Croatia Is Full of Life

 

I was so sick yesterday that I didn't even work from home. I just sat at home reading a book I'd bought from the author at the Celtic Christmas Boutique that I already had at home, because it was one the Shamrock Club book study read and discussed some time ago. Now I have two copies, a signed one and a not-signed one, and I'm ready to discuss the book. Anyone need a book about a guy in Ireland who inherits a border collie?

Today I did at least work from home, but I'm still sick. However, I have some photos. My Shamrock Club buddy sent me some from the ceilidh on Saturday.

According to the label, the poncho I am wearing is "Style: Poncho" and "Color: 3." I wonder what the first two colors are, and if there are others after that?

This morning Travalon drove me to my boob-squishing appointment. (It feels like I have one every three months, but they insist it's only once a year.) I had a cold during the original one and forgot to go to the rescheduled one because somehow I neglected to put it on my calendar, so I didn't want to call in sick with another cold for the re-rescheduled one. In the parking lot we saw this bumper sticker.

It says: "Croatia is full of life." What are the odds that Travalon would see a Croation bumper sticker? His mother's parents were from Croatia. There's a lot going on in Milwaukee, but we don't know of any Croatian community here in town.

Today when we walked on Governor's Island, there was a lot of foam on the shore.

You can tell I'm sick. Don't I look miserable?

But it was the last warmish day - now the temperature is supposed to drop. We had to get out and walk, no matter how sick I was.

Famous Hat

Shamrock Club Book Study

 

Today I worked on campus, and the whole day felt like meetings: one at 10, one at 11, an unscheduled one at 12, and one at 2. I barely got any real work done. Hardingfele couldn't walk at lunch because they were having a meeting right then about a federal grant. But at least Travalon did send me evidence that the cranes are back:

They like to walk on the ice, but I have no idea why. Probably just because it's there.

After work I went to the home of the Irish Couple of the Year (says who? says the Shamrock Club) for the Shamrock Club book study. We had read How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill, and I was surprised at how many people found the book tedious, since I enjoyed it. We had a lively conversation that touched on the book now and then, and we decided on a book to read for the May meeting which I cannot remember now, so hopefully they send out an email. They have had these book studies for a long time, but this is the first one I went to. Also, I was very happy because the male half of the Irish Couple of the Year said he was stunned to find my article in Guideposts. I'm so excited that someone saw it in the wild! Most of the people I know must not subscribe to the magazine, because this is the first I've heard from someone that they saw my article. It's very short, and the others were stunned to hear I was paid $50 for it. I was pretty surprised myself when they told me - it seems like a generous sum of money for such a short article. I should try to get a full-length article published and see what they would pay for that.

Did you ask what time it is? Time for some DuoLingo bragging, of course!

Tomorrow I should have another landmark sticker to share with you, my loyal readers.

Famous Hat

Search for The Tibetan Book of the Dead

 

Today the Mass took even longer than usual because the priest made all these announcements afterwards in both English and Spanish, basically saying that in December there will only be Masses at one church in our smooshed-together parish, and it won't be ours. Then brunch at Borough took a really long time too, for some reason, maybe because there were so many of us. Finally Travalon and I headed off to have some sort of adventure, but it was raining so we decided hiking in the woods might not be the best plan. 

I had been shocked to read (on Wikipedia, so take it with a grain of salt) that the description of the bardo in the Tibetan Book of the Dead was extremely similar to what I remember, so I decided I must have this book. Going for a treasure hunt seemed like a good thing to do on a rainy day, anyway. We started at Leopold's because I wanted a pandan latte... and I needed one too, because I was half-asleep as we drove there through the drizzle, listening to the Beatles' Rubber Soul. Leopold's has its books sorted by geographical area, but they didn't have a "Tibet" section, and when I asked, they said they didn't have the book. Travalon thought Paul's on State Street might be a good bet, and I have gotten other books about religion there, so we parked at the church and walked down State Street, which got us a lot of steps, but Paul's had a small section of Eastern religion books. There was one called The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, and reading the description, I gathered it was a modern book by some guy about how to live your life. I asked a woman who worked there, and she confirmed that it wasn't the right book. 

As we walked back up State Street, Travalon mentioned that the crystal shop has a small book section, so I said, "Yeah, they seem like the kind of place that would have it." They do have a very small book section, and they didn't have that book. I remembered that A Room of One's Own had a fairly large Spirituality section, so we headed there... and it took about forty seconds for me to find it there. We headed home, and Travalon went to the Mallards playoff game (they lost 8-4), but I couldn't join him because of band practice. Normally I'd blow it off for a Mallards playoff game, but we have a gig next Saturday, and I REALLY need to practice on the violin! I took a rosary walk and read The Prophet by Khalil Gibran, then I looked at the Tibetan Book of the Dead. To my disappointment - and relief - it seems to be a manual for how to guide dying people, so something like the rubrics for Last Rites. It's a very thick book, and I have only glanced at it, but it seems far more practical than mystical. Something like it would have been very handy to have when we were visiting our nephew while he was trapped between life and death, because it seems like it would be easy to make the wording Christ-centered rather than Buddha-centered. I am still amazed that (according to Wikipedia) this book describes the bardo so closely to my own experience (I haven't found that part yet), but honestly, I can't have been the only soul stubborn enough to demand to remember a previous life. It probably happens way more often than we think. 

I didn't have a lot of time to peruse this very thick book because I had to get to band practice. We practiced HARD for two solid hours, and now I am exhausted. Once Hardingfele said she thought I was the best fiddler in the band, when I had to step in for another fiddler at a gig. Of course, that was back when I played in a little mariachi band that accompanied the Diocesan Hispanic Choir, so I was in fiddling shape. It's coming back to me...

Travalon got to pet the bat dog, Maverick. He grabs the bat and brings it back to the dugout after a Mallards player has batted.

And here is the collection of random plants they gave us from our nephew's visitation.

As if I don't have enough plants... there must be eight different plants in this basket. When I have a bit of free time (hah!), I'll take it apart and make them all individual plants.

Famous Hat

Street Fest VI: Niko Goes to the Fair

 

This morning Travalon and I met Jilly Moose for coffee at Jiffy Lube, and we sat for quite a while in the shady outdoor seating. It was so lovely. I said I would like to go to the fair to see the animals, and Jilly Moose said she would like to go too, so we all headed to the fair. To our pleasant surprise, parking was free, since it's never free at the Expo Center. However, they only took cash for the entry fee, so we had to go to their cash machine with a $3 fee. They'll get you somehow...

The first barn we went to was the horse barn. There sure were some beautiful horses.

This is a miniature horse named Mariah, which is also my diary's name.

Next we went to the barn with the cows, sheep, goats, and small animals.

This is Shaun the Sheep! Just like the TV show!

These goats were very friendly.

This rabbit looks a bit like my good old Charlie.

These two were so cute!

This guinea pig looks like one I had in college named Phoebe.

I love the chickens, especially the fluffy ones.

The fancy chickens all had names (like Tax Evasion, I'm Stupid, and I'm With Stupid), and they seemed friendly and curious. The plain white chickens called "broilers" seemed less engaged, and Travalon said it was like they were sad because they knew their fate. I wonder if the kids raising them interact with them less, so they are less used to people. It does make you pause before eating chicken, but as you'll find out, not for long.

There were also geese and ducks.

There were a number of turkeys, mostly white ones that were as uninterested in people as the plain white chickens, but there was a big brown tom named Jimmie who looked up at me with his beady dinosaur eyes and talked to me. I sure hope they keep Jimmie for breeding, because he had a first-place ribbon and I felt a real connection to him, but who knows what his fate will be come Thanksgiving?

There was a petting zoo with miniature donkeys, baby chicks, and a week-old calf named Valentine.

After that we went to the pig barn. The pigs weren't too exciting, since they were all asleep. Travalon hoped we would see baby pigs, but those were at the petting zoo and he didn't take pictures of them there. This pig is named Snoop Dog.

This pig is named Blackhead.

Then we went to the Arts and Crafts exhibit. On the way in we got free cooler bags and portable fans from a TV station. Some of the crafts were pretty amazing. They made me think of Ma Hat, who can sew or knit anything, like cuddly rosaries - she came up with that design herself. I'll bet she could crochet something as adorable as this sweet triceratops with strawberries for horns.

I love the amazing decorated cakes.

Check out these cupcakes that look like little pies!

And cookies with fishing scenes on them!

I don't know why this mug only got a second-place ribbon. I think it's amazing!

And this cat is really well executed. I think it's made out of papier mache.

I really like the fair, because it is a way to acclaim the accomplishments of the (mainly, but not only, female) teenagers who do these things. Whether they are raising animals or decorating cakes, they are getting noticed for their talents. I approve!

After that we went to get some late lunch. There was no sign of the cart selling the platonic ideal of a pretzel, but Travalon and I were overjoyed to see the West African food cart, so he got peanut chicken and I got chicken yassa, and we split a baobab shake. I also had a cream puff, because the only time I eat them is at the fair. Jilly Moose tried a baobab shake too, and she liked it. It sprinkled a bit, so we decided it was a good time to pack it in, but I mentioned that the fair is just off John Nolan Drive, so we could potentially do Street Fest. (And how fitting, it was Street Fest VI when I had Niko with me, and the old woodcutting of the heart with the eye was Number VI, "Illuminor.") Travalon said he couldn't eat another bite, but I said there was plenty to do for Street Fest that didn't involve eating. After all, at festivals people eat, drink, and buy random stuff, so why not go to places selling random stuff?

Our first stop was Meep Meepleton's shop full of old toys on Willy Street. I got a stuffed bowl of ramen and a cat that looked like it would glow under blacklight, and Travalon got a Snuffy Smith mug. I also got a squishy dinosaur paint kit, so I will paint that and post it as my version of the Blog Monster.

So the cat does glow under blacklight!

Our next stop was A Room of One's Own Bookstore on Atwood Avenue. Travalon got an atlas of "dark destinations," like battle sites and tragedies, and I got The Prophet by Khalil Gibran and a book on the search for Paradise by Pico Iyer. We had to go way out of the way to get to Monona Drive because of road construction, and then the antiques shop there had moved, but we found a fun shop selling all sorts of random stuff. I got Rubik's Cube earrings, and Travalon got this journal, pictured with The Prophet:

If you can't read it, it says: "I'm back from the weekend with a fresh, renewed hatred for my job." They had other sassy journals there too. Jilly Moose bought some delicious-smelling soap at that shop.

Travalon and I went home and rested for a bit, then we headed to the health club to swim. We were in the outdoor pool for about half an hour when the father and son who were the only others in there suddenly bolted out of the pool, and we realized the wind had picked up and the sky had darkened. We hurried out of there ourselves, and after we had showered and gotten ready to go, we came out of the locker rooms to find a violent storm in progress. We sat on the cushy chairs in front of a big-screen TV, which was not working because the weather had knocked out the satellite service, and we waited until the storm had calmed down to a steady rain before heading home. If we get one more good rain, Travalon is hopeful we can finally get our boat off the lift. We just need the level of the river to rise a bit.

I had three calla lily plants: one that bloomed black, one that bloomed white, and one that bloomed orange. This year they were slow to come up, but finally the black one did, so I set it outside, and now it's got a blossom! The white one came up soon after, so I set it outside, and it is getting quite a few leaves but hasn't bloomed yet. There is no sign of life from the orange one, so sadly I think that one is dead. Still, I'm excited that at least one bloomed this year. I'll try to take a photo soon.

Famous Hat