Jilly Moose's Epic Birthday Trip

It’s so sad that summer is officially over tomorrow. This has been the best summer of my life, but all good things must come to an end. When I posted on MyFace about how sad it is, a friend in Japan said it has been cool and rainy over there, but yesterday the sun came out so she was happy again, and my cousin on Lawn Guiland said it was hotter than Hades at the beach there this weekend.

Friday was Jilly Moose’s big 40^th birthday bash. She had 38 people there, so if Catzookz and Twins Fan had shown up, she would have had an even 40. One of her uncles gave her a small wooden treasure chest filled with 40 dollar coins – what a cool idea! Travalon and I gave her a statue of a moose playing soccer, a T-shirt from the Wicked Moose Pub in Rochester, and the giant cuddly rosary Ma Hat made, which everyone loved. (When I first saw it myself, I texted Ma Hat, “I want one!” and she said she had already started it for me.) She also got lots of other moose stuff, including a birthday cake with a moose on it. She sure is easy to shop for!

Saturday was Jilly Moose’s epic birthday adventure. She didn’t know where she was going as she got into the car with Travalon and us Rosary Ladies, but the first stop was the Cedarburg Wine and Harvest Festival. It was very crowded there, since the weather was so beautiful. Check out the photo of me with a giant stuffed llama. Travalon bought me a little stuffed llama which is inexplicably named “Paddy O’Llama.” Jilly Moose, Luxuli, and I also bought earrings, and the ladies bought some other stuff too.

 Our next stop was Watts Tea House in Milwaukee for a real English high tea, and Tiffy met us there. We ladies all had the high tea with little sandwiches and desserts, but Travalon had homemade toffee with his tea, although we gave him tastes of our desserts. Since we were downtown, we made an unscheduled stop at an English-style pub along the river walk and sat outside by the river, enjoying a drink. Several of us said that was our favorite part of the whole day. We watched them raising and lowering the nearby bridge to let large boats get through. Our last stop was the Three Lions Pub in Shorewood, owned by actual British guys. Travalon says it is very authentic. We had British food for dinner, and four of us split a toffee pudding for dessert. We got home very late from our epic adventure, and Jilly Moose said she loved all of it.

Yesterday Travalon and I went to the Willy Street Fair, which was as crazy as always. We met Hardingfele there and listened to a Celtic band, then we wandered down the length of it, checking out food stands and jewelry stands and political stands and, finally, a giant pumpkin contest. (They had one in Cedarburg too.) Lots of crazy outfits – I saw one guy dressed as a unicorn! Then Travalon and I took a short boat ride to the marsh – we have to get them in while we still can – and then we went to Rich’s house for dinner. The Japanese professor and his grad student who visit once or twice a year were there with an undergrad, and they cooked us curry beef – yum! Then we watched the Packers beat the Seahawks. So I was already in a good mood today – and then we heard our state governor is dropping out of the presidential race! Oh, happy day!   

Famous Hat