I hope my readers had a good Halloween weekend and got out
to enjoy the beautiful weather on Saturday. Friday right after work I went to
the Boys and Girls Club with my band, where we played for a community meal and
then got to partake in it. After I got home, Travalon and I changed into
Hawaiian shirts, and I brought my ukulele along as a prop, to go to the
Nau-Ti-Gal Halloween party. At first it was very quiet, so I was playing along
with the band. Since they were playing in D and G (easy keys on the mandolin),
but I only know how to play in C and F on the ukulele, I just played melody and
harmony by ear. Eventually more people came, including a lion and a scarecrow
who came separately. We joked that the Tinman would have to show up any moment,
but he never did. We watched the Cubs game, but the poor Cubs lost 0-1 in their
first World Series game at Wrigley Field in over seventy years.
Saturday was a gorgeous day. Travalon and I went to Crema Café
for brunch, then I was supposed to join my band for another gig, but it was an
hour away, then two hours for just tips, and another hour back. That is four
hours not outside on a perfect day, and this venue had cheated us last time we
were there, saying we would each get a free food item but then subtracting the
cost of what we ate from our tips. I figured, fool me once, shame on you but
fool me twice, shame on me. Instead, Travalon and I went for a very long boat
ride into a creek off the lake and then out into the lake past Governor’s
Island and into a beautiful bay between it and Maple Bluff. After that we went
home and got Rodney for a hike on Governor’s Island, and then we went to the
dog park at Warner Park, which Rodney really enjoyed. He is kind of in his own
world these days, but he does enjoy sniffing around where other dogs have been.
The East Side Club had a Halloween party on their calendar that day, but we
went there and saw nothing but a spectacular sunset. Instead, we went to the
Parched Eagle, a small brewery near our house, and, along with the brew master
and a couple of other guys, watched the Cubs lose again. Then Travalon and I
took a second boat ride (probably our final one of the season) just down the
river to see the purple window more closely and then out into the lake just far
enough to see the Capitol dome all lit up. It was an absolutely perfect night,
but we were the only boat out there.
Yesterday was not nearly so nice outside, but Travalon,
Rodney and I did go for a walk along the path up in Windsor, beside the Yahara
River where it is only a babbling brook. We watched the Packers just barely
lose in a bruiser to the Falcons – two closely matched teams, obviously, since
they lost by a point, and their records are nearly identical. I went to Rich’s
house to join him, Kathbert, and his houseguest (the brother of a former
roommate) for dinner, which included broccoli fresh from Rich’s garden that was
full of little caterpillars. Fortunately we discovered them before we ate the
broccoli; Rich and I just picked them off, but the others were too grossed out
to eat the broccoli after that. We had the Cubs game on in the background, and
they won! So the World Series is not over yet. Rich carved a pumpkin that is a circuit and an equation, to
keep his nerd cred intact. He has generously provided a photo:
Famous Hat
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