Cigar Bar and Chartreuse Flight

I hope that my readers had a good weekend. I had an excellent one. It started when Travalon and I went to the East Side Club for their fish fry on Friday, and we got $10 off our bill for my birthday. Then we went to a cigar bar called Drackenburg's and enjoyed a cigar. I wanted the smallest one, but it was by no means the cheapest one, which probably means it was pretty high quality. It sure was a wonderful cigar!

Saturday Travalon and I met Rich, Jilly Moose, and OK Cap for coffee, then the ladies and I checked out a sale at the fair trade shop, prayed the rosary, and had lunch at Himal Chuli while Travalon checked out the newly reopened Union. Tiffy joined us for lunch, then she, Jilly Moose, and I went to Fired Up pottery and did more fused glass. I made a soap dish that I love and an ornament that is okay, but maybe it will be better after it is fired. In the evening Travalon went to a high school basketball game while Tiffy, Rich, and I went to L'Etoile for my birthday. I had been there for my anniversary last May and had raved about it, so Tiffy took me to dinner there so she could try it. They even had a flight of chartreuse, so I splurged and bought myself that. I let Rich and Tiffy try it, and they didn't hate it, which is something. Rich always says green chartreuse is the most vile stuff he's ever tasted. Dinner was amazing, and they put a candle on my dessert for my birthday. It was so wonderful!

Sunday after Mass Travalon and I went to Plaka for their Greek take on brunch, then we drove to Prairie du Sac and saw lots of eagles: two sitting in the tree on the island where they like to hang out, one in a tree across the river from the VFW park, and several flying around by the dam. We took Rodney for a short walk by the river, then we watched the first half of the Packer game at home. First the Packers were dominating the Cowboys, but then they got sloppy and let them catch up. We went to the Parched Eagle to watch the second half, hoping to find some other fans there, but everyone had just left and only the bartender was there. In the end the Packers had to kick a field goal as time was running out, but the Cowboys called a time out just as Mason Crosby kicked a good one, so he had to do it again. This time it looked like he had kicked it too far to the left, but in midair it suddenly turned and went through the goalposts, and the Packers move on in the playoffs! After the game Travalon and I walked over to Mariner's, which was very quiet that night so the waitstaff treated us like royalty even though all I ordered was a plate of asparagus. Travalon had his favorite hot chocolate drink with Rumchata. It was a lovely ending to a wonderful weekend.

Today I actually had the day off of work, so Rich and I met for coffee, then we went to my adoration hour, and then we walked up to the Capital for the Martin Luther King tribute. I cried through a lot of it, especially when the bagpipes came out and then they played "Taps" on the bugle... and then I found out I was shown on TV! How embarrassing! Although Mamastep informs me that at the time they captured me on camera, I was happy and singing along with the gospel singers. Then Rich and I worked out at the downtown gym where we have reciprocity with our regular gym, and we had power shakes there for lunch. After that we went to Mass, and hardly anyone was there, probably because of the strange weather. The sidewalk was so icy that all that walking around downtown was quite treacherous! Hopefully tomorrow the weather is a little better...

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What Should I Name My Snowman?

I used to be so quick to name everything – and I mean everything, longtime blog readers will remember my paper shredder named Shiva after the Hindu god of destruction – but Travalon noted that I had not named either the barista bear or the snowman prominently featured two posts ago. He suggested Angie for the bear, after our favorite barista at the coffee place downtown, and I was amenable to that. However, when he suggested Ralph for the snowman, I wasn’t sure it fit. Jilly Moose suggested Frank, but that didn’t seem right either. Travalon tossed out Fred, but I still wasn’t feeling it. I asked Rich if he had any opinion about all this, and to my surprise he asked Twins Fan, who I wouldn’t have thought would care about a sock snowman, but he provided the best suggestion to date: Sven. I am tentatively calling the snowman that, but if I get an even better suggestion from a reader, I will entertain the notion. After all, Kathbert hasn’t weighed in yet, and we all know she wins every contest I have on this blog! So I put it to my faithful readers: what should the little sock snowman who is so happy about his giant lollipop be called?

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Dinner with a Baby

Tuesday night we did not have Irish class, because the other student had a bad cold, so I was able to go to Light Bright’s house for dinner earlier than usual. (We always get together on Tuesdays, so I usually cannot make it there before 7:30.) This time I got there around 5:30, and her little boy was still awake. He is so cute! He is fourteen months old now, which is an adorable age. I will admit to not being a big infant person, but toddlers are my weakness. Now his personality is starting to come out, and guess what? It’s sunny just like Mom’s! He is a very cheerful little boy and not as grabby as some kids his age. He also loves music, so after dinner Light Bright played the guitar while we (she, I, and her mother-in-law who helps take care of the baby) sang children’s songs, much to his delight. I always hated records of kids’ music, on which they always seem to think it is so cute to have a bunch of out-of-tune tots wail along, but when three fairly musically competent adults sing the music, its simplicity is beautiful. Of course, maybe Corban is an exceptionally fun baby to be around, since his mother is the same way. All I can say is that it was so great to spend an evening with a little one!

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Christmas Photos Post

It has been a while since I posted any photos, so here is another pictorial blog post. These are mostly Christmas photos. First is a Christmas cactus blooming in my office that came from some pieces my coworker trimmed off of her plant and threw in the compost bucket. I planted them and lo and behold, this one survived and got big enough to bloom!

This is a box someone discarded by the sidewalk, and I thought it looked like a surprised face.

Here is how a coworker decorated his office for Christmas. I love it!

Here is the little barista bear Travalon gave me for Christmas. Isn't she cute?

The tree at the State Capitol is always beautiful.

Remember the little snowman I made at the Chazen Museum last month? Here is a picture.

And this is a lollipop ornament I liked, so I took a picture of it. Then Travalon bought it for me!

The snowman and the lollipop look like they were made to go together!

These next photos are from two light festivals in town; the first three are from the Olin Park Festival of Lights, and the bison, red panda, and alligator are from the zoo light festival.

These last two photos are of the art projects I did with Jilly Moose last week at Fired Up Pottery. The first one is a lop-eared rabbit just like Charlie playing the mandolin, and the second one is a sun catcher I made of fused glass with a bone and a paw print to symbolize Rodney the Poodle and of course the Packer G and the Wisconsin W for the Badgers because Travalon and I love sports.

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My Birthday Party and the Packers Playoff Game

I hope my readers had a good weekend. Friday Travalon and I got on the road and drove to a hotel called Wildwood in Pewaukee, singing to and with each other along the way. The hotel had a north woods style and a lovely swimming pool and hot tub with mood lighting and lots of plants. The next morning we woke up early and drove the rest of the way to Jackson, to a Lutheran Church called David’s Star that seemed slightly familiar. We were there for his brother’s wedding, which was half the length of a usual Catholic wedding, though I have been to briefer ceremonies. I once attended a Unitarian wedding that lasted maybe fifteen minutes. The worst was a pagan wedding out in the woods in late October, when I was playing the mandolin and my fingers were freezing, and then they had to invoke every god in every pantheon they could think of: Roman, Greek, Norse, Egyptian, etc. Seriously, if I ruled the world, only monotheists could get married in the woods in late October. My brother-in-law’s wedding did not have this issue, because while it was a frigid day outside, it was perfectly warm in the church still decorated for Christmas. Travalon’s nephews were the ushers, and they were very cute, if that is the right word since they are eleven. Maybe handsome is a better word. Afterwards there was a small reception with coffee cake and mini cheesecakes. Everything was very simple, including the bride’s dress. She is a very down-to-earth person. As we were leaving, Travalon noted that you could see Holy Hill from the parking lot, and then I realized why the church seemed familiar – my band had played for a wedding there many years ago! How random is that?

After the wedding, we had lunch at the Holy Hill café and spent way too much at the gift shop there, as usual, and then we visited Travalon’s mom, who had a bad cold and couldn’t come to the wedding. We told her all about it, and Travalon showed her photos. Then in the evening Rich threw a birthday party for me, and almost a dozen people came. Jilly Moose made me a beautiful rosary, and OK Cap gave me a cyclamen and a CD of Celtic bagpipe music. My OTHER choir director gave me chocolates that I shared with everyone, and Cecil Markovitch gave me really good chocolate that I didn’t share. Kathbert, Mr. N’Awlins, the Single B-Boy, and the Dairyman’s Daughter also came, and after cake and presents we played the game where one person has a famous person’s name put on their forehead, and they ask the rest of us yes and no questions until figuring out who they are supposed to be. It was a lot of fun.

Yesterday after Mass a number of us went to brunch at the Rockhound Brewery, including Antoshka and his fiancée who doesn’t speak much English. She does speak Ukrainian, Russian, and Polish, but I don’t know any of those languages. One guy does speak Russian, so that corner of the table was having its own conversation in Russian. I did finally finish my Christmas cards and get them in the mail, so if you sent me one, you are going to receive one soon. Travalon and I went to Fired Up to pick up my bunny figurine and sun catcher, and they turned out pretty well. Then we watched that amazing Packer game. At first the offense wasn’t doing anything, but at least the defense held the Giants to two field goals. Then Rodgers threw one of his Hail Mary passes, and the whole thing turned around – they just decimated the Giants 38-13! My cousin is sad, because her late husband was a Giants fan so she was following them in his memory, but I was so happy that all of today I have been just glowing. What a fabulous game! The Packers seem to be over their November slump for good!

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Happy Epiphany! (Post Is Unrelated)

The Christmas season is officially over, and I haven’t sent out my Christmas cards yet. Why not? Probably because in the evening I would rather go to a ukulele jam for beginners than sit down and write out cards, plus I have the letter done but haven’t made copies of it yet. Maybe my New Year’s resolution should be to try to be timelier – I was a few minutes late to the ukulele jam last night. Or maybe I should be more organized. I have gotten better over the years, but some people are just so on top of things, and I will probably never be one of them. Is it okay to have the same resolutions year after year, especially if you are making progress on them but are not quite there yet? I don’t officially make New Year’s resolutions, but if I did, they would be depressingly similar to any 2016 resolutions: lose weight, get more exercise, be more organized, stop procrastinating. Still, I have definitely made strides in all those categories since January of 2016! So maybe I should have a New Year’s pep rally for myself – yay team! Keep going! It’s not like I will ever reach perfection, so why not celebrate movement towards it?

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New Years and My Birthday

Sorry for the long silence. I have been on vacation and nowhere near a computer. Friday evening Travalon and I just walked next door to Mariner’s for fish fry, which came with a free glass of champagne that night. New Year’s Eve we had a quiet day as well, until we headed up to see Travalon’s old high school buddy in Waupun. Six of us (three couples) went to a supper club and then back to Travalon’s buddy’s house to play a game I have played before, but never with such dirty results. For example, one of the questions was: “What does Batman do when nobody is looking?” I’m sure you can imagine the answers we came up with (my favorite: “Robin”), and then people kept writing answers from previous rounds so we were really laughing through most of this game. We stayed up until well after 2017 began; I got to bed around 3 am myself.

Sunday morning Travalon and I started the new year out by going to Mass in Waupun, then stopping at a coffee place called End of the Trail. In the afternoon my OTHER choir director had an open house at his beautiful apartment overlooking Turville Bay, and I really enjoyed both all the desserts he made and the chance to catch up with some of my former choir buddies. Can you believe it has been two years since I sang with them? Time sure does fly! Travalon and I went through two light shows that evening: the one at Olin Park, and the one at the zoo. Then we watched the Packers beat the Lions to become NFC North Champions! Yeah!

Monday Travalon had to work, but I had the day off as a legal holiday, so after my usual adoration hour I met Jilly Moose for lunch at Crema Café. We didn’t have to go very far after that to get to the pottery place, where we both made fused glass and also painted figurines – she painted a moose, and I painted a rabbit playing a mandolin. It was like they made it just for me! We took a long walk since it was such a nice day for this time of year, and then in the evening I watched the Cotton Bowl with Travalon, since it had been on while he was working. Neither of us knew the outcome, so we were happily surprised to find out the Badgers won.

Yesterday I had the best birthday. First Travalon gave me presents: the Paul Hornung Scrapbook and a little phrasebook of various African languages. Does he know me or what? We went to coffee at M&M Coffeehouse, where they gave me a free scoop of Zanzibar chocolate ice cream for my birthday, and they were also selling cute Christmas ornaments. I fell in love with a lollipop, and Travalon said for that price he could get me another present. We took it home, and I had the little snowman I made at the art museum hold it – it was so cute! I will post a picture soon. Then we drove to Prairie du Sac and saw two eagles sitting on the island in the river and one flying by the dam. We also saw two eagle nests and some birds that looked like small loons – maybe some kind of duck? We went to Spring Green and found out by accident that it is the Birthday Town: they give you a sticker and a passport with different places in town that will give you free stuff, so I got lunch, a cookie, some candy, and beef sticks. Unfortunately, lots of the places were closed yesterday, but I still had fun. If you have a summer birthday, this would be the place to go! In the evening Travalon took me to the Broadway show Jersey Boys, about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and it was so good! Everyone should see this show! Afterwards we had very chocolate cocktails at the Icon, which is where we went on our first date. This may have been my best birthday ever!

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