Photos from the Milwaukee Model Train Show

 

November is continuing to be a rollercoaster of a month for me. Right after Mass Travalon and I searched my car for my poor, lost rosary, since everyone kept saying, "It's probably in your car." We had no luck, so we went for a walk on Governor's Island, and then I played repique at my Brazilian drum class again. My buddy seems to have quit, but I like the other people in there too. By then the Packer game had started, so Travalon and I watched part of it at home, and they were killing the Patriots. I had to leave before the game was over to go to band practice, and then when I got there, nobody was there, not even the hostess. I really had to pee, and I was so puzzled - was it at someone else's house? Were we not having it? But I double-checked the email. Eventually some other bandmates showed up, and then the hostess ran over from her neighbor's house, where she'd been having dinner. I was kind of grumpy but cheered up as we practiced Christmas carols for a gig at the airport in December. I did stop by the Adoration Chapel on my way home just to see if my rosary had shown up, but at this point I have to face that fact that it is gone. I will make a few posters and put them up, in case that helps at all.

I did steal this photo off of social media today.

Oh yeah, here is a photo from the corn maze yesterday. This is "Umbrella Street."

Here are photos from Travalon's trip yesterday. He went to the model train show in Milwaukee and then watched some real trains in Pewaukee and Dupeyville and Oconomowoc. He said he had a fantastic day.

He also went down to the lakeshore in Milwaukee and took some photos there.

Travalon says this ship is called the Saginaw:

And these are buffleheads:

Stay tuned for more videos and screenshots from videos that he took.

Famous Hat

Drums, Fiddling, and Photos of the Blackhawk Segment

 

Today we had the Care for Creation meeting after Mass, which is usually the second Sunday, but thankfully it was very short because I really wanted to get outside. First Travalon and I went to Culver's to get the salted caramel pumpkin concrete mixers we hadn't been able to get last night, and I was delighted to find they have a "mini" size, which is just the right amount for me. Then we took a walk on Governor's Island before my drumming class.

Today the teacher said to use the drum you used last week, but I said I hadn't been there last week. I had been playing the very biggest drum, but someone had already claimed that, and all the surdos were claimed, so I grabbed a caixa, which is basically a snare drum. The teacher stopped me and told me to play a repique, so I did, and it was fine but I still prefer the surdos. We grooved for an hour and a half, and when Travalon picked me up, I was too tired to do anything, so we watched the rail yard, but nothing ever happens there on a Sunday. He dropped me off early for the Slow Irish Session, which the Flute Player led today so it was like Moldy Jam - no projected notes (but people could use music if they wanted to), and we went around the room and each chose a tune or two. My regular readers will be stunned to learn that I called "Kid on the Mountain" with "Butterfly." Can't beat slipjigs in E Dorian, am I right? Two of my bandmates came too, since I was going to be there, and Hardingfele had a concert this afternoon and didn't want to go to band practice afterwards. I thought I would be too rusty and too braindead after drumming to succeed at fiddling, but it comes right back. We all had a really good time.

My FitBit recorded all this music playing as exercise, so it thought I got almost 14K steps today, while my phone said I barely got 5K. I don't know, phone - that drumming sure felt like exercising to me!

As promised, here are some photos from our hike on the Blackhawk Segment of the Ice Age Trail yesterday. But first, a photo of a tree in our neighborhood that also looks like a one-eyed monster, but one that's a cheerleader:

And now, photos from the Ice Age Trail:

Stay tuned for lots of great photos of China Lights!

Famous Hat