It was a rainy Saturday...

Kris and I were waiting (not so patiently) in Maharaja for Gia and her boyfriend to arrive. We got in position to sprint to the buffet as they walked in the door. Gia was our little Indian food virgin and Kris and I left her in the dust while we piled up our plates at haste. Was that rude? She did have her helpful bf to help her figure out what was what. Then we were silent while we filled our bellies to prep for our afternoon of drinking craft brews at the FestivAle benefit. FestivAle was packed - we started with the Fauerbach. It wasn't really a strategic choice - it was just closest to the door. And it was good. We had herbal ale, cherry porter, Indian pale ales and on and on. Earlier in the week I had forwarded the ladies the Ale Asylum's newsletter which hinted at full sample glasses for those who mentioned reading about the event in the newsletter. Kris mentioned the newsletter and....boo...regular sized sample. Oh, well. There was no shortage of beer. My tummy was hurting but nothing a sit-down in the balcony couldn't cure. Kris used this opportunity to write out her list of worries. Why, you ask? You'll see. At last my belly settled and we ventured down into the crowd which had thinned considerably since we first arrived. As had the beer supply, the Blu Creek blueberry ale I wanted to try was out. We meandered towards the stage, sampling a couple more brews in the process. It was raffle time. The tall man on the stage was holding up the thermal Ale Asylum shirt that Gia and I had been coveting at the Ale Asylum two weeks ago. And who gets called? Why Gia's boyfriend, that's who! And of course he gives her the shirt. Next is the tank top. And who wins the tank top! Kris! It's adorable with an "Asylum Angels" theme. She gives it to me - yay! Not necessarily 'cause she's nice (though she is) but 'cause it wouldn't fit over her ample bosom. My less than ample bosom is thrilled! Then starts the name drawing for the rest of the six-packs that weren't won in the ring toss. There's loads of these. Gia's boyfriend is called again and then the very next name is Kris's! They had some kind of synergistic gambling mojo together, throwing their tickets in the bowl while Gia and I used the facilities. Rewarded, perhaps for gifting us their Ale Asylum garments. We sat back and enjoyed The Dirty Shirts play bluegrass after the tasting ended. I would definitely see them again, they were really good and I don't think I thought that just 'cause of the beer buzz. The bass player was hilarious and Kris and I were impressed. As they finished, we grabbed some High Noon Saloon matches and headed off to Vilas Park. We were off to observe Get Over It Day, a couple days early. We chose Vilas since it had covered shelters where we could set our worry lists alight if the rain didn't let up. Fortunately the rain was on a break and we lit our lists on one of the bridges, watching them burn in our hands until we couldn't hold them anymore. Then we let them drop into the icy water below. Kris and I enjoyed the ritual burning so much that I grabbed my beer tasting literature from my purse and gave her some and we continued burning things. Yeah, we're both pyros. We also have matching pajamas but that might be a story for another day.

Things to get over