Y-oY-o Ma

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

I had the special chicken parmesan dinner at 5:00 p.m.  The hot vegetable soup was delicious and hot.  The main course was tepid to cold (vegetables, pasta).

I had plenty of time to change clothes for the 8:00 p.m. symphony concert with Y-o Y-o Ma.

        

When we first learned about the concert, Marilyn Minor offered me a ride with her friend Kevin.  I approached her today and she said that Kevin does not drive any more and she is riding with someone else.  That left me without a ride, since others seemed to have full cars.  I arranged for a Lyft.  Marilyn called to tell me that Cookie Anderson has room in the car she is riding in.  Cookie was able to include me with her friend June, who was driving and Barbara Todd.  June arranged for valet service, and dropped us off at the door.

The hall was filling fast.  Chuck and Bonnie Zahnow sat in front of me.  Many SRS residents arranged to be here also.  The seats behind the orchestra reserved for the chorus were completely filled.

A representative of Mayor Johnson presented Conductor Ken-David Masur with an award honoring him for his contributions to the symphony and the community.

Conductor Masur opened with Beethoven's Symphony No. 8, that got a standing ovation.

After a long intermission came the thrill of the evening.  Y-o Y-o Ma came on stage with his cello, and was welcomed with sustained applause.

Needless to see his playing of Anton Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B minor was magnificent.  I was completely entranced.  I had a perfect view of him which made my evening complete.

After thunderous applause and Brovos, he could not escape without an encore.  He and the orchestra played "Adoration", again with great appreciation from the audience.

I think everyone in the audience left rather in a trance, not believing that they were able to witness this momentous event.

We went to the main entrance where we thought would be the place to claim the car.  June was directed to the large reception hall where a long line had formed with the same purpose.

Standing behind us was Concertmaster Jinwoo Lee who looked taller than he looked on stage (and he was smiling!).  I asked to shake the hand that shook the hand of Y-o Y-o Ma and we laughed because his hand had become quite sought after.

We finally got to the podium where June could present her claim ticket and waited about 15 minutes until a valet brought up the car.  Those guys really earn their money, the way they have to run to fetch cars.  The cost of the service is $40.

On the way back to SRS all the talk was about how wonderful we felt with this perfect evening.

Follow-up With Dr. Gundamraj

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Dave from Eastside Senior Services was at SRS at 8:30 a.m. to drive me to my 9:15 a.m. appointment.  He had called me on Sunday to arrange the pick-up.  Dave mentioned the I94 construction, and I told him that by taking Pleasant Street all the way to Burleigh we would not be on the freeway.

Dave is retired from Harley Davidson and has been offering rides for about three years.  We had a pleasant conversation along the way about his wife's teaching, his boat and Harley.

The Physician's Assistant took my blood pressure and commented that it was high at 162.

Dr. Gundamraj came into the room some time later and my blood pressure dropped to 110!  She liked that number better.  She continues to be amazed at how well I look.  Everything looked fine.

I'll see Dr. G again in six months and will have my lab work done before my visit since I don't have a car to make a special trip to a clinic.

I waited about ten minutes for Dave to pick me up for the trip back to SRS.

Taxes at AARP

Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Lyft took my to the Sojourner House on North 9th and Walnut, where I checked in with my completed documents that I had downloaded.

There were many people waiting in the hallway.

A woman looked my papers over and said that they were completed.  I sat in the hallway with the rest of the people, the majority of whom looked needy.  I went back to the woman and asked if this service was for the needy, and she said that there was no income discrimination; I was perfectly fine to get my taxes done here.

When I was called I entered a room with four desks with computers on each side.  A volunteer at a desk on the right side of the room entered my data that took glacially long, at least forty-five minutes.  When he was finished, I went in the hall and waited for someone to verify his figures.

After a short wait, I was directed to a woman at a desk on the left side of the room.  As she went over the information, she noticed that one or my donations was to Kinship.  She said that she was affiliated with Kinship, and was also a member of my parish.  She printed my documents and went over the calculations.  I noticed that only $2000 was deducted for Kinship; I said that there was a total of $7000 of qualified contributions.  She did not notice that the other pages were stapled together.  She corrected the forms and reprinted them.

Do I want to do this again?

Lyft took me back home.  

Bob Koebert has been getting his taxes done by AARP for the past three years, and it does not take so long.  Other SRS residents take advantage of this service also. 

I'm sure in the future it would go faster since my data could be retrieved.

St. Patrick's Day Week

Friday, March 13, 2026

Brad and Janice came with a St. Patrick's Day lunch as I was on the phone with Kelly Glostott from East Side Services.  I registered to get free rides to my doctor's appointments, which will be quite a saving.

Janice brought an Irish stew with Guinness as am ingredient, Irish soda bread with a chocolate cake with Guinness either in the cake or the frosting.  Everything was delicious and very filling.

We watched "Waking Ned Divine", a movie set in Tullymore Ireland, about a man who won the lottery, but died of shock upon winning it.  The townspeople conspire to have another man claim to be Ned Divine so they would share the winnings. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waking_Ned#:~:text=Waking%20Ned%20(titled%20Waking%20Ned,David%20Kelly%2C%20and%20Fionnula%20Flanagan. 

We sipped Tullymore Irish whiskey while watching the movie.

Brad put together my desk lamp as best he could with tape, since the screw mountings were deteriorated.

We had a lovely St. Patrick's Day event. 

Sunday, March 15

Snow most of the day, starting to pile up.  Severe weather in the forecast; many cancellations.

The Irish stew tasted great on this miserable day.

Monday, March 16

Hazardous driving conditions.  The trattoria patio door had an interesting pattern.

Quite a difference from March 9th, when Frank D'Amato sat outdoors reading his book.

We had a St. Patrick's Day Happy Hour with shamrock shakes, also other beverages.

Cookie Anderson took pictures of us with an Irish top hat and posted them on the railings.

Tuesday, March 17

Buttermilk pancakes were on the breakfast menu.  There was an opportunity for early voting at 8:30 a.m., however, I didn't know what that involved, so I didn't go because I didn't want to be late for breakfast that ends at 9:00 a.m.  I was sure Barbara Leigh would come for the pancake breakfast, so I took down a battery and a wax candle plus matches for her birthday.  There were no pancakes!  

But I was able to cast my vote on my absentee ballot that the Election Commission Deputies had with them.

Jay picked up Annika and me for our Tuesday Dinner.  Laura served Irish stew and soda bread with Irish butter.  Just as delicious as Janice's, but with beef added, and not as thick.

Gift Cards at Mr. B's

 Thursday, March 12, 2026

Janice mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Jay, Laura, Brad and she were going to use their gift card at the Bartolotta's in Mequon.  I said that I have a gift card also and we agreed that Peter and I would join them.

Jay and Laura picked us up for our 6:00 p.m. reservation.  When we were seated I noticed there were only six chairs instead of seven because I knew Colin was coming also.  The waitress set another place; I think Janice did not allow for Peter.

I had the most delicious scallops in a puree of sweet potato with roasted Brussel sprouts and walnuts.  Peter had salmon. We shared a cheesecake.

I found my $100 gift card on my phone, but could not find the $20 bonus card.  After searching through my emails, it came up.  We spent $27 over the $120 credit card. 

I felt that Laura had an attitude; she was very abrupt, like something was bugging her.

Dinner with Annika

Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Jay and Laura are visiting the boys in Florida, that means Annika and I have to find a place to eat by ourselves.  Barbara Todd mentioned how much she and Leon enjoyed La Masa Empanada Restaurant on Brady St.  I thought that would be perfect since it's not too far, and a great opportunity to visit Brady Street restaurants which I never would go to since I'd never find parking.  Now to figure the logistics.

I texted Annika but got no reply.  I must have had the wrong number because she texted late in the afternoon asking where we are going to eat.  Annika arranged for Lyft to pick her up, then me to drive to La Masa.

It is a very cozy place on the corner.  Our waiter asked if I was familiar with empanadas; of course! I had them in Chile, along with pisco sour.  Well, they just happened to make pisco sours; it's one of their most popular drinks.

We could choose three empanadas, plus a side and sauce (we could opt for ala carte also).  I chose the pulled pork special of the day, Argentina beef and tomato, basil and mozzarella with a jicama slaw, very nice and crunchy.  I don't know which Annika chose, but she had very crisp thin French fries instead of the slaw.  Everything was delicious.  I definitely will return.

The Lyft back was a little awkward.  We had to walk down the street  to the car.  Granted, parking is a problem, but I would have had a problem if I had a problem walking.

As always, Annika and I had a very special time together.

Friday Lunch, Dome, Fish Fry

Friday, February 27, 2026

Veterans had a coffee reception at 10:00 a.m. with Danish pasties in the Cannoli Room.

Brad and Janice brought a Mexican lunch which was a soup/stew and a "Butterfinger" bar for dessert.  We had a very nice visit and agreed to use our Bartolatta gift cards together with Jay and Laura sometime in March.

Peter and I paid a short visit at the Domes to see the Train Show, which is always enjoyable.  The theme was wonders of the world, some were familiar.

The Taj:

Machu Picchu:

The Colosseum and the Christ in Rio.

We had a very nice fish fry at Steakhouse 100.  I'm glad the I made reservations; we were seated promptly, while others waited.

We finished the evening at Sobermann's.