This morning Travalon and I went to the later Mass because we wanted to watch the opening ceremonies for the World Cup, which this year is being held in Qatar. That was an issue unto itself, because I have always pronounced it Cat-Are or something like that, but Rich said it was pronounced Gutter, and an article I read recently said he was right. Several YouTube videos on the subject just muddied the waters, with one claiming the closest to the correct Arabic pronunciation is Guitar. I am thinking of giving up and either telling people, "I don't say that Q word!" or pronouncing it in some egregiously incorrect way, like KWAY-tar, just to see how other people pronounce it when they correct me. The opening ceremonies were like a dream, and I don't mean a fantasy but some weird dream full of random images: Camels, then Morgan Freeman talking to a guy with no legs who walks on his hands, suddenly a bunch of dudes doing saber dances, then giant soccer jerseys with no people in them are dancing around. There are a bunch of inflatable mascots, and out of the sky comes a... ghost? albino manta ray? No, it's an Arabic headdress with happy eyes and a smile! Now a Korean pop star is singing with the guy who must be the Qatari heartthrob, aaaaand we're back to Morgan Freeman. But wait, is that Jeff Bezos listening to a speech? So you can see how that was worth skipping Mass at our own parish for. Who needs psychedelic drugs when you can just watch Qatari soccer-themed festivities?
Here are the things I bought at the mall last night. First, the smily Christmas tree Travalon bought for me, with its new best friend, the cuddly bubble tea:
This is a jar of Nutella with the earrings I got that are tiny jars of Nutella:
And here is my ukulele with the ukulele earrings:
Today I had miscommunications with Rich about brunch and Jilly Moose about a Christmas market, but she said she could join Travalon and me for lunch at the Mexican restaurant near our house. Today seemed like as good a day as any for Today Fest (Today Fest: it's today!!!), so we went to Leopold's and had either a pandan latte (in my case) or a cocktail (in their case). Nearby is a bar with this sign over the door, and as Jilly Moose pointed out, it seems to "weccome" you.
Then we went to an antiques shop on Regent Street that was supposed to be open on Sundays, according to the internet, but it was closed for an emergency, so we went next door to the Regent Street Co-op. The guy said we would get the co-op discount since we're members of Willy Street Co-op, but then I think he charged us full price for our rotisserie chicken. As Richard Bonomo always says, "C'est la vie, c'est la guerre, c'est la pomme de terre," or for you non-Francophiles, "that's life, that's war, that's the potato."
Next we went to one of the two chocolate shops on Monroe Street; we were going to go to both to compare and contrast, but we ate so much chocolate at the first one that we didn't want any more. Then we went to the zoo, and our first stop was Travalon's favorite animal, the red panda, who was standing there watching us. He was so cute! (The female is sick, so she's not in the exhibit.) Then some real excitement - not only was the aardvark awake, he was up and eating! Was he ever adorable! Jilly Moose made an excellent movie of him, which I will try to post soon. We went in the reptile house and the bird house, where a currasow played peek-a-boo with us, then we watched the polar bears and the harbor seals enjoying the cold weather. We also saw the giraffe and the two-humped camel, but oddly the penguins were not out in this arctic weather. You would think they would have loved it.
Our last stop was the new brewery where Rockhound used to be; I have already forgotten the name (Travalon says it's Borough Brewing), but I'd read they had excellent macaroni and cheese, so Travalon and I ordered it, along with a pumpkin white Russian. So good! Jilly Moose got a pumpkin old fashioned and a shepherd's pie. She said she would like to do Moose Fest, so we said we'd be up for that when she decides what it entails. Anyway, that was our inaugural Today Fest. Watch this space for another iteration of Today Fest or Street Fest, or the kickoff of Moose Fest. And as always, let us know if you'd like to join us or start a festival of your own.
Tomorrow: photos from the Domes!
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