Spent several hours at Pewaukee Lake yesterday. With the no wake law still in force it's unusually quiet, and if my canoe didn't still have gaping holes in it... So we fish from shore. Very peaceful watching the regatta of around 50 sailboats. Later in the day was Taste of Lake Country and fireworks, but that's another story.

Making every cent of my weekend dollars count I went to Milwaukee today to do several things. I parked under the Hoan Bridge by the river, saving $10.00. I attended a very nice Lutheran service in the Marcus Amphitheater and was allowed into German Fest free, saving $13.00.

German Fest is one of the few festivals I missed last year, (Pride Fest will still have to wait) and I wanted to get there for the food and music. I haven't been to this one before. I wasn't into the music and dancing all that much, but the scents, tastes and sights were overwhelming. Got my first look at the new Harley Stage also. Very cool.

Wandered over to Discovery World next door to use the pass I obtained with the purchase of my Les Paul concert ticket, saving $17.00. I spent the next couple hours in my first tour of the Technology and Aquarium Buildings and the Les Paul House of Sound exhibit!  The Les Paul exhibit, indeed all of Discovery World, was way more than I could've imagined. I enjoyed handling everything, trying it out, playing with things, discovering at my own pace.

Discovery World has to be seen to be believed. When I thought nothing could possibly top the Les Paul exhibit, I had doubts while touring the rest of the building. The bed of nails was one very interesting interactive feature of the Technology Building. Fun to try. The Great Lakes are to scale in the Aquarium complete with interactive locks, rain and storms, and bluegills (not to scale). Also had fun touching the rays and lake sturgeon.

The schooner in the Aquarium Building is a fun play thing. Lots of things to touch, turn and see with many things identified with labels. I played with as many things as I could today and the best thing is I only got yelled at once - at the German Fest Splash Pad for not taking my shoes off!  

I share this machine with two teenagers and a cat, so that could explain why I haven't been doing a lot of writing lately. Fortunately, Pepi just stays put where it's warm atop the monitor, or I'd still be waiting. Now that I have the time though, thought I'd talk about what I did last weekend.

Much of what I do on weekends I hear about first on WaukeshaNOW, and last week was no exception. I find that the site's community events description is a little more in depth and easier to access than the alternative.

I went to the UWW play God Willing: A Twology not because I'd heard it was good or even because I'd heard of it before. I checked it out because it promised to be different. Two avante-garde plays in one with seating on the stage for the audience. I won't try to describe it because I can't. I can't relate it to anything I've seen before. It was entertaining, serious and thought-provoking. It was intimate and dark, quiet and loud. I guess you could say it was a good play for the university because they tried something outside "normal" and it was a good experiment. 

Saturday morning I joined my confirmation group for a service project at Jeremy House, a homeless shelter for individuals with mental issues on Moreland Blvd. We prepared breakfast for the guests and learned more about the facility. It was a worthwhile experience for all of us, and fun too.

After mass last Sunday I interviewed candidates for confirmation to see if they had any thoughts, good or bad, on the whole process and to make sure they grew spiritually in this last year of preparation. Tomorrow is confirmation rehearsal.

Later Sunday I attended Waukesha Choral Union's production of Handel's Messiah while not realizing what I came to see and hear. I penciled the Carroll College event on my calendar because WaukeshaNOW made it sound good and, the best part, it was free. I arrived after the last of the programs had been handed out and, because I've never been to "Messiah" before, didn't recognize it. Bumping into a friend at intermission, I mentioned how religious all the pieces were. "Well, it is Messiah. The whole concert is related to the bible, starting with the Old Testament and ending with the New." She showed me the program and every aria, recitation and chorus was straight from a bible verse or psalm. Up to this point the one thing I knew about "Messiah" was the Hallelujah Chorus. Two and a half hours after the start of this concert I was much better informed. It's a monumental production with orchestra, pipe organ, soloists with community members joining the chorus. The concert was fully funded by donations from individuals and businesses. It was director Gregory Carpenter's last production of Messiah. His last production with the Choral Union will be in celebration of Mozart's 250th birthday: Mozart's Requiem at St. Joe's Church in Waukesha, May 4th, with orchestra and soloist. I'm going to pencil this one in too, and hope I don't forget why.  

By now Mrs. Lee is wondering if I'm seeing someone because of being gone so much last weekend. (The family is always invited, but my tastes often differ from theirs.) I later attended Vespers, or evening prayer, at St. William. It's something I've not done before and my family wouldn't have enjoyed either. It was an interesting mix of hymns, readings, reflection and incense. All the prayer without the hassle.

After Vespers I joined 80 to 90 others from my parish to learn about Judaism and Jewish traditions in a Seder meal, something I've wanted to try but never had the chance. I felt this Lent was a good time to understand the roots of my own faith and this was a wonderful way to do it. The nicest Jewish couple, Sherry and David, led us on this trip to the past. Seder, the Passover meal, is full of lessons and history, details, ancestors, special diet and ways of preparation. I'd have to say everything had meaning and relevance and the meal was history come to life. Everything was performed in order, involved the oldest to the youngest, was entertaining and lasted about 2-1/2 hours. The education we received and meeting Sherry and David was wonderful. This meal was far more involved than any other meal I've shared, and I would happily do it again.  

The theme of the weekend seemed to lean toward religion. Not a bad thing with Holy Week beginning tomorrow.