Whitewater and Hawaiian Brownies

This was a really good weekend for me because the weather was so beautiful, and because Tiffy came to visit. It’s always fun to hang out with her! Saturday I asked her to come to my old condo so she could see how nicely it’s been fixed up. I had to wait for her and for the delivery people who were going to install the new washer and dryer, so Richard Bonomo kindly went to Home Depot to pick up some stuff for me. They had sent me a gift card that supposedly contained $100, but when he brought the stuff up to the checkout, they said there was no money on the gift card. I talked to them today, and they said it would take 7-10 business days to resolve this issue. Of course, getting the gift card was an adventure, because they sent it via UPS to the old condo, and I wasn’t expecting it (it’s some sort of incentive for having used them for carpet installation), so by the time I found the delivery slips, it had been sent back. I had them send it to work, but now it has no money on it. Home Depot, I’m getting a bit fed up with you. They did do a good job installing the washer and dryer, and the carpeting. Rich, Tiffy, and I got lunch at a Mexican restaurant near our health club, because he was going to work out with Luxuli, and she stopped in briefly but had nothing to eat. Tiffy and I went for a walk in my neighborhood and saw one of the cranes, which is odd because we usually see both of them together, but then it occurred to me that the other one might be sitting on a nest. We went to Monroe Street but were too full from lunch to eat dinner, so we just had something light before the concert put on by the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble. I enjoyed all the minor-key music, especially the flute duets. Afterwards we had a late dinner at Brasserie V. Meanwhile, the guys went out for steak (except Prairie Man, who had a mushroom dish) at the Tornado Room. They like to get together and eat red meat once every couple of months.

Yesterday morning Travalon felt pretty lousy, so he did not go to Mass with Tiffy and me, or brunch afterwards. Then Rich, Tiffy, and I ran by the old condo one more time to get a closet door out of the way, because my realtor was coming to take pictures. She sent me the posting today, and the pictures make the place look amazing. Here’s hoping I get a good offer quickly! Rich, Tiffy, and I went for a walk at Tenney Park and ended up sitting out on the breakwater, just gazing at the lake and talking about how philanthropy does not equal charity, among other things. Meanwhile, Travalon was feeling a little better so he adventurously went to a Spanish Mass at a church near our house. He was the only Anglo there and felt a little out of place, but he did enjoy the music. After Tiffy headed home, he and I drove to Whitewater to try a new brewpub he had read about called Second Salem. We also went to a brewpub that had been called Randy’s until a few weeks ago, but now is called 842 or something. We walked all over the Whitewater campus with Rodney to burn off all that beer and pub grub (I had a macaroni and cheese sandwich), and we also took a shorter walk in Cambridge on the way home. We stopped by Rich’s house, where he had made Hawaiian brownies with coconut and macadamia nuts Travalon had given him. Mm, they were so good! Kathbert came too, and Luxuli stopped by just as Travalon and I were leaving. We thought maybe we should try making brownies inspired by lots of different places, like New Orleans and Texas, but now I can’t remember what would be in them. They did sound good at the time. Maybe if they turn out well, we’ll write a cookbook: “Brownies of the World.” 

Famous Hat