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Yesterday was Pączki day. For those not of Polish extraction, a pączki (pronounced, at least in Chicago, as "punch-key") is a dessert pastry served on the day before Ash Wednesday. (Apparently the Polish aren't as much into pre-Lent parties as the French are.) At any rate, my Rotary club paid our routine visit to a local nursing home - the seniors can't get out much, so any variety is welcome. We have lunch with the residents and they were having a pre-Lent Marti Gras celebration, with paczkis for dessert.
Now, to my eye and taste, a paczki bears more than a passing resemblance to the jelly-filled donut I grew up calling a Bismarck. Whatever you call them, they're delicious. We also had a pancake-tossing race (the Rotarians were the competitors) which, or so I'm told, is a tradition going back to 1445. You learn something every day.
After that, we had entertainment (paid for by the club) from a couple of singers on the nursing home circuit. "Nursing home circuit!" you say? Well, yes, Virginia, there is such a thing. It doesn't pay much (I think we pay around $100/show) but if you're a singer looking for a few extra bucks and have free time during the middle of the week, it's a gig. One of the guys on the circuit has a "day job" at a piano bar at a Wisconsin resort, and yesterday's entertainers were clearly retired themselves.
This morning, my club held a recognition breakfast for local high school students. I'll have a link up to the article about that when it appears. Now, back to the salt mines...
Now, to my eye and taste, a paczki bears more than a passing resemblance to the jelly-filled donut I grew up calling a Bismarck. Whatever you call them, they're delicious. We also had a pancake-tossing race (the Rotarians were the competitors) which, or so I'm told, is a tradition going back to 1445. You learn something every day.
After that, we had entertainment (paid for by the club) from a couple of singers on the nursing home circuit. "Nursing home circuit!" you say? Well, yes, Virginia, there is such a thing. It doesn't pay much (I think we pay around $100/show) but if you're a singer looking for a few extra bucks and have free time during the middle of the week, it's a gig. One of the guys on the circuit has a "day job" at a piano bar at a Wisconsin resort, and yesterday's entertainers were clearly retired themselves.
This morning, my club held a recognition breakfast for local high school students. I'll have a link up to the article about that when it appears. Now, back to the salt mines...
