Morning Disaster

Monday, September 28, 2026

My knitting needles were delivered in an outrageously large box that I wanted to share with the breakfast group.  I placed the carton on my walker with my tray with cereal, milk, banana and cup on top.  As I left my apartment, the tray dropped off the walker, causing my beautiful, favorite bowl from Donald to break, plus a cup.  Jim and Eldeen Carpenter helped sweep up the mess, but I am heartbroken by the loss.

I'm starting to work on caps for the MARTA December luncheon and found a simple pattern with a decrease stitch I'm not familiar with.  I encountered a mistake when I selected the Toddler size instead of the Kid, I ripped when I found a dropped stitch that I could not pick up, and I was decreasing incorrectly.  I never did a SSK, and could not understand the pattern telling me that I decreased 8 stitches when I only did 4.  The cap did not look right, so I ripped again before the decrease.  Good old YouTube, which I should have consulted first, showed me exactly how to do this decrease.

As I was going to meet the Needlework Group, Shirley Bascom asked if I was going to play sheepshead with Bob Koebert at the Catholic Home.  I thought someone else might have liked to go, so I was not planning on going.  Since a fifth player was needed, I gladly agreed.

Chuck Boucher drove Shirley, Jack Champagne and me

We met Annie Hahn, who is recuperating after collapsing in her apartment.

Bob had a room reserved for us, the same as last week.

We played for and hour, and I'm sure we lifted Bob's spirits.

Dr. Gundamraj/Errands

Friday, September 25, 2026

Peter agreed to pick me up after my appointment and we'd go to breakfast. That seemed like a good plan since I fasted for my lab work.

Dr. Gundamraj gave me a good report and asked me what I did for my complexion.  She'll see me next year.  But I won't make an appointment the day after my Birthday when I can't celebrate because I have to fast.

Peter was completely bewildered when I called; he forgot our arrangement.  But he insisted on picking me up and taking me home.

We stopped at Bunzel's for some ground chuck and ground turkey, also fresh liver sausage and Sciortino rolls.  I picked up cash at the ECU on Center Street and learned how to get my own bills.  Because Peter likes to go through Van Buren with a stop light, he made a little detour to go past Pick 'n Save; I could use some wine, I also bought a six-pack of beer.

So doing these errands was a lot better than going to breakfast.

I fixed some liver sausage sandwiches on buns, with Laura's pickles that we had with beer.

SRS Octoberfest

Thursday, September 17, 2026

An Octoberfest menu was featured for the Community Luncheon.  I invited Peter and he brought steins; I furnished Riverwest Stein.

We sat with Frank, Barbara Todd, Winn and Shirley.

The meal started with a delicious bowl of beer cheese soup and pretzel sticks, followed by the entree: pork schnitzel with gravy, spaetzle and asparagus.  It was rather disappointing.  The schnitzel was too thick, not tender enough and should not have gravy, the asparagus was rather limp and tasteless.  The warm apple dessert was very nice.  We enjoyed a beer with our meal; SRS offered cans of Spotted Cow.

Peter won one of the games of Screw Your Neighbor; I didn't win, but I enjoyed playing.

Peter wanted to drive to Von Rothenburg Bier Stube in Germantown hoping someone turned in his cooler with his very nice Hoffbrau Haus stein that he left there last night, also to return the CD changer that I ordered from Amazon that was defective.  

We drove to the UPS Store on Jefferson Street and a young man helped Peter carry in his heavy box.  After waiting in line for a short while the box was checked in with no problem.

We got to von Rothenburg  and were fortunate getting a seat at the bar, because it started filling up for their Second Anniversary.  

We each had a wine and a couple of appetizers that were passed around, very good, but messy to handle. 

The very large bar was filled, with many people standing.  A male vocalist sang some nice standards.

I glanced into the almost-filled dining room which I thought was very dark.  I don't know how people could see what they were eating.

I planned for a luncheon, but we stretched our time filling almost the whole day, with some pleasant surprises.

September Red Hat

Wednesday, September 9, 2026

If we had our Red Hat Luncheon on the third Wednesday, as usual, three ladies would not be able to make it.  Kathy Schmagl had a conflict and if she couldn't make it, neither could Julia Rice or Rita Bruce, because Kathy brings them.

We agreed on Hale House for this month; however, Hale House does not take reservations, but it's first come, first served.  I asked how possible it would be to seat ten ladies on that system.  "Have someone come early and wait for a table", was the answer.  That was not satisfactory.  We liked Ricky's Double Barrel Inn, and Terry and I thought that would be a good alternative.

When I called, I got the answering machine, and l gave the details for our reservation.  I called again the same day and then today, with the same results.  The web site did not say it was closed.

The parking lot was deserted when Lyft dropped me off, and so was Ricky's.  Barbara Fritsch arrived and we started to wait for the others.  I called Terry and I suggested the Irish Cottage; I called, and they were able to accommodate us.  Terry was able to contact Kathy and Jane as they were driving, so that was covered.

I rode with Barbara, but did not know there were two Irish Cottages; we went to the wrong one, we wanted Irish Cottage 2.  We had to do some adjusting, since Rita was not able to do steps, and had to enter through the kitchen.

The Cottage was very cozy.  We were the only diners and felt very comfortable.  There were many choices on the menu; I had a BLT and a Guinness , some had the shepherd's pie.  I think it was a good choice.

I joined Bob and Terry to play sheepshead at the Muskego Library, and won about $1.

I forgot about the Red Hat luncheon when I signed up for the SRS community dinner at 5:00 p.m.  I brought containers for the soup, which was loaded with vegetables and the chicken casserole that was lacking in chicken.  There was also a peanut butter brownie.

We had story sharing in the evening.  My learning experience was taking sewing lessons at the West Allis MATC that benefitted me for many years.

Birthday for the Ninety Year Olds

Saturday, September 5, 2026

Frank Schmitz's Birthday this year included celebrating those in their nineties.  The day was perfect for this event.

Peter had to arrive early with the Austrian Club banners and flag, which involved about three clumsy containers.  He wanted to drive into the grounds but had to remove some barriers before he could proceed.  A member was very upset that he drove in, since the road was for pedestrians only.  Peter drove out and re-entered at the first entrance we passed, which we should have taken.

We sat with Anita Kuchler, Eileen, Steven Hauser and John Puchner.

There was plenty of food: brats, hamburgers, salads, and, of course, beer.

Here are the ninety year olds:

Charlotte is the oldest, at 97.

John Puchner provided some music.

Magdalena gave me a lovely rose for my Birthday.

Bye-Bye Pick 'n Save

Saturday, August 29, 2026

I placed my order last night for delivery today, most of the usual items.

As Benjamin shopped, he texted there were no red peppers. Next, I agreed to substitute Hillshire Smoked Sausage for Johnsonville. The store did not have Village Hearth unseeded rye bread, or Artesano White Bread.  Benjamin texted that the large eggs came in cartons of 18; I told him to select any carton of 12 eggs.  He replaced Kroger large eggs with Kroger Grade A large eggs, but delivered Extra large eggs.  I do not buy extra large eggs, because recipes call for large eggs; extra large eggs affect the end product in baking. The store did not have Chobani Plain non-fat yogurt.

I was livid, and in my comments I asked if the store was going out of business.

When I checked the price of naval oranges they were $1.69 each.

I ordered a few items from Amazon yesterday and before placing my order a bar came up asking if there was anything else I needed; different kinds of fruit were pictured including oranges at $0.69, I ordered 3.  The oranges were delivered today and I thought there were more items in the bag because it was so heavy.  The oranges were so heavy; they were huge, in an insulated bag.

I never considered buying groceries from Amazon, mostly household items, clothing and other odds and ends.

Tonight I'm searching Amazon groceries and there is everything I would need, plus free delivery the next day.

I pay a fee to P & S to get free delivery, plus I include a tip.  No More!

Maybe this happened for the best, because I will get a better selection of groceries and at a lower price.

Schlaraffia

Saturday, August22, 2026

Peter was invited to a picnic by a member of his stammtisch (German speaking reserved table) group at the Schlaraffia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schlaraffia meeting hall in South Milwaukee.

Peter was a member of this group a number of years ago, but the drive from Wauwatosa to South Milwaukee was a little too demanding.

People were gathered at the rear of the building, and soon we met old friends and were introduced to new ones.  We were just in time before the spanferkel (roast suckling pig) was going to be cut up.

Two men carved the roast, putting the meat in large roasting pans and took the pans to the lower level of the building that was set up for the meal.  The dining hall was full, the largest it has ever been, according to a long-time member, with between sixty and seventy people.  This was a fund raising event; at $20 per person in was both good for the organization and the diners.

There was a huge buffet to accompany the main course.  The meat was delicious: moist, tender and done to perfection.

Another large table had an array of desserts, both home made and commercial.  My favorite was a Kahlua bar with coffee.

Nothing like music to aid in digestion, and we had that also, with one of the members playing familiar melodies on his accordion, along with ein prosit to finish off the beers.

Peter guided me on a tour to the main hall on the upper level to learn more about Schlaraffia, which is an International organization with hundreds of groups around the world.  The building once housed a women's group, but the architecture and design fit this group perfectly with its old world details.  There were a lot of owls which symbolize wisdom, which is one of the precepts of Schlaraffia.

A few of us gathered at a small bar where we finished the event having shot glasses of apple schnaps. 

We did a little shopping at P & S before Peter dropped me off at SRS.