Spielmanzug 2003 - 2024 (trans. Brass Band)

Saturday, January 27, 2024

Peter and I had prime seating at Vivian Jung's reserved table at the Homewood Suites in Oak Creek for this gala event.  The room was roomy and comfortable.

This is part of Mardi Gras, so the costumes were very imaginative.

This was a first-place winner

The Speilmanzug led the procession of dignitaries.

Prinz Julian Kegel greeted Austrian American president Frank Schmidt.

Schutzmann (police constable) Wolfgang Schweizer kept order when Board member Cindy Regenfuss misbehaved.

The Milwaukee Mullers, with their unique costumes, circulated around the room.

                                        

Muller musicians provided the music for the lively Muller parade

The Mullers have a national tradition and each of their costumes has a particular significance.

You can learn about the Mullers and their traditions here.

 http://www.milwaukee-mullers.org/muller-tradition/

 Fun Wednesday

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

I was surprised to get the hardest category first in Connections; didn't do that well in Wordl with RELIC as the word.

I think I opened a can of worms with my breakfast. Jackie wants to make it a twice monthly pot luck on Saturdays. Bruce didn't think that was such a good idea because it would involve too much food. He suggested doing a sign-up for maybe three people to provide the food on a rotation basis. Everyone liked just coming for a meal (naturally!).

Abby drove us to the Chamber Theater for  A Moon for the Misbegotten, by Eugene O'Neill.
https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/arts/2024/01/22/kelly-doherty-moon-for-the-misbegotten-milwaukee-chamber-theatre/72302734007/

Photos
https://www.jsonline.com/picture-gallery/entertainment/arts/2024/01/22/see-photos-from-a-moon-for-the-misbegotten-milwaukee-chamber/72311922007/
The Irish brogue was sometimes hard to understand, but La Shawn Banks was outstanding. When Abby picked us up it was very foggy. As we were riding home new residents Ron and Kathy said that their son gave them so many pints of Kopp's frozen custard there wasn't enough room in their freezer and invited those of us on the bus to help them eat it. We headed for the Club Room, but people were watching a movie; so we gathered in their apartment formerly occupied by Jim and Maryanne Szantor. There were about ten pints of various flavors of custard, including key lime pie. Ron scooped it out and Kathy distributed them according to our requested flavors. I had a caramel cashew with whole cashews almost more than the custard.





Out the window behind Bob is the dense fog making visibility extremely limited. ( I could have been driving home from sheepshead in that pea soup).
Bob was drinking some beer from a Pschorr Brau stein and I told him about our steins and how Peter chills them. He said his favorite beer was a Czech Double Bock and he offered those who wished to have a sample. It is dark and syrupy tasting.
Kathy said that her son collects packages of oyster crackers from restaurants. She had a basket of them to pass around; I took three packages.  This was such an unexpected good time.
Cookie ordered take-out from Panera today. I ordered squash soup (thick and hot) and a 1/2 ham sandwich (generously filled).
I did not make Genius level in Spelling Bee.

Good-bye 2023 - Greetings 2024

 New Year's Eve 2023

I lectored at the 10:30 a.m. mass. Afterward, many of us gathered for coffee and conversation.  I called Jim Tarantino's attention to the St. Rita Square Facebook page promoting a workshop on "Moving Made Easy".  With the exodus of people moving out, I asked him if it was information on moving in or out.

Jay, Laura and Anton hosted Claude, Peter and me to a delightful New Year's Eve Nosh with an astonishing array of light (?) food: Smoked salmon filled deviled eggs topped with caviar, spicy Korean chicken wings, jumbo shrimp with cocktail sauce, barbecued meat balls, taco spread with chips, Chex mix, spiced pecans, a vegetable platter with dip, home made pickles; and cheese and crackers from Claude.

We passed the time nibbling, imbibing wine/beer/soda and light banter.

We gathered around the dining room table to play Left, Right, Center with dimes for tokens.

Laura was the first winner, so she immediately liked the game.  I won another and, I think either Peter or Anton the last.  We played while enjoying Christmas cookies and champagne to welcome the New Year.

Peter and I stopped at the Cathedral for a Peace vigil that was held from 6:00 p.m. until midnight.  Claude joined us. Fireworks were blasting and lighting up the sky as we were leaving.

The party was still going at SRS that began at 7:00 p.m.  There was a great assortment of snacks and sweets.  Some people brought games and Bruce Wiggens organized Mexican Train dominoes.  I did some coaching for people new to the game.

This was a fine way to end the 2023

New Year's Day

I worked on a bolo that I had ripped about four times already.  Now, I have to sit under the reading lamp with my glasses on and no TV to distract me to avoid missing a stitch.  The yarn is fuzz, with no way to pick up a dropped stitch.

I prepared spicy barbecue mini wieners for the Pot Luck today.  I had my small crock pot pretty well filled.  The dining room was well attended with residents and guests and the food was plentiful and varied.  

We mentioned the enjoyable time we had playing games on New Year's Eve, and it's possible we might organize a game night with various games.