Lizzy For Halloween - Too Cute!

Seriously, does this need any further commets. Grandpa Mike sent it along to all of us to enjoy and well, Halloween was pretty lowkey this year and so I thought this would be a good capper to the month of Halloween.

Back in a few ~ Hit a Road Block!

Hey folks, some stuff is going on and while the final entries are just about done from the Ya-Ya weekend I need to take a quick break...catch up in the near future.

Ya-Ya's Weekend - The Dinner

This is an empty plate, but it represents the first two courses of an amazing dinner. The first was a mushroom soup that was to die for. And then we had a salad that was stacked. It was sliced apples and goat cheese plus greens. Our host did not feel it was the best of the evening, but we did take a moment and got the fresh homemade mayonnaise that Michael made. It was a heavenly moment.

Here is a picture showing Judy aka Butterfly Brain looking on with excitement that we would soon be enjoying the main course. Note that the blue bowl in the foreground is Michael's Homemade Mayo and yup, it made an appearance during this course as well.

Main Course included a Bourbon Beef Tenderloin that was so moist and delicious. This was served with a lovely mushroom risotto. To say the least, with the day of eating and drinking we could not even begin to think of eating too mucha nd this lead to deciding to have breakfast back at Sandy's place and not go out.

Yes, even Ya-Ya's pause to take those mandatory group shots at the dinner table. The lady in red is none other than Sandy! Gotta love her, she was just amazing this weekend as was everyone.

Ya-Ya's Cookie Camp

Jodie aka Jelly Queen brought fabulous crowns for all to decorate and after an afternoon of wine and games, let's just say it was a free for all...

Swandafag realized how important it was to present a good crown and stepped up to the plate. His was a blend of blue, purple, and classic white. It had everyone swooning!

Oyster Boy decided to try and honor hos brothers in the oyster world and create a purple gray frosting so they felt included. He was seeing stars with his creative energy and then "slugged" it home with a slug of white across the top. No one could figure out what he was thinking, but we all smiled and nodded to keep calm alive.

Here is Jodie's. I mean Jelly Queen's crown. Quite lovely and it was so inspirational to see he hog all the items until she was done. Thus, the lesson of sharing, when ready, was taught to all of the rest of us. Who knew!? You do nothing until the upper crust is done and done. But we pressed on to try and do our crowns.

an Our hostess, Sandy, aka Foul Mouth, wanted to do something and yet NONE of us knew what as she first did an under coat of black/gray bash frosting and the came an overcoat of sprinkles that ended as a base for the forth coming basket weave. How Lesbian for a Straight sister!

Cindy aka the newest name of SOB(Step-O-Bitch) decided to throw any and obviously all caution to the wind and throw up a "green crown" yes and I am Santa Claus! Rather she slapped white frosting on the crown and snagged the green gel to make a statement while sucking up a soda in a can and had all her drawings on poster size paper. It was sad, yet we all clapped to make her feel include. Welcome dear sister and it shall get better! Thankfully SOB will call me on my shot and it is as it should be.

Our dear sister Butterfly Brain aka Judy hams it up for the camera as she shows her skills of the cookie camp experience and what an afternoon it was. To think that dinner was hours away, there was no way this would interfere with dinner!

Ya-Ya's Wine, Food & Fun

So why is it that people love to get Chris with all the wine bottles? Seriously, could I drink all of this? No, I didn't think so. But I shall humor the masses.

Now, let the pictures begin. They both have cameras so this will go quickly, I am sure of that...
Seriously, they both have quick focus and click action. This will be done before noon. I mean, they are both so talented... I am honored to pose for the ladies of film...
Hello! Smile, click and shoot! Capture the moment...not the entire day! Hello...anyone there? Just trying to get this boring part of the day over and out. Alas, I must be patient!
Here is a game we played called Blockus, or one of a hundred other names we thought up during the day! Who knew it is a favorite of school children under 10. It was complex for us!
Here is our beloved hostess during a break from the kitchen where she created amazing meals for us to enjoy.
Sandy was an amazing host and put me to shame, seriously, I can bring together fabulous times...she makes amazing times. I fall to the side of the road as a piece of mud!
Here is Sandy giving me the "I am going to kill you look." Yea, I know she will not. I only took this in a way to show all the world how wonderful and fabulous she is and at the moment when the weekend could have fallen apart, she is steadfast and moving forward with a "let them eat cake!" attitude. Love her and all she did!

With everything else going on, she paused to make appetisers before dinner and here are the pear and Gorgonzola cheese on toasted rounds and can you say "Divine!"

Ya-Ya's Continued...Intense Discussions

While water and/or coffee was part of the kick-off for Saturday, our weekend was filled with discussing politics...
or fashions...which some of the Ya-Ya's body language said screw this (oops, did I type that?), but I shall not mince words for our dear sisters...never, to be sure!
And while some paused to contemplate what all the words really meant to the future of our very being, there were those that...
laughed it all off and said "cocktails anyone?"...let me tell you the bar never closed the entire weekend! And oh, the wine tasting was more like a suck-up!

Ya-Ya Saturday Brunch

Here are two of our dear Ya-Ya's, Foulmouth who is our host for the weekend and Jelly Queen who really does not like getting her picture taken but was willing to pause making the fabulous fruit salad to do me the favor. Thank you both for all you did to make it a great weekend.
The brunch was simple and delicious to be sure. Mimosa's were the beverage of choice to kick off the day along with great coffee and Bloody Mary's. The table is groaning with dishes and good food. Throughout the day it was transformed into numerous settings from wine tasting and game central to cookie camp and a magical dinner. All to be visited in the coming posts.
This was the main course for brunch. It was Savory French Toast with Parmesan cheese, using different variations. The one she created was the French toast with steamed asparagus on top of the bread, a little poached egg floating on top of that and finally a light blanket of Hollandaise sauce over the top. She decided that we needed to experience this beautiful and (I was certain) tasty dish for Saturday breakfast. This lovely dish can be found in a blog that Sandy enjoys called Closet Cooking.


Here are three of the chef's from Breakfast - Oyster Boy, SOB (Step-O-Bitch) which is a new name for her and of course, Foulmouth! How I love my Ya-Ya's!
No, they are not praying, but rather preying on amazing food. Shep in the foreground has just added orange juice to his champagne while Jelly Queen is doing her pouring and Butterfly Brain just is stunned by the amazing food we are about to just pig out on! Let the feasting begin. And oh did it for the next 12+ hours. More posts to come.

North & South ~ The Weekend Begins

The weekend has arrived and it is going to be quite the weekend. Ya-Ya's are heading to Longview to Sandy's place and my nephew Kevin is play his last regular season football game. Kevin has always enjoyed sports and I have gotten to hear a lot about his involvement via Mike, his Dad plus from Mom who listens to all the games on the radio. The family made a couple of road trips to games and it is fun to hear all the reports.
In Longview, Washington we all arrived from every direction. Judy came by train from the south while Katrina came from the east. Michael headed in from the west and Jodie, Rob and yours truly ventured down from the north. This was where we were headed, 2440 Archwood Drive. Sandy and Allen's house and folks, you so do not know how steep the driveway is. I can only imagine how much salt they will have to import for the winter weather and storms.

Tonight was the last regular season football game in Ashland and they won 34-14 over Eagle Point. They'll be in the playoffs now. After the game the seniors were introduced and their parents joined them on the field. The above picture is my brother Mike, his son Kevin and Joyce, his wife. Kevin had quite the career in football and reminded many of a family member, David Schilling, and his amazing career at Oregon State University.

Friends and Food

Hello to all,

The week has been a blur and boy I cannot believe that a week from today I will be on vacation. But that is in the future and today is where we are. OK, so let's actually talk about last night. Jodie and Rob stopped over and we had drinks and were catching up. Lots of fun to be sure and decided to get Chinese in and continue talking around the table newly covered in purple eco-friendly felt. The dinner included dumplings, spicy cucumber salad, snow peas w/ mushrooms, pepper salted shrimp, sweet & sour spareribs, Shanghai chow mien and finally sesame chicken. Can you talk food for days. Needless to say they took the left overs home and I think that took care of lunch for a day or two.

Well, tonight Markie came over and we had baked potatoes, salad and pan-fried lamb chops. Can you just say YUM! It was welcome to see friends, they help keep you grounded and in addition there was some mighty good eating. Now, I have to begin the process of using up all the stuff in the frig as I get closer to next Wednesday when I fly to St. Louis. Oh my, it could really be a chance to breath!

SPIRIT DAY - DO NOT FORGET

On October 20th, 2010, millions of people will wear purple in honor of the 6 gay boys who committed suicide in recent weeks/months due to homophobic abuse in their homes and at their schools.Purple represents Spirit on the LGBTQ flag and that’s exactly what this is about and also encouraging all of you to have with you: spirit. If you are being bullied or questioning your sexuality, please know that times will get better and that you will meet people who will love you and respect you for who you are, no matter your sexuality. Please wear purple on October 20th. Tell your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and schools. RIP Tyler Clementi, Asher Brown, Seth Walsh, Justin Aaberg, Raymond Chase and Billy Lucas. You are loved.

Oh Those Happy Days...

Yes indeed, those were "Happy Days" as our family came together and watched this Tuesday night fixture for 11 years. It was a hoot and cheesy and yet we did have a great time. Today, Tom Bosley, died. He was 83 and will be missed. Yesterday, we lost another great character actress as Mrs. Cleaver died. Another sign that time does not stop for anyone. I know it is a moment of youth I shall always remember. Good-bye Mr. C.

Tuesday Halloween Hello

If you read last night's posting you know Markie decided to make me a lovely faux-felt in lavender. It was a tad to big and fit the table like an over-sized condom. Well, Markie is not one to let projects sit around. So I arrived home to the new and better fitting table cover. It looks pretty darn fabulous.
Below is a close-up of the side-board showing how Halloween has arrived. Actually I do a blend of autumn and Halloween. Once the ghoulish holiday passes, I convert to Thanksgiving as I get the apartment prepped for Christmas. Yes, Chris loves his holidays.

This is the wall unit and about a third of the cubes got switched out for the holiday as I packed up a lot of the summer stuff that I had out for the last several months. The best show has to be Beacon Ridge and all the colors that are showing. Oh how I love this time of year.

So the sun is setting and it is just lovely and this is a time of year when candles get lit and we enjoy the snuggling in for warmth and relaxing. I so love this season. Hope you are able to take advantage of the beautiful days before the next storm hits.

Monday Surprise

A text arrives from Markie this afternoon...Home after 5? Have a present for you. Well, yes, I would be and what would he be bringing? So here is a picture of the before table, nothing special and clean looking.
And then poof, here is the new table covering. Yes, many might think, WTF? But no, it is no accident. Markie went off to JoAnn's Fabrics and found some real cheap faux-felt that is made out of soda pop bottles. It is a faux-felt and in fabulous lavender. He stopped by the Catan Card Room (aka my apartment) and measured the table with a 6" overhang and then went to work. It looks great, but just a tad too long. Thus, he packed it up and took it back to the sewing room. Will cover the table top a little more snug. Very amusing as when I first took it out of the bag I thought it was purple sweats! Took mucking futch. Markie always has a surprise to be sure.

R.I.P. ~ Liberace Museum

This past February I was in Las Vegas and was just about to pass on visiting the Liberace Museum when I found out that it had been a highlight for my ex-David when he had been there. So I went ahead and visited and it was a hoot! Well, glad I did as it has now closed as of today. Please see below for the full details. It was quite a ride and below is the ring I got there!
A museum dedicated to one of the most flamboyant entertainers in modern history quietly closed Sunday - the victim of too little money and too long of a wait for a movie that might have saved it.

The Liberace Museum in Las Vegas shut its doors after 31 years. According to the Las Vegas Sun, there was no splashy send off, just a long line of mournful fans. It was a rare full parking lot for the museum, which celebrates the life of what one commentator recently called "the King of Bling."

Liberace died in 1987 at the age of 67 after a long run as one of the pioneers of the long-term engagement in Las Vegas that has made many entertainers fabulously wealthy in a kind of suspended retirement.

The board of the Liberace Foundation had announced last month that it would pull the plug because sparse crowds were draining money from a scholarship fund set up to help young musicians.

While some Liberace loyalists were unhappy about plans for an upcoming Liberace biopic, there had been hope that the film would introduce new generations to the over-the-top pianist. The controversy came about because of reports the film would focus on Liberace's homosexuality and his attempts to keep it out of the media.

Michael Douglas was the play the entertainer, with Matt Damon as the man who claimed to be his longtime companion. The film, to be directed by Stephen Soderbergh ("Oceans 11," "Traffic"). Originally announced in 2008, the film has been delayed by other projects and Douglas's health issues. Variety recently quoted Damon as saying he hoped filming would start in the summer of 2011 with a release date in 2012.

The Las Vegas Sun said outgoing museum director Tanya Combs, a 10-year employee, felt that closing the museum was like losing a family member, while visitors were quoted as saying it was another lost link the Las Vegas's flashier heyday of showgirls and big production shows with lots of costumes and glitz.

The Sun reported tour guide Stephen Mathis wore a sequined vest, piano-key tie and a half-dozen oversized Liberace-styled rings, used one word to describe his feelings: “Devastated.”

The entertainer, whose full name was Wladziu Valentino Liberace, was one of the top earning personalities in the 1950s through 1970s. He was one of the first to set up a long term engagement in Las Vegas.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Slumbering Saturday

Ah yes, the week is history and this morning the city is swathed in fog and a cold front has temps dipping into the 30's. Markie is up early and doing a rather unique errand. For miles, he is flying to St. Louis and back with about an hour on the ground. What he'll do to keep his Gold MVP status. He mentions he needs a job, but I have to wonder when does he have time to work. He has been at the beach and finishing his scissor lift to be able to take a friend up 20 feet in the air for dinner. My oh my.

But as for me, I delayed breakfast with Mick until 8:30 this AM and then we enjoyed catching up on what has been going on as we have not had breakfast in three weeks. It will be another three until we get to do it again. As Mick settles into living alone again, I decided to use the day to get a lot of chores caught up. After a wandering drive back home to see the new Starbucks up on Capital Hill I went by to see where Helene and I are having brunch tomorrow. Once home I collected a couple of chairs downstairs to use for Catan tomorrow. The office is getting to be more and more empty and they have now moved the package closet down to the anti-room in the office area. Heck, apts. are sitting empty long enough now that they have begun to stage them to try and move them. Not a good sign. Hey folks, drop the rents, the place is showing its' age! A coat of paint is not enough.

Up in the apt. I got the rest of the laundry done and caught up on New Yorkers while a nap was part of the day's unfolding. Halloween and Autumn are now in place and I got cards done and packages prepped. Files sorted and a whole list of chores got tossed. And yes, a whole new one got created. It never ends. There is a lot I want to get done in the next 10 days before I fly to St. Louis. We'll see.

Amazing Autumn

My sister does a weekly newsletter to the parents of her kids. She sends them out to all the family and friends. I enjoy seeing what the kids are learning and sometimes there is a moment that just says - Awwwww! And this picture was one. It screams autumn to me and the quote there is one I have put on my signature line on gmail. It really says it all. Autumn is my FAVORITE season of the year. So it is Friday and I got done at the office a tad early and so home and the recycle is done and garbage dumped. Got the ballot in the mail for the next election. The weekend has a little structure, but will be filled with getting a lot of the little stuff done and done as I am not home for a weekend again for the next three weekends. Have a great weekend.

Cable is So BAD for ME!

After a 2 year break I decided to bring back cable and oh my, Thursdays are now the night that takes down Chris. I am oh so addicted to "Project Runway" and even though I love, love, love Tim, the rest of the cast needs to be changed out. Using their own words, "In Fashion, one minute you are in and the next you are out." Can we talk, Heidi and that judge Michael are so OUT! Let's make a change and move on. You are the weakest link, Goodbye!

I remember how they used to really have the contestants really push themselves and go for the runway and that has all faded. It is about active wear and stuff for Heidi's line. That is just so stupid. Who else remembers Austin Scarlett and the first season. He was stunning and in case you have not found it, he has a show with Santino on after "Project Runway" and it is a hoot! So anywho, I am sitting here trying to be amused by the live episode of 30 Rock and all I can say is that I need to go and shower before "Project Runway." This is just bad TV!

Errands, Lists and Life

There are days when I start this blog and know that people are going WTF? as they begin to read, but keep reading and the above phone will make sense. Promise. So I get home from work and realize that the past two nights have been social focused. Additionally, I realize that I have been battling a cold bug or something. The energy level is down. But there is little time to let it all merge and move on. So I figure that it is a home alone night and that is fine. Thus, as I walk in the apartment I get the stock heating up so I can have soup later, but then turn and the dishwasher gets emptied and loaded again so the kitchen gets back to looking good again. Pull the load out of the dryer and have the washer running. Then I get to making a list of what needs done.

Up first is the new cell phone. I need to program in all the old numbers and yet I owe three calls to people: Mom, Janet and Michael. All get done and at the same time I keep adding more things to the list of to do's and the soup is calling for me to stop and enjoy. What can I say, I bailed on the cell phone, oh how I yearn for the days when we had the rotary dial phones that were simple and we had the phonebook nearby to use. Yes, long distance was insane but oh how simple things were. Yes, I know we can't go backwards, but still, I am going to have to set aside several hours to get this new phone up and running. Maybe tomorrow. OK, let's be real, likely this weekend. Speaking of lists, I have a page for errands to be run and a list of calls to be made plus a list of tasks that need to get done. Mind you this is all to happen in addition to having breakfast with Mick on Saturday as we have not been able to connect since last month plus seeing Helene on Sunday for brunch at a place called Barrio and there may be Catan in my future. What I do know is that I need to be focused as this is the last weekend at home until mid-November. And so it goes!

The Chicken - A Meal & More

Markie wrote and asked what I was doing for dinner. I had no real plans and yet was worried as he had written to me the night prior and I just had not gotten to email after my beach return. Yes, I got home and then crashed for a nap before heading north to Rob & Jodie's place to share in a Monday evening dinner party. Up the next day and working away, only a text message got my attention. So yes, I was up for it and he stated he would be over at the usual time.Now before proceeding you need to understand Markie and I get together and watch PBS Nightly News Report and then ABC and NBC National News. We are news junkies. So he is here at the apartment early and ran downstairs and did some shopping. Along with a chicken he got purple onions and potatoes. The veggies served as a base for the chicken in the baking dish. He stuffed a lemon in the chicken for flavor and the whole thing went in the oven. We laughed at how it was a "Husky" dinner with the yellow and purple colors. So it cooked away and there was cucumber salad which I love from downstairs at Uwajimaya Market. Toss in a bottle of wine and there you go. So the chicken was cooking and we were talking away and Markie's phone rings and it is Curtis. He was invited and stopped downstairs and got some rolls. Arrived just as the chicken came out of the oven. What a nice surprise as the three of us sat down to a great dinner of chicken (which I showed how to cut up fast using cooking shears vs. a knife) and veggies plus the company could not be beat. And while this might have been the end, it was not. I am a soup whore in the fall and winter and Markie loves using everything again if possible and thus the bones all ended up in the pasta pot with water and cooking away making stock. I added some veggies and it cooked away until 3AM when I pulled it off the stove and then let it cool a bit before putting it in the frig. Tomorrow will be a simple pea and rice soup and using the homemade stock base all I can think is YUM! So here is a case where a simple meal becomes several meals. But even more important, getting together with friends is so enjoyable. Oh and by the way there is enough stock that I see not just soup for dinner, but at least one more meal or two to enjoy and that is what autumn is all about.

Happy Thanksgiving Canada!