Teeny Erin Bear

 

Today I met Tiffy for an early lunch at the Globe, then we drove to First Unitarian for a free concert. We got there quite early, and just as we got out of the car, the Professor Formerly Known as Lute Player called my name, so we sat with her and her husband. The concert was the dedication of a new small portative organ with wooden pipes that had a lovely sound, and our local harpsichordist played a number of Baroque pieces on it before he was joined by a cello, a violin, a soprano, and a baritone for some Handel and Bach. I saw not one but two of the faculty from my department there, which surprised me since I have never seen them at any other early music concerts in town. An odd coincidence: they are both Capricorns, like me. Also both women. I didn't really get a chance to talk to either of them because they were in the middle of conversations with other people. One person I didn't see there is the director of the press where I used to work, who is a man and a Scorpio but is often at these concerts because his wife is a professor of early music. We also ran into one of the people who used to go to the Slow Food dinners, which ended with the pandemic, and the organizer is still terrified of COVID so we talked about resurrecting the group without her.

First Unitarian is very close to Picnic Point, so Tiffy and I took a long, brisk walk to the end of it, and then we warmed up with warm bubble tea and just chatted for a couple of hours. Then we went to Sushi Red for my birthday dinner, only one month late. We split duck dumplings and a lobster Thermidor for appetizers and then a rainbow roll and a dragon roll (both with forbidden rice, the black stuff) for our main course, and we both had a mango daiquiri. They gave me a free lychee sorbet with a candle in it for my birthday, even though I explained that it had been a month ago, since the waitress's first question was if we were celebrating anything today, and I was like, "Yes, well..." Tiffy had a flourless chocolate cake that I helped her finish. The restaurant had a wonderful ambiance, with mood lighting and trance music in the background. 

When I got home, Travalon told me about his day. He met an old high school buddy for lunch and hung out with him for a few hours, then he went antiquing and found a tiny Irish bear for me, and then he went to a high school basketball game. When I got home, he was watching the Wolverhampton game that he had recorded, and he had no idea how it would turn out, but they won 2-0! So it was a really good day for him too.

Here is the tiny Irish bear.

Isn't she cute? Erin Bear - that's the name on the package. Yes, she was still in her package and had been for almost thirty years. How pathetic - someone just bought this at a McDonald's in the late 90's and kept it to be a collector's item instead of snuggling her like she deserves, and in the end they sold it at an antique shop for $2. But now Erin Bear is with people who appreciate her!

Famous Hat