Old Person Ranting about Today's Music

 

I don't always say "Whoomp," but when I do, there it is! (If you get that joke, congratulations, you remember the 90's.) The song by Tag Team does have a monster bassline, which they apparently stole from an Italian disco song from the early 80's. I found the song ("I'm Ready" by Kano) and it's not nearly as catchy as "Whoomp, There It Is!" But there was a lawsuit and everything. Speaking of catchy tunes, my jam right now is "About D@mn Time" by Lizzo, which is the perfect song: it sounds like the 70's, the 80's, the 90's, and now. It's old skool, as they used to say. Do they still say this? Who knows? I had also downloaded "The Sweetest Pie" by Dua Lipa and "Freaky Deaky" by Doja Cat... and then I couldn't find them on my phone. I was about to panic until realizing that the former is actually by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Dua Lipa, while the latter is by Tyger featuring Doja Cat. As you may have guessed, "The Sweetest Pie" is a dirty song couched in a metaphor, which is my favorite kind of song. (See also "Cake by the Ocean" by DNCE.) "Freaky Deaky" doesn't have time for metaphors. Honestly, Lizzo, Dua Lipa, and Doja Cat are about the only singers I like these days, because women actually have to be able to sing to have a recording career. All the guys on the radio sound like they use that auto-tuning. I'll admit that I kind of liked it back when T-Pain did it, but he made himself sound kind of space-agey or like a robot or something. The guys nowadays use a lower setting, so it's not as obvious, just low-key annoying. Seriously, if you can't sing, why are you a musician? Just rap or beatbox or something.

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The Slow Poke Lounge and Cabaret

 

Travalon fell down on the job a tiny bit last night, because as usual I had him look over my blog post for spelling errors, factual errors, tedium, etc., and he said it looked good. Then after I had shut everything down, he said, "You forgot to mention going to the Slow Poke." He's right, I did. After the cookout on Saturday night, we stopped in downtown Spring Green to see the Slow Poke Lounge and Cabaret, which he had visited while Tiffy and I were at the outdoor theater. It was every bit as cool as he'd said. The bartender was a hipster who is apparently an actor at the outdoor theater, and a regular at the bar told us he is originally from Brooklyn. Lots of hip young people were in the bar, which has a stage in the back for live shows but looks like a living room in the front. The record player was playing jazz, but then the record ended, and a sign said feel free to put on whatever record you like. I was looking through the jazz selections, not sure what to choose because jazz can be so hit or miss and I didn't recognize any of the artists. Then Travalon spotted Graceland by Paul Simon, so we put that on. Back in the day, that was how we listened to it! We talked to a regular, an older guy who told us about his mother being a teenager during Prohibition and dumping all the homemade hooch in the house down the drain when she heard the inspectors were coming. I love stories like that!

Here are some photos from the last few days. First, some of the tie-dye at the Grateful Dead Night Mallards game.

I love how the water rushing down the dam at Tivoli Island is olive green.

We went to an old-fashioned malt shop in Watertown, and I noted that two drops had fallen from my malt and made a perfect set of eyes. Travalon drew a bunny using his straw. "Hare today, gone tomorrow" because then we quickly wiped up Mr. Rabbit before the waitress saw us being so silly... and messy.

These are a couple shots of the tamarack swamp across the bridge from Rock Lake.

Yesterday evening I needed a few more steps, so I was out walking in our neighborhood when the sun suddenly peeked out from under the clouds just as it was setting.

We will have to try to catch a live show at the Slow Poke Lounge and Cabaret. That place is very cool for Spring Green. It's almost too cool for Madison, even. We'll definitely go back!

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Picnic Weekend

 

Sorry for the silence the last few days. Thursday evening Travalon and I went to a Mallards game. It was Grateful Dead Night, and I got a commemorative T-shirt, but somehow I had only bought one ticket, and by the time I realized it, they weren't offering the T-shirts anymore. However, it worked out because I was able to get a ticket for Travalon right next to me, and they didn't have the shirts in his size anyway. Then when we got to the ballpark, we saw lots of good seats right behind home plate, so we just sat there, and nobody asked us to move the entire game. There was a lot of tie-dye, including the players' jerseys, and they played a bit of Grateful Dead music, but not as much as I'd been led to believe. (I thought the email said there would be a cover band playing.) Also, the Mallards lost to Green Bay, who are now called the Rockers. First they were the Bullfrogs, then they were the Booyah... I just can't keep up.

Friday I talked to Tiffy, and Travalon went to the new Elvis movie, which he enjoyed.

Yesterday Travalon and I went to Literatus, the little bookstore/cafe in Watertown, because they were having a sale on history books. We also hiked on Tivoli Island. Then we went for another hike on the Glacial Drumlin trail in Lake Mills. In the evening we went to a birthday party for the Dairyman's Daughter, whose actual birthday is today. It was a cookout at her brother's farm, just like last year, and when I saw my memories on social media, it seems I wore the same shirt both times. (Tie-dye, of course.) She said no presents, only cards, but I had seen a book at Literatus that was "poems by cats" called I Can Pee on This, so I gave it to her and said think of it as a really big card. She loved it! Besides tons of family members, she also invited a lot of the Night Prayer crowd, so we prayed Night Prayer in real life. It was a beautiful evening.

Today our parish had a picnic, and that was a lot of fun. Once again the weather was perfect. It was at a park by the lake, and we had pulled pork from "Mr. Pig," as our parish priest called him. We mostly just sat around and talked, but I got plenty of exercise walking to the bathrooms, which for some reason were like half a mile away. One of the kids I knew when she was growing up, who's over thirty now, lives out of state but was visiting with her boyfriend, and he was great. I approve heartily! 

Then we went to Picnic #2, which was at a park on the other side of town. It was a half-birthday party for Mamastep, and she's really into Steampunk, so a lot (but not all) of the people at this party were dressed in Victorian era garb. We had a taco bar and whatever random other stuff people brought, like krumkakas and our second Costco chocolate cake of the day. There were games like Stonehenge croquet and worseminton, which is like badminton but for four people with two nets that make an X, and Travalon and I were looking forward to playing, but then a storm blew up that had not been in the forecast, so people quickly took down all the games. Such a bummer! Some people did play bocci ball after that, but by then we were picnicked out, so now we are having a quiet evening at home.

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Photos from Our Trip to Peoria

 

Last night as I was coming home from Adoration, it was raining so hard that I thought I might get washed right off the road. There were flash flood warnings until almost midnight, but I have not heard of any reports of flooding, so once the rain stopped, the water must have receded. It was so scary!

As promised, here are some photos from our trip to Peoria. First are some of the many photos that Travalon took at the Illinois Railway Museum. I may have to do a second post.

This is the inside of the streetcar from the late 19th century.

This is the little streetcar from the 1850's.

These are photos from Jubilee College Historic Site and State Park.

We couldn't go in, but Travalon got some good shots through the window.

This is the bridge where we heard the pileated woodpecker.

Here are some shots of Peoria itself. This is a shady street.

This is a really pretty church. Not Catholic.

The singer Dan Fogelberg was from Peoria, and there is a memorial to him by the river.

Not sure what this mural says, but I think the first word is "peace." Edit: heard from Hardingfele that it says "Peace Earth Cookies."

This is a picnic area we stopped at on the way to Starved Rock.

These are photos from Starved Rock State Park. First, cormorants and pelicans.

A blue heron and pelicans.

The view from the top of Starved Rock is stunning.

More cormorants and a pelican.

These are photos of French Canyon.

You can see why there are less photos of Travalon - this is so out of focus.

In the pool at the end of the canyon there were a bunch of tadpoles.

That's all for tonight. Maybe tomorrow I will post more train photos.

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Fifty Going on Five

 

Today Travalon and I retrieved our leftovers from the secret refrigerator in our hotel and we ate them for breakfast, then we drove to Starved Rock State Park. It was packed there, as we climbed the many, many stairs to the top of Starved Rock itself and explored the depths of French Canyon. There is a lot more to the park, and years ago I went with a group and we did the six-mile guided tour, but those are only on weekends. We did go into the gift shop, and I saw an adorable lime-green unicorn, so Travalon bought it for me for my half-birthday present. As we drove along, I decided to name her Margarita since she is lime green.

 And guess what?? She glows under blacklight!!

We stopped at the Beefaroo in Rockford for a late lunch, and I wanted a kid's sized green apple shake, but they didn't have green apple, so they gave me a free kid's sized grape shake. And oh my was that delicious! Then I felt like such a little kid, drinking my child-sized grape shake as I cuddled my lime green stuffed unicorn. I told Travalon I felt like I was fifty going on five, and he said I just needed some coloring books, but I assured him that I had plenty of those at home. 

We were late to a party of Night Prayer people (and others) at a beautiful house out in the country with a wonderful screened-in porch. If I had that room on my house, I'd never leave! We got there too late for the jalapeño poppers, and honestly we weren't hungry at that point, but after sitting around talking, admiring the garden, and playing with the two German shepherds, we were finally hungry enough for the last two burgers... and they were the best burgers I've ever had in my life. Huge and grilled and spiced to perfection. Oh my goodness! What a birthday party for our country! There was even cake: banana chocolate chip cake.

Here are some photos from this weekend that were on my phone. First is a truck we saw as we were crossing the border into Illinois. It sure looks happy to see us.

Here are some shots of St. Mary's, the Cathedral in Peoria.

They had all the planets - even Pluto! - hidden among the stars on the ceiling. Here is Saturn.

And who is this, St. Hamlet? "Alas, Holy Yorick - I knew him well!"

I made a very short video of the bells ringing after Mass, since it was such a lovely sound, but even a tiny little video like that is too much for Blogspot. Maybe I'll throw it on YouTube at some point.

Here is a shot from the wildlife trail in Goofy Ridge. It was so beautiful. I took a shot of the swans too, but it doesn't look like much.

Here are some shots of the candy cane smokestacks in Pekin.

I like this shot where they are kind of lined up, but not quite.

This is the best shot to show that one is skinny and one is wider and kind of cone-shaped.

Tonight when I did DuoLingo, apparently I made no mistakes.

Tomorrow I will try to post photos of the Illinois Train Museum, Jubilee College State Park, and Starved Rock State Park from Travalon's good camera. I'm too tired to deal with it tonight.

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Illinois Railway Museum and Jubilee College State Park

 

Yesterday morning Travalon and I set out for the Illinois Railway Museum, where they were having Trolley Day. We rode on trains and trolleys all day - our favorite was an old streetcar from the late 19th century with benches along either side. The cutest streetcar, which wasn't in use, is an old horse-drawn one from the 1850's. It was Streetcar 8 in Chicago, and 8 is my lucky number. Travalon got some good photos of it, but the internet connection here is very pokey, so I'll post them when we are back home. We rode on the train with the green velvet seats just like last year, and it was so comfortable that I slept for most of the trip. I need some green velvet seats for those nights I have insomnia!

Then we drove south and had a wonderful dinner at the Uptown Grill in LaSalle. We drove along the Illinois river just after sunset, and it was so beautiful with the purple sky reflecting in the water. We saw some fireworks along the way and found a spot in Bayview Gardens to pull over and watch some fireworks right overhead. By the time we got to our hotel in Peoria, the pool was closed, and there was no refrigerator so we had to take our leftovers down to the front desk to put in a secret fridge. By then I was too tired to blog, so we just went to bed and slept like rocks.

This morning we went to the restaurant in our hotel for breakfast, then we walked to the cathedral for Mass. The cathedral is very beautiful, with a starry design with all the planets (even Pluto!) hidden among the stars, and gorgeous red and blue stained glass windows. Then we drove to Jubilee College State Park and found that the historic site isn't connected to the rest of the park. We looked at the building, but apparently they don't do tours inside anymore, then we went to the other part of the park and hiked for over an hour deep in the woods. We went over a bridge and could hear a pileated woodpecker pecking on a tree, so we peered into the woods and could hear its laughing call, but it was getting further away from us. Then we drove all over the park and popped out right by the historic site. 

Our next stop was Goofy Ridge, an unincorporated community somewhat south of Peoria. We drove through Pekin, by two red-and-white striped smokestacks, and we stopped at a drive-in for treats: a root beer float for Travalon and a small chocolate malt for me. As it turned out, that was lunch. We drove down sunny backroads to a bunch of shacks and trailers... and that was Goofy Ridge. No businesses there whatsoever, and seemingly no rules. We found a trail out to a spot where we could see lots of swans (but of course Travalon forgot his good camera), and another birdwatcher with really good camera equipment followed us, but then we saw some natives driving around on the mud flats in their ATVs, so they probably scared off the swans before that guy could get a good photo. Then we couldn't get any signal on our phones, so we had to backtrack by memory... and we did it!!! I think we are pretty good navigators.

This evening we were going to go to a soul food restaurant, but it seemingly doesn't exist anymore... and we found another Catholic church even closer to our hotel than the Cathedral. (There is also a brewpub in a defunct and very beautiful Presbyterian church, but it was closed today.) So we had dinner at the restaurant in our hotel, and they played a random variety of songs in the background. They played one that sounded like it was by Stevie Wonder; I didn't know it, but I loved it. Of course I only remembered that my phone can identify songs just as the song ended, so it didn't work. I asked the waitress, and she said it was a set playlist from Corporate, and she had no idea how to find out what the song was called. So that was a bummer. Then Travalon and I went to the very cold hotel pool, but after a while we were used to it, and we used the beach balls, life preserver, and noodles in the pool to play games sort of resembling basketball, baseball, and soccer. I'll bet we burned more calories playing than we did hiking, between all the jumping and just having to stay warm in that frigid water. I think there are two kinds of adults: those who see toys lying around and put them away, and those who see toys lying around and play with them. You can probably guess which type Travalon and I are.

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Buzzed Tennis

 

Today I worked from home, then I went over to the garden plot, and after I had weeded for what felt like forever, the weird guy who has a plot next to mine appeared. This time he seemed less like he was eyeing up my plot and more like he understood that I work full time and can't get to the plot every day. It is a funny plot, because there are HUGE milkweed plants that I have left alone for the monarch butterflies, and more volunteer tomato plants than the ones I actually planted. Also, in a spot where I swear that I planted a spaghetti squash, there is something that looks like a broccoli plant. I had planted broccoli in a completely different part of the garden, and they needed to be thinned out, so why waste them? I ate a bunch of baby broccoli plants. They're pretty tasty. Baby radish plants are too, when I have thinned them out, but I only have a few radishes coming up this year. And then out in the walkway there is a kale plant that belongs to nobody, so I helped myself to a few leaves.

When I got home, I asked if there was any limeade left, and Travalon said no, but he said there was a hard seltzer, so I drank that. Then I was a bit buzzed. He suggested we play tennis for the first time this year, and I can't say if the state of buzziness made me better or worse at tennis, since I'm so atrocious at it when stone cold sober. It's okay, we both are, and we enjoy it anyway. When I said I had not played buzzed tennis before, Travalon said that had to be the title of my blog post tonight.

There was a can of sour beer called something like "Passion Berry Puff Pastry," and Travalon decided to drink that, so he gave me a small wine glass of it. Oh man, was that good! I had sweated out most of the hard seltzer while playing tennis, but after that I was buzzed again... and I had to lead Night Prayer. Richard Bonomo and Jilly Moose were among the people who joined me in praying. Since it's Friday, the psalm was a penitential one about God abandoning me to all these horrible things... and just then I heard coyotes outside yelping and crying as they attacked something. That was weirdly apropos but very creepy, especially in my buzzed state. The others said they couldn't hear the coyotes as I was leading the prayer, so that's good. One night they were howling like crazy, and Travalon kept saying, "What's that, honey? What did you say?" I didn't make the connection until saying something to him about the coyotes really howling that night, and he said, "Is that what that is? I thought you were calling me!" Good to know that I sound just like a coyote. Hopefully I don't look just like one...

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