UPDATED 10 Aug – way down at the bottom
Originally Published on: Aug 8, 2026
UPDATE HERE about laptop FIRST post with travel woes – include TWO mis-landings and hours of delays and missed flight HERE
After the horrible beginning, here is an update on the trip so far. We’ve had a good conference. Now I am moving again. Meanwhile, back in Chicago before driving to La Crosse!
This wound up being sausage and peppers. I learned that double sausage is a thing here.
The next day we had to go to SUPERDAWG!
In La Crosse, the night before the conference, I had a great supper with friends of many years. It is such a pleasure to know people like these.
Up at Shrine, this is the progress of the building of the pilgrim’s residence. Last year it was a big hole.
St. Gianna… Miguel… Therese.
Oh MY!!!! Subsersive!
I have a reproduction of this in my residence to remind me of what we might face.
The conference was on the Seal of Confession.
Tour buses parked at the hotel seem to be… WHAT?
When I grew up these were all over the place. What a memory.
Within are votive candles. The great MSGR George Welzbacher referred to the internal candle situation as a “Zoroastrian Fire Tower”.
The kitchen at the Shrine is MASSIVELY IMPROVED! I told the new cook chef and staff several times. Sincerely. Breakfast biscuits and three different gravies, two types of eggs. Yesterday, French toast and blue berries.
Up in the conference space, these chocolate chip cookies were very similar to my mother’s, who made the best in the world. These are …. right there… but just a little sweeter than mom’s. They brought back memories. Yup… the food at the Shrine is much better.
Dear Cardinal Burke made a video for us. I am working on an old and weak laptop, so it will be posted when I can handle it. He was in good spirits, but I sense his patience is running a little thin. I’ve known the Cardinal since the late 80’s.
Card. Burke’s Mass at the Shrine.
The grounds are so beautiful. All taken care of by volunteers.
Lungh at the end of the conference. Bp. Paprocki joined us.
In Madison, I stopped at a super high quality bottle shop looking for Chartreuse because of dear friend likes it and I can’t get it where I live. They had some yellow and green. I was looking for green.
We had spring rolls with peanut sauce before, but this was supper at a TERRIFIC viet place on the West side of Madison.
Tomorrow, I meet with TMSM peeps in Madison. I then drive to Milwaukee to stay with a priest friend.
UPDATE 10 Aug
After a day of errands in Madison, I headed to Milwaukee to stay over with a priest friend. We were invited to a family’s home for supper and there was strawberry shortcake for dessert. I don’t usually eat sweets, but this was good, with homemade whipped cream and mulberry syrup.
After Sunday Masses we went for Greek.
Alas, my pic of the spanakopita didn’t come through for some reason, but the stuffed grape leaves, dolmades with tzatziki were tasty.
At the end the proprietress brought – sua sponte – loukoumades which had honey and cinnamon. The hovering fork is that of the greedy priest across from me. I am sure that he, selfish, was trying to his before I could get mine. As I learned in Rome, take yours before the selfish brothers take theirs!
That’s the food roundup, other than to say that more is to come. I have another day in Chicago now and something will come up.
HOWEVER… on the LAPTOP front!
You will recall if you have followed this trip (as I am sure you all have with great attention and anticipation of more) my laptop, a beast, was massively overheating and shutting down. A friend here in the Windy City rescued me with an old laptop upon which I tap at the time of this writing. It get’s the job done, though I can’t multitask anything demanding. I’m grateful to have it! That said, I shipped my laptop to my local repair guys (GREAT TEAM!). Today I received phone call. Sure enough, from the last time they worked on it (stuck power button after some jackass slammed his suitcase like an obnoxious rube into my backpack on the plane), the tech found that he had not quite snapped into place one of the connectors in my laptops guts and that was causing the overheat. Problem resolved. I’ll pick it up when I pick up my desktop which has been i the computer spa getting a massive C: drive clone/upgrade.
I knew that you would want to know.
I never heard if Pope Leo restored Cardinal Burke’s income and/or his apartment in Rome. Or is that another part of the vindictive legacy of Francis that must be preserved?
I have been looking for Green Chartreuse without much success. Here in Pennsylvania in our Soviet style State Liquor Store system, fuggedaboutit. I usually have a shot on my birthday October 6 which is also the feast of St. Bruno founder of the Carthusians. Although this year on that date I will be in Keflavik Iceland so I probably won’t get it.
Have a safe trip Father!
Great post! I gained five pounds just reading it. Oh, and thank you for supporting the Carthusians.
Your trip update brings me joy. Thank you for sharing.
A Chicago dog is one of my favorite foods on the planet
Superdawg, a hot dog bun with vegetables and a piece of meat.
I hope to go to the shrine one day. Perhaps next year for our 15th wedding anniversary.
We are having and 8th child, our sixth son. We are naming him Raymond in honour of his Eminence.
I’m glad to see you didn’t commit the cardinal sin of putting ketchup on your hot dog.
Also, not only is double sausage a thing, you can get Italian beef with a sausage added to it. The culinary delights of my home town. Nothing compares to a hot dog, Italian beef and pizza.