We Finally Found A Cafe

Yesterday, Carl & I headed off to Woodinville for breakfast and some wine tasting. Let me share from a loving heart-space...it is not easy to find a place for breakfast in this little hamlet. Seriously, it was a challenge! But did we score in the end.
Folks, I wanted to hold off on this place so it could get its' just desserts! Why? Well, let's start with comfort food without wondering about health codes -- that's what Woodinville Cafe delivers. Seriously, they offer many items that you can normally only get at a greasy spoon type of place, but there is no grease on these spoons.

Whatever you order, there will be a LOT of it. Breakfast any time, including delicious pancakes with many toppings and they have a version of potato pancakes you will find nowhere else! Oh and the bacon isn't cheap thin stuff, it's lovely, smoky bacon. That's a review from trying 4 strips myself.

The eggs, scrambled for me, are heavenly. Try the Monte Cristo, the chicken fried steak, as people around us did, they looked awesome. And be sure to order a home-made shake to go with your meal! They are sublime... and ginormous, but even better = peanut butter!

The service is super friendly and Lee made us laugh a lot. Atmosphere is much nicer than a diner, it makes you feel like you are on a train to great food. I can't get enough of this place... and there are others owned by the same proprietor. Mmmm, give it a try.

A Day In Woodinville

After a fabulous breakfast at Woodinville Cafe (which will be discussed in greater detail tomorrow) we were off on our journey to introduce Carl to Washington wines. Initially I was going to take some pictures of us drinking, but them something happened. Nature. It was a beautiful day and the grounds at Chateau St. Michelle are stunning. Here is a wonderful picture of Hydrangeas and then a stunning base of a Cedar tree. Wowzers, what a fun way to give wine tasting perspective.




Columbia Winery was just across the street from our first stop. It was quite a lovely facility and the most crowded as there were two limo buses parked with people all swarming around. The first picture is of the building as you approach and the second was some wild flowers on the grounds. Talk about details, a guy was going around and carefully repainting all the yellow curbing.




Silverlake Winery was our third stop and it was fun. Carl tasted pear wine for the first time. I have to say, in looking at the wineries from a different point of view is making the day a bit more fun. Each stop really shows how the arrival is as important as the experience.




Our last stop was the Woodhouse Wine Estates. Carl was put over the edge with a tasting of 10 different wines. Here they have a great patio area and what are they growing? Why tomatoes of course! It was a fun day.




All told Carl bought 3 bottles of wine and we had a lot of laughs to be sure. I was amazed to learn that there are nearly 50 wineries and tasting rooms in the Woodinville area. This was not my first visit, but one thing is for sure, it will not be my last. A very good memory to be sure and this is now Carl's last night as he flies south tomorrow. Thanks for coming up, it's been a good time.

Rosh Hashanah Greetings

Happy 55th Markie

So Markie always does something for his birthday. One year a cruise another was a flight on the Concord. This year he decided to go to New Mexico and stay in a cabin out in the middle of nowhere that has iron rods in the ground all around it to attract lightening. Why do I have a feeling you are not going to see that on my bucket list.

But to each his own - Happy Birthday to you kind sir!Thanks to Markie for the photos from his blog!

Carl Arrives & Sleeps

My friend Carl arrived tonight and we enjoyed a great Thai dinner. But all too soon he was crashed out as he had worked all night before boarding a plane to fly up here. He's a nurse and a physician's assistant and works crazy hours. But he got in safely and we welcomed his arrival by cracking open a bottle of Washington Merlot and catching up on all that was fit to chat about. He was asleep by 9pm. I decided to stay up to watch the results show for DWTS. The vacation that was to be is on hold for the most part. Did make it in yesterday, today and will go in tomorrow, oh joy!

Oh Yes We Did Have Fun!

Jodie & Rob stopped by to share a champagne tasting as they begin planning their post wedding reception that is planned for May 5, 2012. Now, if memory serves me, Cinco de Mayo is on the same day. Am I right? Well, how do you like the party hat I suggested for Rob. Now, the "hat" for Jodie was a complete fluke and is too funny! And oh my, is she a happy camper or what?OK, that is better Jodie. But you can't fault her too much, it was a warm day and wet and humid = UGH! We introduced Helene to Blokus and the bottle of champagne was gone all too soon. It was a leisurely Sunday and heck, let's have another bottle of something...and when did it stop?Yes, the spoils of a very festive afternoon! Rob even went downstairs and got sushi for Jodie. After last weekend and the impact just two pieces had on me, I passed. Rob grilled some tri-tips and there was pate and before all this Helen and I enjoyed a festive Hawaiian lunch. It was a good day.

Moonsong & Flowers

So this is Moonsong who I have talked about numerous times. Today he actually cleaned the apartment with me here. I had a lot of crap to get to on the computer and it was kinda weird weather outside and so I worked away as he did and before he left I took his picture. To the left you will see a small vase of white lilies that I got yesterday and just over his right side is a HUGE bouquet of stargazer lilies I got. All of them for $20 bucks. How I love Amazon Fresh. This is a quick post as Helene is due in 20 minutes and then Jodie and Rob are stopping by. Kinda social day, but that's ok after having a nice quiet day yesterday of reading and just futzing about the apartment. Did have nice chats with Janet, Mom, Michael and Ani. Carl arrives Tuesday and we shall see how much of a vacation I am able to work out of the week.

We Are Hitting The Pause Button...

Catch up tomorrow!

Ladies & Gentlemen, My Favorite Season!

This day marks the beginning of autumn and it is hands down my favorite season of the year. The colors and the time changes that happen with the nights growing longer brings out the candles and I begin decorating the apartment for the season and then add on the Halloween and then Thanksgiving add-ons. Christmas will not soon be popping. This is going to be a Christmas to remember! Will be in NYC from December 6-11.

Aloha - Do You Deliver?

I was so not in the mood to cook tonight, too hot. What are you going to do? Have a luau-inspired meal from North Shore Hawaiian BBQ. They offer genuine recipes from the Pacific Islands that are characteristic of the sweet and tangy food from the area. Alongside their traditional beef, pork, chicken and seafood dishes, they like to offer the best sides--fresh salads, filling soups and delicious appetizers. If you’re up for trying something a little different, have a taste of gyoza or island fried rice. Seriously, we are talking awesome food. When Mom visited we did short ribs and they were finger licking good. I like to kick the rice to the curb and get more salad. They will do what you want when you want. I love them for that. It was so good I might see if Helene would like to try them on Sunday when she come for lunch. She is due just after Moonsong finishes cleaning. Have I told you how much I appreciate Moonsong and his cleaning? It is such a treat to come into a lovely fresh smelling apartment that is all fresh and clean. Yeah!

Seven Years Ago...

Tropical Storm Jeanne has caused severe flooding on the Island of Haiti leaving tens of thousands homeless and over 500 deaths. The 30% city of Port-de-Paix is now covered by water with just a few house tops visible and along the coast and nearby plantations are reported to be under water. And in the city of Gonaives where roads around the city were transformed into fast flowing rivers and 80% of the population is affected. In the years since the various storms, earthquakes, hurricanes, and all various weather related storms seem to be taking up more and more of the TV time. Seriously, is there a day that a news broadcast does not begin with "Breaking News" and poof off we go again. Recently the hurricane going up the east coast and the following flooding pushed aside the tornado's that had hit the mid west not 6 weeks earlier. And here in the northwest, it was just a very nice and mild summer. We were very lucky.

Pay Day Is A Good Thing

At Events & Adventures we get paid on the 5th and 20th of the month. Odd, but I go with it. Well, this month had been a tad unusual in that Labor Day was the 5th so we got paid on the 2nd and then had to wait over two weeks for another pay day. Well, it arrived today and I was rather impressed at how I was able to make the dollars stretch a bit further. Rack a bit of it up to making more meals at home and I was glad to have a groove going in doing fun marinades and glazes for meats. Yum. Deviled Eggs are becoming a common staple of entertaining when people come over and trying different things in them. Tonight it is Polish Sausage with melted cheese on top. The other thing is drinking so much more water.

Bad Juju Switch-A-Roo

Curtis went to Africa earlier this year and brought back a beaded neck ring for me and it was a lovely gift. But, oddly, I kept feeling weird when it was in the apartment. I moved it around and finally went to Curtis and shared my situation. He had a mask that I really liked when he showed it to me and we agreed to a trade and now I have the lovely mask above in my abode and he is giving the beaded piece to his 91 year old grandmother. A perfect ending to the situation and I am a happy camper.

Hello Rain, It's Been A While!

How perfect! Feeling a bit under the weather and it is raining outside thus lending itself to just canceling the day and staying in bed and enjoying the wetness and calm of the day. How I love the rain!

We Are On A Countdown...

Autumn arrives next Friday, the 23rd!

The Art Of The Note

The Do's and Don'ts of How to Write Thank You Letters
The Etiquette Basics You Need to Know

They're such a simple concept. A thank you letter, or note, is an expression of appreciation for a thoughtful act, expression, or gift. But the potential formality of this thought can be intimidating. Many people think that the wording of a thank you letter has to be perfect, and this causes so much anxiety that the notes are never sent. Before all the other rules, just remember that an imperfect letter that comes with heartfelt sentiment is better than a perfect note that was never written.

In order to relieve some of the anxiety on this subject, here is a simple guide to the do's and don'ts of thank you letters. You may discover that in some cases where you thought a written letter was required, it's not. I'll also give you a few sample letters just to get you started. But remember, although I'm providing a formula, you'll need to personalize your thank you note to make it meaningful to the recipient.

The Do's of Thank You Letters

Send your thank you letters as quickly as possible.

Letters may be sent on informal stationery, except for wedding thank you notes which are generally sent on formal stationery.

Always make specific reference to the gift that is the subject of the letter, such as "Thank you so much for the blue sweater. How did you know that was my favorite color?"

Always send letters in the following situations:
•Wedding gifts.
•For sympathy letters, flowers, or mass cards.
•To the hostess after a party that was hosted in your honor.
•For bridal or baby shower gifts.
•For gifts that were received by mail.
•After being entertained by your boss.
•Gifts received during a hospital stay.
•After being hosted as a houseguest for one or more nights (unless it's a close relative or friend who is doing the hosting).
•For notes or gifts of congratulations.

Thank you notes are not required in the following situations, but would still be a nice gesture:
•After being a guest at a dinner party.
•After a job interview (not required, but definitely a smart idea).
•For birthday gifts that were received and opened in person, and you already thanked the giver personally.
•When a friend has helped you out with a special favor such as babysitting, a meal when you were sick, running errands for you when you are incapable.
•To the sales representative who has entertained you personally as part of a business relationship.

The Don'ts of Thank You Letters

Don't delay in sending most letters. Generally letters should be sent within a week of receipt of the gift or gesture. The only exception to this timing is as follows:

•Thank you letters for hospital gifts should be sent as soon as the patient is well enough to send them, whenever that is.
•The current guidelines for wedding gift thank you letters are that the letters should be sent within three months of receipt of gifts. However, given the potential monumental task that would pose to the bride and groom after their honeymoon, it makes sense to send notes out as soon as gifts are received (often wedding gifts are sent prior to the wedding date).
I cannot stress enough the importance of personalizing thank you letters. I have attended large children's parties where parents hand out pre-written thank you letters as guests leave the party, even though gifts haven't even been opened. In my opinion, there's no point in even giving a thank you in this case. Thought was given to selecting just the right present for the birthday boy or girl, and without a specific thank you for the gift, the giver will never know how much the gift was really enjoyed. This kind of thank you is merely a check note on the party list, and conveys no sense of personal appreciation.

Even though most thank you letters can be sent on informal stationery, that doesn't mean it's okay to use a piece of paper torn from your shopping list pad. Find note cards that reflect your personality, and keep a ready supply on hand. They don't need to cost a lot of money. In fact, if you shop diligently, you can find inexpensive, attractive cards in the dollar stores.

There's no need to lie if you dislike a gift. If something is not to your taste, you should still show appreciation for the thought that went into selecting it for you. You can always say "Thank you for the thoughtful (fill in the blank). I will always think of you whenever I use it."

Special Thanks to Diane Palito for the helpful tips.

100 Days Until...

Most people, Christian or not Christian, love to welcome Christmas day because that is an off day where free food is abundant and people looks less temperament than regular day. Every 25 of December, People celebrate the birth of Jesus with gifts, wines, cakes and free foods. Million people anticipated those day but some are just do not care about it because they fact that 25 December was the birth of Lord is unknown. Here, we are going to check 10 interesting facts about Christmas. Some fact will probably answer the doubt of non-believers.

1. Fact 1: Nativity Scene, At first, Alexandria’s theologians celebrated the birth of Isaac every 20th may. Before 200AD, 25 December was same as other regular day. First people who proposed 25th day as the day to celebrate the birth of Jesus was Pope in Rome at in 380 AD. Some scholars believed Pope picked a wrong date because 25th December is the same day when pagan’s celebrate the birth the sun of God

2. Fact 2: Street Carol during Christmas Eve was started in England by a rich entrepreneur. He hired songwriter and singers to cheer the perambulation night of Christmas and the custom spread out to other cities in England afterward. From many Choruses had been made for the Christmas, We wish you a merry Christmas is the most popular.

3. Fact 3: First Christian who initiated the custom of Christmas gift card gifting and exchange was Sir Henry Cole in 1843.

4. Fact 4: Gift giving custom and send celebrated card is in fact not a new tradition. In ancient Rome, to respect the goddess of New Year, Strenia, Romans used to share or exchange some of their valuable stuff to other people who have believe with them.

5. Fact 5: Christmas tree was not available before 16th century. A Christmas custom to include Christmas tree every Christmas season was started by a German priest, Martin Luther. He took a cedar tree from the forest and brought it home to teach his children that Jesus was coming from stars and he went to earth to save human .

6. Fact 6: Before 1600s Christian in England celebrated Christmas every 25th December. However, in 1644, Parliament act banned all practices of Christmas celebration and customs. The regulation of prohibiting the celebration of Christmas was also happening in Boston in 1659 until 1681. The end of the prohibitions act ended after Governor Sir Edmund Andros led the city.

7. Fact 7: Fact about Santa is not lie. He was a real living figure. Before 16th century, the popularity of the generosity St. Nicholas spread across Europe. He was known as a good caretaker and gift giver. In France, his name was known as ‘Père Nöel’. In Germany, ‘Père Nöel’ was known as Christ kind or Christ Child and in US, ‘Père Nöel’ was popular as Kris Kringle. In US, Dutch Settler renamed Kris Kringle as `Sinter Klas’. After view decades, Sinter Klas changed to be Santa Claus.

8. Fact 8: Pro Roman pope disagree that he had picked wrong date to mark the birth of Christ. They argued, It was pagan who adopted 25th December as the birthday of their god. They believed Mithras cult was born far behind the tradition of Christmas and they adopted the date to spread doubts.

9. fact 9: Word Christmas and Xmas literally has same meaning. In Geek alphabet, X is called Christos that means Christ in English.

10. Fact 10 Christmas gift, The tradition of gift exchange of gift giving symbolizes the day when the baby Isaac received 3 gifts from 3 wise men Balthazar, Melchior, and Caspar who traveled from hundreds of miles followed the star of Bethlehem to find the king of all Jews. Those 3 people gave marry 3 gifts for Isaac Frankincense, Gold and Myrrh that represents pride, fame, and suffer.This is last Christmas facts I can give to you and I hope you like what you read.

On This Date Since 1900...

2010 Pfizer sponsors a study of the smoking cessation drug Varenicline, suggest governments would be wise to fund smoking cessation treatments
2010 Ukranian prosecutors claim that in 2000, former Interior Minister Yuriy Kravchenko ordered the murder of journalist Georgiy Gongadze
1998 Week of Fed Cup
1997 49th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards
1997 Bank One Senior Golf Classic
1997 Chicago Whites Sox retire Carlton Fisk's number, 72
1997 Karrie Webb wins LPGA SAFECO Classic
1997 Loren Roberts wins CVS Charity Golf Classic with a 266
1996 A's Mark McGwire is 13th player to hit 50-home runs in a season
1996 Dean Headley takes 3rd cricket hat-trick of season, Kent vs. Hampshire
1996 New York Met Todd Huntley sets record of 41 home runs by a catcher
1996 Tara Dawn Holland (Kansas), 23, crowned 70th Miss America 1997
1994 All 28 baseball owners vote to cancel rest of 1994 season
1992 1st subway car completed to be exported from U.S. (to Taiwan)
1991 Carolyn Suzanne Sapp (Hawaii), 24, crowned 65th Miss America 1992
1991 Freshman Marshall Faulk of San Diego State rushed for NCAA record
1991 Magic Johnson weds Erieatha "Cookie" Kelly
1991 U.S. performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1991 386 yards and scored 7 touchdowns as the Aztecs beat Pacific 55-34
1990 Ken Griffey, Sr and, Jr., hit back-to-back home runs in 1st inning
1989 Calgary Flames become 1st NHL team to play in U.S.S.R., win 4-2
1989 Jeff Reardon is 1st to record 30 saves in 5 consecutive seasons
1989 U.S. performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1988 U.S.S.R. performs nuclear test at Semipalitinsk, Eastern Kazakhstan U.S.S.R.
1987 "Les Miserables," opens at Rock Theatre, Vigzinhaz Budapest
1987 107th U.S. Mens Tennis: Ivan Lendl beats Mats Wilander (67 60 76 64)
1987 Cal Ripken's streak of 8,243 consecutive innings (908 games) is broken
1987 Ivan Lendl defeat Mats Wilander to win U.S. Tennis Open in 4 hours 47 minutes
1987 Toronto Blue Jays hit a record 10 home runs vs Baltimore Orioles
1986 Bo Jackson's 1st home run - a 475-foot blast (longest at Royal Stadium)
1986 Bomb attack in Paris, 2 killed
1986 Bomb explosion on airport Kimpo at Seoul, 5 killed
1986 Judy Dickinson wins LPGA SAFECO Golf Classic
1986 Saskatchewan and Hamilton play 1st CFL regular-season overtime game
1985 Susan Akin (Miss), 21, crowned 59th Miss America 1986
1984 1st MTV awards-Bette Midler and Dan Aykroyd host
1983 U.S. House of Representatives votes, 416 to 0, in favor of a resolution condemning Russia for shooting down a Korean jetliner
1982 36" snow Red Lodge, Montana
1982 Cindy Nicholas of Canada makes her 19th swim of English Channel
1982 Trevor Baxter sets skateboard high jump record of 5' 5.7"
1981 Entertainment Tonight premieres on TV
1980 "Charlie and Algernon" opens at Helen Hayes Theater New York City for 17 performances
1980 Donna Caponi Young wins LPGA United Virginia Bank Golf Classic
1980 Dwight Clark begins NFL streak of 105 consecutive game receptions
1979 U.S.S.R. performs nuclear test at Semipalitinsk, Eastern Kazakhstan U.S.S.R.
1979 Theodore Coombs completes 5,193 mile roller skate from LA to New York City and back to Yates Center, Ks
1978 Braves' Jim Bouton, 38, beats Giants, his 1st win since 1970
1978 Portugal government of Da Costa falls
1977 Christmas Tinto sentenced to 7 years in Robbeneiland South Africa
1975 Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Southgate Golf Open
1975 Pope Paul VI declares Mother Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton 1st U.S. saint
1975 Rembrandts "Nightwatch" slashed and damaged in Amsterdam
1975 Robin Yount breaks Mel Ott's record, playing in 242 games as a teen
1974 Charles Kowal discovers Leda, 13th satellite of Jupiter
1973 Indianapolis is awarded a WHA franchise
1973 Israel shoots down 13 Syrian MIG-21s
1973 President Nixon signed into law a measure lifting pro football's blackout
1972 "Waltons" TV program premieres
1972 Jason Miller's "That Championship Season," premieres in New York City
1972 West Germany and Poland establish diplomatic relations
1971 Cleveland Indians and Washington Senators, play 20 innings
1970 Stevie Miracle marries Rita Wright
1969 Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Wendell-West Golf Open
1969 Males of Swiss kanton Schaffhausen rejects female suffrage
1968 1st broadcast of 60 Minutes on CBS-TV
1968 Detroit Tigers' Denny McLain's 30th victory of season
1968 Dmitri Shostakovich' 12th string quartet, premieres in Moscow
1968 U.S.S.R.'s Zond 5 is launched on 1st circumlunar flight
1967 Melville Abrams Ball Field in Bronx named
1967 Thomas Pell Wildlife Refuge and Sanctuary opens in Bronx
1965 "F-Troop" premieres
1965 4th meeting of 2nd Vatican council opened
1964 WCVE TV channel 23 in Richmond, Virginia (PBS) begins broadcasting
1964 Walt Disney awarded Medal of Freedom at White House
1963 Mary Ann Fischer, Aberdeen, South Dakota, gave birth to America's 1st surviving quintuplets, 4 girls and a boy
1962 U.S. performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1961 Dmitri Shostakovich becomes member of CP of U.S.S.R.
1961 U.S.S.R. performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya U.S.S.R.
1960 Chubby Checker's "Twist" hits #1
1960 Coup under Col Joseph-Desire Mobutu in Congo
1960 Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi-Arabia and Venezuela form OPEC
1960 KERA TV channel 13 in Dallas, Texas (PBS) begins broadcasting
1959 Soviet Union's Luna-2 is 1st spacecraft to land on the Moon
1959 WQEX TV channel 16 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (PBS) begins broadcasting
1958 Jackie Pung wins LPGA Jackson Golf Open
1958 WTAE TV channel 4 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (ABC) begins broadcasting
1958 Yankees win 24th pennant, and 9th under Casey Stengel
1957 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Maralinga Australia
1957 U.N. resolution deplores and condemns U.S.S.R. invasion of Hungary
1957 U.S. performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1956 1st prefrontal lobotomy performed, Washington D.C.
1955 Herb Score sets rookie record of 235 strikeouts (en route 245)
1954 B Britten's opera "Turn of the Screw," premieres in Venice
1954 Giants' Willie Mays gets 82nd extra-base hit, breaks Mel Ott's record
1954 Hurricane Edna (2nd of 1954) hits New York City, $50 million damage
1954 U.S.S.R. performs nuclear test
1953 Comedians Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara marry
1953 Yankees clinch 5th straight pennant with 8-5 win over Indians
1951 Giant's Bob Niemans homers on his 1st 2 at bats
1950 Western allies rearm West Germany
1948 Gerald Ford upsets Rep Bartel J Jonkman in Michigan 5th Dist Representative primary
1948 Ground breaking ceremony for United Nations world headquarters
1948 Milton Berle starts his TV career on Texaco Star Theater
1947 61st U.S. Womens Tennis: A Louise Brough beats M O duPont (86 46 61)
1947 67th U.S. Mens Tennis: Jack Kramer beats Frank A Parker (46 26 61 60 63)
1944 6,500 Dutch/Indonesian captives sent to Junyo Maru
1944 Gulpen, Meerssen and Maastricht freed
1944 Hurricane hits New England: 389 die
1944 U.S. 28th Infantry division occupies 1.5 km of Roscheid
1944 U.S. 4th Ivy League Inf division pushes through Westwall
1943 Comedians Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara marries
1943 Yankees clinch pennant #14
1942 Battle of Edson's Ridge (Japanese assault) at Guadalcanal
1942 German troops occupy train station Stalingrad-1
1942 Yankees clinch pennant #13
1940 Congress passes 1st peace-time draft law
1940 German bomb hits shelter in Chelsea; 100s die
1939 British fleet attacks German U-39 boat
1939 Minister Winston Churchill visits Scapa Flow
1938 Graf Zeppelin II, world's largest airship, makes maiden flight
1936 Paul Waner ties Rogers Hornsby's NL record of 200 hits for 7 times
1933 2 billion board feet of lumber destroyed in Tillamook Oregon fire
1933 Schaduwproces-Rijksdagbrand opens in London
1932 Military coup in Chile under Arturo Alessandri
1930 Detroit Lions (as Portsmouth Spartans) play 1st NFL game, win 13-6
1930 Nazis gain 107 seats in German election
1929 49th U.S. Mens Tennis: Bill Tilden beats Francis Hunter (36 63 46 62 64)
1929 A's clinch AL pennant with a 5-0 win over White Sox
1926 Guido Companions birthplace as a museum opens
1924 Walter Johnson elected AL MVP
1923 Jack Dempsey KOs Luis Firpo in 2 for heavyweight boxing title
1923 Miguel Primo de Rivera becomes dictator of Spain
1923 Red Sox 1st baseman George Burns pulls off an unassisted triple play
1919 British regime forbids Sinn Fein Dail
1917 Kerenski regime declares Russian republic
1917 Provisional government of Russia forms, Republic proclaimed
1916 Christy Mathewson pitches and wins his final game
1914 German staff-chief von Moltke replaces von Falkenhayn
1914 German troops withdraw from Aisne/invent trenches
1913 27th U.S. Womens Tennis: Mary K Browne beats Dorothy Green (62 75)
1913 Cubs Larry Cheney hurls record 14-hit shutout against Giants (7-0)
1905 Albert Cuypstrat street market in Amsterdam inaugurated
1905 Dutch AR-politician AWF Idenburg named governor of Suriname
1905 RAC Tourist Trophy, 1st run, on Isle of Man
1903 New York Giant Red Ames no-hits St. Louis, 5-0 in a 5 inning game

Double Wham - 2001!

The shock of what had happened had not passed, but we did begin to get back on track...

13th Sept. 2001 : Commercial air traffic restarts from most airports in the U.S. after all air traffic had been grounded following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. After another night of firefighters and rescue workers digging through the rubble of the twin towers hopes are fading to find any further live survivors of the bombing, the current toll is an estimated 20,000 missing.

13th Sept. 2001 : Osama bin Laden has been named As Prime Suspect behind the terrorist attacks on the United States two days ago by the Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Sunday Supper

Sunday was a perfectly lovely day. Moonsong rang early and rescheduled to clean and so I was able to kick back and read. How delightful. A nap was tossed in plus doing sheets and getting things in order for the coming week. Markie was due at 5pm to make dinner. He said he had pulled some lamb shanks out of the freezer and oh my what a treat was in store. But first up was cocktails.

I rather enjoyed trying the Blueberry vodka with diet tonic over ice. Cool and refreshing for a change of pace and since the temps had topped off just over 90 it was spot on. After a couple of those and enjoying the smells of the kitchen as Markie prepared dinner, it was time to enjoy the Atkins friendly version of Osso Bucco. Mind you I say this as I forgot to take a picture last night and the image I found that was closest to what Markie presented is on a bed of carrots. We did not have them. Mind you we did not miss them. Add a lovely salad with blue cheese dressing and viola, a great Sunday Supper. For those that have not gotten to enjoy Osso Bucco, it is an amazing melt in your mouth, fall off the bone dinner. But the sauce, oh my goodness and Markie was clever to trade out ingredients and make it so the dish was basically carb-free! Mind you, I loved the sauce so much I opted out of wine with dinner and enjoyed a couple of glasses of the sauce. There was nothing to dredge it in and so drinking it was the only option. The juniper berries added flavor and the bits of burnt garlic made it tasty. Life is not always difficult.

For those who would like to try, here is a recipe:

Osso Buco
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Prep Time:15 min Cook Time:2 hr 0 min
Level: Easy Serves: 6 servings

Ingredients
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 dry bay leaf
2 whole cloves
Cheesecloth
Kitchen twine, for bouquet garni and tying the veal shanks
3 whole veal shanks (about 1 pound per shank), trimmed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
All purpose flour, for dredging
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1 small carrot, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1 stalk celery, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
3 cups chicken stock
3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Directions
Place the rosemary, thyme, bay leaf and cloves into cheesecloth and secure with twine. This will be your bouquet garni.

For the veal shanks, pat dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. Veal shanks will brown better when they are dry. Secure the meat to the bone with the kitchen twine. Season each shank with salt and freshly ground pepper. Dredge the shanks in flour, shaking off excess.

In a large Dutch oven pot, heat vegetable oil until smoking. Add tied veal shanks to the hot pan and brown all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove browned shanks and reserve.

In the same pot, add the onion, carrot and celery. Season with salt at this point to help draw out the moisture from the vegetables. Saute until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and mix well. Return browned shanks to the pan and add the white wine and reduce liquid by half, about 5 minutes. Add the bouquet garni and 2 cups of the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pan and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. Check every 15 minutes, turning shanks and adding more chicken stock as necessary. The level of cooking liquid should always be about 3/4 the way up the shank.
Carefully remove the cooked shanks from the pot and place in decorative serving platter. Cut off the kitchen twine and discard. Remove and discard bouquet garni from the pot. Pour all the juices and sauce from the pot over the shanks. Garnish with chopped parsley and lemon zest.

Ten Years Ago Today...

I remember waking up at my apt. in Portland on 22nd Avenue and going in to get coffee going and I turned on the TV. I thought to myself, "it is too early to have Diane Sawyer on?" Little did I realize what was happening and soon calling everyone I knew telling them to turn on their TV's and most were tuned in by the time the 2nd plane hit. The rest of the week was numbing. It was unreal seeing the towers collapse on live TV. A year later Mick and I were in Paris on the anniversary and they did a visual tribute at their city hall much like the above.

The Heat Is On!

I am so trying to stay cool. Thank goodness for air conditioning. With the heat on I decided to get all the chores done this morning and that included 2 loads of laundry, dishes washed and got initial prep ready for tonight as Rob and Jodie are coming over for heavy snacks and drinks. It is too hot to consider dinner! Tomorrow Markie is stopping by to cool off and have dinner - yes, I take a ribbing for having AC, but it does draw in those needing comfort.

Travel Trinkets

March had a group go over to Ireland and Julie, my event coordinator out of Santa Clara, was so sweet and found a lovely Waterford crystal seahorse for me to use as an ornament. It will be the first ornament on the tree when it goes up in November. You just never know when another item comes into the house, but I have really tried to live by the policy that if something comes in I let something else go. Trying to find balance.Curtis, my event coordinator in Seattle, lead a group to Africa this summer. He went looking for something that had purple in it and found the beaded color that was more along periwinkle. It is most interesting and several people have tried it on. My head is too big and so it becomes a sort of faux-hat on my head. It is fun and a festive conversation piece.

A Sticky History

On this date, back in 1930 life changed forever. Today is when Scotch Tape was developed as a brand name used for certain pressure sensitive tapes manufactured by 3M as part of the company's Scotch brand. Yes, a lot has changed over the years and one thing I know is that I have one of these black tape dispensers on my desk. I think they are a staple of many offices around the world as we seek to have a dispenser that will work with you as you try and hold an article or photo in place as you reach for the tape to get an item stuck together just perfectly.Although it is a trademarked brand name, it has sometimes been used in the United States and elsewhere as a generic term for transparent adhesive tape. The Scotch brand includes many different constructions (backings, adhesives, etc.) and colors of tape. Use of the term "Scotch" in the name has a pejorative origin. A customer complained that 3M was manufacturing its masking tape too cheaply, and told company engineer Richard Drew to, "take this tape back to your stingy Scotch bosses and tell them to put more adhesive on it."Who has not been impacted by Scotch Tape. Seriously, how often do you ask for adhesive tape. Nope, I didn't think so. Presents just look better and it has so many uses. I have to laugh that now the big push is the pull pre-cut packs. I can see the impact come the holidays, but boy what a blitz on that new option with the school year kicking off. What I know is that I need to stock up for the upcoming holiday season to be prepared.

What Happened To The Weather?

OK, so Labor Day happened and poof we are heading into the 80's and may hit 90 by the weekend. Yikes! Thank you air conditioning. Work, sleep, repeat. In this weather, I am not a big outdoor kind of guy. Yes, that is shocking news to be sure. LOL But I have to tell you it has been an awesome summer with temps in the 70's for the most part touching 80 from time to time and many cooler nights. This is the kind of summer I can totally relate to. What also has me excited is that in 3 weeks I catch the Victoria Clipper for an overnight in Canada and Carl will be joining me from California. we are going to kick it all off with a 7 hour wine-tasting and lunch. How nice. The funny item is the hotel we are staying in is right next door to where Uncle Markie always stays when in town. And so it goes.

So Do You Agree?

Here are other highlights of Zagat’s annual fast food survey:

Most Popular Mega Chains:
1. Subway
2. McDonald’s
3. Wendy’s
4. Burger King
5. Taco Bell

Top Overall Mega Chain:
1. Wendy’s
2. Subway
3. McDonald’s
4. Pizza Hut
5. KFC

Top Healthy Options:
1. Subway
2. Wendy’s
3. McDonald’s
4. Taco Bell
5. KFC

Fast Food Chain with Best Burger:
1. Five Guys
2. In-N-Out Burger
3. Wendy’s
4. Burger King
5. McDonald’s

Fast Food Chain with Best Wings:
1. Buffalo Wild Wings
2. Wingstop
3. KFC
4. Zaxby’s
5. Pizza Hut

Quick Refreshment Chain:
1. Red Mango
2. Pinkberry
3. Jamba Juice
4. Smoothie King
5. TCBY

Fast Food Chain with Best Coffee:
1. Starbucks
2. Dunkin’ Donuts
3. McDonald’s
4. Peet’s Coffee & Tea
5. Caribou Coffee

Catch Up Tomorrow...

The Menu for Dinner Last Night

Realized I had not shared the menu, likely due to the cocktails and wine...but it was a fun evening. Markie brought Pineapple vodka and I have to admit - SHOCKINGLY - it was not too bad with tonic. But I did have a plate of deviled eggs topped with crushed red pepper flakes for a bit of a kick to balance out drinks. To say they were hoovered would be an understatement. Seriously, a dozen eggs gone in minutes.

Dinner continued with a lovely Caesar salad with crab complete with blue cheese dressing. It was a wonderful addition by Markie and yet Mick did not want to indulge as he does not care for crab. But he was able to take care of his needs by a quick trip downstairs. I finished prep of the main course and into the oven it went at 400 for an hour.

Mick was in need of carbs with dinner and so he went downstairs and got some fried rice and a pork dish of some sort. While he enjoyed some with dinner, he ended up leaving it at my place. Well, it kept talking to me over and over to the point that I got up at 2AM and went in and washed it down the garbage disposal. I know me all too well, if it had gone in the garbage it would have still talked to me and I was so over it. I still did not fall back asleep until nearly 6:30AM. Thank the goddess I don't have to work until Tuesday!
The main course was a bacon-wrapped pork loin and it was a thing of beauty. As you can see, it is ready to go in the oven. With the salad and appetizer, it was a lovely meal. Mick was also able to satisfy his need for dessert by getting himself two chocolate dipped cream puffs and ate those as Markie and I finished eating.

Dinner Party

After a full and trying week at the office it is time to enjoy the holiday weekend and that means hosting friends for dinner. Markie has had me over several times this summer and I have not seen Mick for quite sometime. Mick is by his own admission "absent-minded" and so often forgets people when his attention is redirected like it was most of the summer with Brett. well, Brett has moved back to Hawaii for school and so I thought I would be a nice guy after being ignored for months at a time and invite him over as well. It was an interesting evening.

Flowers, Flowers Everywhere

Flowers are such a personal thing and everyone has their favorite. Roses are right up there and lilacs pop in the spring. Color is one thing to consider but scent is always a factor. One of my favorites are Stargazer Lillies. They have the bright pink and a room can become totally consumed in their scent in only a few minutes. Last night I had a delivery from Amazon Fresh and three bunches of lillies arrived to make two lovely bouquets.

Yes, it is Friday of Labor Day weekend, and the apt. is filled with the wonderful smell of flowers.

While Stargazer lilies are so colorful and delightfully scent filled, I have to say my favorite lilly is the Casablanca. They are white and so huge. Having a centerpiece of just them makes for a clean and simple statement. This one is by the bronze torso and near my bed so I see it first thing when I am getting out of bed. What a nice way to start the day. Have a great weekend everyone

Blog-cation Over

Greetings one and all,

The past 6 weeks has been a much needed blog-cation. It was timed with another project. Losing weight. Yes, the body was expanding at an unhealthy rate and being over 50 I knew something had to give. It is a blend of Atkins and South Beach for no better word adding in a strong dose of doctor consult and with bi-weekly weigh ins, so I am not obsessed by a scale. Instead, it has been a lot of retraining my eating habits. The amount of food I consume is down and at the same time I find I am more picky on what I eat. There is no longer the "clean plate club" feeling that I have lived with for so much of my life.

43 pounds have shed themselves these first 6 weeks and I know it was a bit of a jump start to get going. Need to drink more water according to the doctor and to think 6-8 glasses a day was enough. Nope and then that means visiting the WC more often and well, therein I get more walking in as I to and fro. It's all good. So as we go into the holiday weekend, I'll take some time and bring you up to speed on what else has been going on.