SRS Prom, Abby's Engagement

 Thursday, September 22, 2022

My day started with a dentist appointment at 10:00 a.m.: cleaning, teeth are in good shape.  

I drove to Awe Apple Orchard for another bag of Courtland apples for the dessert I'll make after Helen Smareli's memorial service.  I took a bag of apples that Frank brought at sheepshead, but they were so green and sour I didn't want to take a chance putting them in my dessert.  I also needed sugar that I picked up at P&S on Drexel and dropped off my library book at Franklin Library.

I took advantage of my location and got a gel manicure at QNails.  That took care of my morning.

I did some knitting with finer needles to make a tighter stitch in the shawl.  Knitting with aluminum needles is hard getting used to; they seem clumsy, and because the stitches move so freely, I'm afraid some might slip off the needle.

I signed up for dinner tonight and sat with Marci, Patty and Maribeth.  The beef was very tough.  As I was having my dessert, Joe from Hampton Inn called with the final price of my arrangements.  Maribeth asked if I was going to the Senior Prom tonight.  I didn't think so.  I was planning on a WAUC meeting on Zoom and two Humphrey Bogart movies.  She said she was going because Abby is putting so much effort into it.  Then Sue and Charlotte passed our table all decked out for the prom.  Well, OK, I guess I'll go.

I went to my apartment and put on my silk caftan and some gold jewelry and joined the group in the church basement, all decorated for the festivities.

There was a nice selection of music from lively to some nice standards.  Tom McGovern danced a lot with various partners.  It was nice seeing many of the staff in attendance.

Then POP!  The champagne was opened and gold confetti was tossed to greet the newly engaged couple, Abby and Michael.

And what prom doesn't have a king and queen?  The two names drawn were King Jack Huennekens and Queen Lenore Lee.

After my reluctance, I was glad that I attended this fun and well planned event.

Picnic at Hubbard Park

 Saturday, September 18th, 2022

Jackie, Eleanor and I met at 10:00 a.m. to plan a memorial service for Helen Smorali who died August 26th.  I left at 10:30 for my hair appointment at 11:00, which usually was adequate time.  Not today!  There was a race along either Michigan or Clybourn and I could not get on the freeway; no one else could either.  With all the rerouting, the streets were impassable; everyone was in the same predicament.  I was about 25 minutes late for my appointment.

After my hair I bought some apples at Awe Orchard, also a caramel apple and some apple cider donuts.  I stopped at P&S on Drexel to pick up some groceries and check out plants for centerpieces.  The clerk said bigger P&Ss would have a larger selection, which I will try next week.  I stopped at Wild Birds for a gift card for Laura's Birthday.

We were invited for dinner at Jay an Laura's at 5:00 p.m.   We got there exactly at 5 and it didn't look like anything was cooking.  Laura said that we're not eating here.  We're having a picnic at Hubbard Park arranged by Jay.  He had everything packed and we were ready to go.  

A wedding ceremony was just finishing when we arrived at the park and the guests were filing into the lodge.  Jay checked and got the go-ahead that we could set up our picnic, which was next to the river.  We sat on lawn chairs sipping wine/beer and munching on cheese, crackers, pretzels and olives.  Jay baked pizzas in his camp oven that we had with Caprese salad with a warm raspberry/pear crisp for dessert.  We felt a couple of sprinkles, but nothing to spoil a perfect evening.  We sat long after it got dark; it was too good to let go.

West Bend Germanfest

 Saturday, August 27, 2022

I should have stayed in West Bend yesterday, because here I am again today in this lovely city, this time to enjoy Germanfest.

Steve and Karen from Hartford sat across from us shortly after we arrived.  As we began talking, Karen asked if  we knew Adolph and Magdalena Meinhardt.  Of course we did; they belong to the Austrian American club and we see them at almost every meeting.  Magdalene has a beautiful voice and yodels.  Karen is a soccer player and physical therapist who treated Adolph when he injured himself playing soccer.  She also knows him from playing soccer at the Bavarian Bierhaus.  Karen also knows my former neighbor Jerry Panek, who is prominent in soccer activities.  

We had the most delightful time sharing people we know, sites in Germany and just fun conversation.

Museum of Wisconsin Art

Friday, August 26, 2022

Life Enrichment Director Abby Syverson drove Joe and Sharon Malenda, Linda Mistele, Barbara Schmidt and me to the Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA) in West Bend.  The white and multi-window building is very modernistic surrounded by clouds of hydrangeas.  I became a one-year member for two with my $25 admission.  

The featured exhibit was Tom Jones: Here We Stand that features almost one hundred and fifty photographs of the Ho-Chunk Nation.  Here is just a sample.

The immense size of this 14 x 24 ft. painting of The Flagellants by Carl von Marr caught everyone's attention as the subjects are beating themselves begging for God's mercy during the Bubonic Plague.

It was amusing listening to Fred Stonehouse tell of his dream that inspired Dream of the Marsh Potatoes about a classmate that inserted an "r" in certain words and it really is "mash" potatoes.

Tom Uttech's Nin Gassinsibingwe ("I wipe my tears" in the Ojibwe language) is surrounded by Still Lives by Jennifer Angus.  Each motif is an arrangement of four cicadas with bell jars containing insects in various settings.

Robert von Neuman's Portuguese Fisherman is an example of his work that features common people in human scenes of everyday life.  He was on the faculty of Wisconsin State College, later UW-M, when I was a student there.

I will surely make use of my one-year membership by visiting this museum again.

We completed our outing with a photo in front of an outdoor sculpture.

The Warehouse - William Kentridge

 After our strengthening class Abby took five of us to The Warehouse Art Museum (WAM) https://www.thewarehousemke.org/ to view the current exhibition of art by William Kentridge. 

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kentridge.  

It was mostly black and white, with emphasis on human rights, history and apartheid.

Here is "The Widow of Lampedusa"

and a Portrait of Emmy Hennings.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmy_Hennings

"She Wolf and Jugs" symbolizes the birth of Romulus and Remus.

This "Untitled" (Photograph of Triumphs and Laments in Rome)  brought to mind the movie "The Portrait of Dorian Gray.

Also a bronze sculpture "Shadow Figure 1"

Many other pieces filled the gallery.  

While waiting for our group to assemble, we chatted with John Shannon, who together with his wife Jan Serr founded the gallery.  Here is their unique story.

https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/arts/2019/01/18/collectors-transform-warehouse-into-one-kind-milwaukee-art-space/2601472002/

Doug Scott

 Tuesday, August 16, 2022

https://www.foresthomefunerals.com/doug-scott

St. Catherine's church had only a few people when Peter and I arrived shortly before noon, but it was almost completely filled by the time the 1:00 p.m. mass began.  Before mass, a brass band played "When the Saints Go Marching In", followed by it being sung by the choir.  The mass was celebrated by three priests with a full choir paying tribute to Doug.  The homily was very personal, since the priest knew Doug so well.  And even the petitions were special for artists, musicians and runners.  Everyone was invited to the the Bavarian Bier Haus at 4:00 p.m. to celebrate Doug's life.

We took a slow ride since it was not even 3:00 p.m. and waited in the lobby while the dining room was being prepared.  We each had complimentary beers at the bar and soon the dining room was filled, spilling out into the bar. 

The Milwaukee Alpenbläser that Doug co-organized, plus Peggy Mueller, played while we visited and had a light buffet lunch.

Twelve alumni of the UW-Madison band also played some familiar band music for Doug.

It was obvious how Doug touched so many lives in countless ways by the number of people that gathered in his memory.

German American Day

 Saturday, August 13, 2022

With overcast, cloudy skies, it looked like the rain could come at any moment.  Peter and I were determined to go to the German American Day at Carl Schurz Park in Stone Bank come rain or shine.  Find out more about Carl Schurz here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Schurz

 Last year we turned around at Guerkey's Corners when it was pouring, but not raining in Stone Bank.  Peter bought wrist bands beforehand from Margie Greis; the advantage of getting wrist bands in advance was paying $5.00 instead of $7.00 at the entrance.  Peter had folding chairs and steins that we set up to watch the parade.  The parade was at 1:00 p.m., not 2:00 p.m., so we missed it.  Peter met many of his friends among the large crowd as we strolled through the park.  The food line was long, but moved steadily forward.  Peter had a Hungarian brat, I had a hot dog and we shared some potato salad.  We found a table in the shelter to have our meal with beers. 

Rudy Mittner joined us as we listened to a band and watched dancers.

Margie and Walter Greis sat down with us until we were ready to leave at about 6:30 p.m.  We never made use of the folding chairs or steins; they stayed where we left them until we were ready to leave. As we were driving out of the park it started to drizzle and continued intermittently until we got to Peter's house where I parked my car.

Since I was on the road I decided to drop by at Jay and Laura's to pick up a smoked fish they had for me from Door County.  We had a nice visit before I left for home.