New Round of Blog Monsters

 

Today I worked on campus and had meetings, plus it was the birthday of the head of FART 5, so there were treats galore: she made cookies, someone brought donuts, and someone else brought chocolate truffles made by the local legend. The FART 5 buddy I went to the blood drive with and I ran all over the building getting signatures on the birthday card. At lunch I walked with Seabird, and it had warmed up quite a bit so I didn't feel so crazy for wearing a lighter coat and no gloves. 

One thing I forgot to say about Saturday night is that in the middle of Vigil Mass, as they were confirming a bunch of people, I suddenly realized it had been thirty years since I was confirmed during a Vigil Mass. Then Monday there was a rainbow on my Magnificat as I did morning prayers, which had also happened on St. Patrick's Day, which happens to be the anniversary of my baptism. Also on St. Patrick's Day, the Adoration Chapel was full of lilies and smelled amazing. I've lived in this condo for almost a dozen years, but that was the first time I'd seen a rainbow on my morning prayers.

On Monday Travalon had a blog monster contest at work - he had the kids draw blog monsters, and then he brought them home for me to judge. Here they are. The first two feel a bit phoned in:

Then they get cuter.

Behold the winner, as chosen by me:

I am a sucker for the one-eyed monsters, as Niko could assure you. The girl who drew this won some bubble gum, because they prefer that to candy. Me too.

After my hard day of hardly getting any work done, I went with Travalon to Lola's because they were playing three Steely Dan records: Can't Buy a Thrill, Aja, and Gaucho. Travalon kept ordering stuff - dessert, a soda, a taco - so we could sit and listen to all three. I got the Sichuan dumplings, since they are mentioned in the song "The Glamour Profession." Also, I like them. Lola's changes their menu every season, but those dumplings are always on there. Travalon had a really good drink that tasted like a Creamsicle, while I had an infused drink, and then we sang "Deacon Blues" to each other as it played on the sound system. Nobody else seemed to notice, and it felt like we were in our own world. What a romantic night!

On a totally different note, Richard Bonomo asked if I get frightening reminders from DuoLingo, and he sent me a screenshot of one:

Yikes! No! I get reminders, but not like that! 

Travalon got a new mug on Monday.

He's really into Flip the Frog, an old cartoon. I'm just sitting here waiting for my $15 gift card from giving blood - they said it would arrive in the next fourteen days, and it's been nine days. I'm going to use it to buy one more Belleek castle tower. There were four of them on eBay last time I checked, so hopefully one is still available by the time my gift card arrives. Then I'm done - enough with the castle towers.

Famous Hat

Belleek Castle Tower

 

Today I worked on campus, and at lunch I walked with Hardingfele. We didn't have any adventures today like the conversation with the robots, but after our walk she came to my office and we tried to figure out something about the new system without success. It was my coworker's birthday, so I sang him "Happy Birthday" in Basque, which is "Zorionak." Then I got an email that my Belleek castle was delivered, but I wasn't going straight home.

I drove to the Lone Girl for the monthly ukulele strum, and people were especially friendly this time. Maybe they are finally beginning to recognize me. One woman seemed particularly familiar, and then I realized she goes to Moldy Jam, but I never got a chance to ask her if she went Monday night. A family came who had lost their patriarch, father to some and grandpa to some, and they said afterwards that hearing us sing and play such cheerful songs really lifted their mood. So we played an extra song for them that hadn't been on the playlist, "Brand New Star," and they really appreciated that. Travalon didn't join me afterwards since he was watching the high school basketball tournament, so I didn't eat dinner there. I headed home to admire my new castle tower vase.

I'd been a bit sad not to win this in the raffle on Sunday, but then I realized it was a good use of the gift certificates that were going to expire soon. I'd been saving them to maybe buy another hat, but do I need another hat? Today I wore my red tasseled hat, and nobody has said they like it, but it's a snuggly hat that feels like a hug, and it was made just for me. I also still love the plaid tam, which feels like it found its way to me, the way it was listed completely wrong ("argyle beret") so I happened to see it on eBay, and the secret that some of it glows under blacklight. And then another thing is that we have a Christmas ornament of a smaller castle tower we got when visiting the Belleek factory twelve years ago, but I'm not sure what happened to it. If I find it, I'll take a photo.

Famous Hat

Happy Big Birthday, Rich and the Adoration Chapel!

 

Today I worked on campus, but it's always quieter on Thursdays because less people are around. It was beautiful out, and I thought about praying a rosary on my lunchtime walk, but I emailed Hardingfele to see if she wanted to walk, figuring she would blow me off. To my surprise, she did want to walk. Then my aunt in Colorado sent this gorgeous picture of a friend's garden.

This must be from the summer. I figured we could all use some flowers right about now. Travalon was excited to see open water around here.

After work I took the bus to our old church, where Richard Bonomo and Hockey Girl had organized a Latin Mass to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the Adoration Chapel. About half the people were Anglos and half were Latinos. I ran into two regulars from Night Prayer on the way in, so the three of us sat together. Before Mass someone started a rosary, so I did get one in today. There was a quartet that sang, but it wasn't my OTHER choir director's quartet, which Kathbert is part of, and I don't know why. Were they unavailable? Had a better-paying gig? 

Today was also an auspicious day because Rich turned seventy. Wow, that sounds old, but I swear he looks almost exactly like he did in the documentary he appeared in during his late twenties. Of course, Mamastep told me I have looked the same to her in all the years I've known her, and I KNOW I've gained a crap-ton of weight during that time. 

Speaking of gaining weight, there was a reception after the Mass tonight, and at first I hung around outside the church hall, figuring there wasn't enough food for all the people gathered inside. Travalon came to pick me up, and then we checked it out. In fact, there was plenty of food, so I tried a little of everything: a skewer with cherry tomatoes (ew!) and mozzarella, a skewer with two meatballs on it, a skewer with a bacon-wrapped chestnut (okay, so I had two of those), a crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a chocolate-covered strawberry, a lemon bar, and a homemade chocolate truffle that was so good that I had to go back and make sure by having another one. After all that, I had no appetite for dinner. So that was quite a party for the birthdays of both Rich and the Adoration Chapel. I got a special invitation, being a regular adorer, and I saw some of my fellow adorers there, but it was really open to anyone.

The funniest moment of the night might have been when Rich made an announcement after Mass in Bonoman, as he often does, so I turned to the Latino couple behind me and asked, "¿Que dijó?" and they shrugged... and then it occurred to me that if they didn't know English, how would they have known what he said? Someone else said, "He said to keep your program," so I did, and it came in handy during Night Prayer when the host asked me to sing the closing hymn from the Mass. I said I didn't have the words in front of me, and he said, "You took the program home, didn't you?" Indeed I did!

Famous Hat

Road Trip North 2025-26, Day 7: Birthday on the Blues Trail and Atop the Memphis Pyramid

 

I have to say that the beds at the Three Foot Hotel are incredibly comfortable, and while the room seemed small at first compared to our usual hotel rooms or even our bedroom at home, we got used to it and found it very cozy. This morning I did DuoLingo in bed before we went down to 6:01 Local the restaurant downstairs for breakfast. Very delicious coffee! There is a Starbucks in the hotel, but we didn't need it, and they only give you a free drink on your birthday if you have the app on your phone, which I don't. We took a walk to see the house of Jimmy Rodgers, the Singing Brakeman, aka the Blue Yodeler. Here are photos of Meridian, which is known for its beautiful old buildings and carousel horses.

Photos of Jimmy Rodgers' house.

More photos of downtown Meridian.

The lovely Three Foot Hotel.

Then we hit the road and drove to Greenwood, Mississippi to see Robert Johnson's grave. He died under mysterious circumstances at a young age, and the rumor was that he sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads in order to learn to play the guitar. Here are some photos.

Although nothing is as eerie as Highway 45, we still felt the roads of Mississippi are very eerie and full of ghosts. We listened to Delta blues from 1920-1969, just to add to the ambiance. (The overcast day added to it as well.) There aren't always amenities on these roads, like gas stations when a person needs to powder her nose, but then sometimes there are abandoned gas stations where a person could, say, duck behind the building and take care of business. There is a lot of poverty in Mississippi, and a lot of billboard telling people not to despair, or call this number if they are considering suicide. I feel like the whole place is cursed.

We left the scrubby pine woods and rolling hills of the eastern part of the state and entered the Delta area, and there was literally cotton on the side of the road. I even picked a little up. It really hit home that this was the area where slaves had to perform backbreaking work in the sweltering heat. Maybe not my slave ancestors, who were on a plantation in Virginia so I suppose harvesting tobacco - is that any easier? I do love the smell of drying tobacco. We headed to Clarksdale to see the crossroads where Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul, and to tour the Delta Blues museum. We did pass this random guitar with no explanation.

Just this ad for some sort of art store beside it.

We passed Bryant's Grocery, where Emmett Till allegedly flirted with a white woman and then was murdered. Sorry, that happened first, but it's late and I'm losing focus.

Then we got to the crossroads of Highways 49 and 61 in Clarksdale, where the alleged misdeed happened.

One of the businesses at the crossroads is a 76 that looks like a castle, which struck me as hilarious. We got chocolate coconut milk there - so tasty!

Then we went to the Delta Blues Museum, which was very interesting. You aren't allowed to take photos in it, so we can't show you what's inside, but it's very informative.

There was a gorgeous moonrise just to our right as we drove north towards Memphis.

We are staying at the Big Cypress Lodge in the Memphis Pyramid, and our balcony overlooks the Bass Pro Shop below. We got here later than planned and were afraid we'd be too late to go to the restaurant on the top of the pyramid, but they did seat us, and I had snapper with crabmeat and risotto, while Travalon had those renowned Memphis barbecue ribs and a really delicious twice-baked sweet potato. Then they brought us a free piece of limoncello cake for my birthday!

Check out the view from the outdoor viewing deck!

The floor lit up and changed colors, but you could see straight down through it. I stayed on the cement edge near the wall, but that was wet for some reason.

There was also a beautiful fish tank in the middle of the restaurant.

This is the glamorous rooftop party I was hoping for in Tallahassee! I am satisfied.

Here are some photos from the inside of the Bass Pro Shop. The colorful thing is the elevator up to the restaurant and observation deck.

There is a third-story balcony area only open to people staying at the lodge, and it has fire pits where you can make s'mores. We bought a s'mores kit and made one s'more to split. I love how the full moon makes a stripe on the pyramid.

Here is the fire pit.

Here is the pyramid from the ground level.

Here it is from the third floor balcony, changing colors.

Now we are on the balcony of our room, since there is no desk in the room for me to blog on, but there's a table with four chairs on the balcony. You should see the bathroom - it's as big as the bedroom! This place is amazing. What a birthday treat! Thanks, Travalon! Happy birthday to me, in a room in a tree!

Famous Hat