Swap Fest & Half Way to Octoberfest

Saturday, April 11, 2026

I had the toaster oven on my walker heading to the elevator to add it to the swap fest, and then turned around, thinking that maybe my neighbor Mark Doering might have use for it.  I knocked on his door and offered him the oven.  He said he was always thinking about getting one, but now he hesitated about making room for another appliance.  I gave him a sales pitch on how useful it was and in good condition.  He agreed to give it a try and if he didn't care for it he was free to return it and I'd have Peter drop it off at Good Will.

We received a print-out of all the cable channels that were added, including one to watch Brewer games.  I spent most of the afternoon unplugging, disconnecting and connecting, trying a different  remote and changing batteries, all without success.

Peter called for me a little early for our 4:15 p.m. reservation at the Bavarian Bierhaus, and that gave us a little time to check out the swap items.  It took Peter less than five minutes to find a very sturdy metal shoe slide.  I donated a thermos and picked up a large container of Metamucil and some plant food.

Claude joined us at the Bavarian BierHaus for Half Way to Octoberfest. 

We had beers and a couple of appetizer plates.

We enjoyed music, plus the usual table performances, with money tucked into knee socks that will be donated to worthy causes.

Symphony

Friday, April 10, 2026

Blake Van Egeren drove eight of us to the Milwaukee Symphony for another delightful experience to witness beautiful music.  I feel so fortunate that I am able to attend these marvelous concerts.  The program opened with Anton Webern's Passacaglia, Opus 1, and  featured Robert Schumann with Russian pianist Pelina Osetinskaya giving a powerful performance of his Concerto in a minor, Opus 54, with two encores: June: Barcarolle from The Seasons, by P. Tchaikowsky and Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639, by J.S. Bach. The orchestra concluded with Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony no. 1 in F minor.

I joined the group preparing for our variety show.  I read my knitting poem and took two parts in "The Case of the Candy Cottage".  It should be pretty funny.

My air fryer was delivered, also a very nice top from Land's End.  I unpacked the air fryer, which was quite light and takes less space on my counter than my toaster oven.  I cleaned up the toaster oven intending to have Peter drop it off at Good Will.  And then I realized that SRS was having a Swap Fest tomorrow; I decided to donate it there.

I read through the recipe book included with the air fryer and it is obvious it was made in an Eastern country with most of the recipes having an Asian flavor.

Easter 2026

Sunday, April 5, 2026

After I lectored I Zoomed the 10:30 a.m. mass at St. Joseph's in Grafter to hear Janice. 20:59

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp9UtGOuYQQ&t=5180s 

That didn't give me much time to be ready for Peter to pick me up and then Annika for our Easter dinner at Jay and Laura's,

Appetizers were already on the living room cocktail table.  I loved the puff pastry jelly bites (they really did have a "bite").

Each plate had one of Laura's coasters in his/her favorite color.

Peter's had the colors of the German flag.

I filled baskets with a spring mix from Nuts.com.  (My second-floor neighbors also found a basket on each shelf).

We feasted on a most delicious ham, scalloped potatoes, a salad of arugula and mandarin oranges and a round loaf of home made bread.  Janice provided a dessert of cake with shaved ice balls.

We enjoyed visiting before and after the meal on this most wonderful Easter.

 

Peeps and "Roberts"

 Friday, April 3, 2026

Blake drove us to the Racine Art Museum for the annual Peep show.  This year it is in a much larger hall that made viewing more pleasurable with a nice flow of traffic.

Imagination was on display with creative ways to put Peeps into the design.

I chose Three Little Peeps as my favorite,

and Peepal Conclave second.

There was the Liberty Bell

and Cookie Anderson's entry, "Collective Nouns: Peeps!

All of us, Donna Scalese, Cookie Anderson, Mary, Cheri Franch myself, Steve Bruss, Donna Schier and Cecile Langford enjoyed the display with lunch afterward at the Red Onion.

I chose On the Clock for our fish fry.  I entered the address, 4301 S. Howell Ave., thinking it would be farther south.  It was the same building as Roberts, one of my most favorite restaurants where we'd go for brandy Alexanders with cream, not soft serve.  We were seated immediately by the window and had Riverwest Steins with our two pieces of large perch that came with half-rye, cole slaw and thin French fries.  The meal was very good.

I talked to the owner as we were leaving who said that this really is the old Robert's.  He changed the name to attract a younger clientele.  They are open every day at 11:00 a.m. 

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.

https://enewspaper.jsonline.com/?token=bf7d830783675f886b68fa9b12f55d31&cnum=1ce966b7-d16b-e611-904c-90b11c343abd&fod=1111111STD-0&selDate=20260327&licenseType=paid_subscriber&

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.