End of an Era

 

This morning we woke up too late to go to our own parish for the last Sunday Mass at our church for the foreseeable future, so we went to the Mass in the gym. Afterwards we met Rich and the brunch regulars at Tutto Pasta because it is moving, so the era of going to our church and then Tutto Pasta for brunch is definitely over. It feels surreal, since I've gone to this church more than half my life.

We met Jilly Moose at the zoo and walked all over, going into the various buildings to warm up. Not too many people were there today. Here are some photos. First, a very cute little mint green poison frog.

The lions were getting frisky today, but here they are just chilling between lovemaking sessions.

I don't know why the alpacas are shaved when it's cold out. They need their wool!

The Bactrian camel doesn't mind the cold.

The flamingos would, but they are inside right now.

The red panda doesn't mind the cold either.

The meerkats are safely inside in the warmth.

So is the African porcupine. You would think the American porcupines wouldn't mind the cold, but they didn't seem to be out today.

These gibbons have a choice of being in or out, and they were in.

The seal was having a great time swimming around in the bubbly water.

In the aviary, we saw this white-faced duck.

We also saw these loud blue macaws.

Afterwards we walked over to the ZuZu Cafe for a warm drink, then Travalon and I stopped at Meep Meepleton's because he was bummed that we didn't get there yesterday. He got a Dr. Bunsen Honeydew figurine with a robot rabbit.

I chose a mystery unicorn figurine; it could be one of eight designs that were different desserts. They all looked good, and some looked beautiful, but of course I got Carrot Cake. I don't particularly like carrot cake.

In the evening Travalon and Jilly Moose listened to our Slow Irish Jam, and one of my bandmates came too. She took a photo of me, but it's pretty grainy.

Travalon made a video of us playing the Kesh Jig, so maybe someday I'll try to post that somehow. 

Here are photos of our various Small Business Saturday purchases. First is the poster Travalon got of local bookstores in Wisconsin.

Soap is fun AND practical!

Here's the T-shirt Travalon got at Sunshine Daydream.

Here is the journal he got at the University Bookstore. It's the Yellow Submarine, so a Beatles theme.

This is the squishy Bucky Badger I got at the University Bookstore. I didn't need it, but we had a coupon for 20% off.

I got this tapestry at Sunshine Daydream. It was hard to photograph. Maybe I'll try to take a picture of it once I get it hung up.

And here are the things I got on Friday. First, the rosaries from the Oconomowoc antiques mall.

This is the necklace I got at the Mystic Ireland shop. I was wearing it in the photo my bandmate took.

And we got some stuff at the zoo today. Here's a cute little red panda in a hat that Travalon named Moe.

Just what I needed - another hoodie. But it's for a good cause.

At the zoo, a young bison was butting a hanging toy, and Travalon made a video. It's pretty funny. He made a couple of other videos there too. Someday I really need to post some of these videos.

Famous Hat