Yesterday morning I was a bit slow getting going, so I didn't get to the old time jam at the music club until ten when it started at nine. However, the people there (and I was by far the youngest, which is saying something) didn't seem worked up about it, and I must have acquitted myself well because they put me on lists for several other jams. I played chords on some songs and melody on some others, as the mood moved me and whatever seemed easier. Song in G major? Chords! A tune I know but it's modal so the chords are not a simple 1-4-5? Melody!
Meanwhile, Travalon was watching Wolverhampton, and they won! And so did Crystal Palace! When I got home, the two of us headed downtown for the big protest. We saw a lot of great signs up at the Capitol.
I thought I'd know more people in the crowd, and apparently people I knew were there - my Irish teacher canceled class to be there - but as we were marching down State Street, a woman I know from early music came and marched alongside us. We went down to Library Mall, where there would be more speeches, but since we hadn't been able to hear the speeches up at the Capitol, and since we had already been at this protest for a good chunk of the afternoon, we headed back up State Street. We ran into my Union buddy who looks like a leprechaun, but I would have been stunned if he hadn't been at this. We did pop into a newish place on State Street where all the drinks and bakery items are infused with THC, although you can get them non-infused, or you can choose your level of infusion. Since he was driving, Travalon got a non-infused pistachio latte, and I got a matcha drink with the lowest level of infusion.
Our next stop was Patrick Marsh, where we saw several types of birds, and Travalon took photos, but it's gotten too late to download them from his camera, so watch for those tomorrow. We also went to Cherokee Marsh to see the pelicans by the nameless island.
I had gotten two free vouchers at work for tickets to whatever movie we chose at the Wisconsin Film Festival, so we had read through the program and decided on one last night called 40 Acres. It was a really good, but very intense, Canadian film about a family of color (mom is black, dad is First Nation) living in a post-apocalyptic world, trying to protect their land from evil (and always white) men who want to kill them to eat them. However, the teenage son is a normal teenager and wants to find a girl, so complications ensue. I suppose the story was a metaphor for trying to survive as a minority, but it also just worked as an adventure story. The mom was so tough, and everyone cheered when she survived in the end. Travalon and I both gave this movie five stars.
It was very late by the time we got home from the movie, so I didn't blog last night. This morning we went to Mass at our usual time of 10:30, but it was a special Mass at our old church. The place was packed, and I loved seeing that the congregation wasn't lily-white. Since the organ was destroyed in the fire, they used an electronic piano, and the choir wasn't nearly as good as our choir had been... not that ours was fantastic, but this one had a guy who was always a beat behind everyone else. Cecil Markovitch goes to the usual Mass at St. James where this choir sings, and he said that guy is always like that. It would drive me bazonkers to have to listen to that every week!
After Mass, Travalon and I joined Cecil Markovitch, the Single B-Boy, and Richard Bonomo for brunch at a Turkish restaurant on Monroe Street. Wow, was that good! Cecil, the B-Boy, and I all ordered the Turkish breakfast, and at one point they brought the B-Boy a borek, but Cecil and I hadn't gotten one twenty minutes later, so we all split the one. Cecil and I agreed that the borek, which is spinach and feta in phyllo dough, is the whole reason we ordered the Turkish breakfast. But then suddenly they brought us three boreks! And they gave us free dessert and free refills on the Turkish coffee, and then they didn't even charge us for the coffee! Also, the sauces we got with our soft bread were amazing, especially the tahini and the rose-infused honey. We also got a plate of pickles, olives, and cheese (and tomatoes that I gave to Rich), and an omelette made with spicy sausage. Everything was so good!
Travalon and I stopped by the Arboretum to see if the magnolias were blooming, but they are just starting to bud, so we went to Walking Iron in Mazomanie to see if the pasque flowers were blooming. They usually bloom around this time of year, so we found the prairie with the sign advertising them, but at first we didn't see anything. Then we walked a little further and saw lots of them. I took some photos with my phone.
On the way back we went to Shovelers Sink, since I figured from that name that northern shovelers would be there. We didn't see any, but we did see red-breasted mergansers and ring-necked ducks and coots and lots of gulls. Photos soon.
Today I could have gone to an Irish session from 1-3 in Fitchburg, and another one 5-7 at the music club, but I missed the first one due to our leisurely brunch, and then we didn't get back in time for the second one. I didn't even make it to band practice, because suddenly I didn't feel so well. Nothing serious, just more of the joys of perimenopause. Does it ever end, or does it just go on forever?
Famous Hat
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