Today I worked on campus and walked with my colleague at lunch. (Hardingfele didn't want to join us because she said she had walked enough already.) My colleague told me all about her trip to Tokyo and Shanghai, especially how her flight got canceled so she had to fly to three different cities to get back home. This is why I avoid flying, besides my deathly fear of planes. I wasn't able to get to Mass today (it's the anniversary of my baptism and I usually try to make it to Mass), but then I realized hey, I'm Catholic - we always move feasts on Monday to Sunday, and I went yesterday, so no problem.
I was kind of horrified to see how many people didn't wear green today, like my union peeps (the president has the most Irish-sounding name, and he literally looks like a leprechaun), and the head of HR at the university (who also has the most Irish-sounding name, think Patrick and then a really Irish last name), but one woman at our Staff Congress meeting was wearing a headband with antennae, and on the end of each antenna was a tiny green top hat. Huh. Maybe that's worse than not wearing green.
I forgot to mention that the other day I was talking with another colleague, whom my walking buddy colleague says is a killer pickle ball player, as we waited for the elevator. I expected him to get on it with me and continue the conversation, but he said, "I like to take the stairs once a day." Wow - we were on the first floor, and he works on the 13th floor! Me, I'm too lazy to take the stairs from the 3rd floor, where I come in after my noontime walks, to the 8th floor where I work. Maybe that's why I suck at pickleball.
Travalon picked me up from work, then when we got home, he brought out all our Irish bears and piled the little ones on top of me, so I snuggled with them while we ate a quick dinner before heading to the Irish singalong. Daithi the Fiddler hosted it at Muso, the place where I go to the Slow Irish Sessions, and when I got there, it was clear we were welcome to bring instruments too, if we had them. Now one thing about Muso, which is a music club that I haven't formally joined yet, is that it has lots of instruments around. I saw one guy take a ukulele that was hanging on the wall and start playing it. The session on Saturday was also open to anyone, so if we had stayed there, and I had brought my mandolin, I could have joined in, so I'm beginning to wonder if on St. Patrick's Day weekend I should just take my mandolin with me everywhere I go. Tonight Travalon and I sang with great gusto during the first half of the singalong, but at the break I asked the lady who runs Muso if she had a spare mandolin sitting around. I guess she trusted me with instruments, because she got out a century-old mandolin and let me borrow it. I happily played chords while singing during the second half, since everything seemed to be in C, D, or G, and when they took an "instrument break" to play a well-known reel now and then, I could jump right in. Daithi did want to do one song in E, but the guitar player was like, "What?? No!!" so they did it in D. I'm glad, because I really hate playing the E chord. (E minor is a different matter - I could play that all night, but then it's basically just G, only minor.) Travalon seemed to enjoy the singalong too, and the books about music at Muso, and the treats people bring in. I know it's Lent, but I did indulge in a homemade shamrock sugar cookie, since it's a major feast day... if you're Irish. Wednesday is the real major feast day, especially if you're Italian. I'm Italian-adjacent, since my dad learned to cook from a Sicilian, and my "other" dad (Rich) also learned to cook from a Sicilian - his mom! So everyone remember to wear red for St. Joseph's Day, whether you're Italian or just wish you were.
Famous Hat
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