Pawpaw Feast

In one of those weird coincidences that always happen in my life, Richard Bonomo mentioned on Sunday evening that he was thinking of planting pawpaw trees in his backyard, since he had heard that they are very hearty and the fruit is nutritious and delicious. I professed to not knowing anything about pawpaws other than having heard of them, but wouldn’t you know that yesterday one of my coworkers brought a whole bunch of pawpaws into work, so I got to try one. And they are delicious! I don’t know how to explain them: a little like a mango, a little like a persimmon, maybe a little like a banana. You would think they are a tropical fruit, with their custard-like flesh and big seeds, but they grow quite happily around here. Today my coworker brought more pawpaws, because his neighbor has a bumper crop of them this year, so we feasted on them again. I’m not sure how much longer this will go on, but I will certainly enjoy it while it lasts! Pawpaws do not last more than a couple of days, so you have to eat them while they’re fresh. I did snag one for Rich, so he can decide if he wants to plant pawpaw trees in his yard.

Did everyone watch that game last night? I really enjoyed it, because unlike the Badgers blowout, Kansas City put up a good fight before our Pack defeated them. I am optimistic about this season, because Rodgers has never looked better, and Lacy and Cobb were amazing last night too, plus our defense was better than it has been some years. Maybe this is the year the Packers go all the way!

Famous Hat

The Badgers Beat Up Hawaii

Friday as I was heading home, I saw a sun dog in the clouds. Check it out. Someone on MyFace said the cloud formation looks like an angel.

That evening Rich’s Japanese guests made dinner again. Saturday I was supposed to play with my band at an orchard and then go to the Badgers game, but I was feeling under the weather. Later in the afternoon I felt a little better, so Travalon and I took our longest boat ride yet back into the marsh with Rodney. We saw a lot of people out there, in kayaks and boats and even on personal watercraft, so we weren’t too afraid of being all alone if the engine should conk out. Which it didn’t, so it was a fantastic ride. Then Travalon was a wonderful husband and stayed home to watch the game with me. It was a blowout, so we were pulling for Hawaii to at least score some points, but they never did. I don’t find games like that satisfying. I prefer close, exciting games. Who needs to watch the Badgers beat up on teams that aren’t in the Big Ten?

Yesterday our group went to a different place for brunch, but we were disappointed to find out it is a chain and not a family-owned restaurant. The food was very good. Then Travalon and I drove to Mineral Point and walked around the town, stopping at the brewery for a summer shandy and going to a store that sells all sorts of Celtic art and foreign food. Then we drove to Governor Dodge State Park and explored the two lakes there, but it was too late by then to rent a canoe. The good news is that they allow dogs in the canoes there. The park is so beautiful; Travalon said he felt like he was up north. Then we met Jilly Moose and Kathbert at Rich’s for some leftover lasagna, and we all watched the lunar eclipse. A couple of Rich’s neighbors joined us in watching the earth’s shadow getting cast over the full moon until the moon appeared blood red. It was a “super moon” eclipse because the moon is now at its closest point to the earth. These only happen once every three decades or so. I hope all my readers got to go outside and check it out last night!

Famous Hat

Waking Up Rodney

This morning Travalon went to wake up our grumpy old poodle Rodney, to take him on a quick walk before work, but Rodney was having none of it. I heard him growl at Travalon, then I rolled over and went back to sleep. Hard to blame Rodney, since Travalon has to go to work so early on Mondays and Fridays. When I finally did get up at a more merciful hour, Travalon had left me a note asking me to please walk Rodney, but the dog was still asleep. I made some noise and woke him up, but he snarled at me too when I tried to put his leash on him. Only slightly deterred, I pulled the blankets out from under him, so then he sighed and stood up, realizing his stubbornness is no match for mine. We went on a walk and he did his duty, but then I had to leave him. I felt very guilty for waking him up and then abandoning him – why not just let him sleep and sneak out quietly? But he would have needed to get outside when he finally did wake up, and nobody would have been home to let him out. Frankly, I’m surprised that I had no trouble waking up, since I worked out with Richard Bonomo and Luxuli last night, and then we went to Jerkins. They were giving away a free short stack of pancakes yesterday, but we didn’t realize the sweet deal ended at 10, and we got there well after 10:30. Then we left after midnight. Yet this morning I had no trouble getting out of bed… unlike Rodney.

Famous Hat

Condo Association Meetings

I have to laugh at some of the ads on my blog, like yesterday there was one to vote for Walker for president. Not only does that make no sense, considering what I have stated about my thoughts on his policies, but by then he had long since dropped out of the race. The ads supposedly make money for me (at a very slow rate), but I mostly consider them a form of amusement. It’s fun to compare what ads I see with what my regular readers see, because they seem to be tailored to our interests. Except for that Walker for President one, of course. I have no idea who I will vote for, but it was never going to be Walker, even before he dropped out.

Last night Travalon and I had our annual condo association meeting at Mariner’s Inn, so we went there for dinner beforehand and sat outside, overlooking the water. We have to take advantage of being able to eat outside while we still can! To quote Game of Thrones (so I hear– I’ve never seen it), “Brace yourselves – winter is coming!” This meeting was quite calm and lasted almost exactly an hour, since everyone who came agreed with the proposed budget. In my experience, problem people generally don’t come to condo association meetings anyway, although I wouldn’t say we have any “problem people” in our current association. At my old condo complex, there were always people who violated the dogs on leashes rule, and we would complain about them at the meeting, but they were never there to hear us. The worst offender had some sort of pit bull-type creature named Annabel, which we nicknamed “Annabeast” because she was never on a leash so she would run up to us, growling and threatening to tear us to shreds. Then her owner would grab her by the collar and laugh, “Oh, Annabel, they’re friendly!” She would add, for our benefit I guess, “She’s a rescue. She isn’t sure who’s friendly yet.” Okay, great, I can understand an abused animal being unsure about people, but for crying out loud, KEEP YOUR BEAST ON A LEASH!!! It’s not our problem if she doesn’t like people! We would complain about Annabeast at every condo association meeting, and the president of the board would assure us that Annabeast’s owner had been warned about her behavior, yet the behavior continued. Eventually the owner spawned (I shudder to think of Annabeast around a child), and then she moved away with the baby daddy, so that was the end of our issues with Annabeast. Fortunately there is no equivalent in our current neighborhood. Everyone has very small dogs that they keep on leashes, and some are amazingly yippy, but I have no fear of any of them tearing my jugular open.

Famous Hat

Cafeteria Catholics of Both Leanings

The Pope has now arrived in this country, and everyone is going bananas. He is supposed to address Congress, and some Congressmen said they were going to boycott his talk because of his “liberal” talking points. This strikes me as disingenuous, because these are the same conservative Catholics who decry liberal “cafeteria Catholics” for picking and choosing which Church teachings they will follow, but how is that different from what they are doing? They are upset that the Pope is talking about our duty to help the poor and protect the environment, but that is just as much Church teaching as opposing abortion and gay “marriage,” so they are also being “cafeteria Catholics.” Richard Bonomo says someday he is going to write a book, and the first half will be called: “Social Justice Isn’t Enough,” and then you would flip it over, and the second half would be called: “Orthodoxy Isn’t Enough.” Why are so many Catholics either “left” or “right”? Shouldn’t we all just be “Catholic”? And if you are Catholic, and the Pope says something you disagree with, whether you are liberal or conservative, it would behoove you to examine your own stands on the issues instead of saying he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Because I’ll bet he does more than you do.

Famous Hat

Jilly Moose's Epic Birthday Trip

It’s so sad that summer is officially over tomorrow. This has been the best summer of my life, but all good things must come to an end. When I posted on MyFace about how sad it is, a friend in Japan said it has been cool and rainy over there, but yesterday the sun came out so she was happy again, and my cousin on Lawn Guiland said it was hotter than Hades at the beach there this weekend.

Friday was Jilly Moose’s big 40^th birthday bash. She had 38 people there, so if Catzookz and Twins Fan had shown up, she would have had an even 40. One of her uncles gave her a small wooden treasure chest filled with 40 dollar coins – what a cool idea! Travalon and I gave her a statue of a moose playing soccer, a T-shirt from the Wicked Moose Pub in Rochester, and the giant cuddly rosary Ma Hat made, which everyone loved. (When I first saw it myself, I texted Ma Hat, “I want one!” and she said she had already started it for me.) She also got lots of other moose stuff, including a birthday cake with a moose on it. She sure is easy to shop for!

Saturday was Jilly Moose’s epic birthday adventure. She didn’t know where she was going as she got into the car with Travalon and us Rosary Ladies, but the first stop was the Cedarburg Wine and Harvest Festival. It was very crowded there, since the weather was so beautiful. Check out the photo of me with a giant stuffed llama. Travalon bought me a little stuffed llama which is inexplicably named “Paddy O’Llama.” Jilly Moose, Luxuli, and I also bought earrings, and the ladies bought some other stuff too.

 Our next stop was Watts Tea House in Milwaukee for a real English high tea, and Tiffy met us there. We ladies all had the high tea with little sandwiches and desserts, but Travalon had homemade toffee with his tea, although we gave him tastes of our desserts. Since we were downtown, we made an unscheduled stop at an English-style pub along the river walk and sat outside by the river, enjoying a drink. Several of us said that was our favorite part of the whole day. We watched them raising and lowering the nearby bridge to let large boats get through. Our last stop was the Three Lions Pub in Shorewood, owned by actual British guys. Travalon says it is very authentic. We had British food for dinner, and four of us split a toffee pudding for dessert. We got home very late from our epic adventure, and Jilly Moose said she loved all of it.

Yesterday Travalon and I went to the Willy Street Fair, which was as crazy as always. We met Hardingfele there and listened to a Celtic band, then we wandered down the length of it, checking out food stands and jewelry stands and political stands and, finally, a giant pumpkin contest. (They had one in Cedarburg too.) Lots of crazy outfits – I saw one guy dressed as a unicorn! Then Travalon and I took a short boat ride to the marsh – we have to get them in while we still can – and then we went to Rich’s house for dinner. The Japanese professor and his grad student who visit once or twice a year were there with an undergrad, and they cooked us curry beef – yum! Then we watched the Packers beat the Seahawks. So I was already in a good mood today – and then we heard our state governor is dropping out of the presidential race! Oh, happy day!   

Famous Hat

Jilly Moose's Birthday Poem

Today is Jilly Moose’s birthday, and she is having a cookout at her house tonight, although the weather is a bit iffy so we might end up being inside. Tomorrow Travalon, some other friends, and I are taking her on an epic journey which is a surprise for her, so I’ll tell my readers all about it afterwards. Here is a birthday poem for Jilly Moose:

Happy birthday, Jilly Moose!

Now you’re the big four-oh!

Welcome to the Middle-Aged Club

Where no one wants to go.

Our youth is all behind us,

But at least we’re not yet old.

At least we have a few decades

Before we reach that age of gold.

I’ve been in this club a few years now

And I’ll say it’s not too bad.

The years I’ve spend within this decade

Have been the best I’ve ever had.

I’ve certainly heard people say

That at forty life begins,

At least we have some wisdom now

And have shared lots of grins.

So I hope this decade is good to you,

And that you enjoy it still,

Because in just ten years from now,

You’ll be officially Over the Hill.

Famous Hat