Wild Weekend

We had a wild, busy weekend. I admit that I am still recovering from Oktoberfest – I have a debriefing meeting on Wednesday night that should provide closure. I also have a choir rehearsal scheduled for the same time just down the hall.

Dave and I started the weekend with dinner at one of our favorite German places with a friend of Dave's from high school and his wife – who were married in Rochester, New York in August (see earlier blog). We had a blast. And we stayed up way too late. It was great to get a chance to hang out with them – I had met the wife previously only at our wedding and theirs. German taverns with super food are a great place to hang out and socialize – in case you didn't know.

After staying up too late on Friday night, we got up Saturday morning to take care of household stuff. I also ran to the grocery store to get some ingredients for a birthday cake I was making for our visit to Jason and Christine's that afternoon (Christine's birthday was last month). I got up, showered, and took off for the store. Dave did not. I got back and started working on the cake, icing, real whipped cream, and raspberry sauce (I amazed myself this time).

While cooking and loading the sink with dirty baking tools and bowls, I noticed the water pressure dwindling. Dave heard someone yell out into the courtyard about the water. By the time Dave went into the bathroom, the water was gone. Luckily, it had returned by the time he needed to flush and then jump in the shower.

Now we were running late. I was waiting for the toothpicks to come out of the cake cleaner than Dave was. I called Jason and Chris and said we would (as can be usual for us) be late. As I was coaxing raspberry sauce through the strainer I heard Dave,

"Ohhhhhhh nooooooooo, ohhhhh nooooo, oh no oh no oh no!"

I ran into the bathroom to find by darling husband soaped up from head to toe. He was covered in suds. His hair was full of shampoo. He had rubbed soap all over his face. He was blind and all foamy.

And the water had been turned off again.

Why he soaps every inch of himself and then rinses off, I don't know. I am fond of washing one part (or pair of parts) at a time myself. But that is beside the point. Dave was living the modern nightmare of the water supply drying up at the moment of complete soapy suds coverage.

I told him to hold on. I ran into the kitchen and gathered up armloads of small water bottles that were in the pantry from Dave's last Sam's run. I opened one as I got back into the bathroom to help him rinse his face. He started screaming again. Our pantry apparently chills water as well as the fridge does.

I spent the next ten minutes or so checking on the birthday cake in between microwaving batches of water for Dave's slow rinsing. His anger subsided as the suds were slowly washed off.

We had a super time visiting with Jason, Chris, and Devon. Jason grilled the last of the fresh Oktoberfest brats while we watched the Cubs game. We played an outstanding game of dominoes (I won, Dave came in last). Even though the Cubs lost, we had a great visit, super food, and we had water again when we got home.

We got up early on Sunday so I could go to choir rehearsal and then sing at 10:30 mass. We also bummed around Barnes & Noble for a while after a bagel and some coffee at Vanessa's. We went to Whole Foods later on to pick up some fresh pot stickers and two huge salads so we wouldn't have to cook before the baseball game came on.

As we walked into the store, a woman walking out of the store and talking on her cell phone neglected to notice the tall, bright yellow curb in front of her, and fell on her butt. There is no other was to describe it. It was a wipe out like I haven't seen in a long time. Cell phones are dangerous when driving, and perhaps more so when walking. I walked up to her and asked her if she was okay. She was trying to explain to the person on the phone what had happened. I asked her if she need some help getting up (and out of parking lot traffic). She said she was fine and just embarrassed. When Dave and I finally got to the door, our pastor was looking out the door. He had just noticed that a woman had fallen down. Dave thought that my attempt at a good deed must get some kind of bonus points for being witnessed by a priest.

So we got home and got comfy on the couch with pot stickers and salads. As I am sure you all know by now, Kerry Wood and the Cubs made history last night as they won Game 5 against the Atlanta Braves to win their first post-season series since 1908. Now they will play the Florida Marlins for the National League Championship. Atlanta and Florida ranked one and two for the most wins in the regular season in the NL. The Cubs will not have nearly as many total wins as the regular season records of Atlanta and Florida even if the win the whole deal. I think that's interesting. Any team on any day. Don't you just love baseball?

My wonderful husband is quietly optimistic and doing a great job at not getting too upset on those occasions when things go wrong for the Cubs, or when Dusty Baker has Alfonseca warm up in the pen. (Rather, he says, "I'm not going to get too wrapped up in this." or "I'm not going to let this get to me.") I am a Cardinals fan and will forever remain one – but it is nice to see Dave being able to enjoy baseball in October. A Cubs fan in Atlanta had a sign that read "Cubtoberfest." I like that.

This weekend was not concluded with the usual early Monday morning concert of garbage truck music. We are in day six (day seven?) of a garbage strike. The strike includes several private garbage companies – and includes us. Our building has one dumpster for the entire building – so it is emptied three times a week. Therefore, a six day strike is a big deal. The Mayor has promised that city trucks will pick up any overflow from private dumpsters as they make their usual trips down the alleys for city garbage pick up. I love The Mayor.