Community, Music, People

A Weekend of Trivia, Chocolate Pretzels, Music, and Friends

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What an action-packed weekend we had! It started on Friday morning when Clif dipped pretzels in Ghiradelli chocolate to bring as a treat to trivia night at Van der Brew.

Now what could be better than beer, popcorn, and chocolate-covered pretzels?

I’ll tell you what. During the trivia game, I actually answered a sports question correctly. As I’ve mentioned before, sports is not my thing, and I always dread those questions because I never, never know the answers. Except this time I did. The question was this: Which baseball team won the World Series in 2016 after not having won since 1908? Readers, I almost fell out of my chair. Thanks to Chicagoan Scott Simon, the most excellent host of NPR’s Weekend Edition, I knew it was the Chicago Cubs. (I can still recall how excited Scott Simon was in 2016 when the Cubs won.) Holy cats, I was thrilled that I remembered this. The rest of the night had its ups and downs, but through it all I basked in the glow of my knowledge of the winner of the 2016 World Series.

For someone who lives in the hinterlands, the excitement of Friday night would have been more than enough for one weekend. But, readers, there was more. Much more. On Saturday I went with friends to Mount Vernon (population 1,640) to listen to the Sandy River Ramblers, a blue grass band. All the players and singers were good, but my oh my that mandolin player—Dan Simons—was outstanding. His fingers flew so fast on the strings that I thought my heart was going to break. Here’s a picture of Dan Simons playing the mandolin. Unfortunately, the light was not good, and I wasn’t sitting near the stage.

Then it was Sunday. Friends invited us over for for a late afternoon dinner. Other friends were also invited. We drank wine, we had delicious macaroni and cheese, and one of the best homemade cob salads I have ever eaten. I made my not-so-famous apple crisp. Kittens romped around us as we talked about music, books, and politics. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures.

But what a way to end a terrific weekend.

 

 

48 thoughts on “A Weekend of Trivia, Chocolate Pretzels, Music, and Friends”

  2. That sounds like a fabulous weekend Laurie! I love the mandolin and had to check out Dan Simons and SSR on YouTube when you mentioned it. I’ve never seen anyone play the strings that fast and it sounds wonderful! 💜 xxx

    1. His playing made my heart leap! Today, I heard him on a local radio show, and I learned Dan is getting his PhD in musicology. I’m wondering if he’ll stay in Maine once he gets it or move on to greener pastures.

  4. I loved your weekend! I too am hopeless at the sports questions in a trivia quiz…. but luckily Paul manages those. Music and dinner with friends …. perfect! 👌

    1. Those pretzel are not too bad, if I say so myself. As for trivia…we came in the middle, which for us was an achievement because at one point we were dead last. 😉

    1. I listened to the song and thought “what fun” until I read some of the comments and learned that Goodman died of cancer at the age of 36. And he never got to see the Cubs win the world series. Sigh. But he did write “City of New Orleans,” a wonderful song. Still.

  11. Those pretzels look lovely. I too never know the sports questions, and still never forget the time I beat my mum at Trivial Pursuit by getting the name of a cricket ground right. She loved cricket and thought she had won, fair and square, and then I surprised her. This happened 25 years ago and I still remember it!

  12. Sounds like you had a weekend to remember.
    When I used to play Trivial Pursuit back in the late 80s, I used to dread the sport questions. I had two famous sportsmen’s names which I presented for every sport question and, sometimes, i’d be right.

  13. Clearly a great weekend, except for the trivia game – if it was Trivial Pursuit, which I can’t stand because it takes so long to reach the final conclusion when in your case everyone would make you answer a sports question. 🙂

    1. No, not Trivial Pursuit, which can take a very long time. Instead, We broke up into teams—I think there were 12—and Nick, from the library asked questions. There was a time limit, and after that, onto the next round. It probably took us an hour and half to play all the rounds.

  14. What a great weekend! If it was me I would now need a few quiet days to recover so I hope you get the chance if you want to take it. I am no good at sports questions either. so well done for getting one right!

      1. So true about working from home. Either you get up and put a full day in or the house and all its needs and inhabitants will take over your day. Then you’re not really “working from home.” You’re just home.

  15. It all sounds perfect and I seem to see the kittens wriggling and tumbling even without pictures. I am not sure I know what Yankee means other than a northerner – an American one compared to English ones. Are you a Yankee too? Congratulations on getting the sports question right.

    1. Not that’s a topic for my blog because there is some dispute about what Yankee means. Here’s a little riddle for you: I was born in Maine, but I am not a Yankee. My husband was born in Maine, but he is a Yankee. This Friday’s blog will reveal the answer. 😉

  17. What a fabulous weekend and congrats on the sports question!😁 I’m envious of your snack selections lately, those pretzels look delicious!! I’m not a beer drinker, but Haagen-Dazs Spirits has a Stout, chocolate and pretzel crunch ice cream.🙂

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