A Night at the Scottish Rite Cathedral

Loyal readers will recall that my husband

is affiliated with the

Valley of Indianapolis Scottish Rite.

Last evening we traveled up to Indy

to watch the annual installation of officers.

Fortunately for us,

we were merely spectators this time as my

husband finished his term as Thrice Potent Master

a year ago.

That was a good thing too

as this particular Friday is the day that many

of the underclassmen at IU leave town.

There was also a nasty accident that tied up traffic

for several minutes.

Hopefully all involved suffered no injuries.

We arrived a bit late and surreptitiously snuck

in the back way to avoid interrupting the proceedings.

I took this time to take some pictures of the beautiful

Gothic architecture of the auditorium.

The woodwork is carved Russian curly oak.

Artisans from Germany truly showed their mastery

in woodworking.

Please click on the photos to reveal the intricate details.

A unique chandelier.




Carved relief in the paneling.

I have been trying to get a good photo of the metal gate

at the main entrance to the auditorium.

This time I decided to just turn on the flash

and get those pictures.

I love the spider and its web in the top corner.

Oops, do any of you spot a problem with

this spider?

More detail.

It turned out that a wedding was taking place

in this room after we moved across

to the ballroom.

I'm so glad that I took these pictures when I did.

And now we are in the ballroom.

Have I mentioned that I love this chandelier?

It has 200 lights

(and it seems that a few are in need of being replaced)
and weighs about 2,500 pounds.

Think I can take it home with me?

No,

I didn't think so either.

I'll spare you the lengthy speeches

and let you admire more of the architecture.

A wide balcony overlooks the ballroom.

Bob Hope reportedly loved this ballroom,

proclaiming it to be the best dance floor he had ever been on.

Gotta love all that intricate carving.

One of the "simpler" lights in the ballroom.

Pretty.

These lights hang from the pillars surrounding

the dance floor.



Now this is a Masonic event,

so of course there was food.

The salad arrived.

It was mixed greens,

goat cheese (I think),

sliced pears,

red grapes,

a crumbled nut mixture

and a nice vinaigrette.

I do wish they had a dinner menu handy

so we knew for sure what we were eating.

I can tell you what I didn't have.

That would be the main entree

of a chicken breast in a cream sauce with pignolis,

green beans

and some unidentified starch.*

*None of those present at my table could tell me what it was.

And I didn't dare try it, so I can't tell you.

This is what I had.

Black pepper (yikes!) crusted tofu with a piquant sauce

and topped with crispy red tortilla strips.

It was good, but terribly spicy.

Also the tortilla strips were difficult

to eat in a polite setting.

A colorful presentation,

but not terribly practical to try to eat.

And for the first time,

I really didn't mind eating tofu.

Much.

Finally,

dessert arrived.

This was a light mousse with kiwi, pineapple

and fried triangles of phyllo.

I wish to thank my fellow diners for

putting up with my "flashes"

while trying to photograph

these dishes in the low light.



Also,

my compliments to Thomas Caterers of Distinction.

A wonderful job as always.

They have always been great about working around my pesky

chicken allergy and I appreciate that.

The Scottish Rite Cathedral

has recently put in LED lights to accent

the bell tower of the cathedral.

This move not only adds interest

and variety to the edifice

but saves a great deal of money in electrical bills.

Every few seconds the color changes.

I particularly like the blue light.

But I really like the purple.

Safe travels.