunch at Culver's for almost nothing, because we had a free coupon for a value basket (which Travalon used) and he had gotten a $5 gift card at work, which we used toward my salad, so it was like $4 for both of us to eat... until I decided I really wanted pretzel bites too.

After lunch we went to the antiques shop in Sauk, where as always they were super happy to see us come in. I got two rosaries and two crosses, as seen here. One rosary came with a pouch. They tell me I now have competition from a man from Mazomanie who comes in and buys rosaries as well. He was the one who bought that one with a relic in the crucifix.

I also saw these two glass pieces at a ridiculous price, so I almost just bought them without checking to make sure they were uranium glass, since they sure looked like it. But wouldn't you know, the woman at the antiques shop had a blacklight, so we could check to see that they glowed.

And they did! This is under my blacklight. Aren't they beautiful?

The other woman who worked there asked if I was going to drink champagne out of the smaller glass (the larger one is a sherbet bowl), and I asked, "Is that safe? It's slightly radioactive," so the first woman said, "I wouldn't drink water out of it if it's been sitting in it for a decade." It would be kind of fun to have a blacklight party and drink out of glowing glasses! I wondered if there were ever rosaries made of uranium glass, and the first woman said they did sell one about six years ago, so I gave them my name and phone number to call if they ever got another one. I don't want that man from Mazomanie getting it first!

Tiffy came up, and we went to Mariner's, where Travalon joined us. We sat outside, and a band played. They mostly played soft rock from the 70's, so not my thing too much, but I do love "Summer Breeze" by Seals and Croft because it is minor key. I love how the drummer is lit up.

Then Tiffy came over, and we played with my blacklight. They are so much fun! Why aren't they still popular like they were in the 70's? After all, the Eagles still are, and I find my blacklight much more entertaining than I find the Eagles.

Famous Hat